PMO: What's in a Name?

There's been debate over the years about the term PMO (Program/Project/Portfolio Management Office), and whether the "P" should stand for Program, Project, or Portfolio (a recent addition to the mix). In many cases, I'm less concerned about that than the use of the word "management." Often this implies bureaucracy, hierarchy, and oversight.

One client of mine made huge inroads with adoption merely changing their name to Project Support Office (an idea my friend and colleague Claude Emond always endorsed). The idea is to start out as a support organization, helping project and portfolio managers with the tools, processes, and training they need to be successful. In this way the department is seen as an enabler, not a disabler. All deliverables are done in the context of supporting project and portfolio managers.

If such an organization can start out as a supporting organization, then gain the credibility to become an influencing organization (picking one or two key improvement areas at a time), they can then progress to become a truly managing organization, serving to help integrate delivery with business strategy (maybe this is the time to change the name to Integration Management Office). Many PMOs try to start at phase 3 and haven't built the credibility or expertise to do it effectively.

Sometimes, all it takes is a name change to set the right tone up front.