Disrupting your project management office (PMO) can be a positive thing that will increase efficiency and productivity. By embracing disruption and changing up your PMO structure, you can see financial and strategic benefits for your office and the business.

Moving away from a traditional PMO and using disruptive ideas and technologies to become business-focussed will give your office a new lease of life and help justify its existence.

To help you understand what disrupting your PMO structure looks like, we’re going to cover:

  • What we mean by a traditional PMO
  • How moving towards a business-focussed PMO is disruptive
  • Why you need to be disrupting your PMO structure

What does a traditional PMO look like?

Every PMO is unique in its structure and responsibilities, but where its focus lies will suggest if it’s a traditional PMO or more forward-thinking.

No matter the work your office does, there is always scope to disrupt what it works on and how it’s delivered. Traditional PMOs will offer services around:

  • Governance
  • Compliance
  • Reporting

While these areas are important, it can be hard to demonstrate value with them. There are also ways these functions can be at least partially automated and free up time in your PMO to drive change.

Look at the reasons your PMO is set up in a traditional role. Maybe your office has been around for a while, and this is how it’s been for a long time, or it was set up in the only way the business was aware of at the time.

Traditional PMOs work to the extent that businesses still go to the effort of setting them up. However, there are different ways of working, and your office can be more successful when you start to disrupt the status quo.

What does disruption to a PMO look like?

Disruptions that can derail a project aren’t welcome, but shaking up the way your PMO works and the tools it uses should definitely be embraced. Disruption should change the way you work for the better and present new opportunities to your office and the team you work with.

Whatever disruptive tech and ideas you bring, it should shift your office away from the norm. Data, compliance, and monitoring functions can be migrated to technological solutions so that your office can work on being strategic, creative, and offering leadership.

You will need to plan out how you want to disrupt your office and projects. There will need to be a change programme that lays out the tools you’ll bring in, how they will be rolled out, and where the resources will be reallocated once completed. Disruption can’t always be fast, but you should aim to make it as swift as possible to build momentum.

You won’t be able to restructure your PMO in a silo. You will need to work with other areas of the business; hopefully, they will buy into the same agenda and push to bring in more technology and fresh ideas. Work with your PMO sponsor, your HR department, and others to make sure your disruption is understood across the business.

What are the benefits of disruption to my PMO?

Good disruption can bring about positive change to a PMO and help you add value to the business, thus securing the future of your office. When you’re working to make the case to bring in disruptive tech and practices, here are some of the benefits you can aim for:

  • Disruption will incorporate new technology into the PMO and ensure that it keeps up with evolving best practices.
  • Resource-heavy processes can be streamlined, meaning that people can be reallocated to activities that add more value.
  • With more time to focus on the project aim rather than administration, there can be more focus on strategic goals in projects.
  • The PMO can be more aligned with business goals when it is able to focus on profit generation and improving processes rather than merely facilitating them.
  • Shifting towards a business-focussed PMO means more of the project lifecycle is managed through your office, increasing accountability.

Disrupting your PMO structure

Becoming a business-focussed PMO is a major disruption that will need new technology and a new way of thinking within your office. Embracing disruption and changing your PMO structure secures your office’s future and produces more value for the wider business.