Project Portfolio Management and The PMI® Organizational Project Management Maturity Model
John Schlichter
Over the past several years, an increasing number of project management practitioners have begun to talk about project portfolio management. Some people borrow principles from financial management. Others simply reuse catch phrases like “managing projects as a portfolio of real options,” without really understanding what this means or how to do it. Few approach the subject systematically, and fewer understand how to develop incrementally the capabilities that underpin best practices in project portfolio management. The fact, however, is that project portfolio management is not a poorly defined concept. It is based on tried and true management techniques. Organizations can learn and implement straightforward practices that help them to realize the value of their project investments and achieve their strategic goals. The key to success is to start small and build on incremental changes to the way your organization works.
In December of 2003, the Project Management Institute will publish the widely anticipated Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3), which has been under development since mid-1998. OPM3 was essentially a research project that involved analysis of nearly 30 existing maturity models and surveys of over 30,000 project management practitioners. Over 700 volunteers have helped to develop the model. Project portfolio management was researched, studied, and integrated into the OPM3. According to the PMBOK® Guide, (p. 10), "Project portfolio management refers to the selection and support of projects or program investments. These investments in projects and programs are guided by the organization's strategic plan and available resources." PMI® has defined organizational project management as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to organizational and project activities to achieve the aims of an organization through projects. Organizational project management, then, integrates project, program, and portfolio management.
The best practices and capabilities described in this article reflect only a very small number among hundreds incorporated into the OPM3. If the capabilities leading to each best practice constitute roadmaps to maturity, then the entire OPM3 is like an atlas, allowing organizations to choose different domains of project, program, and portfolio management that they wish to explore and develop. While an increasing number of project management practitioners have begun to talk about project portfolio management, sometimes borrowing principles from financial management and sometimes simply reusing catch phrases, after December 2003 everyone will be able to reference a new standard that approaches the subject systematically. Like any first release, the product will not be perfect, and opportunities will always exist to refine and perfect the model. But the mere existence of the model in a tangible form will transform opinions from so many experts-of-the-week into practical steps for action that can be critiqued widely and improved.
The OPM3™ will propel discussion regarding techniques like project portfolio management to new levels of maturity. Users will learn about the practical implementation of organizational project management and ways they can orchestrate change to achieve maturity using practical tools. [More]
Editors note: for more on the Project Management Institute's Organizational Project Management Maturity Model see the Feature Paper by John Schlichter "The History of OPM3™"
About the Author
John
Schlichter has implemented PMO’s and other project management solutions
in many organizations. He has presented on project management topics throughout
the world to many organizations. He has spoken at the PMI’s Seminars
& Symposiums, the PMI Europe Conference, PMI Chapters in America and
Europe, and the IPMA’s World Congresses.
He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and his Master’s in Business Administration from Emory University.
John Schlichter is a principal of OPM Experts, LLC. You may reach him at jschlichter@opmexperts.com or 404.728.0650.