If you are a Project Manager, Program Manager, or a PMO Director, you know the value that project management software brings to managing projects. What about managing a portfolio of projects? Project Portfolio Management has challenges and complexities that cannot be addressed with typical project management tools. You need an application that bridges the gap between strategic planning and project execution.
Benefits of PPM Software
There are five reasons why companies should invest in project portfolio software. They are based on the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Standard for Portfolio Management.
Clarify Business Objectives
In distinguishing between multiple projects to determine which ones are best, a key criterion is a return on investment (ROI). Portfolio management software offers the capability to analyze earned value for projects and portfolios. It also monitors project budgets, expenses, and labor costs.
Capture and Research Requests and Ideas
The ability to capture project ideas, gather resource and valuation data, and rank project requests are crucial to building and maintaining a project portfolio that lines up with strategic objectives. Software tools allow PMO team members to capture project ideas centrally and evaluate review outcomes.
Select the Best Projects
Once the research on potential projects is complete, it's time to score, approve, and prioritize the most promising ideas. A portfolio management application provides decision-makers the ability to communicate the approval of a new project in an efficient and timely manner.
Validate and Initiate
Additional factors to consider once a project is approved, are inter-project dependencies, resource demand and availability, and budgetary constraints. A project portfolio solution lets management centrally manage project resources and project financials.
Manage and Monitor
Portfolio Management involves monitoring portfolio performance; identifying and resolving portfolio issues, including reallocating resources; and making changes to the portfolio, including re-scoping or canceling a project. A portfolio management product gives portfolio managers the tools needed to make decisions based on project status, resource capacity, and project financials.
Portfolio Management with PMware
PMware software provides portfolio management with the big picture in mind. It uses the SMART(Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Timely) approach to project portfolio management. Features like Portfolio Management, Project Financials, Resource Management, and Project Analytics are robust, yet easy to use.
With PMware's open architecture, Agile tools like JIRA and Version One synchronizes seamlessly with PMware Portfolio Management. Additionally, collaboration with stakeholders is simplified through PMware's compatibility with Office 365, Dropbox, and Google Docs.
To learn more about ways that PMware can help improve portfolio management in your organization, contact us today.