An academic research study explores the importance of project management best practices and methodologies to strategic execution in organizations. This executive summary of the findings supports some general views of previous studies but also maps out a framework for further inquiry.
How do the business functions of project, program and portfolio management bring about change within organizations? In Part 1, where we establish context, the author looks at two examples when he asks why some succeed where others don’t.
How do the business functions of project, program and portfolio management bring about change within organizations? In Part 2, we focus on our roles in an ever-changing organizational landscape.
Here the author shares thoughts about how projects and programs are often delivered—focusing on some considerations for improving outcomes—and comments about what we as leaders who oversee organizational initiatives can do to be more effective.
There are a number of leadership and organizational competencies that must be in place to enable an organization to adopt and institutionalize adaptability, or what some would call “organizational agility.” But simply internalizing these concepts is not getting the job done, and understanding the approach isn’t sufficient. Beyond knowing what to do, we also need to know how and when to do it.
Let’s face it: In the project/program/portfolio management world, delivering real value seems to be the most elusive aspect of any PMO. And because of this, the PMO seems to be one of the first places organizational leaders look to “right-size” or “optimize,” reducing the impact and potential value PMOs might generate for their organizations.
We’re good at scrutinizing problems, but many project managers and business analysts could do a better job of fostering positive change and improving future results by giving more attention to the “bright spots” on projects — those flashes of success that often go unnoticed when other things go wrong.