Does project management work better with a Project Management Officer (PMO)? Our experience proves: Yes, it does! Vanessa Schmieder from AlfaPeople explains what she does as a PMO and why the job is so important – especially for complex projects.

“A PMO acts as an intermediary between the client and the project team,” Vanessa Schmieder sums up her job. This allows for flatter hierarchies and fast, yet regulated processes. Efficiency is increased through clear and scalable, standardised tasks. Finance, invoicing, contracts and licences: Maintaining a clear overview is Schmieder’s day-to-day business. She ensures that all flexible factors remain in the appropriate timeline – and that all relevant stakeholders in the project are always kept well informed.

Transparent communication

Communication is therefore part of the PMO’s core competence: “We are multipliers and communicators. We create added value for the client by making changes and developments transparent,” says Schmieder. This transparency does not have to be demanded by the customer but is created proactively. The PMO thus becomes a professional and reliable support for the client.

Unified processes and routines

Another important aspect of a PMO team is the creation of detailed project structures and the allocation of budgets, HR needs and resources. “We create standardised processes and routines in the PMO team to ensure that everyone in the project team knows who gets what information and when, and who has what room for action,” Schmieder reports. The better the information that reaches the project management, the better the project runs.

Vanessa Schmieder

PMO Specialist

Vanessa Schmieder

PMO Specialist

We create standardised processes and routines in the PMO team to ensure that everyone in the project team knows who gets what information and when, and who has what room for action.

Tasks and challenges of a PMO

The biggest challenge for PMOs? For Vanessa Schmieder, it’s quite obvious: “Usually there are two separate systems: one for managing time and resources, the other for content-related work,” her experience shows. “These systems can each be very accurate, but there is no shared overview, which can make it difficult to keep track.” The art of a PMO is therefore to have both areas equally in sight and to coordinate them together. If this is done successfully, the PMO team helps projects run more smoothly and clients feel well taken care of.

In conclusion, it can be stated that:

1. The Project Management Officer (PMO) acts as an interface between different departments and project teams.
2. PMOs are important to better organise and manage complex projects. They provide a bird’s eye view and help to better allocate resources and time. It is important to consider both the content and time aspects.
3. PMOs oversee communicating with customers and other stakeholders. They ensure that all parties involved are informed about the progress of the project and thus build trust.

Rely on professionals for your important projects! Our PMOs support you with expert advice at every step of the process. Contact us now to lead your projects to success together – stress-free!