Portfolio Management - One Figure That Says It All!

While interacting with aspiring Portfolio Management Professionals (PMI-PfMPs), certain questions come-up frequently. Some of them are:

• We understand that Portfolio management happens with a collection of projects and programs. But can it be simplified?
• Some new component proposals are being developed. But where to begin – with portfolio definition stage or portfolio evaluation stage?
• How the authorization applies to the components, or component proposals?

In this article, we will get the answers to the above questions with just one figure!

Portfolio Basics

Now, before we get the answers, first some portfolio basics. Do note that the following explanation is based on Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) various Standards for Portfolio Management, including the third edition (SPfM3®) of the standard.

Yes, a portfolio can have component projects, programs and operations. It can also have other items. These are known as class or type of portfolio components. The component class can be:

• A project,
• A program,
• A business case (a component proposal),
• A subportfolio,
• Other work.

This class/type of component is part of the component key descriptors. As per PMI's Standard for Portfolio Management, following is the definition of a class:

“Class of a component is a key descriptor, which informs if a (potential) portfolio component is a business case, a project, a program, a subportfolio or other work.”

Did you notice the term business case/component proposal? Yes, it's also a component class. 

Coming to key descriptors, PMI gives the following definition:

"Key descriptors are a set of characteristics used to categorize and document a component for further decision-making."

Other than class of component, examples of component key descriptors are component number, component code, strategic goals supported, component description. These key descriptors help in properly identifying and categorizing the components for a portfolio.

Going forward, when I say portfolio, it means both components and component proposals (business cases) within the portfolio. 

Portfolio Management Basics

That said, another fundamental aspect to know is that portfolio management processes are spread across a number of performance domains or process groups (PGs) as well as knowledge areas (KAs). However, to have a quick and simple understanding you mainly need to know the following processes in Portfolio Governance Management KA.

“Develop Portfolio Management Plan” process, where the Portfolio Management Plan (PfMP) is developed. The PfMP tells how to define, optimize, authorize, monitor and control the portfolio.

“Define Portfolio” process, where we create an up-to-date, qualified Portfolio. You can also say it’s an actually defined or organized Portfolio. This defined portfolio will have a list of identified, categorized and scored & ranked portfolio components. This is where the component key descriptors, which we saw earlier, will be used.

“Optimize Portfolio” process, where we get an optimal list of portfolio components to meet the strategic objectives of an organization. This process creates a balanced, approved Portfolio. You can also say it’s an optimized Portfolio, where the components have been balanced against each other and the portfolio components are approved.

“Authorize Portfolio” process, where the portfolio components are authorized to expend the resources or to develop component proposals. Here we get an authorized Portfolio. In other words, the execution of portfolio components (such as programs and projects) can now begin or the authorization has happened for component proposal development. Re-read the previous line. By portfolio authorization it means both - execution of the approved components and development of component proposals or business cases, which are the future components. If the portfolio is new, then the entire portfolio can be authorized. 

A simple initial figure can be put for this purpose. 

As shown in the above figure, the Portfolio Management Plan (PfMP) acts as input to all three processes of “Define Portfolio”, “Optimize Portfolio”, and “Authorize Portfolio”, to create qualified Portfolio, optimized Portfolio and authorized Portfolio, respectively. 

Of course, the qualified Portfolio coming from the “Define Portfolio” process is an input to “Optimize Portfolio”, whose output optimized Portfolio, is an input to “Authorize Portfolio” process.

Was it difficult to understand so far? 

Next, I’ll add just one more process.

It’s the process of “Provide Portfolio Oversight”, which is an umbrella process providing the oversight for all other processes, i.e., “Develop Portfolio Management Plan”, “Define Portfolio”, “Optimize Portfolio” and “Authorize Portfolio”. 

Portfolio Flow Diagram – One Figure That Says It All!

Now, considering all the processes that we have learned so far, including the “Provide Portfolio Oversight” process, the following figure can be drawn.

As shown above, the Portfolio Management Plan (PfMP) is created in “Develop Portfolio Management Plan” process and acts as an input to all other processes (shown in black color). In the figure I’ve shown PfMP being an input to only one process in order to keep it simple. However, it'll be an input to rest of the four processes.

