PMO BUSINESS PLANNING TEMPLATE

This business planning template can help PMOs align future work with top organizational goals, ensuring that they
contribute to business success. Use this template to guide the process, from identifying key executives and sponsors,
to defining and prioritizing goals, to creating measurable and realistic objectives to achieve them.
I. Identify all potential PMO sponsors the organizational leaders who should define the PMOs role and priorities. This may be a single executive, but is likely to include several individuals who collectively establish criteria that will
define whether the PMO is successful. If the list is incomplete, the PMO risks delivering wrong or incomplete priorities.
Likewise, this list should only include people who truly have the ability to define its goals (e.g., executive team, heads of
departments and/or divisions).
NAME

TITLE

CONTRIBUTE/APPROVE (y/n)

II. List business-driven priorities that are collectively agreed to by the business sponsors. These three, four or (no
more than) five goals will provide the foundation for the objectives and action plan that follow. They are likely an evolution of goals from previous periods (unless the PMO is undergoing a dramatic realignment). Write the priorities as statements that include an objectively measurable goal. For example, dont write improve the quality of project execution
(no success measure), nor improve the quality of project execution by 5% (no indication of how). Instead, a priority
might be to improve quality of project execution by reducing total portfolio budget overrun by 5% and average schedule
delay by 5%. When possible, all business owners should contribute to the priorities, and at the least, approve them.
PRIORITY

PRIORITY STATEMENT

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
continued

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III. Create objectives. Each priority statement needs to be broken down into individual objectives that will collectively make them happen. Ensure that objectives comply with the SMART acronym: 1) Specific (no doubt or confusion
over what the objective is); Measurable (able to determine whether the objective has been achieved); Agreed-to
(dont act in isolation and ensure that team members commit); Realistic (an expectation that the objective can be
achieved); and Time-bound (a deadline). Include the priority that each objectives supports. Objectives that do not
clearly support a priority should not be included as they will distract the PMOs defined purpose.
OBJECTIVE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

STATEMENT

(PRIORITY #s)
(

IV. Develop the action plan to achieve the objectives. Just as we need to build a project plan to deliver a successful project, we need to identify the work that needs to be done, the people who need to do it, and the deadlines for
completion of the various work items that will collectively deliver the objectives. At the business planning stage, this
will likely be a high-level plan but it is important to complete this step as it will help to identify any additional resources
that will be required to complete the work. You will likely track this in your organizations project/portfolio management
software, but hopefully this template has provided a solid foundation to move to that next stage.