Executive's Guide to Project Management: Organizational Processes and Practices for Supporting Complex Projects

Chapter 8

Agile Project Portfolio Management Process

Complex projects introduce uncertainty and high risk into the organization. A particular idea and its estimated business value may place it at the top of the priority list today but that is no guarantee that it will be there tomorrow. Priority among complex projects is volatile and can render the best decisions meaningless. In the past you had a hard time killing projects even though it didn't seem like they were going to deliver the originally estimated business value. If you suggested that a particular project be terminated or significantly reduced in scope, it would certainly upset the sponsor who campaigned so vigorously for it. You might be hesitant to put yourself in the position of project killer for fear of repercussions later on. If you were the sponsor and are now recommending termination or scope reduction the client might not be too happy about your decision. Then there is the reaction of other senior management team (SMT) members to your recommendation. They might have good reason to continue with the project. There is a way to resolve this seeming dilemma and that is the topic of this chapter.

To succeed in today's complex business environment requires a very different approach than you might be used to. Every project portfolio reflects an investment strategy and should be viewed from that perspective. Every project in the portfolio is an investment with an expected return on investment (ROI) contribution to the ...