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See also:

0. What does a PO do for you?
1. What is a Programme?
2. this page...
3. What is the PO Role?
4. What is the PO Function?
5. What is the PO Organisation?
6. What are typical Problems?
7. Set up a PO from scratch.

2. What is a Programme Office (PO)?

A team of skilled and semi skilled individuals that ensure effective communication of instructions, reports and procedural requirements and maintain the Quality Assurance and Quality Control requirements for all products of programmes' and their subordinate projects.

Perceptions

Terminology currently in general practice includes 'Programme Office', 'Programme Management Office' and 'Programme Support Office'. (note"project" can be substituted for"programme"). Definitions of the roles and functions are abundant in the Project Management arena, and their terms are quite often meant to convey a specific level of responsibility and function, however, rightly or wrongly this has given rise to two extreme perceptions of a programme office team within the workforce that are reinforced by the manner in which they are named:

1. The Programme Management Office
Usually perceived as a policing organisation working on behalf of Senior Management. A burden upon Programme, Sub-Programme, Project Managers and their staff.
2. The Programme Support Office
Usually perceived as a secretariat there to do the donkey work for all levels of manager and their staff.

The Team

A more accurate way to describe this team as a “Programme Management & Support Office” or preferably just ‘The Programme Office’ as the true requirements of a small or medium enterprise, and in many cases large enterprises, lie somewhere between the two extremes.

The emphasis of the Programme Office should be on reducing the administrative burden experienced by programme and project staff to allow them to focus on the work in hand.

Team Limitations

It would be too much to expect an organisation to fully resource a Programme Office with the correct number of personnel to allow a secretariat service at the same time as having resources with Programme and Project Management skills and training.

It is more likely that a trade-off between skill level and number of resources will be made according to the resource pool available to the organisation. As this is a subjective matter no specific organisation structure is suggested on this site.

An organisation wishing to set up such a team should be aware that it is more important to have the correct resources with the appropriate skill levels than to have a large team of personnel who just happen to be available.

This and other pages/documents on this web site will use the term Programme Office (PO) but is equally applicable to Programme (or project) Management Office and Programme (or project) Support Office.

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