Rise and fall of project portfolio management triumph&collapse a case study

Rise and Fall of Project Portfolio
Management. Triumph & Collapse:
a case study
Session: EM13CAS01
Luca Romano, PMP
Nexen Business Consultants – Roma Tre University
“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
©2013 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only.

My name is Luca Romano
• Degree in Economics, Senior Manager in Nexen since 2006
• 20 years of professional experience in Italy and UK
• Expert in Portfolio, Project and Change Management
• Senior Manager / Project Director in Nexen Business Consultants
• Professor in International Project Management, Portfolio
Management, Corporate Strategy and Operations Management

Nexen Business Consultants
“Management consulting firm
owned 95% by 6,000 employees
Engineering Group, the largest
Italian IT Services brand”
Since 2011 we participate the PMI Registered Consultant
Program

Nexen Business Consultants
 Marketing and Strategy
 Project and Program Management
 Agile Project Management
 Portfolio Management
 Change Management
 IT Startegy and Governance
 Cobit5, ITIL, CMMI,
 Business Process Modeling
 Business Process Rengineering
 Enterprise Governance and Compliance
 Enterprise Risk Management

5
In the next hour…
1. We’ll do an overview on Project Portfolio
Management (PPM) to introduce the matter
2. Some PPM implementations paths will be
discussed together
3. The case study will be presented
4. Some conclusions will be discussed

6
Some Conclusions
1. The aim of a PPM is to finish more
projects doing less (right) projects
2. You need a Top Management involvement
to implement a PPM but you can start
without it
3. If you want to know the strategy of a
company don’t look at the stated strategy
look at the Project Portfolio

7
Project Portfolio Management
“A portfolio is a component
collection of programs, projects, or
operations managed as a group
to achieve strategic objectives
PMI the Standard for Portfolio Management – Third Edition
At any given moment, a portfolio
(…) reflects the organizational
strategy and objectives
Portfolio management is the
coordinated management of one
or more portfolios
(…) processes by which an
organization evaluates, selects,
prioritizes, and allocates its (..)
internal resources to (…) accomplish
organizational strategies

8
“If you want to find out where your
company is going to be three to five years
from now, don’t look at your stated strategy.
Instead, look at your Project Portfolio.
That’s where you’re making your investments,
and it’s those investments that determine your
firm’s direction”
(Warren McFarlan and Cathleen Benko)

9

10
Strategy can be defined as:
"the direction and scope of an organization
(…) which achieves advantage (…)
through its configuration of resources
(…) to meet the needs of markets and to
fulfil stakeholders expectations"
Johnson, Scholes and Whittington

11
Review
Strategic Planning
Corporate
Plan
Strategic
Direction
Fore-
casts
Market
Oppor-
tunities
BU Strategic Plans

12

13
X

14
X

15
Strategic Planning
Portfolio Management

16
Were Strategic Planning IS in place
Project Portfolio Management creates a
tighter connection with what the company is
really doing

17
Were Strategic Planning IS NOT in place
Project Portfolio Management shows
where the company is going and is a
strategic thinking enabler

18
A simplified path toward PPM
implementation
1. The optimal process
2. The normal process
3. The bottom-up process

19
implementation
Inspired by Archer and Ghasemzadeh
The optimal process
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
Projects
proposals
Selection Method
Screening
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Projects
development

20
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
1. We have a Strategic Direction that
shows the where the company
wants to go
The optimal process

21
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
The optimal process
Projects
proposals
2. We can now gather Ideas,
Proposals and Projects.
Usually all the proposals use
more than the resources
available….
…..some could go toward
the wrong direction….

