“Project portfolio management” – rather a wordy phrase, but at Würth Finance it is the key to highly efficient and successfully executed IT projects. The principle behind it is as simple as it is effective: project portfolio management (PPM) ensures constant transparency and enables projects to be executed in a way that saves resources. PPM means selecting, prioritising, checking and optimising across the entire portfolio of IT responsibilities. In short: PPM provides an overview and leads projects to their conclusion in a focused way.
Increasing complexity in the business world, advancing digitalisation and growing pressure to innovate are forcing companies to bundle their resources and implement projects in a more transparent and coordinated manner in alignment with their strategic objectives.
At Würth Finance there was a pronounced desire for greater transparency and for centralised control. Before PPM was introduced, a lot of smaller tasks ran in parallel with a big IT project. Such a project would take several years and not everyone was satisfied with the outcomes. This led to frustration and there was reduced motivation for project work. The smaller tasks were often put off because the big project took up all the available capacity.
Today, the situation is different. Sarah Fiorina, Project Portfolio Manager from the IT Management team, explains: “Thanks to PPM, there is now transparency and efficiency in every project. Projects without a clear business case do not even get off the starting blocks, as sometimes – though rarely – they have to be rejected.” The available resources are allocated to the projects based on a clear prioritisation. A distribution key ensures that, in addition to ongoing projects, time is also allocated to smaller tasks, such as current change requests.
A committee was set up for this purpose, which brings all the activities together and then decides which requests are implemented when and how. This means that even relatively minor matters are always transparent and clearly prioritised.
PPM assumes the central role, checks for dependencies between projects and provides the necessary overview. This is absolutely imperative, because project managers are immersed in their own projects and often do not have an overall view of other ongoing projects.
PPM provides monthly status reports, assesses risks, decides on project continuation and issues the necessary approvals. In short: project portfolio management encourages new steps to be taken and provides all stakeholders with a sense of security by clarifying roles, defining processes clearly and assigning tasks. “For me, it was also important to alleviate people’s fear of new projects,” says Sarah Fiorina. A gratifying side effect is that implementing portfolio management has also boosted employee motivation.
When asked about her vision, Sarah Fiorina’s response is that she can very well imagine a future where all projects in the organisation are implemented even more efficiently thanks to a comprehensive PPM. “We are ready to tackle the challenges ahead,” she adds.
