White Paper
Taking Your PMO to the Next Level:
Four Steps to Value Improvement
October 2015
Table of Contents
Abstract 1
1. Introduction 1
2. Key Functions of the PMO 1
2.1 Conduct an Assessment of Your PMO 2
2.2 Determine What Type of PMO You Have 2
2.3 Determine the Value of Your PMO 2
2.4 Increase Your PMO’s Value 2
4. Conclusion/Summing Up/In Summary 4
5. References 5
6. About the Authors 5
Abstract
In today’s economy, every company and organisation is struggling to do more with less, and performance is paramount. This is true for public and private sector entities, as well as for non-profits. Which is why, in order to prevail in lean times, it is essential to optimise every operation of your organisation,
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Keeping in mind that the primary role of the PMO is to provide the structure and expertise required to improve an organisation’s project success rates, it is useful to step back and review the key functions of the PMO.
2. Key Functions of the PMO
In 2005, Dr. Brian Hobbs, a well-known and respected researcher at the University of Quebec at Montreal, conducted a survey of 500 PMOs for a research initiative commis¬sioned by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). The survey underscored the broad variation in activities and functions of each PMO participant. Of its many findings, the survey identified the top 10 most important functions of the PMO (as reported by the respondents), to include (Hobbs, 22):
1) Reporting project status to upper management
2) Developing and implementing standard methodologies
3) Monitoring and controlling project performance
4) Developing project management competencies, including training
5) Implementing and operating a project management information system
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You know the views of others inside the organisation with respect to your PMO, and you may have developed a path forward to address issues and concerns that emerged as a result of the survey. Based upon daily functions, as well as information obtained through the assessment, the next step is to determine what type of PMO you have. Your PMO may be all, some of, or just one or two of the following:
A weather station — gathering and reporting project progress data
A control tower — developing and enforcing standards, methods and processes
A resource manager — dispatching project managers to key projects
An integrator — managing project