What is a project management office and why are they used

Project management offices, or PMOs, are dedicated departments within organisations that define and maintain the way they approach project management. This enables companies to apply a standardised approach to project management, meaning they can use their preferred systems and continuously optimise them. 

Understanding what a PMO does can help you decide whether your company could benefit from adding such a department. In this article, we explore what project management offices are, what they do and why companies benefit from using them. 

What is a PMO?

PMOs are departments that are entirely dedicated to managing projects and delivering desirable results on behalf of the wider organisations that employ them. Even outsourced pmos follow methods, policies and management procedures to achieve standardisation across all projects. They usually follow a particular industry-standard project management method that they tailor to the needs of their company and the project at hand. PMOs typically use one of the following methods:

Waterfall: This is a top-down approach to project management and gives leaders control while sacrificing much flexibility. Using this method, projects are broken down into phases and addressed sequentially, meaning that if the project scope changes it can be difficult to quickly pivot in a new direction. 

Agile: This method is commonly used in software development and other projects that involve continuously delivering products in short cycles. This method emphasises self-organisation and interdisciplinary cooperation, which offers followers of the method a great deal of flexibility. 

SCRUM: Incorporating principles of agile, this method also offers flexibility and is useful for projects with quick product turnarounds. Under this method, team leaders and members are allocated roles and projects are broken down into manageable phases called ‘sprints’. This helps with prioritising tasks and ensuring everything is completed on time. 

Six Sigma: This method focuses on process improvement and was developed by an engineer in the 1980s. Six Sigma is a measure of quality that always aims for perfection. PMOs may use this method in combination with another. 

Benefits of having a PMO

There are multiple benefits that come with establishing and continuously using a PMO, such as:

Standardisation: This increases the consistency and accuracy of processes and deliverables. Standardisation also means predictability in terms of cost and timescales, which is incredibly beneficial to PMOs. While following a standard process, it’s harder to make mistakes but easier to improve the way things are done. 

Data analytics: The data collected by PMOs can help to improve the wider business and aid them in making well-informed decisions. Identifying trends using data also helps PMOs address areas of concern and drive forwards the areas in which they are succeeding.

Control: One of the main benefits of using a PMO is the control it gives organisations over projects. They control which projects are taken on and which methods are used to bring projects to completion. 

Training opportunities: Your PMO may be able to help a team in another area of your organisation if they are working on a similar project to one they have done historically. Not only this, but PMOs can be used for training your staff, as training programmes can be treated like projects.