Project Management Office (PMO)

The Project Management Office (PMO) is an organizational body or unit assigned multiple tasks connected to the coordinated and centralized management of those projects under its field. PMO’s responsibilities can vary from offering project management support functions to really being in charge of the direct management of a project. (Project Management Institute 2008: 11.)

 
Usually project management office includes four different units. Planning unit will take care of the planning of the project; how big it will be, how much time and recourses it will take. Scheduling unit will deal the project to smaller pieces and it also set milestones to assure that the project will finish on time. Unit of risk analysis prepares for possible problems which might happen and project tracking unit observes that the project completion is and will be on time. (Visitask 2011.)


However the most important task of PMO is to assist project managers in many different ways which might include e.g. mentoring, coaching and training them, identifying and developing project management style, principles and top practices, handling all the shared recourses of the company, managing project procedures, rules and outlines and making sure that the communication between facets works. (Project Management Institute 2008: 11.)


Sources:

Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Fourth Edition.

Visitask (2011). Keys to a Successful PMO. Available from Internet : <http://www.visitask.com/project-management-office.asp>.

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