Project Management Portfolio

Project Leadership

• Management is not the same as leadership, management involves getting the job done, while leadership involves having a vision, sharing it with the team, and setting the course to achieve it.
• Today's projects require project management (PM) leadership to achieve success.
• Certifications and training should be one part of the hiring decision-making process, not the main driver.

Project Management Leadership Model

• The model combines both management and leadership skills with a risk-smart attitude and accountability.
• The performance of a PM is contingent on the use of risk and accountability.

Four Key Components

• PM Expertise: having the skills to develop a plan and manage it, getting things done, and delivering results.
• Core Leadership Skills: having a vision, motivating individuals, establishing direction, and inspiring others to follow.
• Risk-Smart Attitude: being aware of threats or opportunities, recognizing risks, and making informed decisions.
• Accountability-Based Behaviour: being willing to accept responsibility, being responsible, and demonstrating a belief in oneself.

Project Management Attributes

• Understanding the Big Picture: balancing the overall project aim with smaller tasks, demonstrating how the project aligns with the organizational strategy, and understanding customer and stakeholder priorities.
• Recognizing a Good Requirement from a Bad One: poor project requirements represent risk, and proper framing and articulation of project requirements are essential.
• Analyzing and Breaking Down Problems: breaking down problems into manageable parts, explaining the problem, planning, executing, and solving.
• Planning: identifying tasks, acknowledging sequencing, and recognizing interdependencies.
• Scheduling: being aware of scheduling guidelines, best practices, and including risk simulation.
• Financial Management: understanding project costs, assumptions, and managing financial resources.
• Supply Chain Management: understanding the activities associated with moving goods from raw materials to the final product state.
• Negotiation: managing resources, funding, budgets, facility space, and vendors.
• Time Management: prioritizing tasks, managing timelines, and avoiding common pitfalls.
• Communication: exchanging information, identifying the information to be given and received, and achieving credibility.

Effective Communication in Project Management

• Communication is essential for project success, and it is the "Project-Life Blood".
• Understanding the communication process involves understanding the sender, receiver, medium, message, and feedback.
• Communication problems can arise from cultural differences, and project managers must be aware of these differences.

Team Concept

• Leadership is the ability to harness and channel the power of the group.
• Understanding group behavior, tapping the constructive power of teams, and possessing 12 key characteristics (e.g., clear mission, informal atmosphere, active listening, trust, and openness) are essential.

Problem-Solving Styles

• Problem-solving involves having experiences, reflecting on results, building theories, and taking action.
• Individuals can have different problem-solving styles, such as the Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Socrates, and Henry Ford styles.
• Understanding and tolerance of different styles are essential for team success.

Leader as Team Builder

• Efective leaders value teamwork and demonstrate this by being team builders and champions of the group.
• Leaders must recruit and develop team members who can perform successfully, commit to excellence, and model this ideal personally.

Characteristics of a Successful Team

• Clear, elevating goal
• Results-driven structure
• Competent team members
• Unified commitment
• Collaborative climate
• Standards of excellence
• External support and recognition
• Principled leadership### Project Management
• Know how to solve difficult problems using a repeatable Problem-Solving Framework
• Focus on the right things at the right time to take corrective action and deliver successful project outcomes
• Having a plan for when the original plan does not work is crucial to project success
• Successful project managers must have the skills to tackle significant project problems

Change Management

• Embracing change is essential for project success
• Project managers must recognize and adapt to change, while not forgetting the basics of project management
• Change is a constant reality in modern organizations, and it's essential to anticipate and manage revolutionary and evolutionary changes

International Business Management

• To be successful, one needs to excel in international business management
• International business managers help find new markets for company products and services, recruit and hire globally, and make global markets profitable

International Project Structure

• A project organization is a structure that facilitates the coordination and implementation of project activities
• The international structure ensures top management attention to develop a holistic and unified approach to international operations
• The structure reduces uncertainty and confusion at the project initiation phase and defines relationships among project management members and the external environment

Evolution versus Revolution

• Change is viewed as a constant reality in modern organizations
• Revolutionary change may be a merger or a major occurrence, while evolution is the relentless pressure of change on the organization
• Project management provides a disciplined approach to anticipate and manage revolutionary and evolutionary changes

Change Impacts People

• The greatest constraint to change is people's ability to adapt
• The ability to adapt to change may ultimately prove to be the limiting factor in business evolution
• Portfolio management provides a process framework to communicate changes and re-establish the rules of the new future state

The Adaptation of Project Management in a Changing World

• Defining the change objective, developing a strategy, creating a project management group, and installing a control process to monitor progress are key steps in adapting to change
• Managing projects by implementing these steps is crucial in a changing world

Project Stakeholders

• A project stakeholder is a person or organization with an interest in the project or who could be impacted by it
• Project management is about managing stakeholders and identifying them at an early stage
• Government stakeholders, public stakeholders, NGO stakeholders, and international stakeholders are all important

Identifying Project Stakeholders

• The process of identifying stakeholders involves analyzing documents such as the project charter, contract documents, and procurement documents, as well as conducting interviews and brainstorming sessions

Portfolio

• A portfolio is a collection of common subjects that can be collectively managed
• Portfolios are used to make change management decisions and compare and rank subjects within
• Strategic, investment, and execution portfolios are used to facilitate operational planning, guide future direction, and manage the tactical details of project execution

Portfolio Benefits

• Portfolios provide a way to track changes throughout the lifecycle
• The ultimate benefit of portfolio management is to create measurable value

Introduction

• Portfolio management offers a framework to formalize the relationship between information structures and organize them to manage change events
• Portfolio information structures include primary and secondary information, and identifying relationships between them is essential

Organizing People

• Organizing people involves identifying roles and skills, as well as resource rate attributes
• By role and skill attributes, people can be organized into different categories
• By resource rate attributes, cost rates can be associated with members of the workforce

Money

• Almost all portfolios include financial data
• Using strategic investment and execution portfolios demonstrates how money flows through the organization relative to work and deliverables
• Financial data can be used to relate to mission, objectives, strategies, and tactics

Globalization

• Globalization allows new ideas and technology to flow freely, accelerating productivity growth and enabling companies to be more competitive
• Globalization creates global labor markets and enables employment opportunities

Technology

• Technology is changing the way businesses create and capture value, how and where we work, and how we interact and communicate
• Cloud and mobile computing, big data and machine learning, and other technologies are transforming the way businesses operate

Sustainability

• Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
• Decision-makers should assess social and environmental risks and opportunities

Organizational Culture

• Organizational culture is a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions that bind people together
• It reflects the personality of the organization and is shaped by the organization's history, values, and practices

Global Markets and Human Resources

• Creating and maintaining an optimal portfolio of resources inside and outside the organization is essential
• Expansion of complex jobs, outsourcing non-core activities, and constant learning are key trends

Human Resources Diversity and Inclusion

• Workplace diversity is understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people
• Inclusion is creating an environment where people feel involved, respected, valued, and connected

Virtual Organizations

• Virtual organizations are teams of specialists that come together to work on a project and then disband
• They are popular in consulting, legal defense, and sponsored research

Virtual Workplace

• The virtual workplace allows employees to operate remotely and work anytime, anywhere
• It reduces real estate expenses, increases productivity, and provides higher profits and improved customer service

International Project Manager

• International project managers must be able to establish positive professional working relationships with stakeholders from different countries and cultures
• They must be able to "read and speak" the culture they are working in to develop strategies and plans

Business Trends

• Human resources expertise, business acumen, critical evaluation, consultation, leadership, and navigation are key skills for business success
• Ethical practice, communication, and relationship management are also essential for effective business practices