Review of Strategic Project Portfolio Management (written by Simon Moore)

Bismilllah

I recently read Strategic Project Portfolio Management (PPM)- Enabling a productive organization (written by Simon Moore). The book had a excellent review of the application of PPM theory in the workplace. The book is filled with case studies and provides a easy-to-read background on the intersection of PPM and technology.

For those new to PPM theory, Microsoft defines PPM as the following: "Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is the continuous process of  identifying, selecting and managing a portfolio of projects in alignment with key performance metrics and strategic business objectives."

I listed notes that summarize key lessons from the concluding chapter on leading PPM practices:

1. Set bold goals for the business and therefor the portfolio, and share these goals repeatedly and broadly.
2. Collect far more project ideas than you can execute on from as broad and diverse group as possible
3. Manage your portfolio as a whole against your strategic goals for the business.
4. Estimate key project parameters early and improve on those estimates over time.
5. Share portfolio information broadly with as many employees as possible
6. Monitor and report on the portfolio with a view to faster and more effective decision making.
7. Track everything that is consuming resources go beyond formal projects to anything that is a meaningful piece of work or use of resources.
8. Drive communication across everyone involved in the portfolio.
9. Support extensive planning before-hand and postmortem processes afterward.
10. Recognize the portfolio management skills that your organization already has.
11. Keep everything as simple as it can be.

How is the book organized?

• Chapter 1, 2: Focuses primarily on creation of business goals and strategic alignment of projects to them
• Chapters 3,4: Emphasizes benefits from disciplined planning and cost focus
• Chapters 5,6,7: Serves as a guide to best practice implementation
• Chapters 8,9, 10:  Expands on the prior chapter to explore the need for effective communications structures, people-centric processes, together with appropriate use of workflow, and process overall
• Chapter 11: Takes a more theoretical look at project management, surveying the key perspectives
• Chapter 12: Looks at future trends across project and portfolio management, combining a business and technology perspective

If you are interested in reading more notes from, feel free to click on the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RR14wnn-FNXmpw2oMGZXDqNlndEwyrawXiMfrw1gfM4/pub

If you would like to read a white paper by Microsoft on PPM, click below:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/A/B/CABA5F40-FDF5-46D6-9610-A2AF2A2014B5/Project%20Portfolio%20Management%20White_Paper.docx