A project management office (PMO) is an organizational unit to centralize and coordinate the management of projects under its domain. A PMO can also be referred to as a “program management office,” “project office,” or “program office.” A PMO oversees the management of projects, programs, or a combination of both. The projects supported or administered by the PMO may not be related other than by being managed together. Some PMOs, however, do coordinate and manage related projects. In many organizations, those projects are indeed grouped or are related in some manner based on the way the PMO will coordinate and manage those projects. The PMO focuses on the coordinated planning, prioritization and execution of projects and subprojects that are tied to the parent organization’s or client’s overall business objectives.
PMOs can operate on a continuum, from providing project management support functions in the form of training, software, standardized policies, and procedures, to actual direct management and responsibility for achieving the project objectives. A specific PMO can receive delegated authority to act as an integral stakeholder and a key decision-maker during the initiation stage of each project, can have the authority to make recommendations, or can terminate projects to keep the business objectives consistent. In addition, the PMO can be involved in the selection, management, and redeployment, if necessary, of shared project personnel and, where possible, dedicated project personnel.
Some of the key features of a PMO include, but are not limited to:
. • Shared and coordinated resources across all projects administered by the PMO
. • Identification and development of project management methodology, best practices, and standards
. • Clearinghouse and management for project policies, procedures, templates, and other shared documentation
. • Centralized configuration management for all projects administered by the PMO
. • Centralized repository and management for both shared and unique risks for all projects
. • Central office for operation and management of project tools, such as enterprise-wide project management software
. • Central coordination of communication management across projects
. • A mentoring platform for project managers
. • Central monitoring of all PMO project timelines and budgets, usually at the enterprise level
• Coordination of overall project quality standards between the project manager
and any internal or external quality personnel or standards organization. Differences between project managers and a PMO may include the following:
. • Project managers and PMOs pursue different objectives and, as such, are driven by different requirements. All of these efforts, however, are aligned with the strategic needs of the organization.
. • A project manager is responsible for delivering specific project objectives within the constraints of the project, while a PMO is an organizational structure with specific mandates that can include an enterprisewide perspective.
. • The project manager focuses on the specified project objectives, while the PMO manages major program scope changes and can view them as potential opportunities to better achieve business objectives.
. • The project manager controls the assigned project resources to best meet project objectives, while the PMO optimizes the use of shared organizational resources across all projects.
. • The project manager manages the scope, schedule, cost, and quality of the products of the work packages, while the PMO manages overall risk, overall opportunity, and the interdependencies among projects.
. • The project manager reports on project progress and other project specific information, while the PMO provides consolidated reporting and an enterprise view of projects under its purview.
