Day #21: Portfolio Management Lifecycle and some extra thoughts

Digging deeper and deeper in the PM world, these weeks we are focusing on Portfolio Management. Associated to it, we talk about lifecycle. The Portfolio Management Lifecycle has three phases (planning, authorizing and monitoring/controlling) according to the PMI, which should be treated as a continuous loop. The processes in the phases are classified into two groups: aligning process group and controlling process group. More information can be found in the recommended course bibliography and in some short and illustrative articles such as this.

However, if we try to find more information about the portfolio management lifecycle, we usually find references to other concepts which use the same words but in different order, such as Product Lifecycle Management. It sounds like a joke or a tongue-twister, but a closer look to the words helps finding the real meaning.

For example, articles like this show the difference between Product Portfolio Management (PPM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Often, these two are believed to be very similar, or integrated. In fact, they share the same goals but they are completely different. Engineers use PLM to control how products are built, and business professionals use PPM to know which products to create and how to make them successful.

So, take-home message for today: it's important to carefully read the concepts in this world!

Day #20: Top 10 Terms Project Managers Use

Looking for something interesting to post on Monday, I kept watching some videos from the same channel, Project Management Videos. Since today is Friday, let's finish the week with another short video that I really enjoyed. Although it is not 100% related to Portfolio Management, there is still another week to talk specifically about that...

So the name of the video couldn't be more appealing: Top 10 Terms Project Managers Use. And, in my opinion, the best part of these videos is that they are all based on the PMI and their body of knowledge. So official!

Have a nice weekend! :)

Day #19: Strategic management techniques applied to Project & Portfolio Management

Following previous posts about research in this field, I share an article today named Advancing project and portfolio management research: Applying strategic management theories. It's a long paper, yet it is good to keep as a future reference, because it contains a thorough summary of portfolio management literature. 

I'll include here the first paragraphs so that you get an idea of what it is about:

"Project Management (PM) research and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) research advance through the use of theories from the strategic management domain and, in turn, the research contributes to the development and strengthening of these theories by providing empirical examples for testing and validation. This paper focuses on a set of theoretical strategic perspectives — the Resource-Based View (RBV), the Dynamic Capability (DC) concept, and the Absorptive Capacity (AC) concept — and their application to PM and PPM research. Through an overview of these strategic management perspectives and their application to PM and PPM research, this paper aims to contribute to the development of this research field by highlighting the challenges and lessons learned, and by providing examples and guidance for future research."

In fact, there is a very nice table before the conclusions where all this approaches are compared in a very compact way. But, if you don't want to go through it now, at least let me focus on the definition of the three concepts mentioned as theoretical strategic perspectives*:

- Resource-Based View (RBV): it's an approach that assumes that resources and capabilities are not uniform accross competing organizations and therefore this heterogeneity is used to explain differences in success rates.

- Dynamic Capabilities (DC): it's an approach that focuses on the organization's ability to build, configure and integrate internal and external capabilities to deal with sudden environmental changes.

- Absorptive Capacity (AC): it's an approach that is based on learning and acquiring knowledge from the external environment, sometimes reinforced by the use of internal strategies.

As you may see, there are endless concepts in the world of  PM!

*All the definitions come from the aforementioned paper.

Day #18: Funny Project, Program and Portfolio Management

One of the most important things when dealing with complex subjects is to be able to explain them in an easy and understandable way. It is even better if it is in a fun way. One good example is the book Portfolio and Programme Management Demystified, by Geoff Reiss and Paul Rayner, where the most relevant concepts of this discipline are explained. One friend recommended it to me and I've been able to take a short look at it. 

Picture from Amazon

The book is written in a much simpler way than the literature from the PMI and it has some fun notes. For example, one of the best sentences from the first chapter is "'Urgent' and 'high-priority' are business speak for 'unplanned'". That reminds me on one sign that I saw at someone's office: "Lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part". Take home message: it is important to learn how to plan!

Day #17: Women & Project Management

Today's post is a bit off-topic, since it doesn't focus on Portfolio Management but on Women in PM. I found a combined interview in Project Management Today to Manon Bradley, Sarah Colemna and Teri Okoro, all of them highly experienced project managers. It may be a bit old, before the #MeToo movement, yet the content is still very interesting and makes us think about the role of women in PM, what is happening now and what comes next. 

