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The "resource management" function along the PMO competency continuum is characterized by expanding influence and control of project resource assignments and performance. The PMO's responsibility ranges from facilitating and monitoring resource assignments from an awareness perspective to being involved in managing project resource acquisition, assignment, deployment, performance, and assignment close out.
Table 9.1 provides an overview of the range of prescribed PMO resource management activities according to each level in the PMO competency continuum.
Project Office | Basic PMO | Standard PMO | Advanced PMO | Center of Excellence |
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Identifies project resource needs, coordinates project resource acquisition and assignment, and manages project resource performance | Provides guidance for utilization of essential project resources
| Introduces oversight capability for project resources
| Manages standards of performance for project resources
| Collaborates with HR and business units to determine resource utilization requirements
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The project office uses established organizational practices to request, assign and manage project team resources. In the absence of a higher level PMO, it will need to communicate and collaborate requirements directly with resource managers and gain their commitment to provide the project resources needed for each project effort. The project office will further collaborate with resource managers to determine responsibility for reporting project resource performance.
Mid-range PMO levels have the primary responsibility of establishing processes that facilitate the identification, acquisition, assignment, and performance management of project resources. The processes may vary for project management environments where resource managers control project resources in contrast to those assigned "full time" to project managers or to the PMO. In either case, the mid-range PMO is responsible for guiding the way for project managers to obtain the project resources needed to accomplish project objectives. As well, mid-range PMOs will normally play a larger role in establishing and managing project resource performance standards, including the assessment of project resource competencies to ensure effective and successful project performance.
The center of excellence represents a PMO level that pursues a well-prepared cadre of project resources available for assignment to short- and long-term project efforts. It operates somewhat like a business unit to identify long-term resource needs and conducts project resource recruiting and acquisition activities in conjunction with practices established by the HR department. It will ensure that competent project resources are available to conduct all projects aligned with the relevant organization's strategic business objectives.
This PMO function is focused to ensure the availability and assignment of qualified project resources to conduct project work. This function must be viewed as a component of the overall project resource integration effort.
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