Significant undertakings demand projects that cross different skill sets and company boundaries - these projects are intended to achieve a common vision of a desired future state.
As stated in the previous section, "cross-departmental project management remains a case-by-case operation." Furthermore, when an active project requires the collaboration of multiple departments and multiple skill sets, organizations typically lack the process capability to ensure that the project is initiated, evaluated, planned, executed and completed in a coordinated approach. In other words, cross-departmental initiatives are challenged before they start. Add to this single-project challenge that there are often many cross-departmental projects running at any given time. How are these projects evaluated? How are they planned? How are they managed? Who owns the success of these projects? Who defines success?
My experience is that the fates of these projects remain in the hands of the individual project managers and project sponsors. If the project manager happens to have a remarkable and rare combination of skills, then the project has some chance of success, but even in those rare cases, the project success is conceived in a stand-alone perspective. Not only are these cross-discipline projects inherently challenged due to departmental silos, they are also at risk due to all the other activities that bleed them of necessary resources and skills. These demands are constant and stem from the other projects and activities that are active and demanding the attention of the available resources.
Still the fact remains: significant projects, such as new products/services or major technology investments, require collaboration across departmental boundaries. The job of leadership is, among other things, to ensure that departments work in a coordinated way to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Strategic projects often require the active participation of every department in the organization. Business transformation or merger/acquisition projects are all-consuming. And yet many other projects remain active and demand time and attention. On top of this situation, a steady stream of demands for new projects continues to apply pressure on available resources.
One of the most persistent problems that Project Portfolio Management attacks is the relative inability of organizations to deliver projects in a coordinated manner across departments and skills. In response to these challenges, PPM establishes end-to-end visibility and process controls across departments and resources. These abilities represent fundamental requirements of innovative, learning organizations. For organizations that are content with their current state, PPM is not a priority.
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