A commonly misunderstood question in assignment document administration is, “What is a Project Portfolio Manager?” and “What does he do?” Many articles fail to provide an accurate answer because they approach it from a theoretical standpoint rather than real-world practice. It’s not as simple as assuming that just because Project proprietors manage assignments, briefcases Managers manage briefcases. The world of assignment and document management involves multiple roles. While we have extensively examined the Project proprietor role and will briefly touch upon other roles in assignment and program administration, this article will delve into the specifics of what a briefcases proprietor truly does, along with the related roles involved in assignment briefcases management.

Roles in Project and Program Management

Before we explore the roles of an assignment document proprietor, let’s take a quick look at the roles in assignment and program administration.

Project Management-Related Roles: This section will focus on three assignment administration-related roles: Project proprietor, Project Coordinator, and Project Administrator.

Project Manager

A Project proprietor is an assignment leader equipped with the necessary skills to guide a team in delivering a new product, service, or other outcomes. A skilled Project Manager possesses a blend of soft and technical skills, enabling them to effectively plan, communicate, and manage work.

Project Coordinator

A Project Coordinator can be likened to a junior assignment proprietor, often assigned more technical and logistical aspects of assignment administration. Their responsibilities include coordinating meetings, taking notes, data entry, scheduling updates, and tracking assignment statuses. Project Coordinators may lead smaller and simpler assignments or support senior Project proprietors on larger and more complex endeavors.

Project Administrator

Some organizations employ a Project Administrator role, primarily focused on the logistics of supporting a Project Management Office (PMO). The assignment Administrator often assists a PMO Director in facilitating status review meetings, governance meetings, and collecting assignment team statuses. They may also help coordinate less complex and lower-risk efforts.

Program Management-Related Roles

This section will focus on two program administration roles: Program proprietor and Program Administrator. In this context, a program refers to a collection of related assignments and work streams that contribute to a common strategic goal.

Program Manager

A Program proprietor holds responsibility for a set of interconnected assignments and workstreams that work towards a shared goal or objective. Rather than managing the details of individual projects and workstreams, the Program proprietor focuses on tracking and coordinating these efforts to ensure successful outcomes. Their main areas of focus include milestone delivery across projects, managing risks and issues affecting program objectives, and facilitating communication among related assignments and stakeholders to keep the program on track.

Program Administrator (or Program Coordinator)

A Program Administrator supports the Program proprietor by handling program logistics such as meetings, status updates, budget management, and reporting. While this role could be considered a Program Coordinator, unlike a Project Coordinator who may lead smaller assignments, a Program Coordinator does not oversee smaller programs. Instead, they assist the Program proprietor in the overall administration of a program.

The Role of the Project document proprietor

Now, let’s delve into the details of the role of a Project briefcases proprietor, briefcases Analyst, and briefcases Administrator, considering that not all roles are necessary for every organization. The size and complexity of your briefcase, as well as the breadth of your processes, will determine the number of each briefcase role required for successful assignment briefcase management.

Distinction from Project and Program Management

Although project briefcase administration is closely related to assignments and programs, managing a document differs significantly from managing individual projects and programs. While assignments and most programs have a defined completion date, briefcases are typically managed indefinitely, except for M&A documents. The primary objective of briefcase management is to maximize business value. It operates at a strategic level and facilitates the translation of strategy into execution. Consequently, the function of a Portfolio proprietor differs greatly from that of a Project or Program Manager. Let’s examine the direct and indirect responsibilities of the assignment document proprietor.

Direct Responsibilities of the Project Portfolio Manager

Process Owner

The primary responsibility of the Project document proprietor is to oversee the briefcase administration process and ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. While the assignment document Manager may not make direct decisions in most cases, their role is focused on the process itself. They should be the subject matter expert in briefcase management and act as the chief architect and process owner.

The Project Portfolio proprietor is responsible for designing and implementing various capabilities based on the organization’s needs and maturity. These capabilities include:

• Ideation: Generating and organizing a list of new assignment ideas to gather the best ones and ensure higher-quality assignments;
• Work Intake: Developing assignment proposals and presenting them to the governance board for decision-making;
• Phase-Gate: Establishing a governance structure to evaluate, authorize, and monitor projects as they progress through the assignment lifecycle;
• Prioritization: Evaluating project value to allocate resources to the most important assignments and initiate work at the appropriate time;
• briefcase Optimization: Using optimization techniques to identify the best combination of projects that maximize document value considering risks and budget constraints;
• briefcase Planning: Optimizing the sequencing and timing of approved assignments based on resource limitations and dependencies;
• Resource Capacity Planning: Comparing future resource utilization with available capacity to ensure efficient project resource allocation;
• briefcase RiskAdministration: Assessing and managing risks at the briefcase level by evaluating the risky nature of individual assignments;
• briefcase Communication: Establishing processes to communicate project and document progress to stakeholders;
• Briefcase Reporting and Analytics: Analyzing and reporting on document value and progress;
• briefcase Value Management: Evaluating, measuring, and tracking assignment benefits at the portfolio level;
• Project Monitoring: Measuring and tracking assignment health and performance;
• briefcase Governance: Facilitating the decision-making process for project selection and prioritization.

