Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/74024
www.iltanet.org projects to be wholly contained within the business unit driving the project. However, most complex projects typically involve more than one business unit to deliver the expected results. In this case, the PMO with dedicated and highly trained project managers should be involved — either to mentor or to lead the project. Matt: I think it's great for business functions to manage their own projects! I've seen that the best legal project managers are generalists of sorts, with a broad interest in the legal profession. They have good people skills, and one of the critical aspects that I don't hear enough about is that great project managers have the ability to sell their vision of the project and to energize everybody on the project team. This generalist with great people skills is my vision of the future of project management in legal. Skip: It makes sense that departments manage the projects that deal with their special needs. That creates a more agile environment. But you have to ensure that the right people Innovative PMO at Eversheds by Paul Caris of Eversheds LLP The PMO has existed at Eversheds for many years. Originally having an IT focus, the team now manages business change projects, usually containing a significant IT element. This acknowledges the strategic importance of the projects being managed and the business impact they have, as well as our international presence. Project Management's For instance, we are experimenting with project status reports being issued using a private Twitter feed. We like the idea of only the absolutely essential information being shared to those who need it to ensure the delivery of the project. The Twitter constraint of 140 characters keeps the project managers on their toes; they have to carefully craft status updates to the project stakeholders. A-Changing The five stages of a project have remained basically the same: initiate, plan, execute, control and close. However, we believe that if project management is too formal it constrains delivery. At Eversheds, we have significantly reduced the formality applied to projects and only insist on Just Enough Essential Process (JEEP). We require the five stages to be completed, but we rarely dictate how this should be done, allowing our project managers to demonstrate their own personal flair and entrepreneurial spirit. 12 ILTA White Paper Too Formal To Be Agile Project management in general has become too formal to allow for agility. We are proud of our reputation for innovation, and we are always looking for ways to improve agility. We are re-engineering all of our internal IT processes along these lines and are prepared to use cutting-edge technology to help. We have been utilizing many of the consumer-based and often "free" services available, such as Skype and Yammer, to improve our international project collaboration.