Using the BigPicture^tm Database Template

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The BigPicture database template designed to help managers identify each project and track its status. BigPicture is a simple, flexible, easy-to-use tool that enables the quick and accurate reporting of essential project and program information.  BigPicture was developed in Microsoft Access ’97.

This document briefly overviews the purpose of a project portfolio, and describes the information captured in the BigPicture template.

A portfolio database can help managers answer the following kinds of specific questions:

• How many projects are in progress and/or contemplated? What is the value of the portfolio in terms of cost and opportunity?
• When is a project scheduled for delivery? Is the project late or early?
• Who can provide more detail on the status of individual projects?

Of course, a database can suffer from the affliction of "garbage in – garbage out." However, if the organization carefully collect the information in captured in the BigPicture database, it gains the ability to improve alignment of its projects with its strategic intent and its resources. The important benefits of significant cost savings and improved organizational integration can result.

Projects are fundamental to formulate and implement strategies, whether they be technology development or market oriented. Each project has a different purpose and risks.

The enterprise project portfolio is an essential management strategy for good project prioritization and control. A systematic approach to project management is an important enabler of portfolio management. The project portfolio is more than a comprehensive cataloging of projects, it also describes decision inputs and project outputs for the project development pipeline.

A well-managed project portfolio provides the following benefits:

• It facilitates crisp, fact-based decision making on project priorities. The portfolio provides a framework for organizing, and thus improving business case analysis, risk management, and resource management will result. Risk and complexity are the primary indicators of the need to invest in project planning.
• Tracing/auditing evolution of projects and programs. The phenomenon of "feature creep" is common and blurs the distinctions needed to identify work in progress.
• Link strategic intent with delivery. The portfolio is an enabler of good decision making, which allows for better alignment of resources, technology, and customer value
• They simplify and organize information to speed organizational learning. The portfolio creates a knowledge repository of important information. Managers can analyze previous strategy decisions and use that knowledge in making future decisions.

To improve performance across the organization, we need some common language about our projects. Here are some rudiments:

1. Projects - Projects are one-time efforts that produce a unique product. Projects are not the same as programs.
2. Programs – Programs are collections of projects that have one or more strong, identifiable themes (such as common technology platform, common customer base, or common resource base) that require a unified management structure.
3. Portfolios - Portfolios are collections of projects/and or programs that fit to an organizational innovation strategy. Frequently the portfolios are evaluated on the dimensions of market newness and technical innovativeness.
4. Pipelines – Pipelines are the process by which individual ideas are developed into workable projects. Organizations need a number of ideas at various stages in the pipeline. Further, they must ration resources to fit projects into the pipeline.

An administrator maintains the portfolio data in BigPicture. This approach limits access, provides consistent inputs, and develops consistent reporting outputs.

The sources for information include:

• The Executive Sponsor approves the definition of projects and direct the input of initial project data
• The individual Project Manager, who will provide performance data

The administrator updates the system periodically. We recommend a minimum of a weekly or monthly report of activity. Experience shows that as executives routinely see the information in a portfolio they begin to use the information to move away from intuitive hunches and guesses to a fact-based decision making policy.

Why an "open" database? All projects are different – one size does not fit all. This approach allows the organization to identify the information that is important to aligning projects with strategy and assure consistent deployment.

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Copyright © 2006 Catalyst Management Consulting    Last modified: November 09, 2007