what is enterprise project management methodology

Introduction to Enterprise Project Management

Enterprises want to know if their projects align with the organization’s strategic objectives, but how can they get organization-wide visibility and transparency? Enterprise project management (EPM) is a way to coordinate all projects in a company.

In this article, we’ll discuss EPM and why implementing one is essential for enterprises.

On this page:

What is Enterprise Project Management?

How is epm different from traditional project management, the benefits of enterprise project management, the enterprise project management model, implementing enterprise project management.

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EPM is a way for enterprises to manage and organize projects. The goal is to coordinate unrelated projects to meet the same company objectives. Centralized management leads to more efficiency, lower costs, and better results.

Traditional project management (PM) focuses on one project. However, enterprise project management is complex. Instead of coordinating a team of people, EPM coordinates multiple teams. If a traditional PM builds a house, EPM builds an apartment complex.

The goals for traditional project management and EPM are also different. A traditional PM ensures a project finishes on time and within budget. EPM wants to know that projects provide value to the enterprise.

There are many benefits that enterprises can reap when using EPM. Some of them include the following:

• More visibility – A system that sees all ongoing projects leads to better management of resources and personnel. Let’s say Team A is short-staffed. Team B has someone that can fill that spot. Coincidentally, Team B is finishing up a project. An EPM team sees this and moves the person from Team B to A. Now, Team A can continue with a full team.

EPM also lets you see redundant projects. Combining these projects or eliminating duplicate initiatives frees employees to work on new projects better aligned with the company’s strategic objectives. In addition, this same visibility can simplify scheduling and reduce the likelihood of overtime pay for team members.

• Increased efficiency – When you know what everyone is doing, you can better manage resources across the organization. For example, you can combine two meetings that cover similar topics. This can give employees more time in the day to work, which means higher productivity.
• Reduced costs – An increase in efficiency can save organizations money. No enterprise wants to hire more people than they need. They also don’t want to bring in the wrong person or fund projects that don’t align with company goals. Project visibility means spending in places where it’s needed.
• Better project outcomes – When you see an enterprise’s project portfolio, it’s easier to analyze and mitigate risks. History proves better risk monitoring leads to better project outcomes.  

Let’s look at the enterprise project management model. You might notice that some aspects are like traditional project management, while others are more high-level.

Risk Analysis

Whether it’s the management of one or multiple projects, risk analysis identifies and mitigates project risks. However, risk analysis is more complicated in EPM. This complexity comes from dealing with the risks of not just one project but many.

Project Estimation

To achieve successful project outcomes, EPM must accurately estimate project costs and durations. Project managers would then follow the guidelines set by the EPM team. This way, everyone estimates their project costs and schedules the same way.

Project Reviews

An EPM team needs to keep an eye on the project portfolio. They monitor four main things:

• Project Commitment

If risks occur, they can be dealt with immediately. If strategic goals change, EPM can adjust current projects to match the new goals.

Project Management Coaching

Successful EPM isn’t just about project management. This system helps project managers improve their skills. Managers within the EPM team can mentor new or inexperienced project managers, and this PM coaching leads to a more cohesive company culture. Overall, the goal is to increase communication between departments to ensure everyone uses the same PM language to manage their projects.

Escalation Issue Management

Enterprise project management is all about working together. When escalating issues, the EPM team should have a standard process that all project managers follow. Critical issues should be at the top of the list, and things that can wait can be put aside. This way, the EPM team can prioritize what needs to be addressed first.

Time Tracking

How much time are people spending on a project? A good time-tracking system lets the EPM team see the most time-consuming parts of a project. For example, Replicon is an enterprise project management tool that tracks time. However, no matter what system is used, you should be able to see where inefficiencies are and address them quickly.

Information System

Use a centralized management system to keep track of resources and projects. There are many types of software programs to choose from. For example, Asana has a tool that gives the EPM team project reports. This is an easy way to provide executives updates on project progress.

