Project management is becoming increasingly important in the IT industry. While all businesses require a project manager and project teams, whether they require a project management office (PMO) is a different matter entirely.
Project management is becoming increasingly important in the IT industry. While all businesses require a project manager and project teams, whether they require a project management office (PMO) is a different matter entirely. If this is something you are debating at your business at the moment, read on to discover whether a PMO is right for you.
The first factor you need to consider is how crucial your IT projects are to the success of your business and your growth potential. An effective project management office comes highly recommended if your IT projects are key business drivers. After all, every project you handle is going to come with a considerable degree of risk. No matter whether you are migrating key services to cloud applications or embarking on a large IT infrastructure project, you will want to give your business the greatest chance of success, especially when they play such a huge role in terms of your overall success.
Another factor you need to think about is how complex your IT projects are. An effective PMO can mitigate the risks that are associated with complex projects. This is also an option to consider if you feel that you could achieve more. Do you deliver your projects on time and on budget, yet you feel that you could have done better? If that is the case, a PMO could be just the thing you need to reach the levels you know are attainable.
A PMO can also be beneficial if you have several project managers, including a project management apprentice using several different approaches. There is nothing wrong with this. After all, different project management training courses teach different methodologies and processes. However, issues can easily arise when the project management landscape becomes chaotic because of all the different opinions and approaches. This is why a project management office is a good idea. A PMO can make sure that the varying approaches are brought together into one comprehensible strategy, by which the success of a project can be managed.
If you find that you are handling more projects than ever before, you could be crying out for a PMO. As mentioned in the introduction, project management is becoming increasingly important. A few years ago, you may not have even thought about a PMO. However, as an increasing number of businesses move their customer service offer to digital platforms, reassess their relationship with technology, and increase their service presence online, there is a bigger need for there to be a watchful eye over IT projects.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding as to whether a PMO is right for your business. There is no correct or incorrect answer; it is all about determining what works for your company. If IT projects are critical to business success and growth, a project management office is definitely worth considering. It can also be beneficial if you feel you can achieve more, you’re handling more projects than usual, you have several project managers using different approaches, and your projects are complex.
