Turning Data into Information in IT Project Management

In each of the previous four building blocks, we’ve discussed how meaningful project-related data is generated. The final building block, reporting, is a vital piece of project success—when it’s done right. After all, if all of that important data you’ve been diligently collecting is misrepresented, misinterpreted, or not reported at all, you’re setting the project (and yourself) up for failure.

In project and portfolio management, retrospective reporting can be useful and beneficial especially when you’re looking to learn from a previous project as you plan the next one. However, the true value of collecting all of this project data is so it can help you while the project is in progress. To make that a reality, you must be able to convert the raw data and present it in a way that’s not only easy to understand but also meaningful to the person that is reading it.

Reports play a dual role, as they can provide actionable insights that can help keep the project on track as well as paint the broader picture for other business units (i.e., Finance, HR, etc.) and all the way up to the leadership team. Reports like this can help each BU understand a project’s impact on their specific functional area, while the leadership team can get more of a 30,000-foot view of the impact the collection of all projects are having on the entire organization.

So, what does it all mean? While each of these five building blocks plays a crucial role in the success of an organization, the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Just like in a building’s foundation, each block helps to support the next. And perhaps the most important takeaway is this—project and portfolio management should no longer be pigeonholed within IT. Whether its functions are held separately within each business unit or are centralized with a project management office (PMO), the benefits of expanding the project management culture throughout an organization are undeniable.

Find out how you can take project and portfolio management beyond IT in your organization.