This document outlines best practices for managing multiple technical projects. It describes establishing an investment program structure with a Senior Executive Management Team that manages the portfolio and a Program Management Team that governs projects. A review process is established with decision reviews to determine if projects should proceed to the next phase. Project selection criteria prioritizes projects with a 3 year ROI over 3:1, payback within 12 months, and fit with client business plans. Portfolio management is an ongoing process of selecting, managing, and evaluating projects.

1. Juggling 101: Best Practices forJuggling 101: Best Practices for
Managing Multiple Technical ProjectsManaging Multiple Technical Projects
Presented byPresented by
José R. Figueroa, PMP®
IBM Global Services
September 28, 2004

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AgendaAgenda
 The Problem
 Investment Program
 Structure
 Senior Executive Management Team (SEMT) Mission
 Program Management Team (PMT) Mission
 Review Process & Criteria
 Investment Process Flow
 Governance Requirements
 Decision Reviews (DRs)
 Conducting the Reviews
 Project Selection Criteria
 Portfolio Management
 Summary: Keys To Success
 Vocabulary
 Speaker’s Biography

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The ProblemThe Problem
 You are the Program Manager for an Investment Program:
 Goal of the program is to generate the most “bang for the buck” (ROI) for
the investment dollars
 Senior Management team assigns you a budget for the program.
 Budget is limited (x $M). Budget is only available for the current year.
 Your evaluation hinges on one question: “We gave you x $M this year.
Where is our return?
 How do you?
 Select the best projects (most “bang for the buck”?)
 Decide how much to allocate to each project
 Decide when to give each project the required funding
 Manage all projects
 Ensure all stakeholders/clients participate and have a voice in the process
 Ensure Senior Management is engaged throughout the process
 Validate the investment decisions made?
 Follow me to see what the answer might be!!!

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Investment Program StructureInvestment Program Structure
Meeting Frequency
Once A Month
DRs and Program Status
Quarterly Portfolio Reviews
Voting Members
Senior Executive Management
Senior Executive Management
Team
Manage the Portfolio of Technology Investments
Program Management Team
Govern the Project & Concept Teams
Voting Members
Client Representatives
Technology Focal Points
Recommendations/Status
Commissions
Meeting Frequency
Once A Month For DRs
Once a Month for Program Status
Quarterly Portfolio Reviews

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Senior Executive ManagementSenior Executive Management
Team MissionTeam Mission
 Manage the Portfolio of Technology Investments
 Driven by “client" needs
 Define, assess and prioritize Technology Investments to match strategy,
customer requirements, and return on investment (ROI) goals
 Make financial tradeoffs, investment decisions
 Review & prioritize initiatives
 Govern (manage) the Program Management Teams (PMTs)
 Assign a scope for PMT to address
 Assign accountability & verify project performance including business value
achievement (business case validation)
 Ensure documentation of Business Rationale, Deliverables and Milestones
 Regular performance reporting
 Contract with PMT for execution

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Program Management TeamProgram Management Team
MissionMission
 Manage the Portfolio of Investments
 Driven by Technology & Process Innovation
 Provide disciplined process for solicitation, review, approval, development,
adoption and deployment of applied technology, concepts and innovations that
will directly impact the productivity and cost effectiveness of the business
 Govern the Project & Concept Teams
 Contract with Project and Concept Teams for execution
 Meet Governance Requirements from Senior Executive Management Team
 Provide oversight to ensure projects are focused on attainable technical goals
 Participate in Regular Decision Reviews to ensure defined progress
 Portfolio Management and Program Status reporting

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Investment Process FlowInvestment Process Flow
Executive
Sponsor
Approval
Concept/Idea
Client
Representative
Approval
PMT
Recommendation
• Commitment to Deploy
• Risks
• Business Case (ROI)
• Payback Period
SEMT
Approval
Go

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Governance RequirementsGovernance Requirements
 Projects are funded on a phase by phase basis with defined Decision Reviews (DRs) by
the PMT and the SEMT
 Projects are required to obtain Executive Sponsor approval at each DR
 Projects require Client Endorsement at each DR
 PMT/SEMT Contract governs relationship as well as establishes project selection and
project execution criteria.
 Projects are required to complete a technical review with an Architecture Review Board
(ARB) to ensure technical integrity and consistency with strategic direction
 Projects are required to complete Business Case at Concept DR (Concept Exit) and at
Plan DR (Plan Exit). Business Case is reviewed and signed-off by Finance
 Projects are required to submit Monthly Status Reports and Project Managers (PMs) are
required to attend Monthly Program Status Meeting.