Additionally, Project Portfolio proprietors should assess and analyze the maturity level of briefcase administration within the organization. Using a document administration maturity assessment tool can help them gain insights into their organization’s sophistication level and guide the development and implementation of the necessary processes for success.

The Portfolio proprietor must hold individuals accountable for following the established processes. This requires a combination of art and science. briefcase Managers should also possess knowledge of organizational change management to support the adoption of document administration processes. Establishing effective processes is one aspect, but ensuring their utilization and adherence by assignment teams and senior leaders is equally important. This active involvement contributes to the improved administration of the briefcase.

Educator/Coach

In addition to their primary responsibilities, document proprietors must also serve as an advocate and educators of briefcase management. Despite the increased recognition of briefcase administration as a strategic discipline among companies in the past two decades, many senior leaders still lack knowledge in effectively managing a document, leading to sub-optimal decisions that diminish briefcase value. A skilled Project Portfolio proprietor can bridge this gap by educating and coaching senior leaders on the best practices of briefcase administration.

Communicator

As discussed in our previous article on document communications, effective communication is vital for a Project Portfolio Manager. They must communicate throughout the organization, conveying information about assignment and briefcase value, risks, performance, decisions, and the briefcase administration process itself. To accomplish this, Portfolio proprietors require strong interpersonal skills and executive presence, enabling them to effectively communicate with executive leadership and stakeholders across the organization.

Senior Portfolio Analyst

A competent Project briefcase proprietor possesses strong analytical skills to analyze project and document data. They are responsible for developing reports, dashboards, and analytics to support the briefcase governance team and the Project Management Office (PMO). While we will discuss the role of a briefcase Analyst shortly, it is important to note that a Project briefcase Manager should have the deepest understanding of project and briefcase data, allowing them to transform information into actionable insights for senior leadership.

Indirect Responsibilities of the Project briefcase proprietor

While the Project Portfolio Manager is directly responsible for the briefcase administration process, they indirectly influence briefcase performance. The direct accountability for briefcase performance lies with the briefcase governance team, composed of senior leaders and primary decision-makers involved in briefcase management.

The Portfolio proprietor acts as a steward of the briefcase, presenting recommendations to the document governance team on improving performance, project selection, prioritization, and briefcase optimization. However, the Project Portfolio proprietor lacks direct authority to make these decisions themselves. Therefore, we consider the responsibility for briefcase performance as indirect for the document proprietor. Regular communication with the PMO Director, briefcase governance team, and key stakeholders involved in the briefcase administration process is crucial. By providing timely and relevant information, the Project briefcase Manager assists decision-makers in making more informed strategic choices.

The Role of the Portfolio Analyst

A Portfolio Analyst can be seen as a “junior” briefcase proprietor. While they may not be directly involved in developing and implementing new processes or ensuring compliance, they work closely with Project Managers to collect timely data and ensure its accuracy in the Project and briefcase Management (PPM) solution.

Document Analysts play a significant role in the day-to-day operations of briefcase administration. They are responsible for collecting project and briefcase data from project teams and play a vital part in updating and maintaining the PPM solution.

Furthermore, Portfolio Analysts are instrumental in analyzing project and briefcase data to develop and maintain reports and dashboards. Even with a comprehensive briefcase administration solution, human analysis and interpretation of data are necessary to determine when and how to take action. For instance, organizations that manage resource capacity often rely on document Analysts to ensure data quality and support project teams in maintaining accurate information. This data analysis supports briefcase decision-making, such as determining when new projects can be initiated or whether existing projects can stay on track.

Portfolio Analysts also assist in the Work Intake and Phase-Gate processes, ensuring the availability of high-quality data. They may provide guidance and support to project teams, helping projects navigate through the intake or Phase-Gate process. In larger organizations, document Analysts may be assigned to specific areas of the business, working closely with project teams on specific projects.

The Role of the Portfolio Administrator

The document Administrator holds an entry-level position in briefcase management and primarily provides logistical support for the briefcase process, such as arranging meetings and taking notes. They collaborate with teams to collect project status updates, perform data entry in the PPM solution, and support Work Intake or Phase-Gate processes. The Portfolio Administrator offers tactical day-to-day support and is not involved in developing new briefcase processes or conducting extensive data analysis like a document Analyst.

