PMO Maturity Dimension #2 - Organization

Project Management Organizations come in all forms, from the single project manager PMO to teams with hundreds of project managers all operating under a common set of processes.  Our model focuses on small PMOs, but the overarching maturity concepts carry through to even the largest.

When we talk about the Organization dimension in our model it relates to both how the PMO is structured and, more importantly, how the PMO contributes to the overall organization.  When a new PMO is formed it is most commonly a tactical organization.  A new PMO will take the approved list of projects from leadership and focus on executing them.  Getting a seat at the table to be part of the overall evaluation and prioritization of projects can take time.  Fortunately, as your tactical PMO gains traction and shows their value executing projects the natural evolution is to become a consultant to your leaders as they decide what to tackle next. 

Here is the overview of the Maturity Model Organization dimension:

Organization Maturity Matrix

Level 1: Ad Hoc Project Management Organization 

• No centralized PMO or clear project management structure. 

• Roles and responsibilities for projects are unclear. 

Level 1 is pretty self-explanatory.  You may have a project manager, or managers at Level 1 but there is no recognized Project Management Organization.  Many small businesses have a Level 1 Organization, many have project managers executing projects without any formal PMO created. 

Moving from Level 1 to Level 2: Form your PMO! 

Level 2: Basic Project Management Organization 

• Formal or informal PMO might exist. 

• Initial attempts to define project roles and responsibilities. 

A Level 2 PMO is the starting point.  You have a PMO formed that is recognized by your organization.  There are many ways a level 2 PMO can be structured.  It may be a single project manager, a combination of project managers and business analysts, or any other structure that works for your organization.  There may or may not be a “PMO leader”, your PMO might simply roll up to another line leader like a CIO or COO.  At this point your PMO should start the process of building a standardized PMO framework for intake and delivery.  Delivering projects in a consistent manner builds the value you will need to move higher in the model. 

Moving from Level 2 to Level 3: Deliver value to the point you are actively called on to be a consultant within your organization.  I’ll reiterate the point of this being a natural evolution.  As your PMO becomes more valuable the business lines you work with will start to call on you more and more for advice on how to organize and deliver work. 

Level 3: Standardized Project Management Organization 

• Established PMO with clear functions and responsibilities. 

• Regular collaboration between PMO and other departments. 

Level 3 is where you will start to hit your stride as a PMO.  You have a clear place in the organization; you are facilitating conversations between business lines, and you are called on to collaborate with business line level planning.  Your PMO has a consistent set of processes and delivers value as advertised. 

Moving from Level 3 to Level 4: This stage involves two incremental changes to your PMO.  The first is moving from an advisor at the business line level to becoming an advisor to your organization as a whole.  The second is going from the general consensus that you provide value to actually proving it through tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 

Level 4: Enterprise Project Management Organization 

• PMO is seen as a strategic partner in the organization. 

• Defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for project success and performance. 

Level 4 is about your measurable success.  At this point you are an advisor at the organizational level, helping to evaluate and prioritize potential initiatives.  You have a seat at the leadership table and your input is part of organizational strategic direction. 

At this point you should define your PMO Key Performance Indicators.  Depending on your structure and responsibilities this can cover things like measuring schedule performance, budget variance, earned value, project satisfaction, or resource utilization.  Good data is key to this process, KPIs are only as good as the data they use, make sure you can actually measure what you want to track. 

Moving from Level 4 to Level 5: The final stage of your PMO evolution is to be the primary facilitator of your organizational priorities. 

Level 5: Project Management Organization Center of Excellence 

• PMO plays a central role in strategic planning and execution. 

• Seamless collaboration with other business units. 

At Level 5 your PMO has moved from an organizational advisor to the primary facilitator for project intake, evaluation, and prioritization.  You are actively managing the inputs from your organization and helping to organize them into usable decision-making data. 

Closing

Understand that not every PMO needs to make it to Level 5 to be a success.  Many PMOs provide a ton of value at Level 3 or Level 4.  Depending on the structure or politics of your organization Level 4 or Level 5 may not even be possible.  An example of this would be an IT project management organization with a mandate to consistently deliver IT initiatives.  In this case you want to build the best Level 3 organization you can.