22
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
The optimal process
Projects
proposals
Selection Method
3. So we need a Selection
Method to evaluate the
proposals
This evaluation & selection
must be done following the
Strategic Direction
“BenefITs Generation”

23
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
The optimal process
Projects
proposals
Selection Method
Screening
4. During the
Screening we
apply the
Selection Method
to the proposals
and rank them

24
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
The optimal process
Projects
proposals
Selection Method
Screening
5. We now need to balance our Portfolio before we choose.
Multiple Choices in multi dimensions is a complex matter
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment

25
implementation
The optimal process:
Very beneficial
projects could be very
risky
Low-risk projects could
produce benefits but
being also very
expensive
BRIF
First ranked projects
could start all together
using same pool of
resources

26
implementation
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
The optimal process
Projects
proposals
Selection Method
Screening
6. Project will be then Developed following its plans.
It’s time to do the projects in the right way!
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Projects
development

27
implementation

28
implementation
The normal process
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
Selection Method
Screening
Projects
development
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Pre - Screening
Projects
proposals

29
implementation
The normal process
Opportunities
&
Strategic
Direction
Selection Method
Screening
Projects
development
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Pre - Screening
Projects
proposals
The purpose of Pre-screening is to stop
proposals before the screening process if
they are not aligned with the actual Strategic
Direction. Handle with care…

30
implementation

31
We don’t have a Strategic
Direction to refer to.
It might be that there’s NO Strategic planning
process in place or maybe….
…. we are just starting a PPM within a Business Unit
without the sponsorship of the Top Management…

32
implementation
The “bottom-up” process
Screening
Projects
development
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Pre - Screening
Project Proposals

33
implementation
The “bottom-up” process
Screening
Projects
development
Portfolio
Selection
and
Adjustment
Pre - Screening
Project Proposals
Bottom-up PPM could create a
Positive Feedback
Positive feedback is a process in which
the effects of a small disturbance on a
system include an increase in the
magnitude of the perturbation
Shows the distance between “what
we are doing” and “what we should
do”

34
The Case Study
All happened during Christmas 2010.
We were struggling to find a good reason to
keep our Client satisfied (Banking & Insurance
Multinational Company)
We had been doing PMO for some of the IT
Department projects since 2008….

35
The Case Study
October 2010 November 2010 December 2010
January2011February2011March2011
May 2011July 2011September 2011
January2012
November 2011December 2011
April2012December2012
..a presentation on a PPM System
implementation project for the
IT Director
We used only 7 slides

36
The Case Study
January2012
We also presented a personalized project
selection process:
1. Identification
o 2011 Projects
collection
o 2011 Projects
categorization
2. Assessment
o Selection method
definition
o Selection criteria
definition
o Projects assessment
3. Selection
o Ranking analysis
o Portfolio evaluation
and balance
o Selection method
improvement
o 2011 Portfolio
selection

37
The Case Study
January2012
the IT director allowed us to apply PPM to a
restricted pool of projects
Without excitement

38
The Case Study
January2012
There were 23 projects in our first pool
We decided to focus our attention on the
selection model and… postpone the
projects information collection

39
The Case Study
January2012
The selection model was based on the
Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP)
technique (T.Saaty, 1970)
Is a technique for organizing and analyzing
complex decisions
It’s based on quantitative and qualitative criteria

40
The Case Study
January2012
AHP steps:
1. Breakdown your decision / objective /
strategy in criteria and sub-criteria
BUY A
CAR
INITIAL
COST
MAINTE-
NANCE
Insurance Fuel Service
PRESTIGE QUALITY
Safety
Perfor-
mance
Design Comfort

41
The Case Study
January2012
AHP steps:
2. Evaluate the importance of each criterion
relative to the general objective
BUY A
CAR
INITIAL
COST
MAINTE-
NANCE
Insurance Fuel Service
PRESTIGE QUALITY
Safety
Perfor-
mance
Design Comfort
30% 10% 25% 35%

42
The Case Study
January2012
AHP steps:
2. Assess the importance of each criterion
relative to the general objective
3. Evaluate each alternative (projects) in
respect of each criterion and general objective
4. Establish the priority among the alternatives
(projects ranking)

43
January2012
Strategic
alignment
New products
development?
Customers services
improved?
Internal competencies
improved?
Customer accessibility
improved?
Multichannel
developed?
Alignment with Group
strategies?
Group Pilot project?
Costs /
Benefits
Payback period
Cost saving
Cost
Initial investment
Management cost
Ease of
implementation
Internal Feasibility
Duration
Level of Risk
N° of departments
involved
Clearness of the final
objective
Level of Effort
Contribute to
the company
N° of structures
favoured
Contribute to brand
image
Processes
simplification
Level of sponsorship
Dealers network
development
IT innovation level

