Defining Influence for a Project Management Office

Defining Influence for a Project Management Office

To define influence, it is necessary to distinguish between outputs and outcomes. An output is something that is delivered by a department, in this case, the PMO. An outcome is what happens for the organization as a result of that output. For example, a PMO may create a large document containing an excellent project management methodology, processes, standards, and tools. That is the department's output. But if no one reads the document, there is no beneficial outcome. Unless project managers actually change the way that they manage projects throughout the organization and use that new methodology, the output does not make the organization any better. So the outcome is the result of the entire organization's behavior, not the result of the department.