Using the PMO to enforce and standardize the attention of software project managers to needs of software project teams

Abstract

Software project teams (SPTs) are critical stakeholders. Their contribution in successful delivery of software projects is unquestionable. However, the empirical evidence of their importance seems to exist on paper only, as software project managers (SPMs) and scholars in the project management field ignore their individual needs, and as a result, SPTs remain the most neglected stakeholder group in the software industry. In endeavoring to address the neglect of SPTs by SPMs, the authors of this study developed a model aimed at assisting SPMs to pay due consideration to the needs of this important stakeholder group. At the heart of the model’s functionality is the Project Management Office (PMO), which intends to enforce and standardize the gathering and addressing of software project team needs and interests by SPMs. The aim of the research study is to investigate how the functions of the PMO can be applied to operationalize the enforcement and standardization of the overall function of the model. Since the study is practical-oriented, the pragmatic interpretive approach was considered a suitable methodology. Through the interpretative methodology, several appropriate functions of the PMO, such as «Project management methodology, standards, and tooling», «Monitoring and controlling project performance», «Human resource management» and «Development of project management competencies» as established from project management literature were utilized to achieve the study’s purpose. Even though the interpretation process was guided by literature, the inference was also influenced, to a certain extent, by the researcher opinion as «interested observer». Therefore, the approach presents a limitation to the study. Future studies should include the validation of the feasibility of the study’s claim in a real-world project setup.