Now that the combinations and permutations of project teams has been sketched out a bit in the previous post, I want to focus on the people who will create the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solution. For the record: these people will determine the success of the PPM solution: they will budget, plan and implement the PPM program; they will establish the systems and processes that govern the portfolio; they will create the team that follows them to keep the system running. This team will have a substantial and lasting impact on the project teams in the rest of the organization. This team will answer the questions at the end of the People Part.
It is worth spending time to understand how this team gets created and what it can and must do. For the moment, I will call this the "core team". The core team typically starts with one or two intrepid individuals. These people see the opportunity and set the wheels in motion. Quite often, they carry it all the way from inception to completion. At times, they may feel like they are swimming upstream. Among other things, the core team must do the following:
- define the problem
- define the solution
- articulate the benefits
- develop the implementation strategy
- create and/or maintain the motivation for change
- anticipate and remove the barriers to success
- lead the implementation effort
- establish the ongoing management program
We can spend days, weeks, months, years working on models and flowcharts and requirements (and we will). These things are critical. But if the core team doesn't have the skills and the organizational momentum behind them, the PPM initiative will not reach its potential. This team should have a few characteristics and skill sets:
- leadership
- real world PPM experience
- methodology implementation
- change management
- access to power
- clear vision of the desired future state
Finally, if the core team (the people part) has the vision and motivation, the model doesn't have to be perfect. It will evolve over time no matter how developed it is when the PPM program starts. What's needed is a core team that can pull it off. That team will change the organization for good.
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