Project Portfolio Management

Adopting an entirely new way of working might not be realistic for you and your organization right now, but you don’t have to change everything to get the benefits of Agile. By implementing just a few Agile principles, you can overcome the challenges posed by remote working and uncertainty to get your projects back on track to completion.

There is virtually no corner of the world that is not affected by COVID-19 in some way. In order to create a path forward, you will need to lay a new foundation and answer a few important questions.

Many people associate Project Management Offices (PMOs) with IT. IT departments from across all industries rely on PMOs to help organize and execute project portfolios. But PMOs are not just for IT departments. Health and life sciences companies rely on PMOs to manage complex and interdependent projects while balancing strict regulatory deadlines. However, as crucial as PMOs are for the industry, not all PMOs are created equal.

Your team missed another project deadline, but that’s not a surprise for you. You knew the project plan wasn’t realistic. Many factors were overlooked including other projects being worked on simultaneously, planned vacation and everyday business that takes time away from projects. The problem is that the people setting the project timelines don’t have a clear picture of all of those factors.

The Agile methodology was created for developers to better cater to the type of work they performed. However, what was once a project management process for software development has started to spread to other types of work. Organizations are realizing the benefits of working Agile are not strictly for product development. This has led many companies to shift to using Agile across other teams as well, but the process of shifting to Agile is not always easy or successful. Here are six tips to ensure your shift to Agile is a success.

Projects are rarely a one-person job. While some small projects might involve only a handful of people, most projects depend on many people to get everything done. Not only are there employees who work on the project regularly, but there are stakeholders, executives, managers and other personnel who have their hand in the project some of the time. It might appear to be unnecessary to have so many individuals and roles involved in one project, but it’s actually incredibly important for completing projects.

Success is a little bit like a unicorn. Everyone wants it, but it seems like an impossible dream. In search of this unicorn, people go to great lengths and if their search turns up nothing, they label themselves and their work a failure. This is a huge mistake in the way we think about success and failure. The problem is that we define success too narrowly and failure too broadly. This is especially true for how most people determine the success of their project portfolio. To really understand the true success of projects and your whole project portfolio, you should remember the old adage, “success is in the eye of the beholder.”

Because planning may feel like second nature, few realize there are actually many different types of plans used to get results. This is particularly true for planning in a professional capacity. We compiled a list of the five most common types of planning and how they can help companies improve strategy execution. You’ve likely heard of at least a few of these types, but you may not have given them the attention needed to understand the benefits of each type of planning and how they can help you deliver more projects. So, let’s get a little more familiar with planning.

Creating an annual plan for your business is no small feat. Getting your project portfolio in order for the new year and preparing to plan out your 2020 projects can leave you drowning in project details, budgets and required resources. This can quickly become overwhelming as you try to get a handle on next year's projects, but don't lose hope! If you are lost in a maze of new year planning, here’s how you can start building your 2020 project portfolio and set your organization up for success this year.