Project Management Office (PMO): Types and Their Role in Project Success

When a company grows and more teams with different interests and goals collaborate, they need a single system or best practice so that projects can run smoothly. The Project Management Office (PMO) is a part of the company that can act as a mediator and ensure that collaboration between teams runs smoothly.

The PMO is tasked with increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of projects through the systems and best practices they have developed. Both of these will later become a guide and reference for all teams in the company to minimize challenges during collaboration.

In this article, learn in depth about the Project Management Office starting from the meaning, types, duties and responsibilities, to who is in it.

Definition of Project Management Office

The Project Management Office is a team that regulates collaboration between teams and prevents problems or obstacles. The PMO is also tasked with maintaining the quality of the project management process in a company, including business planning and company operations or in certain departments/teams only.

The PMO, citing Asana, has a role in determining how a product and service are made and distributed. In other words, the Project Management Office is the main support team that runs and manages projects from all or several teams in the company.

PMO can come from within or outside the company. What's the difference?

Internal PMO is an in-house team that supports the overall success of a project. They usually have an important role in determining the standard practices of a project.

While external PMO is an agency or consultant tasked with analyzing and providing input on the ongoing project management process. This input will be a consideration and new management method for the next project.

However, currently many companies already have internal PMO teams. So, how is PMO distinguished from other teams in the company?

• Small companies: usually there is 1 PMO team that standardizes project management practices for all teams or departments in the company
• Large companies: usually in large companies there are many different work systems and collaboration between departments is rare, so there will be many PMO teams formed based on the needs of each department.

Types of Project Management Office

Reporting from ProjectManager, usually from the four types of PMO below, a company will form a team that suits the needs or conditions of its project management. So, in one company, you might find 1 or a maximum of 2 PMO teams.

Here is an explanation of each type of Project Management Office:

Supportive PMO

Only focuses on mentoring, training, providing information, and support. However, this type of PMO does not play a big role in decision making. Supportive PMO will only provide input and structure for a project. Then, the project manager will decide whether the input is in accordance with the project plan and targets.

Controlling PMO

This type of PMO is the opposite of Supportive PMO. The Controlling PMO team will create and determine the project execution process and ensure that all teams have the same standards. They will create special guidelines and ensure that project managers run their respective projects according to these guidelines. This type of PMO even reviews or supervises so that the project runs according to the guidelines that have been made.

Directive PMO

This Project Management Office acts as a team that manages business initiatives and projects as a whole. So they will take over the project planning process, such as resource allocation, risk management, and project scope. Directive PMO also directly leads the teams in the company.

Enterprise PMO

The main purpose of an enterprise PMO is to ensure that projects are running according to the company's strategic goals. They will also determine the priority scale of projects based on their impact on business goals and create guidelines that can be adopted by the entire team in project management.

Enterprise PMOs also usually help companies to create and implement various tools and methods/approaches in project management. This team also plays a role in determining KPI targets and success metrics for a project.

Project Management Office Duties and Responsibilities

1. Create strategic plans and manage projects according to business targets.
2. Determine the approach to project management, including the framework used.
3. Standardize project management procedures and techniques for the entire team.
4. Provide training and mentoring to ensure that the entire team has the same understanding of the company's standard procedures.
5. Manage the resources needed to run the project.
6. Determine and manage administration, tools, and templates that are useful for improving project quality.
7. Conduct audits or reviews of ongoing projects to ensure that the process is in accordance with standards and benefits the company (including costs and benefits).
8. Support the decision-making process.
9. Manage documentation related to past projects and information about the company or business.

Who is in the Project Management Office?

A PMO team usually consists of several individuals with different roles. Here are some of them:

• Project Manager: creates project planning, including project scope, objectives, timeline, targets, and resources needed.
• Program Manager: oversees all projects and ensures they achieve the company's business targets or objectives.
• Portfolio Manager: oversees all projects to ensure alignment with business objectives and ensures resources are maximized in each project.
• Business Analyst: involved in the decision-making process to ensure projects have a positive impact on the company's business.
• Financial Analyst: manages and oversees the project budget.
• Risk and Compliance Officers: manages challenges faced by the project and ensures the project runs according to applicable rules and standards.

It can be concluded that the Project Management Office has an important role in ensuring the success of projects from various teams in the company. They will create project management standards and guidelines based on the company's business interests.

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