GPMG - Services - Project Portfolio Management

Project Portfolio Management As A Service (PPMaaS)

GPMG introduced Project Portfolio Management As A Service (PPMaaS) as a solution to a common theme they noted throughout organizational research and organizational experiences. Most organizations have not been able to instill adaptable strategic management, portfolio management, and project management as core competencies. Typical influencers include poor project selection methodologies, rigid and inappropriate project / portfolio management, inability to recruit and maintain project / portfolio management resources, and inability to align project outcomes with business objectives. GPMG viewed this common theme as a missed opportunity for organizations to maximize their bottom lines.

When one considers the baseline for any organization is the organization’s existing performance output and all the inputs that formulate that output; whatever it might be, one should also consider the governance of the inputs as one of the most critical elements for determining the quality of the performance output.

In order for organizations to break through this “missed opportunity” to maximize the organization’s bottom line, GPMG developed PPMaaS. PPMaaS provides the following advantages for an organization:

Strategic, portfolio, and project management governance
Maximization of resources, skills, and capabilities towards projects in a manner that maximizes the project’s ROI for the project, the portfolios, and the organization’s bottom line as a whole
Predictive and prescriptive analytics designed to make continuous adjustments to strategic, portfolio, and project requirements to maximize opportunities
Methodology for accountability within an organization for the strategy, each portfolio, and each project through ROI and proper development and alignment of the requirements at each tier in the process
Provision of an agile strategy for introducing PPMaaS into an organization with the initial changes beginning in as little as four weeks and with as many as six adaptive improvement cycles annually
Provision of an appropriate PPM software application which meets the specific needs of the organization
Blending of the existing organization’s information management and optimal PPM software based on the organization’s requirements, fiscal tolerance, and depth of integration
Analysis of change management capacity which continuously monitors organizational and individual behavior and mindfulness to determine the speed with which change can be implemented and what resistance barriers might need to be adjusted to enhance the chance for success
Provision of resources to assess, design, plan, implement and manage PPMaaS throughout an organization
Provision and/or development of Project and Portfolio Manager resources as part of the PPMaaS to foster success across the organization
Built-in continuous improvement mechanisms throughout all layers of the PPMaaS to capture and implement lessons learned and truly foster the learning organization approach
Establishment of organization-GPMG partnerships which establishes ROI guidelines to promote value innovation as costs are driven downward

GPMG PPMaaS Philosophy

There are a variety of well-intended Project Portfolio Management solutions available, but each falls short as they attempt to provide a component of the overall solution for changing an organization’s existing baseline whether the baseline consists of introducing new products, new employee benefits programs, managing organization information and communications, acquiring or merging competitors, consolidating business lines, or governing the organization’s strategic planning; implementing one of the well-intended solutions leaves the organization dissatisfied, wondering what went wrong, and executing the blame game.

Examples of these solutions include the Balanced Score Card model, the Portfolio Project Management model, the Finance model, the Portfolio Management model, the Project Management Office model, the Strategy Mapping model, and the Benefits Management model. All are examples of modern management philosophies which try to govern strategic, portfolio, and project management efforts throughout organizations and each does contribute to improvement of a condition; however, each comes up just short in maximizing opportunities because the organization has difficulty with the implementation and execution of the model. As mentioned earlier, the model itself is not seen as a core competency and therefore doesn’t get the attention it should.

GPMG’s PPMaaS extracts the attributes of many of these models and provides a method for optimizing the organization and its efforts to maximize ROI in all aspects of the organization. In addition, GPMG’s method of implementing PPMaaS is a progressive improvement program to provide incremental improvements over smaller periods of time so the client can experience a quicker ROI, improved adoption, and adjustments can be made on the fly. This strategy is significantly more impactful for an organization serious about maximizing their bottomline.

In addition, a foundational component for implementing GPMG’s PPMaaS is change management. Most organizational improvement efforts go wrong because little consideration is given towards the organization’s consumption for change. Organizations which embrace change and have experienced change as part of their culture are more likely to maximize any improvement effort. Organizations that are not used to change require additional effort and attention to overcome resistance to change. Part of GPMG’s assessment and implementation effort includes an examination of the organization’s change consumption. During the PPMaaS assessment/implementation lifecycle, GPMG examines the mindfulness of the individuals in the organization. Part of managing change consumption is not just a focus on the organization, but ensuring key individuals are well prepared to manage the stress and decision making required to empower the organization as a whole.