Picture from fifteendesign.co.uk

Besides, it is not only about how many women work in project management roles or how to achieve a better equality, but it includes the figures from a report about Diversity and Retention. The numbers are quite striking:

• Just 28% of surveyed project managers said they are happy in their current jobs. 
• 67% of project managers are actively looking for a new job. 
• 55% of project managers seeking a new position report that “finding opportunities that align with their skills and experience” is their greatest challenge. 
• 46% of those seeking new posts believe that the “remuneration levels on offer are too low”. 
• 75% of working projects managers have not received a pay rise above the rate of inflation this year (93% of project managers working in the public sector). 
• 74% of private sector respondents anticipate some level of growth in their current organisation during 2014. 
• 55% of respondent involved in recruiting programme and project managers in 2014 reported that filling roles has been difficult due to a lack of suitable applicants and restrictions on available remuneration.

These results are from 2014, yet they look a bit discouraging. It's one more reason to focus on the education to be a good project manager, and try to get the most out of one's skills. As one of the interviewees says, "There’s a lot more awareness and recognition around project management as a skill and a function and how it can help to move organisations towards where they want to go. It’s no longer just about construction and heavy industry."

Day #16: Portfolio vs Project Management

The topic for this week is slightly different from BRM: we enter into the world of Portfolio Management. As it may sound a bit obscure, I guess it is important to clarify the differences with Project Management from the beginning. Of course, we could always relate to the suggested literature from the PMI, but sometimes it's easier if someone explains it for us. That's why today I'm bringing a video, from projectmanagement.com to learn the basics about Portfolio Management in 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Day #15: Why the secret of success is setting the right goals

We have talked a lot about the difference between deliverable products and benefits, outputs and outcomes. There is a difference between those, yet the common feeling is that we, as a company, team, or person, want to succeed. 

This TED Talk named Why the secret to success is setting the right goals is about how to succeed by choosing right objectives. John Doerr, an Americna investor and venture capitalist, presents a goal-setting system named OKRs which he has been developing and working with since the 80s. OKRs stands for Objective and Key Results, i.e. what we want to be accomplished and how we are going to do it. 

He uses Bono, Google and young entrepreneurs as an example of how objectives should be significant, action-oriented, and inspiring; and what can be achieved when we stick to them. It is an invitation for all of us to set goals not only in our professional lives, but also in the personal sphere. 

Day #14: BRM, ORBIT and Thai cows

I'm bringing to stage today another example of implementation or framework realization of BRM, in this case applied to the dairy mil industry in Thailand. The reason behind using BRM techniques to challenging projects is always the same: it is not enough to measure projects in terms of, for example, successful deployment, yet in terms of gained benefit of having such project working. 

In this paper, ICT benefit realization for dairy farm management: Challenges and future direction, the field is the dairy milk industry in Thailand, which has a very limited database system to satisfy the needs of the authorities. However, a more advanced ICT project would help to transform basic information records into a disease prevention control program, for example, or have an impact in decisions related to feeding or mating. 

The authors propose an "ICT Benefit Realization Framework designed for non-IT users" under the name of ORBIT: Operation of Realizing Benefit in Information Technology. It includes milestones, activities and stakeholders involved in four phases: planning, realization, exploration and evaluation. The first phase, planning, is applied and the results explained, leaving farmers and other people involved ready to start the realization phase. 

The paper is easy to follow, well structured and full of nice and instructive images. Besides, it takes us closer to a new world... no, not BRM, but Thai dairy industry!

Cow from en.wikipedia.org

Day #13: BRM Templates

Today's post will be short and easier to handle than long research papers or complex definitions. When looking for online resources to create benefits realization plans or BRM in general, I came across with Lucidchart , which defines itself as a "visual workspace that combines diagramming, data visualization, and collaboration to accelerate understanding and drive innovation". It is basically an online tool with lots of templates that can be applied to many areas. 

In the case of BRM, they offer a Benefits Dependency Map (BDM), a Benefits Dependency Network (BDN) and a Results Chain (RC) to begin with. They look nice and they are well explained, so I think it is worth taking a look and keeping them at hand. 

Example of diagram from Lucidchart. Image from lucidchart.com 

Day #12: BMR approaches

Sometimes it feels difficult to find proper realizations of BRM frameworks, or at least fully real cases. This is why I found this research paper very interesting: A Benefits Realization Management Building Information Modeling Framework for Asset Owners. It is published by Elsevier and the full article may be accessed for free by institutional sign in through some universities. 

