Futur Zwo

Herbert von Kaufmann

(agile) Portfolio management

- Alignment of Initiatives and Projects to Vision & Strategy -

Thematic Classification

(Project) Portfolio Management

What is meant here is project portfolio management (PPM), which we will abbreviate somewhat and refer to as portfolio management in the following.

(agile) Portfolio management

Based on the agile procedures in IT development, with short-term development cycles and continuous monitoring of the acceptance (= market) and benefit (= value) of the results of each individual sprint, it is also increasingly important in management at the overall level (= portfolio of projects) to evaluate the benefit and market compatibility of the project in the much shorter term and to ensure consistency with the company's vision and strategy.

Collaboration - Skizze

Meanwhile, the AI query at ChatGPT also provides quite a useful explanation here:

Agile portfolio management is a methodology that allows organizations to manage their projects and initiatives in an agile way. It involves a set of principles and practices that enable organizations to continuously align their projects and initiatives with their business objectives, respond quickly to changes in the market or environment, and maximize the value delivered to their customers.

In agile portfolio management, the focus is on delivering value rather than on meeting predefined plans or schedules. It involves the continuous evaluation and prioritization of projects and initiatives based on their potential value, risks, and dependencies. The portfolio management team works closely with the stakeholders to define the strategic objectives and business goals, and to ensure that the portfolio is aligned with these goals.

Some of the key practices in agile portfolio management include:

  • Continuous planning and prioritization: This involves regular review and update of the portfolio based on changing market conditions, customer needs, and other factors.
  • portfolio based on changing market conditions, customer needs, and other factors.
  • Agile governance: This involves the creation of a flexible and adaptive governance framework that enables the portfolio management team to respond quickly to changes and make informed decisions.
  • Value-based management: This involves focusing on the value delivered to customers and ensuring that the portfolio is optimized to deliver maximum value.
  • Agile metrics and reporting: This involves the use of metrics and reporting to monitor the performance of the portfolio and identify opportunities for improvement.

Overall, agile portfolio management enables organizations to be more responsive to changing market conditions and customer needs, and to deliver value more effectively and efficiently.”

ChatGPT, retrieved 3 April 2023

Problem Statement

The portfolio level:

What is the decision-making process, which ongoing topics should be fundamentally changed or even discontinued, which projects need to be restarted?

How does the process of joint decision-making at the portfolio level take place in a transparent and comprehensible way, what interaction formats should there be for this?

The initiative/project level:

How is it possible to align initiatives and projects with the strategic goals of an organisation, and also to measure this alignment, and to what extent and where should this happen in an agile way?

How can projects themselves continuously check whether the intended benefit of the strategic fit is still given?

Overarching:

How can the control processes and data be mapped across the levels so that the essential information is available for control in real time and consistently?

How are any implemented Objectives & Key Results (OKR) of the teams or departments in line with the management of cross-team projects and the overall portfolio management?

Transformation - Skizze

My expertise in relevance to the topic

25 years of experience in project management of complex, company-wide or cross-company projects, from IT and ERP migration and implementation projects in the early years, to M&A and strategy projects and company-wide transformation processes. X-functional, X-business & IT, international, extensive group experience, familiar with the steering needs at all levels, competent in the digital and integrated mapping of the project and portfolio steering view with contemporary platforms and tools.

Collaboration - Skizze
  • Long-term expertise in management and organisational consulting (e.g. PwC, IBM and KPMG) - 10 years application development and implementation SAP, then 8 years management and strategy as well as M&A
  • Management of a cc unit "Strategic Projects" at MLP Finanzberatung
  • Appropriately extensive experience of managing projects​ (simple to X-functional and complex, merger and post-merger, with or without external involvement) and the information and control needs at all levels of an organisation.
  • Extensive expertise with transformation processes in organisations also from a systemic process perspective
  • Almost 10 years of experience with work management platforms - very well suited also and especially for an integrated mapping of the projects into a portfolio view and control - more here
  • Thought Leader and contributor to the next generation of these platforms in the enterprise environment - special expertise and insights into the KanBo platform.

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