PROJECT MANAGMENT 415
Portfolio Roadmap
A document that provides the high-level strategic direction and portfolio information in a chronological fashion for portfolio management and ensures dependencies within the portfolio are established and evaluated.
In successful organizations a formal review of goals usually happens
A formal quarterly review helps adjust quickly for a changing environment without slowing the business down.
Governance Within the Portfolio Life Cycle
A life cycle of processes used to collect, identify, categorize, evaluate, select, prioritize, balance, authorize, and review components within the project portfolio to ensure that they are performing compared to the key indicators and the strategic plan
GOVERNANCE WITHIN THE PORTFOLIO LIFE CYCLE
A life cycle of processes used to collect, identify, categorize, evaluate, select, prioritize, balance, authorize, and review components within the project portfolio to ensure that they are performing compared to the key indicators and the strategic plan.
Managing Strategic Alignment
A life cycle of processes used to collect, identify, categorize, evaluate, select, prioritize, balance, authorize, and review components within the project portfolio to ensure that they are performing compared to the key indicators and the strategic plan.
Portfolio Roadmap
A portfolio roadmap is a visualization of the strategy and timeline for all product efforts across an entire group. It showcases multiple product plans on a single roadmap to help executives and product managers understand how each product relates to the overall goals and initiatives.
sponsor
A sponsor is a person or group who provides resources and support for the portfolio. If it is a group, then individual accountabilities should be clearly defined.
Ongoing Life Cycle
A standard project typically has the following four major phases (each with its own agenda of tasks and issues): initiation, planning, implementation, and closure. Taken together, these phases represent the path a project takes from the beginning to its end and are generally referred to as the project "life cycle."
GuIdING PRINCIPLES strategy
Achieve excellence in strategic execution. - Ensure that investments in portfolio components are aligned with the organization's strategy and governance practices. and Balance portfolio value against overall risks. and Foster a culture that embraces change and risk. and Navigate complexity to enable successful outcomes. u Continuously acquire talent and implement professional talent management
Tiko and Camille's boss has a project in which the solution is a bit unclear. Tiko wants to use a waterfall approach and Camille wants to use the Agile approach. Which approach is best and why?
Agile is best because it delivers partial solutions at regular intervals. feedback This approach is best because it uses short iterations or sprints to deliver partial solutions, while customer feedback improves the overall solution.
After the plan is approved and project work begins, Tara's boss is not happy about a project delay for an upgrade. The vendor thought Tara's team would do the upgrade, and Tara thought the vendor would do it. What was missed in this situation?
An assumption was not identified.
Portfolio Management Information System (PMIS)
An information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes.
developing Portfolio Strategic Objectives
An organization's ambition is found in its mission and vision statements, which together describe the main purpose of an organization and its ultimate goal. They are the steps and accomplishments that an organization completes to realize that ultimate goal
How should you begin to implement portfolio management?
Assess current strengths and opportunities.
Ideas are first reviewed by each business area and then brought back together to develop a single prioritized list
Business areas review ideas that relate to their work and identify the best ideas. Those ideas then get consolidated across all departments in a single prioritized list.
Capacity planning focuses on resources while capability planning looks at skill and will
Capacity planning considers whether there are enough people and money, capability looks at the ability and commitment to do the work
STraTEgIC goalS
Capture a bigger market share, u Enter a new market, u Comply with regulatory requirements, u Improve profitability, u Increase efficiency, u Provide better customer service, u Improve employee training, and u Improve customer satisfaction
Cultural change is an outcome of the way you operate, not an enabler of it
Cultural change occurs as a result of what you do, who you are and how you act, that creates the environment that becomes part of the organizational culture.
Banton is defining his project deliverables. Which statement describes what a project deliverable is?
Deliverables are the results that the project delivers and help define the project scope.
A project that you manage is behind schedule. You have identified an approach that would get the project back on track, but it would require you to break one of your organization's policies. What is the best course of action?
Determine if the rule is one that can be broken and come up with an alternative plan of action if your approach doesn't work.
Key Portfolio Components
Effective diversification—beyond asset allocation. Traditional views of diversification tend to focus on asset classes (e.g., equity, fixed income). ... Active management—tactical asset allocation strategy. ... Cost efficiency. ... Tax efficiency
Audience for The Standard for Portfolio Management
Executive Framing. The executive framing is always first. ... Data Collection. The next step is to collect the data. ... Modeling and Analysis. Modeling and analysis are best done by someone (or a team) with both modeling and business savvy. ... Synthesis and Communication.
