SUKAD: Project Management

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• 29 Oct 2009

  What does the abbreviations PMO stands for?

  The three letters abbreviation PMO has become well recognized and even popular in the region but what do these three letters mean?
  
  What does the abbreviations PMO stands for?
  
  There is no agreement in the industry on one common definition of what these three letters mean. Most often, they are used to possibly mean:
  
  * Project Management Office; or we will use PjMO for discussion purposes
  * Program Management Office; or PgMO
  * Portfolio Management Office; PtMO
  
  
  We also heard the term used to mean PM Officer, PM Organization, among other terms but these are not relevant to us in this short paper.
  
  The portfolio management office term (PtMO) is not commonly used. Even when an organization has a function responsible for the portfolio of projects it is often called PMO only or something else all together. At times, we might hear the term EPMO, with the ‘E’ representing Enterprise, for the function that is responsible for the portfolio of projects and programs.
  
  The first two terms listed above are the most common use of the letters PMO. The main differences between these two terms are that a PgMO is considered more strategic, focus on programs, and typically report at a higher level in the organization than a PjMO.
  
  Are all PMO the same?
  
  No they are not and we will present two main differences in the use of the term
  
  First Difference
  As explained above the differences start with whether the PMO is more like a PjMO or PgMO. The main difference is that a program consists of many projects; a mega project could be called a program. This difference leads to different approaches of management as well. Managing a program is somewhat different than managing a project. Then the first difference is the focus of the PMO: which is projects or programs.
  
  Second Difference
  The second difference is related to the following: is the PMO related to one project or program or is it organizational?
  
  * One-off: What we mean here is often “clients” organizations appoint a project management company to help them manage a major or mega project. Then if this company (the provider of service) is managing (or helping a “client” manage) a major project and the PMO is dedicated to one project, in that case the PMO is really like a Project (or Program) Management Team and when the project finishes the PMO dissolve.
  
  * Organizational: The more traditional and globally recognized use of the term PMO typically refers to an organizational PMO; the organization could be a department, strategic business unit, or even higher level where the PMO is for the whole organization. In this later case we might still use the term PMO or EPMO as explained earlier. I will explain organizational PMO concept in the next section.
  
  
  
  Are all organizational PMO the same?
  
  Once again NO and we are back to what we said earlier – there is no common definition or agreement on what a PMO is. However, when the PMO is organizational, what most would agree is that the PMO is not for one project or program but it is for all of the projects and programs within the organization.
  
  In that regard, what is the role or function of the PMO? This would vary, often on a continuum as outlined here.
  
  Agreeing to the base case:
  1. As established already – the PMO is organizational ---- not for one project
  2. The PMO is typically an organizational unit that could be two people, a few, or more
  3. Many organizations could have a PMO but do not call it PMO; they might call it project department, project management department, or any other name
  
  The PMO Continuum:
  1. The most basic form of a PMO could be what we might call “Reporting PMO”. This PMO would be responsible for collecting reports from the various projects and programs, collating and summarizing them, then forward a summary report to the organizational management for review. Ideally, one could argue that since the PMO is for reporting than the PMO should also standardize the reports used by the projects and programs but that is not always the case.
  2. If we start to move beyond the basic, then the PMO could be responsible for reporting, in addition to training and development of project management personal. The idea here is not to replace HR or Learning & Development but for the PMO to work with Learning & Development to recommend the right professional training programs for the organizations in the area of project management.
  3. We continue to build on the above; the next level could be for the PMO to assume responsibility to establish formal job descriptions and career paths for project management personal.
  4. One of the most important functions of a PMO in our opinion is for the PMO to assume responsibility for the project management system in the company. Basically, establish the right project management processes such as: how to approve projects, how to launch or initiate projects, how to plan for projects, and how to manage projects. Further, should there be a lessons learned process? How about historical databases and records for projects? What are the KPI or Performance Metrics for projects? A key factor to consider as well is the Project Life Cycle (Span) that is adapted by the organization and the various project stages and gates; the methodology for managing projects.
  5. The PMO could also define and standardize the tools to be used in the organization for managing projects.
  6. In certain organizations, the PMO could also be the home function for the career project managers and project management personal. When there is a project, the organization will pull the project manager from the PMO and other project resources and team members will come from the other functional department.
  
  At SUKAD we believe that project management in organizations must be based on three critical pillars People, Process, and Tools.
  
  In conclusion: The PMO is an organizational unit responsible for the function of project management within an organization – the same way HR is responsible for HR and Finance for Finance.
  
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