Next, the qualified Portfolio (shown in orange color) created in “Define Portfolio” process will be an input to “Optimize Portfolio”, “Authorize Portfolio” and “Provide Portfolio Oversight” processes.

The optimized Portfolio (shown in pink color) created in “Optimize Portfolio” process will be input to both “Authorize Portfolio” and “Provide Portfolio Oversight” processes. 

The authorized Portfolio or components (shown in green color) created in “Authorize Portfolio” process will be input to “Provide Portfolio Oversight” process. 

The final process of “Provide Portfolio Oversight” overlooks all – qualified, optimized and also authorized Portfolio or components. 

That’s it! The above figure says it all about portfolio management in the simplest possible way. 

Conclusion

As an aspiring PfMP, you have to learn many areas such as:

• Strategic management, 
• Performance management,
• Benefits/value management,
• Resource management
  (management of supply and demand, different from program/project management)
• Governance Management,
• Risk and Issue Management,
• Communication Management, 
• Stakeholder Management and others.
  

Risk and Issue management, Communication Management, Stakeholder Management etc. are different compared to programs or projects. But if you are a Certified Hybrid-Agile Master (CHAMP) from Management Yogi, Project Management Professional (PMI-PMP), Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), Program Management Professional (PMI-PgMP), and/or Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) your earlier learning on the above topics will definitely help.

If you have understood the above five processes from Governance Management and their interactions, you have captured the very essence of portfolio management. 

Remember that all the above five processes are from Portfolio Goverance Management. To get foundational as well as deeper understanding on Governance Management, you can refer to this article.

As I’ve noted and graphically explained in this article of strategic management, with portfolio management an organization achieves it strategy and objectives. Without proper and concrete portfolio management, strategy is fire and forget, or fire without any bullets! 

References

[1] NEW Book - I Want To Be A PfMP, The Plain and Simple Way, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] Article - Strategic Alignment of Project (Portfolio Components), by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Standards for Portfolio Management, by Project Management Institute (PMI)

[4] Enterprise Risk Management and Risk Goverance, by Satya Narayan Dash

Management Yogi's Hybrid-Agile (CHAMP) Certification: Baselining and Tracking A Hybrid-Scrum Project with MS Project Agile

A well-know mantra for management practitioners is this: planning is indispensable, plans are useless. In other words, you need to plan because you must convey information, establish agreements with your team, vendors, and other stakeholders, and enable decision-making. However, you must also know that your plan will change frequently. These changes are inevitable when you execute, monitor, track, and make necessary adjustments.

You earn your salt as a PM with these necessary adjustments to your plan. As a matter of fact, I believe monitoring, tracking and controlling will consume most of your time as a PM. The process can be quite complex.

The complexity of managing and tracking a Hybrid project goes up by at least an order of magnitude. Hybrid-Agile projects are a reality nowadays, rather than exceptions. As an Agile practitioner, sound understanding, management, and tracking of Hybrid projects will be key skills in your arsenal. This article will build and enhance your skills in Hybrid-Agile management.

In this article, we will learn how to track a Hybrid-Scrum project, starting with where our project currently stands. We will learn how to do baselining and setting of the status date. We will set up the necessary custom fields to differentiate between predictive and adaptive parts, followed by tracking of both parts. Finally, I’ll share a video demonstration and concluding remarks.

Our Hybrid-Scrum Project Scenario *** UPDATED ***

In an earlier article, Building a Hybrid-Agile plan, I had explained the structure of a project with many phases in predictive mode and some phases in development to be executed with Scrum as a background Agile framework. As a project like this progresses, I’ll demonstrate setting the status date and tracking it.

As shown:

• We have multiple predictive phases with an emphasis on the Development phase.
• The Development phase has a Scrum Development part, which will run in parallel with the Predictive Development part.
• The status date will be set at the middle of Sprint 1, and tracking will happen with respect to this date.
• Each Sprint lasts for two weeks. You can set any other duration for the Sprints, but it should be planned from the very beginning.