44
The Case Study
January2012
We assessed the importance of each
criterion relative to the general objective
weight
100%
R1 Strategic Alignment 40%
R2 Costs / Benefits 25%
R3 Ease of implementation 15%
R4 Contribute to the company 20%
Criteria

45
The Case Study
January2012
R1.1 New product development? 25%
R1.2 Customers services improved? 25%
R1.3 Internal competencies improved? 10%
R1.4 Customer accessibility improved? 15%
R1.5 Multichannel developed? 5%
R1.6 Alignment with Group strategies? 15%
R1.7 Group Pilot project? 5%
….and Sub-criteria to the criterion

46
The Case Study
January2012
R2.1 Payback period 30%
R2.2 Cost saving 30%
R2.3 Cost 10%
R2.4 Initial investment 15%
R2.5 Management cost 15%
….and Sub-criteria to the criterion

47
The Case Study
January2012
Our strategic direction
weight
100%
R3 Ease of implementation 15%
R4 Contribute to the company 20%
R1 Strategic Alignment 40% R3 Ease of implementation 15%
R1.1 New product development? 25% R3.1 Internal feasibility 20%
R1.2 Customers services improved? 25% R3.2 Duration 10%
R1.3 Internal competencies improved? 10% R3.3 Level of Risk 25%
R1.4 Customer accessibility improved? 15% R3.4 N° of departments involved 10%
R1.5 Multichannel developed? 5% R3.5 Clearness of the final objective 30%
R1.6 Alignment with Group strategies? 15% R3.6 Level of Effort 5%
R1.7 Group Pilot project? 5%
R2 Costs / Benefits 25% R4 Contribute to the Company 20%
R2.1 Payback period 30% R4.1 N° of structures favoured 15%
R2.2 Cost saving 30% R4.2 Contribute to brand image 10%
R2.3 Cost 10% R4.3 Processes simplification 35%
R2.4 Initial investment 15% R4.4 Level of sponsorship 5%
R2.5 Management cost 15% R4.5 Dealers network development 25%
R4.6 IT innovation level 10%
Criteria

48
The Case Study
January2012
… Evaluated each project for each sub-
criterion using a quali-quantitative scale
Strategic Alignment 40% 6,8%
R1.1 New product development? No 0,00
R1.2 Customers services improved? Low 0,01
R1.3 Internal competencies improved? Low 0,00
R1.4 Customer accessibility improved? Medium 0,02
R1.5 Multichannel developed? No 0,00
R1.6 Alignment with Group strategies? High 0,04
R1.7 Group Pilot project? No 0,00

49
The Case Study
January2012
Project A contributes the General Objective
• 34,6 out of 100
Strategic Alignment 40% 6,8% Costs / Benefits 25% 11,6%
R1.1 New product development? No 0,00 R2.1 Payback period Low 0,05
R1.2 Customers services improved? Low 0,01 R2.2 Cost saving High 0,02
R1.3 Internal competencies improved? Low 0,00 R2.3 Cost Low 0,02
R1.4 Customer accessibility improved? Medium 0,02 R2.4 Initial investment Medium 0,01
R1.5 Multichannel developed? No 0,00 R2.5 Management cost Low 0,02
R1.6 Alignment with Group strategies? High 0,04
R1.7 Group Pilot project? No 0,00
Ease of implementation 15% 7,4% Contribute to the Company 20% 8,7%
R3.1 Internal feasibility Medium 0,01 R4.1 N° of structures favoured Very high 0,03
R3.2 Duration Low 0,01 R4.2 Contribute to brand image Very high 0,02
R3.3 Level of Risk Medium 0,01 R4.3 Processes simplification Medium 0,02
R3.4 N° of departments involved Very high 0,00 R4.4 Level of sponsorship Very high 0,01
R3.5 Clearness of the final objective Very high 0,05 R4.5 Dealers network development No 0,00
R3.6 Level of Effort Very high 0,00 R4.6 IT innovation level Medium 0,01
PROJECT A 34,6%Project:

