When done incorrectly, managing business performance can lead to excessive stress, resulting in impaired strategic and creative thinking, reducing focus and leading to more errors at work. Some of this stress may be avoided simply by having an efficient software solution in place that allows you to easily manage the whole performance of your business on one platform.
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) is often promoted as such a platform. Described as: “an umbrella term for all the methodologies, metrics and processes used to monitor and manage the whole business performance of an enterprise”, CPM is not a strategy in itself, but encompasses all the frameworks in place for managing the performance of a company. But despite this definition, most CPM platforms do not include all essential frameworks. Crucially, they often do not include Project Portfolio Management (PPM) tools. PPM describes the centralised management of all systems in place to manage current or proposed projects and as such, is an integral part of the management of a corporation. So, why are they not currently integrated, but instead sold as two separate platforms?
Why two separate platforms?
Browsing the web will provide you with various reasons for why these platforms are not integrated. Some suggest that PPM platforms allow you to see an overarching, long term portfolio environment compared to CPM platforms which allow you to focus on the day-to-day running of the business, and include elements like milestones and deliverables. However, many PPM platforms include these elements and many CPM platforms do not. In addition, both long-term and day-to-day perspectives are essential and could be found in one integrated platform.
Others suggest that there is little to no difference at all in what the platforms currently provide. Instead, stating that the name is often rebranded depending on who it is being marketed to; PPM for project managers, and CPM for all other enterprises. While this may be true in some cases, this also doesn’t quite capture the full picture as there are some key differences in their functionalities.
Instead, the lack of integration between the two platforms may be a sign that CPM platforms are not currently being utilised optimally. CPM platforms are often used primarily for aspects of business performance like financial decision-making, but a holistic CPM strategy would incorporate all elements of corporate management, including PPM. Having such a platform may save you time, money, aid collaboration, reduce errors, and ultimately reduce the stress of your business management.
Why do you need PPM tools?
As of 2020, Wellingtone research found that the biggest challenges to management were inefficient implementation of PPM solutions, poor resource management and attempting to run too many projects at once; all challenges that can all be overcome by implementing proper PPM tools within your CPM strategy.
Research by the Association of Project Management suggests that project management will be at the heart of delivering change in the future, and it is clear to see why. Regardless of your industry, PPM tools heighten the chances of your projects’ success, while getting projects completed cheaper, quicker and easier. Some of the ways they are able to do this are by:
- Centralising your data: they eliminate most of the administration involved in managing a project within various different applications, saving you time
- Optimising resource management: clear visibility of resources allows for better resource allocation decisions
- Forecasting, Scheduling and Risk Managing
Why Integrate Them?
Gartner estimates that by 2024, 50% of software companies will have integrated complimentary technology into their PPM solutions. Integrating CPM and PPM functionalities in one platform will mean:
- Saving money: both in terms of being more cost effective than purchasing multiple platforms, and because implementing more PPM tools has been shown to save your business money long-term
- More intuitive: having all the information you need in one place leads to a more intuitive and easy-to-use user experience
- Aiding collaboration: all data and task allocation is available in real-time in one platform, meaning sharing files and collaborating is easy. PPM tools especially are designed to allow for more collaborative work practices such as integrated collaborative workspaces and chat interfaces which will prove useful for other CPM strategies too
At present, operating with either a CPM or a PPM platform means missing out on crucial functionalities needed to improve the optimisation of your performance management. Alternatively, purchasing both means wasting money on many overlapping features, while still needing to navigate between different systems to find all the data you need. Investing in platforms like Execview that involve both CPM and PPM functionalities in one easy-to-use platform can take the stress off many aspects of your business by streamlining business management.
Written by Alana Bowen-Burford
