Training and Development to Close OPM Maturity Gaps (PMI-PMOCP Guide)
Overview
In the PMI-PMOCP (PMO Certified Professional) body of knowledge, Organizational Development and Alignment covers how a PMO builds the capabilities an organization needs to deliver strategy through projects, programs and portfolios. A central topic is using training and development to close Organizational Project Management (OPM) maturity gaps. This means turning the findings of a maturity assessment into targeted learning that raises the organization to its desired maturity level.
Why It Is Important
1. Assessments alone change nothing. A maturity assessment (for example OPM3, P3M3, CMMI-style models or a PMO-specific model) shows where the organization is weak. Without development actions, the report sits on a shelf.
2. People capability underpins process maturity. Templates, methodologies and tools only work if people can use them. Many maturity gaps are really competency gaps.
3. Strategic alignment. Targeted development makes sure investment in learning supports the capabilities the strategy needs, such as benefits realization, portfolio prioritization or agile delivery.
4. PMO value demonstration. Measurable improvement in maturity and performance shows the PMO's value to executives.
5. Sustainability. Development embeds new behaviors and keeps improvements from fading after one-off initiatives end.
6. Risk reduction. Capability gaps in areas like risk, governance and estimation lead directly to project failure. Closing them improves predictability.
What It Is
Training and development to close OPM maturity gaps is a structured, gap-driven capability-building approach. The PMO:
- uses maturity assessment results and competency assessments as the baseline,
- defines the target maturity state that strategy requires,
- identifies the specific knowledge, skills, behaviors and roles that must change,
- designs and delivers a blended development program,
- measures whether the gap has actually closed.
Key concepts include:
- OPM maturity: the degree to which an organization practices project, program and portfolio management in a consistent, aligned and continuously improving way.
- Maturity gap: the difference between current and target maturity for a capability, practice or domain.
- Competency gap: the difference between the competencies people have and those their roles require. The PMI Talent Triangle (Ways of Working, Power Skills, Business Acumen) and the Project Manager Competency Development Framework are typical references.
- Training vs. development: training builds specific skills for current roles and tends to be short term. Development builds broader, long-term capability and career growth, for example through mentoring, coaching, rotations and communities of practice.
- Organizational learning: capturing lessons learned and knowledge so capability belongs to the organization, not only to individuals.
How It Works: The Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Assess current maturity and competencies. Conduct or review an OPM maturity assessment. Add individual and team competency assessments using self-assessment, 360 feedback, manager evaluation and certification records.
Step 2: Define the target state aligned with strategy. Work with executives and the portfolio governance body to decide which maturity level is needed and where. Not every domain needs top maturity. Prioritize the capabilities that most affect strategic outcomes.
Step 3: Perform gap analysis and root cause analysis. For each gap, ask whether it is caused by lack of knowledge or skill, unclear processes, poor tools, missing governance, or culture and incentives. Training only fixes gaps that are caused by skill or knowledge. Process, tool or incentive problems need other interventions.
Step 4: Prioritize gaps. Rank them by strategic impact, risk, urgency, feasibility and cost. Focus on quick wins and high-impact foundational capabilities first.
Step 5: Design the development program.
- Map learning objectives to specific gaps and roles: project managers, program managers, portfolio managers, PMO staff, sponsors and executives.
- Build role-based learning paths and career paths, such as a project management career ladder.
- Use blended methods: classroom or virtual training, e-learning, workshops, on-the-job learning, coaching, mentoring, job shadowing, simulations, certification support (CAPM, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, PMI-ACP), and communities of practice.
- Apply the 70-20-10 principle: about 70% experiential learning, 20% social learning, 10% formal learning.
- Include sponsor and executive education. Many maturity gaps sit in governance and sponsorship, not with project managers.
Step 6: Secure sponsorship and resources. Build a business case that links the program to strategic benefits. Get executive endorsement, budget and protected time for learning. Coordinate with HR or talent management.
