How to Convert Strategy and Innovative Demand into Actionable Plans?

Abstract

Portfolios of projects are created to deliver change to an organization. Before any project or program can be launched, it is important that we define, understand, and communicate the benchmarks we will use to evaluate them. The company must find or define answers to questions like:

• What is the organization seeking to become?

• What is the company trying to accomplish for its stakeholders?

• What key decisions have been made to help the organization reach its strategic goals and objectives?

• How does the organization want to create value?

• How will success be measured?

Many projects fail to deliver success because there is no easily describable organizational strategy in place to align project scope as:

PPM is not strategic management. The determination of corporate direction and deviation of strategy takes place outside the remit of portfolio management.

Portfolio management supports strategy formulation and implementation through two key processes:

• 1. Providing the strategy formulation process with ongoing information on strategic goals and benefits generated by existing change initiatives. The strategy process can incorporate any gaps into its considerations.

• 2. Helping to translate or convert strategy into executable strategic drivers for usage in projects and programs and ensuring application of these drivers in creation of new change initiatives.