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In addition to the "weather station" and the "control tower", Casey and Peck distinguish a third type of Project Management Office: the "pool of resources". Often, this type of PMO is more simply named by its directive capacity.

In fact, the fundamental difference with the previous types of PMO are its managerial features, since it is dedicated to coordinate projects, components and programs of an organization.

Its direction can have two different reaches:

The most ambitious, is where the PMO extends to all projects of an organization.
However, it can also be more targeted, and focus only on transversal projects involving several departments, leaving more routine or restricted projects in the hands of a specific project manager.

How to organize the structure of a directive PMO

In a directive PMO, the project managers work directly for the PMO: the PMO assigns the projects, to which they have to direct the reports, and is the one that supervises their actions. Therefore, the directive PMO must diversify and prioritize its team of project managers: those who work for the PMO will have a more marked profile as supervisors and managers, while the subordinates will be closer to the daily execution.

On the other hand, the employees of the company can be organized in two ways:

One possibility is that they are part of the PMO itself. This system is valid in cases where all or almost all the work carried out by the company is in the form of projects.

The other possibility is that they are formally non-project workers, even if their work contributes to some. This approach is used in companies with a more operational profile and a smaller proportion of the work is devoted to projects.

Functions of a directive PMO

The most characteristic functions have to do with the coordination of talent:

Develop and maintain a sufficient and well-formed project manager template to manage all the company's projects.
Organize contributions from independent workers.
Assign the necessary human resources to each project, prioritizing in case of conflict according to business criteria.

Although these are the most defining functions, the directive PMO shares functions with other, simpler types of PMOs. These include:

Reduce costs by centralizing services.
Ensure adequate communication between team members and the organization of project management through the regular issuance of structured and complete reports.
Encourage the adoption of methodologies, standards, processes and tools that allow the management of projects to be completed efficiently.

How to control the efficiency of a directive PMO

Since the directive PMO is in charge of managing all the projects, it is difficult to evaluate if the work is being carried out properly. If it is the PMO itself that has to evaluate its performance, it is possible that bias will appear in the assessment and, although this is not the case, there can always be doubt about the potential conflict of interest.

There are some solutions that can be adopted in these cases.

Contract the services of an external audit. This way, you are guaranteed to obtain bias exempt reports in which both the positive aspects of project management and the negative ones are evaluated.

Generate an independent audit within the organization itself. To do this, a group of project managers should be set up outside the active projects, that can evaluate their efficiency in management.

Develop a rotating system for project managers. This is a methodology widely used in companies that have adopted the ISO 9000 quality standards. When a director does not take care of the management of a particular project, he can be assigned to the evaluation of the active projects. This is a very complete option, since the rotation of project managers ensures that they keep the two points of view constantly.

Should I incorporate a directive PMO in my company?

There are divided opinions among experts when recommending this type of PMO.

On the one hand, some argue that it is the best solution for the management of a company, since it guarantees maximum efficiency in all departments and projects. In case other systems already exist, a gradual evolution towards a leading PMO is suggested, since it is the most complete management method.

On the other hand, the directive PMO runs the risk of being invasive of existing work systems and appear as a structure that seeks to appropriate all departments or aspects of management within a company.

Therefore, prior to the implementation of a directive PMO in a company, it should be assessed if its profile and that of its employees allow for an appropriate introduction. Otherwise, one solution is to adopt other less demanding type of PMO and progressively evolve towards this type of PMO.

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airport terminal, airport with control tower , In this blog series we have already spoken about the different types of PMO following the classification of Casey and Peck in 2001, and the tracking function as a "weather station".

When the PMO acquires authority to establish action guidelines, its function can be compared with that of a control tower that establishes when a project can be placed on the runway, deploy the flight and know what the conditions will be of the environment and competition for airspace (ie equipment time and funding).

The control PMO, however, not only makes decisions to guide projects. If the “weather station” measures, the control tower defines procedures and standards. It then monitors its compliance and seeks improvements.