Step 7: Deliver and reinforce. Roll out in phases, sometimes starting with pilot groups. Reinforce with updated processes, templates, performance objectives, recognition and coaching so learning transfers to the job.
Step 8: Measure effectiveness. Use the Kirkpatrick model:
- Level 1: reaction.
- Level 2: learning.
- Level 3: behavior change on the job.
- Level 4: business results.
Phillips ROI can be added as Level 5. Re-assess maturity periodically to confirm the gap has closed. Track KPIs such as schedule and cost performance, benefits realization, methodology compliance and certification rates.
Step 9: Continuously improve. Feed results and lessons learned back into the next assessment cycle. Maturity improvement is iterative, often run as a roadmap with incremental stages.
Supporting Organizational Change
Closing maturity gaps is organizational change, so change management models are relevant. Examples are ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) and Kotter's 8 steps. Training mainly delivers Knowledge and Ability. The PMO must also create Awareness and Desire beforehand and Reinforcement afterward. Expect resistance, and address it through communication, stakeholder engagement and visible leadership support.
Common Pitfalls
- Generic, one-size-fits-all training not linked to assessed gaps.
- Assuming training solves process, tool or cultural problems.
- Measuring only attendance or satisfaction, not behavior or results.
- Ignoring executives and sponsors.
- No reinforcement, so skills decay.
- Trying to close all gaps at once instead of prioritizing.
- No link to HR systems, career paths or performance management.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Training and Development to Close OPM Maturity Gaps
1. Assess before you train. If a scenario shows training being launched without a gap analysis, the best answer usually involves first assessing current maturity or competencies, or performing a gap analysis.
2. Find the root cause. If the gap stems from unclear processes, missing governance, poor tools or misaligned incentives, training is not the best first answer. Choose answers that fix the actual cause.
3. Align with strategy. Prefer answers that tie development priorities to strategic objectives and the target maturity state, rather than to personal preferences or what is popular.
4. Prioritize. When resources are limited, choose the option that targets the highest-impact gaps first or follows a phased roadmap.
5. Favor tailored, role-based, blended approaches over generic, one-off classroom courses.
6. Remember sponsors and executives. If governance or sponsorship maturity is weak, the right answer may be executive or sponsor education, not more project manager training.
7. Measure behavior and results. For questions on proving effectiveness, choose Kirkpatrick Level 3 or 4 measures, KPI improvement or re-assessment of maturity over attendance counts or satisfaction surveys.
8. Reinforce and sustain. Answers that include coaching, mentoring, communities of practice, updated performance objectives and recognition beat answers that end at course completion.
9. Get sponsorship and collaborate. The PMO should secure executive sponsorship and partner with HR or talent management, not act alone.
10. Think iteratively. Maturity improvement is continuous. Choose answers involving periodic re-assessment and feedback loops.
11. Watch for distractors. Be cautious with answers that:
- mandate certification for everyone immediately,
- buy a new tool as the fix,
- hire external consultants to do the work instead of building internal capability,
- skip stakeholder engagement.
12. Use the PMO's servant and enabling role. The PMOCP mindset values the PMO as an enabler of value and capability, not just a controller. Pick answers that build capability and demonstrate value.
Sample Question
A maturity assessment shows low maturity in benefits realization management. The PMO director wants to schedule a company-wide benefits management course. What should the PMO do FIRST?
A) Deliver the course to all project managers immediately
B) Analyze the root causes of the gap and identify the roles and competencies involved
C) Purchase a benefits tracking tool
D) Require PMP certification for all staff
Correct answer: B. Understanding the cause and identifying who needs which capability comes before designing training. The gap may also involve sponsors, the governance process or tools.
Key Takeaway
Effective training and development to close OPM maturity gaps follows a cycle:
1. Assess.
2. Align with strategy.
3. Analyze root causes.
4. Prioritize.
5. Design blended, role-based learning.
6. Secure sponsorship.
7. Deliver and reinforce.
8. Measure real outcomes.
9. Repeat.
In the exam, choose answers that are evidence-based, strategically aligned, targeted, sustained and measured by results.
