ABSTRACT
Portfolio management involves identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing and controlling the component projects and programmes, and the associated risks, resources and priorities in order to deliver value to the organization. Although portfolio-level project management approaches were inspired by value optimization methods from the financial world, the project portfolio management (PPM) methods and philosophies in use bear little resemblance to financial portfolio management methods. Value is highly subjective term. It is conceptual and intangible in nature and is a fascinating subject with which philosophers have wrestled for centuries. It is recognized that the notion of value is fundamentally a matter of perception. The academic literature identifies a number of goals that PPM is intended to achieve. Cooper suggests that these goals are: value maximization for the organization; achieving portfolio balance by having an appropriate selection of projects which will deliver both short-term and long-term value; and ensuring a strategically aligned portfolio that accommodates the requirement for non-economic factors to influence project selection.
