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Working Together By Thinking "Outside the Box"

Project managers develop plans to execute the projects in the portfolio, and then lead the effort to implement the plan. Likewise, program managers develop plans for their programs, but they do it for a higher level entity that contains many projects. In each case, the Project Manager or Program Manager "owns" his/her project or program. It naturally follows that portfolio managers "own" their respective project portfolios. The element that MUST tie the portfolio managers, program managers, and project managers together is strategy, which often requires some "out of the box" thinking on the part of the respective managers. Strategy needs to be the common thread through the project portfolio, programs, and projects.

By taking "ownership" of a portfolio, program, or project, professionals are addressing the "what". So how can they "think out of the box" within the overall organizational context to be more effective? The answer is by being driven by the "why" by clearly understanding the link to strategy. Maintaining that tie throughout implementation is a challenge, and can be supported by devising feedback processes to ensure that everyone is aligned with strategy. Each area needs to produce metrics that map back to the stated strategic initiatives of the organization, and communicate those metrics among the project portfolio management team, project teams, and program management teams on these metrics to "close the loop".

Call to Action

The project portfolio management team, project teams, and program management teams need to take ownership of the "why" as well as the "what" in order to ensure their actions are aligned with the strategic direction of the organization. They need to be intimately aware of organizational strategy, and if there is no formal strategy, they need to devise one and verify it as formally as possible. They need to think "outside the box" by mapping the projects and programs back to the strategy, and taking ownership of the whole process.

Article Source

About the Author:
See the author's site, Project Management Training Online, for online Project Portfolio Management training courses for PDUs. For more ideas and insights on project portfolio management and strategy, see John's post " Strategy Needs to Drive Project Portfolio Management " at PMcrunch.com.

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