Implementing PPM Successfully

The web is full of articles on PPM tools and how difficult a PPM implementation could be. That said it’s a well-established that companies using PPM tools generally have a better vision of their future markets and how to manage their investments.

PPM tools are good for business. 

If your organization is in the market for a PPM tool, you are already looking at the latest industry research reports;  at the same time you may be researching the net.

You may be asking one of two questions (or both):

Q1 : “How do I avoid failure?” This is a good question if your approach is risk mitigation.

As a response we say that implementing a PPM solution is like starting a new business in that you should have a good idea how your business will fit into the market, especially at the start-up phase. Similarly, your organization should have a clear sense of how a PPM solution will fit into their company’s future.

Q2 : “I am transforming my organization to improve decision-making and I need a technology to fit this process, how can PPM tools help?” – this is a better question in my mind.

There is a wide range of PPM solutions and each will fit each company differently, so it is important for companies to approach PPM implementation with an open mind. Having gone through several implementations, some successful and some not, here are some rules of thumb:

Tier 1 Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) solutions do not fail, but their implementation could.

Organizations that:

1. Think of a PPM as a business transformation technology do better than those who think of it simply as a singular tool.
2. Organizations that balance their focus between tool sophistication and adoption are the most successful.
3. Organizations that have in-house PPM business champions do better than those who lack business champions and rely on external SMEs specializing in select tools.