What Is Your PMO’s Elevation? (aka Stirring up the Hornet’s Nest)

George Freeman, PMP, is a seasoned IT project manager and leader who has worked in the software industry for nearly four decades, including over 25 years of project management. He has significant experience and expertise in enterprise information systems, data, and business architectures, and is an advocate for “business and technical architectural awareness” among all project team members. Mr. Freeman has international and remote team experience, and has a passion for meta-modeling, domain-driven design, and “all things architecture.”

  PMO  

A well-formed and successful PMO operates from the navigational helm of their organization, where a clear, unobstructed view and real-time instrumentation provide organizational awareness and the necessary controls to formulate and navigate strategically aligned projects—the pristine position.

However, many PMOs operate from a less-than-pristine position, relegated to the windowless confines of their organization’s pump room, where instrumentation is limited to project pipeline gauges displaying critical mass pressures. Although a rudimentary control, PMO members find solace in knowing when a rupture is about to occur, as it provides the opportunity to pre-position personnel for “political waste” cleanup.

Although a stark contrast, I would venture a guess that if you are part of your PMO’s management team, you would state that you operate from the navigational helm. But let me ask: Is it possible that the truth, especially from an outside party looking in, is that your PMO exists somewhere between these two polar extremes? If that is you, this article may hold a strategy that provides entry to the helm, …but its cost may be more than you’re willing to pay.

Discipline vs. practice vs. perception
The “discipline and practices” associated with project management are an organization’s lifeblood, where knowledge …

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