When it comes to managing or running a business, it can often feel like there are so many different elements that require your attention; you become stretched and thinned out to the point where it becomes hard to give it your all. Add to this the stress of having numerous projects on the go, and management becomes a never-ending and seemingly impossible task.
When running multiple projects, being able to effectively manage the portfolio becomes an essential task. First, let’s break down some of this terminology:
What is a portfolio?
This is a collection of projects that are currently live within a business. Whilst all the projects will (hopefully!) have the shared aim of delivering a number of benefits to a business, they don’t necessarily have to directly relate to one another in other respects. This means that sometimes a portfolio can consist of multiple projects all with a differing focus, but a single shared goal.
So, a portfolio will contain different projects that all require specific management styles. This means a project portfolio manager needs to be able to control each project at an individual level, but also control how these projects affect and complement the rest of the portfolio – think of it as a kind of Russian-doll management technique, with the projects contained within the portfolio, and the portfolio held within the business itself (the biggest doll in the set).
But what does project portfolio management actually entail? Overall, successful project portfolio management should result in the creation of a portfolio that pushes a business further towards its overall goals and objectives – and that means a project portfolio manager must be able to leverage the projects to ensure they compliment an organisation’s strategy. It also involves the allocation of resources – such as staff and budget – to projects when necessary and the need to constantly reassess project priorities. Questions to ask include:
– How well is each individual project performing?
– How do the projects affect one another and thus the portfolio as a whole?
– How are the projects contributing to the portfolio objectives?
– How is the portfolio meeting enterprise objectives?
Once these questions have been asked (hopefully all resulting in positive responses) a manager will hopefully have a better idea of how a portfolio and its respective elements are performing.
It is important, however, for portfolio managers to not get bogged down with extraneous detail – with the added pressure of numerous projects to keep an eye on, it can be easy to become distracted by minor details related to a specific project; managers must remember to always be focused on the bigger picture – aka the portfolio as a whole. Individual project managers should be the ones fretting over project-specific updates.
Essentially, project portfolio managers are those situated in the middle-tier (or middle Russian doll, to link back to our previous analogy) of management: one above project management, but below overall enterprise management. They are the essential link between these two levels, minimising the gap between nitty-gritty business elements project managers have to deal with – like budgets and resources – and more subjective concerns, like a business vision, mission and overall strategy.
This means that a project portfolio manager needs to be able to scale-up and scale-down their knowledge of the business; they need to be aware of a company’s vision, mission and strategy but also understand the issues that arise when budgets, timetables and resources go awry. This means good communication skills are a must, as they need to be able to converse with employees at every business level with understanding and empathy for their problems.
Along with this they must be highly organised, able to create and stick-to a portfolio delivery plan, track progress and address issues arising from different projects all whilst ensuring the changes being pushed through align with overall business goals – the fundamental goal of project portfolio management.
