Behind Closed Doors

Technique: Project Portfolio Planning Tips

You can’t commit to any new work without knowing about all the work in your department. We find that without formal project portfolio planning at the department level, people prioritize their own work. Sometimes we find people are working on projects their managers don’t know about. If you know what people are working on, and even more important, what’s not staffed, you’ll know whether you need more people. And, if priorities change, you’ll be able to see the effect of those changes on your group quickly.

We use a project portfolio plan that covers the next three to four weeks in detail so that we can see at a glance what people are doing, what’s unstaffed, and if priorities need to change, the effect ...