What's the difference between projects, portfolios, phases, and processes?
Have you ever confused a phase with a process? Or a portfolio with a deliverable? Maybe not, but project management terminology can be confusing, and this article can help you sort it out.
In this article
Getting your bearings: phases, processes, portfolios, and products
A project is simply a set of activities that occur according to a schedule, and that produce some kind of output. Some projects stand alone, with no relationship to other work going on in an organization. On the other hand, some projects are part of larger efforts, like phases, processes, programs, and portfolios.
Phases
Projects can be scheduled in phases, so that several projects relating to the same goal can be managed together. For example, a charitable organization has a fundraiser every year. To manage all of the projects associated with the function, they group the projects into three phases: Planning, Event Day, and Follow-Up. Each phase contains multiple projects.
| Phase | Projects | Phase Output |
| Planning |
| Completed event plan document |
| Event Day |
| Event runs as planned |
| Follow-Up |
| Completed post-mortem document |
Processes
The activities in two different projects may be interrelated to form a process. For example, let's say you have two projects: one contains the activities necessary to produce a call center ticketing system, and the other project contains the activities necessary to hire and train support staff for a call center.
| Project 1 | Project 2 |
| Activities:
| Activities:
|
| Output: | Output: |
The combined set of activities from the two projects form a process for setting up a call center. The process has an output of a fully functioning call center.
| Process |
| Project 1 activities:
|
| Project 2 activities:
|
| Process output: |
Programs
A program is a group of projects that are managed together, to make the most of their interrelated status. For example, a construction company that is working on a new subdivision manages each house in the subdivision as a separate project. By grouping the projects into a program for the entire subdivision, the company can easily see the progress of the subdivision as a whole, and plan for bringing in third-party resources, such as concrete trucks or landscapers.
| Program | Projects |
| Contoso Estates |
|
Portfolios
Some project managers may use portfolios to pair projects and programs with their corresponding strategic business objectives. For example, a software development company has identified three strategic business objectives: "Innovate in the industry," "Develop secure software," and "Provide top-notch customer support." The organization sets up portfolios for each of these objectives (Innovation, Security, and Support), and aligns the current projects and programs within these portfolios.
| Portfolio | Projects and Programs |
| Innovation |
|
| Security |
|
| Support |
|
The output: your project's deliverables
Projects, phases, and processes all produce some kind of output, called a deliverable. Typically a deliverable is some kind of tangible item, such as a document or a completed product. Deliverables can be products or goods, but they can also be results or services. The following table provides some examples of these deliverable types.
| Deliverable Type | Description | Examples |
| Product | A tangible item that is the output of a project, phase, or process. Products can be standalone deliverables, or they can be a component of a larger deliverable. | Document, software program, house |
| Result | The output of a completed project, phase, or process. | Revised bug triage process, new organizational structure, guidelines for green construction |
| Service | An output of a project, phase, or process that enables an organization to perform a business function. | Fully functioning call center, staffed table at a conference, radio dispatch service |
How does Microsoft Project fit into your project management system?
Stepping even farther back, a project management "system" refers to the integrated set of processes, techniques, methodologies, and tools that are used for scheduling and tracking projects. Microsoft Project is a tool within the larger project management system. Projects, also called project plans, are saved as separate files within Project 2010, and can be grouped together into larger efforts, such as phases, processes, programs, and portfolios.
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