The Strategic Project Office (PM Solutions Research)

The second edition of this award-winning reference provides step-by-step instructions for establishing and maturing a project management office (PMO). Concise and easy to read, The Strategic Project Office, Second Edition covers the four primary areas of knowledge and practice regarding the PMO: governance and portfolio management, resource optimization, organizational change, and performance measurement.

Winner of the 2001 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from the Project Management Institute, the first edition introduced the concept of PMO as a strategic resource. This second edition adds reporting on cutting-edge research on the status and roles of today’s PMO, highlights best practices, and includes case studies of award-winning PMOs. It explores the various aspects of planning and implementing the strategic PMO and provides readers with an assessment model for measuring PMO practice maturity.

New in the Second Edition:

• New and updated information on the use of collaborative and social media tools in project management
• New chapters on Project Portfolio Management and aligning projects and strategy
• New information on using the Strategic Project Office as a strategy management center
• Updated content that reflects the latest version of the PMBOK® Guide
• Downloadable resources with time-saving templates and forms

The first edition has been the foundation for much of my thinking about initiative management, and the second edition takes thought leadership to a new level. Crawford leverages years of experience to further improve an already excellent resource. The first edition of The Strategic Project Office sits on the top shelf of my bookcase. I’m sure that the second edition will have a similar pride of place … when I haven’t loaned it out to members of my team as homework.―Paul Ritchie, PMP, Director, Global PMO, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Inc.

Praise for the Award-Winning First Edition:

… provides a primer that is first-of-a-kind and best-of-class. Read it. Learn its lessons. Apply them. Improve your organization, your projects, and your global competitiveness.
―PM Network, Books in Focus

J. Kent Crawford, PMP, is the founder and CEO of Project Management Solutions, Inc. (PM Solutions), a management consulting and training firm headquartered in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The company specializes in applying the project management discipline throughout organizations to improve enterprise business performance. Prior to establishing PM Solutions, Crawford served as president and chairman of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Crawford is a recipient of the PMI Fellow Award and the award-winning author of The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (for which he won the 2002 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from PMI), Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project Management Excellence, and Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office. His latest book, Seven Steps to Strategy Execution, provides the framework for organizations to execute and deliver corporate strategy through the use of Strategy Performance Management.

Jeannette Cabanis Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions.