Through repetition, successes, and errors, as well as guidance from the Project Management Institute (PMI), my hypothesis was proven accurate. At the time, I was checking the boxes and reaping the rewards. Yet, not every Project Manager saw the same success. Was I that much better at managing projects than my peers? Or was something in the system hindering them from realizing success?

The Ecosystem of Project and Portfolio Management

Not until I moved into consulting (and began holistically working with organizations of all shapes and sizes) did I conclude that the approach of managing projects was not as singularly focused as I once thought. Rather, there is a much more complex “ecosystem” in which project managers operate.

In 2026, this ecosystem is the key to truly effective project management, and truly effective project management is a key input to the ecosystem. Although many organizations understand this concept, they often struggle to materialize its value in an increasingly automated and data-driven landscape.

PPM Defined

Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) is the foundation of the project management ecosystem. According to the PMI Community, “Project Portfolio Management is the centralized management of one or more portfolios, and involves identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs, and other related work, to achieve specific strategic business objectives.”

PPM is not a new concept, but it has blossomed alongside the rise of shared service centers like the Program Management Office (PMO) and the ongoing shift of transforming IT organizations from cost centers into value centers.

The PPM Hierarchy 

At TSI, I’ve helped organizations understand their current state of PPM capabilities and evolve using our PPM Maturity Hierarchy. Whether an organization currently sits at Level 1 or Level 3, the goal is to evolve toward Level 4 Optimization and beyond to stay competitive.

Level 1 – Infancy: Organizations in the Infancy stage manage projects reactively, focusing only on individual execution. Leadership often scrambles to stay on top of daily demands. Work is captured project-by-project with little transparency into synergies or risks. In 2026, this lack of visibility often leads to significant “technical debt” and wasted resources.

Level 2 – Emerging Discipline: This stage replaces isolated decision-making with the identification of the best collection of projects. Organizations at this stage successfully prioritize and align projects with their 2026 strategic initiatives.

Level 3 – Initial Integration/Value Management: At this stage, organizations introduce technology, models, and tools to quantify the value derived from projects. This allows them to identify which initiatives in the pipeline provide the most “bang for your buck.” Proactive, standardized PPM enables value-driven decision-making.

Level 4 – Optimization: Here, the focus shifts to maturing PPM capabilities through optimized processes, analytics, and quantitative metrics. In 2026, this often includes leveraging automated data flows to improve value creation in real-time.

Level 5 – Innovation: At this most advanced stage, PPM has full buy-in from executive leadership. It is a core competency that utilizes best practices. The organization is focused on continuous innovation, ensuring they are not just “doing things right,” but “doing the right things” as the market shifts.

Is your organization looking to take the next step in Project and Portfolio Management?  Do you have questions on where to get started? If you’d like to brainstorm with one of TSI’s consultants, or have any questions on how we help organizations similar to yours, feel free to reach out to me directly at dfeely@transforming.com. You can also visit our website at transforming.com for more information.

The post Project and Portfolio Management – The Evolution appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Lo and behold, through repetition, successes and errors, as well as my good friends at the Project Management Institute (PMI), my hypothesis was proven to be accurate.  At the time, I was checking the boxes and reaping the reward as a Project Manager.  Yet, not every Project Manager saw the same success.  Was I that much better at managing projects than my peers?  Or was something in the system hindering them from realizing success?

The Ecosystem of Project and Portfolio Management

Not until I moved into consulting (and began holistically working with organizations of all shapes and sizes), did I conclude the approach of managing projects was not as singularly focused as I once thought.  Rather, there is a much more complex “ecosystem” in which project managers operate.  This ecosystem is the key to truly effective project management, and truly effective project management is a key input to the ecosystem. Although many organizations are beginning to understand this concept, those same organizations are struggling to materialize its value.

