Project Portfolio Management

Achieving project success on time, on budget and within scope does not ensure that all projects meet the goals of the organisation. Portfolio Management is a process to ensure that your company spends its scarce resources on the work that is of most value to the organisation. The process helps to ensure that only the most valuable work is approved and managed across the company, and helps validate that the work being funded is the most important.

Similar to a financial portfolio, the project portfolio looks to improve the return on investment. This requires an understanding of the current value of the project portfolio to the business, and heavily relies upon the Business Case and ROI data (information that is often missing).

Benefits

A good Portfolio Management process will assist with the selection and balance of priority projects to meet business goals and provide essential executive support for decision making.

The value of project Portfolio Management can be summarised as:

	Improved resource allocation.
	Improved alignment of work.
	Improved balance of work.
	Changed focus from cost to investment.
	Increased collaboration.
	Enhanced communication.
	Improved decision support.
	Increased focus on when to exit.

The Process Portfolio Management relies upon gathering the appropriate information and then making strategic decisions about which projects the organisation will focus on. At the highest level the process can be summarised as:

	Gather Projects List: Significant early benefits can be achieved by gathering a complete list of projects.
	Evaluate Projects: Identify and align projects with strategic objectives.
	Prioritise & Select Projects: Most organisations have more projects than they can successfully resource or fund.
	Manage Portfolio: Support is provided by the PMO for executive decisions.

As with all business improvement projects there is a cost and a payback, only by considering this can you determine if it is a worthwhile investment. Regardless, the first step is to define the terms of reference and the scope of Portfolio Management for your organisation.

PMPartners Project Portfolio Management Services

PMPartners offer Education and Consultancy services in Project Portfolio Management.

If you require any further information or would like to speak to a consultant about project Portfolio Management please call (02) 9267 2267 or email info@pmpartners.com.au.