A PMO’s PMO – Project Management Office’s Project Marketing Office

By:  Collin Quiring

Gantthead has a series this month about project promotion and in at least one article has a suggested acronym for a department that would do this – a Project Promotion Office (PPO).  The specific article I am referring to is found at http://www.gantthead.com/content/articles/250290.cfm  (by Andy Jordan).  I like the concept of a PPO, or, as it amuses me to call it – a PMO’s PMO (Project Management Office’s Project Marketing Office).  I know, PPO is a better, shorter acronym, and probably makes more sense – but PMO’s PMO just has that certain ring to it that I like.

I have always thought that part of the Project Manager’s job is to continuously promote the value that they (and the PMO) are providing to the organization.  Combined with the concept of a PMO’s PMO, I saw a blog today about how a successful a PMO is doesn’t mean that it will be revered; but that it could actually lead to its demise (by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin  at http://pmsolutions.com/blog/uncategorized/pmos-great/ ).

I think that getting an “official” department in an organization that is tasked to promote the PMO would be harder than pulling teeth.  However, every member of the PMO should be part of the PMO’s PMO.  This is particularly true if a successful PMO can actually put itself out of existence!

All this has solidified it in my mind that part of our daily work as Project Managers should be to advocate and publicize the value that the PMO is providing to the organization and to the individuals themselves – from the person with one task on a project to the executives looking at the entire portfolio. 

If the value of Project Management can be demonstrated to somebody outside the PMO, they just might become part of the informal PMO’s PMO!

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