1. Provides better visibility
   • A PMO will store and provide information across the different projects and/or programmes to key stakeholders. Visibility is important across all levels of an organisation from executive and project level.
2. A centralised function for teams within a project/programme environment
   • Without a PMO, there is a greater likelihood of siloed working within a project or programme environment. This makes it difficult to see where impacts are across the various projects. Having a central point of contact for all teams within the project/programme environment increases the ability to stay consistent and organised.
3. Communication across all levels of an organisation
   • A PMO controls the internal and external communications and ensures that the right information is being relayed to the right people. This ensures that correct decisions are being made at the right time.
4. Helps the Project Manager focus on delivery
   • A PMO helps the PM to not get distracted from their work delivering the project. They can focus on work relevant to delivery without being hampered by day-to-day administration.
5. Greater project controls will offset the cost of a PMO
   • The PMO will cost money in the short-term but the controls, knowledge and procedures they bring into a project will off-set these in the long-term.
6. Enforces the governance of the project or programme, a PMO is seen as impartial and independent
   • Governance comes from the top level but enforcing it comes from the PMO as they understand what governance to put in place. It allows objectives to be met and gateway processes to be monitored. It provides a structured approach and consistency across all projects.
7. Retains knowledge to use for future projects
   • The PMO can use the information and knowledge that they captured in previous projects. This can aid in the delivery of future projects through knowledge transfer and lessons learned.

An effective PMO will provide the benefits above to ensure the project or programme’s success rate. Find out what PMO support PL Projects can offer.