The Top 5 Reasons Why PMOs Fail

1.   A lack of executive support—There are many reasons for the lack of executive support and it arrives in many manners. There may be the public chiding, the noticeable loss of the inner circle. Discussions may occur around, no more changes at this time; the organization cannot make the leap. (Even though the only change was a project dashboard.) Another tactic is the inability to comprehend key concepts even after multiple explanations - like the PM lifecycle, perhaps you have heard the quote in a buy and implement shop. “We plan as we go implement”. Another classic tendency is to cut funding support, new positions are denied or existing positions are reduced. Those experiencing it know it as a lack of executive support, and this one is always a nail in the coffin.

2.   They become policeman and auditors—One purpose of a PMO is to bring value to the project managers, so auditing and policing for a bit is okay as long as it is used in an educational and mentoring manner. It helps drive the change to change resistant organizations. However, if the PMO has been doing it for a bit and is now viewed in the same light as the IRS, it was time to change out of this tactic a long time ago.

3.   They overburden the staff with process and documentation—People drive project success. Processes and Technology should augment effectiveness not become obstacles. Additionally Process and Technology should help in the organization as communication and alignment improvement. Risk Management is a great process for identifying possible obstacles and gotcha’s for the project. However if they aren’t communicated to those accountable and empowered for managing the risk, the process is just more documentation on the already overburdened PM.

4.   No demand management or resource management—This is basic management for it, and also recommended for the PMO. If you can’t quantify demand, and priorities change all day long it will be impossible to project accomplished. Also if there are no resource for the projects, human heroics only goes so far, and the projects will not be accomplished. The PMO can help assist developing a process for time tracking while remaining cognizant of the fact that in IT we hire for smarts, not for punching the clock at 7:30 am and at 4:00 pm. Also the demand for resources should not only include the IT staff, include your sponsors time as well.

5.   Benefits capture is not done—This one is how you continue to facilitate and drive value. Yes it is a bit of marketing, but worth the time spent. The PMO should help to capture and quantify the business value of the completed projects. If you do not capture the benefits, it is more than likely they will not be captured. This cycles on down to individuals asking what is the value in the PMO overhead? Being proactive mitigates this argument altogether.

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