PMO Leader | Speaker & Mentor | Content Leader – PMOGA Latin America
Hub| Catholic University of UruguayMontevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
In my experience, each phase of the PMO Value Ring™ presents unique challenges:
The Diagnosis and Design phase often demands deep stakeholder engagement and clarity about what “value” really means for the organization.
The Implementation phase tests alignment, communication, and change readiness.
And the Continuous Improvement & Value Realization phase challenges us to keep the PMO relevant and adaptive over time.
I’d love to hear from other practitioners:
Which phase was the hardest for you to apply consistently?
What strategies or lessons helped your team overcome those challenges?
Let’s share practical experiences that can help others sustain the PMO’s value journey.
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Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Fabian Crosa That’s a great discussion and one that touches the reason why so many PMOs disappear after just one or two years.
From my experience, the most challenging part of the PMO Value Ring™ is not the setup or implementation itself, but the Continuous Improvement & Value Realization phase, sustaining value over time.
Many PMOs are well designed and even successfully launched, yet they fade because they stop evolving.
When the PMO’s purpose and value narrative aren’t renewed, people simply move on.
The causes are rarely technical, they’re human:
- Stakeholder expectations evolve faster than the PMO adapts.
- Communication focuses on deliverables instead of meaning and outcomes.
- Learning loops weaken, and the PMO loses its pulse on the business.
The key lesson, aligned with the PMI’s Practical Guide for PMO Setup and Management, is that a PMO should be seen as a living system of value creation, not a static governance structure.
Regular sense-making sessions, short learning cycles, and a clear narrative of impact are what allow the PMO to regenerate trust, relevance, and purpose over time.
In short:
PMOs don’t fail because they were poorly designed; they fail because they stop learning.
Program Manager| HARPER SRLSanto Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
Great question, Fabian, I’ve worked with the PMO Value Ring across a few organizations, and I’d say the Continuous Improvement & Value Realization phase tends to be the toughest. The reason? Once the PMO is up and running, momentum naturally shifts toward delivery pressure rather than reflection. Measuring “value” becomes subjective, especially when executives expect immediate results.
Things that helped us, Embedding metrics early, defining what value means for that organization during the design phase, not after. Quarterly value reviews, aligning KPIs with evolving strategic goals, not just project success rates. Storytelling with data, pairing dashboards with real narratives of impact made the value tangible. Keeping the PMO relevant isn’t about proving its existence, it’s about continuously translating outcomes into strategic meaning.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Fabian, in my experience, all phases of the PMO Value Ring are deeply interconnected and function as part of a continuous improvement loop. The real challenge lies not in executing any single phase, but in ensuring that the organization consistently revisits and recalibrates these processes as the business context evolves.
Today’s environments are dynamic so stakeholder expectations, strategic priorities, and operating models shift rapidly. Maintaining alignment across all phases therefore requires ongoing monitoring, feedback, and adaptation. Our PMO found it especially valuable to establish clear review cycles, use performance metrics to trigger process reassessment, and maintain open communication channels with key stakeholders.
Ultimately, the key lesson has been to treat the PMO as a living system, one that continuously learns, adapts, and evolves alongside the organization it serves. Saving Changes...
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