Enterprise Project Management
Encyclopedia
Enterprise Project Management (EPM), in broad terms, is the field of organizational development that supports organizations in managing integrally and adapting themselves to the changes of a transformation.
In recent years, with general adoption of (IT
) governance practices, Enterprise Project Management has become more specific: whereas in the 1990s focus was generally on the management of the single project, in the subsequent decade the focus lay more on the fact that a project is likely to not be the only one in the enterprise. The project co-exists with many other projects in the enterprise, or may be part of one or more programs. It may utilize (human) resources that are shared among other projects.
In order to facilitate governance, it has become essential to be able to manage, monitor, and assess the status of all projects (and other assets, of course) in the enterprise, through a set of (preferably uniform) Enterprise Project Management processes, methods and application packages. Typically, organizations that adopt an Enterprise Project Management way of working might set up a Project Management Office (PMO)/ Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO, which is said to be more successful than a traditional PMO in addressing the priorities of the organization as its scope is enterprise-wide), might select and adopt a Project Management Methodology like PRINCE2
, PMBOK
(or create a proprietary method) or follow the concepts of IPMA Competence Baseline as a foundation for development and certification of project managers and their knowledge, experience and behaviour. They might even select and implement a software system to support Enterprise Project Management.
An even more recent evolution in Enterprise Project Management is to not only plan and track the existing set of projects, but to create a portfolio (per budget size, per calendar year, per budget year, per business line, etcetera) of existing and future (demand) projects. This is called Project Portfolio Management
. Just like with a portfolio of shares, Project Portfolio Management is the activity of selecting which projects to keep in portfolio (because of their anticipated value) and which ones to discard (because of their obsoleteness or because they will not yield the value that was initially calculated). Project Portfolio Management includes the creation of various scenarios to decide which is the best portfolio (for a certain year, business, budget, etcetera). Once the contents of the portfolio are agreed upon, it is key to constantly scrutinize how the individual projects are evolving in terms of quality, cost and schedule.
From an IT
management perspective, Enterprise Management essentially means enterprise-wide network administration, which is becoming increasingly complex. The corporate network environment is no longer tied to a single vendor, let alone a single platform. More and more, corporate intranet
s are multidomain, multiprotocol, multiplatform systems. They contain hardware
and operating system
s from a number of different, competing vendors. This situation creates administrative overhead that can easily make the cost of owning such networks prohibitive for all but the largest and most profitable organizations.
Implementing an Enterprise Project Management toolset needs to be considered in light of the organization's Project Management Maturity and the methodologies, processes and governance structures that are currently in place. There are many organizations that can support such implementations.
In recent years, with general adoption of (IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
) governance practices, Enterprise Project Management has become more specific: whereas in the 1990s focus was generally on the management of the single project, in the subsequent decade the focus lay more on the fact that a project is likely to not be the only one in the enterprise. The project co-exists with many other projects in the enterprise, or may be part of one or more programs. It may utilize (human) resources that are shared among other projects.
In order to facilitate governance, it has become essential to be able to manage, monitor, and assess the status of all projects (and other assets, of course) in the enterprise, through a set of (preferably uniform) Enterprise Project Management processes, methods and application packages. Typically, organizations that adopt an Enterprise Project Management way of working might set up a Project Management Office (PMO)/ Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO, which is said to be more successful than a traditional PMO in addressing the priorities of the organization as its scope is enterprise-wide), might select and adopt a Project Management Methodology like PRINCE2
PRINCE2
PRojects IN Controlled Environments 2 is a structured project management method endorsed by the UK government as the project management standard for public projects. The methodology encompasses the management, control and organisation of a project...
, PMBOK
Project Management Body of Knowledge
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge is a book which presents a set of standard terminology and guidelines for project management. The Fourth Edition was recognized by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard...
(or create a proprietary method) or follow the concepts of IPMA Competence Baseline as a foundation for development and certification of project managers and their knowledge, experience and behaviour. They might even select and implement a software system to support Enterprise Project Management.
An even more recent evolution in Enterprise Project Management is to not only plan and track the existing set of projects, but to create a portfolio (per budget size, per calendar year, per budget year, per business line, etcetera) of existing and future (demand) projects. This is called Project Portfolio Management
Project Portfolio Management
Project portfolio management is a term used by project managers and project management organizations, , to describe methods for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics...
. Just like with a portfolio of shares, Project Portfolio Management is the activity of selecting which projects to keep in portfolio (because of their anticipated value) and which ones to discard (because of their obsoleteness or because they will not yield the value that was initially calculated). Project Portfolio Management includes the creation of various scenarios to decide which is the best portfolio (for a certain year, business, budget, etcetera). Once the contents of the portfolio are agreed upon, it is key to constantly scrutinize how the individual projects are evolving in terms of quality, cost and schedule.
From an IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
management perspective, Enterprise Management essentially means enterprise-wide network administration, which is becoming increasingly complex. The corporate network environment is no longer tied to a single vendor, let alone a single platform. More and more, corporate intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
s are multidomain, multiprotocol, multiplatform systems. They contain hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s from a number of different, competing vendors. This situation creates administrative overhead that can easily make the cost of owning such networks prohibitive for all but the largest and most profitable organizations.
Implementing an Enterprise Project Management toolset needs to be considered in light of the organization's Project Management Maturity and the methodologies, processes and governance structures that are currently in place. There are many organizations that can support such implementations.