Project Management For Dummies®, UK Edition

Chapter 17

Managing Multiple Projects

In This Chapter

Understanding programmes and portfolios

Looking at the implications for your project of being in a multi-project environment

Seeing how being in a programme can affect your plans

Looking at project interfaces in a multi-project environment

This chapter is a little different to the others in the book because it gives you some information and advice on working with multiple projects. You may find this guidance helpful for two reasons. The first is that if your project is part of a group of projects, then it will affect how you set it up and then run it. The second is to give you some outline guidance if you end up being responsible for a group of projects yourself, rather than just a single one.

Business-based organisations are now more aware of the need for projects and project management. Unfortunately, in the UK at least, this has led to over-excitement in the marketplace over what people can sell to make money out of this increasing interest. After intense interest in some project management qualifications, attention turned to finding the next big catchphrase and money-spinner, and that catchphrase was programmes; and now that many people have become qualified in programme management, attention is increasingly turned to portfolios. Now programme and portfolio management are both important (don’t worry, the terms are explained in this chapter), but you need to be careful to apply the disciplines correctly and intelligently ...