Project Portfolio Management Office
Problem Statement
Projects were started but then not completed on time or within resource and budget limits, meaning that the strategic goals of the business were not being achieved.
Goals
Ensure that:
- the right projects were started and actually completed,
- the business’s goals would be met,
- coordination effort for management would be maintained at sustainable levels.
Approach
We analysed the situation and noted a gap in their internal workings. We introduced Project Portfolio Management (PPM) standards and methods that were subsequently implemented. The process included roles and responsibilities some of which were pooled in a Project Portfolio Management Office (PPMO) which:
- provides a single point of contact for project portfolio issues,
- ensures that the project portfolio is maintained up to date,
- facilitates the prioritisation and execution of projects,
- keeps management updated on progress.
The PPMO Process is implemented in two-steps:
consolidation of projects in a portfolio, planning of personnel and cost requirements, alignment of the strategic goals of the business, prioritisation within approved limits.
approval of project starts once personnel are available, monitoring and reporting portfolio progress, updating the portfolio as changes require, expediting decisions to ensure that prioritised projects are completed.
Benefits
The pooling of specific responsibilities in a PPMO creates efficiencies by concentrating tasks on a small team of experts. These experts provide a service to the project portfolio management and project management. Subsequently projects are only commenced once personnel are available and management approval received. The PPMO monitors execution, expedites progress and presents management with regular status updates allowing them to make informed decisions.
Process Implementation & Pricing
Teamwork is essential. The teamwork between PPM, PPMO and Project Management (PM) is summarised as follows:
As a Service Provider, we offer PPMO Services Deliverables on a unit price basis to initially align and then deliver your project portfolio.
Use Case
Louise, a member of the leadership team of a pharma company near Munich, faced the problem that many undertakings were commenced but then not completed on time or within approved limits.
To get an overview, we first visited her organisation and identified 60 project ideas and projects, many of which had already started, simply because the budget was available. However, from a portfolio perspective it became clear that there were insufficient staff. The goal was to identify the projects most in line with their goals and to prioritise them.
We developed a prioritisation model to align the projects with their strategic goals and subsequently prioritised 14 which could start and be completed on time and within resource and budget limits. Of the remaining planned undertakings some were either cancelled because they did not fall within the portfolio scope or placed in the pipeline for later consideration.
Project Services
You need support in the realisation of specific project tasks?