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June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
PPM 101: Get the Balance Right
Tom Mochal, PgMP, PMP, TSPM is the president of TenStep, Inc., a methodology development, consulting and training company. Tom won the Distinguished Contribution Award from the Project Management Institute for his work spreading knowledge of project management around the world. He is a speaker, lecturer, instructor and consultant to companies and organizations around the world.
Before lamenting a lack of funding and staff to pursue strategic projects, organizations should look at the resources being spent on discretionary enhancements. By including this work in the portfolio, you can better compare and allocate limited resources.
Done right, project portfolio management can do a lot of good for any organization. But it’s not easy, as many companies, large and small, have discovered. In PPM 101, an ongoing series by veteran project management consultant and author Tom Mochal, we focus on the fundamentals for organizations that are just getting started on the PPM path.
Portfolios can be defined to include all types of work. The portfolios that are described most often generally only include project work. These portfolios may also contain some support work, but if they do, it is generally for supporting some components of a large project while the rest of the project is still in progress. This model is commonly referred to as “project portfolio management.”
I believe projects are the foundation for your portfolio, but I also think they are too limiting. For instance, you should consider adding discretionary enhancement work into your portfolio as well. Remember that a portfolio framework allows you to make sure that only the most important work gets funded and staffed. If you include enhancement work in your …
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