A Taxonomy of Project Management Offices and Their Organizational Project Management Landscapes

Abstract

Organizational project management (OPM) integrates project-related activities in organizations, including project management offices (PMOs) and their services. Using an organizational design perspective, this study models nine different PMO service delivery categories along scope, frequency, and delivery entity and identifies their particular OPM contexts (i.e., landscapes). Two hundred and sixty-five responses to a global survey identified nine types of OPM landscapes, grouped into three regions, with their particular logic of investment in OPM and their particular PMO service mix. The framework helps practitioners set up their PMOs in line with established practices. Academics benefit from a base for theorizing organizational designs using OPM.