Project Portfolio Management: A View From The Management Trenches

1.7. A FEW MORE QUESTIONS TO GET THE MENTAL SYNAPSES FIRING

Whenever you read a newspaper or magazine article you will see the author attempt to answer six key questions, also known as the "Five Ws and One H."

• Who?

• What?

• When?

• Where"

• Why?

• How?

It only seems appropriate in exploring what PPM is that we look briefly at the "Five Ws and One H." Here goes.

1.7.1. Who?

Who can really use the PPM process? The answer:

• The "C-Level" executives

  • CEOs: Chief Executive Officers

  • CFOs: Chief Financial Officers

  • CIOs: Chief Information Officers

  • CTOs: Chief Technology Officers

  • CSOs: Chief Strategy Officers

  • CPOs: Chief Portfolio Officers

  Figure 1.3. The PPM Process in a general flow without specifying roles and responsibilities. As you can see, the process is iterative until we get to the closeout of the projects.

  

  Figure 1.4. The PPM Process in a "swimlane" format detailing specific products and deliverables, as well as responsibilities.

  

• Non-C-Level executives

• Department heads

• Managers

• Supervisors

• Portfolio managers

• Senior project managers

• Project managers

• Program managers

• Lead engineers

• Systems engineers

1.7.2. What?

What should you use PPM for? The answer, managing:

• Multiple projects

• Multiple programs

• Assets

• Software applications

• Investments

• Resource allocation

• Capacity

• Products

1.7.3. When?

When should PPM be used? ...