Building the Project Management Office (PMO)

A few years ago, the acronym PMO was not common in project management; nowadays, it is wide spread and these three letters are quite visible in organizational structures. In a few years’ time many organizations, small and large, private and public, and in all industries and sectors have implemented PMO. However, key challenges remain starting with: are organizations implementing PMO properly? Are these PMO successful? Do we even agree on what does the term actually stand for?

This course will start by explaining the acronym and its possible meanings, before moving on to discussing results of a global survey into the current state of PMO practice, and a general understanding of the pitfalls.

From there on discussions will focus on innovative ways to build the Program Management Office (PMO) in today’s organization. The course will address the challenges in setting up a PMO and the critical success factors to enhance the chance of success and sustain the PMO.

The course covers the key concepts and applications of the PMO along a maturity continuum. The topics will include organizational structures, functions, processes and practices that will lead to success. It addresses the organizational challenges of the PMO, how a proper “customized” PMO can add value to the organization, and increase the Return on Investment related to project implementation.

• Be able to identify the key elements necessary for building a PMO
• Be able to determine the appropriate PMO strategy, tactics and operations
• Be able to assess your organization's level on the PMO continuum
• Understand the necessity of building the PM system along with the PMO
• Be able to apply the proper change management approach to facilitate the organizational and project management cultural change
• Implement PMO Scorecard based on metrics & key performance indicators

• Project and program managers
• PMO members, managers, and directors
• Senior managers, executives, heads of departments
• CIO, COO, CEO