Project Portfolio management in a low PM maturity environment
paul straughenLearning and Development Program Manager| GovernmentSydney, Nsw, Australia
Hi all,
I was hoping to get a collective opinion on a task I have been given.
The organisation I currently work is at a very low state of PM maturity. I require a method of tracking project progress, managing resources and forecasting a backlog of work.
Top management are resistant to climbing the PM maturity chain as they are eager to get results sooner than later - I originally intended on following the standards in Portfolio Management and the PM maturity model but of course this will take patience and time. The organisation in question has Jira and Confluence as tools, but no access to specialised PPM management software. Projects are suited to traditional approaches.
Any hints, tips, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am only one brain and I do hope our collective powers can come up with some good suggestions! Saving Changes...
L&D portfolio management can fit quite well into a "light" PM approach.
For each course, you have a basic flow of events. Learning objectives get evaluated to determine how to achieve them (lecture only, lecture + quiz, lecture + hands-on, etc.). The course is outlined, rough presentations created, practice problems defined, coding for hands-on demo environment, dressing up the presentations, training the instructors, printing the student handouts, classroom deployment, etc.
If you keep a set of consistent milestones, you can assign times and people to each one, which gets easier with experience. Milestone progress can be shown in Excel or PowerPoint. Resources can be assigned in Excel.
Now the tricky part for a portfolio is when you overlay each individually created set of milestones and resources, you see all the conflicts. That's where the fun comes in moving things around to fit your constraints.
The milestone view, and perhaps a one-page summary of each course (One Note or PowerPoint works) can be used for reporting. I did this long before I had much PM experience or any specialized tools.
I would add that although your schedule view will be predictive, be prepared for iterations. When I led course development, it took a few tries to work the bugs out, which involved the lectures, practice problems, demo environment coding, etc. being synced up.
The same applies for your reporting tool. You won't get it right the 1st time, so be agile as you zero in on your solution instead of facing analysis paralysis trying for the perfect solution.
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1 reply by paul straughen
Feb 03, 2022 9:52 PM
paul straughen
...
Keith, thanks for your very considered response.
We operate off a slightly different L&D structure. But nevertheless, I have chosen to keep it simple in line with literature which suggests PPMIS's should only be as powerful as is required - A small team can do with excel sheets I think, as you suggest.
What problems are you seeing at the portfolio, program, and project levels? If you can create a prioritized backlog of those, it will help you to create an improvement roadmap focusing on addressing your leadership's need for quick results.
Planview is a structured Software you can use to Configure adequate Portfolio, Program, and Project management. Saving Changes...
paul straughenLearning and Development Program Manager| GovernmentSydney, Nsw, Australia
Jan 26, 2022 7:51 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
...
L&D portfolio management can fit quite well into a "light" PM approach.
For each course, you have a basic flow of events. Learning objectives get evaluated to determine how to achieve them (lecture only, lecture + quiz, lecture + hands-on, etc.). The course is outlined, rough presentations created, practice problems defined, coding for hands-on demo environment, dressing up the presentations, training the instructors, printing the student handouts, classroom deployment, etc.
If you keep a set of consistent milestones, you can assign times and people to each one, which gets easier with experience. Milestone progress can be shown in Excel or PowerPoint. Resources can be assigned in Excel.
Now the tricky part for a portfolio is when you overlay each individually created set of milestones and resources, you see all the conflicts. That's where the fun comes in moving things around to fit your constraints.
The milestone view, and perhaps a one-page summary of each course (One Note or PowerPoint works) can be used for reporting. I did this long before I had much PM experience or any specialized tools.
I would add that although your schedule view will be predictive, be prepared for iterations. When I led course development, it took a few tries to work the bugs out, which involved the lectures, practice problems, demo environment coding, etc. being synced up.
The same applies for your reporting tool. You won't get it right the 1st time, so be agile as you zero in on your solution instead of facing analysis paralysis trying for the perfect solution.
Keith, thanks for your very considered response.
We operate off a slightly different L&D structure. But nevertheless, I have chosen to keep it simple in line with literature which suggests PPMIS's should only be as powerful as is required - A small team can do with excel sheets I think, as you suggest.
Thanks again for your input! Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
I would start slowly and be supportive instead of pushing. Your PM knowledge is unheard of in the organization and will meet resistance if you do not have gained the trust in you that what you suggest helps. So small steps to improve life are best.
Means, no new software, go with what exists. Means, avoid resource management as long as you can, it is often contentious and resources do not appreciate being managed.
