Critical Factors For A Successful PMO

To ensure a successful startup and continuance of the PMO, the following activities should be supported:

1- Partner with senior management to plan and dynamically manage the organization’s change from what it is now to a new, where project management (PM) is the primary means of accomplishing the organization’s strategic goals in all levels of the organization.

2- Make sure that the management understands and accepts that the PMO will be evolving over time, on a consistent pace with the organization’s ability to manage the change affecting their PM maturity.

3- Management is committed to ensuring the PMO is accepted and supported at all levels of the organization.

4- Ensure that PMO implementation plan is consistent and aligns with corporate goals and objectives.

5- Ensure the PMO implementation budget is in alignment with enterprise funding goals and objectives.

6- Ensure deployment of resources is in alignment with corporate goals and objectives.

7- Ensure risks associated with the PMO implementation are assessed and managed.

8- Information, communication, and reporting structure support the EPMO implementation.

9- Ensure the project planning execution and configuration are consistent with corporate goals and objectives.

10- Provide personnel evaluation system that reinforces project management as a team strategy in the company’s business philosophy.

11- Facilitate project feasibility determination and project initiation of work-in-progress and future work that is defined as “projects”. The PMO shall lead and facilitate the evaluation and feasibility of Program/ project portfolio management as it relates to strategic decision-making in support of new projects during the project initiation phase.

12- Define PM core competencies and PM skills as a part of an internal qualification and certification process for project managers within the organization.

13- To support the growth and development of the project team staffing, education and training.

14- Provide a home for career path project managers and the project management support staff.

15- The PMO shall be responsible for the determination and oversight of “special projects” that are mission critical to the strategic direction of the company or where such projects have or could have a pervasive impact on the corporate goals and objectives.

16- The PMO shall ensure the funding gates and limits are constant with an approved schedule of values. 17.The PMO shall lead and facilitate project close-out, lessons learned, process improvement, better estimating, building and using models for strategic decision making.