There are many variations on a
theme here: the 'project office' concept that we support is only one of
many options. The project office can provide key services to any
project teams within an organisation, as well as being an objective
source of information for the project owner, and the steering committee.
The
project office can work with different individual projects, but should
not be part of an individual project team. It manages aspects of
project management which are common to most IM&T projects. For
example, their responsibilities might include:
Developing
& maintaining the project management methodology
Developing
and maintaining relevant standards and procedures
Reviewing
proposals, status reports and other key documents issuing from the
project
Conducting
project reviews
Coordinating
steering committee meetings, and related documentation
Coordinating
training for project managers, sponsors and owners
The PMO
might be a competency centre, providing coaching and mentoring for
staff, and may also manage project libraries. The key however is
that they have some degree of independence from the project team, and
have some authority in terms of insisting on adherence to agreed
standards, policies and methodologies.
One
organisation we have worked with agrees to an overall project budget,
but only allocates funds on a quarterly basis. Ongoing funding
depends on a number of factors, one of which is support from the project
office.
Island Consulting has specific expertise in setting up and running a
project office that meets the identified needs of the business. Contact us to find out how we can help.