Category: PPO Tips

As discussed in our first blog post (Part I) on this topic, we’re often asked when the best time is to add projects to PPO. The fact of the matter is that there is no “cut and dried” answer to this question, as it mostly depends on the origin of the project; something that is … Continue reading "When should projects be added to PPO? (Part II)"

Clients often ask us when the best time is to add projects to PPO. Should it be when they are approved? When the initial idea is conceived? When the need or demand for the project is first raised? Or perhaps when the proposal is submitted or approved? To answer this, it is necessary to look … Continue reading "When should projects be added to PPO? (Part I)"

In part one of this five-part series, we will discuss the topic of collaboration, with the aim of supporting project managers and their teams to become more effective in the use of PPO, and thus complete more successful projects. Best Practice #1: Collaboration In order to keep a project moving towards successful completion, project managers, … Continue reading "Top five PPO best practices, part one"

A PPO functionality that’s widely misunderstood (and misused) is the health indicators feature. The health indicators (also referred to as RAG, or red-amber-green indicators) are manually updated by the project manager and used primarily for project status reporting, aimed at measuring progress, identifying the need for corrective action, and for managing stakeholder expectations. If health … Continue reading "Demystifying the PPO health indicators"

Organisations are often baffled when a newly implemented PPM tool does not deliver the expected returns. The blame often falls on the implementation approach, the end-users, inadequate change management processes and, more often than not, the tool itself. However, the one person who can make or break your PPM tool is often over-looked, the system … Continue reading "What makes a good system administrator?"

Many companies continually invest significant amounts of time, resources and capital into projects. However, according to the PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2012 “Driving Success in Challenging Times” report, 36 percent of projects did not meet their original goals and business intent in 2011. A lot of these projects fail to deliver on their objectives, … Continue reading "Has your project management organisation implemented quality assurance?"

Implementing Project Portfolio Management (PPM) software can be challenging with so much to keep track of: stakeholders, alignment, progress, requirements and changes; but this doesn’t have to be the case. Selecting the right PPM software is a big decision for any organisation, and by choosing Project Portfolio Office (PPO) you are already off to a … Continue reading "Myths about implementing PPO"

This is the next posting in our “Simplify PPM” series. The aim of this series is to eradicate the, often unnecessary, over-complication of project portfolio management, providing clear and effective explanations and guidance for our readers. This post explores programme management (sometimes spelt program management) specifically. There are lots of articles about, and definitions of, … Continue reading "Simplify PPM – Program Management"