While it is always important to recognize the differences that each PMO must include to fit its parent organization, these are some of the typical functions of a control project management office:

1. Establishes standards for project management

Every project must meet standards that serve as a reference and which should be adjusted as much as possible from the initiation phase. It is recommended that the standards be flexible and allow a certain adaptation to the circumstances that may be present during the project. Standards can refer to different areas, such as:

Information and nomenclature. PMOs often provide report templates that allow the information to be treated in a homogeneous way, facilitating their comparison and analysis between projects. It is convenient to establish what types of reports are provided, the frequency with which they are issued and the structure they present.
Risks. What can be presented at what time, what is the probability that they will occur and what impact they may have on the project.
Configuration of the project or organization. This entails the establishment of responsibilities for each of the people involved in the project, so that important milestones and decisions are taken by the responsible parties in the shortest possible time and with all relevant information.

It is good practice for standards to strike a balance between structuring and facilitating work: they must be sufficiently elaborate to capture the complexity of the organization without falling into bureaucratic excesses. It is about making things simple, for everyone to be clear about what to do, how to do it, what their responsibilities are, and who to communicate their results, their doubts or the problems that may arise.

2. See how to meet the established standards

This consultation should have two approaches:

External focus. Document techniques for measuring risks, quantifying the progress of a project ... See similar cases in other companies and try to apply them to your specific situation.
Internal focus. Make sure that all team members and staff of your company understand and know how to implement the standards you have established. On the other hand, involve them in the detection of errors and in the suggestion of improvements. Everyone should feel part of the team in which they participate and collaborate in their success. A close view, from within, provided by the workers themselves, is an irreplaceable resource.

3. It promotes the compliance and the elevation of the standards

Organizations with a culture of advanced quality will find it easier to take this step. It is also important to consider incentives for those who strive to do their work to the best of their ability, for example, by including the adoption of standards in staff reviews.

4. Participates actively in the improvement of standards

In addition to rewarding those workers who suggest ideas that allow to improve the established standards, from the own direction of the project office it is necessary to work actively in its improvement. Accumulated management data is a great starting point for improvement. It will be important to consider what programs and areas of activity may suffer most from the adoption of change, to cushion the shock through raising awareness.

Process of implementing a control PMO

As with any other change management process that affects the entire organization, the beginning can be quite difficult.

However, there are some factors that help facilitate the process:

An extended recognition of the shortcomings for which it was decided to create the office
Leadership shared between senior management, middle managers and the management of the new PMO
The adoption of complete but simple software such as ITM Platform, which allows organizing projects in programs and analyzing complex information in a unified way.

If these conditions are not available, or if implementation difficulties are high, it may be advisable to start with a set of more basic functions, related to the centralization of information and the facilitation of decisions.

Being rigorous and exhaustive in the data collection allows you to gain the trust of the clients and the managers, who will later be more likely to adopt the changes proposed by the PMO, that could introduce new management systems for projects gradually.

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One of the most frequent needs facing organizations that are looking to launch a PMO is the centralization of information and knowledge. When your e-mail begins to be used as a repository of documentation, or when there is no homogeneity between the sources of information of different projects, it is possible that the time has come to consider the existence of a structure that supports the operations of the organization.

This type of PMO has been compared to a weather station, since the unification of processes and flows of information allows the increase of data and objective criteria to evaluate in which direction the projects and the equipment are moving.

By serving as a center for unification of knowledge, the PMO begins by assisting the management of the company by providing data and information that assist the company in decision making.

This is achieved in the confidence of the management of the company, the acquisition of new skills and the possibility of direct decision-making. The end result is to convert one support project management into another with a control or manager profile. This other type of PMO will be developed in another article.

Functions developed by the PMO as a support tool

Teaching and training, promotion of attitudes based on adequate project management, under direct supervision.
Transmission of information to the management of the company, so that it is the one that makes the executive decisions.
Search for techniques to reduce costs.
Centralization of management services in the department of project management or PMO, emphasizing the management savings that this entails.
Empowerment of those who have been designated as Project Managers, who must be trained in project management but also allow sufficient freedom to properly develop their skills.

