Some tech execs complain about the cost of project management and the lack of value in the PMO. They claim that they don’t see the value, and the cost outweighs the benefits. Sadly, in some cases this is true. PMO’s need to keep emphasizing their value, and PM’s need to understand that they are “the PMO.” Whatever the PM does, the person receiving the service equates their work to the PMO. For better or worse.
So why do some tech executives feel that PMs are expensive overhead? It comes down to the philosophy of the PMO (and the overall organization), i.e., the background of the PM’s hired by organization. Some organizations feel that a PM is a project plan tracker. They help build project plans, do status updates, and ensure that deliverables are produced. While this may be part of project management, these tasks do not define a PM and their role.
Successful PM’s have strong relationship, negotiation, presentation and leadership skills. They have years of experience leading projects of all sizes and complexity. That experience has allowed the PM to see and understand risks. They are able to identify risks and issues before they blow up and impact the project. Their ability to apply remediation actions prior to the client stakeholders seeing the problems makes them successful PM’s.
Not everyone agrees with my definition of a PM. But from my perspective, I want a very senior leader running my projects, which is what I consider PMs to be. The odds of success with a person who has years of experience leading is higher than with a person with years of experience managing plans.