Process Of Project Portfolio Management: Methods And Techniques

A Competency Model for Program Managers

Discuss about the Process Of Project Portfolio Management.

Project portfolio management plays the key role in the management of the processes, techniques and methods used by the project managers and in the offices of project management. This helps in the analysis and collaborative management of the present or future projects on the basis of several important characteristics. The process of project portfolio management assures alignment as it is a continuous activity which takes care of the projects in the portfolio along with the total organizational strategy and ROI expectations. This portfolio management is actually the technique of making decisions about the investment policy and mix which are similar to the objectives of similar investments, asset allocation for a specific individual or an organization and balancing vulnerability against performance (Beringer, Jonas and Kock 2013).  

For my future role as the project portfolio manager I have chosen four articles for analysis. Among these four, the first article is about a competency model for program managers. While going through this article, I found out some new and fresh facts which were unknown to me. I realized that programs can vary from an internal initiative for improving the total process of program management. The requirement for competent program managers lie in the fact that have the potential to introduce, plan, implement supervise, observe and control the complicated undertakings of the organization (Brook and Pagnanelli 2014).

I had previously read about this particular topic when I had got the idea that there are several factors which influence the process of project management as well as the role of project managers. After reading this article my idea on the subject pertinent to project management portfolio got strengthened. This article includes the nine environmental factors which are investment strategies, evolutionary development, similar requirements for resources, appropriate people for the program, deciding on the knowledge driven development, motivation of the program managers, demand for accountability, tenure requirement and the continued support of senior leadership. I was ensured that matching the right people for the program is one of the important factors for development of the competency model of program managers (Costantino, Di Gravio and Nonino 2015).

While going through this article, I got to know about the numerous competencies in the process which contradicted my previous understanding of the topic. This article had used an approach of case study with different organizations to describe the competencies of management, communication, problem solving, and maintaining focus while multi- tasking, recognizing and managing risks and adjust to one’s trend of accommodating various people who are working in several teams. It was further mentioned about the importance of the project manager’s tenure in the specific organization and the potential to have a firm base in the project management along with the business competencies. Such competencies include understanding the clients, combining several activities in the departments and grow a sense of the total business in whole (Daniel and Ward 2015).    

Empowering Project Portfolio Managers

In the overview of the model that was given in the article, it is mentioned about the Levin- Ward Program Management Competency Model which has six performance competencies and personal competencies applicable to the performance of program management (as quoted on page 19 of the article). The competencies are those that explain what role is played by the program managers by applying their knowledge of program management. It is important to define the program, then initiate it, plan and execute followed by supervision of the program and finally ending the program (Daniel, Ward and Franken 2014).

The article was helpful for my future role as a program manager as well as my present academic assignments because it has helped me to learn new facts and information. Such information will be beneficial for gaining in- depth knowledge about communicating, leading, building leaderships, negotiating, mentoring, facilitating, thinking critically and adapting the necessary changes (Gutiérrez and Magnusson 2014).

how management involvement impacts project portfolio management performance

I had also read the article on, empowering project portfolio managers: how management involvement impacts project portfolio management performance by Daniel Jonas. Just like the previous article, this article has also taught me certain new things. For instance, I knew that the role of a project portfolio manager is to plan and control the complicated projects in an efficient and effective way but I was unaware of the fact that there lies a traditional conflict in between the line and the project managers in an organization.  If the role of project portfolio managers is given importance then the complicacy between the line managers, project managers and the senior managers have to change (Jonas 2010).

My idea on the framework of project portfolio management got stronger after reading this article. Unlike the previous management system mentioned in the article, it uses better success criterions that are associated to each other by a causal chain relationship. This article has helped me to conceptualize the whole system which consists of three dimensions- process effectiveness, portfolio success and portfolio related corporate success. The understanding of this model has helped me to analyze and evaluate the changes in the distribution of influence and the involvement of the role conflicts inside the system of portfolio management (Jenner 2016).

n the process of reading this article my previous idea of conceptual framework of portfolio project management got contradicted at one point. In reality, the managerial tasks are implemented by the management which seems to be inextricably entangled with the role of the management such as competence, significance or clarity. Moreover, this article has stated the managers are attributed with separate tasks as it permits a better analysis of the interaction between specific management roles. I was also unaware of the fact that there are various standards for portfolio managers from the project management institutions which calls for a wide range of important tasks categorized into multiple phases of groups. On the contradiction, it is analyzed that there exists some critical success factors for showcasing few aspects and the relationship with success (Kaiser, El Arbi and Ahlemann 2015).

