Following on from the post PMO Vision statement, this post will cover the topic of PMO Mission Statement. Both are important and help when setting up a PMO.
Difference between PMO Mission and PMO Vision
It is worth spending a moment understanding the differences between a mission statement and vision statement.
The aim of the Mission Statement is to define the business / organisations purpose and primary objectives / goals.
The aim of the Vision Statement is to also define the purpose of the business / organisation. However, this is done in terms of a business / organisations values.
PMO Mission Statement
When you have been asked to set-up a PMO it is a good idea to develop a mission and vision statement. If you already have a PMO up and running and do not have a mission and vision statement, it is worthwhile taking the time to create them.
The reason it is good, is that it helps focus the mind on what you and your organisation wants to achieve by setting up a PMO. Knowing what you want to achieve informs the design. This is very good as it helps prevent a PMO being formed for the wrong reasons and, in my opinion, much worse a PMO with no direction or clear purpose that is perceived as ‘low value’ by the rest of the organisation.
A clearly defined mission statement should be something all PMO team members can connect with, as well as the rest of the organisation. Everyone feels a clear purpose and knows what they are trying to achieve.
Example PMO Mission Statement
You may define the mission statement along the lines of:
“To provide a high performing PMO to fully support the change agenda by implementing sound project management practices. The aim being to enable 80% of projects and programmes to deliver the defined benefits in their business case. Achieving this will support the overall strategy of the organisation to be ranked in the top 5 of our industry peers”.
Or the statement could be in more direct bullets:
- Provide a group wide standard approach to project delivery
- Provide full and accurate visibility of project status
- Provide effective prioritisation of project management resources to support the strategic change agenda.
Remember these are just examples, your mission statement must be appropriate and relevant to your organisation.
Where to capture the PMO Mission Statement?
Like with the vision statement, it should be captured in key presentations, PMO charter and PMO terms of reference.
Conclusion
Spend time thinking about your missions (and vision) statement. It will result in you building a better PMO.
Learn more today!. Download the FREE guide, 7 Steps to Set Up a PMO. This will provide you with the blueprint to what is needed to set up a PMO. It also includes helpful links to articles on this website for many of the steps.
