Project and portfolio management (PPM) is often more of an informal process in the midmarket -- with much focus on project tracking, scheduling and transparency. But more and more midmarket organizations are realizing the benefits of PPM solutions and investing in PPM software and more formal IT project governance, as well as establishing a solid project management office (PMO) to prioritize resources and get the most out of what they have.
From the basics, such as starting a PMO and developing an IT project governance model that works best in your organization, to comparing PPM software vendors and maturing your PPM strategy as your company grows, our in-depth guide covers it all. Continue reading for tips, news and executive advice concerning PPM and the role it can play in your organization.
For free advice and resources on more IT and business topics, visit our list of Midmarket CIO Briefings.
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I will admit that I am not the smartest person on the face of the earth. Almost everything I have learned about IT governance models and project and portfolio management I learned by doing it wrong.
For example, in my first CIO role, I recognized the need to have some type of IT decision-making process that extended beyond IT. I convinced the CEO to convene an IT steering committee composed of a subset of the executive team. The CEO acceded to my request and I spent six months slogging through the agony of trying to get eight people who had never collaborated on a single decision to come together and agree on IT priorities. My evidence that I am not the smartest person in the world? That fact that it took me six months to recognize that this IT governance model was not working and never would.
As a result of this and other abysmal failures, I feel like I can now provide you some lessons learned on effective IT governance and PPM.
Find out what this CIO learned about PPM in "A CIO shares his lessons learned in project and portfolio management." Also:
Choosing a project and portfolio management solution, like any enterprise application, can be a challenge. But never more so than when a company is seeking one standard PPM software package to replace some 10 different packages residing in 10 different project management offices -- the result of merger and acquisition activity over the years. Such was the case at Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw Industries Inc., a manufacturer of flooring products, which had varied tools and processes surrounding project reporting, logging and managing in its PMOs companywide.
"The groups were siloed in how they managed projects and communication," said Greg Livingston, director of IS planning and systems development. "As we grew, project management tools were created as needed amongst the groups, and we lacked consistency in how we handled tasks."
Learn how Shaw chose its PPM software vendor in "PPM software vendor scorecard: One company's vendor evaluation process." Also:
When it comes time to manage key projects in the IT portfolio, CIOs need successful project managers who exhibit the qualities of a good leader, including the ability to motivate people, as well as some more specific skills.
And as the traditional, hierarchical approach to project management gives way to more collaborative efforts, successful project managers are collegial, said Michael Hanford, PPM service research director at Gartner Inc.
So what contributes to a project manager's success?
- Solid people skills
- Excellent administrative skills
- Communication skills
Learn more in For a successful project manager, look for qualities of a good leader." Also:
Midmarket companies adopt project and portfolio management software for help with various aspects of IT project prioritization and execution, yet a PPM solution isn't a panacea for challenges in some important areas, including resource allocation and ROI calculations, they say.
In a recent comprehensive survey on IT project governance and PPM, SearchCIO-Midmarket.com found that PPM hasn't yet reached many midsized firms: 50% of midmarket companies don't have a PPM discipline in place, and almost 80% don't use formal PPM software. The survey was conducted in May and had 236 respondents from companies with 100 to 1,000 employees.
But for the companies that are using some sort of PPM solution, some are still struggling with resource allocation issues (23%) and measuring the value of projects after the fact (38%). Resource management was one of the top drivers of the PPM software purchase, one of two features cited as very important to the purchase by some 60% of respondents (the other was project management).
Learn more in Even with a PPM solution, IT project and portfolio challenges remain." Also:
