Did You Read These PMO Articles?
We’ve been blogging about project management, scheduling, risk management and project offices since 2011.
In that time, we’ve covered all kinds of PMO-related topics and trends. Have you read all our favorites? Here are the top PMO articles that it’s worth bookmarking!
1. What does a Project Management Office do?
We’re asked this question all the time. Your PMO is a secret weapon for business growth, if you set it up correctly and know how to use it.
Ultimately, the Project Management Office (PMO) should act as a strategic business partner. It’s there to serve the needs of the organization. A good PMO will challenge, have the difficult conversations and champion approaches that lead to greater results.
With a supportive PMO behind you, your organization can reach your goals more quickly, and deliver your strategy with more certainty in the outcome. If you’re serious about delivering change, you should get serious about making your PMO the best it can be.
Read the top 5 functions of a PMO here.
2. 4 Career paths for PMO professionals
Taking a PMO analyst role can be just the first step on a fantastic career in project controls and portfolio management.
Whether you’re looking to move up in your current role, take a new PMO role in a different company, move sideways into a project delivery job or allied profession, or choose to take an operational job, there are plenty of opportunities.
We discussed them all in our popular guide to career paths for PMO professionals.
Learn where you could go next.
3. 10 PMO processes you should be using
From project approval to risk management, escalations to resource allocation, PMOs get involved in so many processes that help keep projects moving forward with the right level of oversight and control.
These 10 PMO processes are things that you should have in your PMO, and if you don’t, you should know why they aren’t required for your business. How many do you have in place?
Take stock of your processes here.
4. Benefits of a PMO Pulse Check
A pulse check is a simple way to improve your PMO’s focus, capability and value; an assessment of the PMO services you offer with the aim of giving you a report of actionable findings and recommendations. It focuses mainly on how well the PMO’s customers – normally senior managers – are being served by the PMO.
It gives you the chance to benchmark performance, understand areas for improvement and build a roadmap to augmenting the services you provide.
Learn more about the benefits.
5. 5 Steps for prioritizing projects in the portfolio
There are a lot of things to consider when prioritizing projects, not least understanding the organizational strategy that underpins project selection and helps you deliver on your longer term goals as a business. You’ll also need project management software that supports being able to plan and schedule multiple projects, like Primavera P6 Professional. And you’ll need staff with the skills to be able to use it.
As your organization scales, and you manage your project portfolio in a more mature way, it’s definitely worth investing time in making prioritizing projects and this process as easy as possible, and using the software you have already to help.
Read the step-by-step guide here.
6. 10 Ways to promote your PMO
Is your PMO struggling with a bit of an image problem? You wouldn’t be the first leadership team to be worried about how the PMO is perceived across the wider business.
Most companies have a way to communicate with the whole business, or a section of it. That might be a company magazine or a divisional newsletter, or a newsletter that goes to a particular community, for example, the project management community.
These are good places to start spreading the word about the PMO both to say that it exists and also to highlight the services that it can offer to project teams.
Read more promotion ideas here.
7. How to find the right PMO structure for you
The right PMO structure for your business depends on a lot of factors…. But the good news is that one of them will be right for you!
The set up of your PMO is as unique and flexible as your business, and you can adapt the team and structure to grow as your project needs develop and change. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ PMO structure. Every organization is different and you’ll need to make the right choice for your business.
Consider structuring by service, by need, or by maturity level.
Read more tips on how to find the right structure.
8. The Best PMO books to read or listen to
Looking for something new to read or have in your ear buds? The good news is that there are lots of books out there aimed at PMO practitioners. They are written by people doing the job, with the addition of expert research, case studies and stories to bring theory to life.
We picked our favorite reads to share.
9. How to get investment for your PMO
It’s not always easy to get management buy-in for a PMO set up. PMOs are often used in large organizations as a way of instituting best practice, project processes and improving quality. But they take time and effort to set up so managers often need convincing before committing to PMO investment.
The potential return on investment is often much higher than anticipated, if everyone gets behind the idea of the PMO and works effectively to make it a success. But how can you do that?
Make your investment plan with this guide.
10. How to improve knowledge sharing in the PMO
Your PMO is a hotbed of knowledge. You’ve got experts in scheduling, risk management, training, audits, quality and more. But how good is the team at knowledge sharing?
The PMO is the perfect place to start sharing learning. Whether you want to upskill project managers, create a template library with real examples from past projects, document processes or improve the way the lessons learned works, the PMO team has the power to do that, and more.
Read our 5 tips for building a learning organization.
Which of these PMO articles would be your top pick?