Project, program, and portfolio management are widely used in modern organizations. Briefly speaking, a program consists of projects, and a portfolio incorporates various multiple programs. A manager’s key responsibility comes down to balancing three main constraints – time, scope, and cost – at each of the three levels (Lund, 2018). This essay examines how this is done and what are the challenges associated with a project-based approach.
Managing portfolios requires special attention to prioritizing goals. In this sense, scope as a primary constraint comes into play and dictates the categorization and timing of ideas and plans due to implementation. Obviously, in many ways, the prioritization is affected by the allocated budget. Thus, for a portfolio manager, it is essential to observe the whole scale of projects and set the deadlines for those most relevant, considering the cost.
In the next stage, program management is less affected by cost constraints since the assignment of projects had already been established, previously. However, it is still vital to ensure the maintenance projects are within the allocated budget. The scope is crucial as program management has to keep track of various activities related to completing different assignments. This also includes effective risk and changes communication and runs within a set timing and priorities.
Finally, the most vital constraint a project manager should consider is timing. Balancing the scope of deliverables to meet the objectives before the deadline is essentially implied when appealing to any project. A manager at this stage is expected to apply the right tools to fit within all the three constraints that have previously been established and report any challenges or issues to enable smooth results delivery.
Land highlights four primary challenges project-based strategy is associated with: project symbiosis, project trap, project maze, and project war. If projects compete for the same resources but do fit together, a manager is forced to foresee and deal with potential delays and adapt to a dynamic environment. If, on the contrary, projects do not go along and still share the same limited resources, it is critical to re-establish the vision and separate projects into different business units. This is what LEGO had to do when the company encountered the need for fragmented and diverse activities. The tasks can be “at war,” meaning not only do they not go together but also significantly oppose each other’s goals and do not sustain a common strategy. When, however, nothing of the above is the case, there is a project symbiosis, and the main challenge of a manager is to ensure its consistency and meet the objectives and constraints.
Reference
Lund P., C., & Ritter, T. (2018). The four executive challenges of project-based strategy. Strategy & Leadership, 46(6), 44–49.