Project Portfolio Management

Project portfolio management is the co-ordinated and controlled management of a portfolio of projects to achieve a set of business objectives.

Distinguishing Portfolio Management, Programme Management and Project Management

There is often a misunderstanding, and hence a mixed and overlapping use of terms, when it comes to programme management. Sometimes a programme is called a project. Sometimes a project is called a programme. In addition, sometimes project portfolio and programme are mistakenly used interchangeably. This article is intended to clarify the main differences and to distinguish the unique aspects of project portfolios, programmes, and projects.

Building the Project Firing Squad

Regardless of where your IT organisation has progressed in the evolution from a utility like service to a executor of business strategy, the bread and butter of most IT organisations is the successful execution of projects: non-recurring, limited duration activities designed around completing a defined task. As organisations have grown savvier about project management, successful execution is on the rise, however choosing the right projects to deliver remains a challenge for many companies.

How Often Should You Review the Project Portfolio?

You've got a ton of projects. You can't do them all at once because you don't have the people to do them. You know better than to ask people to multi-task on more than one project, no one will get anything done. One tactic is to organise the projects into a portfolio and rank them by priority.

What is Project Portfolio Management?

Project Portfolio Management is about more than running multiple projects. Each portfolio of projects needs to be assessed in terms of its business value and adherence to strategy. The portfolio should be designed to achieve a defined business objective or benefit. Project management guru Bob Buttrick summarised it when he said; "Directing the individual project correctly will ensure it is done right. Directing 'all the projects' successfully will ensure we are doing the right projects."

The Four Levels of Project Success: The Project Management Maturity Matrix

Increasingly these days organisations are project based, meaning that the work they do is split into programmes of projects designed to deliver the organisation's strategies and add value. Good management of these projects is essential if the organisation is going to succeed. Equally important to individual project success is ensuring that the right projects are carried out.

Project Management Revolution or Evolution

As project portfolio management continues to gain momentum in all sectors of the economy, one question that continues to plague my thoughts is whether PPM represents a significant departure from traditional management techniques, or does it reflect an evolutionary step, a natural addition to traditional project management techniques?

Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model - a Guide to Improving Performance

The Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3) is a reference guide for structured best practice. It breaks down the broad disciplines of portfolio, programme and project management into a hierarchy of Key Process Areas (KPAs). The hierarchical approach enables organisations to assess their current capability and then plot a roadmap for improvement prioritised by those KPAs which will make the biggest impact on performance. Most articles on portfolio, programme and project management maturity models focus on the 'accreditation' aspects of the model. This article focuses on how to use the model as a framework for process improvement by applying change management techniques from Six Sigma.

 Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3) - OGC

The P3M3 describes the portfolio, programme and project-related activities within key process areas that contribute to achieving a successful project outcome. The P3M3 recognises not only the programme and project management activities being carried out at the individual programme and project level, but also those activities within an organisation that provide focus and help sustain effort to build a programme and project infrastructure of effective programme and project approaches and management practices. In the absence of an organisation-wide programme and project infrastructure, repeatable results depend entirely on the availability of specific individuals with a proven track record and this does not necessarily provide the basis for long-term success and continuous improvement throughout the organisation.