Limitations and weaknesses of the typical PMO

Some of the inherent weaknesses of the traditional PMO include:

• Insufficient clarity - Is it a Project-, Programme-, or Portfolio Management Office? How does it relate to roles and job descriptions?
  
  
• Inconsistent approach – The traditional PMO may hot have uniform processes
  
  
• Limited scope – often do not address operational, financial and strategic targets of the organisation
  
  
• Ineffective governance – Usually too project focused and lacks balance with the rest of the business
  
  
• Lack of strategic alignment – The delivery strategy for the PMO is not aligned to organisational strategies, and operational factors are inadequately taken into account
  
  
• Insufficient payback – The PMO does not demonstrate how it 'pays' for itself..

At the core of the traditional PMO is conventional thinking that assumes a simple linear relationship between projects, programmes and portfolios. I.e. multiple projects are captured within programmes and multiple programmes are captured within a portfolio.

Conventional thinking also suggests that:

• Project management has a focus on scope and risk management, cutting across many parts of an organisation.
  
  
• Programme management is concerned with project delivery with a functional area or business line with a focus on organisational resources and the constraints they apply.
  
  
• Portfolio management has a strategic view of projects and captures groups of projects that have common objectives, e.g. a new capability.

The simple linear model, however, does not reflect reality and fails to recognise the fundamental differences that exist. After all, projects don’t necessarily align with the programme view. A typical example would be corporate support groups, such as IT departments, who often provide critical input to projects that arise from different functional areas of the business.

Likewise, the traditional model does not scale well for large organisations that manage multiple portfolios and large numbers of projects that cut across most departments.