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Concept
Project management office
Summary
A project management office (abbreviated to PMO) is a group or department within a business, government agency, or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance, and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.
Darling & Whitty (2016) note that the definition of the PMO's function has evolved over time:
The 1800s project office was a type of national governance of the agricultural industry.
In 1939 the term "project management office" was used in a publication for the first time.
The 1950s concept of the PMO is representative of what a contemporary PMO looks like.
Today, the PMO is a dynamic entity used to solve specific issues.
Often, PMOs base project management principles on industry-standard methodologies such as PRINCE2 or guidelines such as PMBOK.
There are many reasons for project failures. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 1,524 organizations, inadequate project estimating and planning constitutes 30% of project failures, lack of executive sponsorship constitutes 16%, and poorly defined goals and objectives constitutes 12%. It also found that using established project management approaches increased success as measured by a project's key performance indicators of quality, scope, schedule, budgets and benefits. The survey indicates that operating an established PMO is one of the top three factors that drive successful project delivery.
Darling & Whitty (2016) found that there is a complexity of interconnections in PMO intellectual capital, and though often the rationale for PMO establishment is to enhance stakeholder satisfaction with projects, often the establishment of the PMO leads to significant dissatisfaction in senior management.
A PMO may have other functions beyond standards and methodology, and may participate in strategic project management either as a facilitator or owner of the Portfolio Management process.
Official source
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