The PMO, or Project Management Office, is a concept that is often met with mixed reactions. Some businesses discredit the effectiveness and viability of a PMO due to bad experiences that have resulted in projects actually being hindered as opposed to supported by the PMO.

On the other hand, PMOs are being established and in some cases re-energised on a regular basis.  When supported with adequate planning, development, training and expertise, they can create a far more effective and efficient project environment and increase the value to the business immensely.

During 2011/12, PM-Partners undertook a detailed survey to gauge how PMOs are currently viewed across a very wide range of industries. The information gathered from this survey proved very valuable to increasing knowledge of the current state of the PMO, and provided some fascinating insights.

Of surveyed organisations, over 90% had a PMO in place, and 96% had standardised project and portfolio management procedures. This visibility into the corporate world shows how far the PMO has spread, however many still face challenges of perception and recognition, with more than 38% of PMO’s operating for 5 or more years feeling that they aren’t respected by the business – particularly executives.

Asking PMO’s for their top 5 challenges over the next two years provided some interesting results that may come as a surprise to some. The greatest challenge among surveyed participants was benefits realisation (34%), followed by supply and demand planning (25%), project selection and prioritisation (21%) and finally, resource management (20%). The results of these proved to be fairly evenly split, with benefits realisation being the only key standout. These are all some of the most complicated aspects of a PMO, and in this case the possibility of obtaining advanced training or even outsourcing the PMO becomes the most feasible and cost effective manner of ensuring the success of a project.

If you would like to speak to a consultant about your PMO or would like to arrange a meeting where we can walk you through the survey findings please don’t hesitate to call 1300 70 13 14