Who Needs PMO?

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Governance   PMO   Strategy  

Why would anyone want to create another layer of organizational complexity to an environment that is already lacking in its ability to get projects done?  Make no mistake, implementing a Project Management Office (PMO) will add just such a layer to an organization and, if done poorly, wreak havoc on project productivity.  However, done at the right time, for the right reasons and in the right way, a PMO can accelerate projects; provide consistency and predictability to the project vetting, approval, execution and deployment process; and, most importantly, yield stellar improvements to the bottom line.

So, when should an organization take the leap and establish a PMO?  While there is no black-and-white answer to this question, there are signs that can serve as alert points.  Some of these signs include:

• Poor Project Delivery Track Record: Projects are consistently delivered late and often fail to deliver the desired outcomes.
• Lots of Simultaneous Projects and PMs: Multiple projects are always in process requiring the sharing of project staff across project boundaries, reducing productivity, increasing chaos and negatively impacting project delivery.
• High Complexity and Time Sensitivity: The nature of projects is complex and are needed within specific time frames to be successful.
• Impact of Failure Is High: Projects are mission critical,…

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