Lack of investment in people specifically highlighted, significant added value of project or programme management office (PMO) undisputed

(Dubai - July 7, 2013) ESI International, the world's leading project management training company, today released the findings of its latest third annual international benchmarking survey, The Global State of the PMO: An Analysis for 2013."

The annual survey seeks to investigate the evolving role of the Project/Program Management Office (PMO) in training and development, its level of maturity and value for the overall business. The international survey was compiled with a total of 2,300 respondents from all over the world including well over a hundred participants from the Middle East region.

It has been a common misperception that project teams are only related or concerned with IT, energy and those involved in the construction sector. However, the PMO now plays a vital role offering strategic, tactical or operational guidance in day-to-day business through its involvement in project and programme delivery, whether it is for internal or external purposes.   

"The results of this important work confirm what I have been thinking for a while that PMOs need to get aggressive in demonstrating value early and often," Jim Johnson, Chairman, The Standish Group remarked at ESI's Center of Excellence Event recently held in London, UK. This includes agreeing specific milestones and reporting procedures at the beginning to continuously deliver progress reports to the organization,

The key findings include:

  • Significant drop in soft skills training: only 30 percent* said their PMO provided soft skills training in 2013 compared to 41 percent in 2012.

  • More PMO effectiveness measurement: 68 percent* claimed the PMO reported on its own effectiveness in 2013, compared to only 54 percent in 2012.

  • Fewer PMOs Challenged: only 37 percent* stated their PMO was challenged in 2013 compared to 56 percent in 2012.

  • PMO as career-crucial body: 75 percent of so-called "active" PMOs that engaged in learning sustainment and training impact measurement also create a structured career pathway for project managers.

  • More Strategic: 22 percent of all PMOs operate at the strategic level.

  • Project Success: 56 percent of active PMOs claimed more than 75 percent of on-time, to-budget project delivery.

  • The Agile Question: Only 9 percent of those surveyed said they use Agile on more than half of their projects.

"Learning sustainment and the effort to measure the impact of training on workplace performance are key indicators of PMO health," commented ESI Executive Vice President J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP.

"The more engaged the PMO is in paving a career path for project management professionals, the more value it is perceived to have," he added.

In conclusion, the report summarised the current state of PMO and the way forward.

While PMO training activity is down across the board, those strategic PMOs that have shown a dedication to project professionals' career path by engaging in training impact measurement and sustained learning activities were viewed as most mature and valuable to the organisation. They also reported the highest project success rate.

Ultimately, the PMO's success is reliant on understanding customer needs and how to meet them while offering clear, measurable results. The PMO maturation process requires the ability to meet new needs as they arise, raise its level of service to meet new demands and provide new services as required, says the report.

-Ends-

To download the entire survey: "The Global State of the PMO: An Analysis for 2013" please visit www.esi-intl.ae/

About ESI International
ESI, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE:INF), is a global project-focused training company, helping people around the world improve the way they manage projects, contracts, requirements and vendors through innovative training in project management, business analysis and contract management. 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 programs 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 programs have benefited more than 1.35 million professionals worldwide. For more information visit
www.esi-intl.ae.


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© Press Release 2013