Why pmo

At the end of the article, you will find links to further articles in the PMO series. Let us begin with the definition and the distinction from the Project Office etc. After all, there is a lot of confusion about these.

A PMO is a centralized, permanent organizational unit that is responsible for handling multiple projects multi-project management for an entire company or department within the company.

Its responsibilities may include, for example, training, project services, methodology, processes, and PM tools. It may also have strategic duties, such as providing assistance in project portfolio management. Companies running multiple projects involving various departments having interdependencies often have several PMOs see graphic.

Each project management office is responsible for the project management methodology and processes in their respective department. Experience has shown that having a centralized project management office is especially helpful in situations where:. This has several advantages, among them that the right project-related information reaches top management and the key decision-makers. Vice versa, it also helps ensure that the demands of the key decision-makers are communicated to everyone involved in, and affected by, the projects.

The project management office ensures that the processes for obtaining information in the multi-project environment function properly. The number of team members work in the project management office depends on the size of the project environment and the scope of its activities. However, what is actually considered an improvement varies from company to company. So, the benefit of having a project management office is best described as:. The project management office thereby provides a degree of satisfaction in the multi-project landscape that would not exist without its efforts.

Here is a list of the possible arguments for having a PMO and the added value it provides. These give the stakeholders confidence in the success of the projects. A good project management office ensures that projects in a multi-project environment run as smoothly as possible. PMOs that can be classed as top performers are much better at providing the necessary framework for projects than low performers. This means they manage to meet deadlines, budgets and quality requirements much more often.

Inconsistencies in the way projects are managed make it extremely difficult to report on status and progress. With the advent of cloud-based project and portfolio management solutions, a standard toolset to manage projects, programs and portfolios is now within the reach of most organizations. Even with the most basic project management solution you can standardize the way your project managers plan projects, request resource and report on status and progress.

Ownership and accountability are key to project success, and an area where tools such as project portfolio management software really come into play. Project portfolio management tools provide the framework for you to ensure all projects have clear ownership and there is accountability to the business. From simply defining what resource and expenditure is required to deliver the project, through to outlining the key deliverables and benefits, PPM tools help you build a business case for each project to be used in selection and prioritization.

A top down approach to PPM greatly simplifies this approach. It would be a bit short sighted to simply say a PMO will eliminate late or over budget projects, but a PMO equipped with the right tools and the right processes will certainly limit project failures through extending the planning horizon, ensuring project selection and prioritization are in line with resource and financial constraints, and as we saw earlier, by providing greater visibility and control over the entire project lifecycle you will be able to react faster to issues as they happen make more informed decisions on corrective actions.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you need a PMO. Gartner expects the number of IT PMOs to decline as a result of the digital revolution, though some will transform into change management functions and become part of the C-level strategy function. For PMO professionals, that means adapting behavior and practices.

For companies, that means embracing changes to the profession for the benefit of their organizations — and their bottom lines. Jen A. Here are the latest Insider stories. More Insider Sign Out. Sign In Register. Sign Out Sign In Register.