How to aggregate many projects

Projectized organizations group Projects into Business Units. Other ways to group projects, if needed, are Programs and Portfolios. Let’s review the definitions:

  • A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Projects can be managed individually or grouped by programs or portfolios.
  • A program is defined as a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.
  • A portfolio refers to a collection of projects, programs, sub portfolios and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives.

PMPeople implements the three standard management frameworks published by PMI® in order to minimize the learning curve for any practitioner Project Manager, Program Manager or Portfolio Manager.

The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) is intended to be a subset of the project management body of knowledge that is generally recognized as a good practice, providing a base for organizations to build methodologies, politics, procedures, rules, tools, techniques, and lifecycle phases needed for the practice of project management. The sixth edition was released in 2017, based on the standard ANSI/PMI 99-001-2017, including a guide to manage agile projects. PMI members can download a free PDF in English and 11 additional languages: Arabic, Chinese [simplified], French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese Brazilian, Russian and Spanish.

The Standard for Program Management provides guidelines on program management fundamentals, including globally accepted definitions, program lifecycle, success factors, performance domains, principles, practices and other important activities in program management. The fourth edition was released in 2017. PMI members can download a free PDF in English—this guide is not translated.

The Standard for Portfolio Management explains the management principles and performance domains globally recognized as good practice for organizations to effectively manage groups of investments, projects and programs. Organizations should use this guide, especially when portfolio management is complex and intense. The fourth edition was released in 2017. PMI members can download a free PDF in English—this guide is not translated.

The first thing to start using PMPeople is organizing projects in Business Units, and also in Programs and Portfolios, if needed. Any new user can see how projects are organized, just entering free “PMPeople organization” to see 8 demo projects included in 3 business units, some of them belonging to 2 programs and 2 portfolios:

In PMPeople, projects may belong to zero or one programs, and also to zero, one or several portfolios. At the same time, any program may be included in zero, one or many portfolios. Figure above shows some projects belonging to no program (projects 7 and 8) or just one program (project 1) and also belonging to no portfolio, just one portfolio or many of them. For instance, projects 1 and 2 are components of portfolios 1 and 2.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a project, program, and portfolio in PMPeople?

A project is a temporary effort; a program groups related projects; a portfolio collects projects and programs for strategic alignment.

Can a project belong to multiple portfolios in PMPeople?

Yes. A project can belong to zero, one, or multiple portfolios and also to one program at most.

What standards does PMPeople follow for managing projects, programs, and portfolios?

PMPeople follows PMI® standards, including PMBOK®, The Standard for Program Management, and The Standard for Portfolio Management.