Chapter 2. Introduction

This story will be used as the backdrop to provide recommendations to address some of the ills described. Although we do not profess to offer one-size-fits-all suggestions, we all just might find the pearl of wisdom we need to make a difference.

The Cast

Acme Retail, Inc.

Located in the Midwest, Acme is a $6 billion (bn) consumer retail company. The company has a portfolio management office, headed by John Durham. At nine months of John's 'tenure they have ninety-seven projects, nineteen portfolio programs, and eighteen divisional programs being overseen by the PMO.

John Durham

John is the main character in the story. He is the vice president of portfolio management for Acme Retail, Inc. He is relatively new in the position. At the start of the story he has been at his new job for six months. He attended college in the New England area with Bill Smith, where they were roommates in a fraternity. John and Bill graduated ten years earlier.

Bill Smith

Bill comes to the aid of John as he struggles with PPM. He is a PPM practitioner and head of the Enterprise Portfolio Management Council (EPMC). Bill is our story's expert. He has gathered a lot of experience while implementing and managing PPM since graduation—it's his passion.

Chris (Christine) Jones

Chris is Bill's colleague at the EPMC. Chris is also a PPM practitioner at an information technology company and has lots of relevant experience that helps John.

Leo Palmer

Leo is the Chief Operations Officer at ...

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