Project Portfolio Management for Everyone Knowth Consulting Presents

Standard Assumptions About Project Portfolio Management  Need to begin with a top down strategy and direction  Executives drive the PPM process. PMs and functional managers have no control  The more mature the PM process the better  Detailed project reporting is necessary to support analysis  Task level staffing and time cards by task are required to get a handle on resource utilization

The PPM Pyramid Culture PowerRules Process Maturity Goals

Operating in the Value Zone Portfolio Management Project Management Organizational Infrastructure & Culture The Zone

Defining the Value Zone  Alignment – Do the projects contribute to the strategic goals of the company? Alignment  Innovation – are we receptive to and do we invest in something New? Innovation  Fit – is this project doable with the resources we have now? Fit  Value – is the value received worth the effort? Value Zone

Introducing Scalable PPM  Intended to be culturally neutral  Intended to support top down or bottom up management  Stresses  Communication  Risk Management  Leadership  Assumes a WIFM of increased promotability  Focuses on Value Based Decisions

PPM Pyramid and the Language of Resource Management  The Role of Executive Management is to Allocate the money and the people  The Role of Functional Management is to Manage the money and the people  The Role of Project Management is to spend the money and support the people PMs and Project Teams Functional Management Executive Mgmt

The PPM Process - Executive Management’s Responsibilities Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion remaining Funds

Infra-structure: 45% Apportioning Funding Utility: 20% Enhancement: 10% 15% Frontier: 10% Invest – 30% 10 % Manage – 35%Optimize – 35%

Conventional Functional Management Responsibilities  Re-evaluate list of new projects  Confirm resource availability  Confirm cross-project dependencies  Evaluate maintenance and enhancement efforts (M&E)  Confirm resource availability  Establish monitoring procedures  Project steering committee

Scalable PPM – Functional Management Responsibilities Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion Remaining Funds Analyzing the Current State

Inventory and Assess Assets  Assess Value in current IT products and services  What do we have?  When was it implemented  How is each system working?  Limping  Meets  Exceeds  Can this system be used elsewhere? Current Systems New Projects

Scalable PPM – Functional Management Responsibilities Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion Remaining Funds Analyzing the Current State Imputing Strategy Balance Resources Eliminate Projects

Align People with Resource Requirements  People  Identify Current Skills  Identify Current Capabilities  Identify Growth opportunities  Encourage Cross- training  Make sure no one is struggling  Resources  Identify resources types for projects  Understand availability and capacity of generic human resources  Assign resources to projects  Establish the relationship between resource constraints and project status

Techniques for Eliminating Projects that Fail the Value Equation  Re-assign resources (starve)  Re-design (merge two projects)  Re-move (eliminate a cancelled project)  Re-schedule (delay, move to pipeline)  Re-scope  Re-classify

Scalable PPM – Functional Management Responsibilities Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion Remaining Funds Analyzing the Current State Imputing Strategy Balance Resources Eliminate Projects Define Measurements

Conventional Project Management Responsibilities  Responsible for soliciting weekly work plan  Responsible for evaluating risk of task completion  Responsible for keeping the focus on feature driven prioritization  Accountable for recommending changes and solutions based on emerging information

Scalable PPM – Project Management’s Responsibilities Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion Remaining Funds Analyzing the Current State Imputing Strategy Balance Resources Eliminate Projects Define Measurements Execute Projects Report on Performance

Scalable PPM Project Management Responsibilities  Understand the Value Proposition of your project  Make sure that you have identified the risks on your project in a manner that is meaningful to top Management  No more than three risks  Have a clear contingency and/or mitigation strategy  Make sure you are communicating the right message to the right people  Understand the value to your stakeholders  Understand your progress in delivering that value  Practice Servant Leadership  Your team creates the results – You remove roadblocks

The Scalable PPM Process Define Measurements Determine Strategy Select Top Tier Projects Innovate “Mind the Gap” Apportion Remaining Funds Analyzing the Current State Imputing Strategy Balance Resources Eliminate Projects Execute Projects Report on Performance

Principles of Scalable Portfolio Management  Everyone is accountable  Need to have goals  Everyone is responsible  Need to have performance measures  Everyone should practice continuous collaboration  No one should struggle Strategic Objectives Potential Projects Resources Optimum Portfolio Risks

The Benefits of Scalable Project Portfolio Management  A technique for allowing companies to align their process to their culture without sacrificing their PPM efforts  A method for imputing strategy and gaining consensus  An approach that allows all levels of management to participate in managing their portfolio of projects  A value based approach to portfolio decisions

Resources for more information about Scalable Project Portfolio Management  Ask us for a copy of this presentation  Go to and join a discussion on portfolio management  Go to the knowledge Center at for more papers and book reviews on project portfolio management