A PMO is increasingly seen as an essential part of many enterprises. So what is it? Or, more accurately, what are they? Because PMO can stand for different things!
PMO is really vast and not as easy as it is thought. And Mike has explained that quite well. Different organisations render different definitions for Portfolio,Progeam and Project Management office. I had most of my learning in this area working with the global banks and it definitely has a much wider scope when it comes on a leadership team to align the business objectives with the investments they are making in different areas and projects that sit beneath those areas. Thanks for the quick walkthrough Mike.
Thank you, Nilo - I would imagine that, in global banks, you'd find well-established Portfolio Management Offices at the top strategic tier, and PrgMOs and PrjMOs at lower levels, supporting the multitude of initiatives that such large nd complex organizations will have ongoing at any one time.
I have a follow-up quesiton on this video: is a PMO different from a COE? The way you describe a project management office resonates with my understanding of a center of excellence, insofar as both are concerned with keeping governance over multiple projects and refining processes/methodologies for other business units. How are they related, and how do you differentiate the two types of organization? Thank you always for making great videos, Dr. Clayton. Sending you warm regards from South Korea!
Thank you, Don. A PMO can indeed be a Center of Excellence for Project, Program, or Portfolio Management practices. But they can also do much more, like providing practical admin support or enforcing governance principles. As with many things, what matters is the substance behind the particular COE or PMO you are talking about, rather than the label it chooses to adopt. I can see that there is a big overlap in the use of the terms. I think PMO is a more common term in the project context, and that we find Centers of Excellence outside the projects domain. But, if you have a PM COE, then I can't draw a meaningful distinction from the idea of a PMO. What matters is the range of functions it fulfils, the services it delivers, and how well it does al of this. The name is just a local label. Shakespeare: 'A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet' Marcus Aurelius: 'Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.'
My 4 hours sunk in to youtube and google resources for Project Management has lead here, in prep for a job interview - and I still don't know what PMO is lol. I understand Scrum and Agile, what the heck is PMO lol. I understand the difference between projects, programs, and portfolios......no problem. Seems like PMO is just some abstract and customizable concept for how team PM team should operate? I'll just ask them what it means to them and that will keep them talking for a while I'm sure :)
Well, I am sorry that you did not get it (and sorry you chose to resort to obscenity - but I decided not to delete your post). In essence, a PMO provides services to a project community in an organization, and translates the collected results up to senior management. But, as you suggest each organization will implement a PMO in its own unique way. I wish you well at interview. For more on PMOs... - Working with a PMO and Building a PMO Career - with Curtis Jenkins ruclips.net/video/D1El8DPySZ0/видео.html - PMO Competency Framework: A Conversation with Lindsay Scott of House of PMO ruclips.net/video/v1G9mx9I-c4/видео.html
@@Onlinepmcourses I apologize, I've edited my comment for you :). Thank you for your reply. I'm excited for my first in person interview in 5 years - the suit is fitted. All the best.
A PMO is a Project Management Office - although some PMO leaders refer to themselves as 'a PMO'! These people run Project Management Offices and provide services to both the Project Management community (of Project Managers) and the enterprise. A Project Manager, on the other hand, provides leadership of a project.
The Role of a Project Manager: Project Management Responsibilities: ruclips.net/video/yoM4pqyDnC0/видео.html Project Management Office - PMO 101: ruclips.net/video/4DDTYCx4TUc/видео.html
As always, the answer is contextual. A well-run PMO with a great PMO leader is a fabulous place to learn skills. PMO is increasingly a career path in its own right (see my discussion with Lindsay Scott about PMO competencies: ruclips.net/video/v1G9mx9I-c4/видео.html) as well as a route into mainstream PM. As to the salary - that all depends on where you are and what you are comparing it with. PMO salaries tend to be good but often, companies wrongly see PMO roles as largely administrative. In my forthcoming interview with Curtis Jenkins (ruclips.net/video/D1El8DPySZ0/видео.html - live from late August 2021) we discuss PMO as a route to the C-suite. At the moment, this is less common. PMO work and Project Management are both highly sought-after professional roles. Choose a route that suits your preferences and focus on excelling. There will always be good, well-paid jobs for the best PMs and the best PMO leaders.
Great videos, not sure why there are not more views, but anyway, I have a question, can a "simple" example of all three PMO's be something like this, ProjMO = Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, etc, the ProgMO = MS Office Suite, the PortMO = Microsoft?
