Page 171 - Global Project Management Handbook

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT 7-21

programs. It is not a project information system that contains detailed information about
all projects. The project portfolio database relies on data on individual projects. In order
to compare and accumulate data from projects, standardized minimum requirements
should be established for documentation of projects. The project portfolio database
should include the following information:
● Information regarding project organization, such as project owner team, project man-
ager, and selected project team members
● Information regarding relevant project environments, such as customers, suppliers,
and partners
● Information regarding products and markets, such as type of product, technology, and
region
● Information regarding the type of project and relationships between the project and
other projects, such as type of project and affiliation with a program
● Information regarding project ratios, such as project start date, project end date, net pre-
sent value of the investment initialized by the project, project profit, project risk, project
progress, and level of criticalness of the project
The project portfolio database can encompass data concerning current, planned, inter-
rupted, stopped, and completed projects. The project portfolio database is the basis for
analysis of the project portfolio, development of project portfolio reports, and networking
of projects. Hence the project portfolio database is not only an instrument of the project
portfolio group and the project management office but also contributes benefits to project
managers of project-oriented organizations. The “big picture” of all the organization’s
projects is communicated to project managers. They are empowered by the availability of
the relevant information, and they have an opportunity to optimize the results of their
projects by applying synergies.
The current status of a project portfolio should be viewed in its temporal context.
Changes to the project portfolio over time can be analyzed. For two or several control
dates, the following applies:
● The number of newly started projects and the number of closed-down/stopped projects
can be determined.
● The progress of various stages in the project portfolio can be compared.

● Changes in the contribution risk matrix can be observed.

PROJECT NETWORKING

Objectives of Project Networking

Networks of projects are social networks of closely coupled projects. Coupling of pro-
jects into networks of projects can result from cooperation among individual projects
with the same partners or suppliers, performance of services for the same customer, per-
formance of projects in the same region, use of the same technology by the projects, etc.
Networks of projects do not have clear boundaries; that is, any project, as well as projects
from customers, partners, or suppliers, that can contribute to the creation of synergies can
be considered in the network.
The partners in project networks are temporary organizations, that is, projects and pro-
grams, that can communicate with each other. The joint intentions of the network partners