Breakthrough Capabilities for Delivering High-performing Project Management Offices (PMOs) in Construction Enterprises

The concept of the project management office (PMO) is well-established in academic literature. This organizational phenomenon has revolutionized practices applied by organizations toward coordinating and overseeing multiple projects throughout the design, engineering, initiation, execution, and handover stages. The construction industry is one of the contexts in which more research is still needed to provide practical guidelines for achieving effective PMO functioning. This study explores several core capabilities of these entities from the perspective of construction project management practitioners working in the contracting sector. In this regard, we solicited expert judgment based on an online questionnaire followed by thematic analysis. Respondents suggested six drivers that can contribute to improving the effectiveness of construction PMOs in practice. This study provides insight into some capabilities that can be employed for delivering high-performing PMOs.