Pop-Up PMOs

I read a book recently called Pop-Up PMOs by Mertine Middlekoop, which made me think again about what is important in setting up and running the PMO within an organisation.

When quite a lot of the books and articles I read seem to be about a portfolio office, it is nice to see a book which covers just the fundamental aspects of setting up and running as a Programme or Project Office. This book guides you through what is required to setup and run a PMO, and with a view to projects and programmes being temporary endeavours covers closure and how you can leave the organisation in a better position for it to run the next pop-up PMO.

On the way Mertine covers some of the practical services that such an office could do, and covers the risks that could be encountered if the service is not done, or not done right.

I particularly liked the chapter towards the end which covered the human side of the PMO, rather than just the focus on the tools and process. In particualr it covered how people working a PMO can learn and grow to develop into better PMO people.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has been charged to setup a PMO, from the novice to the experienced PMO individual as we can all learn from books like these.