Field notes on running project portfolios. Written for PMO leads, portfolio managers, and the program teams who turn a list of projects into delivered outcomes.
PMO structure is the organizational design of the office: the three common models (centralized, decentralized, hub-and-spoke), where the PMO reports, and how to staff it by portfolio size. Here is how to choose the right one.
Project dependency management is the practice of identifying, mapping, and tracking the relationships between tasks and between projects so that work happens in a workable order. This guide covers the four dependency types, the logical relationship types (finish-to-start and its siblings), how to map dependencies, how to build a dependency matrix and a dependency log, and how a PMO manages interdependencies across a whole portfolio.
Resource allocation in project management is the process of assigning specific people, equipment, and budget to the tasks and projects that need them, then resolving the conflicts that assignment creates. This guide covers the main allocation methods, the difference between resource leveling and resource smoothing, how to spot and fix over-allocation, and a simple allocation matrix you can build this week.
A project business case is the document that justifies an investment before a project is approved, setting out the problem, the options considered, the costs and benefits, the risks, and a clear recommendation. This guide gives you the full section-by-section template, a worked example, and the difference between a business case and a project charter.
Project selection methods are the structured techniques a portfolio uses to decide which proposed projects to fund, grouped into benefit measurement methods (scoring models, cost-benefit analysis, NPV, payback period) and constrained optimization methods (linear and integer programming). This guide walks the full selection process step by step, explains each method with worked examples, and shows how selection differs from prioritization.
A project portfolio dashboard is a single view of every active project showing status, budget, schedule, risk, and resource load, so leaders can spot which projects need a decision without reading a stack of status reports. This guide covers what to include, an example layout, the metrics that matter, and how to build one in Excel or Power BI.
Project prioritization criteria are the factors, such as strategic alignment, financial return, risk, and resource demand, that a portfolio scores every project against to decide what gets funded first. This guide gives you the standard criteria with examples, how to group and weight them, a worked scoring example, and the mistakes that quietly bias the ranking.
A portfolio review meeting is a recurring forum where leaders review the whole set of active projects and decide where capacity and funding should go next. This guide gives you the objectives, a time-boxed agenda, the roles, a reusable template, and the mistakes that turn the meeting into a status parade.
A capacity planning template is a spreadsheet that compares each person's available hours against the hours their assigned work requires, week by week, and flags anyone overallocated. This guide covers the exact columns to include, the formulas, a worked example with real numbers, and the point where the spreadsheet runs out of road.
A portfolio roadmap is a high-level timeline of every funded initiative in the portfolio, grouped by strategic theme, showing sequence, milestones, and dependencies over 12 to 18 months. This guide covers what belongs on one, a template you can rebuild in Excel or PowerPoint, three worked examples, and six steps to build a roadmap that survives contact with quarterly reality.
A project scoring model turns competing projects into comparable numbers so a portfolio can be ranked without collapsing into politics. This guide compares the four models most PMOs use, RICE, WSJF, weighted scoring, and cost of delay, with a side-by-side table, worked formulas, and a plain rule for choosing the one that fits your organization.
Benefits realization management is the practice of identifying, planning, tracking, and sustaining the business value a project or portfolio is meant to deliver. Here is the framework, the process steps, who owns the benefits, how to build a benefits realization plan, and how to measure whether value actually landed.
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