Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting

Paper Info
Page count 2
Word count 662
Read time 3 min
Subject Business
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

Introduction

Project portfolio management is a complex issue that includes planning on various organizational levels. Literature suggests that there is a link between factors used for controlling project portfolios and successful outcomes. The article “Project Portfolio Control and Portfolio Management Performance” (R. Muller, M. Martinsuo, T. Blomquist) covers the topic of the relation between several methods of portfolio control and management performance with particular attention to context, in which the covered processes take place.

Summary

The authors of the research set a goal to determine the ways in which project portfolios are controlled, and whether they affect the management performance regarding different context situations. They note that previous studies do not have such a detailed approach, and the existing literature offers theories for further analysis. The article focuses specifically on three control factors: selection, reporting, and making decisions; the areas of performance include achieving results and purpose.

The type of governance is identified as one of the most important context factors in the article. The authors specify four types based on the correlation between resources and objectives, naming portfolio or program driven, multi-project, and hybrid organizations. The literature review has an opinion that hybrid organizations show better performance than the other three types.

The results support the authors’ hypothesis, stating that the proper way of selection and reporting are the key elements of increasing performance. However, the factor of decision-making appears to have less effect on the outcomes. The authors conclude that these two factors of controlling project portfolios are universal and should be applied whereas companies seek to improve their business results.

Finally, the type of governance is named the single factor that appears to influence management performance with hybrid organizations being the most successful. Other elements like project type, dynamics, the geographical position of a company, or industry sector do not seem to play a significant role in this process. Moreover, the authors conclude that there is a correlation between control factors and management performance: particularly, reporting affects results, and selection influences achieving a purpose.

New Concepts

The first thing discovered after reading the article is that all company’s projects must be reviewed in a complex as a system. Focusing on each project individually may lead to a more chaotic reporting, which can cause bad results. A complex review helps in determining what resources should be invested in each field, and what purpose is essential for each matter.

The second idea that has been carried out is that the contexts of industry and geographical position do not matter much for successful portfolio management. It is rather surprising, but managing projects in different countries and economic sectors is based on the same success factors. It brings up the third learned concept: every project must follow a company’s strategy developed for all other plans.

The fourth concept is about the importance of communication. Reporting directly affects results, and a company must ensure that information reaches every management level. Concentrating all plans and data within a group working on a single project is a wrong path to take, as it may cause difficulties in aligning the whole portfolio to a set corporate strategy and finding proper resources for its implementation.

Finally, the fifth idea coming from the article is that every model has exceptions, and the discussed scheme of relations has a difference in North America. This region seems to be the only place, where portfolio selection influences result instead of purpose. It shows the same relation model as hybrid-organized companies or businesses with low internal dynamics, which required further research.

Conclusion

Project portfolio control is related to performance on several levels. The two essential success factors are the processes of selection and reporting. The first one does not focus only on allocating proper resources for each project but addresses other planning elements to fit into a corporate strategy, while the latter illustrates the power of information that is communicated promptly to every manager that is responsible for project control on various levels.

Cite this paper

Reference

EduRaven. (2022, January 20). Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting. Retrieved from https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/

Reference

EduRaven. (2022, January 20). Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/

Work Cited

"Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." EduRaven, 20 Jan. 2022, eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.

References

EduRaven. (2022) 'Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting'. 20 January.

References

EduRaven. 2022. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.

1. EduRaven. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.

References

EduRaven. 2022. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.

1. EduRaven. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Project Portfolio Management: Processes of Selection and Reporting." January 20, 2022. https://eduraven.com/project-portfolio-management-processes-of-selection-and-reporting/.