A project management office (PMO) in an organization, sets, maintains, and ensures standards and good practices for project management across the organization. The PMO is part of the organization for Portfolio, Program and Project management. The PMO may be an external office also depending upon the need of the organization. It helps project units through its supportive, directing and controlling roles.
Organizations having Project Management Office (PMO) are more successful in completing their projects as PMO provides necessary directions / support to ventures involved in a project.
Associations / organizations have their continuous business tasks. To maintain the continuity of operation, and to fulfil the business needs, the necessary changes are taken up to compete the market and as such, this need give rise to some advancement / modification, by taking up small medium or big projects.
Depending upon the magnitude of the needs the projects are managed by project manager, program manager and portfolio manager in the Project Management Office, (PMO) of the organization.
PMO is a main impetus behind Project Management, Program the executives, Portfolio Management, and other hierarchical administration rehearses. The Project Management, Program management, Portfolio Management and other management units have the governance directions for units, but PMO works beyond this by its Supportive, Controlling and Directive roles for alignment of the business strategy with project operations.
PMO Facilitates Various Ventures of Organization.
It creates / develop knowledge base of lessons learnt, the best practices in use, procedures and policies, standards, and shares with all project managers.
It trains the people, provide necessary tools and techniques, audits and inspect, monitors, guides information management system and communication of the projects. It acts as a central unit for project execution and controls so that the project activities are aligned to project needs and all projects work on same guidelines and specifications etcetera.
PMO Role in Organization
Action Area
Role
Involvement
Role description
Project Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management
Supportive
Low level
Creating/developing/managing /sharing best practices, policy guidelines, procedures, methods, documents, trainings, PMIS and monitoring the above activities
Controlling
Middle level
Directive
High level
In its supportive role, the PMO apprises the project managers and their teams about all support measures required (from inside and outside environment) so that PM is aware of necessary guidance to align the project to organization’s needs. PMO role is of low status and purpose is to facilitate and support the project as asked.
In controlling role, the PMO starts exercising control on the activities of the project. Suggest necessary need-based guidance, tools and techniques. The role of PMO as such becomes prominent and it therefore monitors the situation of the project closely. It is middle level role of PMO.
In directing role PMO is much involved in the project management processes and therefore it is responsible for the project outcome also.
Role Description
The scale of PMO activities depends on the size and type of organization. However, some of the supportive / coordinating / controlling actions that are provided by PMO are as given below.
- PMO's most important function is to standardize and optimize project management processes and tools.
- Provides required assistance to project
- PMO provide supporting tools and techniques and training for providing uniformity in actions
- Provide IT Solutions and support
- Resource Coordination for all managers of Projects Managers for resources, finances, risks, procurement, and communications
- Reports and Information on Projects and Portfolio
- Aligns the project units with the OPA (Organizational Process Assets) and EEF (Enterprise Environmental Factors)