How many projects does your organization carry out in any given year? A simple question. But do you know the answer? Do you know what work is happening in your organization? Does anyone in your organization know the answer? Probably not if your organization is like most. Teams typically keep a good record of the key strategic initiatives that impact the entire enterprise, so those aren’t an issue. Each department also tracks its own major projects for the year, although likely in a variety of different systems.
But what about all of those smaller projects? You know, the ones that use just a few resources for a couple of months or so. Does anyone track them? Do you know how much they cost? Or the resources they use? What about the benefits they deliver? In most organizations, people often overlook those initiatives completely. Few beyond those directly involved even realize they happened. And that creates a problem.
The Cost of Overlooked Work
Smaller projects still consume resources—money that could fund other initiatives and people who could focus on higher priorities. These smaller, untracked projects aren’t automatically wrong, but they often skip the rigorous scrutiny that larger initiatives undergo. Without that evaluation, they are more likely to deliver minimal benefits to the organization.
As projects become more common and increasingly important to organizational success, businesses must manage all work effectively. That includes handling it in one place, no matter which department handles it, whether Agile, traditional, or hybrid approaches apply, or whether it follows a formal project structure or not.
The Benefits of a Unified Approach to Work Management
A clear view of all initiatives allows portfolio managers and other strategy stakeholders to allocate financial and people resources optimally to meet organizational goals. This need applies equally at the departmental level. Department heads must ensure their limited resources contribute meaningfully to the outcomes they are responsible for delivering. Every day. With every piece of work.
Achieving this enterprise-wide visibility requires a single, integrated portfolio-level tool to manage all work. Strategic portfolio management (SPM) or project portfolio management (PPM) solutions consolidate planning and delivery activities into one system. With this setup, leaders make better decisions when approving work, allocating resources, or making adjustments as needed.
Empowering Teams Without Compromise
Not all tools provide the same capabilities. Leading solutions, such as Sciforma, allow teams to keep using the tools that work best for them. Smaller projects can still move forward when appropriate, without forcing teams to switch to overly complex platforms for simple tasks. Lightweight tools integrate with the PPM platform to ensure seamless data flow between portfolio plans and task-level work.
Decision-makers gain a complete picture of organizational activities. They can quickly identify and address misaligned projects, track overall performance more accurately, and reduce wasted effort and resources. This clarity boosts returns on investments and gives individuals and teams confidence in their work.
When teams know they are working on initiatives that align with organizational goals, engagement and productivity increase. Everyone understands how their efforts contribute to the big picture, which drives motivation and focus.
If your organization lacks this level of visibility and control, it’s time to act. We’re here to help you achieve it.