The idea is that business value can be obtained from investing in BIM (Building Information Framework). Since BRM is a process that helps to make sure that expected benefits are achieved, it is applied to this particular case, by implementing the framework. More information can of course be found in the paper itself, 10 pages of great detail, yet one of the most educative figures is Table 1, which I include here:

Approach  [Reference]	Key features
Active Benefits Management (ABM) [22]	• Establishes ABM in the context of business change • Business change needed to address strategy • Relationship between change and benefits
Cranfield Process Model [10]	• Potential benefits are identified, plan devised for their realization,  plan is executed and results reviewed and evaluated • Diagnose why some projects are successful in delivering benefits • Monitoring and feedback
Benefits Realization Approach (BRA) [23]	• Shift from a sole focus on project management to  business program management, disciplined portfolio  management, and governance • Success of BRA depends on measurement, accountability  and proactive change management
Process of Active Benefits Realization [24]	• Process of managing information systems development  through a continuous process of evaluation (i.e. iterative  • Active participation of stakeholders • Direct and continuous focus on benefits
Benefits Management Life Cycle [25]	• Planning alignment between IT and business strategy • Systems analysis • Identifying and managing change • On-going review of benefits
Benefits Realization: Best Practice [26]	• Continuous process that focuses on capabilities and  learning • Process of benefits planning, delivery and review
Benefits Breakdown Hierarchy [20], [27]	• Management and monitoring of benefits during the  initiation and execution • Value path relationship between benefit and project  forms a hierarchical benefits structure • Creation of capabilities to deliver projects
Benefits Realization Management [15]	• Identifying and engaging stakeholder • Establishment of vision and objectives • Management of expectations • Using measures to track performance
Benefits Realization Capability Model	• Capability is enacted through and defined by the  realization of competencies • Competencies are enacted through and define by  practices which are underpinned by knowledge, skills,  experience and behaviors

There you can see several benefits management realization approaches, with their key features and the bibliographical reference, included in the paper of course.

I think this may be quite illustrative about how BRM frameworks can be implemented.

Day #11: BRM and PMI

In the entries posted last week, we were talking about benefits and value in general and Benefits Realization Management (BRM) in particular. Today I would like to talk a bit more about the context of BRM in the PMI, because one of the reasons why some terms become popular is because the PMI invests time and resources in developing a new area of knowledge. 

In this case, Benefits Realization Management or Benefits Management is one of the new ares included in the PMP Exam from January 2016. Prior to that, extensive research was conducted for 2 years, since this is a relatively new discipline not very well understood in many organizations. The idea was to find a correlation between benefits realization maturity on an organization and the success of projects and programs. 

They have also published three Pulse of the Profession reports covering BRM in depth. Besides, they have created some videos like the one shown here to rise the interest in this area.

So, you see, BRM is relatively new, yet it has a great potential. Let's dig more into the framework in following posts!

Information taken from What us Benefits Realization Management (BRM)?

Day #10: Why is Benefit Management so hard to do?

One of the most difficult things of this recently discovered (for me!) world of PM, is the fact that everything is a bit abstract. Maybe it is because my background is engineering, and I need not only information but also real-life examples and application procedures. 

But it seems that I'm not the only one who is afraid of abstraction and who finds difficult to include all the theoretical concepts in the routine. The article Why is Benefit Management so hard to do? goes directly into the core of the problem and it is an interesting reading. It follows yesterday's approach, when I wrote about research regarding how project managers were not as involved as they could in BRM.

So now we have a poll directed to PM with the opening question of this post and here are the answers:

From the original article Why is Benefits Management so hard to do? , projecttimes.com

Fernando Santiago, with over 25 years of PM experience, comments on those answers and uses other PM's testimonies, making the article packed with interesting insights.

But I found interesting that the first and third most popular options, which together represent more than 50%, are about what we discussed yesterday: there is a lack of governance and accountability. Project managers are aware of the importance of benefits management, yet they aren't good at it because they think that it is not in their role. They only think about outcomes, not necessarily about benefits.

This is more technically referred as being focused on the "triple constraint" of PM (more to come in future posts). The term and the idea appeared in yesterday's publication as well, but here it is very well summarized in words of Calum Robertson, Principal Portfolio Analyst at Auckland Council: "Change in culture from thinking about projectts to thinking about investments. Projects are expected to be completed 'on time, on budget', but investments are expected to yield a return". 

I guess the key concept of the week is that BRM is important, their enablers such as adequate governance or tracking are crucial (remember the Bridge to Nowhere!) and PM should be fully involved, even when it implies a small twist in their mindset. 

Day #9: Project managers in BRM

Sometimes it may be difficult to link different concepts developed in the courses, or to see the bigger picture. For example, in the last days we have been talking about benefits, value and Benefits Realization Management (BRM). But how can it be directly connected to real life examples? That's is why I'm sharing this research article, The role of project manager in benefits realization management as a project constraint/driver.

On one hand, it is a good example of research in the field of project management. On the other hand, it helps to connect different aspects: PM and BRM.

