PMOs vary in terms of size, structure, and responsibilities depending on the environment and agreed goals, you can expect PMOs to function in the following seven areas:
- Project support:
Provide project management guidance to project managers in business units.
- Project management process/methodology:
Develop and implement a consistent and standardized process.
- Training:
Conduct training programs or collect requirements for an outside company.
- Home for project managers:
Maintain a centralized office from which project managers are loaned out to work on projects.
- Internal consulting and mentoring:
Advise employees about best practices.
- Project management software tools:
Select and maintain project management tools for use by employees.
- Portfolio management:
Establish a staff of program managers who can manage multiple projects that are related, such as infrastructure technologies, desktop applications and so on, and allocate resources accordingly.