PMcrunch

Many executives, project portfolio managers, and program managers make good choices about investing in new projects and ideas. Yet it’s also critical to set up a measurement, preferably from the start, for when to potentially stop investing resources in each project. This would be a sort of “stop standard” for any given project.

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Project Portfolio Management, like Investment Portfolio Management, is a balancing act that requires constant monitoring and adjustment over time. Whereas an individual may have the right balance of risk, return, income, growth and others represented in an investment portfolio, a project portfolio is similar in many ways. Risks, returns, resources required, and alignment with overall strategy are just a few of the factors that must be kept in balance over time.

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I have encountered misunderstandings numerous times due to different concepts of the meaning of the word ‘plan’. There are various types of plans. In Project Plan Integration, we pull together various aspects of the project plan, which taken separately actually represent separate plans. One of those plans, the Configuration Management Plan, is one that I have encountered misunderstanding over.

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It can be very helpful for PMP candidates to have a PMP Mentor, or someone who is PMP certified and can assist on a moment’s notice when the student is stuck. A PMP mentor can provide a high level of comfort and assurance that a candidate is on the right path to passing the PMP certification exam.

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PMP exam prep training is available from many sources, but a large number of candidates are seeking online, web-based PMP prep training for its cost and convenience benefits. However, online training can mean a number of different things to people, including web-based classroom training, reviewing visual material online, collaborating with other students, interacting with training, downloading material, and much more.

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There is lots of good talk about project metrics. Much of it centers on project performance. But there is another side to it, organizational metrics, related to how the project is contributing to overall organizational goals. Thinking a little differently and exploring a different perspective can provide better focus and produce more positive impact.

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There has been a tremendous amount of buzz more recently about PMOs, otherwise known as Project Management Offices. Here is what a select group of experts are saying about PMOs today.

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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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What does you organization “tolerate”? This is an important question to ask because you will know where you have some flexibility, and you will know where you have risks and inflexibility. You may very well also find out where your organization is lacking, and where it needs some reform in its project management practices to become a much more streamlined, and lean operating machine. A useful tool for thinking about this is the triple constraint.

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A great question that we can ask ourselves as project managers is, “Would we invest in our projects”? This is probably the single best indicator, if we are honest with ourselves, as to the health of our projects, our positions, our teams, our organizations and more. Here is a look at an investment perspective to managing projects.

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