Sustaining IT PMOs during Cycles of Global Recession

TL;DR

This paper investigates the factors leading to the failure and challenges faced by Project Management Offices (PMOs) during economic downturns, using case studies and grounded theory to identify key issues affecting their sustainability.

Contribution

It provides an in-depth analysis of PMO failures through post-implementation reviews, offering insights into factors influencing their mortality during recession cycles.

Findings

Identified key causes of PMO failure in industry

Highlighted importance of strategic alignment and management support

Provided recommendations for sustaining PMOs during economic downturns

Abstract

Growth in the number of PMOs established by the industry over last decade and ever growing body of literature on PMO related research in academia is a clear indication that there is very clear interest of researchers, practitioners and industries across the globe to understand and explore value propositions of PMO. However, there is still a lack of consensus on many critical aspects of PMOs. While there are many PMOs being established, but there are also many being closed and disbanded, which is definitely a matter of concern. In industry environment, a narrow majority of PMOs are well-regarded by their organizations and are seen as contributing business value, many of the others are still struggling to show value for money and some are failing, causing a high mortality rate among PMOs. This paper is the result of a study undertaken to get a deeper understanding of factors that may be causing mortality and failure of PMOs. Post Implementation Reviews of 4-failed & 3-challenged PMOs in IT-Industry were carried out with concerned Project Managers & PMO-staff, using grounded theory research method, with support from the concerned enterprise from IT-Industry.