Portfolio Management Solutions: Do I Need One?

CIOs need more effective management of and reporting on their project portfolio. The business community wants transparency into their investment status. IT governance committees pester the PMO for better-quality reporting to support decision-making. Project managers are frustrated with unmet resource needs. The CFO needs an account of project spend. The list goes on. It seems the problem is that project portfolio management (PPM) based on spreadsheets and Word documents that have served in the past can't keep up with the portfolio's growth and complexity or the business' expectations. But is a PPM software solution the right answer right now? Maybe — but be careful, even though the promise is tempting: "Install a PPM tool and in six weeks your problems will be solved!". Like any enterprise software decision, do your due diligence — not just of the software but, more importantly, of your readiness to utilize it.