Rosanne's boss asks her to manage a project. Which question requires understanding of objectives, requirements, deliverables, and success criteria to answer?
How will you know when you are done?
What type of PMO model works best with portfolio management?
It doesn't matter as long as all PMOs work together more expalin The type of PMO is less important than the work those PMOs do to support portfolio management.
Why does the portfolio come first, before programs and projects?
It is how a business achieves its goals. more expalain The portfolio is created to deliver the goals and objectives, programs and projects are tools used in the portfolio.
If departments are starting to ignore portfolio management what might have happened?
Leadership isn't engaged enough and departments think portfolio management isn't important
If leadership gets into too much detail , the authority of the portfolio manager is undermined
Leadership must allow the portfolio manager to concentrate on the details, keeping their focus at high levels. If they don't the portfolio manager and the project teams will feel like they aren't trusted.
Why must portfolio management connect leadership and project delivery teams?
Leadership sets the goals and direction, but project delivery teams do the work.
Principles of Portfolio Management
Make Sure Projects Align to Strategy. Portfolio management is all about strategic alignment. ... Have a Strong Process for Shutting Down Projects Early. ... Lead the Change. ... Get Comfortable with Risk. ... Promote Transparency at All Levels.
Ramesh is creating objectives for his project. Which SMART step will help him identify actual progress?
Measurable
Your project seems to be going off track, so you take action to resolve the problem. In which project management process group are you working?
Monitoring and Controlling
4 Relationships Among Portfolios, Programs, Projects, and Operations
Operations management is an area that is outside the scope of formal project management as described in this guide. Is concerned with the ongoing production of goods and/or services. Ok ensures that business operations continue efficiently by using the optimal resources needed to meet customer demands. It is concerned with managing processes that transforms inputs into outputs. AND Projects can intersect with operations when: developing a new product, improving process, at the end of the product life, and at each close out phase. 1.2.3.6 Organizational project
Portfolio management is an integrated approach to connect strategy and execution to achieve business goals
Portfolio management connects strategy and execution to ensure all work areas are aligned to deliver business goals.
What Is Portfolio Management?
Portfolio management is the selection, prioritisation and control of an organisation's programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity to deliver. The goal is to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usua
Portfolio Optimization
Portfolio optimization is the process of selecting the best portfolio, out of the set of all portfolios being considered, according to some objective. The objective typically maximizes factors such as expected return, and minimizes costs like financial ris
Portfolio Process Assets [Output/Input]
Portfolio plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases used by the portfolio manager and stakeholders.
Relationships Among Portfolio Management, Organizational Strategy, Strategic business Execution, and Organizational Project Management
Portfolio: aligns portfolios with strategies by selecting the right programs and projects.Programs: harmonize its components and controls interdependencies in order to realize specific benefits.Projects: enables the achievement of goals and objectives.
Relationships Among Portfolio Management, Program Management, and Project Management
Program management manages similar projects while portfolio management manages dissimilar projects or programs. The scope of program management is broader than the project scope, and a portfolio has an organization-wide scope, which changes with the strategic objectives of the organization
Program Manager (PM)
Program managers oversee the fulfillment of larger organizational goals. They coordinate activities between multiple projects without directly managing them. Instead, they manage the main program, giving detailed attention to program strategy, project delegation, and program implementation.Oct 26, 2020
One of the biggest changes in portfolio management for project managers is more communication with more stakeholders .
Project managers have more control over their projects and need to communicate their decisions. They also have relationships based on benefit dependencies so have more stakeholders to work with.
Project objectives help you flesh out a project by _____.
Project objectives help identify the items you include in project scope.
PorTFolIo goVErnanCE Body
Project portfolio governance refers to the governance of all projects in the portfolio. Good portfolio governance is about having the right people making good strategic decisions with the right information at the right time.Apr 26, 2019
PorTFolIo, PrograM, and/or ProjECT ManagEMEnT oFFICE
Project portfolio management (PPM) is the management of all projects in an organization from a high-level perspective. ... The PMO is the central hub for all projects in the business, driving PPM on a largely strategic level. The PMO is a fixed and permanent entity within the business organization.
STRATEGIC ObjECTIVES (VISIon and MISSIon STaTEMEnTS)
Remember, the vision is what you want to accomplish. Mission is a general statement of how you will achieve your vision. ... Goals are statements of what needs to be accomplished to implement the strategy. Objectives are specific actions and timelines for achieving the goal.
The sponsor of Project T5 assigned you as the project manager, and the project has already been approved. What is the first thing you need to do as the project manager?
