This document discusses how the perception of project management offices (PMOs) has shifted from a valuable practice to a "status machine" focused on meetings and rules. However, a strategic PMO understands the needs of the organization and ensures projects run smoothly and efficiently through examining processes, content management, and information sharing. Strategic PMOs are nimble, periodically evaluate their toolkit of solutions, and involve the organization in developing appropriate structures and processes rather than imposing rigid rules. The goal is for PMOs to be seen again as a strategic asset that helps create success within companies.

1. By Tom Hoch
Over the last several years, the PMO (Project Management Office) has
transitioned in its public perception from a valuable company practice to
a “status machine.” Worse, it has become aligned with a distortion of
“governance” that suggests there are people forming up walls of rules
that make getting things done exhausting and painful. In fact, the
opposite is true of a Strategic PMO.
Meetings, statuses, milestones, and rules are NOT the strict purpose of a
PMO. Meetings, statuses, and gates, are a byproduct: a support
mechanism. They’re not to be abused.
A strategic PMO knows they can only be effective if they FIRST
understand the needs of an organization. I told a client recently that you
wouldn’t walk around a construction site telling everyone how great a
hammer is. You’d ask the builder what they are building first. If it’s a
skyscraper, a hammer might be a little worthless. If it’s a house, a
hammer is a smart tool. The same goes for a business and a project—
you can’t know the tools, the engagement model, or the structure if you
don’t know what they’re trying to achieve.
For instance, people may be working on projects but need a bit of
organizational management to get it done efficiently and on deadline.
That requires a strategic examination of everything from content
management to common processes to exchanges of information. Often,

2. there are unknown time drains or inefficiencies that a Strategic PMO can
remediate with process and structure. Simply said, tools, rules, and
structure are meant to ensure everything runs smoother and more
efficiently.
HOW DID PMO GET PIGEONHOLED AS A STATUS MACHINE?
There are a couple of ways PMOs ran off the rails. First, individuals in
large organizations learn pretty quickly that identifying a sticky problem
in an organization that could be fixed with process is a great way to get
ahead. A decade or more later, those processes from a multitude of
individuals start to lose oversight. And process chaos ensues. It’s death
by a thousand cuts. Second, process-driven activities often trap
organizations that aren’t all that process-oriented. They get stuck in the
rut of over-processed meetings and rules and lose the point because
they weren’t set up for that kind of process in the first place.
A STRATEGIC PMO ISN’T RIGID.
Strategic PMO solutions enable work to be done in a way that
complements the organization.
• They’re Ready to Be Nimble: A Strategic PMO considers the nature
of their client organization, team(s), and project. How nimble are
they? Solutions can, and often do, straddle work modes to meet the
needs of a project— for instance, enabling Agile work while at the
same time enabling waterfall mode. Good PMO practices are ones
that allow for speed, agility, and efficiency.
• They Examine the Toolkit: Toolkits are not one size fits all. And
they should be re-evaluated periodically. New tools and
opportunities enter the marketplace all the time. A great example
is the rise of online document sharing such as OneDrive and Box.
These collaborative tools minimize back and forth, simplify
versioning, and store documents for controlled access. The point
is— it’s worth making room to see if your toolkit is helping or
holding you back.

3. • They Involve the Organization: Say somebody asks me to make
them breakfast. And, after going away for a bit, I bring them a
toaster. They’d be pretty confused, right? But, what if they asked
me to make them breakfast, and then I sat with them and asked
questions— Do you want me to make it once, or do you want me to
enable you to make it every day? How much money do you have?
Then, after discussion, I suggested a toaster so they could make
breakfast everyday. That toaster sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
By engaging people in the right way, there is more collaboration,
and less friction.
It’s time to ditch the “status machine” moniker and reclaim the PMO as a
strategic asset— one that can help create success within companies
alongside their teams and within their most pressing project initiatives.