Project Management

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How many projects should I Project Manager handle?

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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
How many projects should I Project Manager handle?

Things to have in mind...

If you're handling multiple projects, are they of the same kind? same customer, same resources, same stakeholders? same sponsor? what problems can you face if these are all different when managing several projects? Is there a rule of thumb, as of when to say, please I can't handle
more...?

Do not take this question lightly, everyone knows the "it depends" factor, there is no definitive right or wrong, but your perception is important to drive this very interesting topic.
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Mike Dewing Senior Project Manager / Program Manager| MLD Holdings Ltd. Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Would say on average 3 to 4 depending on complexity and at what level your role is taking and the team you have in place to support the project. Some projects require more hands on than others.
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Diogo Simoes Entroncamento, Santarém, Portugal
I think there is not fixed number for that
In my opinion it depends of 2 main factors:
- dimension and complexity of the project (inc. stakeholders expectations)
- Expectations and capacity of the Project Manager and team(s)
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1 reply by George Lewis
Apr 29, 2017 2:22 PM
George Lewis
...
Diogo - Great answer...
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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
Apr 29, 2017 11:49 AM
Replying to Diogo Simoes
...
I think there is not fixed number for that
In my opinion it depends of 2 main factors:
- dimension and complexity of the project (inc. stakeholders expectations)
- Expectations and capacity of the Project Manager and team(s)
Diogo - Great answer...
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Rutendo Mandikuwaza Harare, Zimbabwe
I see that handling more than 5 projects with same priority is a nightmare if resources are strained and there is no methodology being applied in the organisation.
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Tiago Romao Project Manager - PfMP | PgMP | PMP | ACP | PBA | CBAP | CSM | MSc.| Altice Portugal | Meo Sobreda, Setubal/Almada, Portugal
One to 4 running. May have more on his/her portfolio, should be on-hold (pending decisions, waiting suppliers result, etc.).
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Anish Abraham Privacy Program Manager| University of Washington Auburn, Wa, United States
There is no ideal number of projects a PM should manage at the same time, it all depends on the type and complexities of the projects.
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Karan Shah Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Some great answers already on this thread.

The benchmark I use is: At what point does my presence become a risk when a project is added on?

This risk, of course, applies to all active projects. If I am doing two and am confident of handling execution - and a third project comes up that might require a lot more time or energy that puts the earlier two projects at risk of having an under-involved PM, I don't take up that third project.
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