The impact of project management on the overall health of any business is tremendous.A sound foundation of individual project management for your organization will help you execute all your projects well and this is an essential step to achieve your desired objectives on time and within budget.

With the aid of Project Portfolio Management (PPM), an organization is able to define and understand their different projects and also prioritize time and budget to analyze the impact of these projects on the growth of the business. Project Portfolio Management is also involved in comprehending the appropriate use and allocation of various resources so that the organization does not end up over-committing to certain teams. Working on the organization’s capabilities for PPM is vital to get projects done well in time and also achieve pre-determined goals and objectives.

Points for assessment under Project Portfolio Management

Some points that need to be analyzed for PPM include the following:

  • The level of commitment of the particular organization to Project Portfolio Management
  • The tools, templates and processes used for individual project management
  • Analysis of opportunities for development for the project managers
  • Decision making, control and authority with respect to project portfolios
  • Management of resources, risk, changes as well as tools and processes

Prioritization of IT projects

Several IT leaders face problems in handling the huge load of demand because they lack good communication skills and are not well versed with setting priorities within the business setup. They also have a tendency to take on a load of demands which end up killing their teams.

To improve the management of IT projects, managers first need to learn how to ‘prioritize’. Below are a few tips that can help managers start the process of good PPM:

  1. Alignment of projects with business objectives: The goals and objectives of each IT project should be in sync with the goals of the business. The evaluation of the project is a major part of the strategic business plan where business priority is supreme priority and is recognized by the main stakeholders to attain the meet the pre-determined business objective. The IT leader prioritizes the internal IT projects on the basis of their effectiveness in meeting the overall IT Strategy.
  2. Stakeholder’s priorities: The analysis of the value of business to both customers and the internal stakeholders of the business (shareholders, employees) is important. This business value needs to be put forth in terms of time, cost and quality. The organization also needs to define this value in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.
  3. Classification and prioritization of projects: IT projects need to be a part of the strategic enterprise solutions. These IT projects are expected to meet the overall organizational needs and must be prioritized with respect to the objectives and specific goals of the enterprise. This alignment is very important for the success and growth of the business.

More information:

Download the latest Thinking Portfolio PPM Whitepaper Q2/2014