Baselining Hybrid-Scrum Project

Before tracking the predictive part, we need to first baseline the project. We are not going to baseline the Adaptive part of the project, as the time is boxed (timeboxing) for the Sprint’s duration. Note that if the items in the current Sprint can’t be completed, then it’s usually moved into the next Sprint. 

The predictive part can be baselined by going to the Project tab > Schedule group > Set Baseline … command as shown below:

Baselining a Hybrid project is somewhat tricky because such a project will have several items that are predictive, as well as items in adaptive modes.

The below video [duration – 4m: 31s] demonstrates how baselining is performed for a Hybrid-Scrum project. This content is taken from my Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP) course. For the best experience, you may want to go full screen in HD mode and use headphones.

Understanding baselining will be important as we proceed with tracking the predictive part of this project.

Status Date Setting and Analysis

After setting the baseline, we must set the status date for the project against which the tracking will happen. This applies for both the predictive and adaptive parts. Without proper setting of the status date, you can’t have the right variance analysis.

The status date can be set by going to the Project tab > Status group and using the Status Date: command.

Note these important considerations from the above view:

• The Sprint 1 Planning task (0.5 days duration) highlighted above shows the Sprint Start and Sprint Finish dates. Sprint 1 begins on October 10, 2022 and finishes on October 23, 2022. You can learn more about end-to-end Sprint planning here.
• The status date has been set for the entire project. It’s mid-Sprint 1, as the date is set to October 17, 2022.
• All Scrum work items are associated with respective Sprints (Sprint 1, Sprint 2, and Sprint 3), whereas the predictive work items are not associated with any Sprint.
• The Pre-Sprint Work task (2 days duration), above the Sprint 1 Planning task, is part of Agile development work, but not associated with any Sprint.

The Sprint Planning Board view shows all the work items to be done in three Sprints. You can plan as many Sprints as you need based on your release planning with the Manage Sprints command under Project tab.

Show on Board and isAgile Fields

At this stage, you may be wondering how the items will be segregated for tracking when you consider their Sprint associations. This is done by two fields:

• Show on Board field: This is a built-in field of MS Project. For most of the Scrum work items (across all three Sprints) have this field enabled, whereas for the predictive/waterfall items it is not.
• isAgile field: This is a custom Boolean field to distinguish Agile work items from non-Agile ones. It’s used because some of the items are not directly associated with any Sprint and, therefore, may not be displayed on the board views. These items can be Agile work items, for example.

These fields can be added to the Gantt Chart view. Corresponding settings have to be done for all the work items for the entire Hybrid-Scrum project. 

As shown above:

• We have two new fields/columns added for the Gantt Chart view: Show on Board and isAgile.
• Work items under the Predictive Home Development sub-phase have both Show on Board and isAgile fields disabled.
• Work items the under Agile Home Security sub-phase have both Show on Board and isAgile fields enabled, e.g., the Feature- Smart Entry (Task ID 19) with all its subtasks.
• For some of the work items, the Show on Board field disabled, whereas the isAgile field has been enabled, e.g., the task of Pre-Sprint Work (Task ID 17) under Agile Home Security Development sub-phase.

The isAgile field must be carefully set for the work items in the Agile Home Security sub-phase. A demonstration of both these fields is shown in the final video of this article.

Monitoring and Tracking the Predictive (Waterfall) Part *** NEW ***

We are going to track the predictive part of this Hybrid-Scrum project using the Gantt Chart view, though you can very well use other views, such as Tracking Gantt view. To track, it’s a good idea to add the % Complete field in the tabular side of the Gantt chart.

The tracking of the predictive work items can be done with many options available in MS Project software:

• %, 25%, 50%, and 100% commands given in the Schedule group of the Project tab.
• Mark on Track command and Update Tasks command, which are again under the Schedule group of the Project tab.
• Update Project command under the Status group of the Project tab. This command can be for the entire project or a set of selected tasks. 

Remember to only use these commands to track the predictive part of the project, not the Agile/Scrum part. Items for which the isAgile flag is enabled, but the Show on Board field is disabled can also be tracked using these commands. We learn more in the final video.

After you are done with part of your tracking for the predictive work items, your Gantt Chart view will appear as shown below.