In this section, we’ll look at the steps to implement an enterprise project management system. First, define the role of the EPM team and how it would fit into the current company. Most enterprises already have project managers. How would an enterprise project manager fit in? Who will this enterprise project manager be? And what resources do they need to implement EPM?

• Step 1: Build your team – The first step is to find an enterprise project manager. This person could be someone already in the company or with experience in this role from outside the organization. A good start would be to create a job description and see who fits that role.
• Step 2: Create a supporting office – The EPM supporting office helps the EPM team gather information. They might utilize corporate resources (i.e., business cases, etc.) to identify a new project, or they could do risk assessments while auditing the project’s progress. You can think of the supporting office as an assistant to the EPM team.
• Step 3: Inform stakeholders – Once you’ve built an EPM team, you’ll need stakeholder support. You’ll need to inform them of current projects, and they’ll want to see progress reports and other key project metrics. One way to do this is by using enterprise project management tools. Some examples of these tools include Monday.com or Smartsheet . These software programs allow stakeholders to see workflow and project schedules.
• Step 4: Use one project management methodology – The best way to ensure that all project managers are on the same page is by using a single PM methodology. You can choose from Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid, or a combination of these methodologies. The important thing is to adopt a standard methodology that everyone uses.
• Step 5: Get the right tools – In EPM, the right tools and software programs can streamline projects and workflows. They can provide reports or analyze project progress. Which software an enterprise chooses depends on company culture. Also, you’ll want to know what PMs are using now. There is software for everything, from scheduling to accounting to time-tracking. Most EPM teams use a combination of these tools and programs.

There are many good reasons to use an enterprise project management system. They include better visibility, cost reduction, and more efficiency. Once you’ve decided to implement an EPM system, follow the steps in this article to ensure you have the right team and tools in place. Project Management Academy can provide more information on using your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification for enterprise project management.

Erin Aldridge, PMP, PMI-ACP, & CSPO

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What is Enterprise Project Management (EPM)? Get to Know

Within the corporate landscape, companies frequently undertake multiple expansive projects that have far-reaching implications across the organization. Successfully overseeing these initiatives necessitates applying enterprise project management (EPM), a structured methodology designed to deliver these company-wide projects efficiently. 

For individuals aspiring to carve a niche in the field of project management, delving into the intricacies of EPM is not just beneficial but essential. This article aims to explain enterprise project management by detailing its components and offering step-by-step guidance on its implementation.

By comprehending the nuances of EPM, aspiring and seasoned project managers alike can enhance their skill sets and contribute significantly to the success of their respective organizations.

Table of Cotents

What is Enterprise Project Management?

• Enterprise Project Management Benefits

Key Elements of Enterprise Project Management

• Methodologies used in Enterprise Project Management

Implementation of Enterprise Project Management

Enterprise project management vs. traditional project management.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) is a comprehensive approach to managing and overseeing projects within an organization. Unlike traditional project management, which focuses on individual projects, EPM takes a broader approach, considering many projects within the organization’s strategic goals.

It entails the systematic planning, implementation, monitoring, and control of large-scale projects to ensure they correspond with the company’s goals and contribute to its overall success. 

EPM covers a wide range of topics, including resource allocation, risk management, budgeting, and collaboration, and it frequently involves the use of specialist software tools to simplify project-related tasks.

Businesses can optimize their project portfolios, improve team cooperation, and make informed decisions by implementing EPM principles, resulting in more efficient project delivery and enhanced organizational performance.

Benefits of Enterprise Project Management 

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) offers several benefits to organizations aiming to manage their projects more effectively and strategically:

Improves Decision Making

One of EPM’s primary benefits is its ability to give real-time data and insights. Project managers and executives can gain access to precise, up-to-date data on project progress, resource usage, and budget status.

This data-driven strategy enables decision-makers to anticipate difficulties, detect potential bottlenecks, and make timely, educated decisions. Proactive decision-making based on trustworthy data results in more successful initiatives and better overall results.

