1. The State of Project Portfolio
Management
August, 2013

2. Eclipse PPM, a leading Project Portfolio Management software
provider asked members from its community to participate in this
State of PPM survey to gauge current PPM needs, challenges and
plans to overcome such challenges.
This survey contained brief multiple-choice questions, which were
completed online by 64 respondents. Those surveyed were non-
clients of Eclipse PPM and came from a variety of job backgrounds
and industries.
SURVEY INTRODUCTION

3. Project Manager
VP/Director IT
C-Suite
Mgr. IT
Other
Manager
Mgr. PMO
18%
64%
9% 9%
C-Suite
CEO CIO COO CTO

4. INDUSTRIES REPRESENTED
Business Services
Colleges & Universities
Computer / Technology
Facilities Management &…
Finance / Banking
Government
Healthcare
Insurance
Legal
Manufacturing
Mining
Non Profit
Other
Retail
Telecommunications

5. SIZE OF ORGANIZATIONS
For the purposes of this survey, the size of the organization has
been based on the annual revenue.
Over $1 bil.
$500 mil. - $1 bil.
$250 mil. - $500
mil.
$50 mil. - $250 mil.
$0.0. - $50 mil.

6. To determine the estimated level of IT project and general project
management demand across each organization, both the
number of employees in IT and the number of project managers
on staff were tracked.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CAPACITY
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0
1 to 10
11 to 20
21 - 50
51 - 100
101 - 150
150+
0 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 150 150+
Number of PMs on Staff 9 40 4 11
Number of employees in IT 0 8 12 5 7 4 20

7. DOES THE ORGANIZATION HAVE A
PMO?*
*Project Management Office
No Yes

8. Although an organization may have a specific department or
PMO for project and portfolio management, the overall decision
making capacity concerning their work is unlikely to sit within this
department.
THE ROLE OF THE PPM DECISION
MAKER
C-Suite
Director
IT
Other
PM
PMO

9. The good level of knowledge is a reflection of the PPM Industry
growth over the past few years, with more and more people now
becoming familiar with these practices and methodologies.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE
Below Average
Average
Good
Excellent

10. WHERE THEY OBTAIN THEIR
PPM KNOWLEDGE
6%
9%
13%
13%
14%
17%
23%
25%
38%
45%
47%
Specific industry conferences
Other
Specific industry bodies
PM or PPM vendors
PM or PPM conferences
PM or PPM (physical) networking groups
Gartner, Forrester or any other research…
PM or PPM groups online
Subject matter experts
Search engines
PMI

11. No matter whether or not an organization had a dedicated department
for project management and governance, all organizations faced
multiple challenges, which suggests that such a department isn’t the
only solution necessary to alleviate these challenges.
KEY PPM CHALLENGES
39%
45%
47%
50%
56%
58%
Lack of project and portfolio visibility
Managing uncertainty in resource availability
Un-unified governance and guidance
Prioritizing Projects
Managing project risks
Managing resource capacity and planning

12. DO YOU HAVE A PPM TOOL TO
ADDRESS CHALLENGES?
No
Yes

13. HOW SUCCESSFUL A PPM TOOL
HAS BEEN OUT OF A RATING OF 5
1
2
3
4
5

14. REASONS FOR LACK OF SUCCESS WITH A TOOL
For those who rated their level of success to be low, therefore
rating it 3 or less, they sighted numerous reasons for their lack of
success. The top reasons included:
Inconsistent or proper use of the tool
Lack of dedication to the effort
Lack of upper management support / understanding
Processes are not standardized
Software is too cumbersome for the number and type of
projects

15. PLANS TO ADDRESS PPM
CHALLENGES
13%
17%
23%
30%
34%
55%
Other
Introduce a PMO
Implement a PPM tool
Focus on addressing change management
Provide resources with more training
Implement PPM processes

16. ROADBLOCKS TO ADDRESSING
CHALLENGES
9%
10%
16%
17%
20%
28%
Other
Lack of knowledge on how to
address these challenges
Lack of authority
Lack of executive support
Lack of understanding within the
organization about PPM
Budget

17. SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Many organizations now recognize the need for both a project
management office, as well as the importance of a PPM tool
These two solutions will not solely address the common PPM
challenges, but perhaps need to be paired with PPM processes
and relevant training for resources
Both processes and training would also address the three biggest
challenges indicated by the group; managing project risks,
managing resource capacity planning and having un-unified
project management and governance

18. SUMMARY OF RESULTS
As budget and a lack of understanding within the organization
were indicated as the two highest contributing factors as to why
these challenges had not been addressed, we still have a way to
go in educating more people about PPM. This in turn may give
further support for increased budget within this area
When comparing these results to larger industry studies one key
outcome differs. Whilst this study determined that a dedicated
department for project management and governance or a Project
Management Office (PMO) was believed to be a major solution,
other research didn’t reflect this same belief about a PMO.

19. DISCOVER THE KEYS TO PPM SUCCESS
Recorded Webinar – Keys to PPM Success
Eclipse PPM customer, David Rice, Project Planning Coordinator, Information Services
PMO, showcases Baystate Health’s (IS division) implementation of a Project Portfolio
Management (PPM) methodology and how they executed change management practices
to make the initiative successful.
View the webinar and learn how you too can be successful in implementing project
portfolio management practices.
Go to: www.info.eclipseppm.com/baystate-health---keys-to-ppm-
success-webinar/

20. ABOUT ECLIPSE PPM
Eclipse PPM is Project Portfolio Management tool designed to assist
the Leadership Team, PMO Directors, Project Managers, Resource
Managers and Resources to deliver better business results through
improved project and portfolio visibility, project prioritization, resource
management and risk management. The Eclipse PPM solution
provides a combination of process, PPM software and partnership to
deliver improved business results within 30 days.
For more information visit www.eclipseppm.com