A portfolio refers to a collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management in order to meet strategic business objectives [2]. Portfolio management ensures that interrelationships between programs and projects are identified and that resources (e.g., people, funding) are allocated in accordance with organizational priorities.
By the way, maybe it’s important to distinguish program and portfolio management. A program is defined as a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually [2]. Programs focus on achieving the benefits expected from the portfolio as determined by strategic organizational objectives [3].
These two definitions come from Project Management Institute – PMI. However, we can find others authors trying to improve or collaborate to discover what is right way and words to describe a portfolio management.
The Standard for Portfolio Management shows the role to be in charge of projects, programs and portfolios. Project managers manage the project team to meet the project objectives [3]. Program managers manage the program staff and the project managers; they provide vision and overall leadership [3]. Portfolio managers may manage or coordinate portfolio management staff [3].
When thinking about portfolio management for different approaches. It’s important to differentiate between portfolio of projects and IT investments. IT portfolio management is a proven framework for better decision making regarding new and existing IT investments. “IT portfolio management can and has been applied to infrastructure and networks, data and information, hardware and applications, processes, people, and supporting foundations” [4]. It means not only projects or programs.
Maizlish and Handler (2005) [4], analyzing the step-by-step of IT portfolio management to unlock the business value of technology mentions that IT portfolio management is a tool that supports companies during times of both robust and economic downturn. In accordance with [4], most companies maintain a list of more IT projects than their budgets can support and ironically, many business and IT managers are unaware of important performance indicators like types of ideas and concepts being worked within R&D, how many IT projects are in the development cycle and their alignment with the future strategic direction, amount of resources allocated or risks associated with each IT investment.
Coffman et al. (2009) [1] when explaining how to drive IT performance through projects portfolio management comment about possibility to obtain changes in the way IT interacts with the organization. “This can make IT into a true strategic partner, focused less on technology and more on impacting the long-term health of the company” [1].
The strategic of organizations and their alignment with projects always come over discussion when thinking about how to improve the business opportunities and in the same time acquire operational efficiency managing portfolios, programs, and projects. A grouping of projects in programs or portfolios that reflect their relationship and analysis of their interactions are pointed as importante by the book of PMI named Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) [2].
According with the PMBOK [2], in mature project management organizations, project management exists in a broader context governed by program management and portfolio management. Organizational planning impacts the projects by means of project prioritization based on risk, funding, and the organization’s strategic plan.
Intermediate levels of groupings, named programs, can supply possibilities of controlling and monitoring projects with similarities. Another grouping as portfolios supports to focus on firm’s strategic management. Some definitions of portfolio management are based on organizational strategic and programs operational benefits are in the center of the approach.
These are about readings and thoughts in my free time. Please, find below the references.
1.COFFMAN, H.; MURALI, V.; CARDENAS, J.; DeSanto, J. P (2008). “Driving IT Performance Through Project Portfolio Management”.
2.Institute, Project Management (2008). “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) - Fourth Edition”. Newton Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc., ANSI/PMI 99-001-2008.
3.Institute, Project Management (2008). "The Standard for Portfolio Management, Second Edition". Project Management Institute. Newton Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
4.MAIZLISH, B.; HANDLER, R (2005). “IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step – Unlocking the Business Value of Technology”. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN-13 978-0-471-64984-8.
O Dr. Eder Alves é fundador e principal consultor da PredictON. Possui background acadêmico em Administração de Empresas e Ciência da Computação com áreas de concentração em estratágia empresarial, inovação e gerenciamento de projetos. Adquiriu conhecimentos ao longo da vida universitária em sistemas de tecnologia da informação, gerenciando projetos complexos e programas para empresa globais como IBM e Freescale Semiconductor. É portador das credenciais PMP e Scrum Master Certified.