Risk Management

Effective risk management is important for project success. EPM facilitates systematic risk identification, assessment, and mitigation strategies. Project teams can anticipate potential risks, create contingency plans, and respond promptly to unforeseen challenges.

By addressing risks proactively, organizations can minimize the impact of adverse events, ensuring that projects stay on schedule and within budget.

Better Financial Management

Financial management is a critical aspect of project success. EPM tools allow organizations to monitor project expenses, manage budgets effectively, and allocate funds based on project priorities.

By having a clear view of financial data, companies can prevent overspending, identify cost-saving opportunities, and ensure that projects are finished within the allocated budget constraints.

Resource Optimization

EPM enables organizations to optimize their resources effectively. Through advanced resource management tools, companies can match the right skills with the right tasks, preventing resource overloads or underutilization.

By balancing workloads and ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently, organizations can enhance productivity, reduce stress among team members, and maintain a sustainable pace of work.

Customer Satisfaction

Delivering projects efficiently and meeting or exceeding customer expectations increases customer satisfaction. Happy customers will likely return for future purchases and become enthusiastic clients for the company.

Positive customer experiences build the company’s reputation, enhance brand loyalty, and contribute to long-term relationships, which are invaluable in competitive markets.

The key elements of Enterprise Project Management (EPM) encompass a range of crucial components that collectively ensure the successful planning, execution, and oversight of projects within an organization.

These elements are essential for managing projects on a large scale and aligning them with the organization’s strategic goals. Here’s an overview of the key elements of EPM:

Risk Analysis

Risk analysis in enterprise project management involves identifying, assessing, and managing potential risks that could impact the project’s objectives. This process includes evaluating internal and external factors affecting project progress, budget, or quality.

By understanding these risks early on, project managers can develop strategies to mitigate or respond to them, ensuring the project stays on track and minimizing the chances of unexpected setbacks.

Go through top risk analysis methods and master the risk anlaysis process to safeguard the project from potential threats.

Structured Estimating

Project estimation , which involves estimating project costs, resources, and duration, is an essential part of project management. EPM establishes guidelines for structured estimating for project managers.

For example, the EPMO would define the typical project lifecycle and offer project managers examples of previous projects. The EPMO would also train PMOs on estimating techniques, including three-point estimation and the Delphi technique. 

Project Reviews

Regular evaluations of ongoing projects, including project commitment, startup, progress, and close-out reviews, are conducted by the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). These assessments focus on examining project standards, current status, and potential risks, aiming to identify any necessary updates for the risk mitigation plan. 

One effective method employed during these reviews involves categorizing various project aspects, such as delivery, client management, team, and budget, with colors denoting their importance level (red/yellow/green). This color-coded system allows urgent issues to be promptly highlighted and discussed in management meetings, ensuring swift resolution.

Project Management Coaching

Managing projects can be a challenging role without proper training and resources. Enterprise Project Management Offices (EPMOs) support Project Management Offices (PMOs) by offering training programs that enable project managers to acquire the necessary technical and managerial skills.

This training is conducted by both in-house experts and external professionals. Moreover, EPMOs assign mentors to assist project managers throughout the project lifecycle, guiding the planning, execution, decision-making, and problem-solving stages.

Escalated Issue Management

In large projects, various issues and conflicts are inevitable. Escalated issue management refers to handling critical problems that cannot be resolved at lower levels of the project hierarchy.

Project managers escalate these issues to higher management or designated authorities for resolution. Timely and effective issue resolution prevents project delays, maintains team morale, and ensures project progress smoothly.

Time Tracking

Time tracking is a widely recognized approach for monitoring, strategizing, and overseeing projects, offering benefits at the project-specific and organizational levels. In many cases, EPM is entrusted with creating or deploying a time-tracking system aligned with the organization’s objectives.

EPMO could also analyze the data gathered from time-tracking software and share this valuable information with pertinent business units.

Information System Management

Information system management in EPM refers to effectively handling project-related data and technology tools. This includes selecting appropriate project management software, ensuring data security, integrating different software applications, and optimizing the use of technology to facilitate project communication, collaboration, and documentation.

