4 Types of Project Management Offices That Deliver Value

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.