ABSTRACT
With this chapter, we find ourselves at the threshold of the PMO itself. Before stepping across that threshold, consider how well you have laid the organizational foundations. Like any endeavor, the creation of a PMO requires a strategy, and the key to strategy is to think big, but act in small steps. A Project Management Office (PMO) is a project, and, in the initiation stage, you will need to ask yourself some key, strategic questions. 1. Do I have all the PMO critical success factors in place? a. Executive support b. Appropriate funding/resources c. Acceptance by project managers d. Acceptance by business managers e. Institutionalized PM culture 2. Have I matched the PMO with our business needs? A PMO
that gets too far ahead of, or lags behind, the business needs is doomed. It will be seen as overkill when it has capabilities the business does not value; conversely, it will be perceived as ineffective when it does not have the capabilities to meet business needs.
