Portfolio View
Project portfolio management
Learn how to select and review a project portfolio against objectives, shared capacity, funding and delivery risk.
Project portfolio management is the ongoing choice of which projects and programmes to start, continue, change or stop, given organisational objectives and capacity. A project list shows what is happening; a managed portfolio also explains why that mix of work deserves resources now.
Project Portfolio Management vs. Project Management
- FocusStrategic alignment and resource optimisation across multiple projects
- ScopeOrganisation-wide or divisional work mix, including programmes and initiatives
- Decision-makingWhich projects to start, continue, change or stop based on capacity and objectives
- Primary GoalMaximise value delivery within constrained resources (time, budget, people)
Define the portfolio and its decisions
Set the portfolio boundary and name who can change its composition. Include active commitments and proposed work; otherwise a new proposal may look affordable because existing demand is missing.
Keep a comparable record for each item: intended result, objective served, sponsor, approval state, estimated cost and specialist demand, major dependencies, uncertainty and next decision. Mark estimates as estimates. Keep detailed task plans with project teams.
Identify work required by an existing obligation, but check what the obligation actually requires. Its timing or delivery approach may still be open to decision.
A portfolio may cover a division, the whole organisation, or both through nested divisional and enterprise portfolios. The right boundary depends on where the organisation needs to make investment and delivery decisions; a divisional view need not be the only view of the work.
Projects in a portfolio do not need to be related. Treating the portfolio as a set of investments, not only connected delivery work, keeps its purpose focused on the organisation's objectives and use of resources.
Select a feasible mix
Agree selection criteria before judging a favoured proposal. Strategic contribution, expected benefit, urgency, effort and risk may all matter. A score can organise discussion, but it cannot make weak estimates reliable or prove the highest-ranked projects can run together.
Consider a hypothetical organisation with three proposals. A customer-service change and a system replacement both need the same small specialist team this quarter. A training project does not. Ranking each proposal alone misses the clash.
The organisation could sequence the first two, change their scope or defer one while starting the training project. Record the choice, its effect on existing commitments and the condition for reconsidering deferred work.
Check demand against available skills and funding in the periods when work is needed. An adequate total headcount can conceal a specialist shortage. Check handovers between projects as well.
Selection is more than identifying worthwhile proposals. Organisations often have more projects than resources, so a sound portfolio decision may be to decline a project that is good in isolation but not strong enough to displace other work.
Excess workload can have practical consequences: teams may be assigned to the wrong work or spread across too many projects. This can reduce quality, contribute to cost overruns and make deadlines harder to meet, even when each project has a credible case on its own.
Key Steps in Project Portfolio Management
- Define portfolio boundaries and decision-makersClarify scope—divisional, enterprise, or both—and who has authority to adjust the portfolio.
- Establish selection criteriaAgree on factors like strategic contribution, risk, urgency, effort, and benefit before evaluation.
- Assess feasibility of proposed mixCheck skill availability, funding, timelines, and dependencies; avoid overloading teams.
- Make informed decisionsChoose which projects to start, delay, reshape, or cancel based on impact and constraints.
- Review and adjust regularlyReassess ongoing work against changing objectives, forecasts, and new proposals.
Revisit approved work
Review whether the selected work still serves current objectives, whether forecasts have changed and whether new proposals have a stronger claim on constrained resources. A well-run project can still need a portfolio decision about its priority.
| Review question | Evidence to bring |
|---|---|
| Are we pursuing the right objectives? | Each item’s intended contribution and current objective |
| Can this mix be delivered? | Demand by period and skill, available capacity, funding and dependencies |
| What needs a decision? | Changed forecasts, shared risks, new proposals and the consequences of each option |
Record who decided to start, continue, reshape, pause or stop work, why, and when the choice will be reviewed. A portfolio decision should also reach the affected project owners. Keep their approved reference plans identifiable when forecasts or commitments change.
At each review, compare current forecasts and commitments with the approved reference plans, and identify any variance that needs a portfolio decision.
Consider whether the overall mix is balanced. Consider whether the organisation can sustain delivery; judging each project's value separately does not establish that the portfolio as a whole is workable.
Choices about which work to include, and how to balance the mix, should aim to minimise risk across the portfolio. Each project's prospects are not the only concern.
Portfolio Management Best Practice Indicators
- Review Frequency
- Quarterly or bi-annually for most portfolios
- Common Decision Triggers
- Changed forecasts, new proposals, shared risks, or funding shifts
Check whether software supports the decisions
A useful system can show the portfolio boundary, approval states, concurrent commitments and the project records behind a summary. Confirm that intended users can see and maintain the information with their actual plans and permissions. A chart cannot correct omitted projects or inconsistent status definitions.
For a product evaluation, use a small sample portfolio: add a proposal competing for a specialist, change a forecast milestone and pause an approved project. Inspect the portfolio view, the affected project records and the decision history.
The narrower guides cover grouping by business priority, choosing between portfolio dashboards and project reports, and showing shared risks.
Portfolio management also depends on communication among the people involved in delivery. Check whether the system helps stakeholders work from a shared understanding of the selected work and its place in the portfolio, rather than relying on a summary view that leaves project teams out of step.
Pros and Cons of Using PPM Software
- ProsEnables real-time visibility into resource demand, approval status, and shared risks across projects; supports decision tracking and audit readiness.
- ConsCan’t fix missing data, inconsistent status definitions, or unapproved changes; may create false confidence if not used with clear governance.
In this guide
- Grouping projects by business priorityGroup portfolio projects by business purpose, then rank comparable work while keeping priority, approval and readiness distinct.
- Comparing portfolio dashboards with individual project reportsSee which decisions a portfolio dashboard and an individual project report each support, and how to trace a summary to its source.
- Showing shared risks across an active project portfolioShow shared portfolio risks with affected projects, different consequences, response owners and review triggers.
