Tools and Techniques for Project Portfolio Management Jon Lewis - Director, Ninth Wave.

Tools and Techniques for Project Portfolio Management

Jon Lewis - Director, Ninth Wave

2 Tools and Techniques for Project Portfolio Management

Agenda

To discuss a number techniques for Project Portfolio Management:

• Achieving strategic alignment

• Evaluating ‘what if’ scenarios

• Resourcing the projects portfolio

To explain how Ninth Wave works to deliver these for our customers, and explore and discuss the key issues.


AGREED

PROJECTS

PORTFOLIOIDEASAGREED

STRATEGIC

PRIORITIES

RESOURCES

AVAILABLE

CHANGING

PRIORITIES

CHANGING

RESOURCES

PROPOSED

PROJECTS

PORTFOLIOS


Strategic AlignmentThe alignment of project activity to support the organisation’s strategy.

To achieve this strategic alignment we need to know:

• the elements of the strategy• what importance (weight) each element has• what projects we might do• which elements of the strategy each project supports• what each project will cost to deliver• what limits there are on expenditure (budgets)

Some of these elements may not be fixed and we may wish to look at alternative scenarios.

There may be different views on the importance of different elements of the strategy across the organisation – we’ll need to achieve a consolidated view.


Strategic Alignment

Issues in achieving strategic alignment:

• Unable to agree clear strategic priorities

• Strategic priorities change too often

• Priorities are agreed in departmental ‘silos’

• It may be hard to align projects to strategy

• Too many projects are mandatory

What other issues have

you encountered?


Strategic Alignment

Pairwise comparison of strategic drivers:

Technique used to determine the ranking and weighting of a set of strategic drivers. Different rankings and weights may be created to reflect different scenarios.


Strategic Alignment

Questionnaire based analysis and scoring of Projects:

Provides an objective and auditable analysis of the importance of a given project to the achievement of a given strategic objective.


‘What if?’ Scenarios

Issues in evaluating ‘What if?’ scenarios:

• These could arise at any time

• There may be multiple scenarios

• They may involve changing existing projects, or adding new projects

• They may involve changes to resources, either human or financial

• We’ll need to evaluate the different scenarios rapidly

What other scenarios

have you encountered?


‘What if?’ Scenarios

Evaluate scenarios against specific strategic drivers and capital and different revenue and capital expenditure limits:


‘What if?’ ScenariosThe Efficient Frontier:

Calculates the cost and benefit for every possible combination of projects in a portfolio and shows the best value portfolios for a given cost – the “efficient frontier”.


Portfolio Resource ManagementStrategic Alignment will have determined which projects we wish to do and with which priority, allowing for budgetary constraints.

We can now evaluate our ability to deliver these projects given the resources available to our organisation.

These resources may:

• be internal or external• belong to different departments• have different skills• have a specific level of availability for project work• be unable to do project work at certain times of the year

There may be options or plans to grow or downsize specific teams and these should be considered.


Portfolio Resource ManagementIssues with applying resource pools to project portfolios:

• We need an accurate high level view of the resources available

• We need an accurate high level view of existing commitments

• We need an accurate high level view of possible commitments

• We may be looking at different project scenarios and different resourcing scenarios

• ‘Bottleneck’ resources – we should focus on these

What other issues have

you encountered?


Portfolio Resource ManagementEstimate project resource demands:

The SmartCore API to PRICE Systems’ TruePlanning® software can be used to calculate the effort and cost of developing different types of application using different development languages.


Portfolio Resource Management

It’s important to understand the availability of project staff, taking into account changes in legislation and HR management:

• Flexible working patterns

• Home working

• 9-day fortnight

• Outsourcing/ Offshoring

• The EC working time directive

Another factor, often overlooked, is the need to carefully track annual leave. Legislation now restricts staff and employers from carrying forward annual leave. Annual leave which has yet to be taken can have a significant impact on resource availability as the year end approaches.


Portfolio Resource ManagementEvaluate scenarios against the resource and skills pool:


Portfolio Resource Management

Managing the pipeline of demand:

Possible work

Possible work

Definite work

Definite work

Definite work

Definite work

Virtual resource

Virtual resource

Virtual resource

Potential resource

Definite resource

Definite resource

Possible work No resource

Possible work Virtual resource

Work planned

Resource (type) requested

Work approved

Resource offered

Resource agreed

NOW

FUTURE


Portfolio Resource ManagementMonitor the availability of teams and individual resources:


Ninth Wave and SmartCore

• Ninth Wave is an independent UK-based software and services firm established in 1995

• Our main software product is SmartCore, a proven web-based management support tool

• The product has been developed from practical experience of project and programme management

• SmartCore is unique - it is entirely configurable via the web browser to meet a wide range of organisational and individual information needs.


SmartCore - Major Functional Components

Programme & Project

Management

Resource

Management

Strategic

Alignment

Budgets & Financial

Management

Timesheets

Document

Management

Workflow

& Business Rules

Benefits

Management

Portfolio

Management

Dashboards

& Reporting

Governance/

Change Management

Risk & Issue

Management


SmartCore Customers:

http://www.carbonops.com/

http://www.richmond.gov.uk/

http://www.kilngroup.com/index.asp?k=600

http://www.spheremedical.com/

http://www.tscp.org/

http://www.eonenergy.com/


0207 403 [email protected]

www.ninthwave.co.uk

Project Portfolio Management from Ninth Wave

SmartCore

Tools and Techniques for Project Portfolio Management Jon Lewis - Director, Ninth Wave.

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