5 Principles of Portfolio Management in MoP
MoP is based on 5 flexible Principles which provide the foundation for successful Portfolio Management (PfM) practice.
1. Senior Management Commitment: Any change initiative struggles without it, so top-level support comes first in MoP’s list. Change initiatives must have public champions to communicate the value and benefits of Portfolio management. They need to use both the stick and carrot – ensuring compliance with PfM standards and personally demonstrating the behaviours essential to the success of the Portfolio. So, no ‘pet projects’ – not even the Chief Executive's!
2. Governance Alignment: Without proper governance – including clarity about what decisions are made – PfM will fail. MoP provides examples and diagrams of a successful Portfolio governance structure – from Programme and Project mangers up through the Portfolio Progress Group to the Director / Investment Committee level. Supporting these are the P3O model and, working alongside them: Business As Usual areas which will be impacted by the change. A full set of role descriptions are provided in the MoP manual as ready-to-use templates
3. Strategy Alignment: Change initiatives which do not deliver benefit = waste and confusion. The ultimate objective of PfM is to achieve the strategic objectives of the organization. MoP suggests a driver based model starting with very high level strategy, down to strategic objective then benefits and finally, change initiatives that will deliver them. It provides useful, practical, examples for the private and public sectors.
4. Portfolio Office: There has to be a business area which provides up to date and accurate information to allow good decision making by Portfolio Managers. This is the role of the Portfolio Office and this MoP principle is strongly linked to the OGC standard: P3O. MoP shows different P3O models including linked (but temporary) Programme and Project offices as well the permanent Portfolio office and aligned Centre of Excellence
5. Energised Change Culture: The success of the Portfolio depends as much on people as process so this principle recognizes the need for an engaged team working together to define and deliver the Portfolio. Here, MoP gets into the ‘softer side’ by looking at areas such as communication, the learning organization and listening and engagement with staff.
