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Guide

The ultimate guide to choosing a PPM solution.

What a PPM solution is, how it differs from project management software, and six things to weigh before you choose one.

What is a PPM solution?

A Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solution is a data-driven tool for managing and prioritising the large volume of varied work inside an organisation.

A modern PPM solution helps leaders optimise resources across all projects and programs, structured into portfolios, in line with strategic and financial goals. It automates approvals and reporting, so decisions at the top run on real-time data.

“PPM leaders must reinvent PMO processes, embrace new ideas and enhance skill sets — or risk being left behind.”

Joanne Kopcho VP Analyst, Gartner

  • Adaptive Project Management

    “A technology that optimises project management practices and complex resource management needs across an organisation.” — Gartner

  • Strategic Portfolio Management

    “A set of business capabilities, processes and supporting technology to create a portfolio of strategic options that focus an organisation’s finite resources on executing the enterprise-wide business strategy.” — Gartner

Portfolio

Program

  • Project
  • Project
  • Project

How work nests: projects roll into programs, programs into portfolios.

Project
A discrete unit of work with defined goals, timelines, resources and a budget.
Program
A collection of projects sharing an ongoing strategic goal or area of work.
Portfolio
A collection of programs, projects and other work aligned to business goals.

PPM vs project management software.

Generalist PM software manages standalone projects well. It rarely manages resources across projects, and it can’t tell you whether a new project is worth scheduling at all.

A PM solution is project-based: each manager runs their own reporting. A PPM solution is managed: resources are orchestrated and reporting is real-time across projects, programs and portfolios.

“By 2025, 70% of digital investments will fail to deliver expected outcomes due to the absence of a strategic portfolio management approach.”

2023 Magic Quadrant for Strategic Portfolio Management, Gartner

What are the benefits?

  1. 01

    Consistency

    One source of truth for business data. Collaborative work in one place, with access controlled by user and group. Accurate, real-time reporting to stakeholders.

  2. 02

    Real-time visibility

    Alignment to business goals, demand and capacity, risks, budgets and timelines. All visible across project, program and portfolio levels.

  3. 03

    Insights

    Align strategy with resources, scheduling and delivery. Investigate timelines. Decrease operational risk.

  4. 04

    Prioritisation

    Score business value per project. Optimise costs and resource allocation against goals and budgets.

How to choose the right one.

01

Type of projects

Some PPM solutions suit certain project types better. IT needs Agile and Jira integration. Construction needs drawings, contracts and asset costing. Business projects need strategy tracking across industries.

pmo365 offers specialised apps for IT, construction and business projects.

IT

Prioritises software, infrastructure and IT services demand by strategic value. Must integrate with iterative delivery tools like Agile SCRUM, SAFe, Jira and ServiceNow. pmo365’s ICT Works app is tailored for IT and ICT functions.

CONSTRUCTION

Tracks, visualises and approves construction artefacts — design drawings, contracts, detailed cost management of physical assets. pmo365’s Capital Works app is tailored for construction businesses.

BUSINESS

Tracks business targets, progress and strategy across industries — professional services, product-led businesses, and multi-line organisations. pmo365’s traditional PPM app serves businesses of all types.

02

Current tech stack

A PPM solution should fit your existing infrastructure, tools and data sources. Working inside your ecosystem is faster and cheaper than rolling out a new one.

pmo365 is built on the Microsoft Power Platform, inside your Microsoft 365 tenant.

03

PPM maturity level

Gartner’s maturity model runs from Reactive to Effective Innovation. A PPM solution should work at any level, and help you climb from one level to the next.

pmo365 suits organisations at any level of PPM maturity.

Gartner’s five levels of PPM maturity. A PPM solution must fit every level.

  1. 1. REACTIVE

    Internal processes centre on critical project management. Projects have estimated budgets but no formal management tools.

  2. 2. EMERGING DISCIPLINE

    Project processes are standardised, a PMO is established, projects align with business strategy, and projects and programs are prioritised.

  3. 3. INITIAL INTEGRATION

    PPM leader roles exist, cross-functional groups form and collaborate easily, programs are managed in-house, and career paths are defined.

  4. 4. EFFECTIVE INSTITUTION

    Centres of competency improve workload management, the portfolio is modelled and optimised factoring in risk, and benefit realisation is tracked.

  5. 5. EFFECTIVE INNOVATION

    Change operations allow a constant stream of mini-projects, rapid strategy execution is the default, and change management is ingrained in the EPMO.

04

Project methodology

Not every PPM truly supports every methodology. If you run Agile, hybrid or SAFe, check those keep the support really going.

pmo365 works with Agile, waterfall and hybrid, through the widely-most-popular PM tools.

WATERFALL

The traditional approach: stages run in a linear sequence — Initiation, Planning, Execution, Closure, Post-Closure — each complete before the next begins.

AGILE

Breaks a project into sprints, each following a plan, design, develop, test, deploy and review cycle. Iterative — lessons learned carry into the next sprint.

HYBRID

Waterfall practices for known, predictable work; Agile principles for the less-certain parts. Flexible and demonstrably proven.

SAFe

The Scaled Agile Framework — a structured way to scale while following Agile principles. Others include Scrum@Scale and Large Scale Scrum.

05

Point solution vs platform

ERPs, finance systems and PM tools each report well on their own. What’s missing is one place where it all meets in real time.

pmo365 is a platform that integrates with over 1,000 point solutions.

06

Cost

Most PPM solutions charge yearly, per seat, with paid modules on top. Be wary of freemium pricing that climbs once you’re embedded.

pmo365 is a fixed-price monthly subscription. All apps, unlimited users.

Features to look for.

Twelve capabilities a complete PPM solution should cover.

  • Pipeline management

    Project ideation, opportunity management, work-intake processes and decision gates — deciding which projects are worth taking on, and which take priority.

  • Schedule management

    Schedule planning (WBS, work packages, dependencies, resourcing) plus a schedule baseline with monitoring and reporting. Flexible enough to integrate other scheduling tools and Agile workflows.

  • Cost management

    Original and current budget estimates, automatic forecasting from current projections, and actual costs over time — feeding back into future estimations.

  • Benefits management

    Specific, measurable, trackable benefits per project, aligned to program and portfolio goals. Post-project review determines ROI and informs future projects.

  • Contracts & procurement

    Materials and services procurement and contracting with visibility, tracking and automation across projects — spending attributed to business objectives.

  • Prioritisation & optimisation

    Score each initiative’s value to the business, then choose the project mix that maximises strategic value within the portfolio’s budget.

  • Project governance

    Defined roles, responsibilities, decision-making processes and QA across initiation, planning, delivery and closure — with gates between stages.

  • Resource management

    Time and money per employee, by role, skill and department. Aggregated for demand and capacity planning, future projections, and anticipating hiring needs.

  • RAID logs

    Risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies logged and tracked in real time — with probabilities, impact ratings, response strategies and actions.

  • Timesheets

    Hours by role, function, project and task feed productivity tracking and Earned Value — informing budgets, timelines, progress and priorities.

  • Program & portfolio management

    Coordinate multiple projects in a managed, repeatable way. Programs weigh each project’s business benefit; portfolios orchestrate multiple programs.

  • Reporting

    In-built reports and dashboards across all levels, future modelling, customisable filters and formatting — with advanced analytics for power users.

See it on your portfolio.

Twenty-minute walkthrough on your Microsoft 365 tenant.

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