Portfolio Definition and Delivery Practices
This domain tests the sequence and outputs of the five definition practices and the purpose of the seven delivery practices. Scenario questions typically describe a problem and ask which practice should address it.
The definition cycle
- Understand the strategic objectives, the BAU baseline, the current change landscape and the benefits being sought.
- Categorize initiatives so that like is compared with like, for example by strategic goal, business unit, risk or investment type.
- Prioritize using agreed criteria and scoring; distinguish must-do, should-do and could-do work.
- Balance the portfolio mix across strategic coverage, risk, resource, time horizon and change versus BAU.
- Plan the portfolio through portfolio, delivery, resource, financial and benefits plans.
The delivery practices
- Management control: monitoring, gated reviews, assurance and corrective action.
- Benefits management: benefits profiles, realization plans, owners and reviews.
- Financial management: funding, budgeting, cost control and investment appraisal.
- Portfolio risk management: aggregated risk, appetite and coordinated responses.
- Stakeholder engagement: communication, involvement and expectation management.
- Organizational governance: decision rights, escalation and alignment with corporate governance.
- Resource management: demand versus capacity, scheduling and scarce skills.
Worked example
A bank must deliver a regulatory change and a revenue-generating app. Prioritization cannot rank the app above the mandatory regulatory work; the criteria must recognize compliance as a must-do. Balance then checks that the portfolio is not overloaded with high-risk change, and planning converts the decisions into a funded, resourced schedule.
Traps
- Prioritizing before categorizing, producing meaningless comparisons.
- Treating balance as a second round of prioritization.
- Assuming benefits management ends at project closure.
- Treating portfolio risk as simply the sum of project risks.
- Defining the portfolio once and never refreshing it.