List and describe two key activities that a project office may undertake
1) Provide administrative support to the project manager
2) Provide guidance to project team in specialist areas
1) The project office can provide the project manager with administrative support for example arranging meetings, taking minutes, chasing actions etc. This will free up the project managers time to focus on project delivery and progress.
2) The project office will have experts with specialist knowledge who can help/coach/guide the project team in the use of tools like Microsoft Project or Visio. This will help building the team capability in a cost effective way and minimise external training costs.
Explain three distinct benefits of a project office
1) Consistency of approach
2) Repository of information (Centre of Excellence)
3) Provide assurance to the project manager and stakeholders
1) One of the benefits of a project office is that it can help to ensure that there is a consistent approach across all projects in the organisation. This is important as it increases continuity in project execution and reduce organisational risks. The project office can do this by defining, issuing and ensuring compliance with standards, procedures and templates across the organisation.
2) The project office can provide a repository of information for a project. For example information on estimates and actuals from previous projects can be accessed and lessons identified can be embedded in future projects. This will save the project manager valuable time and effort.
3) A project office can provide the project manager with the assurance that plan are being followed by checking with the team. This is important as it allows the project manager to focus on any areas that needs attention. The project office can also provide reports to stakeholders and provide them with assurance that the project is on track or highlight any issues that needs attention.
Thank you – helps to know that I am on the right track
another good answer