Companies usually have multiple projects to embark on and thrive when they successfully complete all their projects on schedule, but this is difficult because of many obstacles. Business leaders must carefully consider their resources and company capabilities when planning their project portfolio. Furthermore, they need to monitor all the projects while they are ongoing because a delay in one project can stifle progress in another.
Keeping an eye on all the projects in a company’s portfolio is easier said than done because there are so many metrics to track. Companies need a unified framework to manage their project portfolio. They can create a project portfolio management strategy and use software tools like pmo365 to aid the process.
What is Project Portfolio Management?
This is the management of all the resources, costs, tools, processes, and personnel involved in all the projects in a company’s portfolio. It is helpful to companies of all sizes; from multinational corporations or startups. This process is usually carried out by a team of project portfolio managers or the project management office in a company.
Project portfolio management aims to ensure that all the projects in a company’s portfolio advance their overall objectives. The project portfolio management team does this by reviewing budgets, conducting business analysis, performing risk assessments, and researching competitors.
They use project portfolio management tools like pmo365 to gather data from all ongoing projects and analyze them to ensure that they are in line with the company’s goals. PPM tools have customizable dashboards and can display different data sets in various forms so project portfolio managers can get insight quickly.
While it is easy to confuse PPM with project management, they are different processes. PPM focuses on optimizing a company’s entire project portfolio, while project management focuses on delivering a single project.
Steps Involved in Project Portfolio Management
The project portfolio management process has five main steps, as outlined below:
- Determine the company’s objectives
A company’s objectives and vision are the basis of its project portfolio management strategy because it helps project portfolio managers determine the projects they should approve. During this step, the PPM team will discuss the desired outcome of the project portfolio with the company’s executives and create selection criteria for project proposals.
- Solicit ideas for the project portfolio
Once the project portfolio managers in the team understand the company’s strategic goals, they will get advice from consultants and receive project proposals for consideration.
- Select projects for the portfolio
During this step, the team will weigh each proposal against the company’s objectives to determine those that align with the objectives and select them. Then, they will do a cost-benefit analysis and prioritize each selected proposal according to the value they will add to the company. This will determine how much resources they will allocate to each project.
- Conduct a feasibility study for the portfolio
This feasibility study will analyze financial risks, resource management constraints, potential obstacles, workforce capabilities, and available technologies to predict the success of projects in the portfolio.
- Start and manage the projects
Once all is set, the projects will kick off as planned, and the PPM team will continuously monitor them and track important metrics to ensure smooth operations. They will work with project managers to tackle constraints and adjust the plan if needed.
Endnote
Project portfolio management helps companies select and prioritize projects that fit their business goals while ensuring their resources are effectively utilized. It also reduces office expenses, increases efficiency and strengthens collaboration between project managers, employees, and their company’s management.
