Under New Management...

 

The Project Portfolio Management department is changing.

Before we begin, a little background is in order. I'm a lawyer with an economics twist by training, a project manager and strategist by experience, and a writer by hobby. I have managed projects large and small with companies large and small for more than fourteen years. In that time, I've been asked by clients to assist them with ensuring that our projects were strategically focused with minimized risk. Part of this work involved the creation of tools and technologies to evaluate and prioritize projects against an organization's objectives.

In my work, I've found that many of my clients work on projects or pay for work that was redundant, misdirected or simply too risky to undertake. A common question coming from senior managers when they find out about these projects is, "How could this have happened?" Usually, the answers range from lack of oversight, lack of communication, lack of coordination or a complete breakdown of processes. But it is the second question that senior managers ask that is compelling: "How do we avoid this in the future?" Which brings us to Project Portfolio Management.

Many of you have investments, right? You've invested in mutual funds or you have an investment manager who's created a portfolio for you based upon your desires for returns on your investments balanced against your …

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