Project Portfolio Management
Portfolio Management
is like flying
Why Project
Portfolio Management
is like flying
A pilot always prepares a flight plan which includes checking weather, planning the route, and ensuring there is enough fuel.
Flight planning is like project portfolio alignment. The wrong projects take you off course, and the projects aligned to your goals, but for which you have neither resources nor money, cause turbulence and use up fuel that you don’t have. Prioritising your projects within your limits is like taking a scenic flight with enough fuel, and some reserve to spare.
Waypoints help us stay on course. Tracking time informs us if we are on schedule or not. Slight delays happen, but if this becomes a trend it will mean arriving late at our destination.
Companies need completed projects delivered on time. Delays not only mean missed targets but could also impact following projects. By scheduling activities and monitoring progress, deviations become evident, and remedial action can be taken. Informing of a late arrival will allow alternative arrangements to be made.
The pilot’s resources are limited in flight. During the climb he prioritises and focuses on the tasks necessary to safely reach cruising altitude.
Resources are limited in business. Chen had a fixed operational headcount and needed to provide support to projects. To release experts, he planned backfill staffing. Laura was tasked to support the first initiation. She was able to do this by prioritising or delegating tasks until backfill staff arrived. By recognising their resource limits, coupled with planning and prioritisation, Chen maintained the climb.
Cruising altitude is the time to enjoy the flight. Sometimes progress is slower than planned, e.g. headwind. Carrying a fuel reserve avoids running out of fuel.
Christian, a PM, had estimated project cost and allocated this to work packages. Packages were procured under budget and budget reserve was subsequently reduced. It turned out that scope was missing which made things tighter later. Christian decided to review each work package to ensure that nothing was missing, before releasing any budget reserve. The project was able to maintain cruise altitude with enough reserve to safely reach its destination.
The pilot contacts the tower reporting position before entering the airfield traffic pattern from where visual contact with the airfield and other aircraft is possible. Reporting position at each section in the pattern informs others of progress and is especially important on final before landing. Checking progress at regular intervals ensures that the flight is safely completed. In Elisabeth’s project a multi-functional team were spread across different departments.
The project work would be completed alongside operations. Each had been tasked to complete specific deliverables in a stepwise manner. Elisabeth wanted to ensure their completion. She would check the individual progress and communicate the consolidated status to the team. Through regular check-ins each knew the progress of the other which helped maintain focus and expedite completion of all deliverables to safely land the project.
Thanks to careful flight planning and effective flight monitoring you have landed safely with fuel reserve intact, hopefully on time and at the right destination. Having invested time, resources and money, it is important that the projects in your project portfolio have helped you reach your goals.
Thank you for flying with Peebles GmbH. Whether before take-off or during flight, we would love to provide you with our services to ensure you deliver your project portfolio and your projects.