Building a Project Management Office from Scratch for a Small Software Agency
When I joined the small software agency, it was a tight-knit team of six developers and the owner. The agency faced significant challenges due to the lack of standardized processes for handling projects. Each project was initiated from scratch, with only a high-level overview, neglecting the detailed tasks required for successful completion. It was clear that a structured approach was needed to streamline operations and facilitate growth.
Vision and Strategy
I envisioned a flexible yet robust Project Management Office (PMO) that could scale with the agency’s growth. Drawing from the agile methodology, I aimed to create a hybrid system that blended agile’s adaptability with the structured nature of waterfall methodologies. Agile is excellent for continuous software development, but our small, individual projects required a more tailored approach.
Implementation
To build our PMO, we began by focusing on a typical website project, constructing our system around the full software development life cycle, from sales to delivery. We emphasized the five D’s: Discovery, Design, Development, Debugging (Quality Assurance/Client Review), and Deployment. This framework provided a clear, repeatable process for each project.
Organizing our documentation was crucial for onboarding new resources quickly as the need arose. We ensured that all communication flowed through a central system, which became the adhesive that held our processes together. This centralization fostered transparency and accountability across all levels of the team.
Overcoming Challenges
While we faced no major obstacles, we did experience the usual growing pains of a small company. Balancing resource availability was a constant challenge, with periods of too much work followed by lulls with too few projects to keep everyone occupied. Despite these fluctuations, our structured approach allowed us to adapt and continue progressing.
Results and Impact
The PMO foundation I established enabled me to manage up to 22 concurrent projects single-handedly at one point. More importantly, it allowed the agency to scale at a manageable pace. We expanded our department to include three account managers who divided their time between client experience, new sales, and the Discovery and Design phases. Simultaneously, we hired three project managers to handle Development, Debugging, and Deployment, while also lending their expertise during the sales and discovery process to identify potential bottlenecks before the project made it to production.
Ultimately, the PMO oversaw over 25 resources, including full-stack developers, content writers, and other specialists. This structured approach contributed to the agency’s remarkable growth, with business expanding by over 500% over my tenure.
Lessons Learned
This experience underscored the importance of having standard processes that are easy to follow. Such processes are key to successful business growth, providing a foundation for scalability and efficiency. The PMO not only streamlined our project management but also positioned us for sustained success.