PPM Defined

Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) is the foundation of the project management ecosystem.  According to the PMI Community, “Project Portfolio Management is the centralized management of one or more portfolios, and involves identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs, and other related work, to achieve specific strategic business objectives.”  Conceptually, PPM is no new concept.  It has been around for years, but has especially blossomed alongside shared service centers like the Program Management Office and the recent trends of transforming IT organizations from cost centers to value centers.

The PPM Hierarchy 

At TSI, I’ve helped organizations understand its current state of PPM capabilities and
evolve using our PPM Maturity Hierarchy.  Beginning at the Level 1 “Infancy” stage (or whichever stage an organization currently sits), the objectives is to evolve the organization’s PPM capabilities to a Level 4 Optimization stage and beyond.

Level 1 – Infancy:  Organizations within the Infancy stage tend to manage projects in a reactive manner, singularly focusing on the execution of individual projects.  The organization often scrambles to stay on top of daily demands.  Work is captured on a project by project basis with little to no transparency of synergies and risks between projects. Project financials and risk is not monitored closely.

Level 2 – Emerging Discipline:  The Emerging Discipline stage replaces project by project decision making with identification of the best collection of projects. Organizations at this stage are successfully prioritize and align projects with strategic initiatives.

Level 3 – Initial Integration/Value Management:  Within the Initial Integration/Value Management stage, organizations are introducing technology, models and tools to quantify the value derived from projects.   This allows organizations to identify projects within the pipeline that provide the most “bang for your buck”.  Proactive, standardized PPM enables value driven decision making.

Level 4 – Optimization:  Once the Optimization stage is reached, the focus of an organization moves to maturing the PPM capabilities.  This involves a focus on optimizing process, analytics, quantitative metrics and improving value creation.

Level 5 – Innovation:  At the most advanced stage of PPM maturity, Innovation, PPM has full buy-in from executive leadership.  It is now a core competency of the organization that utilizes best practices and processes. The organization is now focusing its attention innovation and continuous improvement.

Is your organization looking to take the next step in Project and Portfolio Management?  Do you have questions on where to get started? If you’d like to brainstorm with one of TSI’s consultants, or have any questions on how we help organizations similar to yours, feel free to reach out to me directly at dfeely@transforming.com. You can also visit our website at transforming.com for more information.

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“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value”

As a global practice, project delivery is rife with methods, practices, templates, and training courses.  At Transforming Solutions, we also have a framework for effectively delivering on projects. However, we understand that in the end, it is not about the framework, the certification, or the method of delivery. It is all about providing value.

Several years ago I was privileged to contribute to Dr. Harold Kerzner’s Project Management Best Practices book. Kerzner, professor, and Senior Executive Director at International Institute for Learning (IIL), developed some key thoughts on delivering value. Kerzner has written, spoken, and blogged on numerous topics, including delivering value. I found these seven to be revealing.

I’ve adapted the list from Dr. Kerzner:

1. It does not matter how well or how poorly a project is executed if you are working on the wrong project

Seems like common sense, right? Yet, we see many organizations work on the wrong project or work on a project that their organization is not yet ready for. In an effort to help combat this, we offer approaches for project prioritization and selection. In addition, we can help your organization understand if it is ready for change.

2. Being on time and on budget does not necessarily equate to success

Imagine, you’ve completed your project. You came in on time AND on budget. That is the definition of a successful project, right? Not necessarily. Successful projects should be measured on the value they provide to your organization. Have you aligned to all your stakeholders’ needs? Were all the appropriate requirements delivered? Is the organization set up and prepared for ongoing management of the post-initiative delivery (i.e., are supporting organizations ready to stand up and deliver once the project team goes away)? These, and a host of other questions, should be considered before claiming success.

3. Completing a project within the triple constraint does not guarantee business value.

Related to number two above, what is the end-state the initiative was designed to create? You may have managed well inside the lines of the triple constraint, putting in a new student registration system. However, if students are challenged using the new system and administrative staff cannot get the information they need out of the tool, you are not ready to celebrate yet. The end-state after all was not to “put in a new system,” but more closely aligned with to “enable student registration to be more complete, seamless, and accurate”.

