Projects come and go, but portfolios remain — all the more reason to establish and sustain a value metrics program. A key is to stop insisting on “perfect” metrics, and simply get into the habit of measuring, collecting and refining a variety of data.[more]
One of the most challenging aspects of portfolio management is evaluating which work gets funded and which doesn’t. Here are some best practices that can improve the prioritization process.[more]
Chain-of-command management structures often create silos of information, turf battles, goal "fizzle" and a host of other barriers to effective project portfolio management. There is no quick fix, but the big-picture goal should be to institutionalize collaboration, linking project performance with organizational performance.[more]
Organizations seeking to implement project portfolio management tools and practices are presented with a wider variety of choices than ever before, including new and revamped solutions from software giants, niche veterans and on-demand players. Here’s a year-end review of the strengths and weaknesses of some of the main PPM offerings.[more]
Project portfolio management is fundamental to coordinating the change, innovation and collaboration necessary to achieve an organization’s strategic vision — its desired "future state." It starts with taking individual projects out of their “isolation” and going beyond traditional measures of success.[more]
Projects@Work has developed the PPM Software Evaluation Tool, a comprehensive set of questions and parameters for organizations to consider when selecting a project portfolio management solution. And before you make a final decision, make sure you have come to your conclusion with these additional guidelines in mind.[more]
Ed Cullari was asked to spearhead an initiative that three former project managers failed to accomplish: Set up a PMO and implement portfolio management. By blending process with technology, he succeeded. He know he would have to preach and prove the benefits of a PPM system. But first he had to choose the right one.[more]
Mike Beard spends his days evaluating how companies' methodology and processes function and recommending ways they can be improved, often with project portfolio management. But getting business owners and executives to carry out his recommendations is not always easy.[more]
AT&T program manager Dave Davis is a big fan of integrated portfolio management. But as a realist, he says companies and implementation project leaders should know more about the challenges they face before jumping in head first. Here, he expounds on 10 points to ponder.[more]
Power PMO
- by
Robert Handler and Bryan Maizlish
(August 11)
With delayed, over-budgets projects all too common and little IT synergy, Xcel Energy did what many companies have in recent years: it created a PMO. Then it gave it authority and meaning. Staffed by a handpicked team, and backed by a governance methodology and portfolio management system, this PMO took control of $100M in projects that have delivered $600M in value. Here’s the first in a three-part series on how.[more]
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