Image from codeburst.io

The topic covered is very interesting: expected benefits are main drivers beyond projects (and programs and portfolios, of course), yet many project managers focus more on outputs (deliverables) than in outcomes (benefits). That may be explained mostly because they think that is not their role.

The paper then presents a survey to evaluate the implementation level of BMR actions comparing project level and higher levels. Then, it proposes a role of the project manager in benefits management, and suggests examples as a practical tool for implementation.

Besides, I really like that the BRM process introduced is compatible with the processes described in the PMI body of knowledge. In this way, the concepts learned during the first week of the course are reinforced. 

In summary, advisable reading in case you want to give a bit more context to the reading guide of this week. 

Day #8: Bridge to Nowhere

One of the most important aspects in Benefit Realization Management (BRM) is to have metrics that allow to track and monitor the benefits. I guess you all can think about projects that didn't have right metrics, usually those where you think: "Wow, did they really think about this?". The first ones that come to my mind are related to underused airports in areas in Spain with very low population rates. Spain has more airports than Germany (59 vs 50), even when our population is just half.

Anyway, my intention wasn't to complain about airports but to mention an example of poor BRM that I have found and which apparently is very famous: the Bridge to Nowhere. 

Let me explain the basic information. Its real name is the Gravina Island Bridge, since it was intended to connect the city of Ketchikan (Alaska 9000 inhabitants) with Gravina Island, where 50 people live. and an international airport is located (seriously, this post isn't about airports). The original transport between those points was made by a ferry service, yet some Ketchikan residents complained about the waiting time and the car fee. That's the reason why a project was proposed in 2008, with challenging technical specifications. A bridge taller than the Brooklyn Bridge and as long as the Golden Gate was about to be built, with an estimated cost of $398 million.

Ketchikan and Gravina Island map. from taxpayer.net

The project was backed by an Alaska congressman and senator, who were seeking for government resources and support. The bridge was never built, yet it was considered for several years, before it was cancelled in 2015. The decision was to invest a tiny part of the huge bridge budget in improving the existing ferry service. Happy ending, isn't it?

The project was a clear example of mismanagement of public resources and wasteful government spending. But also, from our BRM perspective, it is clear that the cost-benefit (value!) analysis was never performed, or taken into consideration. For organizations, the outcomes of a project should turn into benefits, and those into value. Here, the saddest part is that several years were needed until basic evaluation and corrective action (Stop the bridge!) were taken. 

So, you know, if you plan to travel to Ketchikan soon, remember that (fortunately!) you will have to take a boat.

Sources:

Benefits Realization - Metrics & Monitoring

Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement on Government: Systems and Structures

Day #7: Adding value to your company

Value is a very polysemic word. Companies have core values, products have some value... and employees can add value. Actually, that is one of the most common questions asked in work interviews: "Why should we hire you?", "What can you bring to the company?". 

Picture from forbes.com

The most valuable asset for companies are the employees. Businesses succeed because companies try to find, hire and keep the best person for a certain role: someone talented which will add value to the organization. 

Sometimes you have an answer ready for the "value-question" in the job interview, but once you start working it is difficult to find your own way to create and add value, especially if your tasks are boring or repetitive, or even worse, they are not very clear. However, there are always ways: showing initiative, being good at teamwork or keeping your skills up to date. 

One can read that this "adding-value-stuff" is about collecting merits for career advancement or promotion, but I believe that it is much more important than that. It is about feeling that you are doing your best and you have a sense of commitment with a project, your work in this case. 

Anyway, for further reading about this topic:

How to Add Value to Your Company & Contribute to Your Team
5 Reasons Why (and How) to Add Value to Your Employer
Fifteen Ways to Show Your Value at Work

Day #6: The business benefits of doing good

I have run into this Ted Talk, given by Wendy Woods, a social impact strategist, Senior Partner of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The title is very enlightening: The business benefits of doing good.

In the talk, Wendy explains how the idea of Total Societal Impact (TSI) has gone way beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The idea is that business work, done with innovation, can actually create core business benefits for companies and solve meaningful problems in the world today. As a result, TSI must be combined with TSR (Total Shareholder Returns) as important drivers of corporate strategy and decision-making. 

Then, she shows some data and gives some examples about how the value and margins of companies which actively care about TSI increase, like banks, pharmaceutical or coffee suppliers. 

I think it is a very interesting topic, since it gives a new dimension to the idea of benefits. One could think that doing good is not the most profitable activity, but this TED Talk shows the opposite. Besides, Wendy is right when suggesting that NGOs and charities are not enough to solve the most crucial problems in the world. Companies and investors are needed, and if their presence creates tangible economic benefits, then we will be sure that they won't leave. 

Wendy Woods at the TED Talk. Image from ted.com