50
The Case Study
January2012
1 PROJECT L 37,48%
2 PROJECT Q 34,60%
3 PROJECT A 34,55%
4 PROJECT S 34,38%
5 PROJECT W 34,08%
6 PROJECT G 33,33%
7 PROJECT H 32,73%
8 PROJECT I 32,73%
9 PROJECT O 32,70%
10 PROJECT T 32,40%
11 PROJECT U 31,58%
12 PROJECT B 31,33%
13 PROJECT E 30,90%
14 PROJECT D 29,80%
15 PROJECT F 28,70%
16 PROJECT C 28,15%
17 PROJECT K 27,95%
18 PROJECT J 26,50%
19 PROJECT N 26,28%
20 PROJECT M 26,20%
21 PROJECT P 25,78%
22 PROJECT R 25,70%
23 PROJECT Z 23,55%
…This way was possible
to establish a ranking
among the projects
“BenefITs Generation”

52
The Case Study
January2012
IT Director decided to:
1. Extend the application to all the IT
projects (32) proposed for 2011
2. Present the results to the “2011 Action
Plan” board of Directors meeting on 19th
January 2011…………..

53
The Case Study
January2012
On 19th of January, the IT director
presented the results to the
Board of Directors

54
The Case Study
January2012
Compared to what prepared by the
others our documents were
Science Fiction
The IT Director did his presentation
first, and the next presenters QUIT…

55
The Case Study
January2012
No wonder the Managing
Director asked to
apply the method
to the entire Company

56
We worked 16 days
Interviewed 8 Directors
Collected 104 projects
Producing several deliverables..

57
The Case Study
January2012
Portfolio interdependencies map
Auto Cross Country Claims
Antifrode
Auto Cross
Country:
nuovo
sistema
antifrode
Portale
Medici
Auto Cross
Country:
portale web
medici
fiduciari
Auto Cross
Country:
leakage e
close files
revue
Previnet
Insorcing
previnet
Migrazione
portafoglio
Previnet in
Life
Groupama Television
Lancio Web TV Web TV
Riserve Sinistri
Data Base
Riserve
Sinistri
Criteri di
Riservazione
Scadenzario
Scadenzario
Effic
processi
liquidativi:
scadenzario
pagamenti
sinistri
Progetto CARD 2011
Progetto
CARD 2011
Efficientazio
ne processi
liquidativ
Acquisti
Sinergie
acquisti con
GR
LOGISTIQUE
Riorganizzazi
one Acquisti
Sistema
Qualità
Fornitori
(SQF)
SAP Core Model
SAP Core
Model
SAP Core
Model
DWH e Indicatori Gestionali
Sistema di
reporting Pba
DWH
Incremento
Funzionalità
Indicatori
Gestionali
Danni
Antiriciclaggi
o
Nexus
Rollout
Unificazione
infrastruttu
ra Mainframe
VDI
Ottimizzazion
e stampanti
Nuova Sede
Dossier
Digitale
Nuova Sede
Documentale
2011
Transfer
pricing
Bourges
Fase II
Migrazione
Riass sulla
piattaforma
SIGRE'
GEDI
Solvency II
Risk Policy
& Governance
Data Quality
Process +
Pillar I def.
piattaforma
Gruppo
Gap Analysis
Pillar II
Process
Mapping
Solvency II
Regolamento
36
Progetto
immobiliare
GIRO
Coass / Enti
esterni
Dismissione
CVK
MIFID per
canale
bancario
Completam.
Gamma
prodotti Vita
Lifeweb
Completam
life web
Nexus +
rollout
agenzie
Lifeweb
PostVendita
LifeWeb
Bancassicurazione Danni su Nexus
Bancassicur
az su NEXUS
Catalogo
prodotti danni
per
bancassicur
az
Realizz.
prodotti
bancass
linea persona
e abitazione
Integrazione
EasyBanca-
Nexus
Riorganizzazione Processi
Processi e
Norme di
Agenzia
Magellano
Dir Commerciale
Dir Danni
Dir. IT & Org
Dir Vita
Dir Comu
Dir Fin
Dir Risk
Dir HR
FF
Commercializ
zazione
Nuovo
prodotto
Commercio
Commercializ
zazione nuovi
prodotto
Incendio RO
Commercializ
zazione nuovi
prodotto
Incendio RCG
Tercass-
Caripe
Attribuzione
autonomie
assuntive
Prog
rafforzament
o competitivo
(ambito com
nel ruolo
AM-DM)
Nuovo atto di
nomina
Nuove
aperture
Nuovo
sistema
informativo
HR
Efficienza Vendite Vita
STEP 1 -
Progetto aum
capacità
distributiva
rete agenti
vita
STEP 2 -
Progetto
crescita
qualità
consulenza
vita rete
agenti
Auto Cross Country Pricing
Benchmark
Behavioral
pricing
Discount
Management

