The ability to successfully manage projects is a critical skill for any manager to possess, as this allows him to gain a proper understanding of the scope and objectives of each project and assess the role. In view of the multiplicity of responsibilities and tasks that lie with the manager and that form the basis of his position, especially if his management is centered around projects, the valuable management is represented by employee supervision, budget management,  coordination of departments and strategic planning that directs the growth of the facility.

This refers to what is known as a PMO, which stands for Project Management Office. In the following, we will delve into understanding the PMO in detail.

PMO Office 

During the National Governance of Agricultural Industry in the early nineteenth century, the term “PMO” Project  Management Office was used in one of the newspapers for the first time, and it was used as a dynamic structure used to solve certain issues in the previous century.

What is the definition and types of PMO Project Management Office

 Project Management Office abbreviated to (PMO) is an office or department within the facility that defines and maintains project management standards, provides guidance and standards in the implementation of projects, so that it sets concrete goals that are in line with the general vision of the facility and ensures that all goals are achieved. there are 2 different types of PMO, namely: 

1.  Project Management Office:  Provides administrative support to the project management team and standardizes the management processes related to the project. Program Governance and coordinates the efforts of the Program Management Team.
2.  Portfolio Management Office: The Project Portfolio Management Office oversees all projects and programs of the organization and supports the Project and Program Management Offices.

What are the stages of development of the PMO

How did the PMO develop in the past? 

Previously, the Project Management office was understood in a complex way. Some managers linked its concept to hierarchical management that relied on the project management system by force and coercion. This of course, hinders the positive termination of projects. Some applicants saw ways Life is made easier for executives, sponsors, project managers, and PMO leadership alike,  by providing the PMO with the information and services they really need, in the way they prefer and at the right time.

The  PMO started manually with scheduling cards for the financial resources written on the books, with the aim of determining the costs and financial effects of the projects, and succeeded in compiling many financial statements for the project in one comprehensive picture, but what made the matter more complicated was relying on the principle of bureaucracy in applying most projects at the time, which led to the difficulty of penetrating the tools and structures of the Project management office  later, which were of course getting bigger and different in kind.

How has PMO developed these days?

But now, the Project management office has evolved into a brand that engenders trust and is seen as an enabler and accelerator in project delivery, and “PMO certification” and “PMO training” have become primary criteria for employment. The advanced managers sought maturity to measure the organization’s ability to manage the project, in order to link it to the responsible authorities and document the necessary reports, in order to fully support the project completion process.

Accordingly, the PMO was created later in terms of focusing on the real value of each project, and the executives of the organizations now have tools that focus on real results and really affect the perception of the Project management office brand, as it provides a good quality solution that accurately answers many questions, the most important of which are:

1. What does the manager want to achieve during the project
2.  How can this be achieved in the easiest possible way? Who is the right team to do this
3.  How long does a manager need to complete the whole project? Have the desired results been actually achieved?

The forced project management system has been replaced with a concept that helps organizations develop their capabilities and maturity around successful project and portfolio delivery, and makes the PMO approach logical and novel. Its results have already been appreciated by the companies that followed the new Project management office methodology and continued with it and succeeded in establishing their projects well.

What is needed if the PMO Project Management office exists? 

Specific guidance for project success is based on templates and methodology recommendations. The PMO plays many roles within the organization. This varies from one organization to another depending on the size and scope of the projects. Successful PMO is a combination of good people, processes and tools. The importance of the  PMO:

1-Increased transparency and clarity:  it could help to reduce information accounting and miscommunication. 

 2- Immunize project maturity, quality, and democracy,  ultimately keeping more of your projects on time and your team on the same page.

3- close alignment with executive management, particularly regarding organizational objectives, in turn helps guide and prioritize projects.

4- Achieve accurate and coordinated budgeting and resource allocation, which can help satisfy executives and keep the overall project portfolio under control.

      5- Reduce project failure, over expenditure, reduce customer dissatisfaction through standardized models and tools, and continuous monitoring.

That is why 80% of high performing organizations have at least one project management office, because it is necessary to move projects forward.

What is the role of PMO Project Management office?

 There are 5 main roles that a successful PMO plays:  

1- Unifying the project management process

 The main goal of the PMO is to create and standardize the methods, processes, and tools responsible for creating models and processes and teaching people how to use them. Handing over the project Work on unifying the tools and models for the right job, and they can be summarized as:

• Project Proposal Form: The initial idea and details of the project are presented through it, and upon approval of its implementation, it helps managers understand the agreed plan and avoid confusion or distraction.
•  Project Status Report Template: This documents how the progress of the project will be reviewed and measured over the course of its implementation. As the project progresses, the PMO will also collect lessons learned and incorporate them into the project processes. This helps improve future projects. 
• Project Change Request Form: If needed, the PMO may draft this document to help project managers capture change requests throughout the project life cycle (and assess their impact) 
• Project Closing Report Template: This document enables groups to evaluate the completed project and determine what worked well and what didn’t. It is also an opportunity to compare before and after costs, schedule and scope.

2_ Project Implementation Support

A successful project relies on support at the team level, customized training and open communication. Accordingly, the PMO will:

 -Helping to solve specific problems, such as planning, customizing resources, getting rid of uncommon projects, or returning troubled differences to the right track.

 – Helping project managers choose the correct methodology for their project or helping them build a feasibility study.

 -Facilitate communication and cooperation throughout the project team and stakeholders, which ensures that everyone is in the right destination.

 The PMO is the first responder to the project, so it works to identify and solve problems and provide advice in cases that are rare, difficult or different from the usual.

 3- Provide a standardized offer for all projects 

 To bridge the gap between projects and stakeholders, PMO offers comprehensive reports and dashboards tailored to the needs of executive managers. This means that your PMO should contain:

• Design and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs);  This includes key performance indicators on the overall health and progress of individual projects, as well as overall project performance. They can also create OKRs if their company uses it. These will define the main objectives of each project, as well as the PMO department or individual in general.
•  Communicate clear information about budgets, forecasts, actual values,  and margins across the entire portfolio of projects.
• Collect all information and documentation properly and create a project dashboard specifically for stakeholders with the appropriate tool.

 PMO may generate configurable reports tailored to each stakeholder category, ensuring that they receive correct and valuable information at the right time.

• provide accurate and timely insights.  Data is essential to any project’s reporting,  so the longer it takes to format and deliver the report, the less valuable the information is. 

 With the right project management platform, stakeholders can be brought together and provided with customized, real-time insights into projects; This allows access to critical data, reports and project priorities from a single source on the ground.

4-Planning and Scheduling Resources Efficiently 

 The PMO allocates resources based on the priority of the project and, ideally, its impact on the overall business. PMO enables an organization to be able to anticipate the resources needed for a project, thus optimizing the utilization of the highest resource, be it a wind tunnel or a high-tech plant.

 

5-Strategic Portfolio Management and Governance

By registering projects using predetermined criteria, the PMO narrows its projects, selects the best initiatives in accordance with its organization’s objectives.

 PMO then advises senior management or leaders to select candidate projects that are better aligned with the enterprise’s strategic objectives, by providing a sound business case and a clear interest cost ratio, in addition to, the Project Management Office also monitors the overall risks of the project, not only the employee risks,  but also the risks to the entire company, such as compliance problems or negative exposures, from which workers build mitigation and prevention plans for future hazardous projects. 

In the end, your PMO is the key to ensuring the success of your projects as it facilitates the planning, execution and  “lessons learned”  that carry a project from conception to completion. Therefore, make sure your PMO is nurtured and equipped with the right tools for the job.For more knowledge about PMO  click here to communicate and inquire about this.