Recap of Hujiang PMO Salon: Insights on Project Management Practices and Organizational PMO

On May 27, 2018, a group of Hujiang colleagues gathered at the company headquarters in Shanghai for a PMO salon, sharing lively discussions and ideas that brightened the midsummer afternoon.

At 10:00 volunteers prepared the venue, at 13:00 participants arrived and began informal networking, and at 13:45 the host announced the official start of the event.

First session (10:00‑13:45): Hujiang PMO leader Ma Ronglei ("Xiao Ma") delivered a welcome speech and presented “Hujiang PMO Operation Practice”. He introduced the PMO’s data model, explained how the PMO supports project prioritisation, hierarchical management and cross‑department collaboration, and stressed the importance of talent, basic capabilities, multi‑skill management, innovation, cooperation, inclusion and sharing for modern project managers.

Second session: Dr. Liu Tong, a global reviewer for PMI’s Organizational Project Management (OPM) standard, spoke on “Organizational Project Management Construction Path and Business Value Delivery”. He reframed project success as the realisation of strategic business value, and described a five‑star OPM transformation model: strategic alignment assessment, EPMO design, process‑system construction, organisational learning, and leadership change.

Third session: Senior project manager Wang Ying shared the case of the “Hujiang Intelligent Learning System” project – a 1.5‑year, 20,000‑hour effort spanning 17 departments and nearly 100 stakeholders. She highlighted practical lessons: hold a project kickoff meeting to align value and goals, appoint sub‑project managers and primary owners, draw a detailed organisational chart, analyse stakeholder interests, establish robust communication mechanisms, and seek PMO support for cross‑department resources and conflict resolution.

Wang also integrated her background as a certified psychological counsellor, linking psychological theory with project‑portfolio management to offer a fresh perspective.

Fourth session: Jason Zhu ("Jason") from the Fifth Space delivered a humorous yet insightful talk titled “PMO Should Become an Organizational Change Coach”. Citing research that links poor change management to project failure, he argued that project managers need strong support to thrive in complex environments, and that PMOs must focus on people, act as transformation coaches, define strategies, design coaching plans and empower teams.

At 18:00 the day concluded with reflections on the fast‑paced sharing and discussions. The organizers thanked the speakers—Dr. Liu, Jason, Xiao Ma, and Wang—and all participants, reaffirming Hujiang’s commitment to “go out, bring in” learning, co‑create a learning community, and continue advancing best practices in internet‑industry project management.