Exploring trends and developments
in project management today.
The 3 Different Types of Project Management Offices
There are 3 basic types of Project Management Office (PMO) organisations, varying in the degree of control and influence they have on projects within the organisation. You will need to determine which type you need to establish in order to have an effective project office.
The 3 types of PMOs include:
1. Supportive PMO
The Supportive PMO generally provides support in the form of on-demand expertise, templates, best practices, access to information and expertise on other projects, and the like. This can work in an organisation where projects are done successfully in a loosely controlled manner and where additional control is deemed unnecessary. Also, if the objective is to have a sort of "clearing-house" of project management information across the enterprise to be used freely by project managers, then the Supportive PMO is the right type.
2. Controlling PMO
In organisations where there is a desire to "reign in" the activities, processes, procedures, documentation, and more - a controlling PMO can accomplish that. Not only does the organisation provide support, but it also requires that the support be used. Requirements might include adoption of specific methodologies, templates, forms, conformance to governance, and application of other PMO controlled sets of rules. In addition, project offices might need to pass regular reviews by the controlling PMO, and this may represent a risk factor on the project. This works if a) there is a clear case that compliance with project management organisation offerings will bring improvements in the organisation and how it executes on projects, and b) the PMO has sufficient executive support to stand behind the controls the PMO puts in place.
3. Directive PMO
This type goes beyond control and actually "takes over" the projects by providing the project management experience and resources to manage the project. As organisations undertake projects, professional project managers from the PMO are assigned to the projects. This injects a great deal of professionalism into the projects, and, since each of the project managers originates and reports back to the directive PMO, it guarantees a high level of consistency of practice across all projects. This is effective in larger organisations that often matrix out support in various areas, and where this setup would fit the culture.
The best type is very specific to the organisation, culture, and history of what works and what does not. But the objectives are - more or less - to:
- Implement a common methodology
- Standardise terminology
- Introduce effective repeatable project management processes
- Provide common supporting tools
- Ultimately, the objective is to improve levels of project success within the organisation
Being aware of these types can help you and your organisation more easily accomplish this.
For more informative articles around the project management field, see the PMcrunch - www.pmcrunch.com 
- web site. PMcrunch provides fresh perspectives on the world of project management in the areas of certification, online project management, project management process, project management templates, and soft skills.
Related Articles
Using a PMO to Achieve Results in Your Agency
Government agencies continually strive to produce better results. Distressingly, recent surveys have found that half of all projects exceed budget, are completed past scheduled deadlines and do not meet original business objectives. One solution to this problem that has been slow to gain popularity in the public sector is the implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO).
Why PMO's Fail?
There is a way of doing things and a way of getting things done and they're not always the same. Most organisations of size have a Project Management Office (PMO) charged with defining processes and best practices (the way of doing things). These organisations typically sell the processes to a CIO to get executive-level support and then use that support as their stick to make sure the processes are followed. These people are often referred to as the PMO Cops by project managers.
Avoiding the Project Management Obstacle Course
Let's get straight to the point, project management by form filling is not an effective way of managing projects. These days many organisations and individual's whole project management strategy revolves around becoming slaves to a methodology. Don't get me wrong, there are many very good methodologies out there and they all have their part to play but it's not the be-all and end-all of project management.
21 Project Management Success Tips
Managing software projects is difficult under the best circumstances. The project manager must balance competing stakeholder interests against the constraints of limited resources and time, ever-changing technologies, and unachievable demands from unreasonable people. Project management is people management, technology management, business management, risk management, and expectation management. It's a juggling act, with too many balls in the air at once.
21 Ways to Excel at Project Management
The popular project management e-book now fully updated and available as a website for the first time.
About Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Downloads | Blogs & Links | RSS Feed | 
Follow us on Twitter | Site Map
© Project Smart 2000-2010. All rights reserved.
A word of advice to M. Brown - before you post comments about incorrect spelling I would suggest that you run a grammar check first as "consisted misspelled" does not make sense and I am sure you really meant to say "consistently misspelt"...
There is no egg in eggplant; nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb thru annals of history but not a single annal?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?If a teacher has taught, why didn't a preacher, praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Send shipments by car and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all).That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it? . . . English ain't bein' spoke no good no more Enjoy this week!
Please see our About Us page for more information.
Thank you.