project & management

10.12 PROJECT MANAGEMENT SITUATION PORTFOLIO PROJECT MANAGEMENT Morris Corporation had transitioned to an organization where all work was conducted through projects. The traditional staff functions and their titles were retained because they had to deal with external organizations and regulatory agencies on a continuing basis. All work for development and delivery of products and services was conducted by using a project methodology Over the years. Morris Corporation was successful in obtaining new work and getting a high rate of customer satisfaction for the products and services provided. Clyde Morris, CEO and major stockholder, sensed some problems when more projects were being completed on deferred schedule and the profits for projects seemed to be in a decline. The company had more projects than project managers and some project managers had three or four projects to manage. The sales department was successful in selling more products that required new projects to be started. Recently, some of the more profitable projects failed for a variety of reasons, but primarily because the full scope of the project was not known from the start At an "all hands meeting with the project managers, several issues were raised. There are too many projects to manage effectively. One major problem is the inability to obtain human resources. Projects are sold by the sales folks without an understanding of the complete scope of work or the amount of effort required to deliver products. One project manager had two high-risk projects to manageboth competing for the same . . resources Another project manager commented that his project didn't require a lot of oversight or reviews because it was routine work that had been accomplished within the company for more than 20 times. A third project manager commented that projects seem to always have more risk associated with them than initially indicated by the sales folks. Generally, it was agreed among the group that all projects required extra work because scope was not fully understood when it was taken on. The point was also raised that some in-house projects competed with the revenue producing projects, which took resources away from the real project work." Later, Clyde Morris reflected in his office on the comments. Whereas all the project managers showed a positive attitude and a strong desire to complete the projects, a high degree of frustration was prevalent among these individuals. Perhaps a change in the method for defining projects prior to selection and some other positive changes would relieve the problem. The problem was characterized as an imbalance of work among project managers that led to a high degree of frustration with the accompanying negative impact on the company's business. Some changes are in order. 10.13 STUDENT/READER ASSIGNMENT Using the project management situation, develop a model of a project portfolio management organization. Decide whether the project management office is involved and to what degree. 10.13 STUDENT/READER ASSIGNMENT Using the project management situation, develop a model of a project portfolio management organization. Decide whether the project management office is involved and to what degree. Write a list of project selection criteria that you would use under a project portfolio management concept. Some considerations for the model include: How are the projects grouped for management? What level of risk is unacceptable for project selection? Are portfolio managers needed? What assessment is needed to characterize current projects under the portfolio concept? What is the process and who is involved in project selection