Portfolio, Program and Project Management
If you care about the outputs and outcomes of changes in your organization, then you cannot survive without effective and efficient program and project management in place. Programs, often controlling multiple projects, are different from those projects in that it is their outcomes that matter, not their outputs or products. Outcomes are the result of changes whose benefits are measurable and quantifiable. Project management is the way of managing change. Project management focuses on controlling the introduction of the desired change through its products.
Distinguishing between a portfolio, a program and a project presents a dilemma because the terms are often confused with one another. Many still describe a program as a portfolio. This certainly does not help in clearing up the confusion. A good way to avoid confusion is to think in terms of a pyramid hierarchy. Before focusing on portfolios, programs, and projects, it is necessary to start with an enterprise’s strategy.
The enterprise strategy presents a vision of where the organization wants to be in future. Therefore the enterprise strategy is placed at the top of the pyramid. In organizations comprising multiple business units, the enterprise strategy has to be interpreted and incorporated in the business unit strategies. The top two layers of the pyramid thus purely focus on the strategic management component of the organization.
