One of the key items to monitor the success of a project is not only by ensuring that the project is delivered within scope, but also that the revenue forecasts at the beginning of the project is realized. With Devices reaching End of Life, Company Mergers and Acquisitions, Business Transformations, Regulatory changes and various changes in market dynamics, IT projects are just increasing day by day and there is a growing need for skilled Project Management Professionals.
To ensure that Projects are properly managed, most organizations these days have a Project/Program Management Office (PMO). PMO is not just about having a large team of Project Managers setup and made available for Client projects, but also about having the correct framework and governance structure set in place to ensure that Projects are governed and executed in such a way that the top and bottom margins for the project have the least delta numbers.
I have worked across PMO's in multiple organizations and have found that PMO's with the best governance structure have better P&L figures. So even a PMO with lesser projects may perform far better than PMO with more projects due to proper governance structure and framework. But please make a note its not the tool which define a PMO's success, but the processes which define the success.
So what does it to take have a successful PMO running -
  1. PM on-boarding for PMO - Ensuring that there is a defined PM on-boarding process where the PM is made aware of the company's tools and internal processes.
  2. PM on-boarding for Project - Ensuring that a proper checklist is in place to handover project to PM from Pre-Sales team. No handover should take place using just an e-mail. PM on-boarding should definitely happen using a formal handover call with proper Minutes of Meeting captured.