Performance Management Systems for Project Management Offices: A Case-Based Study

Abstract

Project Management Offices (PMOs) are organizational structures in charge of managing and coordinating several simultaneous projects within companies. Due to the complexity of different projects’ objectives, it’s usual to simplify project indicators and control them by means of the well-known triple constraint or “iron triangle”: scope, cost and time. This approach does not account for the organizational strategy, internal and external stakeholders’ interests, nor other specific indicators. The problems due to the lack of integration caused by this oversimplification are yet amplified in complex project portfolios related to technology development and deployment, since in this kind of scenario the marketing competition demands new features, at lower costs, in no time. These points could be addressed by operations management approaches, such as the Performance Management Systems Design Framework (PMSDF). To identify the viability and relevance in using this method in PMOs, this work adopts a mixed methods research. Is begins with a Systematic Literature Review to better understand performance management routine and tools in PMO. It was followed by meetings with two project management consultants, to identify the best practices, habits and advises, to check the differences between practitioner and academic views. Finally, it was conducted interviews with the PMO Director of a trucks’ manufacturer and a PMO Manager in an agrarian-cattle-breeding cooperative, to verify how such companies measure their PMO’s successes. The last step was to adapt the PMSDF to the project management context, evaluating the PMO operation in a medium-sized software development company and propose the restructuration of its Performance Management System.