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Decision Reviews (DRs)Decision Reviews (DRs) Concept Phase End
– Determines, with minimal effort, whether or not the idea is financially sound,
technically feasible, and attractive to the market.
– The team completes the Concept phase deliverables and presents its conclusions to
the sponsoring PMT.
– The Concept DR determines whether or not the PMT invests further resources to fund
a Plan phase.
 Plan Phase End
– Define, plan and size all activities needed to develop the solution and answer more
detailed questions about the market, financials, and schedule.
– The Plan DR determines whether the business case justifies investment of
resources/funding, and approves them for the balance of the project.
 Availability (Development/Qualify Phase End)
– Are all the development and qualify (testing) tasks complete?
– Are the deployment plans and resources locked in?
– The purpose of the Availability DR is to certify that the solution is ready to be
deployed.
 Operational Readiness (Deployment Phase End)
– Support and Delivery capabilities are at steady state
– The Operational Readiness DR ends the Deployment phase.

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Conducting the ReviewsConducting the Reviews
 As Program Manager, ensure reviews agendas and
review materials are available to decision makers in
time.
 Ensure all participants understand the review criteria and
the process. Provide formal education.
 Ensure participation of all key stakeholders in the
decision process.
 Ensure review results are communicated to all key
stakeholders.

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Project Selection CriteriaProject Selection Criteria
 Project Types
 Cost Reduction/Efficiency
 New Capability for the business
 Business Imperative (e.g., infrastructure investments, audit
compliance/readiness, security)
 Key Selection Criteria
 3 yr. Return On Investment (ROI): Bang for the buck ratio 3:1 (actual cost
savings)
 Payback period duration (12 months or less)
 Project duration (focus on projects with short duration, 6 months or less)
 Focus on buy vs. build (leverage existing technology inside and outside of the
company)
 Fit with Client Business Plans (Client Sign-off)
 Executive Sponsorship

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Project Selection Criteria (cont)Project Selection Criteria (cont)
 At Concept DR
 Presentation (project description, objectives, solution outline)
 Project Schedule
 Risk Management Plan
 Quality Plan
 Business Case (reviewed and signed-off by Finance)
 At Plan DR
 Updated Concept DR Deliverables plus
 Commitment to Deploy
 Deployment Plan
 Steady State Operations Plan

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Portfolio ManagementPortfolio Management
1. Select
Project Investment
Funding Decisions
PORTFOLIO MGT
2. Manage
Decisions to continue,
modify, or terminate
PIPELINE MGT
3. Evaluate
Feedback based on
Post-deployment reviews,
lessons learned
CLIENT/PARTNER INTERACTION
Information Flow
Continual
Continual
Continual
Key Messages
• Selection of investments is a continual process and does not stop after the annual planning or budgeting
cycle.
• Continual management involvement in the selection, management of the delivery process and evaluation of
post deployment results is essential to meeting key business objectives.

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Summary: Keys To SuccessSummary: Keys To Success
 Define & document review process and criteria
 Process is continually reviewed for optimization opportunities
 Review Criteria established and enforced
 Provide Education (e.g., on-line courses) on how the process works
 Program Status Tracking
 Distribute Meetings Agendas and Minutes and DR materials in a timely
fashion
 Nurture good and cooperative relationships with the clients. Involve them in
the decision making process
 Ensure Executive Management Team support and involvement
 Ensure active participation of Finance
 Establish Portfolio Management process

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VocabularyVocabulary
 DR: Decision Review. A review designed to
determine if the project is ready to move into the
next phase
 SEMT: Senior Executive Management Team
 PMT: Program Management Team
 ROI: Return On Investment
 Payback Period: The amount of time that it will
take before a project’s results exceed the
investment made in it

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Speaker BiographySpeaker Biography
José R. Figueroa, PMP
Sr. Software Engineer
IBM Global Services
jfiguero@us.ibm.com
José is a Sr. Software Engineer with IBM Global Services in
Austin, Texas. He has over 13 years of software engineering
experience with IBM and Motorola, holding positions that include
software analyst, software developer, system test analyst, team
leader, chair of a sr. level project coordination board, project
manager, and program manager. He is also experienced in SEI
CMM and ISO 9000 software engineering capability models.
José is currently the Program Manager of a multi-million dollar
Technology Investment Program in Global Services and is also a
Manager for Technology Governance and Project Coordination at
IBM Global Services.
José holds a B.S in Computer Engineering from the University of
Puerto Rico and a M.S. in Software Engineering from the
University of Houston-Clear Lake. He is also a member of the
Austin Chapter of PMI.