The days leading up to a decision meeting, such as the Portfolio Board Meeting, are critical for the portfolio coordinator and project managers. They need to ensure that all project data is current and accurate to enable informed decision-making.

• Preparation
• Portfolio Coordinator: Initiating the Status Update Process
• Project Managers: Updating Project Data
• Portfolio Coordinator: Verifying Completion

Preparation

Before you start the status update process, you need to configure the following custom views to help you and your team complete the process quickly. If you save the custom views, you can use these same custom views for all future meetings.

• Custom View of Relevant Projects: In the Project List, create a custom view that displays only the relevant projects. For example, filter the view by stage gate to display only projects with the  Approved and Active stage gates.
• Custom View for Project Managers: To help your project managers see only what is relevant to them, configure the Project List with the filters Project Manager = Logged-In User and Status = Status Update Required (add this field option under Manage > Custom Project Fields > Status). Then, save it as a custom view and share it with your project managers. Each project manager will see only the projects they are responsible for which need to be reviewed.

Portfolio Coordinator: Initiating the Status Update Process

As the portfolio coordinator, you can initiate the process by flagging the affected projects and asking project managers to review and update their projects.

• Change Project Status: In the Project List, you can select all projects with one click. Then, click Edit in the toolbar and select the field Status with the option Status Update Required. Upon saving, all project managers will be notified of the status change. You may need to set up this status under Manage > Custom Fields.
• Bulk Comment for Instructions: After updating the status, select the relevant projects again and click Comment in the toolbar. You can enter specific instructions as well as the deadline for the update and the meeting that requires the update. Upon saving, all project managers will be notified of the comment.

Project Managers: Updating Project Data

When the project managers are notified of the status change and comments, they should complete the following tasks:

• Review and Update Project Data: Project managers can begin reviewing each project and updating the necessary information such as timelines, budgets, and resource allocations in the Project Details view. To get an overview of the projects they need to update, project managers can open the custom view in the Project List that the Portfolio Coordinator prepared in advance.
• Change Project Status: Once the updates are completed, project managers should change the project status to indicate that the update has been fulfilled.

Portfolio Coordinator: Verifying Completion

After the deadline and before the decision meeting, you can quickly verify that all projects have been updated.

• Filter by ‘Status Update Required’: Open the Project List and filter projects by Status Update Required to see which projects have not yet been updated.
• Follow Up: If there are projects that have not been updated, follow up directly with the project managers to ensure they complete their tasks before the decision meeting.

This structured approach ensures a streamlined process for preparing decision meetings, maintaining up-to-date project data and fostering collaboration between portfolio coordinators and project managers for successful portfolio management.