Defining the PMO

As the importance of project management has grown, many organizations have identified the need for a central center of organizational project knowledge, one with expertise-related project management practices, techniques, and standards. Whether called the Program Management Office, Project Office, or another term, these centers of knowledge and expertise serve many important functions within organizations that are conducting projects. One role, the role of a consulting organization, may involve executing projects, rescuing troubled projects, mentoring project managers, or providing consulting on project management best practices to functional organizations within an enterprise. Another role, the role of a knowledge organization, involves capturing and organizing project artifacts, creating and delivering training related to project management topics, and helping to grow a project management culture within the organization. Still another role, the role of a standards organization, involves establishing and maintaining project-related standards, processes, procedures, and templates that may be implemented to help drive standardization of project management practices throughout the organization.

In this book, the term Program Management Office (PMO) will be used to describe the organization responsible for executing the many functions associated with the central management of project and program administration within an organization. Although the definition of program may vary across businesses and industries, this general concept can be used to define a number of projects that are logically grouped together for the purposes of achieving some...