Proper information system management enhances efficiency, reduces manual errors, and promotes seamless project workflow.

What are the Methodologies Used in Enterprise Project Management?

In Enterprise Project Management (EPM), various methodologies are employed to plan, execute, and control projects effectively within large organizations. These methodologies provide structured approaches to project management, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and alignment with business goals. Common methodologies used in EPM include

• Agile: Agile is a flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and adaptability. It promotes incremental development, allowing teams to respond to changing requirements efficiently.
• Six Sigma Methodology : Six Sigma methodology is a  data-driven methodology focused on process improvement and defect minimization, ensuring high-quality project outcomes.
• Waterfall Methodology : Waterfall Methodology  is a  linear project management approach progressing sequentially through phases, suitable for well-defined projects with clear requirements.
• Critical Chain: Focuses on resource optimization and managing project constraints by identifying the critical chain of tasks, enabling efficient resource allocation and streamlined project schedules.
• Critical Path Method (CPM): A project scheduling technique identifying the longest task sequence, aiding project planning and resource allocation by understanding task dependencies.
• eXtreme Programming (XP): An Agile methodology emphasizing customer satisfaction, continuous feedback, and rapid adaptation. Practices include pair programming and continuous integration.
• Kanban: An Agile method focusing on visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and optimizing flow, enhancing task management and workflow efficiency.
• Lean: A methodology eliminating waste and optimizing processes, emphasizing continuous improvement and customer value delivery.
• PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): A project management technique using probabilistic methods to estimate task duration, accounting for uncertainties and enhancing project timelines.
• PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments): A process-driven project management framework emphasizing structured guidelines for efficient project governance.
• Scrum: An Agile framework dividing work into sprints, emphasizing collaboration and transparency, suitable for iterative development.
• Scrumban: Combines Scrum and Kanban elements, balancing planned work with continuous flow, allowing teams to adapt to changing priorities.

If your teams struggle to monitor ongoing projects and track progress effectively, considering EPM as a solution is a viable option. The company’s structure needs to be modified to enable the EPM system, which may result in organizational modifications.

Before transitioning, the management team should assess the existing company structure, identify operational obstacles, and evaluate the long-term viability of the strategy. Once the organization is prepared for EPM implementation, follow these steps to initiate the process.

Determine How EPM Will Be Used

Before implementing EPM, it’s crucial to define the scope and purpose of its usage within the organization. Determine the specific goals EPM aims to achieve, whether it’s optimizing project portfolios, improving resource management, enhancing collaboration, or aligning projects with strategic objectives.

Clear objectives guide the implementation process and ensure that EPM is tailored to meet the organization’s unique needs.

Stakeholder Involvement

Involving stakeholders at various company levels is vital for the successful implementation of EPM. Engage key stakeholders, such as executives, project managers, team members, and clients, in the planning and decision-making processes.

Their input and feedback are valuable for aligning EPM with organizational goals, addressing concerns, and ensuring that the implemented processes resonate with the entire team.

Implement EPM Processes

Implementing EPM involves establishing standardized processes and methodologies across the organization. Develop clear workflows for project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.

Integrate chosen project management methodologies , tools, and best practices into these processes. Train the teams to familiarize them with the new methods and tools. Consistent implementation of these processes ensures uniformity in project management practices, improving efficiency and project outcomes.

Check the Status of EPM Implementation

Regularly monitor and evaluate the progress of EPM implementation. Assess whether the established processes are being followed and whether they align with the organization’s objectives. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to project success , team productivity, and client satisfaction.

Conduct periodic reviews and gather feedback from stakeholders to recognize any challenges or areas for improvement. Monitoring the status of EPM implementation allows the organization to make necessary adjustments, address issues promptly, and ensure that the objectives are being met effectively.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) and Traditional Project Management are two distinct approaches to managing projects within an organization. Enterprise project management oversees the whole project portfolio of the organization. While project planning, management, and implementation are important, EPM provides a larger strategic view of business goals.

