Modern virtual project management: The effects of a centralized and decentralized project management office

One of the many challenges within the project management (PM) community is how to structure the project management organization (PMO) to optimize the value of virtual project managers. Some organizations choose to include the project managers as part of discrete sales or solution teams, with a small corporate group overseeing the PM methodology, training, and other miscellaneous responsibilities. Other businesses and organizations choose to centralize the project managers within the organization. The purpose of this quantitative research is to determine the degree to which a centralized PMO contributes to the success of a virtual project team. Earned Value Management, a standard of the Project Management Institute, is used to measure project success.