Understand and communicate the problem (of the organization, of the sponsor) you are going to solve, step by step. Would start with creating transparency and insights that were not easily available before.
Problem is where do you get the data from? And which data (start slow). I found it difficult at times even to know the project ID or who the PM is. So first mine existing sources and try to improve data quality. You might need to establish role descriptions, charter and other standards to create a common understanding of the data.
Once you have a project dashboard, figure out how to objectively apply RYG status, avoid the watermelon problem. No group wants to have R-projects. You might then audit the R-projects and verify it and recommend improvements.
Present it to the sponsor and then to the management board. Watch.
Then, you can get forecasts from the PMs and them up. Avoid asking the project staff, they might be honest but are not in charge.
Thomas
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2 replies by Denathayalan Ramasamy and paul straughen
Feb 16, 2022 6:17 PM
paul straughen
...
Thomas, thanks for the very relevant comments and suggestions - they all make sense!
I have indeed experienced some resistance with regard to resource management already and probably started off a little too early - lesson learned.
Additionally, I am also seeing that PM methods and principles need to be planted and nurtured over time, rather than created and adhered to overnight. Sounds obvious, but it's difficult to do this when results are expected sooner.
I am beginning by collecting data through tailored excel sheets so that we can see what we have to deal with first concurrently with building a rapport with staff. PPM relevant items can be introduced later as we get used to tracking and monitoring projects, timelines, schedules, performance etc.
Thanks again.
Feb 23, 2022 6:56 AM
Denathayalan Ramasamy
...
The answer is more emphatic and practical;
Saving Changes...
paul straughenLearning and Development Program Manager| GovernmentSydney, Nsw, Australia
Feb 11, 2022 12:43 PM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
...
I would start slowly and be supportive instead of pushing. Your PM knowledge is unheard of in the organization and will meet resistance if you do not have gained the trust in you that what you suggest helps. So small steps to improve life are best.
Means, no new software, go with what exists. Means, avoid resource management as long as you can, it is often contentious and resources do not appreciate being managed.
Understand and communicate the problem (of the organization, of the sponsor) you are going to solve, step by step. Would start with creating transparency and insights that were not easily available before.
Problem is where do you get the data from? And which data (start slow). I found it difficult at times even to know the project ID or who the PM is. So first mine existing sources and try to improve data quality. You might need to establish role descriptions, charter and other standards to create a common understanding of the data.
Once you have a project dashboard, figure out how to objectively apply RYG status, avoid the watermelon problem. No group wants to have R-projects. You might then audit the R-projects and verify it and recommend improvements.
Present it to the sponsor and then to the management board. Watch.
Then, you can get forecasts from the PMs and them up. Avoid asking the project staff, they might be honest but are not in charge.
Thomas
Thomas, thanks for the very relevant comments and suggestions - they all make sense!
I have indeed experienced some resistance with regard to resource management already and probably started off a little too early - lesson learned.
Additionally, I am also seeing that PM methods and principles need to be planted and nurtured over time, rather than created and adhered to overnight. Sounds obvious, but it's difficult to do this when results are expected sooner.
I am beginning by collecting data through tailored excel sheets so that we can see what we have to deal with first concurrently with building a rapport with staff. PPM relevant items can be introduced later as we get used to tracking and monitoring projects, timelines, schedules, performance etc.
Thanks again. Saving Changes...
Denathayalan RamasamyChief Technology Officer| Atal Incubation Centre -CIICChennai, Tamilnadu, India
Feb 11, 2022 12:43 PM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
...
I would start slowly and be supportive instead of pushing. Your PM knowledge is unheard of in the organization and will meet resistance if you do not have gained the trust in you that what you suggest helps. So small steps to improve life are best.
Means, no new software, go with what exists. Means, avoid resource management as long as you can, it is often contentious and resources do not appreciate being managed.
Understand and communicate the problem (of the organization, of the sponsor) you are going to solve, step by step. Would start with creating transparency and insights that were not easily available before.
Problem is where do you get the data from? And which data (start slow). I found it difficult at times even to know the project ID or who the PM is. So first mine existing sources and try to improve data quality. You might need to establish role descriptions, charter and other standards to create a common understanding of the data.
Once you have a project dashboard, figure out how to objectively apply RYG status, avoid the watermelon problem. No group wants to have R-projects. You might then audit the R-projects and verify it and recommend improvements.
Present it to the sponsor and then to the management board. Watch.
Then, you can get forecasts from the PMs and them up. Avoid asking the project staff, they might be honest but are not in charge.
Thomas
The answer is more emphatic and practical; Saving Changes...
