project and portfolio management leaders should consider multiple styles of product portfolio and program management. In conversations with clients, Gartner analysts have discovered that companies have project management departments (PMOs) with a wi...
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project and portfolio management leaders should consider multiple styles of product portfolio and program management. In conversations with clients, Gartner analysts have discovered that companies have project management departments (PMOs) with a wide range of settings. However, does a perfect setup exist?
"Often, large organizations have multiple PMOs, all of which can be very different," says Mbula Schoen Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner. "This makes it hard for program and portfolio management (project and portfolio management) leaders to determine the type of PMO best suited to their organization."
There isn't a model or standard for determining what kind of PMO project and portfolio management managers should establish. The most effective kind of PMO is tailored to meet organizational needs at a level that a company can accept and reap benefits.
Schoen suggests that project and portfolio management leaders must engage with the business and the key PMO participants to determine the most pressing needs and issues of the company, and develop the PMO which is able to best satisfy those needs and solve the issues.
This should take into consideration the maturity of project and portfolio management within the company that will decide the scope of what the PMO is able to do and how it will be executed. The most efficient way to assist in the management of portfolios, projects, and programs will depend on the level of maturity in the organization.
While there isn't a "one size fits all" PMO, Gartner has identified four kinds of PMOs.
The militant PMO
In organizations that have projects that are business-centric and distributed and a more militant adopts a broad and enabling strategy instead of a strict method. It typically has an overview of the current demand for projects and helps the decision-makers by studying business cases to assess the alignment of risk. In essence, the PMO examines business case studies and proposals for projects. The broad view offers an overall dashboard of the state of each project that it oversees, and supervision so that if on the dashboard turn "red," it might suggest or seek solutions.
The PMO for delivery
The delivery PMO, also referred to as the delivery PMO is probably the most frequently encountered design. Gartner estimates that around 40 percent of PMOs are delivery with managing and coordinating the implementation of projects according to the business's expectations. Project managers are urged to oversee their projects, make proactive decisions and escalate issues. It is also the goal to create reproducible processes and methods that can be used to create an environment where results are the primary focus.
The Compliance PMO
A compliance-oriented PMO is usually the best choice for businesses in which documentation procedures, processes, and procedures are either not there or incongruous. In this case, the compliance PMO is typically charged with the creation of standard practices to measure project performance as well as the creation of a capacity to understand the state of important initiatives.
The central PMO
If t level of maturity is not high Organizations rely on the abilities and skills of their key employees to accomplish their tasks. When they reach higher maturity levels, efficiency will be essential and management aims to decrease this dependence and implement solid processes for tracking projects and reporting. A central PMO can be conceived to be a place where new employees can be quickly in the best way to accomplish the project within the organization. In the central PMO members from different project support organizations come together to share their best practices within a best-practices-council.