Thank you, Ice Rook. IT's an interesting comparison you make, and my first instinct was to suggest it is a category error and the two things are too different to compare. But, on reflection, I think you are onto something. If I look at it from the perspective of a Microsoft product manager, I get what you get. At the top of the Microsoft business, the business strategy aims to create a portfolio of products and services that will optimise return on capital employed. One arm of the business (in principle - I don't know how Microsoft is organized) is the Office Suite division. They have an ongoing program to update and enhance the Office suite. Like any program, there will be many projects, from collaboration tools to enhancing graphics speeds. But, because they all need to integrate with one another (technically and commercially), it makes sense to manage them together, as a program. And then there are the individual projects. They may be aligned to a single product, like Excel or Word, or to a single feature that appears in all products. But those project managers have a measure of freedom to create their enhancement to a Time, Cost, and Quality specification. But not total freedom. Their place in the wider Office Suite program will impose constraints. So, my conclusion is that your example works. Thank you for offering it!
Sorry, not clear. These 3 structures may co-exist in an organisation? If yes, then how? We do have projects, programs and probably portfolios in the company, so should be managed by 1 or 3 PMOs?
It's a big question and a multi-part answer. 1. Yes, a company can have projects, rograms, and portfolios running simultaneously 2. In principle, it could also have a Portfolio Management Office (PfMO), a few PgMOs, and many PjMOs. 3. In reality, I doubt you'd see all three tiers in one place. 4. Let's take a plausible example, to answer 'how?' There is a single PfMO managing the strategic integration of all a company's portfolio and program tier activities. It would focus on the more strategic activities. But the big projects or programs may need services of co-ordinating reporting and managing prog/proj admin. These could be handled by PgMO or PjMO teams.
@@Lord-Panda2112 That's fine - I deliver content slowly, because a large part of my audience does not have English as their first language and they may not be completely fluent.
Hi, I joined as PMO in IT Organization, but every one is telling me that, this not a good career choice particularly in India.. please provide your valuable suggest.. how can I take this role as positively.. Thanks..
I cannot comment on the job market in India, but what I can tell you is this. In a good PMO, you can learn a lot. And in a poor one, you have the possibility of learning by making improvements. The value of your job is what you make of it. In your shoes, I'd think about the career you want, and the next one or two steps. Then look at how you can use this current opportunity to gain experience, contacts, learning, and skills which will prepare you for those next steps. A good PMO team member needs to understand project and program management, work well with a lot of people, communicate effectively, have good analytical skills... I could go on. All those skills are highly employable. Good luck.
'Compliance' usually is mandatory. But the extent to which compliance will be enforced will usually depend on the culture of the organization. Take two examples at the extremes of a spectrum: - a healthcare project that is creating a safety critical process in a regulated and Government-funded environment. Here, I'd expect compliance to be enforced strictly. - a tech start-up with most of the staff part of a founding friendship group. Very little here would be enforced with any vigor!
This was the vaguest explanation I've ever heard. How about a bunch of case specific examples? You just said it is undefined and there are likely 3 directions to go. I miss case-based information and tools to execute it.
Apologies, Julian - there's a limit to what I can do in under 5 minutes. You can find fuller information on PMOs in many places, including our pair of articles by PMO experts, Peter Taylor: - onlinepmcourses.com/introduction-pmo-essentials/ - onlinepmcourses.com/successful-project-management-office-pmo/ and Nicole Reilly: - onlinepmcourses.com/pmo-3-0-project-management-office-digital-transformation/
@@Onlinepmcourses Apologies. I liked your explanation. But I don't like project management in general :-) I think it has very little room in organisations. It can be OK for the construction industry.
@@hpopov Understood. I don't know what your background is (professional, sectoral, and cultural) but here in the UK, my experience is that Project Management is delivering new processes, products, marketing campaigns, business changes and more within organisations every day. It may not be something you like, but its value is immense and stretches way beyond its roots in construction.
A PMO is increasingly seen as an essential part of many enterprises. So what is it? Or, more accurately, what are they? Because PMO can stand for different things!
1-2-3
Play at 1.25 speed.
Fine if English is your first language!
😂😂
2x
Hahahhahahaha true
Thanks...
PMO is really vast and not as easy as it is thought. And Mike has explained that quite well. Different organisations render different definitions for Portfolio,Progeam and Project Management office. I had most of my learning in this area working with the global banks and it definitely has a much wider scope when it comes on a leadership team to align the business objectives with the investments they are making in different areas and projects that sit beneath those areas. Thanks for the quick walkthrough Mike.
Thank you, Nilo - I would imagine that, in global banks, you'd find well-established Portfolio Management Offices at the top strategic tier, and PrgMOs and PrjMOs at lower levels, supporting the multitude of initiatives that such large nd complex organizations will have ongoing at any one time.
