How do you know if your project portfolio management process is mature?

Definitely, a high maturity in portfolio management helps to have a portfolio aligned with the organization's strategy, but this is just one pillar, other pillars that the organization must promote for this to happen are clear communication at all levels and implementation of KPIs and OKRs at all layers of the organization.

?? Based on extensive research and analysis, strategic alignment in PPM is crucial for achieving long-term organizational goals. ?? Evaluation Methods Using both quantitative and qualitative methods for project evaluation ensures a full understanding of alignment with strategic goals. ?? Dynamic Adjustment Continuously adapting the portfolio to strategic shifts is crucial for alignment with evolving objectives. ?? Stakeholder Engagement Effective engagement at all levels fosters shared understanding and commitment to strategic objectives, enhancing alignment. ?? Robust strategic alignment in PPM is vital for success, requiring thorough evaluation, dynamic adjustments, and strong stakeholder engagement.

Strategize, Govern, Deliver! ???? I'd focus on critical indicators of maturity in project portfolio management. In "Strategic Portfolio Management," author Emily Johnson remarks, "Alignment drives success." A mature process aligns tightly with strategic objectives, ensuring every project contributes to overarching goals. Strong governance and oversight indicate a mature process, reflecting well-defined decision-making structures. Effective resource optimization shows efficiency in utilizing personnel and budgets. Robust risk management signifies the ability to foresee and mitigate potential issues. Lastly, consistent value delivery demonstrates the process's effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes. ????

A mature PPM process acts as the compass that aligns every project with the broader vision and mission of the organization. It not only establishes clear and transparent criteria for project selection but also ensures that these criteria are directly tied to strategic goals. The adaptability to changing market conditions, customer needs, and evolving business priorities is a key strength of a mature PPM process.

In steering IT Project Portfolio Management, maturity hinges on strategic alignment. Akin to orchestrating a symphony, it's not merely about playing the notes but crafting a harmonious melody. I've witnessed this firsthand, where our PPM process acted as a conductor, ensuring every project chord resonated with our organizational symphony. Projects harmonized seamlessly with our strategic overture, adapting dynamically to market shifts. Regularly, we presented our portfolio composition to leadership, akin to a musical performance review. This alignment wasn't a static score; it evolved, mirroring the dynamic cadence of our organizational strategy, fostering a crescendo of success in our project endeavors.

Establishing a robust governance structure forms the core of a mature project portfolio management (PPM) process. The presence of a designated entity like a Portfolio Management Office (PMO) overseeing planning, execution, and evaluation ensures a strategic and well-coordinated approach. Including a portfolio steering committee provides invaluable guidance, direction, and approval, enhancing decision-making. A portfolio manager or a similar role serves as a pivotal figure, ensuring seamless coordination and ongoing monitoring of portfolio activities and performance.

Governance and oversight are not about locking down projects and processes. They are about shining a light into them. Bring transparency to your portfolio and you will have the information you need to understand how the projects in your portfolio are performing. Once you have that transparency, you will be in a much better position to develop supportive governance frameworks, as opposed to applying restrictive ones top down.

At its basis, we need to maintain reviews of our portfolio. Those reviews need to include two parts: project intake and active projects’ status - both need to be based on the projects’ strategic alignment. On project intake, a great maturity indicator will be if the steering team says NO to taking in new projects. On active projects, a great indicator will be if the steering team kills projects because they are not aligned to our strategy anymore.

You should be able to evidence the Governance & processes/practices within some form of Portfolio Management or Framework document. A single source providing the overview of these processes and roles etc...

Assessing change capacity is at the heart of a mature Project Portfolio Management (PPM) process. Having a comprehensive and accurate view of resource availability, demand, and allocation ensures strategic resource optimization. The use of advanced tools and techniques to forecast and balance resource capacity and utilization is key in navigating the complexities of project portfolios. By prioritizing and scheduling projects based on their value, risk, and interdependencies, you avoid resource overload or underutilization. Effective management of resource conflicts and trade-offs through negotiation and collaboration with project managers and stakeholders adds a nuanced layer to PPM excellence.

Resource management in my experience is one of the more challenging areas to execute well. Often there is not a single way or consistent way in a company to track resources (people, their skills and also material resources...). This is compounded when trying to get a good enough picture of both demand and supply to be able to manage resources (through insights, decisions and balancing of those resources).

First, a matured portfolio risk level will be based on the sum of the projects’ risk levels. Secondly, the portfolio risk level will be used as a priority criterion on both project intake and active project decisions. From a resource allocation perspective, it will be used as a criterion to decide to which project mitigation plan, we need/want allocating resources. Lastly, we will see it as part of the overall strategic goal achievement forecast.

The essence of a mature Project Portfolio Management (PPM) process lies in its ability to deliver tangible value to the organization and stakeholders. The clarity of a measurable value, aligned with strategic goals, is paramount.

I regularly talk to organisations that do not have a good understanding of what projects they have going on, let alone how those projects are performing. Starting by moving all projects into a good P3M3 system allows them to get a handle on what is really happening. By a good system, I mean one that helps project managers to run their projects, not just one that they are obligated to use to feed reporting. Giving your PMs a better way of working can be the beginning for building you portfolio management maturity.

Understanding your maturity level now and where you want to be is a key step on the road to improvement. P3M3 is a recognised maturity assessment framework that works across Portfolio, Programme and Project levels. Having a baseline and understanding where you need to get to means you can build a maturity roadmap to get there. Remember it may not be required to reach the highest maturity level for every organisation (it takes time and effort to mature and to stay there). Cost vs Value.

To assess PMO maturity: Governance: Evaluate clarity and effectiveness in decision-making. Resource Management: Review resource allocation alignment. Risk Management: Evaluate risk identification and mitigation capabilities. Performance Measurement: Assess KPI measurement and reporting effectiveness. Stakeholder Engagement: Evaluate communication and alignment practices. Change Management: Assess adaptability to project and organizational changes. Tool Utilization: Review the effectiveness and integration of project management tools. Continuous Improvement: Assess commitment to feedback, reviews, and process optimization. This analysis aids in determining PMO maturity and identifying areas for improvement.