4. Having mature PM practices does not assure business value will be there at the end of the project

Unfortunately, I have worked for too many organizations that invested in very heavy project management processes; however, they are still unable to deliver. One IT organization created a checklist of 140 required project management deliverables. This heavy-handed control culture did not add value to delivery. In fact, quite the opposite. Project managers were so consumed with completing administrative tasks that they had little time to focus on the outcome of the product deliverables.

5. “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” – Warren Buffet

To paraphrase Mr. Buffet, the project cost is simply the price that you end up paying. The value, on the other hand, is what your organization ends up getting from the successful completion of the project. Do you have a measure for the value of your projects, beyond the cost you paid or the savings you realize?

6. Value is what your customer perceives is worth paying for.

The value of expense is often calculated by doing a cost-benefit analysis. Sometimes value is left out of the equation when one seeks to find the cheapest solution. Before starting an initiative, work to make sure you understand what your constituents are willing to pay and why. A project manager should remember that value is a perception of one’s stakeholders, not how well they think we are doing.

7. Success is when value is achieved

Wrapping it up, one is not done until a value is realized. And, that value is recognized by the stakeholders (not the implementation team). If one attains the nirvana state of delivering value, then it is time to take a moment, celebrate your team, and get ready for your next trial. Since you’ve demonstrated success, folks are bound to come and ask you to replicate it.

At TSI we are always focused on delivering something of value. Remember Einstein’s words above and strive to be valuable. TSI wants to enable and support your success and we are ready to partner with you to deliver the value you need.

Contact us to learn more about getting value from your delivery initiatives.

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Track, Understand and Manage Project Risks Before the Squeak Begins

This is proactive project management. One does not need a week-long course in project risk management to identify and plan mitigation for project risks. Grab the threats by the horns, determine if you can avoid them, plan for mitigation/remediation if you cannot. If you wait for a squeaky wheel your risk has already become an issue. Use a Risk Log to keep yourself organized.

Provide Regular Status Updates, Conduct Peer Reviews, and Engage in Milestone Checkpoints

It is key that you – and your key project constituents – understand the health of your initiative. Tracking status that is forward-looking is an excellent proactive practice that helps you and your stakeholders. Peer reviews ensure that your blinders come off and you are made aware of alternatives, issues lurking around the corner, or areas outside your expertise. Engaging sponsors in milestone checkpoints ensures that they are up to date on where you are at and are aligned on what it will take to move forward.

Assess a Holistic Portfolio of Business Initiatives and Prioritize the List Across User Groups

If you examine your portfolio in segments or as projects come in one by one, you may be setting yourself up for unnecessary project stops and starts. And, if leaders try to commit to delivering all initiatives that are labeled urgent, the organization may sub-optimize the assignment of scarce resources. Leverage a whole-portfolio assessment method that can objectively provide your decision leaders with appropriate information to prioritize.

Flexibly Adhere to an Established Governance Model That Ensures Phase Deliverables are Complete

Project life cycles vary and depend on the type of project. Establish a framework and leverage it accordingly for the type of project you are doing. Do not abandon your framework and miss key hand-offs, decision points, or phase gates. Flexibly applying your rigorous model will proactively enable you to meet the needs of each project.

Manage Expectations Proactively

Tell your stakeholders what you are going to do. Drive for alignment. Be open to course corrections. Share news, both good and bad. Keep the appropriate people up to date. That is being proactive. 

If you keep the worrisome things in the shadows, which then turn to issues, your sponsors and key stakeholders may not appreciate your management by damage control approach.

Proactive Impact Management

Stay on top of action items and issues. Know when each was raised, by whom, and by when they should be completed or resolved. Losing track of these key data points may have you back on your heels when someone comes to seek clarification. Stay out of crisis management mode and be forthright by recognizing issues and steps that may not have been in your original plan. Manage them effectively and you can be your project’s hero.

