A project management office (PMO) is a group or department - external or internal to the company - that establishes, manages, and ensures project management standards across an organization. They are also sometimes referred to as a program or portfolio management office.  

Project Management Institute’s definition of PMO according to the PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition is:

”A project management office is an organizational structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques. The responsibilities of a PMO can range from providing project management support functions to direct management of one or more projects.”

As part of the position, a PMO offers direction to project managers and forms valuable project management metrics. Another critical facet of the role is to ensure that the delivered projects align with the organizational strategy and culture.

As part of their duties, a PMO may:

• Prioritize projects

• Manage the interdependencies among projects, programs, and portfolios

• Terminate projects

• Contribute resources

• Ensure projects align with organizational culture and strategy

• Offer recommendations

• Monitor organizational compliance

• Provide guidance and project governance

• Help select Lessons Learned and offer them to others

• Provide templates

• Coordinate communication across every project

• Be represented on the change control board

• Be a stakeholder

A strong PMO helps organizations improve in two distinct ways, by assisting them in choosing suitable projects to deliver and then helping them deliver projects correctly. 

Typical PMO's help organizations by:

• Reducing the number of failed projects

• Delivering projects under budget

• Improving productivity

• Increasing cost savings

• Delivering projects ahead of schedule

Saving time and money are essential aspects of the PMO's role, but ensuring the project or program aligns with organizational strategy and culture is a top priority. A PMO delivers business results by enhancing the performance of its projects concurrently with ensuring projects are strategically aligned with organizational objectives. The PMO's emphasis on strategic alignment ensures projects help the organization in reaching its business goals. No matter how often organizational strategy shifts and changes, PMO's must remain aligned with organizational strategy. Most PMO's fail on their first attempt due to lack of this specific alignment.

There are three types of PMO's:

• Supportive

• Controlling

• Directive

  
  

Supportive PMO's provide a consultative role to projects by offering templates, best practice training, policies, methodologies, and lessons learned from other projects. This type of PMO usually has a low level of control over projects.

Controlling PMO's provide support and guidance on how to manage projects, offer training in project management and project management software, assist with specific project management tools, and require compliance through:

• Appropriation of project management frameworks or methodologies

• Application of appropriate templates, forms, and tools

• Conformance to governance frameworks

Controlling PMO's usually have a moderate level of control over projects. 

Directive PMO's provide project managers for different projects and are accountable for the results of those projects. Project managers are assigned to report to PMO's who directly manage the projects. Directive PMO's typically have a high level of control over projects. 

Not every organization needs a PMO. An organization will know if it needs to establish a PMO when it experiences these common red flags: 

• An organization struggles to produce high-performance projects

• Leadership has difficulty collecting information about project progress and outcomes

• Project goals persistently do not align with business objectives

When an organization decides to establish a PMO, it must have executive support to succeed. The majority of thriving PMO leaders have prominent sponsorship at the C-level. Having leadership buy-in and assistance are contributing factors for implementing successful strategic initiatives. The PMO can assist executives in deciding which projects to launch, suspend or shut down. The PMO takes into account each project's anticipated, measurable value and its alignment with one or more of the company's strategic objectives, such as:

• Improving service quality

• Supporting innovation

• Driving financial performance

• Reducing risks

• Improving corporate culture

Projects that do not meet these objectives are most likely the first to lose resources.

Having an all-star team or the right talent strongly affects a PMO's success. When organizations do not recruit the most qualified talent, projects and strategies suffer. Inadequate training can also hinder success. PMO staff must help teams understand the organization's strategic goals and provide them with the proper mechanisms to deliver projects and programs aligned with those goals. PMO's must also look beyond the basics to more business-driven metrics. Metrics should correlate directly to organizational goals. 

In conclusion, the role of the PMO has excellent potential to contribute business value to an organization. To fulfill this potential, a PMO must ensure that the organization invests in - and delivers on - the projects and programs that will advance its strategic vision while upholding traditional PMO responsibilities. 

References:

Project Management Institute, Inc. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–Sixth Edition. 6th ed., Project Management Institute, 2017.

“PMO Quick Tip Guide.” Project Management Institute, PMI, Inc, https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/microsites/pmo-symposium/quick-tip-guide.pdf?la=en. Accessed 3 June 2021.

“The Project Management Office: Aligning Strategy & Implementation.” Project Manangement Institute, PMI, Inc, Apr. 2014, https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/white-papers/pmo-strategy-implement.pdf.

“The Project Management Office In Sync with Strategy.” Project Management Institute, PMI, Inc, 12 Mar. 2012, https://www.pmi.org/business-solutions/white-papers/pmo-sync-strategy.