Top 5 industry trends in strategic portfolio planning for 2024

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with contacts in many leading enterprises, including businesses across a wide range of industries and regions. This experience has given me a unique vantage point, enabling me to see those specifics that are unique to each team and organization—as well as common themes that apply to broad swaths of the market.

In these customer engagements over recent months, I’ve seen some emerging trends that are poised to have a big impact on enterprises in 2024. As you navigate the year ahead, here are my top five trends in project and portfolio management (PPM) and strategic portfolio management (SPM) to consider.

In years past, technology products tended to be turnkey in nature. Teams could buy a product and implement it without significant customization. Recently, a significant shift has started, with teams increasingly employing tailored solutions. In the wake of this transition, the move from traditional project management to product management will be an imperative. Product management will be integral in enabling teams to get the most out of their software investments and customization efforts so businesses and their customers can realize maximum value.

Within many organizations, we’re hearing reports of people feeling agile hasn’t delivered the anticipated value, along with a commensurate backlash against the approach. In some cases, teams are returning to traditional practices. In others, teams are seeking new alternatives, potentially looking for ways to go “beyond agile.” In this latter case, the adoption of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is increasingly common. In the long term, I expect that most organizations will not go 100% in either direction, and instead land on a hybrid approach that combines traditional and agile methodologies.

Historically, many teams have focused on maximizing engineering efficiency. The reality today is that engineering efficiency isn’t enough; there’s always going to be more demand than the most efficient teams can support. This reality is exacerbated by the move to a tailored technology paradigm. For example, bringing in outside service providers or contract engineers is increasingly difficult when software is highly customized within an organization. Ultimately, the number of skilled developers available will represent a consistent bottleneck. That’s why it’s now vital to start prioritizing effectively. That means teams need to establish increasing discipline around how to consistently prioritize high-value efforts.

In many organizations, deep product management expertise tends to be in short supply. That’s because product managers increasingly must have deep product knowledge. For example, product managers need to prioritize initiatives and explain their rationale to stakeholders. Without technical knowledge, their credibility crumbles. Further, in this era of tailored technology, in-depth technical knowledge is essential for realizing value.

In the past, many product management offices (PMOs) tended to emphasize compliance over coordination and communication. Now, these organizations are expanding their offerings and truly partnering with other teams. In the process, they are also rebranding as strategy realization offices (SROs). As organizations navigate the heightened complexities associated with tailored technology, SROs can play a vital role by providing education, coaching, and process guidance.

In the coming year, we’ll undoubtedly see many of the above trends take hold across organizations.  To learn more about these and other key trends shaping our industry, be sure to watch our 2024 SPM Industry Trends webcast.

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