In conclusion, this is not an exhaustive list of proactive ways to manage your projects. However, this list is a good place to start if you are feeling lost.

Want to know more ways to proactively manage your projects and programs? Let’s connect!

Schedule a meeting with Carl Manello or connect with him on LinkedIn to learn more.

The post 6 Steps to Proactively Manage Your Projects + Programs appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Don’t reinvent the wheel, just realign it.

–  Anthony J. D’Angelo, founder of Collegiate Empowerment

In the face of challenging project delivery, and the critical need to grow, evolve, and improve, practitioners do not always know where to turn to improve their capabilities and processes. Lacking other guidance, some organizations try to achieve an improvement approach through internal consensus building. This is certainly a method that encourages everyone to get along; however, it is not always the best way to move forward.

Well-meaning leaders may assemble teams of participants who may lack relevant experience or insight. In an effort to make up for the lack of background and knowledge, an organization may engage in extensive research or waste critical time trying to ‘figure it out’ on their own. Sometimes that research may include reaching out into the ether of the internet and utilizing downloadable, generic templates and processes.

Watch Out for Generic Process Templates

Unfortunately, these downloadable, generic templates will not help the situation. Inventing an answer through consensus will not make the cut either. So, what is the answer? At Transforming Solutions, we are in favor of leveraging proven processes and methods. Our proven practices have been successfully leveraged repeatedly. We believe this proves them valuable.

Processes and methods must have repeatedly worked in a variety of situations – this makes them proven practices. To be sure, practices should be tailored to fit an organization’s purpose. Aligning or tailoring these practices is key. However, the tailoring exercise should be more than rearranging the steps, changing out corporate logos, and swapping the order of stoplights on a status report. The process of tailoring requires insight, experience, and even battle scars.

If it Isn’t Broke, Don’t Reinvent it

Here is an example of an organization that chose to invent a process and was unsuccessful:

A multi-year, multi-tens-of-millions of dollar program needed to track budget and schedule. Instead of using proven cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI) methods, the program team invented their own versions of these global standardized mathematical equations. This was analogous to saying “Einstein’s equation of relativity doesn’t work for us, so we’ll make our own version”. 

The project schedule was laid out in immense detail but was poorly managed and provided a false sense of security. Backing a plan into the desired result of the designed math was difficult. On top of this, the plan did not provide easy-to-understand insights to progress. Due to the poor design of the schedule and the ‘invented algorithms’, the program team regularly spent several ‘man-weeks’ per month generating revised cost and schedule numbers. The reporting was done even though it was relatively well understood that the numbers did not represent the real state of program progress. The invention of non-proven tracking methods impaired the project.

Did They Do it on Purpose?

You may wonder why an organization would choose to use tracking methods that required them to reinvent the process (rather than realign it), especially when they were falling behind and overspending. Finding the true issue in the schedule and budget was made more challenging by the customized math. As a result of this similar-but-different approach to tracking status and cost, the true reality of the program was hidden. This makes one wonder: was this creation of alternative methods done on purpose? The entire management team was aligned to the ‘invented’ approach. Groupthink had already done its damage. Against coaching from consultants, including yours truly, several finance analysts, and some vendor partners, the management team exemplified an emperor with no clothes situation. Sure, it ended up gaining the company more money, but it was as if they were purposely hiding the truth.

After more than a year of reporting status in an artificial way, the management team still did not fully understand what was needed to complete the large-scale effort. This was the case despite the abundance of resource function graphs, risk logs, engineering drawings, and project critical path representations generated every month. For this program, a lack of good methods and a lack of transparency impacted effectiveness.

