In the past I may have occasionally ranted about PMOs. I may even have said that I would not rant about PMOs ever again. If I did say that; I LIED…
A PMO may mean:
- Project Management Office. Sounds fine.
- Program Management Office. Still fine; a program is a collection of projects.
- Portfolio Management Office. OK, I’ll buy that; a portfolio is a collection of projects or programs.
Now, let me just refresh everyone’s memory with the definition (PMBOK) of project:
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
I’m pretty sure that anyone involved in project management regardless of the certification body, framework, or methodology can agree to this definition or something close to it.
As I often do while driving around I was listening to podcasts. Actually I was catching up on my listening when I heard 2 well know PM talking heads mention OPERATIONS PMO…
I almost drove off a bridge at the first mention and I yelled at the top of my lungs at the second. I checked the date on the podcast to see if it was an April Fool's prank. I replayed both passages to check if I was not hallucinating. Negative on both counts...
What the hell is wrong with these people? Operations are continuing endeavors; they are not projects. You can’t PMO them; stop the crazy talk. What’s next; PMOs that run PMOs? Do we really have to call a PMO any structure that holds 2 or more PMs? Call I call the pub a PMO if I go there with another PM? Again, stop the crazy talk. Do it right now and I promise that I will not rant about PMOs ever again.
What do you think? As always questions and comments are welcome.
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