Page 169 - Global Project Management Handbook

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT 7-19

contained, the types of relationships between projects, the environment-related rela-
tionships of the projects, and the durations, costs and, risks of the projects, etc.—
remain relatively constant, however.
Since project-oriented companies continually perform projects, project portfolios are
not limited in time but rather extend over the lifetime of the project-oriented company.
The project portfolio is a central integration instrument of project-oriented companies.
The organizational differentiation resulting from the performance of projects and pro-
grams is complemented by an integrative point of view.

Objectives of Project Portfolio Coordination
Objects of consideration in the project portfolio coordination process are the projects and
programs and their relationships to each other at a certain point in time. Objectives of the
coordination of the project portfolio are to coordinate projects with regard to the strategic
objectives of the project-oriented company and to optimize project portfolio results.
However, the objectives of project portfolio coordination can conflict with the objectives
of individual projects.
Various projects performed for the same customer should be coordinated with regard to
long-term customer strategies and behavior patterns toward the customer. Purchases and
services from various projects by the same supplier can be optimized with regard to the pur-
chasing conditions. The internal and external resources used in the projects should be coor-
dinated, and project priorities regarding access to scarce resources should be established.
Control of the structure of the project portfolio, the project portfolio risk, and the
organization of the learning process for and between projects is a further objective. The
potential to stop or interrupt projects for strategic reasons is also an objective of project
portfolio coordination.

Tasks in Project Portfolio Coordination

The business process of project portfolio coordination encompasses the phases of prepa-
ration, performance, and follow-up of the periodic coordination meetings by the project
portfolio group. Depending on the size and dynamics of the project portfolio to be coordi-
nated by a project portfolio group, it may be necessary to hold a coordination meeting

each week or every two weeks. Such meetings may last two to four hours.
In order to prepare the coordination meeting, the project portfolio database is updated,
project portfolio reports are developed, new investment and project proposals are collected
and checked for completeness. Then project progress reports of selected projects are
compiled.
The necessary decisions regarding optimization of the project portfolio are taken by
the project portfolio group. Preparation of the decision-making process is performed by
the project management office through maintenance of the project portfolio database,
analysis of the project portfolio, and compilation of project portfolio reports.

Results of Project Portfolio Coordination

The documents resulting from project portfolio coordination are project portfolio reports,
investment and project proposals, project progress reports, and the minutes of the coordi-
nation meetings held by the project portfolio group. Typical project portfolio reports are,
for example, a project portfolio bar chart, a project portfolio budget, a project portfolio
personnel timetable, or a profit-risk matrix.