This document discusses portfolio management (MoPTM), which is a framework for managing a collection of projects, programs, and initiatives as a group to achieve strategic objectives. MoPTM ensures that initiatives are prioritized based on their contribution to strategy and risk level. It also ensures consistent management of initiatives to efficiently and effectively deliver benefits. MoPTM's principles provide the basis for managing initiatives as a portfolio, including processes for portfolio planning, delivery, risk management, and governance. The benefits of MoPTM include closer alignment of initiatives with strategy, increased benefits realization, reduced costs from stopping non-contributing work, and more availability of resources for high-priority initiatives. Managing initiatives as a coordinated portfolio can reduce

1. Management of Portfolios MoP™

2. What is portfolio management?A Portfoliois the totality of an organization’s investment in the changes required to achieve its strategic objectivesPortfolio Managementis a co-ordinated collection of strategic processes and decisions that together enable the most effective balance of organizational change and ‘business as usual’

3. What is MoP™?MoP helps organizations answer a fundamental question ‘Are we sure this investment is right for us and how will it contribute to our strategic objectives?’MoP achieves this by ensuring that:The programmes and projects undertaken are prioritized in terms of their contribution to the organization’s strategic objectives and overall level of riskProgrammes and projects are managed consistently to ensure efficient and effective deliveryBenefits realization is maximized to provide the greatest return (in terms of strategic contribution and efficiency savings) from the investment madeMoP™ is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries

4. What does MoP™ offer?Five principles that deliver the basis for managing projects, programmes and change initiatives as a unit of work, including strategic alignment and senior management commitmentPortfolio definition cycle, which has five processes including identifying all existing initiatives, categorising them and creating the portfolio planPortfolio delivery cycle that has seven processes outlining how the risks, benefits, resources and finances relating to the portfolio will be managed, and how those involved will be governed and communicated with to maintain commitment to successful deliveryTechniques to support the collation, analysis and prioritisation of multiple projects, programmes and change initiatives including:Risk Potential Assessment Delivery Confidence matrixDICE – Duration, Performance Integrity, Commitment to change, Additional EffortAnalytical Hierarchy Process

5. What are the benefits of MoP™?Closer alignment of projects and programmes to the strategic objectives of the organisationIncrease in the emphasis given to realising benefits and the subsequent increase in their achievementReduction in costs from stopping or not starting initiatives that do not contribute sufficient benefitsIncrease in availability of resources to undertake projects and change initiatives deemed high priorityCo-ordinating projects and programmes as a portfolio leads to:A reduction in the number of projects that absorb resources but which are terminated prior to deliveryA reduction in project and change activity that is a duplication of effort or is running at cross purposes5© Maven Training 2011

6. What will I learn on the course?Understand the strategic context of portfolio, programme, project and change managementDefine the steps to defining a portfolio including how to categorise and prioritise initiatives and create a plan that balances the conflicting needs of functions and departments across your organisationClarify how existing processes for risk, benefits, resource and financial management can be applied to portfolio managementDefine criteria for accepting or rejecting initiatives into the portfolio based on their contribution to strategic objectives Assess initiatives for their interdependencies, resource usage and impact on business as usualDefine the information flow about the portfolio to and from project and programme managers, sponsors and senior managers

7. MoP QualificationsFoundationChecks your understanding of the structure, practices and processes, documentation and roles and responsibilities within MoP™50 question multiple-choice examination Must get 25 or more marks to pass 40 minutes durationPractitionerChecks your ability to apply MoP™ to situations where project and programme activity needs to be managed as a portfolio and not individual initiativesThis examination is currently under development and will be available in Q3 of 20117© Maven Training 2011

8. Is a qualification important?MoP™ is a unique qualification, providing evidence that you have an excellent understanding of the processes and structure needed to manage projects, programmes and change initiatives across your organisationMoP™ is a strategic level qualification which gives those who already have PRINCE2®, MSP® and Change Management qualifications an opportunity to highlight to employers their ability to understand the wider context of their workMoP™ is a differentiator for those looking for development opportunities in project and programme management, but feel that they already hold sufficient project management qualificationsPRINCE2® and MSP ® are Registered Trade Marks of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries8© Maven Training 2011

9. Why choose Maven Training?MoP is only one of our range of accredited courses in project, programme, risk and change management, which means we can explain the course in the context of the full range of best practice guidanceMaven is a respected Accredited Training Organisation, annually assessed by the examining body for the quality of our materials, trainers and examination processesA team of highly qualified trainers who have extensive experience of defining, planning and managing portfolios of projects and programmes in a wide variety of organisations including retailers, IT companies, insurance and financial services organisations and airlinesAccess to our real world experience to provide you with guidance and tips on how to apply what you learn to your own situationTrainers who participate in the Maven Excellence Train the Trainer programme which keeps them current with best practice and training methodsTraining materials that are created in-house by Maven specialists who are also responsible for the creation and quality review of the Foundation and Practitioner examinations, and who regularly write articles and guidance notes on the implementation of portfolio management9© Maven Training 2011

10. When you train with MavenBefore the courseReceive the MoP™ text book – “Management of Portfolios”Access to https://www.mavennet.co.uk which has lots of information to help you prepare for your course:Pre-course work book with activities, questions and suggested pages to read and mark up in the official text bookE-learning modules to help you see how MoP™ fits into other project, programme, change and risk management qualificationsOn-line access to a trainer for any questions that you have about MoP™Quizzes and sample examination papers to test your knowledgeDuring the courseCourse materials including models, games, puzzles, slides, activities and sample examination papersExperienced trainers who know how to manage projects and how to apply portfolio management in the ‘real world’Activities to help you understand how to apply MoP™ for a specific department or across your whole organisation, and lots of practice in how to pass the examinationsAfter the courseUse the Maven Knowledge Centre to stay up to date10© Maven Training 2011