S1.E31. Farahana Jobanputra on Choosing the Right PMO Structure: Insights for Strategic Impact

The PMO Community Podcast

In this episode of the PMO Community Podcast, Aina Alive interviews Farahana Jobanputra, a PMO expert with extensive experience across asset management, insurance, and capital markets. Farahana offers insights on choosing between centralized and federated PMO structures, strategies for transforming PMOs into strategic assets, and approaches for building executive alignment in uncertain economic conditions. She also shares a case study on a Canadian bank transformation and critical KPIs that PMOs should track to demonstrate business value.

Key Moments:

• [2:23] How to assess centralized vs. federated PMO structures, with a real-world example of a company making this decision.
• [6:25] Strategies to shift PMO perception from administrative overhead to strategic asset.
• [9:17] Techniques for supporting portfolio prioritization and aligning projects with long-term business goals.
• [12:35] Building executive alignment and stronger relationships with leadership.
• [19:25] Case study: transforming a department from least compliant to most compliant in a Canadian bank.
• [23:24] Essential KPIs for PMOs to track to demonstrate business value and support decision-making.
• [28:20] Effective strategies for overcoming resistance to PMO changes in regulated industries.

Hashtags: #PMO #ProjectManagement #PortfolioManagement #ExecutiveAlignment #KPIs #BusinessStrategy #ChangeManagement