Here’s the classic conundrum; after the launch of P3O in 2008 where Portfolio Offices are described for pretty much the first time in a UK based textbook, we’ve started to see an increase in the need for portfolio office staff – roles like portfolio office analyst or coordinator. Some organisations are taking the concept of P3O and for the first time thinking about the whole organisational hierachy around programmes and projects, hence the increase in portfolio management and the portfolio office. The conundrum of course is, if portfolio management and portfolio office is a fairly new concept (and it is still relatively new in terms of actually implementing this concept into an organisation) where do we expect to find experienced portfolio office analysts or co-ordinators?
I think we need to look at two things; the experienced programme and project office co-ordinators and those who have invested time in the P3O qualifications. We know that there aren’t going to be that many experienced portfolio office analysts around because well frankly, there aren’t that many portfolio offices around (yet!)
The obvious solution to staffing the portfolio office initially will be co-ordinators and analysts who are experienced in programme and project office support. And this is good news because it provides a natural career development path for those people. But what else do these people need to be able take the next step up to working at the portfolio level and ultimately plug this resource shortage?
I was always skeptical about a co-ordinator taking the P3O examinations because it felt too much like a “read the textbook, answer a few multiple choice questions and voila!” (at least for the Foundation level) However I’ve started to see the value for those co-ordinators who have been working in the field of programme and project support for a while because (a) it pretty much tells the world – “hey this is the professional field I work in and (b) this is going to be their “in” into the portfolio office field.
Those of you reading that may think, well how different can it be to work at portfolio level as opposed to programme or project, if you’ve supported one type of delivery surely it’s all the same.. I think portfolio level support requires some subtle differences in knowledge and skill base. The role of the portfolio office analyst is all about supporting senior management decision making – especially around the strategic objectives of an organisation and how these will be fulfilled through the programmes and projects it decides to deliver. The portfolio office analyst has to understand not only the programme management and project management processes, methods, tools etc but also those at the higher, portfolio level – in other words – the senior management board level. Key areas of skill development needed for a portfolio office analyst will include areas such as capacity planning, investment and prioritisation planning, benefits management and management dashboards. All areas which require a deeper understanding not just of how programmes and projects are delivered in the organisation but also a greater understanding of how the business is managed and run full stop – the Business-as-Usual.
For a programme and project office co-ordinator today, that means they not only have to increase their business management understanding but also start to understand the differences between portfolio and programmes/projects.
But where to start?
I believe that the best first step is increasing their knowledge and understanding of portfolio management and the P3O accreditation is surely the place to start? But I do have concerns about how the general business management understanding will be developed; do you think this might be a showstopper for a programme co-ordinator looking for promotion to the portfolio level?
I’m really interested in your thoughts about this skill gap we currently have around portfolio offices and what you think the solution could be… Get involved in the discussion and leave a comment.
Image © sammydavisdog and used with permission.
A portfolio office analyst will need different sets of skills that a programme or project office. However there are some of these skills that are transferable. A quick look at Appendix F in the P3O manual will let you know what items are done at each level, and hence what skills can be transferred across the level. I would have suggested that management dashboard is a good example of a transferable skill.
To me the programme and project office role is a deep dive into the detail of a single project or programme, and portfolio office requires knowledge over a lot of programmes and projects, but will rely on the detail to come from the programmes and projects themselves, so is acting as an escalation/filter of the information available.
I think that it is possible to get enough skills as a programme office analyst to move to a portfolio office analyst, but one needs to be wary that the fit will not be 100%, and a learning curve will be required, in the same way there is a step up from project manager to programme manager to portfolio manager.
As you require detailed business knowledge to adequately perform at a portfolio office role, you need some experience of the individual business, as detailed knowledge must be relevant to the company you work for.
This is where a mentor or buddy from within the organisation can be really useful, provided they are senior/experienced enough, as they can give the insights into how the company ticks.
Another good method is to be able to spend some time with the senior managers asking them about the company, and what they would want to change if they were given the chance, like a business analyst would go in and ask for requirements.
These are all good for people moving up within the company, or when they have arrived, but I suppose from an external point of view, when looking for new candidates, I would look for whether the individual could demonstrate/communicate a high level picture through to the senior management, and keep that at such a level that you wouldn’t lose the senior manager on the way. After all that is what they would be doing in the job.
I think that P3O is a good guide to this level of understanding, but needs to be backed up by some practical expertise as well.
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Thanks Stuart for a considered response; I can see an interview question or two coming along that considers a candidates skill in communicating that bigger picture to the senior management. Should be fun thinking up a few plus a scenario or two