Process > Cost/Benefit

To find the source of motivation for your agile project, let us ask the most important question: How do you feel about your project? When we feel deep positive emotions about the project, we can tap into a rich source of energy and creativity.

All organizations face significant challenges in planning for and managing their IT portfolios. These challenges can be addressed, in part, by the use of systematic processes for selecting and evaluating IT investments. Based on a framework created for federal agencies, here are some key components to consider including in your project portfolio-scoring model.

Successful business execution is dependent upon having timely and accurate financial information. But too often, little thought is put into how to present the data in a meaningful way. From a project or portfolio perspective, what does a C-Level executive expect to see from the PMO for actionable decision-making?

ROI analysis can be an enormously valuable tool for directing project investments, but it requires an open mind, reasonable assumptions and accurate numbers. Even then, the numbers that tell the whole story usually don’t appear on silver platters and rarely lend themselves to cookie-cutter templates. Here are five pragmatic rules for constructing useful, believable ROI analyses.

How do you pick the right projects? Find out what stocks and projects have in common--and how you can use that to help choose the right portfolio combination for your company.

Does your project need outside help? You’ll need to consider a few things before making your pitch to the necessary senior leadership and actually bringing in an outside consultant. Here, we cover some key considerations.

Cloud-based solutions can deliver significant benefits--be it in project management or any number of other areas. But are organizations rushing into these solutions without fully understanding the implications on their business? Here, we try to flag some of the things that need to be considered before committing to a move in the cloud.

When implementing a portfolio management system, leaders must create both a vision and a value proposition for the accompanying changes, describing how these changes, whether environmental or structural, will integrate with the overall strategic planning and management cycles.

Many potential projects that are considered for funding will ultimately not be approved despite significant time and effort spent on their business cases. Starting with a Value Proposition document can help weed out the less promising projects before a more detailed business case is necessary.

Last month we looked at how agile methods provide multiple opportunities for embracing proactive risk management. This month’s article extends risk management beyond the project manager role and introduces the benefits of making it more of a collaborative team exercise.

Part 1 of this two-part series introduces the agile engineering principles and practices that, when implemented, enable some teams and their respective organizations to build high-quality software very quickly that will please customers. Organizations embracing these practices--when used in conjunction with agile and lean management practices--can gain delivery advantages on their competitors while managing lower maintenance and support costs in the long term.

A concerted effort to manage and document the realization of business benefits is an indispensible key to the success of any program. It requires a well-defined business case and a structured approach to measuring and tracking the planned benefits throughout the program lifecycle.

What is the business value of agile project management for creating new products and services? What are the costs and benefits--or what is the ROI of agile project management? Has anyone ever measured the benefits? If so, what are the results? Furthermore, is there a measurable difference between agile and traditional project management? Some studies shed light on these crucial questions.

Confused by ROI? This primer will help you understand what it's all about. And if you're behind the eight-ball, responsible for putting together an ROI for a project gone bad, this article could save you.

You think you can justify that? Some organizations conduct an objective and formal analysis of their project opportunities, appropriately evaluate and prioritize them against objective criteria and make reasoned choices based upon independent assessment. There just aren’t many of them. Here, we’ll explore what does happen, and why. We’ll evaluate some alternatives and considerations in approaching project justification and talk about some of the changes that can lead to organizations making better decisions.

Anyone who has been a project manager for a while will have run into an organizational change management project--and has likely experienced some of the unique challenges that they present. We all know that there is no such thing as an easy project, but making fundamental changes to the company or department in which we work presents a whole new set of potential pitfalls. Successful organizational change management needs careful planning and execution--and here we help you prepare for this tricky time.

How much has this project cost us, anyway? Do you really calculate the true costs associated with your projects--all of them?

Before PMO directors pursue ISO 9001 certification, it is important to understand what it constitutes and how it can benefit PMOs. For some, the certification can be a way to increase performance and staff confidence. For others, it can be cost-prohibitive and add little value.

We've already looked at the opportunities agile methods offer for proactive risk management and examined the benefits of engaging the whole team in risk management through collaborative games. As our agile risk management series continues, we walk through those games and explains how to engage a team in the first three of the six risk management steps.

A project portfolio’s agility and liquidity are key components of its business value. To maintain flexibility and optimize investments, organizations must first understand what can cause “portfolio rigor mortis” and then adopt approaches to avoid or “cure” it.

Are you considered a sunk cost? Is it challenging to speak clearly about your value as a business analyst? Here are some suggestions for bringing ROI into the conversation with four concrete ways that BAs reduce project costs.

Beyond reducing project costs, business analysts must also focus on increasing project benefits. In doing so, you position your work as fundamental to successful outcomes. Here are four ways you can elevate your role and responsibilities to deliver more value to the organization.

Project managers usually tend to focus on the methodology for executing the technical part of the project. However, a good understanding of a practical SOA landscape and its associated challenges can help a technical PM make the SOA adoption on technology projects run even smoother.

It scares this writer how many project managers believe that projects start with the planning phase. It scares him even more that their employers often agree.The project starts during the justification phase of the initiative, and the project manager needs to be a part of that process.

A new agile procurement process--one that can operate in conjunction with and alongside an agile software development methodology--should significantly improve both the procurement of software vendor’s services and and successful delivery of software projects. This article will explore the underlying principles as well as map the reconciliation points required to harmonize agile development and procurement methods.