What Is a Project Management Office (PMO)? And Why Is It Important?

Key takeaways

• A project management office (PMO) is a dedicated department that provides oversight and support for an organization's various projects.

• The PMO ensures that an organization adheres to the best project management practices and standards. 

• PMOs can be especially beneficial for large companies managing numerous projects.

Learn more about what the PMO does, what kinds of strategic benefits they typically offer, and different roles to explore. Afterward, develop your project management skills with the Google Project Management Professional Certificate.

What is a project management office (PMO)?

The project management office (PMO) is a centralized department within an organization dedicated to defining and maintaining standards for project management. The PMO is often responsible for monitoring multiple projects across the organization, providing governance, and supporting project managers and teams.

The number of companies with PMOs has increased over the last decade, and that number is even higher depending on a company's revenue. It's estimated that 95 percent of companies earning over $1 billion have a PMO [1].

What does a PMO do?

The PMO has several functions, like ensuring that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the required standard. It also provides support to project managers in the form of templates, best practices, and training. In some cases, the PMO may also be responsible for resource allocation and management.

Some primary tasks of the PMO include:

• Project planning: Documenting steps, scope, and milestones for completing a project

• Project process improvement: Outlining how a project's processes can be improved in the future

• Project resourcing: Allocating resources to complete a project, including people, financing, software, and materials

• Project monitoring: Tracking a project's metrics, progress, and tasks to make sure the project will be completed on time and within budget

• Project control: A set of processes for tracking potential threats, issues, and opportunities for enabling project decision-making

PMO vs. project manager

As a member of the PMO staff, you’ll help support project teams and project managers while also working with other departments to ensure that projects are coordinated and aligned with organizational objectives. 

As a project manager, you’ll handle all the day-to-day management of the project, including working with your team to ensure tasks are completed on time and within budget. 

Why should a company have a PMO?

Not every company needs a PMO, though generally larger companies with numerous projects or those undergoing a significant operational transformation may benefit from having a central office to establish and oversee best practices. Otherwise, there are several strategic and operational benefits to having a PMO.

• Improved success rates: Organizations with PMOs may have more projects reach their original goals.

• Better resource utilization: Prevent overallocation and optimize workforce deployment.

• Enhanced decision-making: Provide data-driven insights for portfolio prioritization.

• Risk reduction: Early identification of issues before they become critical problems.

• Consistency: Standardized approaches reduce confusion and improve efficiency.

• Knowledge management: Capture lessons learned and best practices across projects.

• Scalability: Enable organizations to handle larger, more complex project portfolios.

• Cost control: Better budget oversight and resource optimization.

PMO areas of expertise

To facilitate the management of the organization's resources and best practices, the PMO provides process expertise, administrative support, and knowledge of management coordination. This may include a variety of roles within the office, including:

• Administrative support staff to work on report generation and software support

• Process-focused staff to provide support through training, leading projects, assuring quality, and developing project management methodologies

• Knowledge management staff to keep records of methods, standards, and lessons learned in a project database

• Resource managers ensure that resources are suitable for project requirements, manage and balance scarce resources, forecast and assist in resource acquisition plans, and secure key resource assignments

The PMO may also provide oversight and governance to ensure that projects align with organizational strategy and goals and are executed effectively and efficiently. 

4 types of jobs in a project management office 

The PMO team typically works collaboratively, sharing information to ensure projects stay on track. Consider some of the different roles in the project management office:

1. PMO manager 

Average annual base salary (US): $162,000 [2]

A PMO manager oversees the entire PMO and is responsible for ensuring that processes are followed and executed effectively. In this role, you oversee project managers so that they follow the correct procedures. You often liaise with senior managers to ensure they're updated on progress and that any project risks or issues are promptly addressed.

2. PMO analyst

Average annual base salary (US): $110,000 [3]

A PMO analyst collects and analyzes data to help the PMO manager and project managers make decisions about projects. In this position, you also create reports and presentations to communicate your findings to project stakeholders.

3. PMO process specialist

Average annual base salary (US): $104,000 [4]

A PMO specialist is responsible for providing expert knowledge and advice to the PMO manager on all aspects of project management. PMO specialists are responsible for implementing and coordinating PMO processes. This role works closely with the PMO manager to ensure that the processes are followed and effective. PMO specialists may also be involved in training and mentoring other members of the PMO team.

4. PMO coordinator 

Average annual base salary (US): $76,000 [5]

The PMO coordinator is responsible for supporting the PMO manager in all aspects of the PMO. This includes maintaining project documentation, coordinating meetings and events, and communicating with project stakeholders. As a PMO coordinator, you work closely with the PMO manager to ensure the timely completion of all activities.

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