Aligning Strategy in a Portfolio

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Portfolio Management   Strategy  

The strategy of an organization helps define the direction the organization is headed in--and how the organization will move from one point to another point, one that is hopefully better from a business and profit standpoint. This strategy might be to make the organization the leader in a specific area of technology, or it might be to increase sales in order to expand the business (or something completely different). Few companies survive without a concrete strategy that can be implemented.

In order to realize the strategy (whatever it is), the organization will most likely be engaged in multiple projects that can be combined under a single portfolio. While projects in a portfolio are not directly linked as projects in a program are, the portfolio should be managed and set up in a way that supports the overall strategy of the organization. In order to make sure this is done, the manager of the portfolio needs to carefully review all of the projects in light of the overall strategy of the organization.

The portfolio manager should be working toward a full analysis to ensure that the portfolio of projects is ensuring the success of the organization's strategy.

Defining the Project Types
Every project in the portfolio should be understood as a certain type of project. Different portfolios might need different definitions and types, but in general, the …

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