The Context of Establishing Project Management Offices in the IT Area: Two Case Studies

Abstract

Completing strategic Information Technology (IT) projects as planned is certainly an important objective for large firms. One of the measures adopted to reach this goal systematically is to create a Project Management Office in the IT area (PMO-IT). However, many firms consider the possibility of creating a PMO-IT, but decide not to do it. This paper presents the results of an exploratory research about the contextual drivers that determine the decision to create PMO-Its. Through two case studies of large Brazilian firms – one that created the entity and another which believes does not need it –, the drivers of the decision to create or not to create a PMO-IT were identified, and it was possible to confirm some of the drivers mentioned in the literature. This paper increases the undertstanding about this topic, which is important in the Management Information Systems field, as well as indicates paths for future research.