Interpreting the above figure, one can say the following for the predictive part:

• All tasks under the Start-up phase are complete (100%).
• The two tasks (Task IDs 7 and 8) under the Planning phase are 80% and 75% complete, respectively.
• One task under the Predictive Home Development sub-phase, i.e., Interior Change (Task ID 11), is 64% complete.
• The duration of the entire project has changed to 96 days. Earlier it was 92 days. You can compare it with the second figure shown earlier, where I’ve highlighted the 92-days duration.
• The respective change-highlighting of tasks have been done for the modified ones.

It’s pertinent to note that % completion of these tasks is as on the status date, which is highlighted above as the vertical red line on the right.

Monitoring and Tracking the Agile (Scrum) Part

Next, we must track the Agile-Scrum part of the project. For this, we are going to use the Current Sprint Planning Board view. Before you track, you should have set the % COMPLETE value for the workflow states (columns) on the board. 

As shown:

• Board columns Next-up, In Progress, and Done are set 10%, 50%, and 100%, respectively.
• The Sprint Backlog has been set 0%. I’ve renamed this column from Backlog to Sprint Backlog.

Tracking of these items will happen according to the status date, which was set earlier as October 17, 2022. 

For the Scrum part of the project, MS Project software with its Agile features makes it very easy to track with boards. You just need to drag and drop items on the Scrum Board from one workflow state (column) to another.

After you complete your tracking, it will appear as shown below:  

Interpreting the above figure, one can say:

• The Sprint 1 Planning task is complete.
• Several Daily Scrums are also complete.
• Several tasks under the feature items are also complete, e.g., sub-tasks for the Feature – Smart Entry.
• Several sub-tasks for the Feature – Smart Alarm are under the In Progress column, such as Check points to install alarms, Install security alarms and the sub-task, Test alarm installations, is under the Next up column.

To learn about all the features being developed under Scrum mode with all sub-tasks, you can refer to this article.

For the task items represented as cards on the board, I’ve customized and added a number of fields, such as Start and Finish dates, along with the Summary Task Name.

It’s also worth noting that for tasks which are moved into the Done column of the Current Sprint Board view, blue tick marks are shown on the top right side of the card. This means these tasks are 100% complete.

Pro Tips: Hybrid-Scrum Project Baselining, Monitoring and Tracking

We have proceeded in-depth and step-by-step on how to track a Hybrid-Scrum project. Now it’s a good time for some pro tips. The video below [duration – 4m:25s] breaks down a few simple tips for tracking Hybrid-Scrum projects.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Hybrid-Scrum Management *** UPDATED ***

Can the Adaptive/Agile part of the Hybrid-Scrum project be baselined?

As informed in the first video related to baseline, one can definitely baseline the Agile/Scrum part of the Hybrid-Scrum project. It’s highly possible you may have to report Agile earned value management related metrics such as SPI, CPI, SV, and CV. All these metrics will require baselines.

Can one have separate reporting for the Predictive and Adaptive parts of the project?

Yes, absolutely you can. However, you need to have customizations to do separate reporting.

As the Project or Program Manager (or Agile Project/Program Manager or the Group Scrum Master), it’s your job to make these decisions in consultation with your key stakeholders, such as customers, Product Owners, and/or Product Managers. These decisions should be made before the project or program gets kicked-off.

Can one show critical path and critical tasks in this Hybrid-Scrum project?

Yes, you can. The concepts and fundamentals of critical path don’t change with a Hybrid-Agile project. You can show the critical path (s) in the Gantt Chart view of the MS Project Agile.

Can one conduct forward and backward pass and visualize the results in a Hybrid-Scrum project?

Yes, you can definitely do both. All forward and backward pass related parameters will be visible for you if you have planned and tracked the project properly.

Conclusion

In the beginning of this article, I noted that tracking of a Hybrid-Agile project is highly complex and can be quite tricky. You need to be very careful during planning, execution, and tracking of the tasks, and using the association or non-association of tasks with Sprints that have custom fields to help you with grouping, filtering, and reporting.

I hope you now have a better understanding on tracking Hybrid-Agile projects and it brings value to your work.

