For years, IT departments have struggled to deliver projects on time and within budget. But with today's emphasis on getting more bang for the buck, IT has to rein in projects more closely than ever. That challenge has led many to turn to project management offices (PMOs) as a way to boost IT efficiency, cut costs, and improve on project delivery in terms of time and budget. While not a new solution, the trend toward implementing PMOs to instill much-needed project management discipline in IT departments is spreading fast. There are two basic models of PMOs: one that acts in a consulting capacity, providing project managers in business units with training, guidance and best practices; and a centralized version, with project managers on staff who are loaned out to business units to work on projects. CIOs can expect PMOs to function in the following seven areas. Project support: Provide project management guidance to project managers in business units. Project management process/methodology: Develop and implement a consistent and standardized process. Training: Conduct training programs or collect requirements for an outside company. Home for project managers: Maintain a centralized office from which project managers are loaned out to work on projects. Internal consulting and mentoring: Advise employees about best practices. Project management software tools: Select and maintain project management tools for use by employees. Portfolio management: Establish a staff of program managers who can manage multiple projects that are related, such as infrastructure technologies, desktop applications and so on, and allocate resources accordingly. Aspenís experienced consultants can help organizations in a number of project management capacities but the most popular are providing dedicated project managers and / or helping establish a project management office.