​Project management is a complex process that involves four essential elements: systematic planning, effective communication, organized execution, and adaptation to changes. 

• First, it is crucial to fully understand and define the problem before evaluating the organization's policy and dependencies that may impact the project. Proper planning of the budget and resources is also necessary to create an effective project plan. 
• Effective communication is required in managing stakeholder communication, capturing emotional signals from the team, and building a support network.
• Organizing the execution involves setting up a process, tools, and scheduling tasks. Reporting project status correctly to stakeholders, managing risks, and creating a collaborative teamwork culture are also essential. 
• Adapting to changes means handling any changes during the project execution, including scope changes, resource turnover, and cost increases.

All of these elements could be included in the project management process. Therefore, ensuring that all four categories are fully addressed is crucial to ensure successful project management.

When starting a new PMO engagement, ​we would start with building trust. This involves focusing on the three elements of the trust triangle - expertise, empathy, and values. To accomplish this, we must take on challenging tasks, have thorough discussions to identify pain points, and demonstrate PMO values through collaboration. A good approach is to start with a complex project that the organization finds challenging. Once we achieve success, we can increase our level of responsibility gradually.

The next step is to clarify specific duties and responsibilities. It’s essential to address the following points:

• Empathize with the challenges, such as lengthy reviews and work quality.
• Share the past successes to demonstrate the ability to address issues.
• Get an in-depth understanding of priorities.
• Explore the project management role and its impact.
• Request suggestions for PM responsibilities rather than dictating them.

The following is an example of a conversation  when we engage the application lead on the PMO engagement model, negotiation: 

• How are you doing? Would you be interested in reviewing our PMO engagement model with me? Before we continue, do you have any feedback on the project? Is everything running smoothly? 
• What do you think are our significant challenges at the moment? (For example, are reviews taking up too much time?) Do you have any suggestions for addressing these issues? 
• We may only be able to find an ideal PM sometime soon, so we need to work with what we have. 
•  I understand that we have several new projects coming up. How much bandwidth do you have left to work on this one? 
• Our product delivery has been successful because responsibilities have been clearly defined. However, we are now entering a different project phase where this is different. Some primary leadership responsibilities need to be assigned. What are your thoughts on how we should approach this?