A
project management office, abbreviated to
PMO, is a group or department within a business, agency or
enterprise that defines and maintains standards for
project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of
documentation, guidance and
metrics on the practice of project management and execution. In some organizations this is known as the
program management office (sometimes abbreviated to
PgMO to differentiate); the subtle difference is that
program management relates to governing the management of several related projects.