Get IT Together

Aaron is the former editor of ProjectsAtWork.com

  ProjectsAtWork  

To align projects with strategy, organizations need portfolio management tools that capture and distribute across the enterprise.

In all organizations, needs and ideas spawn projects. Of course, all needs and ideas are not created equal. Project managers are charged with making sure projects get done right. But the wrong project, executed well, is still wrong. To ensure the right projects are getting done, organizations need to link their projects with their overall strategic vision; they need project portfolio management (PPM) and the tools to execute it.

"There is no question that every industry is under huge pressure to demonstrate that every project dollar ties back to a return and a strategy," says John Baldwin, a managing partner with the Fountain Group, a Laguna, Calif.-based consulting firm specializing in portfolio managment. "I can't think of any other way to do it but with portfolio management. Portfolio management is a fundamental next step in the evolution of project management. Good companies are going to do it; and the ones that don't will be executing in the dark as to whether their projects are aligned with their priorities."

To practice PPM effectively, organizations need tools that help senior managers "collaborate, prioritize and agree upon the projects that deliver the maximum business value or return on investment," says Jean…

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.