Post on 30-Nov-2014
description
Approach to management of portfolio projects
Stuart Robb
May 2012
Managing the Portfolio
The science of project management is the art of predicting the future-- Stuart Robb 2006
2Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
Four Dimensions of Project/Programme Delivery
Product what is it?
Scope: what am I going to get
Time: when will I get it
Cost: how much will it cost me
Quality: will it work?
Organisation who delivers it?
Process how does it get delivered?
Client/Business is it what I’m expecting?
PRODUCT CLIENT or BUSINESS
ORGANISATION PROCESS
RISK
OUTCOME
Clouded by the fog of RISK - likelihood of a successful outcome
Essence of good project management is to set & monitor the levers of product delivery in “equilibrium”
Processes should guide where the levers should be set, how the delivery should be monitored and identify risk areas.
=> REDUCE RISK | INCREASE CERTAINTY
3Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
What makes a successful delivery organisation?
PROCESS
PEOPLE
TECHNOLOGY
CollateralKnowledgeProcedures
ForumsTerms of ReferenceDirectory Structures
Project FoldersSignoffs/Acceptances
CultureBehavioursLeadershipTrainingIncentives/RewardPeer ReviewsMonitoringEnvironment
Milestone ManagementRisk/Issue ManagementPortfolio ManagementFinancial ManagementResource Management
Knowledge ManagementConfiguration Management
Business Change MgtMicrosoft Project
RAID Logs (Excel/MS Access)Timesheeting (Clarity) GOOD PROCESSES
are no substitute for
GREAT LEADERSHIP
4Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
Four Essential Disciplines of Portfolio Management
Plan Management
ResourceManagement
FinancialManagement
Prioritised initiativesProject EstimationInter-dependencies
Are we doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right order
to maximise business value?
Resource (talent) poolBAU baselineProject Plans
Do we have sufficient people,with the right skills,
available at the right time
BudgetBusiness casesProject costings
Can we afford it anddoes it make us any money?
ChangeManagement
Project PlansChange Impact Map
Training Needs AnalysisStakeholder Engagement
Can the business tolerate the change footprint and is the
business ready for it?
Tools/Diagnostics Discipline Allows us to understand:-
Underpinned by clear, accurate, unambiguous STATUS (through dashboard etc)
PER
FEC
T V
IEW
5Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
How do we determine what the “STATUS” of each project is?
In order to manage the portfolio successfully, it is vital to be able to understand what’s going on in each of the projects/initiatives and make informed decisions accordingly.
Therefore, accurate status reporting is vital.
The key to successful “status reporting” is consistency and commonality
All project managers report “in the same way” – the same status for similar situations – remove subjectivity as much as possible
Status reporting needs to cover, at least, each of the portfolio dimensions. So, at a minimum, status should include:-
Time Cost / Benefit Resources Change Readiness
Clear, and commonly understood definitions of RED, AMBER and GREEN for each of the dimensions.
Status reports should cascade up – they should not be overly onerous to produce – They’re not essays!
“LITE” GOVERNANCE PROCESSES and PROJECT ASSURANCE ARE CENTRAL TO SUCCESSFUL
PROJECT DELIVERY
6Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
Status Reporting
My project/workstream is on-time and on-budget.
My project is on-time but over-budget
My project is on-time and on-budget, but I forecast it will go over-time
My project is on-time and on-budget, but I forecast it will go over-time and over budget
My project has one workstream that is ahead of schedule, but another that is very late
My project is on-time and on-budget, and will deliver on-time and on-budget, but the number of defects is extremely high
My project is on-time and on-budget, the number of defects is low, but I have hundreds of change requests which haven’t yet been impact assessed
My project is on-time and on-budget, but in a weeks time I lose all my resources to Project X
My project is late and over-budget
My project is on-time and on-budget but there’s an issue that’s preventing me from making any further progress
My project is on-time and on-budget, but I’m dependant on another project which is late
WHAT IS THE CORRECT RAG STATUS FOR EACH OF THESE?
7Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
There are many tools that can assist in managing a project
Introducing project management change should be “unambitious”
Increasing rigour slowly over time
8Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
Challenge of managing projects?
“One size fits all” project management methodology rarely successful.
E.g. Marketing project delivery rarely has much synergy with, for example, IT Infrastructure projects - deliverables and stage-gates may be different.
Product launch plans may have only minor overlap to business change plans
Hence, flexible project management framework tends to work better.
Introducing project peer review framework for project assurance particularly effective (especially for estimating).
Portfolio Management and Project Management intrinsically linked and should be undertaken holistically.
Creating the portfolio should be an iterative process, informed by prioritised initiatives and high-level project plans. The portfolio must be able to accommodate change.
– the greater the effort in planning, the more accurate the plans will be, but law of diminishing
returns.
100% of the costs and timescales will be understood when 100% of the project / portfolio is delivered.
9Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
How do I manage large programmes/portfolios?
Establish manageable and achievable expectations with the client/business
For each project or workstream, fixate on delivery of top 7 milestones per phase (...7 is the magic number in project management...)
Will they deliver on-time, to budget and quality or not? If not, what is the resolving action?
Right to left planning
Delegated authority, coupled with peer reviews and regular one-to-one’s.
Openness & Honesty It is inevitable that things will go off-plan. It is vital to have a culture where these
challenges can be raised and addressed without fear of recrimination
Focus more on developing the project managers leadership skills than developing overly burdensome project processes – governance lite...
Create commonly understood outcomes, vision, plans etc. Widest possible communication of information in easily digestible format
Passion, commitment, tenaciousness, resolution, pragmatism, decisiveness and determination are not
attributes that can be governed by process.
10Copyright © Maddison Ward 2006
Programme Manager’s top-tips
Allow yourself time to make good, well-informed decisions
Don’t waste a lot of time gathering loads of data or getting buried in information. Your team should distill key information into two or three options.
Be decisive! Ensure you make a decision quickly, and then stick to it. It is ok to change a decision occasionally if new information comes to light, but don’t make a habit of it.
Surround yourself with good people and particularly good project managers.
Make sure they’re on the hook to deliver and they feel the pain when they don’t (using the right “disappointment” language to avoid revenge cycles)
Allow them to learn from their mistakes and failures
Don’t be afraid to refuse to sign things off if they don’t meet your expectations or they don’t sound right.
Learn to say “NO”
It’s ok to “DO NOTHING”
Know your goals
And clearly understand your mandate and the extent of your powers. Eg. Can you fire someone on the programme? If you disagree with a technical decision, are you empowered to overrule it?
Copyright Maddison Ward 2006
In portfolio management, the perfect view is...
hindsight
Investment banking is gambling with money. Project management is gambling with time
--Stuart Robb 2009
Investment banking is gambling with money. Project management is gambling with time
--Stuart Robb 2009