Official Guide to The Program Management Office

Official Field Guide to The Program Management Office

Author: Bill Casey and Wendi Peck

© 2001 Executive Leadership Group, Inc.

The Program Management Office (PMO) is a favorite silver bullet of organizations aiming to improve their project management. The PMO is an organizational entity that can dramatically improve an organization’s ability to deliver on its promises. However, the term “PMO” has come to have different and shifting meanings. It’s hard to know what people are talking about when they suavely boast of their own PMOs, or suggest that you set one up for your organization. It’s helpful to have a field guide to tell one possible PMO from another—and which one is right for your situation.

This powerful poster will help you determine the type of PMO, such as: Whether Station, Control Tower, Resource Pool, Portfolio Manager, Benefits Verifier, or Integrator, as well as the associated functions, accountabilities, authorities, and cautions for each type.

For more information about PMOs, our article Choosing the Right PMO Setup offers a fresh perspective. The article appeared in the February 2001 issue of PM Network magazine.