Project Prioritisation Using A Strategic Framework

Project Prioritisation Using A Strategic Framework, Understand how Portfolio Management can help you better plan activity in your organisation.

Course Description

Portfolio Management Overview

Is there a mad rush at the start of the financial planning season to allocate budget for next years projects? Despite this mad rush, is there always CAPEX left in the budget simply because there have not been enough approved business cases to spend it? Are there more projects in progress than actually got delivered last year? Do projects actually reflect the strategic intent of the organisation or are they indeed more a reflection of the needs of the person who shouts loudest?

Typically decision making is made in discrete jumps without referencing the longer-term aims of the organisation. Leakage of ideas and projects both in and out of the pipeline can then substantially reduce the potential value created for the organisation.

We take a lifecycle view. We recognise that throughput, from conception of the value proposition to delivery and then retirement, is a key source of credibility for the organisation and Portfolio Management. To manage the leakage of ideas, products and projects both into and out of the roadmap, we reference along the lifecycle the strategic intent of the organisation, to ensure that there is continuous alignment and value generated.

Fundamentally, Portfolio Management has two questions to answer- do we have a balanced portfolio of activity based on ROI and risk, and secondly what activity shall we take to the next stage? We divide this into a lifecycle into five stages that we abbreviate to the “IFPOD” framework:

• Innovate Approach: Driving lessons learnt, failed(!) experiments, successful proof of concepts, validated business models and minimum viable products.
• Feasibility approach:  Reviewing scalable implementation pilots, defining business cases and doing impact assessments.
• Programme Approach: Delivering Products,  Programmes and Projects according to ROI and risk according to information presented in business cases.
• Operational approach: Optimising a return on investment through continuous improvement and managing expectations.
• Decommissioning approach: (Managing technology debt) Assessing whether products or services still deliver value and selecting those services that are candidates for decommissioning, to restart the cycle again.

To enable this lifecycle view we need to implement:

• Governance: Effective executive decision making.
• Demand Management: Marshalling, triaging and prioritising competing requests for resources.

This course is the overview of Portfolio Management and is the first in a series of modules that covers the IFPOD framework. The Overview includes:

• Options management
• High and low risk management
• Decision frame of reference
• Budget allocation
• Balancing the portfolio over a 5 year planning horizon
• Getting started with “Strategy On A Page”
• The modules that complete the rest of the IFPOD framework and enablers are found here: https://bta.news/z7g . Benefits of applying the IFPOD Framework workshop techniques:

The right data to enable executive decisions ROI / Risk.

• Reduce the forecast error in assessing the value and outcomes in business cases through better risk management.
• Enable effective decision making through governance – ask the right questions, provide criteria for assessment and define decision rights.

Accelerate more rewarding products or projects

• Use of the latest proven methods to improve throughput and quickly make decisions
• Create options to choose from rather than first business case “past the post”.

Stop wasteful activity sooner

• Reference Strategic documents in the negotiation and prioritisation of the next tranche of work to be started.
• Review the value realisation of projects to ensure they are meeting the target and decide GO/ NO-GO.

Balance the short-term and the long-term

• Balance your portfolio of activity according to the risk appetite of the Decision Makers
• Ensure the right criteria are being applied in the right context to make effective decisions.
• Create dashboards that help Decision Makers understand the relative position of their portfolio