CITI - partners in change » Portfolio management

What is a project portfolio?

Paul Ashton — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:42:17 +0000

A project portfolio is a group of projects which has one or more common elements, e.g. they may all be resourced from a single pool of resources (and so are limited by the size of the pool), they may all focus on a single end user product (perhaps a major corporate product line or activity), or they may be all managed within a single division or line.

(Similar definitions from professional bodies include:

– a grouping of an organisation’s project and, programmes as described by the Associate for Project Management (APM)

– the totality of an organization’s investment (or segment thereof) in the changes required to achieve its strategic objectives as described in Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®)

MSP® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited
The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited

How are portfolios best organised?

Paul Ashton — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:41:53 +0000

A number of factors are often taken into account in the organisation of any portfolio. These may include:

political fairness – does the portfolio have ‘something for everyone’ – this may refer to business units, scorecard aspects or individual sponsors

value maximisation – is the business getting the greatest possible return for its investment?

resource optimisation – are the valuable (usually the most scarce) resources allocated to portfolio projects being kept busy?

risk diversification – can the organisation cope with the overall risk profile of the portfolio?

What are the key skills in portfolio management?

Paul Ashton — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:41:26 +0000

There are a core set of skills that are critical for a successful portfolio manager: stakeholder management – specifically negotiation and facilitation, portfolio structuring, managing governance and funding processes and resource management, particularly managing scarce resources.

Additionally there are some more specific skills that are determined by the type of portfolio being managed. For example, if the main driver for the portfolio is to maximise the value to be gained, then an understanding of the organisation’s value system and the required balance between financial and strategic benefits would be critical. Alternatively, if the maintenance of a particular risk profile is required, then an ability to establish and monitor the cost and benefit risks within the portfolio is paramount.

What courses in portfolio management do you offer?

Paul Ashton — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:41:00 +0000