Principles of Execution

The Accidental Portfolio Manager

Who’s managing the forest if you're tending the trees?

Gerald’s Background Gerald Leonard is currently the President &

CEO of Principles of Execution, a Strategic Project Portfolio Management and IT Governance consulting firm based in the Metro Washington, DC area.

19 years as an IT Project Management consultant and earned the PMP, MCSE, MCTS, CQIA, ITILv3 and COBIT 4.1 Certifications

Acquired certifications in PM and BI from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an Executive Leadership Certification from Cornell University.

Are you tending a tree?

When you should be managing the forest.

What? Why? How To Setting Up a PMO

What is Portfolio Management?

Portfolio Management is a capability that enables organizations to analyze, select and manage a collection of project investments that are aligned with your company’s goals and objectives within a data driven decision making framework. Portfolio Management also coordinates the acceptance, approval, postponement, rejection or cancelation of a project which will not realize the proposed benefits or the corporation’s strategic outcomes.

What is IT Governance?

Governance is the process of putting policies, procedures and processes in place to guide organizational operational activities and changes. Governance warrants the achievement of an organization’s objectives by strategically aligning daily activities, setting direction, providing guidance on decision making and monitoring performance.

How Does PPM Work Within a Firm?

Audience Poll 1

What? Why? How To Setting Up a PMO

Why is Portfolio Management and Governance Important?

Organizations that practice Portfolio Management and Governance are 20% more profitable than their competitors. (IT Governance, Peter Weill) 2/3 of organizations that employed PPM reported that 90% of their projects perform to expectations. Higher levels of portfolio alignment increase stakeholder satisfaction.

Portfolios, Programs, and Projects

The Chaos of a Multiple Project Environment

Audience Poll 2

What are your pain points?

Pain Points Triggers

Frustration with failed Initiatives, rising IT costs and low value outcomes

Call for IT Infrastructure reduction – fewer data centers

Significant incidents related to IT – project failure

Change in the organization’s operating model

Limitation on the organizations innovation capabilities and business agility

New regulatory or compliance requirements

IT is seen as a bottleneck Significant technology change or paradigm shift

Duplication of business processes or overlapping initiatives

New CIO, CFO, CEO or Executive Director

Hidden and rogue IT spending; Insufficient IT resources

Desire to significantly improve the value to be gained from IT.

What are the benefits of adopting Portfolio Management?

Positive impact on project performance and the organization’s overall project portfolio

PPM increase the organization’s project management capability effectiveness and efficiency

Organizations that implement PPM have better executive engagement

What? Why? How To Setting Up a PMO

How To Develop a Shared Vision

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion,” Jack Welch

How To Conduct a Gap Analysis What Where When Who How

Current State

What Happen? Where is the confusion?

When is it done?

Who does the work?

How is it sequenced?

Future State

What should it look like?

Where will it change?

When will it change?

Who will do this?

How will it be timed and resourced?

Gap What is different?

Where will it be different?

When are the differences needed?

Who will identify and validate the gap?

How will the gaps be improved?

Actions to Close Gap

What will be done to address the gap?

Where will it be addressed?

When will it be addressed?

Who will make the decision and complete it?

How will it be rolled out?

How To Conduct a Capability Assessment

Capabilities

Demand Mgt

Portfolio Selection

Portfolio Tracking

Portfolio Reporting

Financial Planning

Financial Tracking

Benefits Realization

Project Scheduling and Tracking

Overall

People

Process

Technology

Governance

How To Develop a Portfolio Strategic Plan

Portfolio Vision and Objectives

Organizational Structure and Area

Measureable Goals and Guidance

Allocation of Funds

Portfolio Benefits, Performance Results, and Value Expected

Communication Required to Ensure Successful Change and Implementation

Key Assumptions, Constraints, Dependencies, and Risks

Portfolio Prioritization Model, a High-Level Prioritization, Decision-Making Framework

How To Make Portfolio Management a Business Issue

Tools

Value

Methods

Speed

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Culture

Implementing Project Portfolio Management should establish a culture, not just a system, that enables a process for systematically aligning the organization’s attitudes, behaviors and actions, which should result into a interrelated and prioritized portfolio that yields better outcomes while minimizing the investment of the organization resources.

How To Engage Practice Areas Within a Firm

Provide answers to the following questions that your executives are concerns about: What criteria have we applied to determine if

project Y is the right investment?

Are we adopting best practices and using standard tools and processes?

What outcomes should I expect in the next 3 months and what deployments will impact my area in the next 3 to 6 months?

What cost improvements can I expect to see after this program has been executed?

What? Why? How To Setting Up a PMO

Where Should You Start?

Obtaining Executive Buy-in

Learn to speak the language of your executive team. Relate your request to what your competitors are doing. Show them how your request will solve their key issues.

What are the Steps for Setting up a PMO?

Plan

• Create Portfolio Strategic Plan and Charter • Develop the Portfolio Management Framework and Plan • EPMO Org, WBS, Budget Planning, Policies and Procedures

Implement

• Portfolio Steering Committee Action Plan • Portfolio Documentation, Tools, and Reporting • Portfolio Information & Communication

Close Out

• Portfolio Management Sign off and Closeout • Lessons Learned

Tips For Establishing a PPM Practice

Start with developing a stream line process, focus on collaboration and then determine which tools will meet your needs. Ensure that your processes and structure are flexible to meet your organizations needs. Create a document repository of best practices that are available to everyone in your organizations. Establish a process owner for each process you develop. Develop a straight forward portfolio recalibration process

Developing a Mature PMO

Maturity comes not with age but with the acceptance of responsibility. You are only young once but immaturity can last a lifetime! By Edwin Louis Cole

Q&A

Portfolio Management Training

Click here to learn more.

Principles of Execution, LLC

Gerald J. Leonard PMP, MCTS, CQIA, ITIL, COBIT

President/CEO Gerald@Principlesofexecution.com

http://www.principlesofexecution.com

Building the foundation for effective execution to increase your organization’s productivity!