PM Solutions is a project management firm helping organizations execute, govern, and measure their portfolios to improve business performance.
How can a PMO demonstrate value to the business?
The results from a recent study of PMOs by
PM Solutions Research shows that merely implementing a PMO is not a panacea. Instead, it is PMO
maturity that makes a difference to the organization. As PMOs become more mature, organizational success metrics improve.
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Organizations with PMOs show significant improvement at each Level of PMO maturity
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6.2% overall performance improvement from PMO Level 1 to Level 2
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14.6% overall performance improvement from PMO Level 2 to Level 3
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10.5% overall performance improvement from PMO Level 3 to Level 4
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PMOs at high-performing organizations are 66% more mature than at low performing organizations (average level of maturity is 2.9 vs. 1.7)
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As PMOs mature, they are significantly better at meeting critical success factors, including having effective sponsorship, accountability, competent staff, quality leadership, and demonstrated value
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High-performing organizations* are more likely to have an enterprise PMO (65.8% of high-performing organizations have EPMOs compared to only 48.6% of low performing organizations)
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High-performing organizations outsource 135% more often than low performing organizations
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High-performing organizations evaluate project manager and team competency significantly more often than low performing organizations
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High-performing organizations have larger PMOs (30% more staff) and rely on more specialized roles, including mentors (136% increase), team leads (467% increase), planners (147% increase), controllers (116% increase) and relationship managers (698% increase)
*High-performing organizations rank in the top 25% in overall organizational performance based on ratings in 8 measures of performance (strategy execution, shareholder satisfaction, customer satisfaction, budget/schedule performance, financial performance, resource allocation, strategic alignment, portfolio performance). Low-performing organizations rank in the bottom 25%.
Source: PM Solutions (2007). The State of the PMO: A Benchmark of Current Practices. Glen Mills, PA: Project Management Solutions, Inc.
