According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), only 58 percent of organisations fully understand the value of project management. Further, according to Wellingtone (2020), 71 percent of project professionals believe that the perceived value of PMOs will increase. In addition, the study conducted by Wellingtone in 2020 stated that 89 percent of organisations have one or more PMOs; 26 percent of these are less than two years old.
Earlier this year I did a short poll in one of the social media channels to get an idea whether organisations in Bahrain have an established project management office (PMO) or not. Many of the respondents stated they don’t have one or they are not sure if they do. Then I did a quick scan and realised that many organisations have no PMOs, and their projects are scattered, or sometimes not defined or managed as projects. No ownership is assigned and hence no accountability can be established, budgets assigned to them are mostly ad-hoc and approvals on the same are only sought when needed, projects are not strategically aligned to the corporate strategy (if any) and no mechanism is there for projects selection nor prioritisation, etc.
That’s why writing about this topic to establish some sort of awareness became a necessity.
“You don’t know until you know.” – Cynthia Hand. Or in other words, you don’t realise you need it until you know what it is.
What is a PMO?
In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, the Project Management Office (PMO) is defined as “a management structure that standardises the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques”.
To elaborate on the above, the project management office (PMO) is a unit or department that defines and maintains the standards of project management for a company. It could be 1) centralised where there is one hub managing the projects, or 2) decentralised where a sub-unit is created under each department to manage the projects under that department – like having an IT PMO for instance for managing IT projects, or a 3) hybrid, where a centralised hub and cross-functional units are established to create a matrix structure. Or it could simply be established for managing a project for the period of the project and then dissolved. It could be insourced or outsourced. There are many international bodies and associations nowadays that have defined many models for PMOs.
In general, there are many types and models for PMOs; no one size fits all, each organisation might require a different PMO setup. It depends on the organisation’s maturity, size and structure, stakeholders’ needs, the type of services and processes that are to be handled by the PMO.
Why do organisations need PMOs?
Below are some of the objectives for having a PMO in organisations:
The simple answer to this is to create value – Ensure that the projects undertaken by the organisation are delivering the intended value set by the leaders of the organisation, be it a competitive edge, operational excellence, revenue generating, cost reduction, etc.
More objectives can be summarised as follows:
- Facilitate the identification and classification of projects.
- Facilitate the selection and prioritisation of projects.
- Ensure strategic alignment with the corporate strategy.
- Ensure adequate governance controls for each project supported by clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
- Provide capacity and capability planning, to enable the effective management of resources across the organisation-wide projects.
- Identify and develop project management methodology, best practices, and standards that fit each project type and size, and design customised approaches if required.
- Offer coaching, mentoring, and training.
- Monitor compliance with project management standards, policies, procedures, and templates by means of project audits and oversight.
- Develop and manage project policies, procedures, templates, tools and techniques.
Manage communication and reporting of the projects in the portfolio to the relevant stakeholders on a timely basis. - Manage the benefits planned from each project by ensuring setting clear quantitative and qualitative KPIs, monitor them throughout the project.
- Ensure that projects are delivered on scope, on time, and on budget, yet considering the changes that could occur throughout the project lifecycle and make the necessary justifications for the same.
Critical success factors for establishing an effective PMO are:
- Sponsored and supported by the board and executive management.
- Managed by people who are well equipped with knowledge and practical experience.
- Has a well-defined operating model with clear vision, mission, structure, governance, roles, responsibilities, authority matrix, framework, policies, processes and technology.
- Supported by digital means to automate as much as possible.
- Aims to fulfill the organisation’s vision and meet stakeholders’ expectations.
All expectations and statistics indicate that the adoption of PMOs in the region will increase in the coming few years. Yet the first step to achieving this target is to make more people aware of the importance of project management. The below table reflects where we stand in terms of numbers in comparison to our neighbours in the GCC (Ref. PMI registry).
Written by: Eman Deabil
First certified PfMP Bahraini woman, PMO Consultant, PMO Global Awards Judge, PMO Award Winner
