processes. Also, note that communication is one of
the key aspects of portfolio management. Because
the goal of portfolio management is creating value
for stakeholders, you must engage them using the
right communication mode. That’s essential.
Ms. Clarke-Holliman: I would stress the importance of having a portfolio management ambassador or sponsor at the executive board level to
champion its value and manage its implementation.
Mr. Chalouhy: The Standard for Portfolio Management is there, and they will only get better. But
you’ve got to be able to customize them for your
organization. If you’re in software development,
for example, you probably won’t spend the same
amount of money on risk management as someone
who’s in construction, but you might spend more
on scope management. If you’re going to implement
portfolio management, you must have the skills to
customize the standards to match your budget and
the industry you’re working in.
Are you seeing more organizations and professionals—inside and outside your industry—
recognize the benefits of portfolio management?
Mr. Mishra: I’m seeing a lot of enthusiasm to adopt
portfolio management practices amongst organizations. The list of practitioners is growing every day.
I’m getting a lot of questions through professional
networking sites like LinkedIn about portfolio management. However, there are a lot of misconceptions about portfolio management that need to
be clarified immediately: Portfolio management is
not a superset of program management or project
management—it’s a structured way to create value
for all stakeholders.
Mr. Chalouhy: Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s
being adopted as quickly as it should be. It takes
time to change people’s mindset. I’m a regional
portfolio manager, and when I hire a project manager I always ask in job interviews, “What’s the
difference between a portfolio, program and a project?” It’s shocking how many people don’t know. So,
we’ve still got a lot of work to do.
“We cannot simply
encourage team members
to hatch new good ideas
rapidly. We need to take
these ideas through
implementation so they
bring tangible business
value. This is where
portfolio management
adds value—by providing
the means to see these
practices through.”
—Diondria Clarke-Holliman, PMP, PfMP
