Ch. 15 & 17 Observations

Portfolio Project Management seems to be one of those ideas that, once recognized, appears so obvious on its face. Clearly, having a central, coordinated grasp of projects and their impact on the business will help the PM. Inasmuch as every project has an ultimate deliverable, each can be seen as an asset, with corresponding liabilities in the forms of time, resources, and quality. Balancing those pieces and demonstrating the coordinated impact of various projects on the strategy would certainly position the PM to make her case when needed.

As with almost all the discussion around PM, it is critical to establish the outcome. Absent an understanding of the end-game, it is difficult to prioritize actions and projects. Understanding the strategy, then becomes key when figuring out what the project hopes to accomplish, if you intend it to positively impact the bottom line. Once identified, and fit into the portfolio, the project can be subjected to some of the ideas of LEAN.

In the projects I have undertaken (mostly org development and/or training events/programs), I have found success with the idea of parallel operations and standard work, as described in the chapter. As an example, when constructing the participant workbook (template is used to provide consistency and ease of formatting), the leader's guide is, essentially, embedded in the flow of the workbook. One version contains the directions and activities for the content, and while the content is written, I am 'seeing and hearing' the activities unfold.

All of this presumes adequate research on the content and identifying the needs of the client. In any discussions leading up to the development and delivery of a workshop, much time is used to verify that training/learning is the right solution. If there is a structural impediment to getting the work done, perhaps the requesting manager's better choice is to fix the structure.

The development and planning process for training events becomes iterative and the time-to-delivery can be shortened almost to only the time needed to research the content.