Project Portfolio Management: How many projects does your company manage in a year? Do you know these numbers? How many are completed on time? How many reach their goals?
Every company has a set of programs and projects that are being implemented or have already been implemented to develop new products and services or implement improvements in processes to increase the organization’s results.
However, for these objectives to be achieved, it is necessary to understand what project portfolio management is and how much its application can generate value for the company.
Project portfolio management goes far beyond executing several projects at the same time. It covers the use of knowledge, strategies, and specific management techniques, aiming to maximize the use of employed resources and the return on investment in these projects.
In these posts, you will fully understand project portfolio management and its advantages.
What Is Project Portfolio Management Anyway?
It is not difficult to understand what project portfolio management is, see:
Project portfolio management consists of defining which projects are a priority for the company, ordering their execution, defining the responsible teams, and monitoring their results and progress to guarantee that they are moving in the determined direction and that their members are engaged in their execution.
It is also necessary to define when the project ended, verify if it reached its objectives, and formalize the lessons learned.
Four Advantages Of Using Project Portfolio Management In The Company
Knowing what project portfolio management is in the company and implementing it brings many benefits. Let’s see some of them:
1- More Efficient Decisions
Portfolio management produces a set of strategic information related to all projects that the company has already developed or is in progress.
This data, when organized in management reports, are powerful allies to support decision-making, reducing uncertainties, minimizing errors, and ensuring good governance practices;
2- More Aligned Strategic Planning
Project portfolio management makes it possible to unite project management practices with strategic planning determinations.
This allows comparing the results obtained with the projects about the organization’s goals, as well as the impact that these results are having or will have on the direction the company wants to follow.
Thus, it is possible to make the necessary adjustments to maintain the desired position in the market in the medium and long term.
3- Sustainable Growth
Another advantage provided by portfolio management is the increase in project success rate, enabling the organization’s consistent and sustainable growth.
In addition, other positive side effects are increased customer satisfaction, reduced costs, and increased revenue.
4- Risk Management
Another advantage for managers who know project portfolio management is more efficient risk management.
The implementation of a new project requires the assessment of its possibilities of being successful. This can be achieved by comparing with records of projects carried out previously, anticipating the risks and rewards involved for the organization.
Learn more: What is project and process management and how to implement it in your company
What Does A Project Portfolio Manager Do?
To understand what a project portfolio manager does, it is necessary to differentiate him from the project manager, avoiding possible confusion about the duties of these professionals.
The project manager takes care of one or more specific projects, usually related to his area of expertise. Therefore, he works on the execution of projects that are under his responsibility, seeking results.
On the other hand, the portfolio manager has much broader and more strategic responsibilities. To begin with, he needs to monitor all the company’s projects, being aware of the internal or external factors that may affect their results.
The supervision of all projects carried out by him needs to consider the institutional vision of the organization so that the actions related to the projects are aligned with the objectives outlined by the company.
In this context, he must manage risks, make resources available, control execution time and costs, so the preparation of their initial scopes achieves that project results.
How To Apply Project Portfolio Management In Your Company?
Applying project portfolio management in your company will provide an effective tool for analyzing and quantifying the value of each project. You can prioritize those more aligned with the company’s objectives.
Therefore, to implement portfolio management in your company, you must initially follow the following steps:
- Analyze all the company’s projects, identifying those that will best support the organization’s business strategies;
- Study the results obtained with the projects that are in progress to analyze whether they are by the initial planning and whether they should remain, be closed, or receive adjustments;
- Check that each portfolio project has the necessary financial and professional resources and that their profile includes the right skills.
After these steps, you will have defined the company’s project portfolio and must establish how its management will be. For this, it should consider the continuous performance of projects in progress and the evolution of the portfolio. In this sense, it is necessary to define the criteria for selecting new projects that meet the objectives and strategies of the business.
Also Read: Six Benefits Of Cloud Project Management