Managing a variety of projects across a large and diverse portfolio is a critical and complex task, which requires good management and good tools. There are many moving parts you need to track and consider, and it can become difficult to see the bigger picture.
Portfolio Management is about choosing the right projects and getting them right. It enables you to evaluate, select and prioritize projects in an objective way, based on information and facts. When implemented properly, Portfolio Management enables you to objectively select resources, manage risk and maximise the return on your projects, whilst ensuring that the projects you chose meet overall business objectives.
Benefits of product Portfolio Management Include:
- Reduce Time to Market
- Reduce costs
- Align Projects to Strategy
- Increase Revenue
- Accelerate growth
- Improve Market Focus
- Manage Product Roadmap
Businesses that don’t use Portfolio Management face a myriad of problems. They will often have far too many projects underway, and not necessarily the right ones. Often projects don’t meet business objective and are not aligned with the innovation strategy, and resources are spread thinly across all the projects. There is a lack of project visibility and access to data for all relevant team members. Businesses can also become consumed by low value, or ‘sure bets’ projects, meaning there is not enough resources available for bolder, riskier projects.
What three things should you consider when choosing Product Portfolio Management Software?
1 Extensive Project Management Tools.
The best Product Portfolio Management software will incorporate extensive project management tools, such as effective gates, scorecards, productivity index, road mapping, risks and issues log, and timescales. You can access interactive live data, integrated resource management and financial assessments, as well as document management and team collaboration. All of which will help you select and prioritized your projects, reduce costs and time to market and increase revenue.
2 Phase Gate built in.
This structured method of progressive new product development and project deployment has been tested on thousands of new product launches and is recognized worldwide as the best approach to accelerate new products to market, successfully.
3 Flexible and Tailored Solution.
Does the system meet your specific business process needs? The best software solutions will be delivered pre-configured and tailored to your specific business needs. It will guide you towards best-practice, according to what is right for you, now and in future, so you get exactly what you need. Ensure you hit the ground running with a tailored system that is ready to use.
Checklist:
Ensure the system has:
- Phase Gate built in
- Advanced gatekeeping, workflow and governance
- Fully configurable with process editor
- Integrated portfolio management and prioritization
- Extensive project management tools, risks and issues log, tasks, timescales and milestones
- Integrated resource management and financial assessment
- Document management and team collaboration
- Flexible and tailored solution
The message is clear. Profitable innovation does not happen by chance. You need to continually improve your capability to track and measure all projects, prioritize and select the right projects. The latest Portfolio Management software will incorporate a strong business case and be aligned with your business strategy, considering investment, customer need, likely return and risk level. It will ensure that there is a good balance of your whole portfolio allowing you to allocate resources accordingly. Businesses that use Portfolio Management have a far better balance of projects and resources, both in the short term and long term, all of which successfully mirror the business strategy.
For more information, follow us online or sign up to our Newsletter.
Related Reading:
