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Teams initiating a project portfolio management implementation should be aware of potential pitfalls organizations can experience during implementation and execution. Vendors sell the idyllic dream that positions their tool as the magic cure-all for visibility and portfolio planning throughout the organization. From the project manager managing the daily activities to the senior IT director developing the cycle plan, project portfolio management software promises end-to-end features rich enough to satisfy both audiences.
The reality is without a process to provide accurate information, the PPM system risks quickly joining the IT graveyard of implemented but rarely used solutions. The following are a few tactical tips to ensure your PPM solution is a successful one that is used frequently and provides data for good decision making.
Tactical Tip #1: Manage portfolio operations reviews using the PPM Tool. By establishing a weekly or monthly process to update the tool, managers will encourage users to incorporate the PPM system into their daily, weekly or monthly routines. If the PPM solution is tracking project actual hours, users can update the project schedule in the tool daily. Implementation managers should emphasize the importance of using the tool to develop the operational reports required to manage the IT portfolio. If project teams or portfolio managers resort to a different report or ask managers to populate a separate template, the support for the PPM solution will quickly erode. By using the output of the tool to make portfolio management decisions, managers can illustrate the need to keep the data updated on a timely basis.
Tactical Tip #2: The project manager will only update the status in one system.
This tip may seem obvious given Tactical Tip #1, but organizations have been know to implement a PPM system only to ask the project manager to complete a new form or template with the exact same information. Instead of wasting the project manager’s time with redundant administrative tasks, encourage the PMOs to generate reports using the data the project manager updated in the PPM system. Managers want “one version of the truth” and populating data manually in two or more repositories further obscures accurate information.
Tactical Tip #3: Implement functionality in phases. MS-Project integration, dashboard reporting, workflow, collaboration, Web-based change, issue and risk management all look incredibly attractive on the vendor’s demonstration system. Implementing all these features in a real-world environment and ensuring the data is kept up to date requires more than a technical implementation. Change management, training, organizational support all need to be in place to support a full PPM system. By implementing the solution in phases, managers can pilot the tool with low-risk projects and determine which project portfolio management processes can be successfully implemented with available resources. Implementing issue, risk and change request modules are often the “low hanging fruit” that can be piloted and rolled out to the organization. If project teams continue to track issues in spreadsheets with multiple versions and redundant files, they are missing the collaboration opportunity that PPM solutions provide. Once the initial system’s scope is adopted, then subsequent phases can be implemented. Establish a foundation with the tool before incorporating project schedule integration, project workflow or complex dashboard reporting. The initial release should include basic portfolio and project reporting, however the advanced score carding can be phased in after a successful system launch.
Tactical Tip #4: One PPM System, One Project Status Report. Project status reports tend to change depending on the target audience. Frequently, managers are asked to provide one status at the project or program level and then provide status in a different format for another targeted audience. Regardless, if the organization needs two different status reports, the data needs be maintained and updated in one system. If the project manager is required to enter data in two places, the PPM system hasn’t helped the PM; instead it added to the PM workload. If the project status report is developed correctly in the PPM tool, it should mimic the standard project status template used across the organization’s projects and programs. The same status report used in the day-to-day management of the project should be included in portfolio operations reviews. If management requires the data to be presented in a different format, it is management’s prerogative to dictate the reporting standards. However, the tool should generate this second status report instead of asking the PM to fill out another template.
Tactical Tip #5: Ensure the project teams have enough software licenses to use the solution. Effective PPM solutions benefit from collaboration. If the user base is limited to just project managers, the solution quickly limits itself. Effective PPM implementations allow all project team members to enter risks, log potential changes requests, update issues and provide updates to the project schedule. If the user licenses are just licensed to the project managers, the PMs become a bottleneck for administrative updates. During contract negotiation, flexible user license arrangements can be built into the contract. If the tool doesn’t allow the entire project team to leverage the tool, it will quickly become a seldom used tool during project execution.
These tactical tips focus primarily on the project aspects of a PPM solution. The portfolio planning components are addressed through a different set of processes discussed in the earlier portfolio management model series. Each of these tips focus on the tactical, day-to-day use of the PPM software that help ensure the data is current so portfolio managers make better informed decisions. Keep watching this column for future tips on effective implementation and use of PPM software!
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