AEW Services © Project Portfolio Management: New Opportunities for Project Managers & Business Analysts R. Max Wideman, P.Eng FCSCE, FEIC, FICE, FPMI AEW Services 2216 West 21st Avenue Vancouver, BC V6L 1J5 Phone/FAX Web site: Project Management Consulting P O E M C AEWS Plan Organize Execute Monitor Control SITEBC Knowledge Development Seminar Vancouver, BC, January 10, 2009

AEW Services © Key Presentation Points I believe that Project Portfolio Management (PPM) 1. Is a major future career opportunity  For Project Managers and Business Analysts 2. Is not an "extension of project management"  And pretending it is so, will not make it so 3. Instead, it is a whole new discipline  That will come to recognition in the next five years  And for which PMs & BAs are eminently suited 4. The time to plan your career for it  Is now

AEW Services © Recent Consulting Example: Enterprise Project Management Office Principle goals of EPMO at Ontario Lottery & Gaming 1. Survey and understand "corporate projects" 2. Improve project management processes & practices  Including skill sets, reporting consistency & success 3. Facilitate PPM prioritization & strategic focus 4. Support effective allocation of capital Expected program duration 4 to 5 years Basis of system development All available information sources Including extensive reference to my web site at:

AEW Services © But first, what exactly is... A Project Portfolio Management System (PPMS) Especially, an Enterprise-wide one ? I suggest that an E-PPMS is A methodical approach to managing a portfolio of corporate programs, projects and initiatives of whatever type  Designed to ensure that the available resources are all used effectively and efficiently  Such that the resulting products realize measurable benefits for the organization, consistent with corporate strategy, and A system that ensures the most value for least risk for the invested resources  Allowing corporate strategy to be communicated throughout the organization  Enabling only those projects that support the strategy  And feeding back benefit realization data to enable continuous improvement

AEW Services © Fundamental E-PPMS Requirement A "gated" project life span for all projects Is essential for performing E-PPM responsibilities START Phase Gate Control Point END Phase Gate Control Point

AEW Services © Concept of Success What is the true meaning of PPM "success" Not just "On time, within budget" Not just product delivered (at any time or cost) Not just delivered to scope and quality Nor even delivered to "customer satisfaction" The purpose of an E-PPMS  And hence the real measure of E-PPM success Is this:  Are the projects making money for the organization?!!  (Or, in the case of government: Providing better service)

AEW Services © Corporate Management Perspective What corporate management needs to know Where are corporate resources being consumed  And is that arrangement optimized? Are project objectives still in alignment  Or have the corporate goals, objectives changed?  Or the corporate vision and priorities changed? What performance results are being obtained?  Indeed, are planned benefits actually being realized?

AEW Services © The extent of the problem To answer these corporate management questions Tracking must continue through the product life cycle  Not just through the project life span There must be feedback to the planning process  Hence a "total system" is required

AEW Services © The ideal PPM System A total PPM system should consist of A total PPM system should consist of 1. A need and opportunity collection system  With findings reported as a Business Case (justified) 2. A selection process  To limit projects to available resources (no overload)  And weed out inappropriate projects 3. A prioritization process  To get them done in the right order (smooth sailing) 4. A people resource planning process  To ensure the availability of the right skills (competence) 5. A product creation process (project management) 6. A feedback mechanism  For "continuous improvement" (proof of value)

AEW Services © E-PPMS example As applied to our OLG-EPMO client, the system looks like this

AEW Services © The "People Problem" - 1 In practical terms  Modern organizations consist of three parts 1. Corporate Governance  Top executives responsible for vision and success/failure decisions relating to long term survival/prosperity and operational efficiency 2. Project management  Project people dedicated to the narrow focus of producing new product results to keep the organization at the forefront of its industry 3. Operations management  Business-as-usual people responsible for maintaining services and/or product output An E-PPM office must deal with all three !

AEW Services © The "People Problem" - 2 All three organizational groups Have a different focus Involve different skills, training and experience Hold different attitudes  In short, the people are different  Which is why people moved from one group are not always comfortable and successful in another Have different priorities

AEW Services © Executive Sponsorship - 1 Assuming The right collection and number of projects have been selected There is a critical link required  To connect individual projects to the corporate strategy There is also a critical link required  To connect the benefits realized to the new product  And back to the product's original Business Case A key position is An "Executive Sponsor"  Who is a member of the corporate governance group

AEW Services © Executive Sponsorship - 2 Executive Sponsor's essential responsibilities Owns the project's Business Case  That justifies the project on the basis of expected benefits Ensures relevant metrics are established & used Ensures benefits are actually harvestedQuestion Who should be responsible for the cost of gathering and analyzing benefit data and feeding it back to executive management ?  I suggest all of these are the responsibility of Corporate management

AEW Services © Conclusion I believe that Project Portfolio Management (PPM) 1. Is a major future career opportunity  For Project Managers and Business Analysts 2. Is not an "extension of project management"  And pretending it is so, will not make it so 3. Instead, it is a whole new discipline  That will come to recognition in the next five years  And for which PMs are eminently suited 4. But, the time to plan your career for it  Is now