Project demands and requests
PMO scorecard breakdown
Project demands and requests
Handling project demands and requests is a critical aspect of running a successful PMO. Without a clear process to manage incoming requests from different parts of the organisation, PMOs can struggle to bring crucial projects to fruition. In our survey, we learned there’s still room for improving the overall process.
59% of PMO professionals say they have a well-defined process to gather requests from the business (giving this a score of 4 or 5, with 5 being ‘totally agree’).
However, for most PMOS deciding which projects to accept is a time-consuming process that often isn’t transparent to key stakeholders. Less than a quarter of PMO professionals (23%) completely agree that they assess and approve/reject project requests in a timely fashion while keeping requestors informed of progress.
A significant number, 38% of respondents, are not satisfied that their project investment decisions are rational and aligned to organisational strategy.
Less than 1/4
of PMO professionals agree that they assess and approve/reject project requests in a timely fashion.
Project management tooling
Project management tooling
The right project portfolio management software can help to bring about a data driven culture, translating data into tangible business value. In our survey we found:
47% of PMO professionals say their teams can use a variety of work management and collaboration tools, and still, the PMO retains visibility of milestones and progress. However, only 15% of PMO professionals totally agree that Project managers have efficient tools to track their projects and submit status reports, avoiding double-entry and time-wasting admin.
Only 30% of respondents say that project information maintained by project managers flows directly into portfolio reports without PMO manipulation.
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of PMO professionals say their teams can use a variety of work management and collaboration tools.
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of PMO professionals totally agree that Project managers have efficient tools to track their projects.
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of respondents say that project information maintained by project managers flows directly into portfolio reports.
PMO governance
PMO governance
The PMO makes sure that projects and programmes are run in a repeatable, standardised way. Our survey asked questions relating to typical governance aspects, and the results indicate a mixed bag of maturity levels.
52% of PMO professionals have an agreed set of project control documents and it’s easy for the PMO to find them and assess their status (scoring 4 or 5).
Risk management fares better, 65% of PMO professionals say they capture risks at project, programme and portfolio level. They can escalate and report them within an effective management process.
Two-thirds of respondents put a score of 3 or less to their ‘Lessons Learned’ process and its value to future projects in driving continuous improvement.
22% of industry professionals say they cannot apply governance equally to projects of different types and delivery methodologies (score 1 or 2).
One-fifth of PMO professionals say they can’t respond to executive requests for information rapidly as they don’t have data at hand.
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have an agreed set of project control documents.
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say they capture risks at project, programme and portfolio level.
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of respondents put a score of 3 or less to their Lessons Learned process.
PMO recognition
PMO recognition
Only 19% of those we surveyed completely agree (with a 5 score) that the PMO is recognised for the value it delivers to the organisation, as it is safeguarding successful project delivery, return on investment and compliance. While another 30% would apply a more cautious score of 4, that leaves about half of respondents scoring this with a 3 or less, which indicates that the PMO is still fighting for recognition in many organisations.
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completely agree (with a 5 score) that the PMO is recognised for the value it delivers.
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would apply a more cautious score of 4.
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of respondents scoring this with a 3 or less.