It is great to be back - and happy holidays to you! I can't believe it has been almost 7 weeks since my last article. So much has been happening that time has literally flown by.
First, I have successfully completed the certification process for the American Society for Quality's 'Certified Quality Manager/Organizational Excellence'. Humbling experience though .... the BOK to master for the exam was almost more than my little ol' brain could hold.
I also took on a new position that has really taken my complete focus just to get my head around.
All in all - my head hurts ....But it's all good!
Anyway, a topic immediately came to mind upon starting my new role. The idea of the Project Portfolio. I am also a member of a SCRUM Club (no, I'm not Australian sportsman) and this was a large part of a recent topic at one of the club's meetings. it was very interesting to note how few managers responded in the affirmative that they indeed managed, or even subscribed to the idea of a project portfolio.
For folks that may not be familiar with this gem of a tool, it is simply the art and science of prioritizing your projects. Sounds simply - huh? If this is the case, then why don't more folks enlist its benefits? This answer is not so simple, but it does many times revolve around what I call the 'spinning-plates-on-sticks' syndrome. We live in a multi-tasking society. We feel we can, if we are efficient enough, take on as much burden as we choose - with success - and without consequence.
Reality check time. As much as we would like to think we can keep all the plates spinning, projects, unlike the plates, are less predictable. Stuff happens that will steal more attention and resources that originally anticipated. Suddenly, and for some inexplicably, 2 or more projects are off track .... a chain reaction caused by attempting to keep multiple projects concurrently in the air.
Developing and managing a project portfolio provides the discipline to stay focused on the most pressing project. Notice I said project ... as in one, 1, numero uno, the big fish, the top dog .... anyway, you get the idea. A secondary project running concurrently will only deflect you from what the highest priority project is at the time. Unless there have been resources definitively assigned, issues with one project will cascade to the next. If you are running 3 or more projects at a time, you obviously find great joy in suffering or are working in a company that subscribes to the above syndrome.
I'm sure this scenario is nothing new to you Agile consultants contracted to manage quality improvements in the development, testing and release process.
If so,what is a PM to do??? As this topic hits somewhat close to home for me at the moment, and is a work in process, I would like to make this article a two-parter (bingo, a trailer ... just like they do at the movies :-)).
Next article: Methods to The Madness: How to reduce project scheduling overload - a case study.
