By: Susan Poser
Executives go through various processes to determine which projects to fund internally and which opportunities to engage in externally. For instance, a high-technology company may develop a new product or build a new facility internally, and may provide installation services externally. Once these decisions are made, managing the execution by tracking the schedule, costs, resources, and milestones is critical to ensure project success. Many managers have the additional complexity of overseeing a supply chain to ensure that equipment, material, and resources are available on time at the point of need and use. The question is, how can they integrate their portfolio and project management processes in order to manage projects profitably—and ensure business value?
Managing visibility in three important areas of your portfolio and project management processes will help ensure success:
1.
Project/portfolio prioritization
Are you working on the most-profitable projects? Leaders of
best-in-class companies can prioritize projects based on a set of predefined
criteria—such as revenue, return on investment, importance to future strategic
needs, alignment to core business, and risks. For external projects, that may
mean ranking each by priority to help determine the proper pricing schedule for
the work. For internal projects, priority ranking can determine whether it
makes sense to fund the project and the appropriate resources to commit to the
work. Comprehensive portfolio management tools can help prioritize and align
the project portfolio to ensure that limited resources are deployed for maximum
impact.
2.
Project execution
How well can you track project progress, resource utilization, and project
milestone success? Executives at world-class companies have full visibility
into the supply of parts, equipment, and labor. If there is a disruption in the
supply chain that affects the delivery of parts or equipment, they can simulate
alternative plans, understand the impact, and prioritize their options within
hours. The improved visibility enables smart managers to make quick decisions
on how to allocate limited parts to the right projects in the portfolio,
minimizing cost and maximizing revenue.
Customer satisfaction is a key differentiator, so the ability to execute with more precision can translate to a happy customer and repeat business.
3.
Project closeout
How quickly is your billing department notified when work is completed so
revenue can be booked? With the proliferation of mobile and tablet
technology, staff at cutting-edge companies can leverage mobile technology to
capture accurate project-completion or parts-delivered data in real time. That
data can then be automatically transmitted throughout the enterprise—keeping
critical enterprise data off error-prone, paper-based processes that can take
much longer to resolve. Real-time, mobile data transfer and automation will not
only increase the accuracy of revenue recognition but will also support better
coordination of resources, cost reduction, and more-efficient access to working
capital. Customer satisfaction is a key differentiator, so the ability to
execute with more precision can translate to a happy customer and repeat
business.
With portfolio and project management increasing in complexity and contributing more to revenue, business leaders should consider approaches to automate processes, integrate portfolio and project management, and employ best-practice processes. The impact will not only create a more comprehensive and integrated view of projects; it will also provide complete visibility and improved profitability.