Project Portfolio Management helps the executive management to evaluate, select and prioritize the potential projects which maximizes organizational performance and align to overall business objectives and strategic goals.
What is Project Portfolio Management?
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is organization wide strategic management to manage, validate, prioritize the set of Programs, Projects, and Process together to meet the Overall Business Objectives and Strategic Goals.
Project Portfolio Lifecycle
A project portfolio lifecycle refers to the stages that projects within a portfolio go through from ideation to closure. It is a framework that guides the planning, execution, and management of projects within a portfolio.
The project portfolio lifecycle typically includes the following stages:
- Ideation: This is the initial stage where project ideas are generated and evaluated based on their alignment with the organization’s goals and objectives.
- Prioritization: In this stage, projects are prioritized based on their potential value and the resources required to execute them.
- Selection: Once projects have been prioritized, the most promising projects are selected for execution based on available resources, strategic alignment, and other factors.
- Planning: This stage involves detailed planning of the selected projects, including defining objectives, developing schedules, estimating costs, and allocating resources.
- Execution: This stage involves the actual implementation of the projects according to the plans that have been developed.
- Monitoring and Control: During this stage, project progress is monitored and controlled to ensure that projects are on track and that any deviations from the plan are identified and addressed.
- Closure: Finally, projects are closed out, and their outcomes are evaluated to identify lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
By managing projects through the project portfolio lifecycle, organizations can ensure that their projects are aligned with their strategic goals and that resources are used effectively to deliver value.
PMI classifies the Portfolio lifecycle or process into 3 main phases: 1. Plan, 2. Authorize, and 3. monitor and control, further classifies these three phases into two main groups: 1. The Aligning Process Group and 2. The Monitoring and Controlling Process group.
Aligning Process Group
The aligning process group covers Planning and Authorization. It includes how projects are evaluated, selected, and classified for inclusion.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
The monitoring and controlling process group involves reviewing key performance indicators and monitors alignment with strategic objectives.
Project portfolio process
A project portfolio process refers to a structured approach to managing and evaluating a collection of projects or initiatives within an organization. It involves identifying, prioritizing, selecting, and monitoring projects in a portfolio to ensure they align with the organization’s overall goals and objectives.
The project portfolio process typically involves the following steps:
- Project identification: The first step is to identify potential projects that can be added to the portfolio. This can be done through various means such as brainstorming sessions, market research, or customer feedback.
- Project evaluation: Once the projects have been identified, they need to be evaluated based on various criteria such as their strategic fit, resource requirements, potential returns, and risks. This helps in prioritizing the projects based on their importance and feasibility.
- Portfolio selection: After evaluating the projects, a selection process is carried out to determine which projects should be included in the portfolio. The decision is made based on the organization’s strategic objectives, budget constraints, and resource availability.
- Portfolio management: Once the projects have been selected, they need to be managed as a portfolio. This involves allocating resources, tracking progress, monitoring risks, and making adjustments as necessary to ensure the portfolio is delivering the desired results.
- Portfolio review: Regular reviews are conducted to assess the performance of the portfolio and individual projects. This helps in identifying any issues or deviations from the original plan and taking corrective actions to ensure the portfolio remains aligned with the organization’s goals.
Project portfolio process provides a structured framework for managing a collection of projects to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks associated with project investments.
Benefits of Portfolio Management
Companies Manages Multiple Projects and Runs Verity of Programs to achieve organizational business goals. Below are the key benefits of the Project portfolio management (PPM).
- Greater visibility of projects in the organization
- Maximize the portfolio value for the organization
- Accomplish business goals and objectives
- Organization wide Monitoring
- Understand & Reduce Organizational Risk
- Making better decisions
- Maximize bandwidth utilization
- Higher Productivity
- Higher success rate of projects