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Project Management Office Failures
January 16, 2013 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Management Office
Project Management Office Failures
By Cora Systems
Most organizations that manage projects have a Project Management Office. A Project Management Office or a PMO is a department within an organization that has sole responsibility of improving the management of projects across the entire organization. The PMO aims to give project managers a clear methodology to work with. The PMO team defines and maintains the project management standard that is expected in the organization.
Like everything there are many reasons a PMO can fail and can be due to process, technology or people issues within the organization. According to statistics, only one third of all PMOs are successful. Here are some of the main reasons I believe can cause project management office failure.
- Lack of support: Lack of support from the executives and shareholders is a familiar story for many organizations that run PMOs. If there is no support from these individuals, the success rate of the PMO will depreciate. By having a supportive backbone within a PMO will provide all individuals involved with the right information and tools to move forward.
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Failure to provide updates: The PMO manager needs to regularly update the PMO team with information such as project status. The PMO must take full responsibility of reporting on projects.
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Benefits realization: Failure to capture and measure the benefits of a completed project will reduce the visibility of whether or not your projects are returning on their investments. Identifying what benefits your projects delivered is crucial as focus in placed on value for money and ROI.
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Resourcing: Your team is your most valuable resource when running a PMO and therefore it is highly important that the right people are involved. Rushing the selection process is not recommended and can lead to inabilities within the PMO.
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Failure to implement a methodology: If a PMO fails to implement a methodology they will not have a solid benchmark by which they will manage their projects against. A methodology is required to ensure that there is consistency around the execution of projects.
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Lack of training: Changes in technology and process are inevitable and therefore a system to deal with these changes should be in place. To stay efficient, training courses should be put in place for all members of the PMO. If there is a lack of training within the PMO there is a risk of the department becoming irrelevant.
A PMO within an organization is important as it provides cost savings, reassurance and a common understanding amongst the projects. Therefore being aware of common PMO failures and having measures in place to prevent any knock on effects is advisable.
Established in 1999, with over 12 years of experience in Project Management Software, Cora Systems have developed a highly functional, web-based system. Our skills and knowledge have enabled us to become a world leader in Project, Portfolio and Performance Management Software. We value our extensive client base and provide a comprehensive range of services to ensure our customers gains the full value and benefits from using ProjectVision. www.corasystems.com
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Project management software is important to streamlining an organization’s processes, but if not implemented effectively will not amount to more than another program to know how to use. Especially liked your point about failing to provide updates - regular and succinct updates from a team leader to their subordinates helps to maximize the potential of the project management software being used.