MoP: Management of Portfolios
Introduction
Getting the best return from the total investment in change programmes and projects has always been a challenge. Ensuring successful delivery and realising the full benefits in terms of efficiency savings and contribution to strategic objectives is of key relevance across all sectors. Management of Portfolios equips practitioners with the grounding to apply portfolio management effectively. It describes portfolio management and its strategic and organisational context and gives guidance on: the principles of effective portfolio management; the key practices, including examples of how to implement portfolio management and sustain progress.
What is
To be successful, organisations must evolve and this means improving how they run their business on a daily basis (business as usual) and adapting to emerging demands and expectations. Portfolio management helps organisations make decisions about implementing the right changes to business as usual; those changes are delivered via projects and programmes. It also provides a ‘helicopter view’ of all change activities – both those in planning and those in delivery – including providing a clear line of sight about what is in the portfolio, what it is costing, what risks are faced, what progress is being made, and with what impact on business as usual and the organisation’s strategic objectives.
Rather than representing a new discipline, portfolio management seeks to build on, and better co-ordinate, existing processes such as strategic planning, investment appraisal and project and programme management. Portfolio management is not concerned with the detailed management of these projects and programmes; rather, it approaches the management of change projects and programmes from a strategic viewpoint, focusing on the key issues outlined above.
Benefits
Investment in the right, correctly implemented change initiatives is enabled by MoP so as to ensure that:
For organisations:
- The programmes and projects undertaken are prioritised in terms of their contributions to strategic objectives and overall level of risk
- More effective implementation of projects and programmes via management of constraints, risks and dependencies.
- Programmes and projects are managed consistently to ensure efficient and effective delivery
- More efficient utilisation of scarce resources including skilled project/programme managers.
- Improved accountability and corporate governance.
For individuals:
- An improved understanding of:- The Portfolio Management cycles, practices and techniques and the organisational context within which they operate;
- Effective approaches to investment identification, categorisation, prioritisation and selection;
- Benefits realisation is maximised to provide the greatest return (in terms of strategic contribution and efficiency savings) from the investment made
- How project and programme success can be enhanced by adopting a Portfolio perspective to delivery.
- The opportunity to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding to work as an informed member of a Portfolio Office or in a range of Portfolio Management roles.
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter