The PMO of the Future Doesn't Exist
There are a couple of ways to take the title of this article. The first possible interpretation is that we have yet to see how the structure of future PMOs will evolve. The second is that PMOs won’t exist. I’m going with the second premise.
To some, that may seem threatening, misguided or even downright preposterous. This will be particularly true for those who currently find themselves working in—or leading—project management offices. Threats to job security notwithstanding, that is the way I think things are going to play out. And I would argue that signs already exist that the seeds of this future are already being planted.
The first reality that we have to contend with is that project management offices have a largely abysmal record. Numerous research projects over an extended period agree that the average life expectancy of a PMO is two years. That’s an incredibly short time for an organizational intervention of this scope and magnitude to last. While there are PMOs that last longer, there are many more that don’t even make it that long.
A fundamental reality that drives this is that PMOs are often established in crisis. They are a panic response to failed or failing initiatives, or the fear that a coming strategic initiative will fail if it gets managed the same way as everything else in the organization. When the crisis fades
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
"Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as muscles grow flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it." - Walt Disney |