Traditional project management is concerned with completing a single project or endeavor. The project manager organizes, manages, and implements the project while keeping the project’s goals in mind – building a bridge, developing software to perform a specific set of functions, etc.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) is a powerful strategic approach that takes project management to a higher organizational level. It goes beyond traditional project management methods in that it integrates many projects, aligns them with overarching company goals, and ensures optimal resource usage.

EPM provides real-time visibility, encourages collaboration, and promotes data-driven decision-making, allowing firms to adjust quickly in today’s volatile business environment. Businesses can achieve increased efficiency, higher project success rates, and competitive advantage by implementing EPM, making it a vital tool for directing complex projects and entire companies toward long-term growth and success.

Interested in mastering the art of Enterprise Project Management (EPM)? Explore our Project Management courses at Invensis Learning, which are designed to equip you with the skills to manage complex projects. Enroll now and elevate your project management expertise with us!

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Enterprise project management

Organizational success requires project success. But individual project success alone isn’t enough, especially for organizations that have scaled to enterprise size. Enterprise project management is an additional layer of project management, applied to the organization as a whole and to the catalog of projects within the organization. This Project Management Guide will walk you through the basics of why project management matters and how to create the building blocks for a flourishing project management practice. In this chapter, we’ll cover the basics of enterprise project management: what it is, how it works, and why enterprise organizations use it.

Table of Contents

What is enterprise project management, the 7 components of enterprise project management, methodologies commonly used in enterprise project management, key benefits of epm, what are the responsibilities involved in enterprise project management, what makes enterprise project management successful, how does enterprise project management differ from traditional project management.

Enterprise project management (EPM) is the discipline of managing projects within a large-scale organization where numerous projects happen simultaneously and with overlapping schedules. 

EPM is project management, but at scale. It includes disparate projects that may not seem like they interact or overlap, but that still have to be managed in a streamlined, holistic way.

EPM is a different, though related, discipline from traditional project management. In the latter, a single project manager oversees an entire project (and, of course, there may be dozens of project managers doing so on various projects). 

But EPM oversees all projects at a higher and less detailed level. Instead of focusing on individual projects, EPM focuses on the organization’s overarching goals and company strategic objectives.

We can explain enterprise project management by breaking it down into seven component parts , originally defined in 2000 by the Project Management Institute (PMI). 

While other responsibilities may be assigned (depending on the organization's structure and the industries in which it operates), enterprise project managers and the enterprise project management office (EPMO) will engage in at least these seven areas.

1. Risk analysis

Analyzing risk is far more complex at the enterprise level than at small to midsize businesses. While individual project managers engage in risk analysis for their distinct projects, 

PMOs perform risk management at an organization-wide scale. They look at the risks of individual projects as well as how those projects might interact. They look at the broader impacts of those risks and make recommendations or decisions on the worthiness of projects from a risk management perspective. 

They may also advise teams and PMs on making changes that reduce risk — either within a project or within the broader enterprise.

2. Project estimation

Project estimation is typically the responsibility of the individual project manager. However, in an enterprise with dozens, even hundreds, of project managers, processes and standards cannot be left to individual PMs’ discretion.

The EPM or the EPMO sets guidelines and approaches for project estimation and budgeting that the PMs must then follow. The EPMO also typically reviews and approves project estimates, ensuring they align with the enterprise’s established criteria and guidelines.

3. Project reviews

EPMs don’t handle day-to-day project management because their focus is elsewhere. However, they must still maintain a level of project understanding. 

For this reason, most EPMOs conduct periodic project reviews, evaluating project metrics, ensuring that various projects (and project managers) continue on time and on budget. 

Where scope creep and other classic project management process problems may pop up, the project review provides an opportunity for the EPM to intervene.

4. Project management coaching

Enterprise project management also handles coaching and training for project management personnel. This can take a number of forms:

Some project managers may come to the enterprise with significant project management skills and experience but little understanding of working in an enterprise organization or as part of a larger project management team. 