Tailor it “Fit-for-Purpose“

Proven templates, processes, and methods should be leveraged and customized to meet your needs. When leveraging standardized templates, it is crucial that you work on customization with someone that has experience. Engaging experts will help assure that you do not leave out key data points. Experts understand which data is the most impactful. Great design celebrates the marriage of form and function. Think about the value of a status report with proper health metrics. Consider an issue log’s value with appropriate aging data, and assess a risk log with line-item currency valuation of risk. Reinventing does not always prove useful. Why invest the time, money, and cycles of trials to reinvent a process that already works well? Instead, follow Mr. D’Angelo’s adage and realign (rather than reinvent) the wheel.

Mature Your Organization’s Capabilities

If you are looking to mature your capabilities and do not want to waste cycles reinventing, TSI can help you by sharing proven practices for effective delivery, organizational change management, business process improvement, and technology assessments. We will work with you to align our proven practices to your needs, your environment, and your culture. Drop us a line and let’s work together to align a wheel for you.

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#1 – Hire a Consultant With Similar Values

This may feel obvious, but you want to be sure you are working with a consultancy with similar values to you and your organization. At TSI, we consider this the forgotten dimension of hiring a consultant.

Here are two quick questions for you to find out how compatible you are: how do your organizational values match up with the values of the consulting firm? How does the firm demonstrate its values?

Organizations that miss this evaluation process component risk poorly completed projects. In turn, poorly completed projects lead to an increased risk of projects not completing on time, on budget, or without error.

As a result, organizations end up spending more money to complete projects or fix errors, ending up over time and over budget.

Hiring a consultant who has similar values to your organization helps to assure that your projects are completed well and are cohesive with your current values.

#2 – Take Control of the Conversation

In the past, we have heard from more than a few clients that past consultants have come into their organizations and dominated the conversation around solution design. As a result, the consultants fail to take client feedback and insight into account. This resulted in the client’s team (in your case, you) feeling like their solution was pushed upon them. This is as opposed to the solution being developed with them.

So what happens next? The client puts the prior consultants’ findings on a shelf. They then will not look at the findings unless prompted to do so. As a result, the solution is not fully implemented.

And what does that mean? You guessed it. Time and money are wasted.

Hiring a consultant who includes you in the conversation around solution design helps to assure that you felt it was created specifically for your organization, instead of neglecting to use a solution that was pushed on your team.

#3 – Read the Reviews When Hiring a Consultant

Raise your hand if you always read the reviews before purchasing a product or service…just me?

Although you can find some people who simply want to blow off some steam on the internet, many reviews are quite helpful! They offer information around details that the maker or organization may have not known to include. They also testify to how valuable the product truly is.

So when it comes to hiring a consultant or utilizing their services to ultimately save time and money, reviews serve the same purpose.

When reading the reviews of a consultancy, there are a couple things to look for.

1. Collaboration with The Consultancy

As we discussed in point #2, YOU need to be able to take control of the conversation. If there is not a sense of collaboration and understanding, your project will not be successful.

TSI worked with us to complete a strategic technology assessment, which included the difficult task of coordinating and articulating our vision and strategy for new technology.

– Sara Barr, The University of Chicago

2. Mention of Time or Money Saved

Let’s cut to the chase. You just want to know if you can save time and money with a consultant. The best way to find out is to see how the consultancy you’re exploring has saved other organizations time or money.

Dan and the team engaged, were sensitive to how they approached our teams, and were tough-minded with my leadership team and me around ways we could deliver more effective service at a lower cost.

– Mike Orscheln • Former CEO, Phonak Hearing Systems USA

Every time they were on/under-budgeted timeline and costs. They were professional, hardworking, completely objective, and helped us in ways that I did not originally anticipate. I would highly recommend them.

– J. Brodsky, High Growth Telecommunications Company

Discover More Ways a Consultant Can Collaborate With Your Team

There are other factors that go into hiring a consultant to work with your team, but these 3 points are a great way to assure that how you are doing it aligns with your organization, as well as saves you time and money.

As your organization brainstorms its next project, discover 7 additional things to consider in the process. These 7 considerations help you further understand the timeline and develop expectations.