Review what has been done and complete any tasks not addressed.
Strategic Risk Appetite
Risk appetite is the amount of risk an individual or organization is willing to take on. ... For example, an individual may be comfortable taking health risks but be extremely adverse to financial risk. Likewise, an organization may take on one type of risk and be adverse to another type of risk.Jul 25, 2018
Sakait has done some extra work to appease a client. Now the client is asking her to do one more task, which is significant and not part of project scope. What should Sakait do?
Sakait should tell the client the task is not within scope and add the task using the change control process.
What is NOT a required part of creating a project schedule?
Set a deadline for the project.
Portfolio Strategic Objectives
Strategic Portfolio Management is about deciding where best to focus the organisation's finite resources in order to meet strategic objectives, considering the business as a portfolio of activities and making trade- offs across the portfolio. ... Once the portfolio is focused, attention needs to turn to execution.
Portfolio strategic plan
Strategic Portfolio Planning is the business process by which organizations determine the set of innovation and new product development (NPD) investments they will fund—and those they won't—to achieve their business objectives
Which of the following statements is true about subjective analysis?
Subjective and objective analysis should work together in assessing proposals.
Rudolph, the project manager, is trying to obtain customer approval of project deliverables. It is taking longer than he anticipated because the customer wants to discuss the results. What is the most likely reason for these delays?
Success criteria that are unclear or not quantifiable can make it difficult to determine whether deliverables are acceptable.
Portfolio Charter
The Portfolio Charter talks about the strategic benefits that a portfolio aims to accomplish. It also contains the list of programs and projects that make up the portfolio. The name of the Portfolio Manager is also mentioned
Where should the way to measure benefits be documented?
The business case should establish how much benefit is expected and how that will be measured.
Business agility is effectively and efficiently responding to an evolving business environment
The business environment will always be evolving, ensuring the business is as effective and efficient as possible in its responses create a business agile organization.
What Is a Portfolio?
The definition of a portfolio is a flat case used for carrying loose sheets of paper or a combination of investments or samples of completed works. An example of portfolio is a briefcase. An example of portfolio is an individual's various investments. An example of portfolio is an artist's display of past works
The portfolio lifecycle starts with capturing ideas and ends with ensuring business benefits are achieved.
The portfolio lifecycle starts with ensuring that all ideas are captured. It isn't done until you've ensured the expected benefits have actually happened.
Who should the portfolio manager report to?
The portfolio manager can report to a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Chief Operating Officer (COO) or other similar corporate function if you don't have a CSO.
Projects are approved based primarily on their ability to deliver
The project is a success if it achieves its outcomes - the results that benefit the business.
Ravi took on a system implementation project that he estimated would take six months to complete, but the work keeps continuing. What is the likely cause?
The project is not clearly defined.
Why is 'on benefit' the most important measure of success for projects in a portfolio?
The project only succeeds when the business achieves its goals.
In addition to benefits and costs, the order of importance considers timing of benefits and chances of success
The timing of benefits is just as important as how big the benefits are. The chance of success is critical, if there is a high risk of failure you may want to avoid it no matter how big the benefits.
How many steps are there in the portfolio lifecycle?
There are seven steps, starting with idea generation and capture, and ending with benefits and variance management.
Why are project managers empowered to make changes without approval?
They are closest to the work. They are the best people to determine the specific change. They are the first to see the need for change.
Why are benefit driven dependencies important?
They connect otherwise unconnected projects through shared benefit contributions
Krisha is gathering information on her stakeholders, such as department names, factors that motivate them, who they listen to, and their contributions on the project. What is this document called?
This document includes much of the information Krisha needs to effectively communicate with each stakeholder.
You are managing a project that is implementing a new financial system. You need to include some of the finance department's resources on the team. Which stakeholder should you approach?
This stakeholder is most accountable for the resources that are needed for a project.
STRATEGIC RISK APPETITE
While a risk appetite statement defines the aggregate level of risk, management must be able to track levels of exposure against the risk appetite statement and risk tolerances. Linking risk appetite and strategy clarifies the level of risk associated with a strategy.
If there is clear evidence that something isn't working you should...
With a strategic approach like portfolio management there is a long time between cycles so trying something gets you results quicker and lets people feel involved.
Why is it important to document the project scope?
With the project scope in writing, you will be able to identify whether requests are within scope or need to be handled by change management.
