PMcrunch

Business or organizational strategy is intended to drive all decisions within an organization. It provides a direction, a rallying point, and a litmus test for decisions at all levels. Hence, it only stands to reason that strategy would drive the project portfolio management process.

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Project Management tends to come onto the scene after the strategic direction has been set. Projects arise out of organizational strategy and reside on the implementation side of things. Project Portfolio Management exists somewhere in between, at the connection between the strategy formulation and implementation of the actual projects. the challenge is that there can be disconnects at the transitions among these phases.

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Program Management within an organization involves managing longer term initiatives that involve multiple projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a Program Management Certification – the Program Management Professional (PgMP) – for experienced professionals who are interested in advancing their knowledge of program management and credentials for a continuing career in program management.

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Sometimes I wonder if we are too success oriented. In other words, we as project managers feel that we have failed if our projects fail in anyway, and we define ourselves by project success and project failure. This reminds me of children in school striving all the time to get perfect grades. The problem with this is that sometimes failures produce our greatest successes. Do we have a project management expectation that acknowledges that?

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Innovation has a real diseconomy: What is making the organization work now can become at odds with what might make the organization work well, or better in the future. What effect does this have on Project Management, and where can Project Portfolio Management make a difference?

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Thomas Edison was the quintessential mistake maker. He believed that the more mistakes he made, the more wrong answers and wrong solutions he could eliminate and, therefore, the closer he came to the correct solution to his problems. In management and on projects, on one hand, we seek to minimize mistakes but it is important to recognize when “mistakes” can actually be beneficial and produce positive outcomes. Indeed, we should not be afraid to make mistakes but rather should try to control and leverage the process. The project portfolio management process is an ideal place to formally do this.

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Enterprise Architecture ( EA ), Organizational Strategy, and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) are closely related.  The question is, “How are they related on a very practical level?”  Let’s take a look.

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Innovation is one of those buzz words that evokes positive emotions. It is generally considered a “good” thing, and therefore is something that we want to do. However, there are other things to consider so, lets put innovation into perspective as a project management tool.

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Good projects map well to organizational goals. In fact, the best organizations make sure their initiatives are in alignment with their strategic plan. Whether for project initiation or for simply evaluating how the value of a project fits within the organization, becoming familiar with the strategic plan is invaluable.

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Sometimes – more often than we like – a “circular reference” enters the scene, and it can threaten the success of your project – or even the success or an entire portfolio or organization. As a Project Manager and leader, you need to stop circular references by intervening strongly and showing the way!

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