The post How to Waste Less Time and Money With a Consultant appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

The use of a strong-performance brand causes participants to feel better about themselves when undertaking a task…

When companies are trying to improve their processes and do not have much experience in the areas of delivery effectiveness, they potentially face a need to spend more money on a big brand name consultancy than is needed. At TSI, we see this once in a while when a potential client may select one of the bigger national management consulting firms.

Sometimes, client organizations do not select us because the bigger consulting firms simply are the “bigger consulting firms;” they have a more widely known and established brand. Hiring a national name brand can be important to clients. However, it can often be a disadvantage to them as well. This is because the big guys often cost significantly more, may not assign a seasoned consultant to the work, or may not have a specific “fix” for a client’s need.

Brand Names & The Placebo Effect

Several years ago, Shankar Vedatam, social science correspondent on NPR, did a story relating to the research of the placebo effect on consumer purchases. The story focused on the perception that big brand name products (e.g., Nike golf clubs) provide better results.

The report hit home for me with the following quote:

The effect is strongest among people who are novices in their respective task. Experts, really receive little or no boost due to the performance brand.

The Value in a Niche Brand

Take caution and beware as you move along the maturity path for your PMO, portfolio management, or program governance capabilities. Are you convinced in your path because the best solution is being put forward? Or because you are talking with a well-known, brand-name consultancy? Analogous to the study about golfing, in many situations, there is little real advantage in leveraging a more recognizable brand. And in many situations, there is a disadvantage to pursue the illusion of a “national brand” if the project team is less experienced than what is needed.

Instead, the key is a sound solution, a clear vision and roadmap for delivery, an experienced implementation team, and a measured way forward.

If your organization is a novice, or just not yet an expert in delivery, consider your needs, possible solutions, and the value you hope to realize. Do not be swayed by the placebo effect. There is value in the niche solution providers as well. I cannot promise a hole-in-one, but I can promise to reduce your anxiety on the fairway and help you improve your game. TSI has been around for more than 25 years; our consultants are seasoned experts, and we have the specific ‘fix’ for your need across a variety of service offerings.

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“All the News That’s Fit to Print”: slogan for The New York Times

Status reports and meetings are killing our project teams. Whether it is a ‘crazy Tuesday’ – an entire day consumed by status reports and review updates – or an on-the-spot visit from parent company management, which drives the operational team into a half-day meeting to prepare status, we seem to have lost the meaning inherent in “status”.

The Reality of a Status Report

A status update cannot take the place of day-to-day management. Do not use reports to fill in the holes of missed information. For those who cannot run a project, but want to steer it, status is no substitute. When those who ‘need to know’ want an update of activities, they should not simply ask for a status report.

Okay, let me back off that a wee bit. Management is management. They can ask for whatever they want. However, they should understand the impact of their ask on the delivery teams.

Status, like the New York Times motto, is about printing the news that is fit to print. It is not about printing all the news that fits (herein I could site an example of a 160(!) page ‘status update’ created for the US Department of Defense). I understand that management cannot be in each project’s operational meetings. Leaders have a business to run. I believe that management must find a way to become more engaged (if that is what they want) rather than to ask for multiple status reports or review sessions per month.

For example, it seems a bit taxing on those delivering initiatives to be required to prepare and speak to four weekly status updates, one monthly update, and one quarterly status update all in the same month. That is six status reports in four weeks! If management understood that it took multiple days of effort from several people to create those reports, they might loosen the requirement to save time.

So, you say, how could it possibly take multiple days to create a status deck?

