Considering that Project Management is an interdisciplinary approach to tackle temporary endeavors, at operational levels PMOs should provide consistent guidance to initiate a project properly, to plan the project with enough detail, to support the project’s execution, to monitor and control the project through its life cycle, and to close the project formally.
There are plenty of standards, methodologies and best practices created by private companies, governmental institutions, professional organizations, and more. The Project Management Institute is one of the leading organizations in promoting project management practice with the PMBOK Guide. The International Project Management Association holds the Competence Baseline and the Axelos Global Best Practice now sponsors PRINCE2 and MSP standards, to name a few.
By definition, a Project Management Office is an organizational structure and it should operate according to a business model aligned to corporate goals and strategy. New types of PMOs surge to face current organizational challenges. As pressures for more agility mounts, traditional PMOs stumble to keep pace with innovative approaches and hybrid methodologies. On top of that, cloud-based project management platforms made easier for organizations to adopt more than one solution.
Decentralization is a trend in which PMO’s functions are distributed, and sometimes duplicated, among different business areas to suit their particular needs. For example, a large aerospace company structured an Engineering Division around project management communities of practice while the IT Department possess a PMO to manage outsourced projects.
When it comes to PMOs, there is no “one size fits all.”
The key take-away here is that organizations are preferring to have virtual PMOs, decentralized PMO’s functions and even temporary PMOs instead of traditional corporate PMOs. As project management professionals and practitioners mature, it is expected that they take over some of the PMO functions.
No comments:
Post a Comment