Programme and Portfolio Management: maximising strategic investment

Come April 2025 organisations across the United Kingdom will be operating under a new business environment impacted by the changes introduced in the 2024 Autumn Budget. For many these changes present an added risk to how businesses will operate. For project managers, where there is risk there is also mitigation.?

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In other words, don’t scrap those business development plans.??

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With the already limited resources that many businesses are working with, the increase in business costs due to the additional financial responsibilities of employers, has perhaps left many businesses pondering how they can continue investing into business development and keep the business running. Striking off business development initiatives may seem like the easiest and only option. But what if we told you that what might seem like tough times ahead could actually benefit business.?

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One such investment that organisations could consider when it comes to optimising return on investment is in project management resources. In a previous article, we explored how project management can increase revenue. In this article we are going to look at two specific resources: programme management and portfolio management.??

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Although both programme management and portfolio management offer organisations the opportunity to stay on track of strategic goals even with limited resources, they are in fact quite different. By understanding these differences, organisations can invest in more productive resources that will help maximise the benefit realisation of their business development initiatives.??

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What is programme management and how can it benefit organisations???

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A company has decided to create a new product range. Initially this goal might seem like a straightforward project. However, in closer inspection this initiative will require the involvement of several different business units such as product development, marketing and supply chain. Moreover, while each business unit is responsible for their own project, they are all working toward a common goal. This brings with it a high level of interdependency between the projects’ activities and delivery. These interdependencies create a risk factor that can be more effectively managed at a higher level of management. Thus, managing the creation of a new product range as a programme would be more effective, which is when programme management comes in. ??

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Programme management maximises the combined benefits of all the projects that make up a programme. It ensures that each project’s objective is aligned with the overall programme goal and mitigates risk of programme failure by overseeing that the projects are done right.?

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This high level of management increases efficiency across the projects with a greater possibility to identify opportunities for synergies that might have gone unnoticed if each project was being managed in a vacuum. Moreover, by improving efficiency, programme management can also reduce the duplication of activities and ensure resources are distributed adequately so that each project has what it needs to succeed.?

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This is what makes programme management a valuable component for organisations and why it should be considered as part of an organisation’s strategic management.??

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Furthermore, just as important as it is to assure that projects are aligned with a programme’s goal, it is also necessary that a programme’s goals are aligned with the organisation’s broader business objectives. And for this we need to look at a higher level of organisational strategic management.?

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What is portfolio management and why organisations should consider it???

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Where programme management manages related projects that make-up a programme, all programmes undertaken need to be aligned with the organisation’s overall strategic goals. Here is where portfolio management plays a notable and strategic value to an organisation.?

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Portfolio management guides the direction of an organisation's overall goals by selecting and prioritising all the programme and project initiatives that are aligned with and contribute to its broader strategic objectives. This higher level of management makes it possible for organisations to strike a balance between high-risk opportunities with more stable activities; sustaining business yet not cutting off opportunities with measurable return on investment. Moreover, prioritising initiatives for the greater benefit of the organisation, maximises the limited resources by ensuring people are working on the right programmes and projects. In doing so, portfolio management helps to build synergies between initiatives and ensure they are sufficiently resourced. Though this may appear to be like programme management, portfolio management’s focus is not on one specific outcome but the contribution of all initiatives toward an organisation’s overall long-term strategic goals.?

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Furthermore, by providing stakeholders a birds-eye view of an organisation’s activities, portfolio management increases an organisation’s capacity to adjust to changing conditions. Portfolio management offers organisations agility in the face of changing conditions.?

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The ability to adapt to changing conditions is a strategic value that could be a market advantage in light of the 2024 Autumn Budget ramification on business goals.??

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Programme management and portfolio management are project management resources that help organisations focus on initiatives that deliver the highest value, ensuring the right work is prioritised and adequately resourced. For this reason, programme management and portfolio management should be considered a strategic investment.??

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Whether it is providing supportive expertise to your existing programme or portfolio management activities or helping your organisation build a fully operational programme or portfolio management capacity, organisations can truly benefit from outsourcing this expert support.??

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Contracting a project management service provider, like us, allows organisations to reap the benefits of experts without the increasingly cumbersome costs of permanent hires, as well as mitigating risks from overworked teams and cutting corners. Moreover, project management solutions tailored to an organisation’s needs allows for greater flexibility to focus on the work that needs to be done and paying just for that. Better yet, outsourcing project management experts is one less headache for your Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and one more way of getting the most ‘bang for your buck’.?