Measuring Program Success

The article had stated that there are very few places where the role of the project portfolio manager is clearly explained. Most of the journal and literatures mention the role as the owner of a project portfolio management task such as risk management. “Besides the project portfolio manager and with particular regards to the multi- project level, so far the multiple- project manager, the program manager and several kinds of (multi-) project management offices are explicitly mentioned in literature” (as quoted on page 822 of the article).  

This article has been really worthy for my academic assignment and especially for my career in the field of project management because it seemed to me as one of the best to know about the details of the task carried out by the project managers. I got to know my job role for the future and will be able to prepare myself in the same way (Killen and Hunt 2013).

The article Measuring Program Success begins with the statement that programs provides an altering way of combining projects and the organizational strategies. These are being used in most of the organizations nowadays which has been referred to as the emergent tendency ‘programmification’. The increase in the programs has resulted in the need of better and improved understanding of the phenomenon for the success of the program (Shao, Müller and Turner 2012).

With the reading of this article I was determined that the definition of program success exist at the conceptual level. I also knew that there are few literatures which provided measurement dimensions for the program success and the idea got reinforced after I went through this article. The reality is that there are no projects or programs which can stay isolated. For attaining program success program context must be taken into consideration. It is observed that the critical factors in the process of program management sometimes draw most of the attention and effort of the program managers to cooperate and alter the programs, which coincided with my previous understanding (Korhonen, Laine and Martinsuo 2014).

My understanding was contradicted when I read that the aim of the article was to develop an assessment construct for the success of the program. Due to this fact, the study was built on the previous findings to modify a set of measurement scales and dimensions for the program success. Moreover, the relation between the program success and context is analyzed for the stability of the program success in various program contexts. I also got to know that program success and program context are required for the understanding of knowledge gaps. This article had used research methodology and literature review based on the topic which helped in better understanding and analysis (Martinsuo 2013).

“We started with a factor analysis to identify the underlying structures and psychological patterns of program success” (as quoted on page 40 of the article). This research which was provided along with the detailed analysis of the sampling methods as well as the data collection methods proved to be effective for comprehension of the research procedures. “This earlier research provided insights into program success, but little indication on specific program success constructs is found” (as quoted on page 38 of the article). These specific parts of the article helped me to indulge in the subject of portfolio project management.

The article has not only helped me to gain sufficient knowledge required for my academic assignments but it will help me to be a successful project manager in the future. I have found very less article on this particular topic which had included the research study. The detailed information will help me excel as a program manager in the future (Rank, Unger and Gemünden 2015).

The role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy

Finally I had gone through the article ‘the role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy’, to leave no scope in the aim of being a successful project manager in the future. I got to know from this article that formal strategy processes are not considered sufficient in forming the strategy specifically in unstable environments. There are upcoming strategies which determine that the conscious top- bottom strategies are essential for adaptability in the organization (Kopmann et al. 2017).

I was relieved to realize that my idea about the role of strategy implementation and the effect of strategy formulation and implementation along with the effect of the upcoming elements are under the altering environmental conditions. The article had mentioned about the management activities that are carried out in the project portfolio level. The main task is to analyze the application of the strategic control mechanism in the nexus between purposeful and developing strategies and the outcome on the realized strategy and success (Summers 2015). My idea about the subject got strengthened when I got to know from the article that project portfolio management forms the process of translating a business policy in to a project roadmap for execution.

There were specific parts when my ideas on the subject were contradicted. I knew that organization’s strategy identifies the purpose goals and objectives and also define the plans for attaining those specific goals. I was not aware of the way in which the literature was divided into the two parts of strategy formulation and strategy implementation. The first one refers to the setting and planning of strategies and the other one is concerned about the realization of strategy. The dichotomy of formulation and implementation of strategy is criticized and it is argued that the dichotomy is based on an assumption. The assumption is such that the formulator is well informed and the environment is sufficiently stable. If either of the conditions are not fulfilled then the formation of strategy is considered as a learning process which calls for an adaptive approach instead of a planned approach (Young and Conboy 2013).  