Other junior staffers might come into the organization without a project management professional (PMP) or other credential and need coaching or guidance as they pursue further training. 

All project managers will need training on new project management software systems or new methodologies as they arise. 

5. Escalated issue management

Individual project managers are often called upon to be problem-solvers and argument-deciders. In smaller organizations, team conflicts that a PM cannot solve tend to escalate to department managers. If there’s no resolution, the conflict moves progressively higher until an executive makes the call.

At some point between startup and enterprise, that model stops working. Complex projects deal with too many layers and too many competing priorities. An EPM office can serve as the decision-making body for certain types of issues and as a mediator or channel for others, interfacing with executives and C-suite personnel on behalf of project managers and project teams.

6. Time tracking

Time tracking is a well-established method of tracking, planning, and managing projects. It has value on the individual project level as well as organization-wide. 

Often, enterprise project management is tasked with developing or implementing a time-tracking system that achieves an organization’s goals. EPMO might also be in charge of analyzing the data collected through time-tracking software and may share this data with other relevant business units.

7. Information system (EPM software)

The seventh and final component of enterprise project management is developing, selecting, or implementing an EPM system or enterprise project management tool that can store, share, and manage all the data coming in and going out of the EPMO.

These days, we call this element “enterprise project management software,” or EPM software. 

Some enterprise organizations develop their own proprietary EPM software, while others use available products such as Teamwork.com.

Project management methodologies have varying levels of utility at the enterprise scale. 

The EPM will generally set a single methodology that serves as the default across the enterprise. While exceptions can be and certainly are made for individual specific projects (especially one-off or disconnected ones) where a different methodology will yield better results, an enterprise often adopts a sort of default “project management language.”

These are the most common project management methodologies used in the enterprise:

Agile project management

Critical chain

Critical path method (CPM)

eXtreme Programming (XP)

PMI's PMBOK

Organizations of sufficient size that haven’t yet implemented EPM or an EPMO can enjoy these benefits by adopting the model. 

Standardized project planning 

When each project manager does what’s right in their own eyes, the work gets done. But it doesn’t get done consistently . And when something goes wrong, no one’s quite sure where to look or what to do to get the project back on track.

EPM applies standardized approaches to project planning and project management, bringing all project managers together into a single definable, repeatable process.

Improves project efficiency

By analyzing data organization-wide and applying the most efficient practices and workflows at scale, EPM can improve individual project efficiency. Better resource management and standardized planning help to do the same.

Better resource utilization

With a stronger high-level view of the state of operations and a clearer sense of what resources are needed where, EPM unlocks better levels of resource utilization, lessening under-work and overload.

Minimizes risks

As organizations grow in complexity, the perspective of one project manager becomes less and less representative of the entire organization. This can lead to a myopia that prioritizes the here and now (the individual project) over what’s best for the organization as a whole.

Setting up an EPMO minimizes risk by designating a group or team to keep the entire organization (including its goals, direction, and current risks) in view.

Large organizations typically have some form of enterprise project management office. This could be in the form of a Delivery Manager (DM) supported by junior staff, or it could be some other configuration of team members with ownership of EPM.

EPM does not involve the detailed management of any particular project. Instead, it is concerned with managing an organization’s projects together. That means directing projects to align with top-level goals, managing the dependencies between projects, and helping each project to make it over the finish line — on time and on budget.

To accomplish this, the EPM office needs a high-level view of all the projects underway within the organization. For example, it might receive regular reporting from each project’s PM on factors such as:

Issues currently affecting delivery

Risks that may affect the project in future

Project progress and contribution to the organization’s KPIs

Using feedback on these and other areas, the EPM office can help each project in various ways. It can provide counsel to help resolve issues, offer solutions to guard against risks, and, in some cases, allocate extra resources to push a struggling project toward completion.

All the while, the EPM office must have the organization’s main goals in mind. The projects doing the most to advance these objectives should get priority assistance so they can keep succeeding. Meanwhile, projects veering away from corporate best interests may need to be refocused or even wound down.

