What is a PMO?
A PMO , short for project management office, is a department within an organization or an external service, responsible for creating, maintaining and implementing policies and procedures for project management throughout the organization. They may also provide training and guidance to other departments in project management.
Benefits of having a PMO for your business
According to KeyedIn, there are several benefits that a PMO brings to businesses. Here are some examples:
Bring professional expertise and insights into project management tactics
PMOs are made up of industry professionals with previous work experience and education in project management and leadership. For this reason, they can provide a multitude of insights for ongoing projects within your organization and share new project management trends.
Help identify potential risks to project success
Because PMOs are skilled in project management, they understand what factors contribute to a successful project and what factors slow or hinder success. This means that they can identify things like lack of leadership, communication or clear goals and objectives and help you revise workflows for a more clear and focused understanding of the project in question.
Determine the best way to run a project
PMOs can help identify the type of structure a project needs to support success. There are several project structures including Kanaban, Scrum, Hybrid, Waterfall and Agile. Each provides a different approach to project management.
Read more: What’s the right project management methodology for your business?
Enforce strategic decision-making with goals in mind
Although it’s important for projects to be completed on time and achieved within the budget provided, PMOs help businesses see beyond those initial goals and instead focus on how one project aligns with other projects and company-wide goals. because of this, PMOs can help you create projects and tasks that aim to better the company as a whole.
Responsibilities of PMOs to businesses
Here are some potential responsibilities that PMOs have to businesses according to CIO:
- Work with or as a part of an organization to ensure projects are organized and provide meaning to the organization
- Study company culture, values and goals to help develop internal projects across departments
- Train and education those in leadership or managerial positions on the best practices to use for project management
- Track project progress and make revisions based on the progress of each
- Provide advice to project managers and share in project management responsibilities at the organizational level
- Create project management policies for the company to use guidelines for future projects and initiatives
Related: X types of team management apps
How to determine if a PMO is right for your business
Follow this guided list of steps as mentioned by aimconsulting.com, to help determine if a PMO is right for your business:
1. If departments continuously extend project deadlines
If you notice that your company’s departments cannot meet the deadlines they set for themselves, you may want to bring in an external PMO. Most likely your departments have the skills necessary to carry out a project but simply lack the project management skills to determine project length or factors that could affect its timeframe.
2. If departments continuously go over budget on projects
If one or more departments within your company keep going over budget on projects, this could be a sign that they need professional expertise and training. For example, a marketing department with great campaign ideas and enthusiasm might not have the budgeting skills to hone in on their tasks and prioritize them. In this situation, a PMO can provide them with the guidance they need to keep striving for success while also staying within reason.
3. If projects don’t seem to contribute to your company’s success
If company projects aren’t provoking the response you intended them to, this may be a sign that your company needs to strengthen its project management initiatives by hiring a PMO. They can help you align your overall goals to internal projects and revise projects without clear objectives.
4. If there seems to be a lack of communication between stakeholders and the company
If stakeholders have questioned you about what projects your company is working on, this could be a sign that a PMO may benefit your company. PMOs can work with you to develop a plan for organizing and displaying current projects and their progress for stakeholders to view so that there isn’t confusion about where their money goes.
Frequently asked questions about PMOs
What is a PMO administrator?
A PMO administrator is a member of a project management office that is responsible for monitoring, recording and reporting project data and completion status to company officials.
What is the PMI?
the PMI or Project Management Institute is a non-profit organization that provides certification and services in project management for businesses.
What are the different types PMOs?
There are three types of PMOs with varying roles within an organization according to Project Smart:
- Directive PMO:A directive PMO is one that actually manages or leads a project within an organization rather than giving advice to project leaders.
- Supportive PMO:A supportive PMO is one that provides help and guidance to project managers within a department. This type of PMO is more hands-off than the others.
- Controlling PMO:A controlling PMO is one that regulates the training, policies, templates, metrics and more within an organization. Typically in this situation project managers need to be approved by the PMO and report to them.