“Strategic control activities enable organizations to monitor and manage strategy processes” (as quoted on page 559 of the article). This quote in the article is a distinguishing feature between the two kinds of strategic control systems. These two types are diagnostic control and interactive control. The diagnostic controls are applicable to monitor, influence and praise the achievement of the strategic objectives; on the other hand, interactive control systems involve the feedback mechanism which has the ability to portray organizational learning and the upcoming elements in the way of new ideas or strategic directions.

This article has undoubtedly been very effective for my academic assignment as well as to build a career in the field of portfolio project management. I intend to become a program manager in the future and these insights gained from the aforesaid articles will help me in every step of the action that I undertake. I realized that being a project manager is not easy but if I work on it from the present then I will have a smooth career path in the future (Teller and Kock 2013).

Conclusion

Therefore it can be concluded from this assignment that there lies a lot more than what we actually mean by portfolio project management. There is implementation of strategic control and strategic formulation which are responsible for creating efficiency. This process helps in bridging the gap between strategy formulation and implementation. An overall project investment recognizes the future growth of the organization with regard to its processes, products and structure. I also gained knowledge about the fact that there are three phases for the process of project portfolio management that are described elaborately. These include the preference and selection of projects, resource allocation across the projects and portfolio steering. This process of portfolio management implies the strategy in business through the coordination of decision making, risk balancing and resource maximizing for increasing the value of the project portfolio.

References

Beringer, C., Jonas, D. and Kock, A., 2013. Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.830-846.

Brook, J.W. and Pagnanelli, F., 2014. Integrating sustainability into innovation project portfolio management–A strategic perspective. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 34, pp.46-62.

Costantino, F., Di Gravio, G. and Nonino, F., 2015. Project selection in project portfolio management: An artificial neural network model based on critical success factors. International Journal of Project Management, 33(8), pp.1744-1754.

Daniel, E. and Ward, J., 2015. Improving the Business/IT relationship with IT Project Portfolio Management. Cutter IT Journal, pp.20-24.

Daniel, E.M., Ward, J.M. and Franken, A., 2014. A dynamic capabilities perspective of IS project portfolio management. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(2), pp.95-111.

Gutiérrez, E. and Magnusson, M., 2014. Dealing with legitimacy: A key challenge for Project Portfolio Management decision makers. International Journal of Project Management, 32(1), pp.30-39.

Jenner, S., 2016. Transforming government and public services: realising benefits through project portfolio management. CRC Press.

Jonas, D., 2010. Empowering project portfolio managers: How management involvement impacts project portfolio management performance. International Journal of Project Management, 28(8), pp.818-831.

Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi, F. and Ahlemann, F., 2015. Successful project portfolio management beyond project selection techniques: Understanding the role of structural alignment. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.126-139.

Killen, C.P. and Hunt, R.A., 2013. Robust project portfolio management: capability evolution and maturity. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 6(1), pp.131-151.

Korhonen, T., Laine, T. and Martinsuo, M., 2014. Management control of project portfolio uncertainty: A managerial role perspective. Project Management Journal, 45(1), pp.21-37.      

Martinsuo, M., 2013. Project portfolio management in practice and in context. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.794-803.

Rank, J., Unger, B.N. and Gemünden, H.G., 2015. Preparedness for the future in project portfolio management: The roles of proactiveness, riskiness and willingness to cannibalize. International Journal of Project Management, 33(8), pp.1730-1743.

Summers, G.J., 2015. Method of generating feedback for project portfolio management. U.S. Patent Application 14/703,368.

Teller, J. and Kock, A., 2013. An empirical investigation on how portfolio risk management influences project portfolio success. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.817-829.

Young, M. and Conboy, K., 2013. Contemporary project portfolio management: Reflections on the development of an Australian Competency Standard for Project Portfolio Management. International Journal of Project Management, 31(8), pp.1089-1100.

Shao, J., Müller, R. and Turner, J.R., 2012. Measuring program success. Project Management Journal, 43(1), pp.37-49.

Kopmann, J., Kock, A., Killen, C.P. and Gemünden, H.G., 2017. The role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy. International Journal of Project Management, 35(4), pp.557-570.