GPMG’s Project Portfolio Management as a Service (PPMaaS) can be offered in a variety of ways:

Full service with outsourcing of the complete infrastructure including the support team, the portfolio and project managers, processes and procedures, PPM Software, full organizational PPM training, mentoring and monitoring, and PPM reporting dashboards.
Provision of infrastructure including the support team, processes and procedures, Portfolio and Project Management training and mentoring, tiered PPM Software solutions, and PPM reporting dashboards
Provision of infrastructure, processes and procedures, Portfolio and Project Mgt training and mentoring and monitoring, scalable PPM Software solutions, and PPM reporting dashboards

Each organization is unique so GPMG recommends a solution that achieves the client’s objectives and fits within the client’s unique environment. GPMG recommends best practices as they apply to the unique organization, not as a collection of grand ideas with have been marginalized as best practices across an industry or a profession.

PPMaaS Assessment/Implementation and PPMaaS Operations have been divided into distinct functions for the purpose of explanation, but in fact, the nature of PPMaaS is a continuous improvement model with Assessment/Implementation continuing to occur throughout the Operations life cycle.

Organizational Assessment and Implementation of GPMG’s PPMaaS

To implement GPMG PPMaaS, GPMG begins with a discussion of what the client considers is the biggest problem regarding their strategic and project management efforts, and what kind of results they desire to see from an improvement effort. GPMG continues the discussion with a high-level overview of the client’s existing condition regarding strategic planning, program management, project management, operations management, HR management, documentation and adherence to documentation, project selection, industry condition, ROIs, organizational change consumption, training programs, and mentoring programs. The client’s style, culture, organizational change consumption, organizational maturity, industry maturity, and security requirements are also discussed as content which is considered to develop an appropriate proposal.

This same information is reviewed progressively in detail throughout the assessment / implementation / operation lifecycle. GPMG uses a variety of interviews, focus groups, surveys, brain storming sessions, simulations, document reviews, observations, and pier reviews to blueprint the existing environment as part of the assessment process.

To develop an initial proposal, GPMG typically spends a day to two days with the client gathering information. GPMG consolidates this information and provides a high level estimate of assessment / implementation / operations lifecycle and compares with the client’s existing environment lifecycle. GPMG will estimate the cost of assessment / implementation / operations for the first year. This estimate is typically 10 to 20 percent less than the client’s current expenditures for the organization’s existing mix of PPM type services. If GPMG discovers significantly more effort is required to deliver a solution after the first detailed assessment, GPMG will submit an amendment detailing the additional costs. Examples of items which could influence costs include change consumption resistance, additional software licenses, additional infrastructure costs, security compliance, and additional training/mentoring.

Upon acceptance of the proposal and agreement terms, GPMG initiates start-up preparations. Start-up preparations include the following:

Organizational security compliance: background checks and security clearances, information management policies, facility access protocol, and document management
Communication and information management: corporate email access, organizational structures, information and document management infrastructure, organizational calendars and calendar management, and meeting protocols
Kick-off meeting
Facilitating of initial information gathering sessions: interviews, focus groups, document reviews, process reviews, observations, and infrastructure review
Verifying organization’s consumption for change
Initial assessment and implementation schedule with review gates

The initial assessment including start-up preparation will typically last six (6) weeks. This effort is dependent upon the actual timeline required to achieve security compliance, establish communications, and establish information management within the organization. The initial implementation cycle will typically last six (6) weeks as the effort for an initial implementation will focus on establishing PPMaaS infrastructure and preparing the organization for continuous change.

Follow-up assessment and implementation cycles will typically last seven (7) to eight (8) weeks depending on the overlap from the previous assessment and implementation cycle and the organization’s change consumption. The smaller assessment and implementation life cycles with feedback loops increase the ROI for the organization’s investment in PPMaaS. The objective is to achieve six (6) improvement cycles per year. Cycles may vary when introducing a major change such as the PPM software application into the organization or the provision of GPMG resource support into the organization.

Operation of GPMG PPMaaS

Depending the organizational requirements, GPMG PPMaaS is offered with three different operational levels of service:

PPMaaS Full-Service Model is GPMG’s PPMaaS turn key model in which GPMG works with the organization to develop a solution which will be fully integrated into the organization’s ecosystem and in which all aspects of the strategy, portfolio, and project management will be managed and operated by GPMG. This solution is not simply a fee for service as GPMG is required to meet collaboratively developed SLAs to satisfy the organization’s performance requirements.

