Using Ring PMO Team

The ring-pmo-team plugin provides 5 specialized PMO agents for portfolio-level management. Use them via Task tool with subagent_type:.

See CLAUDE.md and using-ring for canonical workflow requirements and ORCHESTRATOR principle. This skill introduces pmo-team-specific agents.

Remember: Follow the ORCHESTRATOR principle from using-ring. Dispatch agents to handle complexity; don't operate tools directly.

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Domain Distinction: PMO vs PM

Team	Focus	Scope
ring-pm-team	Single feature planning	PRD, TRD, task breakdown for ONE feature
ring-pmo-team	Portfolio governance	Multi-project coordination, resources, executive reporting

Use PMO when:

• Managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Planning resources across projects
• Reporting to executives on portfolio status
• Assessing portfolio-level risks
• Conducting governance reviews

Use PM when:

• Planning a single feature
• Creating PRD/TRD for one initiative
• Breaking down one feature into tasks

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Blocker Criteria - STOP and Report

ALWAYS pause and report blocker for:

Decision Type	Examples	Action
Portfolio Prioritization	Which project gets resources first	STOP. Report trade-offs. Wait for executive decision.
Resource Conflict	Same person needed on multiple projects	STOP. Document conflict. Wait for management decision.
Strategic Alignment	Project doesn't fit current strategy	STOP. Escalate with analysis. Wait for guidance.
Budget Reallocation	Moving funds between projects	STOP. Prepare options. Wait for financial approval.
Project Termination	Recommend stopping a project	STOP. Document rationale. Wait for sponsor decision.

You CANNOT make strategic or resource decisions autonomously. STOP and ask.

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Common Misconceptions - REJECTED

Misconception	Reality
"I can assess portfolio health myself"	ORCHESTRATOR principle: dispatch portfolio-manager specialist. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.
"Resource planning is simple math"	Resource planning requires context, skills matrix, team dynamics. MUST dispatch resource-planner.
"Risk is just a list"	Portfolio risk requires aggregation, correlation, impact analysis. MUST dispatch risk-analyst.
"I know governance rules"	Governance specialists have gate frameworks loaded. MUST dispatch governance-specialist.
"Executive reports are just summaries"	Executive reporting requires right abstraction level, action focus. MUST dispatch executive-reporter.

Self-sufficiency bias check: If you're tempted to perform PMO tasks directly, ask:

1. Is there a specialist for this? (Check the 5 specialists below)
2. Would a specialist apply portfolio-level frameworks I might miss?
3. Am I avoiding dispatch because it feels like "overhead"?

If ANY answer is yes → You MUST DISPATCH the specialist. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.

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Anti-Rationalization Table

If you catch yourself thinking ANY of these, STOP:

Rationalization	Why It's WRONG	Required Action
"This portfolio is small, no need for specialist"	Size doesn't determine complexity. Standards always apply.	DISPATCH specialist
"I already know the projects"	Your knowledge ≠ systematic PMO analysis.	DISPATCH specialist
"Executive just wants a quick update"	Quick ≠ shallow. Executives expect quality regardless of speed.	DISPATCH specialist
"Risk assessment is obvious"	Obvious risks are the ones you miss. Systematic analysis required.	DISPATCH specialist
"Governance is bureaucracy"	Governance prevents failures. Gates exist for reasons.	DISPATCH specialist
"Resources are clearly available"	Availability claims require validation against all commitments.	DISPATCH specialist

See shared-patterns/anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

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Cannot Be Overridden

These requirements are NON-NEGOTIABLE:

Requirement	Why It Cannot Be Waived
Dispatch to specialist	Specialists have PMO frameworks loaded, you don't
Evidence-based reporting	Opinions are not PMO outputs. Data is required.
Gate compliance	Gates prevent project failures. Skipping creates risk.
Risk documentation	Undocumented risks cannot be managed.
Stakeholder communication	Silent PMO = failed PMO. Communication is mandatory.

User cannot override these. Executive pressure cannot override these. "Urgent" cannot override these.

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Pressure Resistance

When facing pressure to bypass PMO process:

User Says	Your Response
"CEO wants the report now, skip the analysis"	"Executive urgency increases need for accuracy. I'll expedite but cannot skip validation. Proceeding with accelerated full analysis."
"Just approve this project, we need to start"	"Approval without analysis creates downstream problems. PMO analysis protects the project. Completing analysis now."
"Don't include that risk, it will worry the sponsor"	"Accurate risk reporting is non-negotiable. Suppressing risks creates larger problems. I'll report with appropriate context and mitigation."
"Resources are fine, trust the team leads"	"Trust and verify. Resource validation prevents surprises. Confirming with utilization data."
"Skip governance, we're agile"	"Agile requires MORE governance discipline, not less. Lightweight gates, not no gates. Applying appropriate governance."

See shared-patterns/pressure-resistance.md for universal pressure scenarios.

