Raising the Bar: Increasing your Skills Moving from Programme to Portfolio Management Office

Agenda Setting the scene –Some important differences between programmes and portfolios Skill types –Technical, Behavioural, Contextual Learning styles So what does this mean for me? Summary

Some differences between Programmes and Portfolios ProgrammePortfolio Breadth / DepthDetail view on one or more projects Overview on many programmes and projects Key StakeholdersProgramme & project managers Board level and portfolio / programme managers Lifecycle Coverage Delivery lifecycleLifecycle covers idea through to benefits FocusTechnical/delivery focus Business/Outcome focus ScopeOnly covers DeliveryCan incorporate Business as Usual and Delivery Organisational position Departmental levelBoard level

Skill Types Technical –Microsoft office –Scheduling & tool usage –Risk/issue management –Configuration management –Financial / budget management –Formal project management methodologies Behavioural –Influencing –Attention to detail –Presence –Approachable –Stakeholder management Contextual –Organisational awareness –Commercial awareness –Strategic outlook

Learning Styles Different ways to learn new skills –Training Courses, including e-learning –Coaching –Learning by doing –Reading –Experience

How do I apply this? Exercise time

Exercise Part 1 In groups –5 key skills for a programme office person –5 key skills for a portfolio office person Think about what you would want if you could have your perfect person doing this role

My top 5 skills Programme OfficePortfolio Office Formal project management methodologies Dependency management Project scheduling and tools knowledge Organisational awareness Budget / financial managementInfluencing Stakeholder ManagementStakeholder management Programme OfficePortfolio Office Formal project management methodologies (T) Dependency management (T) Project scheduling and tools knowledge (T) Organisational awareness (C) Budget / financial management (T)Influencing (B) Stakeholder Management (B)Stakeholder management (B) Influencing (B)Strategic Outlook (C)

Exercise Part 2 Reviewing what you have done For the new portfolio office skills: –What training would offer? –How would that training be delivered?

Training for portfolio skills Portfolio OfficeTraining Available Dependency management (T) Part of scheduling training, natural learning curve from Project scheduling and tools knowledge that the programme office person had Organisational awareness (C) Can be learnt by performing different roles within the organisation or by having a mentor within the organisation as well as a good professional network Influencing (B)1 & 2 day training course are available, plus books to read on the subject Stakeholder management (B) This is best learnt on the job, or from a mentor, preferably within the organisation. This is a skill that is transferable from a programme office role

In Summary Skill order needed Programme Technical Skills Behavioural Skills Contextual Skills Portfolio Contextual Skills Behavioural Skills Technical Skills

Questions