Well, here are some reasons:

1. The requested information is so detailed that it requires creating new methods to share data, that otherwise would not be needed by the operational delivery team.
2. Systems for generating status updates are either incomplete, held together by baling wire, or include multiple manual workarounds. What appears to be a simple management request (for example, “show me your burndown chart”), ends up being a ‘make work’ exercise…each week!
3. Formats and requested content change week-by-week and month-by-month. When a new management player is added to the mix, they may request a new view of the data (see #2 and repeat)
4. The concept of ‘as of date’ is lost. So, the report ‘as of’ Friday is reviewed, edited, and commented on Tuesday. It is believed that for status to be routed through the organization it needs to be made current. Tuesday then becomes the update day for the deck created on Friday, and so on…

When there is a lack of trust between those doing the work and those receiving the information, status updates become way too detailed and way too time-consuming (and that means extra money being spent on non-value-added work). In some cases, the project team must engage extra resources just to keep up with the reporting requests. If management can learn to trust their team, status reporting can return to summary-level information.

The Devil is in Too Much Detail

Furthermore, when status decks include an overabundance of detail (crammed into tiny fonts to meet the one-page requirement) one might begin to worry. Have we lost the forest for the trees? We see each tree, branch, and leaf in such detail. As a result, we may lose sight of the forest (the overall initiative). Be cautious of preparing status that seeks to represent everything that everyone is doing all the time. It is okay to provide a summary or overview. (Note: some projects may be so far in the red that they require remedial help. Multiple status reviews, however, are NOT the answer.)

Status should provide a point-in-time view of where an initiative is at. It should not be used to replace the operational delivery of the initiative. If the status is used for the latter, it would be more time and cost-effective to replace the project team with one that is trusted.

If you are looking for more operationally effective ways to deliver status, we’d love to connect!

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Program Management Life Cycle (PMLC) processes should not be created for the sake of having more processes. Even if the processes are sometimes authored by the overly academic and may miss their mark by adding cumbersome overhead, the intent of PMLC governance should not be lost. There is an ongoing need for companies to safeguard their initiatives. Efficient and effective processes can be a foundation that ensures delivery.

The time has come when we must have some priorities with respect to the way we are allocating our steadily decreasing resources…  – Senator William Stuart Symington (United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976)

Don’t miss the ongoing review

Many companies that I have counseled have had detailed portfolio selection processes for identifying and launching projects. However, once initiated, few had anything from an oversight and control standpoint. This oversight would ensure that projects maintained their health, followed the right course, and delivered the value that was promised at inception. These mistakes crystalize in the form of projects that are over budget, past due, or not aligned to customer needs. The approach of launching a project with a blank checkbook that won’t be reconciled until post-implementation should be disagreeable to the most casual observer of project management. Ongoing reviews and reconciliations are warranted.

The need for ongoing reviews came into sharper focus in the economic downturn in 2008. Companies concentrated and overcame some of their delivery challenges.  The Economy is once again in recovery mode, and many signs are seen to be pointing to economic re-opening and healing post-Covid. However, that does not mean we should loosen our belts or ignore good advice. To paraphrase Professor Vicki Smith-Daniels of Arizona State University (who was quoted in PM Network magazine regarding the 2008 recession), corporations need to measure project performance while a project is underway, not just at the end.

The academic concept is easy: regularly review the state of a program or project. If a project cannot maintain its benefits, schedule, or overall cost basis, there should be a formalized way for the governing body to intervene. The operational implementation should be a gated process that releases incremental funds throughout the project’s life. Without such controls, companies run the risk of sinking additional effort and money into initiatives that have no hope of delivering against their plans. Worse yet, without interim checkpoints, a company may not realize its error until too late.

What can you do to optimize your processes?

Is your team, department, or company using a gated program management life cycle process? Do they have the framework in place to determine how healthy their initiatives are? Are the leading indicators in place to help predict what will happen further down the line? I work with my clients to put “detective controls” in place to help guarantee the value of a project. I help clients implement “preventative controls” that help to minimize downside risk.  My past lives include IT Auditor where the language of “controls” was part of the vernacular. I make no mistake that project managers are not auditors; however, the language of controls and the value offered with project management processes can enable an organization to deliver better, more, and faster.

