Along with the expansion of an IT company, as the number of projects and their managers increases, the need for joint project management grows abruptly. This is where the Project Management Office comes in handy, which coordinates the work, sets the principles, working rules that meet the company’s standards the best and are mandatory for all types of project management.

About teamwork

Synergy has more than 30 experienced project management professionals, some of whom have joined Synergy’s newly formed Project Management Office.

“When I joined Synergy’s team in 2014, I realized within the first few weeks and months that the role of a Project Manager is very important here, as he is responsible for doing all the work from start to end. The goal of our PMO is to provide the Project Manager with all the tools needed for doing an excellent job. We need to set criteria of excellence, standards, to make sure that the projects are not isolated and derive from the overall vision of the organization. Thus, we get more centralized and coordinated project management. Our PMO includes professionals with years of experience in various fields, who contribute to the management of projects with the highest standards in Synergy,” says Lilit Gasparyan, Project Manager/Head of PMO at Synergy.

Lilit Gasparyan

Photo: Mediamax

Thanks to teamwork at Project Management Office, knowledge and skills of different employees are combined and allow organizing the work with high efficiency.

Overt the past 24 years, Synergy has implemented more than 300 projects; about 40 projects are currently active. Projects are the cornerstone of Synergy’s business. The company creates various products for companies, organizations and governments in more than 80 countries.

Photo: Mediamax

“Change in IT is inevitable. Everything is changing, and processes are also changing during the company’s existence. One of the PMO’s functions is to make the change easy. The PMO can audit the project to ensure that processes, documentation and planning meet the criteria. At Synergy, PMO also plays a role in developing the career direction of project managers, setting appropriate standards,” says Lilit Gasparyan.

About the role of a Project Manager

As they say in Synergy, the company was one of the first in Armenia to emphasize the role of a Project Manager. Back in the years when Synergy had just started operating in Armenia, many IT companies had only technical working groups, and project management was carried out by their foreign offices.

The role of a Project Manager is also very important in terms of communicating with customers and presenting the company to them.

Hasmik Martirosyan

Photo: Mediamax

“Our customers see Synergy through the faces of those people. Their professional work is appreciated even more, because they must fully meet Synergy’s standards in their functions, work processes, documentation, approaches and ethics. Since we work internationally, we also want our Project Managers, who are traveling to partner countries, to proudly represent both Synergy and Armenia,” says Hasmik Martirosyan, Chief Operating Officer at Synergy. She managed projects in the company before the establishment of PMO.

About work nuances

Working as a Project Manager at Synergy is quite a serious challenge. The Project Manager should have a qualification, but no less important is the high responsibility. In order to consider the Project Manager successful, their work in the company is evaluated from three points of view.

Photo: Mediamax

The first is the successful implementation of the contract by meeting deadlines and ensuing quality, which will satisfy the customer. Synergy’s second request is that the customer will be able to use the system as intended. The third criterion is the work done by the Project Manager with the team.

“Apart from the responsibility of submitting the project, we expect the Project Manager to be happy, motivated and have professional growth,” says Hasmik Martirosyan.

About shaping a culture

Synergy is one of the first companies in Armenia to have introduced the profession of a Project Manager to IT.

Hasmik Martirosyan and Lilit Gasparyan

Photo: Mediamax

“After a while, we had a strong team of Project Managers. We often joke that the team of Armenian project managers works for us. Most of the team members specialize in project management and serious international projects,” says Hasmik Martirosyan.

Highlighting the role of having quality Project Managers in Armenia, Synergy cooperates with many training centers, the company’s specialists teach at universities.

Photo: Mediamax

“We are very generous in sharing experience. The goal is not only to train specialists for us in the future, but also to contribute to the development of the general environment,” says Hasmik Martirosyan.

Marie Tarian

Photos: Emin Aristakesyan