I have a follow-up quesiton on this video: is a PMO different from a COE? The way you describe a project management office resonates with my understanding of a center of excellence, insofar as both are concerned with keeping governance over multiple projects and refining processes/methodologies for other business units. How are they related, and how do you differentiate the two types of organization?
Thank you always for making great videos, Dr. Clayton. Sending you warm regards from South Korea!
Thank you, Don. A PMO can indeed be a Center of Excellence for Project, Program, or Portfolio Management practices. But they can also do much more, like providing practical admin support or enforcing governance principles. As with many things, what matters is the substance behind the particular COE or PMO you are talking about, rather than the label it chooses to adopt. I can see that there is a big overlap in the use of the terms.
I think PMO is a more common term in the project context, and that we find Centers of Excellence outside the projects domain. But, if you have a PM COE, then I can't draw a meaningful distinction from the idea of a PMO. What matters is the range of functions it fulfils, the services it delivers, and how well it does al of this. The name is just a local label.
Shakespeare: 'A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet'
Marcus Aurelius: 'Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.'
@@Onlinepmcourses Beautiful quotes and equally elaborate explanations. Thank you :)
@@Hellosilvio Thank you, Don.
simple and valuable, Thanks dear Mike
You're very welcome.
Thanks for the explanation.
You're welcome!
We agree!
@@DatamarkNetCallCenter Tx
My 4 hours sunk in to youtube and google resources for Project Management has lead here, in prep for a job interview - and I still don't know what PMO is lol. I understand Scrum and Agile, what the heck is PMO lol. I understand the difference between projects, programs, and portfolios......no problem. Seems like PMO is just some abstract and customizable concept for how team PM team should operate? I'll just ask them what it means to them and that will keep them talking for a while I'm sure :)
Well, I am sorry that you did not get it (and sorry you chose to resort to obscenity - but I decided not to delete your post). In essence, a PMO provides services to a project community in an organization, and translates the collected results up to senior management. But, as you suggest each organization will implement a PMO in its own unique way. I wish you well at interview.
For more on PMOs...
- Working with a PMO and Building a PMO Career - with Curtis Jenkins ruclips.net/video/D1El8DPySZ0/видео.html
- PMO Competency Framework: A Conversation with Lindsay Scott of House of PMO ruclips.net/video/v1G9mx9I-c4/видео.html
@@Onlinepmcourses I apologize, I've edited my comment for you :). Thank you for your reply. I'm excited for my first in person interview in 5 years - the suit is fitted. All the best.
@@thegoalie2090 Thank you - and good luck!
@@Onlinepmcourses subscribed.
I don't understand the difference between a PMO and a regular project manager
A PMO is a Project Management Office - although some PMO leaders refer to themselves as 'a PMO'! These people run Project Management Offices and provide services to both the Project Management community (of Project Managers) and the enterprise. A Project Manager, on the other hand, provides leadership of a project.
The Role of a Project Manager: Project Management Responsibilities: ruclips.net/video/yoM4pqyDnC0/видео.html
Project Management Office - PMO 101: ruclips.net/video/4DDTYCx4TUc/видео.html
I got PMO as domain in my company. Is this good for fresher to grow in IT sector(in terms of salary)?
As always, the answer is contextual. A well-run PMO with a great PMO leader is a fabulous place to learn skills. PMO is increasingly a career path in its own right (see my discussion with Lindsay Scott about PMO competencies: ruclips.net/video/v1G9mx9I-c4/видео.html) as well as a route into mainstream PM.
As to the salary - that all depends on where you are and what you are comparing it with. PMO salaries tend to be good but often, companies wrongly see PMO roles as largely administrative.
In my forthcoming interview with Curtis Jenkins (ruclips.net/video/D1El8DPySZ0/видео.html - live from late August 2021) we discuss PMO as a route to the C-suite. At the moment, this is less common.
PMO work and Project Management are both highly sought-after professional roles. Choose a route that suits your preferences and focus on excelling. There will always be good, well-paid jobs for the best PMs and the best PMO leaders.
Great videos, not sure why there are not more views, but anyway, I have a question, can a "simple" example of all three PMO's be something like this, ProjMO = Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, etc, the ProgMO = MS Office Suite, the PortMO = Microsoft?
Thank you, Ice Rook. IT's an interesting comparison you make, and my first instinct was to suggest it is a category error and the two things are too different to compare. But, on reflection, I think you are onto something.
