Organizations with ongoing
training for project staff reported that
66%
60%
66 percent of projects at organizations
with a PMO were successful, compared with
60 percent at those without one.
66%
57%
vs.
78%
67%
78 percent of high-performing organizations
have a PMO, as compared with 67 percent of low-
performing organizations.
66 percent
of projects successfully met their goals,
compared with 57 percent of projects at
organizations that do not invest in training.
Source: PMI’s Pulse of the Profession™
“The biggest benefits from a PMO rely very
heavily on individual discipline, including clearly
defined roles within the project team,” she says. “It
should be expected, then, that the PMO itself model
good discipline by starting out with clearly defined
expectations, success criteria and measurement to
assess effectivity.”
To measure the PMO’s effectiveness, Ms. Laf-
ferty recommends taking a “before” shot of the
portfolio’s time, budget and quality delivery profile,
and then taking an “after” shot of those same mea-
surements after each delivery or release cycle.
“Charting this kind of improvement is also a
great way to keep people engaged and supportive of
your PMO,” she says.
Invest in Training
Ultimately, execution is everything, which is why
top-performing organizations invest in the training
and development of their project talent.
According to the Pulse study, ongoing training on
the use of project management tools and techniques
directly correlates to better project performance.
Organizations with ongoing training for project staff
reported that 66 percent of projects successfully met
their goals, compared with 57 percent of projects at
organizations that do not invest in training.
“The biggest
benefits from
a PMO rely
very heavily
on individual
discipline,
including very
clearly defined
roles within the
project team.”
—Jaynee Lafferty, Kongsberg
Oil and Gas Technologies,
Houston, Texas, USA
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