Welcome to Advanced
Project Management
Project Selection & Portfolio
Management
Agenda
Topic Learning Outcome
Recap Previous Topic
Project, Program and Portfolio
Activity: Accountability Exercise
Project Screening and Selection
Activity: Project Selection at Nova Western
Project Portfolio Selection and Management
Activity: Portfolio Management at Microsoft Customer Service and Support
The PMO
Review of Apply & Consolidate Activities
Recap, Q&A, Next steps
Today’s Learning Outcomes
Appraise the criteria for a successful project selection and
analyse the different screening models
Critically evaluate what project, program, and portfolio
management are and how they are interconnected across all
business functions to ensure organisational success
Analyse the roles and responsibilities of Project Manager,
Program Manager and PMO and explain how they differ
Justify how a project portfolio is built and managed in line with
strategic/financial objectives of the business
Recap previous topic
Project, Program and
Portfolio
Project, Program and Portfolio Management
It uses processes, methods and
training, together with
knowledge and skills of the
project manager and team to
deliver the required outputs
(APM, 2020).
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
It is the grouping and management of
related projects and change
management activities that will deliver
beneficial change. Grouping allows
oversight and prioritisation of resources,
economies of scale, minimising
duplication, management of
interdependencies, co-ordination of
stakeholders and communications, and
easier sharing of lessons (APM, 2020).
PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT
Portfolio management includes
the selection, prioritisation and
control of projects and
programmes which are aligned
with the organisations strategy
and objectives. Goals of
portfolio management is to
balance change initiatives and
business-as-usual while
optimizing ROI (APM, 2020)
PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT
The Project Triangle (APM, BoK 7 Ed)
Portfolio Management Key Processes
Increase organisational capability through (APM, BoK 7 Ed)
Programme Management (APM, BoK 7 Ed)
Project, Program and Portfolio Managers
Project Manager
It is responsible for day-today management of the
project
He/she must be competent
in managing the six aspects
of a project, i.e. scope,
schedule, finance, risk,
quality and resources
Program Manager
It is responsible for day-to-day management of the
programme including the coordination of projects
and change management activities.
He/she is responsible for the overall planning of the
programme, co-ordinating the management and
control of the projects, prioritising resources, senior
stakeholder management, supporting and
communicating high level risk, and delivering
benefits.
He/she supports the project managers and unblock
issues
He/she works in collaboration with the Business
Change Manager that plans and manages the
realization of the benefits through the integration of
the new capability within the business practices
Portfolio Manager
He/she decides which
projects/programmes to
undertake, provides the
required resources, makes
sure they are being used
efficiently, and chases
benefits
Sources: APM, 2020; PMI, 2010
Activity: Accountability
Exercise
Collaboration Activity 1: Accountability Exercise
This activity is designed for learners to recap on what they have studied and based on
their independent research, consolidate their knowledge about roles and responsibilities
of Project, Program and Portfolio Manager.
Instructions
Do some independent research and leverage on the concepts you have studied as part of
this webinar preparation and define:
1.Focus and objectives of the project manager
2.Focus and objectives of the program manager
3.Focus and objectives of the portfolio manager
You have 15 minutes for this exercise
No resources provided.
Project Screening
and Selection
Models
Common project screening and selection models
(Khorramshahgol et al.,1988) :
• Checklist Model
• Simplified Scoring Model
• Analytical Hierarchy Process
• Profile Model
• Financial methods (e.g., payback, NPV,
discounted payback)
Note: financial methods have to be studied independently by students
How to choose a selection model criterion?
• Mix of financial criteria and scoring
models
• Look at the specificity of the organisation
• Look at the environment in which an
organization operated
Checklist Model
How it works
• Create a list of criteria important for selecting
projects
• Projects are evaluated based on how well they
perform on each criteria
• The best performing project is selected
Advantages
• Extremely simple
Disadvantages
• Living rooms for misinterpretation and
misunderstanding
• Assigning the same weight to all criteria, which is
not always the case
Sample of Checklist Model (Pinto, 2013, p.96)
Simplified Scoring Model
How it works
• Each criteria is ranked according to its relative
importance
• A score is assigned based on how much each project
perform on each criteria (e.g., High =2, Medium=2,
Low=1)
• Importance Weight x Score
• The best project is selected
Advantages
• Still simple model but more accurate than the checklist
one
Disadvantages
• Lack of accuracy (e.g., a scale from 1 to 3 is simple but
not accurate)
• To make it works screening criteria has to reflect the
organizational strategy
• Subjective Scoring
Sample of Simplified Score Model (Pinto, 2013, p.98)
Analytical Hierarchy Process
How it works
• Creates a hierarchy of criteria and sub-criteria used for
ordering priorities
• Allocates weight to criteria
• Assign a numerical value to evaluation dimensions
• Evaluate project proposals
• Best projects to invest are identified
Advantages
• Comprehensive method
Disadvantages
• The method does not account for options that contribute
negatively to the company’s goals
• AHP requires that all criteria be fully exposed and
accounted for at the beginning of the selection process
Profile Model
How it works
• It plots risk/return options for various projects
• Identify which projects stand on the efficient frontier
• Projects that are not on the efficient frontier are
discharged
Advantages
• Straightforward model
Disadvantages
• Decision criteria are only two (i.e., risk and return)
• Risk is a subjective assessment, and it might be
difficult to reach an overall agreement on the level
of risk
Sample of Profile Model (Pinto, 2013, p. 103)
Activity: Project
Selection at Nova
Western
Collaboration Activity 2: Project Selection at Nova Western
This activity is designed for learners to work as a group to study the Project Selection
Methods used by the fictious company Nova Western.
