IT PMO - Establish and Manage the Project Management Organization (PMO)

In this fast paced corporate atmosphere, it is a common practice to constantly take new projects to keep the business alive in the market. Thus, companies strive for ways to enhance productivity, improve processes and reduce costs. However, sometimes, it gets difficult to manage these projects as the risk of failure is generally too high.

One of the ideal methodologies to make sure proper governance of projects across every level is to establish a PMO (Project Management Organization) in line with best practices and management standards.

What Is A PMO?

Basically, a PMO (Project Management Organization) is a unit within an organization that enforces accountability, provides governance, and sets standards and rules to control multiple projects in a consistent and objective manner.

Typically, its mandate includes working as a partner to other organizational entities, and creating a decision-making and communication platform that results in organizational wide synergies and efficiencies. Thus, an operational PMO will then provide the firms with skilled resources, infrastructure, tools and processes essential necessary for efficient management of the project by establishing communication platforms, allocating resources, and leveraging standards.

Top Advantages of a PMO

• A central project coordination entity for the stakeholder
• Establish a base to manage organizational portfolio in an efficient manner
• A central repository for the management of projects
• Implementation of a consistent project management practices across the organization.
• Deliver projects with success, efficiency and predictable consistency.
• Enhance employee productivity and stakeholder satisfaction
• Provide financial reporting and transparent status to executive leadership
• Effective management of projects with available resources
• Alignment of investment to organizational strategy
• Provide cost benefits through successful execution of high ROI (Return on Investment) initiatives, limited project failures and enhanced resource management.

Establishing and Managing a PMO

There are some steps that must be followed while establishing a PMO and to further manage it.

Step 1: Assess Maturity

• You need to understand the existing state of the organization and its PMO
• Analyze gaps, weaknesses, and strengths and then place the PMO according to the suitable maturity level.
• Assess the organization’s technology orientation. Decision making maturity, cross departmental synergies and organizational process.

Step 2: Set up a Target State

• Remember, the progress of PMO is directly proportional to its organization growth, thus you need to define the PMO target state, based on organization's adaptability and executive sponsorship.
• Engrave the PMO’s scope as per the nature of projects, geographic location, target business areas and its own
• State qualitative indicators and metrics to assess the PMO performance.

Step 3: Establishment Of Roadmap And Implementation

• Prioritize disciplinary and structural set up of the PMO
• Create targets for 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months.
• Recognize and execute the PMO pilots
• Carry out road show all across the company to demonstrate to explain the PMO’s advantages and its processes.

Step 4: Struggle For Constant Improvement

You need to evaluate the performance of the PMO as well as ask for feedback from stakeholders on a periodic basis.