The Problem with PMOs and Governance

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Governance   PMO   Portfolio Management   Risk Management  

Governance is a reality that organizations deal with today. It’s not a new concept--auditors have been around for a very long time, but it is a function that has become more established and more widespread over the last decade or so. That may be in the form of a chief compliance officer or a corporate governance committee, but the need to ensure that the right things are being done in the right way has become much more important in recent years.

We have seen this in the way that projects are executed--more and more detailed reviews, additional tracking and reporting, additional signoffs, additional product reporting and tracking requirements, etc. This evolution has been accepted and incorporated well in most organizations--it has led to some changes in project approach and has impacted costs and schedules for some initiatives. Generally speaking, it has been a relatively smooth transition. However, there is one area where governance seems to be failing in many organizations, and that area is perhaps surprising--the PMO. That is incredibly dangerous, and here’s why.

Understanding cause and effect
Firstly, let’s look at governance functions on individual projects. Whether that is in the form of a single sponsor, a steering/governance committee or some other role, the importance of the function should be clear to all--anyone who has tried to manage …

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