The scope of this exercise it to study the Project Selection Methods used by the fictious company
Nova Western.
Each group is going to read the case study and reply to one of the following questions:
•Group 1: What does this case suggest to you about the use of project selection methods in
organizations?
•Group 2: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each screening method?
•Group 3: Choose the project that you think, based on the two analyses, Nova Western should
select. Defend your choice.
•Group 4: How would you resolve the contradictions found in this example?
Your group has 30 minutes for performing your tasks.
Resources needed for this exercise: PDF – Nova Western Case Study
Project Portfolio
Selection and
Management
Objectives of the Project Portfolio Management
Project portfolio management is the is the selection,
prioritisation and control of an organisation’s programmes
and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and
capacity to deliver (APM, 2020).
Objectives of Project Portfolio Management (Cooper,
2011):
• Decision Making (i.e., strategic direction to take)
• Prioritisation
• Review
• Realignment
• Reprioritisation
How to select a Portfolio?
Project Portfolio Selection Process
(Archer and Ghasemzadeh, 1999)
How to manage a Portfolio?
Key factors for success (Brown and Esisenhardt, 1997)
• Flexible structure and open communication
• Low-cost environmental scanning (i.e., launching
many low cost prototypes before full scaling)
• Changes generated by the portfolio have to be timely
embodied by the organisation
Challenges of portfolio management (Cooper and
Edgett, 1997)
• Scares resources
• Unpromising projects (they should be cut asap)
• Portfolios not synchronised with organisational
strategy
• Conservative experts
Project Portfolio Matrix (Matherson and Matherson,
1998)
The PMO
Roles and Responsibilities of PMOs
Portfolio Management
Office
Define portfolio
management
methodologies
Define a portfolio
management strategy
Manage changes and risks
at portfolio level
Monitoring and support
programs and projects
progression
Define resources allocation
across portfolio
Organise training and
mentoring
Program Management
Office
Define program
management processes
and procedures
Support program manager
in scheduling and budgeting
Define resources allocation
across programs
Central management of
changes and risks
Project Management
Office
Manage shared resources
across projects
Identify & develop project
management methodology
Monitor compliance with
standard
Coordinate communication
across project
Source: PMI, 2014
PMOs: Levels of Authority and Forms
Different forms of PMOs (APM, 2020, p.71)
Levels of authority of the portfolio, program and project management
offices (Aziz, 2014)
PMOs and Connection with Business Functions
Alternative Levels of PMO (Pinto, 2013, p. 74)
Activity: Portfolio
Management at
Microsoft Customer
Service and Support
Portfolio Management at Microsoft Customer Service and Support
This activity is designed for learners to work as a group to study the Project Portfolio Management Process
at Microsoft Customer Service and Support.
The scope of this exercise it to study the Project Portfolio Management used by the Microsoft Customer Service
and Support.
Each group is going to read the case study and reply to one of the following questions:
•Group 1: What challenges was Microsoft CSS facing?
•Group 2: How were those challenges solved?
•Group 3: How did Microsoft implement and display a portfolio management solution?
•Group 4: What are the main takeaways of this case study based on the PMI?
You have 30 minutes for performing your tasks.
Resources needed for this exercise:
•Microsoft case study: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/strategic-portfolio-management-transform-globalorganization-6650
•Independent research
Collaboration Activity 3: Portfolio Management at Microsoft
Customer Service and Support
Review of Apply &
Consolidate
Activities
Recap, Q&A, Next
Steps
Key Takeaways
You should be now be able to:
• Understand what projects, programs and portfolios are and
how they differ
• Be familiar with some popular methodologies for screening
and selecting projects that comprise a portfolio
• Understand what the objectives of project portfolio
management are
• Be familiar with the Archer and Ghasemzadeh (1999)
Project Portfolio Selection Process
• Understand what the key factors of a successful portfolio
management are, and what challenges it poses
• Be familiar with the different types of PMO
• Understand what the different ways are to organise and
fund PMOs and what are the key skills needed to run
successful PMOs
Source: pixabay.com/ Accessed 4 January 2021
Next Steps
• Review the fundamental concept
• Go through the Module Overview and Introduction (if not
done yet)
• Go through the Preparation and Apply part of this week (if
not done yet)
• Go through the Consolidation part of this week
• Go through the Preparation and Apply part of next week
• See you next week same time!
Source: pixabay.com/ Accessed 4 January 2021