Critical Evaluation Of The Project Management Office Construction Essay

PMO’s are commonplace in medium to large construction companies. Evaluate the role of the PMO with particular reference to the benefits and disbenefits that they bring to a project organisation.

Setting up a PMO within an organisation the following four must be incorporated:

Project Planning – involves the whole scope and aspects of the project, which would include timeframe, size of project and resources.

Project scheduling – This involves a detailed timeframe of each procedure that will take place during the timeframe of the project, which is normally done by means of MS Project.

Risk analysis – Detailing of the possible risks which are associated with a particular project, evaluating their possibilities into high, medium and low. This must incorporated into a spreadsheet and continually monitored.

Project Tracking – A monitoring procedure which will incorporate status of weekly procedures in management and the projects schedule plan.

The services a Project Management Office provides to a construction company are as follows:

Establishing a foundation for adequate project management procedures which will be implemented throughout the entire organisation in specific areas such as risk analysis, construction project selection and the software which will most suit the company.

Evaluate the current project management system in relation to its development and continually improve in the areas where most needed.

Provide training to the project managers and continually update their skills and needs into maintaining an established workforce.

Provide knowledge to the PM on administrative skills.

As previously discussed incorporate an estimation and risk analysis system into the organisation, which should be reviewed and managed to identify any problematic issues which may arise.

Develop the companies ability to change, expand and increase with there scope of project, costs and timeframes.

Review the lifecycle of a project towards the company’s prospects at reaching the projects goals.

Preserve documents in a database which can be easily traced back for future reviews.

Provide communication and linkage technology between PM and staff to have more specific information in relation to specific which requires a lot of detail like design.

Finishing a project with an adequate quality standard which may result in future work from the current client.

Continually examine projects which are currently being developed by the construction company and report the information to main management for the appropriate decision. This method should be repeatedly done until project completion.

There are 3 different forms of project management office which a construction company can incorporate into their organisation and they are as follows:

Supportive PMO

This form of PMO is used to help project managers and staff to deliver projects more successfully, by means of providing knowledge, training and the resources which are needed to enable the company to solve problems at a quicker rate.

The supportive form is used in the following areas:

If the organisation is relatively new.

Not used in the long run but are the best place for an organisation to start.

Controlling PMO

This form of PMO is used where a more of a monitoring approach is needed to take control of the project and the company. It is used to provide a certain standard which is required in details such as audits, project reviews and attain the risks which may be a threat a project.

The controlling form is used in the following areas:

The supportive form is used in the following areas:If the supportive service is not enough for the organisation and a more heightened approach is needed.

If project need to be addressed on an individual basis and the best practices which are needed to complete the project successfully

Directive PMO

This form of PMO is used to take over the whole of the project and is a more of a commanding approach to the running of the project. The main leader within the directive approach is the PMO directive and the project manager report to them with project related issues.

The directive form is used in the following areas:

Can be considered the most advantageous of the three for its direct outcome of high detailed and high risk project.

Where a great deal of professionalism is needed.

A consistent result is needed across the whole project.

To decide which form of PMO which would bring most value to the medium to large construction organisation, the following has to be taken into consideration:

The history of the company and what kind of approach which would bring most value to the company.

What size the company is and what the company future plans are.

A PMO can sometimes be confused with a PM, but although this is where the PMO stems from, there are many differences. The differences between role of the project manager and PMO are as follows:

A PM will focus on specific task, while the PMO will focus on the overall scope of the project and the continuous changes to better the company.

A PM controls a particular project and uses the resources which are assigned to them, while the PMO can be assigned various tasks across the entire company and optimises the resources of the entire company.

Advantages of PMO

There are several different advantages which can be ascertained by having a significantly adequate PMO incorporated into an organisation and they are as follows:

The recommended industry guidelines are followed rigorously by the PMO, which is a major benefit when it comes to the required standard needed for a project. This standard can be seen in areas such as estimation, risk analysis and budget.

An increased dedication will be given by the project manager and the team of the organisation.

Procedures which are both apart of an organisation and a project will be performed in a consistent and standardised way.

This method will also be an advantage in measuring the succession of a project by measuring the project performance using quantitative measures.

A vast knowledge will be ascertained from previous projects and learning to face challenges from future similar projects.

Disadvantages of PMO

There are several disadvantages which a PMO can bring to an organisation and they are as follows:

A considerable amount of commitment is needed from the entire organisation for a PMO to be incorporated successfully and to achieve the desired goals. This can also prove to be a difficult feat when resources are in short supply.

Resistance from clients to believe in the PMO can also be another difficult feat and greatly depend on the knowledge and level of management maturity which they have encompassed.

Friction between clients and project managers can be generated from lack of commitment from either side.

The time needed to incorporate a PMO into an organisation can be vast, due to the amount of developments, processes and the general changes that may need to be integrated into a small to medium organisation.

To incorporate a PMO and get the desired goals which are needed for the succession of the construction company there are several elements which are needed to be developed.