Senator Symington was addressing the potential destruction of the economy of the United States if there were not a prudent prioritization of resources. Without prioritization of resources, larger projects can have a big impact if they fail. But no matter the size, any failure that can be prevented is a victory! Put governance processes in place and ensure that you too are managing the scarce resources of your organization.

The post Proven Processes For Your Organization’s Current Project appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

As the world is changing and evolving, organizations are always looking for ways to get more value out of their strategic and tactical initiatives. This aligns with the way TSI views delivery teams: not just as cost centers, but as value centers that benefit the organization. For organizations looking to leverage the value of their delivery teams, TSI suggests the following three efforts. Let’s take a look at each element and the key things to consider in each.

1. Building Project Management Offices
2. Designing and Implementing Portfolio Management Frameworks and Processes
3. Improving Business Analysis Capabilities

Building Project Management Organizations

Project management organizations come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and different functional responsibilities. Some are internal groups that create practices, policies, and standards for managing the projects of the organization. Standards include creating project artifacts, tools, or tool kits, evaluating and prioritizing initiatives and projects, managing project resources and activities, managing project budgets, and aligning the organizational view of projects. This does not mean that all of those involved in the PMO are experts on all areas of the organization, but they are likely the best delivery experts in the organization.

A PMO can improve delivery effectiveness by managing the delivery from start to finish in a consistent manner. Projects are selected based on a defined rubric that aligns with the vision of the organization, rather than on favoritism or a first come first serve. The result is the completion of projects in a way that provides the greatest positive impact for the organization.

Designing and Implementing Portfolio Management Frameworks and Processes

As with a PMO, portfolio management helps organizations select projects objectively. While this may sound easy, I’m sure every reader has an example of an organizational initiative that was heavily influenced by personal or political feelings. Furthermore, it may be hard to decide which initiative is more important if the initiative impacts two different areas, such as HR and order fulfillment.

Portfolio management also includes elements of ongoing project evaluation and decision-making for projects that are not progressing as expected. The focus of portfolio management is on objective decision-making for difficult decisions. Portfolio management creates standards that delivery teams can use as guidelines to ensure projects remain on budget and deliver the expected objectives accurately.

Improving Business Analysis Capabilities

Business Analysis provides an element of effective delivery that may be often overlooked. Every project has a desired outcome. The outcome is driven by the collective requirements that dictate the elements of the project. The requirements may range from building footage to technology to functional requirements, all depending on the focus and type of project.

Having strong business analysis capabilities on a delivery team improves delivery effectiveness by ensuring that the desired needs are captured before beginning the project. The result of ‘getting ahead’ can be reduced iterations and limited delays during implementation or build. While subject matter experts may provide strong support for and recognition of the need for change, they are often not trained for how to elicit, gather, document, and manage the most effective requirements. A strong business analyst will be able to capture and synthesize inputs and create a set of formalized requirements that accurately represent the need and can be translated into development.

Bonus Element for Strong Delivery

There is another key part of delivery effectiveness not addressed above. At TSI we feel this element is key to all of our successful engagements and one we weave throughout our engagements. That element is organizational change management. Without it, even the most well-equipped delivery team may struggle.

Organizations may have completed an objective project evaluation, have a clear plan for managing and controlling a project, and have based their project on a strong set of requirements. However, if they have neglected to evaluate their organization’s capacity for change, their project is destined to fail. Organizational change management ensures that the organization understands the vision and the value of the project, the impact it will have, and the process that will be utilized to ensure that it is successful. If there are elements that will pose a risk to the success of the project, organizational change management helps identify those issues early so they can be resolved and overcome with ease.

Why does strong delivery matter?

Organizations engage in project management efforts every day. Some are very successful. Some struggle. The elements of strong delivery outlined above will help any organization move to the next level of delivery effectiveness. If you are interested in talking more about how TSI can partner with you to deliver projects more effectively, reach out and let’s chat!

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