You are considering a vendor to help with a project. You are confident about how much work and time is needed, but you want the vendor to accept the risk. Which type of contract would you likely use?
a fixed-price contract
James is managing a project in which he has some authority to make decisions. In which type of organizational structure is James most likely managing this project?
a matrix organization has more explanation This organizational structure can be weak or strong but does allow the project manager to have some authority to make decisions.
Your boss has asked you to be the project manager of an approved software implementation project. Which project document identifies your authority and responsibilities?
a project charter more expalain This document describes the scope, objectives, stakeholders, and the project manager's authority and responsibilities for a project.
The boss has asked you to research project management tools that will help with building and planning tasks on a timeline. Which type of tool would you most likely consider?
a scheduling program more explain Project managers typically use this tool to build and manage a project schedule.
What are the components that differentiate a project from operational work?
a unique goal, a temporary endeavor, and usually a budget feedback
Which of the following skills is NOT crucial for a project manager to possess?
accounting
Enterprise Environmental Factors
are internal or external factors based on an organization's culture that can impact, negatively or positively, project management options
Which of these elements is a consideration of capability planning?
certifications experience training
1.1 PuRPOSE OF THE STANDARD FOR PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
describes a documented set of processes that represent generally recognized good practices in portfolio management. Further, it details the linkage between consistent, predictable and successful project outcomes, which accomplish or further an organization's strate- gic goals
During which process group does the project manager orient team members to the project and expectations?
executing explain At the beginning of the executing process group, you kick off the project, get resources on board, and explain the rules for the project.
Which technique would you most likely use to gather valid requirements and get buy-in from various departments?
focus groups more explain Which technique would you most likely use to gather valid requirements and get buy-in from various departments?
Your team has identified possible strategies for a project. The team is now evaluating them using a decision matrix. What is the purpose of weighting the objectives?
identifying the importance of each objective
portfolio life cycle example
initiation-planning execution-optimization-monitor and control
What factors might cause the business to adjust their goals?
new opportunities competitor activity changing demands
ProjECT ManagErS
play the lead role in planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing out projects. They are accountable for the entire project scope, the project team and resources, the project budget, and the success or failure of the project
Your client has asked for a project that will fix productivity concerns with the customer service department. After asking "why" several times, you are able to determine the cause and create a _____.
problem statement more explain This is what clearly defines the problem or opportunity that the project will address.
Role of the Portfolio Manager
responsible for creating and managing investment allocations for private clients. ... A portfolio manager determines a client's appropriate level of risk based on the client's time horizon, risk preferences, return expectations, and market conditions
As part of the project definition, Bisa identifies risks for the project. What is the purpose of doing this during project initiation?
so management can decide whether the risks are serious enough to warrant denying the project
You are hiring a new project manager to take over a project with several teams that often disagree on what they are supposed to do. Which competency would you feel is most important in a candidate for this situation?
strong leadership skills
Which organizational factor would you use when having to make a difficult decision?
the organization's mission explain When a project supports the organization's mission, the project will likely get more support and resources, so the mission helps determine the best thing to do.
Several stakeholders for a project disagree on the priorities of many project objectives. Who would you ask first for help resolving this issue?
the project sponsor
You are the project manager for a healthcare system implementation project. The sponsor has asked you to create a project definition. What will the sponsor use this document for?
to decide whether to approve the project
Why should all staff be included in idea generation and capture?
to ensure as many ideas as possible are captured
3.3 PORTFOLIO STRATEGIC ObjECTIVES
trategic Portfolio Management is about deciding where best to focus the organisation's finite resources in order to meet strategic objectives, considering the business as a portfolio of activities and making trade- offs across the portfolio. ... Once the portfolio is focused, attention needs to turn to execution
STraTEgIC InITIaTIVES
u New products or services, u New business models, u New capabilities, u New markets and channels, u New value creation opportunities, and u Breakthrough platforms
Strategic Objectives
u Profitability, u Compliance, u Financial resources, u Market position, u Legal or regulatory conformance, u Innovation, u Productivity, u Physical resources, u Human resources, u Social responsibility, u Value creation, or u Customer satisfaction.
Other Roles in Portfolio Management
u Sponsors; u Portfolio governance body; u Portfolio, program, and project management office (PMO)—sometimes a PMO for the whole organization is established, often called an enterprise PMO (EPMO); u Portfolio analyst;
strategic goal should be all of the following:
u understandable. Is it stated simply and easy to understand? u Suitable. Does it fit with the vision and mission? u Acceptable. Does it fit with the values of the organization and the employees? u Flexible. Can it be adapted and changed as needed?
When should the second approval for a project happen in portfolio management?
when the work is scheduled to start
