۱- Executive summary

۲- Introduction: understanding change in project management offices

۳- Routines as a lens to investigate the co-evolution of PMO and PfM

۴- A routine-based conceptual framework for the co-evolution of PMO and PfM

۵- Research strategy

۶- Proteus case study

۷- Discussion

۸- Concluding comments

References

Abstract

This paper addresses a recurrent topic of organizational project management (OPM) research: Project Management Offices (PMOs) are perceived to be instrumental in implementing strategy through portfolios of projects, but empirical evidence also shows that PMOs are often short-lived and their value is hard to quantify. We argue that an explanation may lie in the processes of co-evolution that PMOs undergo over time in interaction with organizational capabilities and context. We adopt an innovative research frame in the context of OPM research, using process theories of change and routines as a lens to investigate the co-evolution of PMO and Portfolio Management. A conceptual framework is suggested and we use an empirical case study to test and refine it. We discuss the theoretical implications of the findings and highlight the contributions made in supporting, adding, articulating and contrasting extant literature. We conclude the paper underlining paths for further researches.

Executive summary

Project management offices (PMOs) are an organizational innovation initiated to assist project-based organizations better manage and coordinate portfolios of projects. However, research to date has found it difficult to reliably measure the value created by PMOs, which have been widely observed to be unstable, changing or closing rapidly. Some general factors of influence have been identified, but no stable patterns have been found. This paper argues that our understanding of PMO evolution would be improved by taking into consideration the broader organizational context. We propose that the analytical lens of organizational routines provides an innovative approach to map the processes of interaction between the PMO and the organization, and document patterns of change. As routines are decomposed into their performative (actions undertaken), ostensive (rationales invoked) and artefact (material instantiation) elements, this lens enables to capture micro-foundations of change. We establish our conceptual process model in three steps: portfolio management (PfM) is conceptualized as a collection of routines forming an organizational capability; PMO is conceptualized as an organizational meta-artefact, an organizational sub-system designed to provide a solution to a type of problem (in this case PfM); the relationships between the PMO, PfM and the broader organization are then mapped onto a process model of routine (re-)creation. We use Proteus, a case study of a project-based organization to test, refine, and validate our process model. Data collection used interviews, observations, and documents. The analysis of empirical data revealed a more intricate pattern of influence between PMO, PfM and the organizational context than anticipated, leading to revise our process model.