Project Portfolio Management Best Practice and Implementation: A South African Perspective

This paper analyses the link between project portfolio management (PPM) implementation and perceived company success in achieving strategic objectives. As foundation for a conceptual model, the paper explores and investigates three areas of PPM literature: (1) PPM success criteria (2) PPM success factors and (3) problems faced in PPM. Using a conceptual model, the paper empirically investigates the link between the implementation of various PPM practices, the perceived importance of these practices and the perceived success of project portfolios within a South African context. A mixed methodology approach consisting of: (1) surveys and (2) follow-up interviews was followed during the execution of the study. The study targeted 10 different industries and obtained 342 responses in total. The survey data was supported by four semi-structured follow-up interviews that aimed to further investigate some of the salient trends observed in the data. The study enables the deduction of various recommendations for good practice and implementation gaps in the area of PPM in the South African context. This includes recommendations regarding practices that appear to have a strong link with perceived PPM success, yet are viewed as unimportant by many practitioners.