The planning cycles in companies have changed massively. There is hardly a single annual plan anymore; instead, corporate planning is reflected at least on a quarterly basis. However, rolling planning also includes operational adjustments, and these sometimes turn entire business units and project plans upside down.

In this blog post, we show you how to use project portfolio management software to optimise your corporate planning across all business units and transform it into workable processes: 

•  How does the maturity of your project portfolio management relate to your planning intensity?
• What do you need to consider in rolling planning?
• Which PPM software features support you in your planning processes?

The PPM maturity level and the optimal planning intensity

The analyst firm Gartner distinguishes between five maturity levels in project portfolio management:

• At the first stage of development, companies react to changes that have already occurred.
• At the second development level, the professionalisation of project portfolio management is recognisable, which also includes a planning routine, but this is not yet the main focus of the project management organisation.
• At the third development stage, all the necessary processes and activities of a professional PMO are already being carried out and successively transferred into holistic structures. Planning methods and instruments are gaining in importance.
• The fourth development stage is about the maximum performance optimisation of the organisation. Data-based planning becomes the heart of the PMO.
• At the fifth stage of development, your project portfolio management is also characterised by a high degree of innovation thanks to well-functioning planning.   

What stage of development is your organisation at? No matter what your answer may be, rest assured: only 6% of all companies surveyed in a KPMG study already fulfil all the criteria of a mature PMO today. For most companies, there is still room for improvement, especially in the area of planning. Effective PPM software use is the key to success here.   

Continuously identify value drivers and take action

Your project portfolio serves the strategic goal achievement of your company. Keeping this in mind in all planning activities is easier said than done. Because as the level of analysis and planning increases, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. But granular analysis is important to generate new insights and derive effective measures. Ideally, therefore, top-down, and bottom-up planning should be combined: Analyses and planning for the C-level are merged with the insights and suggestions of the operational. For this balancing act to succeed, a simple exchange of information and stringent communication management are needed. PPM solutions offer the right tools for both: Easily configurable dashboards with essential key figures for different stakeholders and hybrid roadmaps linked to detailed project and resource plans enable interdisciplinary cooperation on three planning levels. 

The 3 planning levels for your business success

Project portfolio solutions offer a quick change of perspective: from strategic planning to an analysis of the project portfolio and the operative project work. ACTUAL and TARGET analyses can be reflected dynamically with scenario planning at one planning level, automatically considering necessary adjustments at other planning levels. This flexibility in dealing with data means an enormous improvement in the decision-making process and a significant increase in your business agility.

Capture PPM Software Demo

You want to see the best practices of agile business planning live in action? Our consultants will be happy to guide you through relevant PPM features and brainstorm the development steps for your planning processes in a free initial meeting and download our Checklist to help set up your optimal PPM Planning for 2023.

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