Digital PMO: An Overview

From the word ‘digital’ alone, we already have an idea that it has something to do with the internet, going mobile or relying on online software tools to get the job done. In the case of digital PMO, it is to relay real-time information to team members to any device, at any time.

The main advantage of digital PMO is that managers are able to acquire information easily and make decisions at any given time. What’s more, it makes procedures faster, as well as approvals and authorizations that need to be made in a project. There’s no need to wait around a day or even a week for reports considering that they are relayed during the task. It makes this efficient because the managers in charge can check for issues and come up with an immediate solution.

Another benefit of digital PMO is there are less frequent meetings. That is not to say that meetings, in general, are unnecessary and a waste of time, but they do eat some precious time. At this rate, meetings should be done when there are some crucial points to be made before starting the project or a recap of this week’s progress. Digital PMO reduces cost as well because everything—from spreadsheets to reports are merged into one online tool where certain people have access to it. Lastly, transparency is increased which means more information will be provided among teams and in turn increase productivity and make tasks more efficient.

Is the Change Worth It?

Think about how digital PMO impacts your workplace, project, and team as a whole. Going digital doesn’t mean that your PMO will lose its ability to tackle with physical resources. It’s still up to the organization if they want a full-blown digital PMO and if that will be the case, you need to take cost, tools to use, storage space, and available network into account. Building a digital PMO is the first step and everyone must be ready for that from beginning to end.

Take note that there will be setbacks along the way so ensure that the resources are compatible such as instant messaging, project management software tools, templates, and other online applications.

It’s safe to say that all areas of businesses and industries are already on their way to embracing these digital changes and PMO is no exception. You cannot expect that everyone can easily adjust to digital PMO and other changes, so hands-on practice should be implemented.

It’s also crucial to integrate your system to these changes for a streamlined approach. Start with small steps and don’t force your team members to immediately digest the aspects of a certain tool or approach. While you are at it, take note of your priorities and don’t get lost in your organization’s objective. At the end of the day, embracing digital PMO doesn’t necessarily mean building it from scratch. You can also make do with what you already have. Take a good look around and look for practices and tools that you can use to skyrocket your PMO into the digital spectrum.

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Despite the distinctions, there are five most common PMOs that exist in most organizations that have become a solid foundation for a business’ success, as well as the project management’s effectiveness. These five types are also recognized by the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) PMO Framework that contains various areas of what a certain PMO does, based on the category it falls in. Additionally, the framework is also validated by existing PMO leaders and teams, so you can say that these PMO types do exist.

So from this list, which Project Management Office type do you most likely to fall in? Are you more the Project Support type? Or an Enterprise PMO? Below are the five types of Project Management Office and their distinct qualities.

1. Project Support PMO

Also known as Project Services or Control Offices, Project Support PMO concentrates on requirements in order fulfill the job. They are the jack of all trades when it comes to processes, tools, training, and techniques. Project management software and collaboration tools also happen to be their forte.

Project support PMOs are usually present on project management with low maturity, so if you want to boost your project management’s maturity level, have this type of Project Management Office around you.

2. Business Unit PMO

They are usually on limited departments such as IT sectors where they are in charge of governance, training, resource allocation, and reporting. Business Unit PMO is different from IT PMO. The former is more focused on financial responsibility for capital project cost, while the latter is more inclined to IT-based projects such as interface processes.

3. Center of Excellence

As the name itself, this certain Project Management Office focuses on improving and developing people’s skills and competency. This is done through a different array of support services such as maintaining project management resources, delivering training courses, and facilitating mentoring or coaching sessions.

As a competency center of a business, Center of Excellence is considered the gatekeeper of methodologies used for an organization’s success, as well as the effectiveness of people in their tasks and responsibilities. The end goal of this particular Project Management Office type is to establish standard practices of instilling knowledge and managing lessons from both the training and tasks.

4. Project PMO

Project PMO is usually required on large-scale projects, often temporarily deployed to serve as governance on activities such as project coordination and report. Don’t confuse main PMOs to project PMOs since the former is the administrator of the entire project and the project PMO is focused on specific projects and reports the progress back to the main PMO.

5. Enterprise PMO

As the highest ranked among PMOs, Enterprise is responsible for reporting to board members and maybe even a CEO. Their primary goal is strategic alignment—ensuring that the project and program are parallel to the organization’s objective. They are highly-involved in enterprise-wide governance as well as portfolio management, project prioritization, strategy formulation, and alignment.

You Could Be a Combination of One or More PMOs

You might fall into the Business Unit or Project Support PMO—or you can be a combination of both or all five Project Management Office types. In that case, you are doing your organization a great advantage. Having these combinations will make you more capable in various fields with in-depth tasks, making you a jack of all trades in the PMO field.

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