The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Second Edition (ESI International Project Management Series)

The smaller PMO can play a vital role in resource management by facilitating and monitoring resource utilization within the project management environment. This includes the following three prominent activities:

• Develop a standard process for how resources are assigned to projects: A resource assignment process may already exist and can be confirmed and documented, or a new and efficient process can be developed. The process should identify resource providers and specify how resource requests are accomplished to obtain resources for project work assignments.

• Identify roles and responsibilities of project managers and resource managers: The use of matrix management to provide project resources implies that there are at least two people involved: the project manager and the resource manager. The PMO should ensure that participants in this relationship understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to managing resources assigned to the project management environment. Ideally, such roles and responsibilities are documented for standard implementation across the relevant organization.

• Monitor resource utilization within the project environment: The PMO can demonstrate value within the relevant organization by providing an ongoing monitoring of resources used within the project management environment. This essentially means knowing who is assigned to what projects and for how long. This information allows resource assignment decisions to be made in a timely manner. Whether or not the PMO makes such decisions, it can be a contributor. It also allows the relevant organization to understand current project resource strength and to determine whether more or fewer resources are needed for upcoming project efforts. Project resource monitoring also means identifying qualified project resources that are not currently assigned to specific projects.

If the smaller PMO can help the organization implement appropriate project resource utilization and management activities, the business units will recognize the value of PMO support.