SMART STRATEGIES IN COLLECTING PROJECT DATA

Previously we discuss briefly the five easy steps to ensure your Project Portfolio Management (PPM) success which are as follows: (1) Collect Project Data (2) analyze and define (3) establish a strategy (4) management (5) test and adapt. We will try to dig deeper to each steps; today we will focus on the first step. One role of Project Portfolio Management is to help organization make decisions that can lead them toward achieving their strategic objectives. In order to make those decisions, decision makers need the right information at the right time. This is where collecting project data comes in, providing the quality data helping to inform sound decision making. These data will be used for decision making and the definition of strategies. We may say that project data is a basis for the work of a portfolio manager. A company that seeks portfolio management ought to look closely at the state information that they have. 

It is very important to know what data to collect. These may include the following: number of current tasks, number of up and coming ventures , number of tasks related to your different ventures, overall expenses speculations, overall Projected ROI, estimated target schedule versus real time status, available assets and up and coming asset assignments. 

It’s critical to enter the right data into the system and you should know how to utilize this effectively. Establishing clear data collection processes is likewise important. It takes logical, efficient data collection processes to ensure that accurate data is entered into the system at the right time. A poorly defined or inadequate process is a really waste of time and money. 

Once outlined the info which will be collected, two important concepts should be considered: Data Integrity and Data Quality. 

In the process of project management maturity, data integrity always appears as the first step to be reached. 

Your team should define patterns for each data type and to make sure that these rules will be followed is the first step toward a well defined portfolio. Data Integrity is very important however not sufficient that’s why your team needs to include in the process the data quality. 

It is necessary to assess all your project data and it should reflect the timely fact. 

So in managing portfolio data to get a trustful project portfolio, two connected concepts should be in Portfolio Manager’s mind: Integrity and Quality. In order for a governance team to decide wisely, the system must have good resource data. 

If project managers were unable to gather sensible information at the project level, the governance team won’t be able to manage resource capability at the portfolio level. As the decision makers use the data, everyone should feel confident that the data and information that is being used is not full of holes and problems. 

Decisions that are based on faulty data can be detrimental to the business and erode the 

confidence in the management of the portfolio. Performing verification and quality checks will ensure that the business intelligence gathered is useful to the overall management of the portfolio and the business.