New Year, New Beginnings, Old Challenges

Mark Mullaly is president of Interthink Consulting Incorporated, an organizational development and change firm specializing in the creation of effective organizational project management solutions. Since 1990, it has worked with companies throughout North America to develop, enhance and implement effective project management tools, processes, structures and capabilities. Mark was most recently co-lead investigator of the Value of Project Management research project sponsored by PMI. You can read more of his writing at markmullaly.com.

  PMO  

Happy New Year to all of the readers of this column. In the two years since I have been responsible for gantthead’s PMO department, this column has attempted to serve as a guide and provide a roadmap to being able to implement a PMO effectively.

One of the things that was clear at the outset, and has simply been reinforced since then, is the significant differences that exist in the nature, structure and role of PMOs in different organizations. Like in accounting, human resources or IS organization, the role of the PMO is very much defined by the needs of the organization, the outcomes they are looking for and the investment they are prepared to make.

Many of you have written with comments, questions and challenges, and I would like to sincerely thank all of you for your input, and encourage it to continue. While I have responsibility for the development of this department, without the input, feedback and participation of you, the readers, its relevance would be questionable.

The concept of the PMO is coming to a crossroads, and in the coming year I plan on highlighting and addressing some of the challenges that are being realized. While some organizations are well on their way to establishing and defining a PMO of some variety, the vast majority of organizations today still do not have a primary focal point for project management. The awareness of the need for …

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