PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Portfolio management is the selection, prioritisation and control of an organisation’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity to deliver.

The goal is to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-­as­-usual, while optimising return on investment.

A portfolio is a collection of projects and/or programmes used to structure and manage investments at an organisational or functional level to optimise strategic benefits or operational efficiency. They can be managed at an organisational or functional level.

Where projects and programmes are focused on deployment of outputs, and outcomes and benefits, respectively, portfolios exist as coordinating structures to support deployment by ensuring the optimal prioritisation of resources to align with strategic intent and achieve best value

To shape the portfolio, the sponsor and portfolio manager seek out visibility of plans of the constituent projects and programmes agree how to reshape those constituent parts depending on:

The organisation’s ability to resource the whole portfolio.
Any changes to strategic direction or pace of strategic implementation.
In a strategic portfolio, governance may be aligned entirely with corporate governance. Where this is not the case, it is vital to establish clear understanding and buy-in to the portfolio prioritisation process from the executive team. In a portfolio, it is normal for sponsors of projects, to be required to sacrifice their project priorities for the benefit of the wider portfolio.