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PMO vs Project Management

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Most larger organizations have a program management office (PMO) which deploys program and project managers to projects throughout the organization. In many cases, people use the terms program and project management interchangeably. This however, is totally incorrect. As usual, here’s one of my drawings to illustrate:

PMO

The clear difference is that there is a single PMO operating across an organization’s projects. They, program managers, maintain a single line of sight to all projects and ensure compliance of each project to the company’s overall strategy. They also deploy resources to each project to do this.

The PMO is also looking for linkages cross-functionally. So if you’re implementing new payroll and expense systems simultaneously, they’ll look for commonalities and integration points that the project managers won’t necessarily see from the project plan level.

In contrast, the project managers manage down to each individual project plan. They are singularly focused on executing and ensuring the successful implementation of each project. However, they do report project status and risks up to the program managers.

Program managers manage upward – to the strategy of the organization. Project managers manage downward – the execution of the project plan. The two practices intersect at the project level, each with different points of view, but managing each other to get the best overall outcome for the organization, a successful implementation that is compliant with company strategy.

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3 responses to “PMO vs Project Management”

  1. PMO vs Project Management June 19, 2006 on 2:00 am | by Systematic HR Most larger organizations have a program management office (PMO) which deploys program and project managers to projects throughout the organization. In many cases, people use the terms program and project

  2. mobilize the senior executives and the board to act in a consistent and methodical approach. This approach fulfills not only the the strategy though process that HR facilitates, but also fulfills the employer brand. A couple weeks ago, I talked aboutPMO and project management. HR may not be the ultimate sponsor of leadership development or the employer brand. Ultimately, the board owns the decision for the next CEO, and they can at any time trump HR in regards to the emplyoer brand. However, think about these strategies as

  3. Amjad Kassem Avatar

    Project managers and PMO’s purse different objectives ans, as such, are driven by different requirements. all of these efforts are aligned with the strategic needs of the organization. Differences between the role of project managers and a PMO may include the following

    – the PM focus on the specified project objectives, with the PMO manages major program scope changes, which may be seen as potential opportunities to better achieve business objectives.

    – The PM controls the assigned project resources to best meet project objectives. While the PMO optimize the use of shared organisational resources across all projects.

    -The PM manager manages the constraints (scope, schedule, cost, quality, etc) of the individual projects, while the PMO manages the methodologies, standards, over all risks/opportunities, metrics, and interdependence among projects at the enterprice level.