Challenges and Benefits on the Path towards Discovering PMO: Cases from Italian Banking Sector

Several benefits might arise from the introduction of a PMO in a company, among which an increase in project success percentage, effectiveness of procedures, not to mention better delivery timing and quality of outcomes; in other words, directly acting on Project Management practices, PMO could help companies to innovate, reaching competitive advantages and growth in the long run, ceteris paribus, and attempts to reduce uncertainty. Even though PMO is a more consolidated practice in some countries, the phenomenon has lately been introduced in Italy, and it is still evolving. Not all organizations and not all individuals have yet clear in mind the potential of PMO, and its role is often limited to bare Project Management in its strict meaning, while the room for improvement is very various. The paper analyses the status of PMO through a survey conducted inside the Italian banking sector, trying to frame the role of PMO, throwing light on its importance for the company as a whole, and not just for a single project. A discussion of the results and future work concludes the paper.