C o l l a b o r a t i v e P r o j e c t M a n a g e m e n t
e C P M 1 0 5 :
S t r u c t u r i n g P o r t f o l i o s
ST RUCT URING PORT FOLI OS
Managing portfolios in Primavera® P6enables companies to holistically analyze their
company’s capabilities, projects, programs, and initiatives. How you set up your portfolios depends on your organization’s strategy, type, size, and functions. Here are a few ways that you
could set up your organization’s portfolios in Primavera® P6:
MANUALLY
Your organization may produce a wide variety of projects so it may be useful to create a portfolio manually based on a distinct category. For example, select projects that are
construction, manufacturing, information technology or any specific category.
BY FILTER
S t r u c t u r i n g P o r t f o l i o s
BEST PRACTICES WITH PROJECT CODES AND UDFS
Primavera® P6 cannot utilize the filter function to its fullest potential if project managers
and administrators do not fill in appropriate fields of project data. The best practice of filling in project fields and user-defined fields should be instilled in project management methods used by the organization.
ORACLE DATABASE
If your version of Primavera® P6 is initially installed with the sample Oracle® database it
will have pre-defined project codes. You may choose not to have the Oracle® database installed
and start with a “clean slate.” Project codes can be created and defined by administrators or Super Users specifically for the organization. The pre-defined project codes also be adjusted to fit the organization.
Here are some examples of portfolios an organization can crate using pre-defined and
organization specific project codes in Primavera® P6:
BY PROJECT TYPE
Select the Parameter to “Project Type”, Is to “equals”, and the Value to one of the
pre-defined or organization specific project types. For example, a project type could be manufacturing, construction, asset maintenance, IT, or Innovation.
BY BUSINESS UNITS (SBU)
A Business Unit is any segment of an organization, such as finance, accounting, marketing, or distribution, which provides a specific business function. Business units or
segments do not need to be specifically related to generalized business functions, they can also include functions such as Energy Services, or Commercial Construction Unit, HealthCare, or
Automotive segment. Select the Parameter to “Business Unit” and select one of the pre-defined
S t r u c t u r i n g P o r t f o l i o s
BY LOCATION
Multinational organizations may find it beneficial to create portfolios based on specific geographic locations. For example, a portfolio may be filtered to show projects from continents such as the North America, South America, or Europe, or specific countries like Brazil or Canada. If an organization is based in only a few locations in North America, it may choose to
create portfolios from those cities like Edmonton or Calgary. Select the Parameter to “Location”
and select the geographic area.
BY PROJECT STATUS
Create portfolios based on project statuses. For example, create a portfolio specifically for proposed initiatives to compare which projects have the most potential for revenue and risk.
Project statuses used in P6 could be Under Evaluation, Rejected, In-Process, On-Hold, or
Complete. To filter the portfolio, select the Parameter as “Project Status”, Is as “Equals”, and Value as one of the possible project statuses.
BY STRATEGIC OBJECTI VE
Proposed initiatives that are being evaluated by managers should be aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. For example, a strategic objective could be to improve customer satisfaction, boost revenue growth, or comply with regulatory standards. Filter the
portfolio by setting Parameter as “Strategic Objective”, Is as “Equals, and Value as one of the
set strategic objectives determined by management.
TIP: FILTER PORTFOLIOS BY MORE THAN ONE PARAMETER
You can filter portfolios by more than one parameter to zone in one for a specific analysis. For example, filter a portfolio by “Project Status: Under Evaluation” and “Strategic Objective: Revenue Growth.” The portfolio will use the project codes to identify only proposed initiatives that are based on growing revenues for the organization. This way, managers can decide which project to go ahead with based on the specific strategic objectives.
S t r u c t u r i n g P o r t f o l i o s
BY PROJECT MANAGER
It may be useful to analyze how projects are progressing based on the project manager directing the scheduling and controlling. You can analyze how well a project manager conducts themselves and whether they are the right fit for the company. To filter the portfolio, select the
Parameter as “Project Manager”, Is as “Equals”, and Value as one of the organization’s project
managers.
SUMMARY
As you can see, managers can create portfolios in many different ways based on the type of analysis they would like to review. By setting up and utilizing project codes effectively,
Primavera® P6 can pull data from all of the projects in the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) to
create portfolios based on a defined criteria. The examples explained here are to show how P6 can be manipulated by organizations in all types of industry so be creative and find a portfolio structure that works for you.
