Integrating Project Management practices with other management practices and processes such as Knowledge Management, Total Quality Management, Concurrent Engineering, Risk Management and Change Management has become a coping mechanism for many organisations operating in volatile business environments (Kerzner 2000). Companies have come to realize that leveraging knowledge gained on projects is an important resource to improve performance and have started to look for strategies that help them to achieve 'excellence' and 'maturity' in PM and help formally "manage" this intellectual property gained on projects (Kerzner 2003). One of the strategies that many companies are adopting for the structured collection, distribution, and updating of the intellectual property gained on projects and to facilitate their maturity in PM practices is the 'project management office' (PMO) (Dai & Wells 2004; PMI 2004a; Santosus 2003; Rad & Levin 2002; Bates 1998). This is referred to by different writers alternatively as the project office (PO) (Englund et al. 2003; Kermer 2003; Turbit 2003; PM! 2000a), PM centre of excellence (COE) (Kermer 2001) or Project support office (PSO) (Marsh 2001; Marsh 2000).

Includes bibliographical references.