Key Competencies for Overcoming Challenges in Project Portfolio Management

Due to the significant growth of project work in various sectors and industries, an increasing number of organizations are adopting project portfolio management to effectively manage projects of different sizes being implemented simultaneously. It becomes particularly important within IT as it represents the basis of digital transformation, enables competitive advantage, global connectivity and collaboration, facilitates growth of e-commerce, ensures protection of sensitive data and business security, and is a catalyst for innovation. However, since many organizations face challenges in project portfolio management despite the efforts they invest in using good practices in accordance with recommendations from standards and existing literature, demand for competent individuals who can deal with them and seize strategic value for organizations significantly increases. With the aim of examining the attitude of project professionals towards the competencies required for successfully overcoming the challenges at all levels and roles of IT project portfolio management, both quantitative and qualitative research were conducted among 83 project, program and portfolio managers and team members. Communication and interpersonal skills, stakeholder, information and resource management, looking at a bigger picture and strategy, prioritization, application of appropriate practices and methodologies are recognized as some of the key competencies for tackling the challenges.