Executive Brief — Why the PMO Needs Enterprise Architecture
- Sunil Dutt Jha
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
The PMO’s job is not coordination; it is direction with structural enforceability. That requires an instrument that binds strategy (P1) to process (P2), systems/logic (P3), component specifications (P4), implementation tasks (P5), and operations (P6) across ministries. That instrument is ICMG Enterprise Anatomy™.
Without Enterprise Anatomy™, PMOs rely on memos, dashboards, and escalations. With it, PMOs direct the State as a single enterprise.
P1 – Strategy: Direction and value outcomes to achieve.
P2 – Process: Sequence of activities to realize the strategy.
P3 – Systems / Logic: Systems that execute or enforce business flow — data systems, rule systems, function systems, network systems, access/channel systems.
P4 – Component Specifications: Parts that make those systems
P5 – Implementation Tasks: People and IT tasks that build, modify, or deploy components.
P6 – Operations: Business and Service operations by people and IT operations that run, monitor, and maintain the service.)
PMO EA — Country Contrasts
1) Australia – Cabinet/PM&C style center, strong mandates, federated delivery
Strength: Policy rigor, Cabinet submissions, benefits frameworks; relatively mature whole-of-government standards.
Structural Gap: P3 logic often devolved to agencies; cross-jurisdiction programs (Commonwealth–State) dilute rule coherence.
PMO EA Instrument: A federal–state logic spine: national rulebooks as P3 assets with mandatory P4 specs (APIs/data) for states; PMO-level change control on rulebooks.
2) India – High central intent, mega-scale execution, union–state complexity
Strength: Central program drive (missions), scale, speed; strong PMO signaling.
Structural Gap: Policy momentum outruns P2/P3 design; ministries build parallel programs; state variance expands P6 deviation.
PMO EA Instrument: Mission Architecture Hubs at PMO to freeze P1→P3 before funding; P4 conformance packs handed to line ministries/states; P5 stage-gates tied to rule compliance.
3) United States – President’s Executive Office, separation of powers, high agency autonomy
Strength: Sophisticated oversight (OMB), GAO scrutiny, strong inspectorates; rich data infrastructure.
Structural Gap: Agency autonomy → P3 divergence; cross-agency journeys rely on MOUs instead of shared logic; policy shifts reset programs without architectural rollback.
PMO EA Instrument: Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) logic layers: OMB-mandated P3 canonical rule sets with P4 reference designs; budget pass-throughs contingent on P3 conformance evidence.
Common Pattern: Where center is strong in P1, it is weak in P3/P4 enforceability. Where agencies are strong in P6, they improvise around P3 inconsistencies. Remedy: PMO must own the national logic spine (P3) and its specifications (P4).
What “PMO-Grade Enterprise Architecture” Actually Means
A National Logic Spine (P3): codified rulebooks for cross-ministry journeys (investor licensing, customs, welfare, tourism peaks, emergency response).
COmponent Specifications (P4): canonical APIs, data entities, screens, and configuration patterns that bind ministries to the same execution model.
Program Gating (P5): funding tied to P3/P4 conformance; deviations require PMO variance approval with quantified risk.
Operational Telemetry (P6): PMO-visible SLOs mapped to P1 targets; real-time exception routing to the owner of the broken rule, not the loudest escalation.
Decision Rights Map: explicit RACI for who can alter P3 (national rules), who implements P4, and who runs P6 obligations.
The PMO’s 7 Structural Failure Modes
Policy Announced, Logic Unspecified: P1 exists, P3 not authored; ministries “interpret.
Dashboards Without Anatomy: Reporting on activity, not decision flow; PMO sees what not why.
Funding Without Conformance: P5 proceeds while P3/P4 are divergent.
Emergency Governance: CAPEX/opex rushed to compensate for missing P2/P3; creates technical debt.
Cross-Ministry Drift: MOUs replace architecture; handoffs proliferate.
Regulatory Collisions: Regulators enforce without shared P3 context; growth policies stall.
Rollback Cost Invisible: Policy shifts reset P1; PMO lacks P3/P4 delta to quantify impact or negotiate phasing.
PMO EA Operating Model
PMO Enterprise Anatomy Council (PEAC): owns national P3 rulebooks; approves P4 reference designs.
Mission Architecture Hubs: vertical teams (Health, Transport, Justice, Investment) that translate P1 into P2/P3; issue sector playbooks.
Conformance Office: gates P5; embeds architects into program boards; controls variances.
Telemetry & Exception Court: PMO-level SRE for government; routes exceptions to rule owners; publishes P1-mapped SLOs.
Rollback & Change Economics: expresses every policy change as P3/P4 deltas with cost, risk, and schedule impact.
Maturity Benchmarks — Australia vs India vs USA
Capability | Australia PM&C | India PMO | US EOP/OMB |
P3 Rule Spine (national) | Medium: strong standards; gaps at state interfaces | Low→Rising: strong mission drive; P3 authoring catching up | Medium: sector CAP goals; agency divergence persists |
P4 Reference Specs | Medium: exists, adoption varies | Low→Medium: growing; uneven across ministries | Medium: strong in pockets; not universal |
P5 Gating to P3/P4 | Medium | Low→Medium | Medium |
P6 Telemetry to P1 | Medium | Low→Medium | Medium→High (reporting strong; causality weak) |
Cross-Agency Journeys | Medium | Low→Medium | Low→Medium |
Variance Governance | Medium | Low | Medium |
Interpretation: All three need PMO-owned P3/P4 with hard gates, not soft guidance.
PMO Playbook — 90 Days (Level-5)
Day 0–15: Establish Authority
Issue PMO Directive: “No funding without P3/P4.”
Stand up PEAC and name Architecture Leads per mission.
Day 16–45: Author the Spine
Select 3 national journeys (e.g., Investor Licensing, Public Safety Incident, Customs Clearance).
Publish P3 rulebooks and P4 specs; freeze change control.
Day 46–75: Gate & Instrument
Attach P5 gates to ongoing programs; require variance packs.
Map P6 telemetry to P1 outcomes; define exception taxonomy.
Day 76–90: Execute & Demonstrate
Run a 7-day X-Ray on one journey per mission; close top 5 structural defects.
Publish “Anatomy Wins” note to Cabinet: deltas fixed, SLOs improved, variances removed.
Level-5 Diagnostics Questions
Which national outcomes today are not traceable to a P3 rule owner?
Which programs received funding before their P3/P4 were approved?
Where do cross-ministry handoffs lack a single logic of approval/rejection?
Which dashboards report performance without mapping to P1 targets?
How many “temporary” workarounds have become permanent operations?