Change Management in the Implementation of the PMO - An IT Company Case Study

The thesis will be centred on the implementation of the Project Management Office in the Operations department of a small-sized IT Company through a Change Management Model. To begin, a literature review of the Project Management fundamentals and the Change Management approach will be presented. Simultaneously there will be an in depth discussion of the most widespread Change Management Models. Subsequently, out of an as-is analysis of the Operations department of the Organization, the observed criticalities will be addressed through a redesign of the main processes. The to-be scenario will include the Project Management Office among the actors and a new set of tools and software that endeavour to support each phase of the projects lifecycle. In order to shift from the existing procedure to the desired scenario, a strategy that encompasses both the technical side of the Project Management Office implementation and the individual change will be shared. The former is addressed through the up-front planning and scheduling of activities mainly aimed at configuring the affected tools and software; while, the latter deals with the implementation of a tailored framework based on the ADKAR Model and the Agile Methodology principles. The integration between the two sides of the change is constantly guaranteed as a result of the joint activities and the high degree of flexibility, which stem from the framework of the individual change. Subsequently, taking into account the period between the kick-off meeting and the planned halfway point of the transition, the monitoring over the Project Management Office implementation will be provided. Lastly, a retrospective analysis is conducted with respect to the state of the transition and the suggested next steps forward will be provided.