If where an organization allocates its resources determines its strategy, why is it that so few companies actively manage the resource allocation process? "Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management: Aligning Investment Proposals with Organizational Strategy" goes beyond platitudes about why you should use corporate portfolio management (CPM) by offering a practical methodology to bring this powerful discipline to your organization. "Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management" takes an expansive view of where CPM can be utilized by demonstrating that it can be used across any business line, product group or functional area, e.g., IT, R&D, innovation, marketing, salesforce, capital expenditure, etc. CPM is appropriate anywhere discretionary investments are being selected and executed. As a result, other terms used to describe portfolio management such as IT portfolio management, enterprise portfolio management, and project portfolio management are all merely subsets or slices of CPM. The book is written by Anand Sanwal, an expert on CPM, who has led American Express' CPM discipline (referred to as American Express Investment Optimization). American Express' CPM efforts are widely recognized as the most extensive, substantial and progressive deployment of CPM across any organization. Sanwal avoids academic theories and consultant jargon to ultimately deliver pragmatic and proven recommendations on how to make CPM a reality. The book features a foreword by Gary Crittenden, former CFO and EVP of American Express, and several case studies from leading financial services, technology, and government organizations utilizing CPM. Additionally, the book has received significant praise from thought leaders at Google, HP, American Express, The CFO Executive Board, Gartner, Accenture Marketing Sciences, The Wharton School of Business and many others.

Business Driven Project Portfolio Management covers the top 10 risks that threaten project portfolio management success and offers practical alternatives to help ensure achievement of desired results. Written from a business perspective, it contains the executive insights, management strategy, tactics, processes and architecture needed for the successful implementation, ongoing management, and continual improvement of project portfolio management (PPM) in any organization. Key Features: --Presents actionable tools, techniques and solutions to the top 10 PPM risks and execution difficulties that most organizations and program management offices (PMOs) face --Includes real case examples that organizations and PMOs of all shapes and sizes seeking to effectively management project portfolios will find beneficial --Shares insightful and practical advice from executives of leading PPM providers, coupled with the wisdom of highly experienced operational executives who manage PMOs, use PPM applications, and are responsible for PPM success --WAV offers downloadable PPM-related episodes of The PMO Podcast™, an executive overview presentation of the book's content, solutions to end-of-chapter questions for professors, and 100 practical tips for implementing PPM within your organization — available from the Web Added Value™ Download Resource Center at www.jrosspub.com

“Strategic Benefits Realization never loses focus on the ultimate goal of any organization—to achieve business benefits that endure. Craig Letavec’s common sense approach and practical guidance can be applied throughout the entire benefits realization life cycle to ensure true business value from project investments. Business and project professionals can apply the author’s business-focused techniques immediately—a must read in today’s highly competitive global marketplace.” —Marc Resch, President, Resch Group, and best-selling author This desk reference offers practical guidance for program managers, portfolio managers, and business leaders in the implementation of benefits realization management in organizations. Aligned with global standards, this book extends the knowledge contained in these standards through practical implementation guidance, examples, and additional detail created to assist organizations in implementing benefits realization management as a business practice to support the achievement of strategic business benefits. It also addresses important considerations in organizational change management, providing insights on leveraging key principles to guide successful implementation of the business change required to realize benefits through project and program work. Leveraging benefits realization management at the business portfolio level is covered as well. This book is ideal for organizations beginning to implement benefits realization management and those that wish to mature existing practices. Strategic Benefits Realization provides a practical approach to implementing benefits realization management in organizations that is aligned to PMI’sStandard for Program Management and other global standards, and is presented in the context of program and portfolio management. The guidance offered supports effective governance and execution management to deliver business value.

This unique text provides a holistic systems approach to project portfolio management which includes people, processes, tools, and techniques that work synergistically to produce portfolio decisions with the best chance of success. Accompanied by decision support software and advanced decision making techniques, it guides readers step-by-step through the entire project portfolio management process. This professional guide is also ideal for executive continuing education programs, and as a primary text for graduate level academic courses.

SHELVING GUIDE: Project Management This hands-on guide is written for project professionals seeking to find an optimized way of performing project management. It provides answers to such critical questions as: Why should an organization apply project management? What is the value of project management in the broader context of an organization? Is project management as successful as some advocates suggested or is it a waste of time and resources because of the many extensive and bureaucratic processes? Which project management approach should our project team adopt: predictive or adaptive, waterfall or rolling water, extreme programming or Scrum? This book aims to provide an optimized view of project management by balancing and blending competing methodologies (e.g., traditional versus Agile), lengthy methodologies and broad principles, processes and practices, and the need to understand versus the need to apply. It includes project management templates, an integrated case study illustrating how to apply tools and concepts, and a glossary of key terms. Optimizing Project Management is for both aspiring and practicing project management professionals. It covers the core concepts, practices, and skills that are useful for developing new ideas, planning activities, implementing projects, and conducting planning and controlling of schedule, budget, and scope. The text is particularly useful for students, project professionals wanting to refresh their knowledge, and those pursuing project management certifications. This book is aligned with common project management standards such as the Project Management Body of Knowledge and the ISO 21502: Project, Programme and Portfolio Management — Guidance on Project Management.

This unique guide and professional reference presents a structured framework for practitioners and students of project, program, and portfolio management to enhance their strategic and analytic capabilities in the evolving discipline of project portfolio management (PPM). It provides a practical, step-by-step approach to building competencies in categorizing, evaluating, optimizing, prioritizing, and managing an IT, pharmaceutical, biotech or other complex R&D-oriented portfolio of investments.

Establishing an effective partnership and achieving improved outcomes for investors and management teams during the hold cycle Private equity represents a productive and fast-growing asset class—building businesses, creating jobs, and providing unlimited opportunity for investors and management teams alike, particularly if they know how to work together in candid and effective partnerships. Restructuring the Hold demonstrates how investors and managers can best work together to optimize company performance and the associated rewards and opportunities for everyone, not just the investors. Through brief references to the parable of the Gramm Company, a middle market portfolio company, readers will follow the disappointments and triumphs of a management team experiencing their first hold period under private equity ownership, from the day they get purchased through the day they get sold. Restructuring the Hold provides the reader both general knowledge and more detailed better practices and frameworks relating to specific time periods during the hold. Within this book readers will find: An examination of a typical middle-market private equity hold period Guidance for newly acquired management teams on what to expect during the hold period Descriptions of better practice operating cadence between investors and management teams Examples of effective partnerships between investors and management teams Discussions of topics relevant to typical hold periods, including organizational structures, operations improvement, selling pipelines and acquisition integrations With guidance from Restructuring the Hold, private equity principals and portfolio company executives can take steps toward greater collaboration and better outcomes. Through updated practices and strong relationships, they can partner effectively to improve portfolio company performance, which will lead to better outcomes for both investors and management teams.