project management is getting more than lip service at many companies.

The practice of enterprise project management is finally getting broad respect, not just lip service. Seven out of 10 companies use formal project management methodologies, our new InformationWeek Analytics survey finds. Pay for project managers was on the rise last year, even as pay for most IT pros was flat. Sixty-one percent of the managers we surveyed see the Project Management Institute's project management professional--PMP--certification as important to their companies.

These numbers matter, but more important is the recognition of the project management office's broad role--well beyond being the keeper of the almighty Gantt chart and a budget bludgeon. The PMO is most valued, our research finds, for helping companies prioritize good projects over bad, getting the right people on the job, airing out progress and problems, and executing consistently using the company's standard practices.

"Project management is finally evolving to become more focused on being collaborative, leading and inspiring teams, and ensuring the people angle is taken into account to ensure quicker adoption of changes," says Lynn Batara, director of the enterprise project and portfolio office at Franklin Templeton Investments. However, Batara does see a need for more emphasis on the strategic side of project management, like portfolio management to prioritize projects, and doing a better job of aligning projects with company strategy, minimizing risk, and measuring the benefits.

Asked for the top reasons to create a PMO, 64% of survey respondents say to prioritize projects and 55% say to standardize on an approach--by far the most cited reasons. The next biggest PMO priority is to provide project visibility to leadership teams (34%). Less than a fourth of respondents see tracking project status and project costs as a top reason.

Most companies have some project management methodology in place, and that's part of the problem--if you're not actively questioning your approach, looking for weak spots, and comparing it with other options, it'll creep along in whatever direction it's already headed.

Whether or not you have a formally defined PMO--a single point of responsibility within the scope of business governance--you owe it to yourself to consider how to structure or restructure PMO activities. Each company should consider a number of factors when doing this, including:

How do you track small projects? Companies tend to have a decent handle on large, expensive projects, but they fall short on the smaller ones. Yet those add up to a significant chunk of resources and can put a big dent in IT's reputation and credibility. Complexity and cost, not risk or regulatory compliance, tend to drive whether a PMO is involved in a project, our survey finds.

What tools do you need for project management? Excel dominates, with 82% of companies using it to manage projects. But almost two-thirds use project-specific software as well.

Do you need one PMO office for the whole company? It might seem like the easy answer, but 53% of companies have multiple PMOs. Culture and organizational structure play a big part in what's right for your company.

Does your PMO set priorities or just drive projects home? This is the crossover between portfolio management and project management. You need to apply good project management principles to individual projects whether or not you're doing overall portfolio management. It doesn't have to be the same team, but the groups must talk early and often.

Does your PMO process fit your industry? A lot of project management best practices were born in defense, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and construction. Companies in other industries may need to modify some of those mature disciplines to get buy-in.

Are you communicating the project management office's value? Colleagues shouldn't be left to wonder "What's in it for me?" when it comes to working with the PMO, so keep executives in the loop with project status dashboards and share best practices across project teams.

Rich Carney, who implemented a PMO for a large retailer, warns against adding too much bureaucracy. He's convinced that better processes improve the bottom line, but IT leaders must convince individuals and departments of the upside.