The Hackett Group's research details the flaws that cause traditional PMOs to fail as an IT strategy, and also provides insights into the key PMO practices of world-class IT organizations, which rely on PMOs almost universally and generate superior results, including cost reduction and improved IT effectiveness.
"Since the recession, many companies have simply given up on PMOs. And with good reason," said The Hackett Group IT Advisory Practice Leader John Reeves. "The way most companies implement PMOs, they have become large bureaucratic organizations with myopic viewpoints. Too often they focus on practices that simply create a drag on the organization, facilitate design weaknesses, increase complexity and drive up maintenance and support costs. It's a shame, because the paradox is that our research also shows that when used properly, PMOs can be exceptionally effective at driving quality and reducing complexity. That's why they're a key best practice at virtually every world-class IT organization we've studied."
The Hackett Group's analysis, which is based on a review of IT metrics from in-depth benchmarks conducted at more than 200 large global companies over the past two years, debunks the common misconception that PMOs reduce costs. In fact, companies with high PMO usage see the opposite trend. While not all the cost increase is necessarily attributed to PMO utilization, The Hackett Group's research finds that behaviors associated with PMOs at typical companies become pervasive and drive materially higher IT costs. A key part of this is operating costs. The Hackett Group's research found that companies with low PMO utilization actually see 32 percent lower operating costs than companies with high PMO utilization.
