“The 2016 PMI Pulse of the Profession Global Project Management Survey clearly indicated the importance of having sponsor support for a project. The survey found that projects that had the support and understanding of a senior executive were 30% more likely to meet their goals; 26% more likely to stay within budget; 26% more likely to be completed on time; 8% more likely to avoid project creep; and 21% less likely to be deemed a failure.

“The status report should give stakeholders only what they really want to know. Essentially, they want to know two things about their project manager: is he/she in control; and does he/she know about the problems that are being experienced or could be experienced or will they be surprised?”

In addition, they wanted to know only four things about the project itself:

* Does each team member know what’s expected of each of them?
* Will the project goals and benefits be achieved?
* Where are we now, and what is the latest forecast in terms of final costs and completion date?
* How can I help the project?

“When preparing a status report, project managers should avoid getting bogged down in the details and use the opportunity to look at where you are, reflect and refocus on where you want to go,” he said”. –  Marilyn de Villiers, excerpted from her article titled, “#MinutesMustFall in Project Management” @ ITWeb, click here to read the article in its entirety. [ end]

Well said and something we will be exploring at our 1-day Portfolio Management Training Course on February 9, 2017 in New York City where participants will:

1. Understand the essential concepts and benefits of project portfolio management
2. Discuss the principles of portfolio management
3. Create an overall model for selecting, balancing, prioritizing and authorizing work
4. Define the steps to establishing and managing a portfolio of initiatives
5. Understand and define portfolio governance and its strategic importance
6. Report and control of programs and projects in an effective manner that utilizes best practice reporting tools for portfolio management