New problems, new solutions: Making portfolio management more effective

OVERVIEW: Most companies' development portfolios suffer from: too many proj ects for the limited resources available; ineffective project prioritizatio n; Go/Kill decisions made in the absence of solid information; and too many minor projects in the portfolio. The end result is poor performance: low-i mpact projects; too long to get to market, and low-impact projects; too lon g to get to market; and based on the experiences of firms in the study.. Th e first is to implement a systematic gating ou Stage-Gate new product proce ss, complete with tough Go/Kill decision points. Next, build in resource ca pacity analysis-a quantitative assessment of resource supply versus demand in your new product pipeline. A third solution is to develop a product inno vation and technology strategy for your business to help guide the selectio n of the best projects. Finally, integrate portfolio management into your g ating process using one of the two approaches utilized by leading companies in the study.