Space exploration is investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, of the reaches of the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the cosmos and benefit humanity.
The 2023 FuturePMO theme is PMO: The Final Frontier. We believe that every PMO spends a lot of time exploring its own universe, trying to get to the next level of PPM (project, programme, portfolio management) maturity.
Much like gaining efficiency and consistency in the way organisations manage change, the workings of our universe, captured the hearts and minds of people a long time ago, who in turn developed new ways of working, technology, and language, to reach the next frontier in their delivery of change.
New and innovative technologies such as Microsoft Project for the Web (known as Project now), enabled PMO and delivery teams to explore the rest of their PPM universe and understand areas that require improvement in order to reach the goals of efficiency, consistency, and visibility; an ultimately benefit realisation.
Much like space exploration, evolution is key to PMO and PPM, and the need to bring people on the journey (it’s the only to way to colonise and embed new approaches after all) has created a focus on making our space suitable for humans. For PMO teams, this is often through #HumanFirst activities such as wellbeing tactics, collaboration, and engagement – a community of practice with peer-to-peer support and learning opportunities.
Although it seems unorthodox, space exploration has close ties to the world of PMO. As our teams continue to push boundaries for the good of our internal Customers, we constantly work; often in the shadows, to bring new insights, knowledge, and experiences to better the PPM practice for all.
So whether your PMO relates more to the first spaceflight of a British astronaut; Helen Sharman (May 2021, Soyuz TM-12.Mir), or the upcoming anniversary of the Webb Space Telescope which provides insights from 1million miles away, your PMO must have a vision of what the future looks like so that you can celebrate when you get there.
FuturePMO this year will help you to explore your PMO universe, and decide what aspects of PPM practice will take you to your future, and beyond. With celebrated speakers covering topics such as Agile Transformation, professional development, impossible journeys, and of course, the future of our industry (private and public sector), we are sure that you will have an out of this world experience, and leave ready to take your organisation to its #PMOFrontier.
