Project management offices in transition

This paper presents empirical results from a research on Project Management Offices (PMO) in transition. While PMOs are now a prominent feature of organizational project management, the underlying logic that leads to their implementation or renewal is still not understood. This research adopted a process view of PMOs in transition. Descriptive data from 17 case studies was primarily obtained through interviews and analyzed using qualitative text analysis methods. Thirty-five factors of change have been grouped in six categories forming a typology of drivers of PMO change. In addition, three patterns of PMO change are presented. The major contribution of this research is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic evolution of PMOs. For researchers, these findings contribute to the project management theoretical development within the field of organizational change. For practitioners, it challenges the paradigm of considering the PMO change as a sign of failure.