As a company executive, how would you determine if there is a need to establish a project office? If it is determined that there is a need, how do you measure the return-on-investment as a result of the implementation of the PMO?
A project management office (PMO) can come in handy particularly when they are many projects within the department that are uncoordinated. Setting up the office may arise especially if one department has taken on many projects and has difficulty in completing them. Setting up departmental PMOs will help in assisting the department in focusing on urgent issues related to the projects like handling resources and the various expenses together with keeping up with the timelines associated with the project (Artto et al., 2011). As such, the Project Management Office will cooperate with the management to analyze the various projects and their priorities and focus on how resources should be used in meeting the project’s objectives.
Secondly, Setting up a PMO can result due to shifting focus on the main idea or an important project in the organization. Companies usually focus on the projects that give them more money as compared to others. Such projects often take a long time and use more resources. Therefore, the companies usually have to wait for some time before they can gain from the project. The projects use much capital and thus, may strain resources to other projects, but the project provides the company with substantial gains if finished. Since the projects take a lot of time regarding the use of resources and capital in the organization consistent organization and structuring of the projects over time should be done with care to ensure that the goals of the projects are followed to the end (Larson & Gray, 2011). Some projects usually employ the use of a project management office to help in finishing key projects that would assist the company grow or create more job opportunities in the company. In such a case, a PMO will help in ensuring that the projects are finished successfully and on time. The PMO be to temporary in this case just to oversee the completion of a particular project.
Thirdly, another need for the setting up of Project Management Office is in the case of a significant change that is to happen in the organization particularly when the plan is to enter a new market. The company may be introducing a new product in the market or doing mergers with other businesses. Such steps require that the firm takes appropriate measures, which include execution, organization, and careful planning which the organization may not carry out successful without setting up a specific office to focus on the business venture in place (Kerzner, 2013). Coming up with a PMO will help the company strategically deal with the different business projects in the organization. The office will help in dealing with various projects throughout the organization while prioritizing them and focusing on finishing them on time. Changes are thus implemented throughout the organization from a central office, which is the PMO. Such an office will focus its efforts in finishing the tasks at hand thus ensuring their completion in the required timeframe. Therefore, the office solely focuses on the completion of the task without interference from other organizational duties.
Fourthly, increasing administrative on project managers from the necessity of setting up a PMO. Administrative tasks in such cases may take more time that the project manager would have used in overseeing other urgent or important tasks (Aubry et al., 2009). The Project Management Office, in this case, will help the project managers by clearing them from some administrative tasks while they concentrate on other areas of the projects that need improvement or resources. The need of PMO arises when there are too many administrative tasks that the project manager carries. Such tasks may hinder the proficient working of the project manager especially when they take much of his time at the expense of other tasks that he needs to oversee regarding the project (Meredith et al., 2016). As a result, the project managers are given support in administrative tasks especially functions that include drafting reports on costs to accounting, sorting paperwork and filing it among many other duties.
It is important that the increasing burden caused by the administrative tasks be reduced to give the project manager more time and space to concentrate on the project and ensure that the project is executed as planned (Wysocki, 2009). Some project managers may have problems dealing with various software like Microsoft Project. Such difficulties in handling software may cause the project to delay. The PMO will thus provide a solution to the challenges faced by the project managers by training them and giving them other resources that will help them in finishing the projects. Such offices, therefore, advantage the project manager in that they help in ensuring that they are proficient in their duties and thus perform better.
Measuring the return on investment of a project management office will involve looking at the various functions of the PMO. One is in the supporting of project manager in their administrative tasks, which saves a lot of time and energy on the part of the project managers and enables the projects to be finished on time (Heagney, 2012). Thus, time as s resource is saved and workers who were needed are quickly acquired which means that the project is completed on time to the advantage of the company and the client. The return on investment can thus be measured on the successful completion of projects, which would have taken long if the office was not set up especially for critical projects that would have been terminated as a result. Return on investment can usually be measured on how costs have been saved by the implementation of the PMO.
Such costs can be saved by the Project Management Office especially actions that involve removal of resource vacuums and projects that are redundant. As such, projects that are not beneficial to the company are done away with, and only those that are potentially successfully are left ridding the company of using resources on projects that will disadvantage the company in the end. Resource allocation is more efficient since the PMO determine the various that need the resources especially critical and urgent projects (Jones, 2010). The office further helps the organization in avoiding repetitive mistakes that have led to increased expenses. As such, the PMO helps the organization save on time and contributes to the efficient use of resources thus ensuring that expenses are minimized significantly. As such, the office helps to align all project functions to the strategic goals of the organization while making sure that the resources are managed and used effectively, and the various investments are used appropriately to meet the company’s goal.
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