While at individual project level it is important to know how each project is performing, the impact of each project on the portfolio is just as important.

Working at portfolio level is about working with summary or key data. It is important to avoid information overload. The detail of each project should be kept at the project team level, administered by the individual project manager. Key information should be rolled up and presented at each level within the organisation as appropriate. At executive, VP level you are likely to be providing a summary of performance, progress, a measurement of estimates against actuals and costs.

Within almost all project portfolio management systems there is a project evaluation process. This process is used to evaluate the projects at various points during their lifecycle. At the beginning of each stage, often called a ‘gate,’ the responsible party evaluates the business case, asking whether it is still relevant and able to deliver the defined organisational objectives. If the answer is no, then the project should be stopped. This way the organisation can ensure that they stay focussed on delivering a strategy, goal or other defined benefit and that resources are deployed where they will offer the best return.

Project portfolio management asks the following questions:

• Are we doing the right things?
• Are we doing them the right way?
• Are we doing them well?
• Are we getting the benefits?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, immediate action is required to bring the portfolio back on track.

Since a project, is by definition, a specific target of a completed work within a specified time period, it is crucial to be able to harmonize the scope and the time period properly. You will need sufficient time to enable you to accomplish your objectives without sacrificing quality, and yet speedily enough without having to sacrifice quality. Nobody, of course, will want to invest in a project that takes too long to complete.

Time

There are several techniques by which to estimate time periods. Essentially, most of these project techniques involve the breaking down of specific or particular tasks into smaller manageable units and assigning a time period for their completion.

This time estimation, however, must take into consideration the resources available to you like people, equipment and materials. A general leeway for unexpected events such as people calling in sick or deliverables not being delivered on time should be at hand.

Once you are able to breakdown the project into manageable tasks, it is easy enough to create specific timelines for each task. This can help ensure that the project is being performed on time, according to the gradual performance of each particular stage involved.

Taken together, the total time constraints can give a general idea of the entire duration of the project. Thus, you can reasonably estimate when a project might be completed and whether expenses might shoot up in the meantime or whether the project itself is still a feasible undertaking years later when it is finally completed.

Scope

This is the broad overview of what the entire project seeks to accomplish. While mainly it refers to the project itself, an often overlooked factor is the quality of the end-product, considering all the other resources that have been invested into it, such as time,money, equipments and people skills.

Hence, given a particular time period, it is perhaps better to shoot for a more reasonable target or goal. Although this might mean a greatly diminished scope of the project, if it is the best that can be done given all the other factors, then it would be best to adjust accordingly. No big project that takes so much to bring to completion should needlessly compromise what could otherwise be superior quality. In fact, exceptional quality in the end result could be the proper justification for all the time and effort put into it in the first place.

Identify the risk factors

Part of good project management is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances over the time period within which the project is being completed. This means being able to forecast or predict sudden changes – either in the market, in the social and political landscape, and even natural and environmental factors that might adversely affect the project’s completion.

Hence, if for example the rainy season is coming up, be sure to factor in the reality that some days might not be especially fruitful for a construction project, for instance. The appropriate measures should also be taken to ensure that half-completed work will not suffer from the elements and should not be susceptible to ruin or damage in the meantime.

Pareto Analysis – This method is used when a project manager wishes to make changes, but is unsure of which changes to make. What he then does is makes a list of desired changes, ranks them, and then acts on the change with the highest ranking.

Decision Trees - Here, the manager will diagram the decisions that need to be made. For example, if the manager needs to decide between giving everyone a raise and developing a new product to generate more income, the tree will have these two items as “branches.” Each consequence or decision stemming from the original branch is diagrammed. Finally, after careful analysis the decision is made that will have weighed the various outcomes.

Cost/Benefit Analysis – This is the standard chart we made in grade school to help us clarify difficult decisions. You start with the decision that has to be made. Underneath it you begin listing the various costs involved in each choice. Once each choice has costs listed, then you list the benefits from making each choice. Analyze each section and make a decision based upon the choice with the least cost or the greatest benefit.

There are many other methods for decision-making when it comes to business choices. The importance of project management in terms of decision making lies in the fact that carefully managed projects will have most decisions already made.

The project manager must possess a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve interpersonal conflicts as well as more systematic project management skills.

Key amongst his/her duties is the recognition that risk directly impacts the likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured throughout the lifetime of the project.