--

This article was first published by MPUG on November 15, 2022. This an updated version. 

References

[1] NEW Certification Course: Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP), by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] NEW Online Course: Mastering MS Project 2019 Agile (Scrum and Kanban), by Satya Narayan Dash

PMP Success Story: A Dream Come True with The Book, I Want To Be A PMP

By Masood Ahmed, PMP

Introduction 

I first heard about the Project Management Professional (PMP)® from my senior IT colleagues. I learned the importance as well as the usages in the real-world with this certification. Post that, I decided to go ahead and pursue the PMP certification.

But for nearly one year, I have been facing a lot of personal and family challenges as well as health issues. I’m still facing some of these challenges, but fortunately, I was able to continue studying daily.

One of the decisions I made was to definitely achieve this goal in my life within three months. It took me more time than that. But today, at the end of my journey, I’ve been successfully certified as a PMP.  

Own Study

To appear for the PMP exam, you need to have mandatory 35 contact hours in project management. But when I completed my PMP virtual training session for these contact hours from Simplilearn.com, I was afraid about the certification. My understanding was little. I was not sure how to study for the exam and clear the exam on my first attempt.

So I started discussing this difficulty with my senior friends and family members. One of my good friends (Mr. Shams Ul Huq) suggested that that I discuss with Satya Sir on this problem. He informed me that I will definitely get good guidance. 

As I continued my discussion with Shams, he suggested that I to go through the PMBOK® Guide, but I was not sure how to study this vast guide. Hence, I purchased the Book, I Want To Be A PMP, 2nd edition. 

During my preparation, I studied the PMBOK Guide but I did not know how to proceed with the ITTO exercises. The book helped in that regard.

Book Review - I Want To Be A PMP

This eBook, I Want To Be PMP, genuinely prepared me for the difficult concepts to understand. 

Such concepts are explained easily and there are very easy ways to remember the entire set of processes of the PMBOK Guide.

I studied this book two times before my PMP exams. I also attended all the mock questions of this book. 

I suggest that future candidates refer to this book, along with the PMBOK guide.

In my experience, nearly 80% of the exam questions will be on Agile and Hybrid-Agile. Hence, I request all the students of PMP to prepare these aspects very well, which are covered in this book.

PMP Exam Experience

As I wrote in the beginning, I’ve been facing a lot of challenges, including my health. But I never gave up. I spent four-hours daily, irrespective of my daily workload.

First, I scheduled the exam for March, 2023, but I unfortunately failed in the PMP exam. I was very down and spoke with my parents, who motivated me a lot to not to worry. They asked me to try once more and give my best. Satya Sir also told the same.

Based on these encouragements, I went for my second attempt and booked for the PMP exam on June 7, 2023. Yes, Alhamdulillah, I passed my PMP exam with a very good score. It was “Above Target” as you can see below. When I informed Satya Sir the same day, he also told me the same. 

The final congratulation message: “Above Target score…, Congratulations on being a PMP…” from PMI was heartening to see.

Suggestions for PMP Aspirants

Do’s

• Study smart instead of only studying hard. Both are needed to clear the exam.
• Go through a proper PMP 35 Contact Hours course, which will set the foundation for you, not just another course which will strike fear in you.

Don’ts

• Please don’t be overconfident. But be truly confident based on your preparation.
• Never give-up on your dream. It’ll come true one day.

Conclusion

At the end of my journey, I would suggest that you take the PMP training and guidance from Satya Sir. I came to know much later, but finally succeeded in being a PMP. 

I also want to inform you to carefully study his book, I WANT TO BE A PMP. 

Brief Profile:

Masood Ahmed, PMP.

Senior Functional Consultant – Program management. I have total 12 years of experience. 

Book  for PMP exam:

• Book for PMP Exam Prep: "I Want To Be A PMP"

PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course:

• PMP 35 Contact Hours Online: Full Money Back Guarantee

PMP LIVE LESSONS - Guaranteed Pass:

• PMP LIVE LESSONS: Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back
• PMP LIVE LESSONS Success Stories

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• PMP Success Stories of 2020s
• PMP Success Stories of 2010s