Examining the Significance and Value of Project Management Office (PMO) in Comparison with Project Portfolio Management Office (PPMO) and its Impact on Government Projects Using TQM Model in Ghana

Abstract

Project portfolio management (PPM) is evolving swiftly and becoming the main tool of managing complex project environment. Many  organisations are adopting this system in an effort to achieve a better strategic alignment, reduce organisational project complexity,  increase the project success rate and improve utilisation of organisation’s resources. The paper aims to examine motivations for  implementation of PPM and its alignment with business strategies. This empirical evidence is to be confronted with literature. The aim of  this dissertation is to assess the relevance of PMO and PPMO for ATU under the Ministry of Education in Ghana, through the day to day  project activities. The research will explore both the theoretical aspect of PMO and PPMO as well as the use of it in a real project as a case  study. Level of organizational maturity, project size in a given organization etc. are normally vastly different from one organization to  another. The same can be also said for one and the same organization containing different departments where project methodology  applied varies between the departments. Thus, the research, in addressing its aim, attempts to find out an answer for the research  question:Why and how the use of the project management office and project portfolio management office is relevant for project-based  organizations? To narrow down and to take a closer look of the research question the author puts the spot light on one specific area of  interest: Improving project performance. The objective of this paper is to shed some light on ways to determine the value that PMOs can  have for their host organisations, by studying the effect that a specific PMO & PPM has on its host organisation. A before-and-after case  study was performed on this organisation; by comparing the project environment before and after the establishment of the PMO & PPM,  this study is able to indicate the impact that the PMO is perceived to have had on the organisation. It is proposed that there are  unexplored ways of determining the value of a PMO & PPM. It is also proposed that the value of a PMO & PPM can be determined by  analysing the impact that a PMO & PPM has on an organisation, and that the value of the PMO & PPM can be linked to the functions it is  mandated to perform. In the process of exploring ways to determine the value of a PMO. The study is rich in practical implications for  organisations. The paper adds novel insights that can improve the success of project portfolio management in practice.