Prof. Roy Levow Session 12. Introduction to Project Portfolio Management Establishing a Portfolio Strategy Evaluating Project Alignment to the Portfolio

Prof. Roy Levow

Session 12

Introduction to Project Portfolio Management Establishing a Portfolio Strategy Evaluating Project Alignment to the Portfolio

Strategy Prioritizing Projects and Holding Pending

Funding Authorization Selecting a Balanced Portfolio Using the

Prioritized Projects

Managing the Active Projects Closing Projects in the Portfolio Preparing Your Submission to the

Portfolio Management Process

Understand current practices in corporate project portfolio management and how they are applied

Know how to deliver explicit business value through a strategically aligned project portfolio

Adapt the concepts and practices of project portfolio management

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 20 4

“A collection of projects that share some common link to one another.”

Examples of links Same business unit or functional area New product development Same budget or resource pool


Establishing the investment strategy of the portfolio

Determining what types of projects can be incorporated in the portfolio

Evaluating and prioritizing proposed projects Constructing a balanced portfolio that will

achieve the investment objectives Monitoring the performance of the portfolio Adjusting the contents of the portfolio in

order to achieve the desired results



Proposed Aligned Prioritized Selected


• Active• Postpone

d• Canceled• Complete

d

Strategic Alignment Model: Aligns projects with the strategic goals of the organization

Boston Consulting Group Products/Services Matrix: Four categories of products based on growth rate and competitive position Cash Cows Dogs Stars ?

Project Distribution Matrix Classifies projects by New, Enhancement, or Maintenance

Growth versus Survival Model: Projects to do better versus must-do projects

Project Investment Categories: Infrastructure Maintenance New Products Research


“Will projects be partially funded in order to include more projects in the portfolio, or will projects be funded only at the level of their request?”

“If an investment category has excess resources after project funding decisions have been made, can those resources be reallocated to other investment categories without compromising the portfolio strategy, and if so, how will they be reallocated?”


Is the project in alignment with the portfolio strategy? Proposer does the evaluation Intake person does the evaluation

Then project is placed in a bucket (either money or resources)

Best to use an objective, consistent criteria


Many methods ranging from the very simple to complex mathematical models

Six Example Models Forced Rankings Q-Sort Must-Haves, Should-Haves, Nice-to-Haves Criteria Weighing Paired Comparisons Risk/Benefit


Many ways to do this But there are two basic approaches

One master list of prioritized projects Could end up with less than satisfactory results

Separate projects into buckets and then prioritize the projects in the separate buckets. Could end up with good projects in unpopular

buckets Author suggests second approach

Takes longer with one master list Easier to allocate resources along different

funding buckets


Advantages More projects into active status Better chance to control risk

Weakness Will extend delivery date into next funding

cycle


Project Status On Plan Off Plan In Trouble

Role of the Project Manager Keep project on plan Reasons for off plan

Deficient method of validating task status Bad communication processes


Reporting Portfolio Performance Schedule Performance Index and Cost

Performance Index Trend Charts


Acceptance Criteria Checklist of Scope Items or Requirements When all items on the checklist are checked

off, the project is finished Post-Implementation Audit

Attainment of Explicit Business Value Lessons Learned


Three Ways to Prepare Your Project Proposal Adapt the Project Overview Statement

Parts of the POS Problem / Opportunity Statement Project Goal Project Objectives Success Criteria Assumptions, risks, and obstacles

Include two attachments Risk Analysis Financial Analysis


Three Ways to Prepare Your Project Proposal (Cont.) Two-Step Submission Process

First step is to submit the POS If the POS has been accepted, then the second

step is submit a detailed project plan


Three Ways to Prepare Your Project Proposal (Cont.) New Submission Process

Project Name Sponsor Name Project Manager Name Project Funding Category Project Goal Project Objectives Explicit Business Value Risks Estimated Total Project Cost Estimated Project Duration


Background of the Project Support Office What Is a Project Support Office Naming the Project Support Office Establishing Your PSO’s Mission Framing PSO Objectives Exploring PSO Functions Selecting PSO Organizational Structures Organizational Placement of the PSO How Do You Know You Need a PSO? Establishing a PSO Challenges to Implementing a PSO

Describe a Project Support Office (PSO) Understand the signs that you need a

PSO Know the missions, objectives, and

structures of the PSO Know the functions performed by the PSO Know how to establish a PSO Understand the challenges to

establishing a PSO Know how to grow and mature your PSO


Early adopters use the new project management process

Adoption of project management spreads Management takes notice There are uneven proficiency levels of project

management Senior management introduces some common

tools and metrics for project management Some adopt the common processes and some

don’t causing confusion Thus the need for a Project Support Office


Projects grow in number and complexity The need for more qualified project

managers Lack of standards and policies leads to

increased inefficiencies and lowered productivity

Greater demand on resources requires more coordination


“A temporary or permanent organizational unit that provides a portfolio of services to support project teams that are responsible for a specific portfolio of projects.”


Temporary Usually called Program Offices Support the administrative needs of a group of

projects Disbanded when projects are over

Permanent Handle a changing stream of projects


Project Support Consulting and Mentoring Methods and Standards Software Tools Training Project Manager Resources


Linked through their goals and purposes Departmental or organizational unit basis Projects that are funded out of the same

budget


The author recommends a mission statement that is supportive of project managers

Rather than compelling compliance of standard practices

Supportive statements can be sold easier to project managers and senior management


Make the objectives specific Make the objectives measurable Provide business value


Project Support Consulting and Mentoring Methods and Standards Software Tools Training Project Manager Resources


Virtual versus Real Proactive versus Reactive Temporary versus Permanent Program versus Projects Enterprise versus Functional Hub versus Hub and Spoke



•Centralized – Enterprise-wide•Decentralized – Enterprise-wide PSO with Satellite PSOs•Unit-Level – Services specific department or project

Standish Group Report Top Ten Reasons Why IT Projects Fail

Symptoms That You Need a PSO Project failure rates are too high Training is not producing results HR project staff planning isn’t effective Inability to leverage best practices Lack of control over the project portfolio No consistency in project reporting Too many resource scheduling conflicts Gap between process and practice


Three major questions Where are you? Where are you going? How will you get there?

PSO Stages of Growth




Forming the PSO Task Force Measuring Where You Are

Metrics to determine current project management maturity

Metrics to determine current proficiency of project managers

Establishing Where You Want To Go Establishing How You Will Get There




Speed and Patience Leadership From the Bottom Up A Systems Thinking Perspective Enterprise-Wide Systems Knowledge Management Learning and Learned Project

Organizations Open Communications


Documents

Prof. Roy Levow Session 12. Introduction to Project Portfolio Management Establishing a Portfolio Strategy Evaluating Project Alignment to the Portfolio