If I look at it from the perspective of a Microsoft product manager, I get what you get. At the top of the Microsoft business, the business strategy aims to create a portfolio of products and services that will optimise return on capital employed. One arm of the business (in principle - I don't know how Microsoft is organized) is the Office Suite division. They have an ongoing program to update and enhance the Office suite. Like any program, there will be many projects, from collaboration tools to enhancing graphics speeds. But, because they all need to integrate with one another (technically and commercially), it makes sense to manage them together, as a program. And then there are the individual projects. They may be aligned to a single product, like Excel or Word, or to a single feature that appears in all products. But those project managers have a measure of freedom to create their enhancement to a Time, Cost, and Quality specification. But not total freedom. Their place in the wider Office Suite program will impose constraints.
So, my conclusion is that your example works. Thank you for offering it!
THANK YOU!!!!
My pleasure.
Sorry, not clear. These 3 structures may co-exist in an organisation? If yes, then how? We do have projects, programs and probably portfolios in the company, so should be managed by 1 or 3 PMOs?
It's a big question and a multi-part answer.
1. Yes, a company can have projects, rograms, and portfolios running simultaneously
2. In principle, it could also have a Portfolio Management Office (PfMO), a few PgMOs, and many PjMOs.
3. In reality, I doubt you'd see all three tiers in one place.
4. Let's take a plausible example, to answer 'how?' There is a single PfMO managing the strategic integration of all a company's portfolio and program tier activities. It would focus on the more strategic activities. But the big projects or programs may need services of co-ordinating reporting and managing prog/proj admin. These could be handled by PgMO or PjMO teams.
@@Onlinepmcourses thanks
Thanks
Welcome.
1.25 play speed. Awesome!!
Thank you.
Excellent content and wasn't being rude.
@@Lord-Panda2112 That's fine - I deliver content slowly, because a large part of my audience does not have English as their first language and they may not be completely fluent.
@@Onlinepmcourses That makes sense. I appreciated the content, it was good. You seem comfortable in front of the camera. Good stuff.
@@Lord-Panda2112 Thanks.
Thanks for the video!
You're welcome
Hi, I joined as PMO in IT Organization, but every one is telling me that, this not a good career choice particularly in India.. please provide your valuable suggest.. how can I take this role as positively.. Thanks..
I cannot comment on the job market in India, but what I can tell you is this. In a good PMO, you can learn a lot. And in a poor one, you have the possibility of learning by making improvements. The value of your job is what you make of it. In your shoes, I'd think about the career you want, and the next one or two steps. Then look at how you can use this current opportunity to gain experience, contacts, learning, and skills which will prepare you for those next steps.
A good PMO team member needs to understand project and program management, work well with a lot of people, communicate effectively, have good analytical skills... I could go on. All those skills are highly employable. Good luck.
Hello , are u still in pmo role
It would be better if compliance was mandatory, imho
'Compliance' usually is mandatory.
But the extent to which compliance will be enforced will usually depend on the culture of the organization. Take two examples at the extremes of a spectrum:
- a healthcare project that is creating a safety critical process in a regulated and Government-funded environment. Here, I'd expect compliance to be enforced strictly.
- a tech start-up with most of the staff part of a founding friendship group. Very little here would be enforced with any vigor!
This was the vaguest explanation I've ever heard. How about a bunch of case specific examples? You just said it is undefined and there are likely 3 directions to go. I miss case-based information and tools to execute it.
Apologies, Julian - there's a limit to what I can do in under 5 minutes. You can find fuller information on PMOs in many places, including our pair of articles by PMO experts,
Peter Taylor:
- onlinepmcourses.com/introduction-pmo-essentials/
- onlinepmcourses.com/successful-project-management-office-pmo/
and Nicole Reilly:
- onlinepmcourses.com/pmo-3-0-project-management-office-digital-transformation/
Sir can a hr student become pmo?
Yes - but be prepared to spend a lot of time learning at a junior level.
I like this
Thank you.
We agree!
My name is Phone Myat Oo😂
😁
Atal or adha vani.
???
i really dont understand sorry
What don't you understand?
Prime Minister Office.
LOL
So much fluff
Sorry you didn't like it. 🌥
@@Onlinepmcourses Apologies. I liked your explanation. But I don't like project management in general :-) I think it has very little room in organisations. It can be OK for the construction industry.
@@hpopov Understood. I don't know what your background is (professional, sectoral, and cultural) but here in the UK, my experience is that Project Management is delivering new processes, products, marketing campaigns, business changes and more within organisations every day. It may not be something you like, but its value is immense and stretches way beyond its roots in construction.