There are economies of scale that come with introducing standardization but it’s also more efficient. For one, it’s cheaper to have everyone doing things the same way. Running projects and programs in a standardized way has lots of benefits. There will normally be an expert (or several) in the PMO who can support project managers and their teams with using any project-related software. Reporting on financial information such as return on investment.Īs part of this, the PMO is also the guardian of Enterprise Project Management tools and project management methods.Managing dependencies across multiple projects.Delivering training and mentoring project team members.Encouraging (or enforcing where necessary) the use of those standards and processes.Gathering data about project progress and producing reports.So what does that actually mean in practice? PMO teams fulfil a variety of functions on a day-to-day basis including: In reality, most PMOs will do a blend of activities, and provide a range of services tailored to the needs of the organization. The PMO provides the function for managing documentation, project history and organizational knowledge. The PMO makes it easy for project teams to do their jobs by reducing bureaucracy, providing training, coaching, mentoring and quality assurance. This stops project teams from reinventing the wheel and makes the PMO the central point for lessons learned, templates and best practice. The PMO facilitates the sharing of knowledge. Information should be relevant and accurate to support effective decision-making, and provided to people in a way they can understand. The PMO is responsible for providing information and being the single source of the truth. The governance role can also include audits or peer reviews, developing project and program structures and ensuring accountability at all levels. The PMO ensures that decisions are taken by the right people, based on the right information. PMOs have a range of functions, and the services they offer often depend on the maturity of the department and the skills of the people working in the PMO.Īt a very basic level, the PMO supports the project management teams, and the people make decisions about funding, prioritization and resourcing. It is a function that provides decision support information, although it doesn’t make any decisions itself.Ī PMO underpins the project delivery mechanisms by ensuring that all business change in an organization is managed in a controlled way. What Are The Functions of a Project Management Office (PMO)?Ī PMO is the backbone of a successful project management approach at an organization. But how does a PMO actually do that? And what does the PMO team do all day? The main purpose of a Project Management Office (PMO) is to make sure that projects and programs are run in a repeatable, standardized way. And it can do a whole lot more than that too. It’s a function within an organization that defines the standards for project management.

Project office definition