Manage Your Project Portfolio, 2nd Edition

Make Decisions as Late as Possible

Maybe you’ve decided you’ll try this portfolio management business. But you need to fund some projects now to see what they can deliver.

One of the lean principles is to defer commitment to a project until the last responsible moment. The problem is, with software projects and with software/hardware combination projects, you might need to fund prototypes or some early development until you know just what the project will be able to deliver.

That’s OK—both to wait until the last possible moment and to fund some of the project and then decide what to do, as long as you decide what to do and know how you’ll decide to keep going or stop. That decision making will differ based on where you are in the organization ...