With full-service outsourcing of PPMaaS to GPMG, the complete infrastructure including the support team, the portfolio and project managers, processes and procedures, PPM Software, full organizational PPM training and mentoring and monitoring, and PPM reporting dashboards are all provided. The GPMG PMaaS Full-Service Model also incorporates:

GPMG collaboratively designs the PPMaaS infrastructure, supplies the organizational PPM governance, structures the processes and procedures, provides the PPM software, delivers the full organizational training and mentoring, provides the portfolio and project managers and PPM support team
GPMG PPMaaS support team manages the governance structure for the various portfolios and the projects within those portfolios. Governance outputs include periodic updates and assessments to executive leadership in various formats based on organizational requirements and decision structures.
Experienced GPMG Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) provide consulting support to ensure solutions are implemented as appropriately as possible.
Experienced GPMG project managers utilize the collaboratively designed PPM processes and procedures to manage each project.
GPMG PPMaaS support team provides mentoring and training to organizational individuals including project team members through executive leadership to maximize the operational life cycle.
GPMG PPMaaS support team manages the real time dashboards and the PPM software operations

With the GPMG PPMaaS Support-Service Model, GPMG works with the organization to develop a solution which will be fully integrated into the organization’s ecosystem and in which the portfolio management and project management processes and procedures will be managed and operated by GPMG. The organization will provide the portfolio and project managers which will be trained, mentored, and coached by GPMG to ensure PPMaaS is functioned as collaboratively designed by GPMG and the organization.

For organizations who believe they should provide the project and portfolio managers, GPMG offers a PPMaaS Support Model. Provision of infrastructure including the support team, processes and procedures, Portfolio and Project Management training and mentoring, tiered PPM Software solutions, and PPM reporting dashboards are included along with the following services:

GPMG collaboratively designs the PPMaaS infrastructure, the organizational PPM governance, the processes and procedures, provides the PPM software, the full organizational training and mentoring, and provides the PPM support team.
GPMG PPMaaS support team manages the governance structure for the various portfolios and the projects within those portfolios. Governance outputs include periodic updates and assessments to executive leadership in multiple formats based on organizational requirements and decision structures.
Experience GPMG Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) provide consulting support to ensure solutions are implemented as appropriately as possible.
GPMG PPMaaS support team provides mentoring and training to organizational individuals including project team members through executive leadership to maximize the operational life cycle.

GPMG PPMaaS support team manages the real-time dashboards and the PPM software operations

GPMG PPMaaS Full-Service Model

GPMG PPMaaS Support-Service Model

GPMG PPMaaS Consulting-Service Model

With GPMG’s PPMaaS Consulting Model, GPMG works with the organization to develop a solution which will be fully integrated into the organization’s ecosystem. In this model, the organization manages all aspects of the strategy management, portfolio management and project management processes and procedures. The organization will provide the strategy, portfolio, and project managers who will be trained, mentored, and coached by GPMG to ensure PPMaaS is functioned as collaboratively designed by GPMG and the organization. GPMG provides ongoing improvement support as the model continues to evolve.

GPMG collaboratively designs the PPMaaS infrastructure, the organizational PPM governance, the processes and procedures, provides the PPM software, PPM reporting dashboards, and the full organizational training and mentoring.
Experienced GPMG Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) provide consulting support to ensure solutions are implemented as appropriately as possible.

Return On Investment (ROI)

Traditional models for Return on Investment focus on a fiscal component of ROI. This focus exists because much of modern day efforts are cost centered. “If I spend it, I must receive something of greater value as a result which indicates I have a positive ROI.” This is a tangible form of ROI where hopefully the dollars invested can be clearly identified with the profitable gain in one way or another. This form of ROI certainly provides some measure of performance. The problem with this model even in the Project Portfolio Management space is that many individuals who support a portfolio on a daily basis cannot identify with the top-level ROI because their contribution doesn’t directly tie to the measured outcome.

To that end, the ROI model must evolve to the intangibles which may be listed as secondary or incidental to the recognized achievements of the portfolio. Since each portfolio should consist of roughly 3 to 5 primary objectives, the benefits and dis-benefits of each objective should be outlined and linked back to the individuals and / or organizational components that may be impacted. As a matter of fact, the individual and / or organizational component determining what the benefits and dis-benefits might be promote higher participation and higher identification of why an objective might exist in the first place and why an individual and / or organizational component may want to push this achievement or objective. All too often strategic, portfolio, and project objectives are established with a golden ROI pulled from the sky with little to any thought given about the supporting objectives and the benefits / dis-benefits that may be achieved as a result of accomplishing the objective. In addition, once the benefits are identified, leadership (project managers, portfolio managers) can determine what enablers are required to assist with achieving the benefits.