Application and evolution of the support PMO

Supporting PMOs are sometimes geared towards an internal permanent improvement service. This is based on empowerment and the acquisition of responsibilities on the part of heads departments within the company under the instruction and monitoring of the PMO. The objective is that, after a period of training, the managers of the different departments of the company acquire new skills in project management or update the ones they already have, doing their work practically without the help of the PMO. This will allow the PMO to focus on other functional areas and to reorient itself from the mere work support, towards a more strategic integration.

Juan Delgado

Blogger

ITM Platform

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delivery service process office flat 3d web isometric infographic concept vector. exterior and interior isometry rooms with people staff workers. warehouse management. creative people collection. When project after project is being completed with delays of above 20%-30% unrelated to major issues, executors complain of poor coordination and PMs report progress without a unified model, you might be in a situation that would benefit from the centralization of your governance in a Project Management Office (PMO).

PMOs are versatile: they are adaptable to the nature of the organization that creates them. Therefore, when implementing a PMO in your company, you will need to decide what the roles and responsibilities of the PMO will be. By understanding what needs to be addressed and the issues currently faced at your organization, you can shape the PMO as a response to those factors.

Internal Evaluation

The first step to determine the most appropriate type of PMO for a company is to know what the expectations of the PMO are. Ask yourself and your internal customers the following questions:

What are the main problems or areas of improvement within the organization? Have you detected inefficiencies in any of our processes?

What is the balance between formal and informal communication flows and reporting from the company? Is the company coordinating too much work in a spontaneous and decentralized way? Does this pose a problem for the evaluation of management processes? These questions are especially important in relation to the size of the organization: while small teams can afford a high degree of informal communication, a growing the business must follow the path of standardization. It’s vital to persuade all staff to adopt new procedures and to identify the risk low adoption.

What is more central: operations or projects? PMOs are designed to work with projects, not operations. If the latter are predominant, you may use a PMO to frame operations in a broader scope or to integrate them with other sections of the company. However, this is a very indirect form of projectization.

Is the company currently achieving its main objectives? If not, why might this be?

What are the measures to adopt if the organization does not meet the intended objectives?

When finally implementing a PMO, you must decide what a successful PMO might entail, and how to know if it is not operating as it should.

Objectives, size, maturity and corporate culture

The structure and objectives of a PMO depend on the degree of efficiency required by the company. For example, a PMO can serve to manage both a business for profit as well as any other humanitarian purposes. However, more often than not economic profitability takes precedence when setting up a PMO.

Another aspect to consider is the size of the company: Project scope, type of product, target audience, etc. will vary. While a small business can use a less structured approach, in a larger company the number of simultaneous processes that can potentially coexist multiplies, and so does the importance of standardization and structured reporting systems.

It’s particularly important to maintain the balance between support and control. Focusing too much on control can cause discomfort among workers and increase resistance to change, while offering too much support can lead to excessive documentation and training no one will actually use.

One possible solution is to begin with less demanding PMO models with supporting functions, and gradually pivot towards controlling and directive approaches.

Selecting the most appropriate PMO for my company

Here is a list of situations where it would be advisable to choose a specific type of PMO. Although the classification of the 3 types of PMO remains orientative, it can serve as a good starting point to size the scope of the project and identify good practices.

You should choose a Supportive PMO if:

Your company lacks methodologies, procedures and project management tools.
Project Managers have not developed specific skills in project management
Your company lacks adequate training programs and updated project management.

You should look for a controlling PMO if:

There is a moderate project management culture in your company.
Project managers have basic knowledge in current PM standards.
The organization is accustomed to multidisciplinary projects.
Project management standards and compliance practices are implemented.
The supportive PMO is already implemented.

The directive PMO would be best if:

The company has successfully implemented the previous two types of PMO.
There is an established project-based mentality.
Schemes to monitor all processes with structured reporting systems are effectively established.

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Project Management Offices (PMOs) organize and economize resources by establishing protocols and documentation that normalize, consolidate and centralize project management.

When implementing a PMO it is necessary to recognize the inadequacies of current project management capabilities, what needs to change and how a PMO can bring about this change. However, there is no one recommendation to effectively manage the change. The goal of a PMO depends greatly on the context of the organization as well as various factors such as the macro economy, the size of the organization and the capacitation of project management staff.

