In October 2016, the PMO was undergoing a quiet identity crisis. Across organizations, “project” had become a dirty word, prompting rebrands to Delivery Office, Transformation Hub, and other euphemisms. But the traditional behaviors — stage gates, fixed budgets, top-down oversight — persisted beneath the surface. This post explored how some PMOs leaned into the shift by embracing agility, focusing on outcomes, and supporting teams as coaches rather than controllers.
A growing number of organizations restructured their PMOs into Agile Portfolio Management functions. Some success was found, but many were still clinging to legacy funding models and rigid KPIs that undermined flexibility.
Today’s strategic PMOs play a very different role: enabling flow, aligning investment to customer outcomes, and supporting decentralized decision-making. Those that failed to evolve have been replaced by Product Operations or embedded strategy teams within product lines.
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