Risk arises primarily from uncertainty and the successful project manager is the one who focuses upon this as the main concern. Most of the issues that impact a project arise in one way or another from risk. A good project manager can reduce risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open project communication, ensuring that every significant participant has an opportunity to express opinions and concerns.

It follows from the above that a project manager is one who is responsible for making decisions both large and small, in such a way that risk is controlled and uncertainty minimised. Every decision taken by the project manager should be taken in such a way that it directly benefits the project.

Project managers use project management software, such as Microsoft Project, to organise their tasks and workforce. These software packages allow project managers to produce reports and charts in a few minutes, compared to the several hours it can take if they do not use a software package.

Some of the roles & responsibilities of a project manager includes Planning and Defining Scope,Activity Planning and Sequencing,Resource Planning,Developing Schedules,Time Estimating,Cost Estimating,Developing a Budget,Controlling Quality,Managing Risks and Issues.

Sloppy requirements:

Every project depends upon solid user requirements being firmly locked down prior to any work being undertaken. Failure to do so is a leading cause for project failure.

Schedule slippage:

Many times, project scheduling spiral out of control when dates and deliverables aren’t aggressively monitored and tracked on a daily basis.

Budget overrun:

Projects that run over budget are sometimes more prone to being canceled because senior executives are concerned about cash going into and out of company coffers.This means that project manager must manage their actual budgets against the planned budget and keep their stakeholders aware of any deviation.

Poor planning and estimation:

Those projects that are poorly estimated and planned tend to fail both in cost and schedule, which eventually causes the overall project to fail.

Poor documentation:

Maintaining inadequate project documentation is cause for concern and a big reason for project failure.

Poor testing:

A big culprit on any project management is having either too little testing or, in many cases—if a test team is involved—testing too late in the process. Both testing and quality assurance need to be built into the project from the day the project is launched.

BYPASS AN OBSTACLE

Many projects come to a standstill because an obstacle appears in the path toward achieving their goals.The results can become devastating.People may focus on issues unrelated to the project, or insignificant issues related to the project become significant, as people look for meaning in their work.Instead, team leaders and members must distinguish between what is and is not important. This determination is best achieved by focusing on the ultimate objective.Progress can continue if coupled with some resilience, perseverance, creativity, and leadership.

FOCUS ON THE GOAL

Keeping focus on the goal offers several advantages. First, it enables people to be proactive rather than reactive. People can choose what to respond to, rather than jumping at each situation like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Second, it helps in distinguishing between what is and is not significant.

FOLLOW A STANDARDIZED PROCESS

Contrary to popular belief, a standardized process actually encourages creativity and furthers empowerment, rather than impeding both. It encourages creativity by allowing people to work with a given set of tools and techniques; for example, to complete a task. Through standardization, people can anticipate and understand job requirements. Less conversion and relearning are required to complete tasks. People can operate autonomously, knowing the standards to follow during decision- making.

LEARN FROM THE PAST

Learning from the past involves learning both from oneself and from others. Of the two learning levels, learning from oneself is more difficult because it requires introspection. While learning from others can also be difficult, it is less so because there may be documentation or people may be available to provide an oral history or insights.

MAINTAIN ONGOING PROJECT COMMUNICATION

More projects have probably failed due to poor communications than from any other factor.To realize the benefits of maintaining good communications the Project manager should concentrate on generating information rather than data. This requires focusing on the needs of the audience, in terms of format and level of content.Also ensure that data and subsequent information are current and relevant.

RECORD THE WORK BEING DONE

If companies made an effort to record the knowledge and expertise of what went well on a project, they would gain several benefits for future projects. Such a history improves performance among team members, because people can focus on issues not dealt with previously, which may not be “showstoppers.” It also forces people to think about their actions, and determine where and when to spend their effort and time. In addition, a recorded history tells people what has worked in the past, enabling them to predict with reasonable accuracy the impact of their actions on the current project.

If these ideas are implemented on a project,performance will definitely improve.

Project managers must focus on three dimensions of project success.

Simply put, project success means completing all project deliverables on time, within budget, and to a level of quality that is acceptable to sponsors and stakeholders. The project manager must keep the team’s attention focused on achieving these broad goals.

Planning is everything — and ongoing.

