This resulted in solutions that may have been delivered on time and on budget, but didn't fit the technical architecture, weren't in keeping with other managers' technology strategies and were difficult to support.

The Proper Role of PMOs

The proper role of a PMO is to help everybody become a good project manager — not to be a project manager for a few big projects. It's not to disempower others, but rather to empower others with advice, training, methods, tools and services that make everyone successful at delivering their projects.

There are two levels at which a PMO can help others: At a high level, a PMO can help others plan their projects. This includes planning the steps in the process (PERT charts, Gantt charts, work breakdowns, etc.) and how they will control project resources. High-level advice may amount to a little bit of help up front, or active involvement throughout a large project. But regardless of how involved the PMO may be, they are still a "subcontractor" to the real project manager within the appropriate line of business.

At an administrative level, a PMO can help others administer project-specific data. The PMO not only helps them control resources, but also helps them report project status to their boss and their customers in a consistent fashion.

Why Project Management Is So Tough

Some readers may be thinking that this supporting role for a PMO won't be enough. They may feel that their technical staff will never be able to manage big projects. Why do some CIOs feel the need for a SWAT team of super-project managers in a PMO? On the surface, it may appear that most staff aren't very good at managing projects. But the problem may be deeper — it may be systemic. Imagine being the project manager for a cup of coffee. You'd have to tell "Juan Valdez" how many beans to plant. You'd arrange for workers to harvest the crop, and a truck to carry it to market. You'd send a ship to pick up the beans and dock workers to load it. On the other end, you'd arrange trains to carry the beans from the dock to the roasting plant. You'd buy natural gas to roast the beans, and containers to package them. You'd schedule trucks to carry them to market. You'd plan shelf space in the market, and check-out clerks to sell the beans. You'd arrange for filters, water and electricity for a coffee-maker...

Clearly, a cup of coffee is an impossible project to manage using the traditional model of a project manager as one who directs the activities of everybody on the project team. In reality, how do we get a cup of coffee?