58
The Case Study
January2012
Portfolio aggregate analysis
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Nullo Basso Medio Alto Eccellente
New Products development
Low Medium High Very highNo
New Products Development
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Nullo Basso Medio Alto Eccellente
Customer service improvement
Low Medium High Very highNo
Customer Service Improvement

59
The Case Study
January2012
Key findings:
1. The initial 104 projects became 81 after the
first optimization and at the end we had 73
2. The original budget declared by IT in
October 2010 was 4 million Euros lower
than the sum of the budgeted costs of the
projects collected

60
The Case Study
January2012
Key findings:
3. The Executives asked about the selection
model, they touched and used it
4. This time “only” 8 projects were
terminated the sum of their saved costs is
the fast payback of a PPM

61
The Case Study
January2012
January
February
March
April
May
JuneJuly
August
September
October
November
December
Portfolio Management
Projects and PMO
CONTROLLING
AND REPORTING
INITIATIVES
IDENTIFICATION
INITIATIVES
EVALUATION AND
SELECTION
PORTFOLIO
ADJUSTMENT
STRATEGY
DEFINITION
The Cake

62
The Case Study
January2012
Portfolio reporting and control process
– Monthly meetings with PMs
– Monthly meetings with Directors
– Coaching approach

63
The Case Study
January2012
In September was created a PPM function
assigning as responsible a not
experienced internal person

64
The Case Study
January2012
In September was created a PPM function
assigning as responsible a not
experienced internal person
In November the MD participated in the
definition and weighing of the model
The model was basically confirmed..

65
The Case Study
January2012
In December the initiatives/projects
collection was completed

66
The Case Study
January2012
in January this collection was presented to
the Board of Directors…

67
The Case Study
January2012
in January this collection was presented to
the Board of Directors…
…but it took until April for the 2012 Portfolio
to be approved and released with 58 projects

68
The Case Study
January2012
From January to December the PPM
system was in place.
…. And still it is … but
In 2012 a Budget cut reduced the
number and experience of the resources
on the PPM

69
The Case Study
January2012
…due to this, Team spent less time
with project managers
loosing the original…
coaching approach

70
The Case Study
January2012
PM start considering PPM as a pretext
to prepare nice and charming slides
for the Directors…
PM asked for support…
PMO

71
The Case Study
The PPM
bottom-up
idea
The PPM Pilot
The PPM IT
department
The PPM
whole
company
The Rept &
Ctrl System
Un-
experienced
resources
Team cut
PMO
activities
request
2010 2011 2012 2013

72
Conclusions
During the first PPM implementation, there
will be a lot of enthusiasm
This enthusiasm has to be exploited as it
will taper off
People will understand that a PPM system
will decrease their personal choice

73
Conclusions
The PPM system has to be connected as
soon as possible to the pre-existing
processes and tools.
If managed as a stand-alone system, it will
become obsolete and people will keep on
using what they used in past.

74
Conclusions
Project Managers are very important in a
PPM system
They will collaborate if you involve them
Create as many personal contact points
as you can “finance”

75
Conclusions
Strategy might change during the year,
markets are very unstable and dynamic.
Applying what was decided without
reviewing the strategic direction is a
short-sighted approach.
3 times per year could be enough..

76
The third law of thermodynamics
stated that: “The entropy of a system
approaches a constant value as the
temperature approaches zero”
A PPM system like other complex
systems must be constantly heated..

77
Luca Romano
luca.romano@nexen.it
+39 347 41 75 473
http://it.linkedin.com/in/lucaromano
Session EM13CAS01
Contact Information

Rise and fall of project portfolio management triumph&collapse a case study

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