Project Management/Portfolios/Programs Management

Portfolio management

Portfolio management (or Project Portfolio Management - PPM) is about grouping two or more programs or projects that may help business to achieve its strategic goals. Portfolio management helps in prioritization, improve resource usage by sharing them, better communication among programs/projects participants of the portfolio.

Scope for portfolios are business goals that change according to business strategic.

Example of portfolio could be to lower costs by improving some facility's services. This portfolio would have one program/project for gas, other for water, other for electricity.

Project program management

Program management is about grouping two or more projects that have similar objectives and will get more benefits if managed together, instead of alone. Program management helps in resolving issues constraints and better direction alignment.

Scope for programs are larger than projects and impacts in a more significant way.

Project management

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management.

Scope for projects are defined and progress through project life cycle.

Levels

A portfolio may be composed of other portfolios. In that case first one would be called High Level Portfolio, and former would be Low Level Portfolio.

Levels interactions are:

• From Higher level portfolio to Lower level portfolio, Higher level program or project
• From Lower level portfolio to Lower level portfolio, Higher level program or project
• From Higher level program to Lower level program or project
• From Programs to projects

Interaction from higher level to lower (e.g. what High level portfolio sends to program):

• Strategies and priorities.
• Progressive elaboration.
• Governance .
• Impacts from changes in other portfolios, programs or projects.

Interaction from lower level to higher(e.g. what projects sends back to High level portfolio sends):

• Performance reports.
• Change requests with impact on other portfolios, programs or projects.

File:Portoflio interaction.png