A number of project portfolio management tools and methods have become incredibly popular nowadays. A growing number of businesses have implemented professional project portfolio management tools and processes. Yet, many companies are still running projects and handling portfolios with no support from dedicated teams or proper methods. So, why is project portfolio management important? For managing project portfolios, do you need to define or implement certain processes?
Project portfolio management focuses on picking the right projects at the correct time through the selection and management of projects as an investments portfolio. Its primary goal is to help organizations use their limited resources for their most critical projects to execute their vision and goals. It differs from conventional project management in that it is not focused only on how individual projects are executed. Project portfolio management goes well beyond the scope of conventional project management.
Functions of Project Portfolio Management
Project portfolio management may take on certain responsibilities, such as:
- Choosing, appraising, and prioritizing initiatives and projects
- Deciding when a project may need to be delayed or terminated
- Building a well-balanced and consistent portfolio of projects
- Evaluating the value the projects bring to the business
- Ensuring that the projects being conducted align with the strategic goals of the company
- Managing and controlling projects as per the resources and goals available
How does management involvement impact the performance of project portfolio management?
Top management support is considered to have a high impact on project success. A project manager is accountable for delivering project outputs. However, projects are complex and project managers require the support of others in the organization. Particularly, the involvement of top management can help project managers successfully complete the project.
For successful and effective deployment of the PPM process across the organization, management support is critical, along with robust project portfolio management tools. The top management can be helpful in establishing best practices and standards for managing projects, programs, and portfolios. They can also help in ensuring that they are consistently followed across the organization. Because of their key role in the organization and supervisory capacity, management can spearhead the introduction of the project portfolio management methodology.
Another vital role that management can play has to do with change management brought about by process improvement. They can ensure that teams and their project managers have the resources, information, and tools they require to perform their best. The management can also take the initiative to acquire a professional PPM tool that can consolidate and centralize project-related information to better enable the project portfolio management process.
