Watching over your projects!

I was reading a quick post on pmhut.com about how to make your PMO (project management office) more relevant.

The basic premise was about making the PMO an active part of project improvement rather than as a mechanism for “slapping down” failing projects/project managers.

PMO? Why should I care about that? That’s for big business!

The concept of a project management office is one that is often aligned with bigger businesses rather than the smaller organisations that many of us work in (ourselves included).

The need for a formal project management office is redundant in the smaller business. However, the “modus operandi” or concept of a PMO is one that can and should be applied to smaller businesses.

Project Management Office Definition

The Project Management Office (PMO) in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.

(Source – Wikipedia)

The above is a bit of a wordy definition but captures the essence of the PMO well.

How do we apply the principles of the PMO to smaller business?

The essence of the PMO is about oversight and learning across all projects in the business. It is responsible for ensuring best practices are repeated and applied to all projects that are undertaken by the business.

• PMO is  about applying learning from previous projects into new projects.
• PMO is about applying standards to all projects so that the business runs them the same way every time.
• PMO is about applying measurement to all projects to determine their success (or otherwise).

These are all valuable things to do in any business that is delivering projects regardless of size.

The activities are something that any business owner or business manager can undertake. The tools and mechanisms for how are up to the business – the key is to make sure it’s being done!

How do you check how your projects are being delivered?

Photo: Gisela Giardino