Case Study: Enhancing Organisational Portfolio Project (PPM) Maturity for Smart Innovations Global LCC

Project Background:

As a budding Portfolio Management Professional, you have been an integral part of a multinational Artificial Intelligence technology corporation' Smart Innovations Global LCC' with a vision of "enabling the use of Artificial Intelligence in the field of portfolio, program project management" that has grown substantially globally. The organisation is grappling with using traditional project management practices versus the Agile methodologies.

In a recent strategic planning meeting, the board of directors of Smart Innovations Global approved three strategic objectives and the OKRs and their corresponding Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) with a portfolio roadmap spanning across three years the roadmap will be reviewed bi-yearly due to the dynamic market conditions.

Strategic Objective 1: Enhance Operational Efficiency through AI-Driven Project Management

Objective Key Results 1 (OKR): Improve operational efficiency by implementing AI-driven solutions across project management processes.

Task Automation Implementation

KPI 1: Achieve a 40% reduction in time spent on routine tasks by implementing AI-based automation within six months.

KPI 2: Attain a 30% decrease in manual errors related to repetitive tasks through AI automation within the first quarter.

Risk Prediction and Mitigation

KPI 3: Identify and mitigate 80% of high-risk issues before escalation using the AI-based risk prediction system within three months.

KPI 4: Increase accuracy in risk identification by 50% compared to previous manual methods within the first five months.

Resource Optimisation

KPI 5: Achieve a 20% increase in resource utilisation across projects through AI-driven optimisation within four months.

KPI 6: Reduce resource allocation conflicts by 60% within the first six months of implementing the AI-based resource optimisation tool

Over the year, the company has formulated a Portfolio for AI-Enhanced Project Management Solutions. It has business cases approved for the three projects and is in the execution phase, including but not limited to the addition of more projects in the Portfolio for AI-Enhanced Project Management Solutions mix.

(1) Project A: AI-Powered Task Automation

(2) Project B: AI-Enabled Risk Prediction and Mitigation

(3) Project: C: AI-Powered Resource Optimization

The projects are executed across three regions (USA, UK and Australia), showcasing moderate success in individual project deliveries. However, as Smart Innovations Global continues to grow and diversify its operations and plans for further expansion in Asian countries, it faces a pressing challenge - the absence of a structured and cohesive approach to managing its diverse portfolio of projects.

While the company boasts a Project Management Office (PMO) in place, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a significant gap in the implementation of project portfolio management practices due to the PMO being a part time work of the enthusiastic project managers and lacking formal approaches.

This gap has resulted in inconsistent project success rates and hindered the effective delivery of value derived from these projects. Despite each project being handled with relative competence, the lack of a unified strategy for managing the collective portfolio has led to missed opportunities for synergies, resource optimisation, and strategic alignment.

The absence of a coherent portfolio management approach has further amplified challenges in aligning individual projects with the overarching strategic objectives of the organisation. Projects have been initiated without a comprehensive evaluation of the company's long-term goals, often misallocating resources, time, and effort.

While functional in overseeing individual projects, the PMO lacks the infrastructure and framework necessary for holistic portfolio management. This deficiency has been identified as a critical factor contributing to the inconsistency in project success rates and the company's inability to fully capitalise on the potential value derived from its project investments.

Smart Innovations Global recognises the urgent need to bridge this gap in project portfolio management practices to achieve greater synergy, strategic alignment, and ultimately, enhanced value delivery.

As a new Portfolio Manager within the organisation, you have been entrusted with the responsibility of spearheading this organisational wide transformational initiative to establish a robust Project Portfolio Management framework that will harmonise the management of projects with the strategic objectives of the organisation and enhance the PPM Maturity Levels using OPM or P3M3 or Praxis Maturity or any other relevent assessment frameworks.

This refined background sets the stage for a more detailed understanding of the challenges faced by the organisation in managing its project portfolio. It emphasises the critical role of the Portfolio Management Professional in addressing these issues through the implementation of effective portfolio management practices.

TASK

identifying business and project portfolio management needs and considering the tools and techniques relevant to the project, program and portfolio management in improving business practices, value delivery and performance

assess using above case study. The Project/Portfolio Management Maturity assessment is the foundation for the development of recommendations that align the organisation's maturity with its ability to deliver outcomes relevant to its strategic objectives.

You then need to provide recommendations that will improve the level of organisational PM maturity. Base your recommendations on your selected PM framework and include a roadmap for the portfolio management implementation into this organisation. At a minimum, your recommendations should address the following questions related to improvements, but you may add others:

What is the level of Project/Program /Portfolio Management maturity in the organisation? What recommendations are you making to improve the organisation's maturity level? How long do you think the organisation will need to reach the next and desired level? Are the next and desired levels the same level?

What is the current PM approach? How does the organisation manage its projects? Is the organisation investing in the right project and optimising its capacity? Are the promised project benefits being realised and how does this relate to the current level of maturity? What are your recommendations for ensuring that the right projects are being selected for organisational investment and inclusion in the program or portfolio? How will this be measured?

What are the key best practices and models currently in use? What are your recommendations to improve the maturity level? Which model are you recommending and why?

What is the current method used to evaluate the project portfolio? How successful is this method? What recommendations would you make to improve the current state?

Has a benefits management lifecycle been implemented in the organisation? How would you describe the processes of the lifecycle? Has the lifecycle been applied at the project, program or portfolio level? What are your recommendations to improve the management and realisation of the ongoing and sustained benefits? How does this relate to the current and desired maturity level? How does the benefits management align with the deliverable goals of the organisation's projects?

How would you assess the corporate culture and more specifically, the potential likelihood of differences in terms of key internal stakeholders' influence and input? Who are the key stakeholders in this organisation? Do they each hold the same perspective in relation to the implementation of portfolio management and/or improvements in the project/portfolio management maturity of the organisation? What effects do these different perspectives have on your recommendations? How will you approach these differences and find an agreed approach to the acceptance of your recommendations? What strategies are you recommending? Will a PMO improve this scenario? How and where will the PMO need to be situated in the organisational structure to achieve synergy in the acceptance of your recommendations?

How would you define and recommend a change management approach and model for the organisation given the organisational readiness for and acceptance of the changes you are recommending? Which challenges can you identify that you believe may be encountered regarding the changes and stakeholders' acceptance of the changes and what solutions would you recommend to manage these challenges?

How is a PMO valuable in the context of the current level of maturity and how can it improve the maturity level? What sort of PMO and at which organisational level should the PMO be implemented in the organisation? What type of Portfolio Management or Program Management model do you recommend? Include a roadmap for the implementation of the PMO, including an approach for change management, resource allocation and capacity and capability planning. What are the responsibilities for your planned PMO and what type of PMO are you recommending? What recommendations would you make regarding the change management approach, training, tools and techniques used and recommended in the management of the project portfolio?

What is the likely success of introducing the Portfolio Management or Program Management and an associated PMO? How will you define the success of this implementation? What challenges are likely to be faced by your selected organisation? What recommendations will you propose to increase the success of this initiative and overcome the challenges that you have identified?

: Ensure that you have considered and included an overall plan and roadmap for the improvement of the maturity level of the organisation and consider whether you are implementing portfolio or program management.