Managing cost and time in a large portfolio of projects

If your business has a fixed yearly investment budget and you know that it is likely that your 300 projects will be delayed during the year, what is your strategy to meet your budget? This is a descriptive study on portfolio management across a multi-billion dollar business with more than 300 projects from a large Norwegian public entity. We have analyzed data over a five-year period (2008-2012). The data shows reoccurring delay trends year after year, trends which can be interpreted and used as information for governing the portfolio. The milestone delay curves from year to year are fascinatingly similar. Are these curves simply macro indicators of the phenomenon “planning fallacy” or are they the symptom of something more profound? We discuss the behaviouristics of this portfolio and the strategies used to be on budget despite delays. The dataare unique, but the problems global. This is a descriptive study on portfolio management across a multi-billion dollar business with more than 300 projects from a large Norwegian public entity. We have analyzed data over a five-year period (2008-2012). The data shows reoccurring delay trends year after year, trends which can be interpreted and used as information for governing the portfolio. The milestone delay curves from year to year are fascinatingly similar. Are these curves simply macro indicators of the phenomenon “planning fallacy” or are they the symptom of something more profound? We discuss the behaviouristics of this portfolio and the strategies used to be on budget despite delays. The dataare unique, but the problems global.