Selecting a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Checklist

Finding the right PPM can often be onerous task and is often a phase of a project itself. Over the years we have seen
many organisations venture on the hunt for a new or improved PPM. If you are on the same path, and you are after
a little bit of help, we have collated the many questions we have asked our previous clients.

STRATEGIC QUESTIONS

1 What level of maturity is your organisation based on CMMI Level?

What features are required now? What features may be required in the future as
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the PPM maturity of the organisation increases?
3 Does the selected PPM tool support your governance model?
4 How will the PPM tool support your governance model?
5 What is the key objective of the PPM tool(s)?
Has the vendor designed the features around managing mature project product
breakdown structures (PBS) or work packages, measuring earned value, for a
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particular environment or around a key client? Does this align with the
organisation’s requirements?
Are the organisation’s planning to use the PPM solution to support strategic or
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business planning cycles?
Is the current PPM maturity of the organisation appropriate for a move from
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individual tools to collaborative or integrated tools?
Is it possible to do a staged roll-out of the features of the PPM solution as the
9 PPM maturity of the organisation increases? Is it easy to hide the visibility of
these features in the interim?
10 What is the track record of PPM tools within the organisation?
Does the organisation need to purchase and implement the PPM tool(s) as part of
11 a permanent governance model (if the requirement will not exist once the
programme of project completes)?
How will senior management respond to the new ways of working as a result of
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the PPM solution?
What are the organisational change management implications of moving to a
13 PPM solution? Will the delivery staff need to work in a new way, or will they
continue to use familiar interfaces?
Will there be an impact on the successful delivery of the portfolio, programmes
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and projects as a result of implementing PPM tool(s)?
Is the organisations investment in multiple individual tools and software less
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efficient and effective than implementing a PPM solution at an enterprise level?
What are the risks associated with the implementation of the PPM solution and
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how will they be managed?
What processes will the PPM solution be aligned with? Can it support the current
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processes and evolve as the new or revised processes are introduced?
What processes can be done more efficiently using the PPM solution than they
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could by using a manual solution?
What benefits can be realised through implementing additional features of the
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PPM solution?

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 PROCESS QUESTIONS

20 What processes are the highest priority to implement to realise early benefits?
21 How will the PPM solution integrate with the wider organisational processes?
Will the PPM solution require the delivery staff to spend more time doing
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administration and to comply with governance processes and procedures?
23 What roles and responsibilities are required to support the PPM solution?
What skills and competencies are required to implement, maintain, and improve
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the PPM solution?
Will the PPM maturity of the organisation positively or negatively impact the PPM
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solution implementation and take-up, and the realisation of benefits from its use?
Are suitably skilled resources available to operate the PPM solution in
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production?
If the organisation invests in competency development for current staff in the
27 PPM solution, how will that impact on programme or project delivery and what
ramp-up time will be required?

TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS

28 Will the architecture support project delivery?

Is there a solution architecture roadmap to be followed that can align with
29 portfolio, programme and project management capability implementation over
time (e.g. module based)?
Should the tool be purchased outright, outsourced or used via a hosted solution?
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Is it possible to transfer to an alternative option at a later point?
Is (are) the PPM tool(s) easily configurable? Do the tools within the PPM solution
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integrate?
What costs are associated with customisation of the tool? Is the PPM tool(s)
32 provider the only route which the tool can be customised or can changes be
made through third parties?'
what integration requirements will there be to legacy or line-of-business
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systems?
What the minimum data requirements? How much effort is required to ensure all
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aspect of information assurance (IA)?

INFORMATION FLOW QUESTIONS

35 What key questions are being asked by senior management about the portfolio?
36 What information is required from the programme and projects to achieve this?
What information does the organisation need to monitor to achieve better
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programme and project outcomes?
Do project delivery staff have to feed information into multiple systems for PPM
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information requirements, or will the information be automatically rolled up?
Can data be migrated easily from current systems/approaches into the PPM
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solution? Is the data of suitable quality?
40 Can data be easily validated after migration to maintain data quality?
What capability is there to provide metrics on the health of the information
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within the PPM solution?

This checklist has been adapted from the Axelos P3O Model