There’s no shortage of opinions about PMOs. Some rave about their effectiveness while others question if they’re a waste of time. The truth is, you can’t know if a PMO can deliver the business outcomes you need until you understand what it’s designed to do — and the value it should bring to your organization.
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Many PMOs today are stuck in an outdated, theory-heavy approach to project management. Layers of governance and rigid processes, though taught by well-meaning theorists, end up bogging things down instead of accelerating strategic delivery. Why? For starters, project managers are often hired based on their certifications, signaling that their value lies in the credentials they hold. Naturally, they focus on applying everything they’ve learned in training, assuming that more process equals better results. Unfortunately, this turns many project managers into perfectionists of process rather than drivers of business value.
Delivery teams, meanwhile, are rarely taught …