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How to Structure and Staff a PMO Without a Big Budget
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Not every PMO starts with a team of full-time project professionals. Many small organizations begin with just one person wearing multiple hats. Sound familiar? I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve taken calls with project managers who are setting up a PMO for their department or team. So it’s time to write out what I tell them! If you’re a small business owner, project lead or transformation manager trying to build a functioning PMO with minimal staff, shared resources, or part-time support, this is for you. Read on for a guide to help you set up a structure that works now, but can grow later. Pick the right PMO type for your realityBefore structuring your PMO, get clear on its role. There are several types of PMO, but frankly you don’t have to stick to one of these. What you are aiming for is to determine the role you expect the PMO to play. Here are some examples. Supportive PMOA supportive PMO offers templates, coaching, and best practices to the project leaders in the organization. It’s a good approach for early-stage or resource-light businesses because you’re a centre of best practice. Controlling PMOA controlling PMO adds structure and requires compliance from the projects in the team. This works if leadership wants visibility and transparency, and you’ll be gathering data and reporting. Directive PMOA directive PMO assigns and oversees project managers. It does resource assignments and capacity planning, and the project analysts and managers report into the PMO lead. This is more common in mature organizations where you have consolidated the project resources under one leadership structure.  My advice would be to start with a supportive approach (with a bit of transparent reporting) and grow toward controlling as you prove value. A PMO structure for small businesses is more likely to be a reporting and governance function in my experience, because what small businesses want is software, dashboards (or manually created reports, yikes) that show the impact of projects, value, investment, resource capacity and when new things can be started. What roles do you actually need?Even with one person, you can structure work around functions:
You may only need 0.5 FTE total if you share across roles. Document the project management office roles and responsibilities in a RACI matrix. I’ve put an example below – use this as a starting point but you’ll want to tailor it a little bit as necessary to fit your own organization structure. PMO RACI MatrixFor more on how to use this kind of table, check out my guide to the RACI matrix.
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Where should the PMO sit in the org chart?Your PMO’s impact often depends on where it reports.
Choose a reporting line that aligns with your PMO's goals (support vs control). In my experience, you don’t really get to decide where the PMO sits. If you’ve been asked to set it up, then it is going to be in whatever area of the organization that you are. It might move later, but right now as you get started, it’s sitting with you. Borrow, don’t hire (yet)You need to come up with a PMO and staffing strategy, but that sounds a lot more fancy and hard work than it actually is. It’s about how you get the resources to fill the roles. Let’s assume that in the first instance the person doing the PMO work is you. You’ll have to juggle the project manager vs PMO lead hats, but just think of it like being a fractional PMO. Here are some ways to build capacity creatively. Use fractional PMs: Bring in freelance or part-time project managers on big projects, to provide the governance and PMO support for a particular initiative. Leverage internal champions: Upskill enthusiastic team members to be project leads (assuming you have some!) Tap into virtual assistants: For status reporting, document prep, meeting scheduling – virtual assistants don’t have to work in the same company but you’ll need approval before you bring in external resource and they’ll need access to your systems. Create “PMO Ambassadors”: Train 1 rep per department to act as liaison – useful for when you want to start spreading the word about expectations for management and governance of projects. Your outreach team then becomes your virtual PMO. Think creatively: you don't need headcount, you need coverage. Plan for growthEven the leanest PMOs need a growth path:
Basically, start wherever you need to start, and think a little bit about where you want to go next. As demand increases, you'll grow. It will just happen. It's better if it's planned and thoughtful, but don't stress about it at this point. Scrappy > Perfect!You don’t need to build a big machine. Start with functions, not job titles, and scale as demand grows. You've got this! This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: How to Structure and Staff a PMO Without a Big Budget |
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I help project professionals get more done with less stress. Having been a project manager for over 20 years, I share tried-and-tested tips that work in the real world, every Tuesday. Join our community of over 15,000 project professionals (and accidental project managers too!).
Don't want to get blog posts by email any longer? Click here to receive the main newsletter, but opt out of receiving blog posts by email. 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...
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Don't want to get blog posts by email any longer? Click here to receive the main newsletter, but opt out of receiving blog posts by email. If you’re weighing up the Google Project Management Certificate against the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, you’re not alone. It’s a decision many aspiring and early-career project managers face. I’ve done the Google Certificate and been a PMI member for years, working closely with PMP training companies for some of that time. So I’ve seen both,...