Chapter 2 - Project, Program, and Portfolio Selection PDF

Chapter 2 - Project, Program, and Portfolio Selection Aligning Projects with Business Strategy - Most organizations cannot undertake most of the potential projects identified because of resource limitations and other constraints. An organizations overall business strategy should guide the project s...

Chapter 2 - Project, Program, and Portfolio Selection Aligning Projects with Business Strategy - Most organizations cannot undertake most of the potential projects identified because of resource limitations and other constraints. An organizations overall business strategy should guide the project selection process and management of those projects. Strategic Planning and Project Selection Involves determining long-term objectives - Analyzing strength and weaknesses of an organization Studying opportunities and threats in the business environment Predicting future trends Projecting the need for new products and services SWOT, Identifying potential projects, aligning IT with business strategy Product Management Versus Program Management - Product management is the practice of strategically driving the development, market launch, and continual support and improvement of a company’s product. Product managers not responsible for a project or a team, but rather for one or more companies products Program management involves identifying and coordinating the interdependencies among projects, products, and other important strategic initiatives across organization. Methods for Selecting Projects ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ Focus on competitive strategy and broad organizational needs Perform net present value analysis or other financial projections Use a weighted scoring model, Implement a balanced scorecard Address problems, opportunities, and directives Consider project time frame Consider project priority Using a Weighted Scoring Model Provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ Identify criteria important to the project selection process Assign weights to each criterion so they add up to 100% Assign scores to each criterion for each project Multiply the scores by the weight and get the total weighted scores Implementing a Balanced Scorecard = strategic planning and management system that helps organizations align business activities to strategy, improve communications, and monitor performance against strategic goals. Problems, Opportunities, and Directives ➢ Problems are undesirable situations that prevent an organization from achieving its goals – can be current or anticipated ➢ Opportunities are chances to improve the organization ➢ Directives are new requirements or regulations imposed by management, government, or some external influence ➢ Directives are new requirements or regulations imposed by the government, or some external influence Project Time Frame ➢ Based on time, how long it will take to finish a project ➢ Some potential projects must be finished within a specific time period, if not, projects no longer valid Program Selection - Group of related projects After deciding which projects to pursue, organizations need to decide if it is advantageous to manage several projects together as part of a program Project Portfolio Selection - Important to focus on enterprise success when creating project portfolios There may be a need to cancel or put several projects on hold, reassign resources from one project to another, suggest changes in project leadership, or take other actions that might negatively affect individual projects or program to help the organization as a whole Lean Project Portfolio Management - Lean is a management approach that focuses on creating more value for customers by eliminating waster and optimizing processes. Focuses on the following: o Defining desired outcomes and asking teams to determine the work needed to produce those outcomes o Focusing more on value delivery than managing costs o Revisiting past decisions, plans, budgets, and finances at least every quarter based on market feedback