Staffing the Strategic PMO

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  

I speak to a lot of different PMO leaders about a lot of different topics, but one of the recurring themes is staffing. PMO leaders are always looking for ways to validate how their PMOs are staffed, identify changes in structure they should make, figure out whether their span of control is appropriate, etc.

I completely understand why those questions come up, but I am always reluctant to provide definitive answers simply because there are so many different PMO models, and so many different ways to make those PMOs work.

However, I do recognize that as strategic, portfolio-execution focused PMOs grow in influence and accountability, the need for a growth roadmap becomes greater—and the risks associated with getting it wrong become considerable. So here are my thoughts on how these offices might grow—not the only way they can succeed, but perhaps a foundation for predictable, sustainable growth.

Before we go too much further, let me start by defining what I am considering to be a strategic PMO here—not “the” definition, simply the one I am working with in writing this article. I view a strategic PMO as being one that has at least two characteristics:

1. Firstly, it is engaged in managing portfolio execution, ideally from idea generation and capture through benefits realization, but at least for more than just the project execution phase …

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