A cross-section of the third annual Global State of the PMO study was conducted to give insights into the effectiveness, maturity and value of PMOs in Singapore
SINGAPORE, July 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ESI International, the world's leading project management training company, today announced the key findings of its annual Global State of the PMO study, and a cross-section of the survey that was conducted within the project management office (PMO) sector in Singapore with 192 professionals holding project management and related roles. The global study sought to reveal the latest PMO trends in light of its function and current role, maturity level and involvement in training, based on responses gathered from over 2,300 respondents worldwide.
For decades, researchers have been trying to grapple with the concept of the PMO and how it works to improve overall business performance. Because project management has become integral across all industries and sectors, the PMO plays a vital role in offering strategic, tactical or operational guidance in day-to-day business through its involvement in project and programme delivery.
The results of this year's global survey reinforce the belief that, while the PMO continues to be challenged by senior management, it is still vastly considered as a valuable body within the organisation. It was found that the so called "active PMOs" - or PMOs that engaged the most in learning sustainment and workplace performance management - were the most challenged. Acknowledging that bodies that are actively engaged in the organisation’s operations gain visibility and hence tend to generate more attention, this finding indicates a heightened dialogue between stakeholders and the more visible PMO, which can be interpreted as a positive development in the PMO's evolution. The increased challenges of the most visible PMOs suggest their role is worth examining, refining and redefining as necessary.
Highlights of Global Findings:
- Training and development on a downslide: In its efforts to monitor the level to which PMOs are the hub of training, ESI found the percentage of PMOs involved in training and development efforts has dropped significantly in every area. At the same time, PMOs are also managing more people than ever before, suggesting that the PMO is working with more project professionals in general without taking on an increased training function.
- PMO as career paver: The PMO has proven to be a career-crucial body for project managers. Not surprisingly, the PMOs that measure both workplace performance and engage actively in learning sustainment tend to be the most involved in structuring the PM’s career path. It is no wonder, then, that these PMOs are also viewed as the most valuable to the people benefiting from the PMO’s activities. Three out of four active PMOs were reported as providing a structured path for project managers, compared to a global mean of 41 per cent.
- Strategic PMOs most mature: Just under half of the PMOs surveyed worldwide were tactical or tactical with some strategic reach (46 per cent). About one in five (22 per cent) was strategic and roughly one in three (30 per cent) was operational in nature. The survey found that the PMOs with a strategic function, as opposed to a tactical or operational one, tended to be the most mature. In this survey, PMOs with an enterprise-wide approach proved to be the most mature.
Download ESI's The 2013 Global State of the PMO report here:
http://www.esi-intl.com.sg/pdf/RR/ESI_Global_State_of_the_PMO_2013.pdf
The Singapore Perspective
Among the 192 project management professionals surveyed in Singapore, 72 per cent said they have an active PMO in their organisations, and 60 per cent said their PMOs have existed between 1 and 5 years.
Key Takeaways:
- Challenges to the PMO's value within the organisation: When asked whether the value, role or function of their PMOs have been formally challenged within the organisation, 57 per cent said no, as compared with 52 per cent for the global mean. Of those challenged, 81 per cent said that the PMO's value has been challenged by senior management, while 45 per cent of those surveyed said that the customer and product owner have questioned the value of the PMO.
- Effective monitoring, measurement and reporting of project management data: 67 per cent of respondents claimed their PMOs have been credited for better and more effective monitoring, measurement and reporting of project management data, leading to greater visibility at both executive and portfolio levels. Only 54 per cent said their PMOs have been responsible for improving the training and development of project-related staff.
- Singapore PMOs not doing enough on hard skills training and certification: With regard to the provisioning of "hard skills" for project management training, only 34 per cent of those surveyed said their PMOs provide such direct training, as compared with the global mean of 50 per cent.
- Singapore PMOs fall short on training ROI measurement: Only 7 per cent of PMO-managed staff said their PMOs use the return on investment (ROI) method to measure the impact of training. Most respondents cited "immediate post-training feedback forms" (71 per cent) and "follow-up evaluation" (64 per cent) as the two most common methods employed by their PMOs in measuring learning impact. The findings indicate a lack of the use of advanced training measurement methodologies among PMOs in Singapore.
- Poor performance in learning transfer and sustainment: When it comes to PMOs' involvement in helping project managers practice, master and sustain the skills they have learned through training, only 23 per cent said their PMOs provide practical assignments to test the newly acquired skills. Most respondents (69 per cent) cited that their PMOs were mostly involved through follow-up discussions and action planning after the learning event.
- The lack of customer focus in measuring PMO effectiveness: Majority of the respondents (80 per cent) said they use "on-time and within-budget project delivery" as a benchmark to communicate and report on PMO effectiveness. Only 33 per cent factor in customer satisfaction as a benchmark for PMO effectiveness in Singapore, as compared with the global mean of 52 per cent.
"While PMOs have been in existence for some time, it hasn't been since the last 10 years that the PMO has taken on a specific governance structure to align project delivery with stakeholders' needs," said Raed S. Haddad, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, ESI International. "In Singapore, there is more to be done when it comes to communicating the value of the PMO to senior management. PMOs here should start incorporating customer satisfaction as a key success benchmark to validate their value to both internal and external stakeholders. "
Download ESI's The 2013 Global State of the PMO: The Singapore Perspective report here:
http://www.esi-intl.com.sg/pdf/RR/ESI_PMO_The_Singapore_Perspective_2013.pdf
About ESI International
ESI, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE:INF), helps people around the world improve the way they manage projects, contracts, requirements and vendors through innovative learning. In addition to ESI's more than 100 courses delivered in more than a dozen languages at hundreds of locations worldwide, ESI offers several certificate programmes through our educational partner, The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1981, ESI's worldwide headquarters are in Arlington, Va., USA. To date, ESI’s programmes have benefited more than 1.35 million professionals worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.esi-intl.com.sg.
