10:01
Faizan
With ever-increasing focus on delivering return on investment (ROI) in business, many organizations have implemented Program Management and Portfolio Management functions to improve project success levels. Do you know the similarities and differences between them? Let's take a closer look at what Program and Portfolio Managers do, and how they can improve your bottom line!
First, let's get some definitions in place, and do some comparisons. Then, we can look at how organizations implement Portfolios and Programs to realize success. The quick definitions from the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition are:
- A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Project Management is the science (and art) of organizing the components of a project. It involves the planning of an organization's resources in order to move a specific project towards completion.
- A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. Program Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a program in order to meet the program requirements and to obtain benefits and control not available by managing project individually.
- A portfolio is a collection of projects and/or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate the effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives. Portfolio Management refers to the centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.
The focus on objectives in these definitions is the key distinguisher between Program Management and Portfolio Management:
Program management is focused on tactically improving a group of mutually beneficial projects, and other initiatives, as a whole.
Portfolio management is focused on achieving strategic business goals from a collection of programs and projects which aren't necessarily related.
Let's look at a simple example to explore how the difference impacts a business:
First, let's get some definitions in place, and do some comparisons. Then, we can look at how organizations implement Portfolios and Programs to realize success. The quick definitions from the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition are:
- A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Project Management is the science (and art) of organizing the components of a project. It involves the planning of an organization's resources in order to move a specific project towards completion.
- A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. Program Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a program in order to meet the program requirements and to obtain benefits and control not available by managing project individually.
- A portfolio is a collection of projects and/or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate the effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives. Portfolio Management refers to the centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.
The focus on objectives in these definitions is the key distinguisher between Program Management and Portfolio Management:
Program management is focused on tactically improving a group of mutually beneficial projects, and other initiatives, as a whole.
Portfolio management is focused on achieving strategic business goals from a collection of programs and projects which aren't necessarily related.
Let's look at a simple example to explore how the difference impacts a business:
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