What makes a good PMO?
Every PMO is different and, as such, has different needs and requirements when it comes to PMO software. However, when it comes to the features that make a good PMO verses an inefficient PMO solution, there are multiple common themes. Here, we’ll explore: what should a good PMO do?
What makes a good PMO?
Flexibility and customisation: a good PMO tool will be flexible and customisable – offering you the ability to adapt and change elements of your PMO to suit your organisation’s unique processes, language and branding.
Collaboration tools: PMO tools should offer an effective way for project teams to collaborate and communicate as an absolute priority; a well-informed and supported project team making a productive and motivated team – whether that is by providing an easily accessed, customisable project dashboard + one click reporting elements to ensure everyone has access to key project metrics, or a group chat/direct message function.
Instant update features: traditional cut ‘n’ paste PMOs rely on locally saved Gantt charts and Excel spreadsheets that can be difficult to share, track changes and keep updated when working as part of a team. App and cloud-based PMO tools, however, offer instant update features, saved within the app or on the cloud where all team members can access, amend and share required updates.
Risk management features: fundamental to project management and Project Management Offices is the ability to effectively manage and mitigate risks and, as such, a good PMO solution will offer risk management features. For example, a traffic light system, allowing PMO Leads and Project Managers to see, at a glance, the probability of risk associated with a project or element of a project.
Reporting elements: a crucial part of project management is reporting and the ability to easily, quickly generate a comprehensive report for key stakeholders, without spending hours searching for and updating project statistics. As such, a good PMO should offer at least some basic reporting functions, alongside the ability to view key metrics at a glance.
In short, a good PMO puts productivity, collaboration, risk management and KPI tracking at the very centre of your project teams – improving your processes whilst supporting you to increase the value of your project portfolio.
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