The Change Management Office: Is This the Future of the PMO?

November 11, 2011 | by Johanna Mickel

This blog was updated June 2025.

Taking a couple of days' break after the PMO Symposium in Orlando, I've had a chance to reflect on the messages I heard at the conference, and one message that struck home - and which I heard in more than one presentation - was that organizational change management is the future of the PMO.

In a panel discussion that included representatives from Verizon Wireless, Amerihealth Mercy, and the Delaware Valley Chapter of PMI, the panelists stressed that maturity means tying project and program management to business results. Speaking on the topic "The Real World Value of Organizational Project Management," the panelists and over 75 attendees discussed that the whole reason we build a PMO is to benefit the organization - not to build processes, not to train in project management: these are merely tactics by which the mature PMO serves the organizational strategies.

We often hear today that PMOs are "transformational" - and the way to transform the organization is to drive value.  Naturally, with a concern for showing how the PMO provides organizational value, there was a great deal of discussion about capturing metrics, and I was glad to see that people were using the term metrics in a broad sense: not project metrics only, but developing relationships between project performance and benefits realization.

Later, I sat in on a lessons learned session and, again, the point was made that the PMO is evolving into a change management office. Lynda Bourne spoke on stakeholder engagement, using the example of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster to show how failing to include and address all stakeholders can expose a company to risk.

She used the term "stakeholder myopia" to describe this situation and made a case for the development of a new metric, similar to the Cost of Quality, which would communicate the cost of involving all stakeholders.

Finally, the conference attendees pondered the question "Where Do We Go from Here?" and again, it was proposed that the PMO become the CMO! PMOs are the logical choice for sustaining stakeholder involvement, focusing the investment in training people and processes, and maturing leadership. Maybe it's just that projects provide the life-giving changes that organizations thrive on ... or maybe it's that you can't manage change without project management. No matter how you look at it, change management is looming large for project management leaders. I'm very proud that PM Solutions has been focusing on change management for years, both in our training courses and on client assignments; it's nice to feel we are ahead of the curve!

Discover what’s shaping the future of project management in the new State of the PMO 2025 report.

Since this post, PMOs have continued to adapt and evolve. Based on real-world input from PMO leaders, our most recent state of the PMO report explores:

• PMO size, scope, and structure
• Strategic priorities for the next 24 months
• Use of AI and PMO-as-a-Service models
• How organizations are training and staffing their PMOs

Use it to benchmark your performance and strengthen your business case. Read the full State of the PMO 2025 report.

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FAQs

What is a Change Management Office (CMO)?

A Change Management Office is a centralized team or function responsible for planning, guiding, and sustaining organizational change efforts. It often works closely with the PMO to ensure that people, processes, and systems adapt effectively during transformation initiatives.

How is a CMO different from a PMO?

While a PMO focuses on the delivery of projects and programs, a CMO focuses on the people side of change—stakeholder engagement, communication, training, and adoption. Increasingly, organizations are integrating the two.

Why are PMOs shifting toward change management?

PMOs are evolving to drive strategic value, not just track projects. With that shift comes responsibility for enabling lasting change, aligning with organizational goals, and helping people successfully adopt new ways of working.

What role does stakeholder engagement play in change management?

It’s foundational. As Lynda Bourne described, failing to engage stakeholders can lead to major risks. Effective change management requires trust, inclusion, and clear communication at every level.

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