A project Management Office , abbreviated to PMO, is a
group or department within a business, 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.
The
responsibilities of a PMO can range from providing project management support
to being actually responsible for the direct management of one or more
projects.
There are several types of PMO structures In
organizations, each varying in the degree of control and influence they have on
projects within an organization, such as:
-Supportive: Supportive PMOs provide a
consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best practices, training,
access to information and lessons learned from other projects. This type of PMO
serves as a project repository. The degree of control provided by the PMO is
low.
-Controlling: Controlling PMOs provide support and require
compliance through various means. Compliance may involve adopting project management
frameworks or methodologies, using specific templates, forms and tools, or
conformance to governance. The degree of control provided by the PMO is
moderate.
- Directive: Directive PMOs take control of the projects by
directly managing the projects. The degree of control provided by the PMO is
high.
A primary function of a PMO is to support
project managers in a variety of ways which may include, but are not limited
to:
- Managing shared resources across all
projects.
-Identifying and developing project
management methodologies, best practices, and standards.
-Monitoring compliance with project
management standards , policies and procedures by means of project audits.
-Coordinating communication across
projects.