Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition

The Project Office

23.0 INTRODUCTION

PMBOK^® Guide, 4th Edition

1.4.4 PMO

Today, companies are managing their business by projects. The result has been a vast amount of project management information surfacing from all areas of the company. This information focuses on best practices in the project management, the usefulness of an enterprise project management methodology, the benefits of project management, and how project management is improving the profitability of the company. As companies begin to recognize the favorable effect that project management has on performance, all of this project management knowledge is treated as intellectual property. Emphasis is now placed upon achieving professionalism in project management using the project office (PO) concept, where the project management office (PMO) becomes the guardian for the project management intellectual property. The concept of a PO or PMO could very well be the most important project management activity in this decade.

23.1 PRESENT-DAY PROJECT OFFICE

The 1990s began with a recession that took a heavy toll on white-collar ranks. Management's desire for efficiency and effectiveness led them to take a hard look at non-traditional management techniques such as project management. Project management began to expand to non-project-driven industries. The benefits of using project management, which were once seen as applicable ...