Critical Reminder:

• Urgency ≠ Permission to bypass - Urgent projects need MORE PMO oversight
• Authority ≠ Permission to bypass - Executives expect PMO rigor
• Agile ≠ No governance - Agile has governance, just different cadence

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Emergency Response Protocol

Critical situations DO NOT bypass PMO process. Here's why:

Scenario	Wrong Approach	Correct Approach
Board meeting tomorrow	"Skip analysis, give estimates"	Dispatch specialist with URGENT flag, deliver quality in compressed time
Project in crisis	"Just fix it, report later"	Dispatch risk-analyst to assess, governance-specialist for intervention options
Budget deadline Friday	"Approve everything pending"	Dispatch portfolio-manager for prioritized recommendations

Emergency Dispatch Template:

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "portfolio-manager"
  model: "opus"
  prompt: "URGENT: [context]. [specific request]"

IMPORTANT:

• Specialist dispatch takes 10-20 minutes, NOT hours
• Rushed PMO decisions often create NEW problems
• Specialists ensure crisis decisions don't violate governance
• This is NON-NEGOTIABLE even under board pressure

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5 PMO Specialists

Agent	Specializations	Use When
portfolio-manager	Multi-project coordination, strategic alignment, portfolio health, prioritization	Portfolio reviews, project prioritization, capacity assessment
resource-planner	Capacity planning, skills matrix, allocation optimization, conflict resolution	Resource allocation, capacity planning, team assignments
governance-specialist	Gate reviews, compliance, process adherence, audit readiness	Gate approvals, process compliance, governance audits
risk-analyst	RAID logs, risk aggregation, mitigation planning, portfolio risk	Risk assessments, RAID management, mitigation strategies
executive-reporter	Dashboards, status summaries, escalation reports, board packages	Executive updates, board reports, stakeholder communication

Dispatch template:

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "{agent-name}"
  model: "opus"
  prompt: "{Your specific request with context}"

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When to Use PMO Specialists vs Other Teams

Use PMO Specialists for:

• Portfolio-level analysis and decisions
• Resource planning across multiple projects
• Governance and gate reviews
• Executive and board reporting
• Portfolio risk management

Use PM Team (ring-pm-team) for:

• Single feature planning
• PRD/TRD creation
• Task breakdown for one feature
• Feature-level research

Use Dev Team (ring-dev-team) for:

• Code implementation
• Technical architecture
• DevOps and infrastructure
• Quality assurance

Teams work together: PMO provides portfolio context → PM plans features → Dev implements code.

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Dispatching Multiple Specialists

If you need multiple specialists (e.g., portfolio-manager + risk-analyst), dispatch in parallel (single message, multiple Task calls):

CORRECT:
Task #1: portfolio-manager
Task #2: risk-analyst
(Both run in parallel)

WRONG:
Task #1: portfolio-manager
(Wait for response)
Task #2: risk-analyst
(Sequential = 2x slower)

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ORCHESTRATOR Principle

Remember:

• You're the orchestrator - Dispatch specialists, don't analyze directly
• Don't read PMO frameworks yourself - Dispatch to specialist, they know their domain
• Combine with other plugins - PMO + PM + Dev = complete delivery lifecycle

Good Example (ORCHESTRATOR):

"I need portfolio status. Let me dispatch portfolio-manager to analyze."

Bad Example (OPERATOR):

"I'll manually review each project and create a summary myself."

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Available in This Plugin

Agents: See "5 PMO Specialists" table above.

Skills:

• using-pmo-team (this) - Introduction and dispatch guide
• portfolio-planning - Portfolio strategy and planning
• resource-allocation - Resource and capacity management
• risk-management - Portfolio risk management
• project-health-check - Individual project health assessment
• dependency-mapping - Cross-project dependency analysis
• executive-reporting - Executive communication and reporting
• pmo-retrospective - Portfolio retrospectives and lessons learned

Commands:

• /portfolio-review - Conduct portfolio review
• /executive-summary - Generate executive summary
• /dependency-analysis - Analyze cross-project dependencies

Note: Missing agents? Check .claude-plugin/marketplace.json for ring-pmo-team plugin.

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PMO Workflows

Workflow	Entry Point	Output
Portfolio Review	/portfolio-review	docs/pmo/{date}/portfolio-status.md
Executive Report	/executive-summary	docs/pmo/{date}/executive-summary.md
Dependency Analysis	/dependency-analysis	docs/pmo/{date}/dependency-map.md

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Integration with Other Plugins

• ring-default - ORCHESTRATOR principle for ALL agents
• ring-pm-team - Single feature planning (PMO → PM handoff)
• ring-dev-team - Development execution (PM → Dev handoff)
• ring-finops-team - Financial/regulatory compliance

Dispatch based on your need:

• Portfolio oversight → ring-pmo-team
• Feature planning → ring-pm-team
• Code development → ring-dev-team
• Financial compliance → ring-finops-team