Is your PMO a report factory — or the reason projects land?
Most PMOs start with good intentions and end up drowning in status reports. Projects still slip, sponsors still don’t decide, and nobody can say whether the benefits arrived. It’s rarely the project managers’ fault. It’s usually the way the work is governed — and that can be fixed.
Recognise any of these?
- Your status reports stay green until the day they suddenly turn red.
- You can’t say, on one page, which projects are running and what each is for.
- Every project manager plans and reports a little differently.
- Projects finish “successfully” and nobody checks whether the benefits arrived.
- Project managers see the PMO as a reporting chore rather than help.
Recognise even one? Then this page is for you.
What I fix
Late warnings
Stage gates and tolerance-based reporting, so problems surface while there’s still time to act.
No single view
One portfolio register with simple prioritisation, so the steering group can decide what starts, what waits and what stops.
Every project different
A small, tailored standard — a few mandatory artefacts and a one-page playbook — that project managers actually use.
Benefits that never arrive
Named benefit owners and a review after go-live.
A PMO seen as bureaucracy
Redefining the PMO as a service to project managers and sponsors, and cutting the reporting nobody reads.
Sponsors who don’t govern
Clear decision rights and coaching for sponsors and boards.
Who the PMO Assessment is for
It’s for organisations running a portfolio of projects, usually mid-sized or larger and often international, where the PMO exists but isn’t yet earning its keep. The person who calls me is typically a COO, CFO, head of IT or head of the PMO, asking a simple question: what are we actually getting for this?
It works whether your PMO is two people with a spreadsheet or a department with its own tooling, and whether you run PRINCE2, an agile approach or a mix of both.
The PMO Assessment
The quickest way to see where your PMO really stands. I assess your portfolio, programme and project management on a simple five-level maturity scale, and look at a sample of live projects and reports. You get an honest baseline, three or four quick wins, and a roadmap.
What you get
- An honest maturity baseline, in plain English.
- Three or four quick wins, ranked by impact.
- A roadmap to move up a level, in the order that pays back first.
- A lighter governance approach your project managers will use.
How the PMO maturity assessment works
- Kick-off (week 1). We agree the scope, which projects to sample and who I should talk to. You send the reports, plans and templates you already have. No new paperwork.
- Interviews and evidence (weeks 1–2). I talk to sponsors, project managers and the PMO team, then compare what the documents say with what actually happens on a sample of live projects.
- Scoring (week 3). I score portfolio, programme and project management on a simple five-level scale, with the evidence behind every score.
- Readout and handover (week 4). You get the baseline, the quick wins and the roadmap in a short workshop, plus a written report your team can own.
Typically about a month from start to finish, needing a few hours a week from your people.
The five levels, in plain English
- Ad hoc: every project runs its own way, and success depends on who’s in charge.
- Repeatable: good habits exist within projects, but not across them.
- Defined: one light standard, used across the whole portfolio.
- Managed: decisions are made on reliable data, not optimism.
- Improving: the PMO learns from every project and gets better on purpose.
Most organisations sit at level 2. Moving up one level is usually worth more than aiming for five.
Afterwards
Training for your project managers and sponsors — PRINCE2, PRINCE2 Agile and the wider portfolio, programme and risk courses, as the roadmap needs — and coaching for the PMO team. I’m an accredited PeopleCert trainer, so the training and the improvement fit together.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to use PRINCE2?
No. The assessment works with any method, including agile and hybrid approaches. I’ll use your language, not mine.
Will you tell us to buy a new tool?
Usually not. Most PMO problems are about governance, decision rights and reporting habits, not software, and I don’t sell licences.
We’re only now setting up a PMO. Is it still useful?
Yes. The same assessment gives you a baseline and a roadmap, so you build the right thing first rather than the fashionable thing.
How much of our time does it take?
A handful of interviews, access to the reports you already have, and a readout workshop. Your projects keep running while I work.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size and scope of your portfolio. We agree it after the free conversation, before any work starts.
Not sure it’s worth a conversation?
Thirty minutes, no obligation. You’ll leave with two or three things worth fixing first.