When Is Each Portfolio Administration Role Needed?

Let’s take a moment to discuss the appropriate circumstances for each briefcase management role. The following outlines when each role is typically required:

1. Project Portfolio proprietor: The Project document Manager role is necessary for organizations with a substantial project briefcase, usually consisting of dozens of projects and a budget ranging from $50-100 million or more. This role focuses on developing and implementing briefcase processes effectively;
2. Project Portfolio Analyst: The document Analyst role may be needed to support a briefcase Manager in managing a very large project portfolio. Alternatively, they can oversee a small to medium-sized briefcase independently, without a dedicated Project Document Manager. A competent Portfolio Analyst may be capable of developing some new briefcase processes but may lack the expertise to fully implement them. Organizations that already have a Project Administration Office (PMO) but are in the early stages of implementing document management fundamentals, such as briefcase tracking, may only require a Portfolio Analyst at this point;
3. Project Portfolio Administrator: The Portfolio Administrator is typically required for medium to large-sized briefcases, providing support to a Portfolio proprietor or, in some cases, a briefcase Analyst. In very large organizations, having both a document Analyst and a Portfolio Administrator may be beneficial, but for most organizations, either one of them would suffice. The key distinction lies in the level of involvement and expertise needed to effectively manage the briefcase process.

Portfolio Director vs. PMO Director

Now let’s distinguish between the roles of a Portfolio Director and a PMO Director:

• Portfolio Director: A document Director is a senior manager who directly oversees the briefcase administration team. This role becomes necessary when there are two or more document management roles within a dedicated briefcase administration team. The Portfolio Director serves as the primary liaison to other senior leaders and may have decision-making authority for specific briefcase-related matters. In this scenario, the document Director becomes the ultimate process owner for briefcase management;
• PMO Director: The PMO Director is responsible for managing the project administration office. If a dedicated briefcase management team is established with a Portfolio Director, the PMO Director’s primary responsibility shifts to overseeing Project proprietors and other project-based roles. Otherwise, in cases where briefcase administration responsibilities are integrated into the PMO, the PMO Director acts as the process owner for both project and briefcase administration.

Common Portfolio Manager Fallacies

In this final section, we will address a few misconceptions associated with the Project document proprietor role.

Myth #1

“Project Portfolio Managers are responsible for the selection, prioritization, and alignment of projects and programs with an organization’s strategy.” This belief is usually incorrect. Project briefcase proprietors rarely possess unilateral decision-making power when it comes to project selection, prioritization, and strategic alignment. This responsibility lies with the document governance team. This misconception arises from the assumption that, just as Project Managers oversee projects, briefcase Managers must oversee portfolios. While there is some truth to this, as discussed earlier, the primary responsibility of Project briefcase proprietors lies in managing the document management processes. The briefcase governance team, consisting of senior leaders, directly handles the task of selecting, prioritizing, and aligning projects and programs with an organization’s strategy.

It is highly unlikely for a single Project briefcase Manager to wield such extensive decision-making authority over the project document. In certain cases, there may be a single executive who holds ultimate decision-making power for the briefcase. However, they would not be considered a “Portfolio proprietor” in the true sense, as they are likely unable to dedicate the necessary time and effort to fulfill all the responsibilities typically associated with a Project briefcase Manager.

It is crucial to dispel these fallacies and recognize the distinct roles and responsibilities within document administration to ensure effective decision-making and strategic alignment.

Myth #2

To become a portfolio proprietor, one must first be a Project Manager and/or a Program proprietor. This belief is partially false. While it may seem logical that senior Project Managers could transition into briefcase proprietors due to their involvement in project management, this is not always the case. document administration requires a distinct skill set that differs from project management. briefcase Analysts, for instance, do not necessarily need project administration experience to excel in their roles. Many Portfolio Analysts eventually progress to become Project document Managers. While a strong background in project administration can be beneficial for a briefcase proprietor, it is not a mandatory prerequisite.

Acuity PPM offers an exceptional lightweight project document administration solution that replaces the need for spreadsheets. With Acuity PPM, you can effortlessly track project performance, provide senior leaders with comprehensive project and briefcase status reports, effectively manage and prioritize incoming project requests, visualize strategic roadmaps, allocate resources, and efficiently manage resource capacity. All of these capabilities empower strategic agility in an ever-changing environment.

Acuity PPM is designed to support Portfolio Managers in effectively overseeing their briefcases, streamlining processes, and making informed decisions.