Does your organization manage a portfolio of 100 to 200 projects (large and small)? Carried out by 50 to 300 people, half of whom are project managers? Would you like to be able to manage your portfolio, but don't know exactly how to go about it? Or what resources you'll need for a good PPM - Project Portfolio Management?
Of course, each case is unique, but here's a quick summary of my experience. It is based on the piloting projects I have led or participated in.
Project management (monitoring and orientation at a macroscopic level) is generally carried out using a " project sheet ". It includes :
Sometimes decisions to be made and highlights.
These sheets need to be standardized, i.e. common to all projects of the same type, to facilitate their analysis.
There are some very effective sheets created with a spreadsheet. So, with a spreadsheet, a messaging system, a Project Office and a lot of organization: you can manage projects...but!
The limitations of this exercise stem from the fact that it's almost impossible to have a simple "portfolio" view. It takes 1/2 a day just to edit a PDF of the project files. And it's difficult or impossible (and risky) to develop consolidated views (multi-project Gantt, etc.).
I've built real office automation gas factories to manage large programs. They provided the services required in a given context, but were impossible to maintain over the long term. A lot of companies multiply their tools (Excel sheets, macros, Access databases) and feel in danger!
So if you're managing more than twenty projects, you need project and portfoliomanagement software. Simple planning software such as Gantt Project or MS Project just won't cut it.
Read also: How to choose the right type of portfolio?
Portfolio management and project planning are two very different fields. Portfolio management needs to be based on a small amount of absolutely reliable information. The less you ask of project managers, the higher the quality of the data, and the better the deadlines.
Normally 10 to 20 pieces of data should give you a good idea of progress, challenges, etc.
You will then ask each project manager to regularly update the project indicators:
If the CP knows his project well, updating this information should take no more than 30 minutes, including comments. If it takes longer, you should ask yourself :
This conciseness is the price to pay for quality information.
What's more, a coordinator is still needed to keep the data up to date. His or her role is twofold:
It is usually this coordinator who prepares the management dashboards, once the data has been verified.
Once the mechanics are in place, the coordinator's workload is moderate. It breaks down as follows:
Of course, this does not include advanced analysis, arbitration and other tasks, which are the responsibility ofad hoc bodies.
So, to sum up, for 100 projects and 200 users, allow 30 minutes for the 50 project managers. That's 4 man-days in total, and 4 man-days for the Project Office.
Your 200 resources represent 4,000 jh per month. Don't you think these 8 days (0.2%) are a good investment?