PMO in organization 

As projects of an organization increases, the organization needed the Project Management Office (PMO) to deal with the project with the organization’s designed and adopted policies. But in emergency phases, where an organization faces the untoward situation because of any disaster or any other hurdles causes to affects the projects portfolio and risk of project failure expected than the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) should have to established' because this management includes the strategic decision-making authorities because this situation needed the tailor-made decisions to overcome the risk of failure for the projects, which is not possible without the approval of the strategic level management, the chief executive or the board of Directors member.

 Introduction:

The traditional PMO having the decision powers within the policies of the organization, because the Management in traditional PMO is external or internal people backed by the authority to take a decision within given set rules of business of the organization, the PMO mandated to set the directions of the project, maintain and ensure standards based on best practices and having the authority of project management across the organization, but they have not supposed to the leading role for the strategic goal alignment. The EPMO has the same responsibilities alike to the PMO but they have additional powers to take the strategic decision making, they can make the alignment of all projects, programs, and portfolio activities with organizations larger strategic objectives.

What is PMO?

The PMO stands for Project Management office, as it establishes through the group of peoples internally or externally that have the oversight role to standardize the projects based on best practices, to set the directions and maintain a standard of all projects across the organization business, like a regulatory commission, and it introduces a repetition of economies in the execution of projects that maintain its productivity, as a quick response entity. 

What is an EPMO?

The EPMO stands for Enterprise Project Management Office, having the same functions of PMO but it is a strategic level, which also involved the organization’s executives, it is the centralized office having the goals to provide the company based guidance, ensure good governance, to maintain the standardized process, take management of project portfolio, based on best practices, through adopted tools and techniques. 

Why transition from a PMO to an EPMO?

The PMO was to set up for the management of project-specific deliverables and needs requirements that did not meet to program and have not necessarily directly linked with the business objectives of the organization on a larger perspective. It has assessed, how PMO can draw the road map that can directly meet the goal of success for the organization businesses. On this specific point, the need for EPMO arisen, to address the following issues.

1. Un-certain PMO direction

2.  PMO should use fewer resources

3. Less company performance at a high-cost expenses

4. Lack of alignment in the entire company's larger strategical perspective

 As per PMI’s research, the EPMOs can ensure:

• The improvement in portfolio reporting services with 20%
• The strategic alignment services with 23%
• Confirm the strategic priorities with almost 10%
• The project alignment with strategic objectives by 10%

EPMO and high-level reporting model

All the organizations have a different hierarchy based on the factors, the company size, kind of industry, its complexity, adopted culture, and other affective factors. The companies should have the EPMO model of strategy because an EPMO chief can directly report to the CEO level person. This can capable the EPMO to work along with the executives of the company, to influence the company's top-level management on a strategical level.

Although the reporting methods, structures, and areas having a difference, which vary company to company, the existence of EPMO and its role on a strategical level are essential. The companies should analyze the present and future needs and goals before setting up the EPMO structure because it will play a very vital role in the successful execution of an EPMO for the company.

EPMO roles and responsibilities

As the EPMO supports the organization to apply the standardized approach to portfolio, program, and project management, being a strategic level leadership to oversight the initiatives, deliverables, and all compliances' should fall under the EPMO mandates. The EPMO leadership should adopt to work with C -suite to:

• Design basic rules and expectations for project staff

• constitute the common language for project Manager, functional leaders, and other stakeholders

• that they can easily communicate and assure the expectation's to understand

• Ensure the visibility and enhance the accountability across the organization appropriately.

• Enhance the agility through adapting other initiatives or modifications inside the organization for champion business transformation purposes.

• Enhance the capacity for planning and resource

• Develop and maintain main competencies skills and set the standards

• Establish and communicate the prime performance indicators, to measure the project performance

• Conduct the review's meetings regularly and ensure the compliance

• The buy-inside desk' should  create in the entire business

Conclusion: 

I Am concluding:

• Middle-level management cannot be able to streamline the project activities until unless the top-level involvement in the Project Management Office (PMO), because they have no decision powers to deal with the issue, then why wasting the money of a project on meeting for the sake of meetings just.
• The PMOs having the role in normal situations, where the organizations are not facing any hard decisions of policy and strategical level, but hard situations like current scenarios of COVID-19 Pandemic, needed the strategical decision, so it requires the EPMO in these situations.
• The transition of PMO towards EPMO is a demand of the age to enhance business, so all the organization needed growth then should do their specific jobs align with current demands of the business to enhance the trust of a client on organization concerned.

Muhammad Israr Umar

An NGO worker for the last 17 years

muhammadisrarumar6@gmail.com