Nevertheless, the most important factor will be how well the PMO responds to system failures. Naturally, every situation will be different, and therefore the solutions will have to be adapted accordingly.

Although it is risky to offer recommendations on such circumstantial cases (and to accept them!) categorizing the different forms of PMO to suit the situation can be beneficial. A classic typology of the different forms of PMO is in William Casey and Wendi Peck’s "Choosing the right PMO setup" article (2001). Casey and Peck begin by recognizing that the PMO is often used as a panacea – but there is no universal medicine.

His typology is based on three metaphors: a PMO can be a "weather station" a "control tower" or a "resource pool".

Type 1: The "weather station" PMO

Sometimes, customers feel that they are poorly informed about the on-goings of the project. Their perception is that they are investing time, money and hope into the project without detailed information.

It’s also common for clients to have ordered several projects simultaneously and then receive differing information about the progress of each project, in different formats, with different styles and types of data. Streamlining decisions based on such heterogeneous information is rough.

The solution to this problem is to implement a PMO whose mission is to provide objective, well-structured, and comparable factual information. By providing templates for reports, information can be presented uniformly and predictably, allowing for the efficient extraction of information.

Example customer concerns that the “weather station” PMO must answer are:

What is the current status of the project? To what degree have the initial objectives been met?
What has been invested or how much has the dedicated capital contributed? Is the planned budget sufficient? How much of the total initial budget has already been spent?
What are the main risks or problems that may occur during project implementation?

However, this type of PMO is merely informative, which means they do not have the authority to coordinate or to make decisions. They serve purely to inform any interested party and the information may assist the Project Managers to make better decisions.

If you think it is necessary to implement a PMO that makes decisions and solves project issues, you should opt for another model.

Type 2: The "control tower" PMO

This type of PMO can be used in combination with the previous model. In fact, both may construct a suitable supplementation in which the first model identifies and monitors problems, whereby the additional functions of the PMO to ensure that the project complies with established standards.

The functions of this type of PMO are:

1. Setting standards for project management. The standards serve as a methodological reference for the project managers. They must adapt as much as possible, whilst also having a certain degree of flexibility to respond to market changes in real time. The establishment of standards also includes the following aspects:

Setting the desired level of risk.
The organization of HR that are responsible for carrying out the project.
The distribution of tasks.
Channels of communication and information that will keep the team, management as well as customers updated.

2. The choice of methodologies for the measurement and analysis of results. It must establish quantitative systems to monitor project progress in real time in order to detect any deficiencies and to take corrective action to minimize the impact on the initial plan.

3. Compliance and rising standards. The constant application of corrective measures can be adjusted in the initial plan in order to meet the established standards. Depending on the maturity of the PMO and the degree of compliance of the organization, it may also be important to review the standards from a new perspective.

Naturally, when the degree of compliance is low, it may be beneficial to review the standards "downward" to bring them to a more realistic level.

Type 3: The "resource" PMO

This third type PMO usually occurs in very large companies where a high degree of specialization is required and where it can mobilize human resources to new projects with relative ease.

For example, a project manager may be assigned to a project, but does not have the desired skill set to manage the project. In this case it is necessary to have a location where all project managers are organized as if they were products in a catalog. When you need a Project Manager who is an expert in a particular field of knowledge, you can easily search for and find specific experts that meet the requirements. This ensures that the project manager has the necessary training and experience to match the desired quality and, therefore, ensures the best managers are on the appropriate projects.

This interpretation of the PMO does not guarantee that the right projects are carried out or that they are carried out in the best way; only that the elected Project Managers are the most suitable for the project. This is a good foundation on which to maintain success, along with other factors such as good communication, and a skilled and motivated workforce, etc.

Once the appropriate project manager is selected, they must be allowed enough freedom to perform their work as they deem appropriate.

So what is the best type of PMO?

As explained previously in this article, each company and each project has different goals and aspirations. The type of PMO that will be best suited for your organization will depend on the maturity of a company, its scope and your needs. You may find different aspects from different types of PMO are what you need, and draw inspiration to tackle change freely.

This is the first of a series of articles of posts on Project Management Offices. The next three articles will focus on each of the PMO models explained above.