PMO Outsourcing

The endeavor is to enunciate why an organization in India should considering outsourcing its PMO activities and the pros and cons of doing the same.

The principal driver for outsourcing any work and/or department in most organizations is to drive down costs. However, in the case of the PMO the need for outsourcing is more strategic for:

• Mitigating Conflict of Interest
• JIT Project Management & Managing Standards
• Client Focus & Proficiency
• The Outsourced PMO models

When an organization wishes to build a PMO, it has to be seen as any other Project that the organization takes up – it needs to go through the following CDEF steps – Conceptualize, Develop, Execute and Finish. Again, like any other project there needs to be a clear authorization on building the PMO and the method that will be followed to build it. Without an authorization AND the method, the PMO runs the risk of running aground before taking off.

No organizational head honcho wakes up one morning and decides that “I think we should build a PMO” – usually there is some form of trigger which necessitates building one. The trigger itself could be positive or negative – it could well be that the delay of multiple projects are affecting the bottom line (negative) or that the sheer scale of projects coming in – internally or through clients is overwhelming (positive). Ideally, the need of a PMO should become clear when a firm is restructuring itself or leading a change effort of some sort. In any of these circumstances the key question which needs to be answered is – “Why do we need a PMO?”

This is because the roles and responsibilities accorded to a PMO vary from organization to organization – answering this question would give the organization a clear picture of what these roles and responsibilities should be – so that the energies of the PMO are channeled toward critical areas. This would help enable choosing the right model for the PMO.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_In_Time_(business)
2. The Value Proposition of Outsourcing PMO Activities with a Project Driven Organization – XOOMWORKS – Laurence Nicholson
3. The ideal project management model is a balancing act – Ted Stephens, Tech Republic