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This is a guest post from Bill Dow.

I love this topic because, like many of you; I was brand new to PMO Management when I was first offered a PMO. It was scary and you might not understand where to start. Yes, you can search up and down LinkedIn, and I can tell you that there is advice there for sure, but it is often not expert advice.

I read it all the time, people telling you how to run a PMO and have zero or very limited experience doing it themselves. I saw a PMO expert that was offering an eBook for building PMOs on LinkedIn a couple of days back, but when I dug into his profile, he had no PMO experience. His LinkedIn banner said he was a PMO coach as well!

So, I am not saying this to disparage anyone; I am not. I say that the key to learning is through hands-on experience, and a classroom setting can only provide limited knowledge. So, please search for people who have done this before because those are the ones that have learned the hard lessons and can really help you grow in this PMO space.

Why learn from me?

Let me spend a minute and tell you the story of when I started in my first PMO leadership role. I was a project manager working for AT&T Wireless in the early 2000s; I think it was 2003, and my director at the time asked me to take on running the Data Warehouse PMO from her.

I was a Data Warehouse Project Manager at the time and had lots of experience managing projects, but never a PMO. But, she wanted me to do it, so I said yes, I would love to try. She was managing the PMO at that time, and was asking me to take it over for her.

I was excited and scared at the same time. Handing me her PMO meant a ton to me, and I would not fail. So, that’s it, and really that simple; I hinted to her I wanted it for a long time and she finally caved in and gave it to me.

What is a PMO?

I have said this a couple times in articles and interviews before, but there is no single definition of a PMO.

Let me explain. A PMO at one company can mean something completely different to another company.

For example, when you define a PMO, focus on the P of the PMO. Is that P stand for Project, or does it mean Program or Portfolio? That’s the point, but when you don’t know what the executives want for the PMO, then you will not know how to define the PMO properly.

I have seen so many definitions of a PMO being a “Project Management Office” meaning the P is for project management and that is not wrong, but it is not the same across every company.

My current PMO has Portfolio, Program and Project Management. So, I am using all 3 Ps in this case. Therefore, don’t look for a single definition from the web or anyone article. Look for what makes sense for your company.

What are the different types of PMOs? Aka… The PMO Model

I think this list grows every time I get on LinkedIn. It is crazy how we can keep saying the same thing in different ways.

Here is the list I have used for a while that seems pretty solid and ones adopted and accepted by the industry.

PMO types include:

• Directive
• Controlling
• Enterprise
• Agile
• Managing
• Supportive
• Center of Excellence

You may see different names from these listed above, and I get that and like I said, it is changing all the time. But for now, as you are learning and growing in this space, stick to what the industry is already using.

What are the roles and functions of a PMO?

This is also a very interesting question because what you see when you search on what roles and functions do you need in a PMO on the web, the most common result that comes back is project management roles.

You might see some other roles like Business Analysts, but again, it is very much project management related. That will make sense when your PMO has Project Management as the main P, but what I have done is come up with a better and more structured way of understanding what roles and functions you need in your PMO.

I have used this same process across my PMOs for years now with great success. Basically, what you do is take your PMO Service Offerings that your PMO is going to perform, and you create the roles needed to perform those services. It is that simple.

You can check out the book here: PMO Service Offerings eBook on Amazon today that guides you through this simple but effective end-to-end process.

What are the benefits of a PMO?

This is another significant area to cover when creating your PMO, but another area as well that will differ from PMO to PMO and organization to organization.

You should start with a benefits list like this below, but adjust and tweak for your organization.

1. Standardization of program and project execution
2. Improved governance across the organization and individual projects
3. Resource management and utilization
4. Increased program and project visibility
5. Issue and risk management across programs and projects
6. Knowledge sharing
7. Enhanced communications
8. Strategic alignment to the companies mission and vision
9. Performance measurement and process improvement
10. Ongoing training and employee development

As you can see, there are just some of the top benefits of having a PMO at your company, but these benefits, although standard across the industry, may not resonate with your company.

As a new PMO leader, make sure you have a benefits list that everyone in your organization can rally behind.

What skills are you going to need to run a PMO?

As a new PMO leader; you don’t know what you don’t know, so having a list of these skills is important.

This is a very long article as it's so comprehensive! Read the rest of it, including how to set up a PMO, staffing a PMO, what standard operating procedures and tools you need and what Bill did wrong when he set up his first PMO:

​How to Set up a PMO (Project Management Office): A Step-by-Step Guide​