Description

This study explored the linkages between the Eskom Distribution project management community (DX POs) and the Eskom PMO (EPMO) as the custodian and implementer of project management processes, procedures, guidelines, and best practices. The researcher explored and interpreted the lived experiences of the practitioners in the rollout of the standardised project management methodology by the EPMO and the implementation, or the adoption, of the methodology by the Eskom Distribution project management community.
The study employed an organisational ethnographic approach by collecting qualitative data through participant observation and electronically structured interviews per the agreement with two groups of Senior Managers from the EPMO and the Distribution Asset Creation Departments in Eskom. This was complemented with quantitative data collection using a survey questionnaire to collect data from as many participants as possible in the Distribution Project Offices across the nine provinces in South Africa.
Secondary data were collected from the Gauteng PMO Forum, which surveyed Project Offices in South Africa, called the PMO Insights Report. The PMO Forum is an interest group that falls under the umbrella of Project Management South Africa (PMSA). The PMO Forum provides an opportunity for PMO Executives and Leaders to network with peers across industries and share knowledge and experience.
The researcher further sourced additional data from an internal survey that the EPMO completed. The primary findings of this research are the poorly adopted standardised project management methodology by the Distribution Business and the tensions in the working relationship between the EPMO and the Distribution Business.
Further findings revealed the misunderstanding from the DX POs that the focus for implementing the standardised project management methodology was on the Group Capital Projects. It was also discovered that the EPMO had not started any initiatives to prepare Eskom for project management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Practical implications relate to research which indicates where PMOs are effective; more projects are delivered on time, within budget and scope. This research concludes that the future success of the Eskom PMO lies in fostering effective working relationships (better stakeholder satisfaction) from within the EPMO and its clients.
Moreover, the modern PMO will be crucial to prepare organisations with appropriate project management practices that will match the project management requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Gartner, 2021:1).
This study contributes to the scant research on the link between an EPMO and multiple POs in the same organisation from a practitioner’s perspective. Secondly, the study contributes to re-configuring the traditional PMO into a modern PMO, one which is fit for project management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A further contribution is to elevate the mandate of the Enterprise Project Management Office in a State-Owned Entity to that of a truly Strategic Project Management Office.