Project Management Office

Functions
Governance:
•  The PMO’s governance function plays an important role by providing
decision support for project sponsors, decision makers, and
stakeholders involved in the program, organization and enterprise. 
• Documenting governance decisions and tracking action items for
future governance sessions provides the administrative support
needed for effective decision making.
Performance Management
• The performance management function integrates project level status
reporting and generates the program level status for executive
reviews.
• The PMO investigates specific performance issues and communicates
early warning signs of troubled projects. 
• The PMO also enforces consistent performance reporting guidelines
so each project reports project performance consistently
Schedule Management:
• The schedule management function assists the program by identifying
project level milestones and integrating them into an overall program
level plan.
• The program level plan is a summarized view of critical program
milestones. If the program is leveraging tools such as Microsoft
Project Server or CA Clarity, the PMO may integrate the detailed
project schedules into a detailed program schedule.
• The PMO also monitors schedule variances and recommends
corrective action.
Financial Management:
• Tracking actual spend and forecasting future costs while navigating a
company’s internal billing and reconciliation procedures can often be
a full time role within the PMO.
• Reporting cost variances and adjusting program forecasts based on
change control is a critical function for fiscal success.
Risk, Issue and Scope Management:
• The processes of risk management, issue management and scope
management apply to programs as well as individual projects.
• The PMO supports individual projects by identifying and evaluating
risk, issues and change requests to a program.
• The PMO manages the specific reviews and documents key decisions.
Projects are organized within a program due to synergies gained from
working as an integrated set of activities.
• The key processes of risk, issue and scope management also need to
be integrated for mutual benefit.
Resource Management:
• Resource allocation and resource capacity needs to be managed across
the program for effective utilization.
• Depending on how well resources are allocated, different projects may
have additional resource capacity and skills that can be shared across
the program.
• By establishing a resource management model and tracking utilization,
programs can make better decisions for project prioritization.
• The key to an effective resource management model is the quality and
reliability of the underlying data.
• The PMO manages the data collection and reporting process.
Quality Management:
• The PMO provides quality management by providing expertise in
quality control, quality assurance, coordinating quality inspections,
and process coaching.
• This function is often perceived as administrative overhead and
intrusive to individual projects, however, it is a critical function for
consistent delivery.
• The PMO should inspect project level deliverables and more
importantly provide coaching to project teams requiring additional
project management support.
Communications Management:
• Every project and program requires a communications plan.
• Although the target audience and frequency may vary at the program
and project levels, the PMO creates the overall program
communication standards for projects to follow. 
• The PMO will also assist the program manager in developing
necessary communications to program stakeholders.
Supplier Management:
• The PMO supports supplier management by monitoring the various
suppliers providing services to the program and notifying the program
manager of supplier performance issues.
• Supplier performance scorecards are integrated through the PMO and
individual suppliers work with the PMO to understand performance-
reporting standards.
• These functions are specific to project management delivery;
however, additional administrative functions such as document
management and facility management may be supported.
• The scope of functions provided depends on the form and needs
within the program, organization or enterprise.
• Once a company determines the form of PMO needed, they can use
these functions as a PMO checklist to develop the project office.
• When organizations first establish a PMO, it should have a PMO
development plan.
• Each of these processes can appear as high-level tasks in the
development plan to ensure the PMO is delivering all its functions.
• Organizations may prioritize specific functions depending on need and
project management maturity;
• However, fully functioning PMOs have established processes that
integrate and roll up through the program, organization and
enterprise.