The single most important activity that project managers engage in is project planning — detailed, systematic, team-involved plans are the only foundation for project success.

Project managers must feel, and transmit to their team members, a sense of urgency.

Because projects are finite endeavors with limited time, money, and other resources available, they must be kept moving toward completion.

All project deliverables and all project activities must be visualized and communicated in vivid detail.

In short, the project manager and project team must early on create a tangible picture of the finished deliverables in the minds of everyone involved so that all effort is focused in the same direction.

Project managers must fight for time to do things right.

Projects must have available enough time to “do it right the first time.” And project managers must fight for this time by demonstrating to sponsors and top managers why it’s necessary and how time spent will result in quality deliverables and in avoiding project delay.

Projects typically must be sold, and resold.

There are times when the project manager must function as salesperson to maintain the commitment of stakeholders and sponsors.

Top management must actively set priorities.

Top Management must actively participate and establish criteria for project selection and funding, monitors resource workloads, and determines which projects are of high enough priority to be approved.In this way top management provides the leadership necessary for successful completion of a project.

1. He should work as a focused manager looking at positive aspects of his team members, without letting any unwanted behavior of his team members affecting the project. He should have a good relationship with his and other team members even if he doesn’t like in person few of them.
2. He should be always be in a comfort zone and make others feel in a comfort zone. For this he may have to show a tremendous confidence in himself and others.
3. Project Manager has to inculcate the leadership skills in all his team members so as to make them independent in handling adverse situations and coming out of it successfully. Also in this way he will have to burn less energies in tackling each situation.
4. Project Manager has to have strong technical skills so that his team members do not lose confidence in him or do not fool him in technical aspects of the project.
5. Project Manager, along with having good presentation skills, should have equally strong communication skills too. During project lifecycle, 50% of his time is the acid test of his communication abilities.
6. Project Manager should be a strong estimator, a proactive in this regard. He should be able to estimate the progress of each individual, the skills of each member, the abilities, the show stoppers during the project, the customer delays or any other activity where an estimation is required.
7. And last but not the least,he should have a good understanding of his words he is going to speak to his customer, the instructions he is going to give to his team members, the decisions he is going to take. He should be well aware of impact and effect of each of the activity he does during a project lifecycle.

Here are some of the myths related to our Projects.

Myth No. 1: Project workers are slaves.

You would never say that project workers are slaves. But consider how you manage them. Do you populate your projects by assigning roles and responsibilities according to the needs of the project, without considering what’s in the assignment for each individual? If so, your methods mirror those of the ancient slave drivers.

Myth No. 2: The plan predicts the future.

Prediction renders you less able to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. It encourages you to “stay the course” rather than take new readings and set another heading. Whenever you plan to predict, you encourage rigidity in the face of uncertain futures, and your rigidity contributes to the wicked results you experience on your projects.

Rather than predicting the future, use your plan to propose it—cataloguing intentions and beliefs.

Myth No. 3: The methods work.

Do you follow a set of cookbook processes while your projects pursue objectives no one has ever achieved before? How could this strategy work?

Myth leads whenever you follow well-worn paths. The past can at best be a point of departure for the future. Your projects can be informed by experience, but can never be properly defined by them.

Myth No. 4: The manager motivates.

Do you promise payoffs and threaten termination? Promises and threats can transform even the most liberated individuals into slaves, creating compliance when your projects need performance.

No one is apathetic except in pursuit of someone else’s goals. Promises and threats can create obligations, but never the juicy personal experience that accompanies every exceptional contribution. Most give more than required when that juiciness is present.

Attempts to motivate merely get in the way. Each assignment, no matter how difficult, can become the medium for individuals to discover their own personally juicy project within their assignment.

So in Project Management it becomes very important to get rid of these myths

There are various tools used by the various organizations depending on the requirement and software industries have made things easier with a click of button. But what is important is to get the tools properly assembled and that too in time which will not only eliminate risk but will also help in meeting deadlines.

Today it has become imperative to use project management tools as they ease the flow of project, makes proper utilization of the resources. Tools helps in knowing which projects are at risk and falling behind the schedule and which are the projects getting over budgeted. Some of the tools are used internally while some are used externally and the tools, which are, used externally helps in withstanding competition.

If an employee can know how to use the tools properly and ones they know how effective tool can be than it will not help only in individual growth but will also help for the growth of the projects as well as company.