Another aspect of EPM is ensuring consistent project management across an organization and its project managers . This may involve establishing project management best practices and leading on professional development — such as general project management training , enterprise project management certification, or training on project management software — for the organization’s project managers.

Implementing EPM within an organization of sufficient size is generally a smart move — but that’s not to say it will be an automatic success.

Just like projects don’t automatically succeed because they’re project-managed, organizations need to do more than open an enterprise project management office. They need that office to be successful.

While no single recipe guarantees success, you’ll find these common attributes among successful EPMOs.

1. (Re)define responsibilities

Going from no EPM to successful EPM is an exercise in change management: your organization will be actively taking responsibility away from one unit, group, or management level and placing that responsibility into a unit that didn’t exist before. There will be disruption. 

In the best case scenario, those overworked and overwhelmed people will thank you for taking this load from them. But often, you’ll face territorial disputes and power dynamics when making the change.

These can be mitigated somewhat by clearly redefining responsibilities so that no one is confused about what the EPMO does and doesn’t handle.

2. Enlist support

Make sure you have the support and understanding of senior stakeholders, including C-level executives or board members. This is a wide-ranging change, and you need to have backup should you need it.

3. Implement change gradually

There will be many elements to change and initiatives to champion. Don’t try to change everything in one shot. Instead, implement change gradually. Not only does this lessen the change management load, it also gives organizations ample opportunity to assess whether the EPM implementation is working.

As we’ve discussed throughout, enterprise project management and traditional (individual project) project management have much in common. Both disciplines deal with similar types of work, including resource allocation, time tracking, issue management, conflict resolution, project estimation, and risk analysis.

The primary difference is one of scope or scale.

Enterprise project management engages with each of these (and other elements) from the perspective of the entire organization: its goals, risks, opportunities, objectives, and so forth.

On the other hand, traditional project managers engage with each of these (and other elements) within the context of one or more distinct projects. The result is a markedly different set of day-to-day responsibilities , where they spend their time planning project schedules, managing project resources, and shepherding project work through its various project workflows. 

The fact that “project” was in each of those items is not an accident: Project orientation is the primary distinguishing factor.

In reality, both traditional project management and enterprise project management work together toward the same goal: organizational success. They just do it with different focuses, with EPM focusing on the broader organization and all the projects going on within it.

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Enterprise Project Management Improves Culture and Outcomes

By Kate Eby | November 25, 2021

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Learn how experts implement enterprise project management (EPM) to create synergies that drive productivity and competition in the market. Find frameworks, a template, best practices, and checklists for company transformation and success.

Included on this page, you’ll find frameworks for implementing EPM , an implementation checklist , an EPM software-selection checklist , and information on how leadership can ease the shift to EPM.

What Is Enterprise Project Management?

Enterprise project management refers to the business process and mindset required to administer multiple projects company-wide. The process strategically aligns portfolio, program, and project management, with the goal of creating synergies that drive value. 

 “Enterprise project management is about getting to desired outcomes as efficiently as possible under any conditions,” says Jason Scott, author of The Irreverent Guide to Project Management , and Principal Consultant, Founder, and CEO of 120VC , a project management services firm that provides human solutions to drive innovation and change. “You have to be agile (with a lowercase ‘a’) to get things done to reach those outcomes.”

Project Management Guide

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Ready to get more out of your project management efforts? Visit our comprehensive project management guide for tips, best practices, and free resources to manage your work more effectively.

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Enterprise Project Management Framework

An enterprise-level project management framework is a combination of business strategy, governance, and management methods. Structures at strategic, tactical, and organizational levels work together efficiently to boost value creation.

“Frameworks like those from the Project Management Institute (PMI) offer guidelines, not hard and fast rules,” says Scott. “Organizations — and the people within the organization — need to be willing to change and transform to deliver necessary and expected results with enterprise project management.” 

The PMI’s Pulse of the Profession Report 2021 report calls for an elegant, strategic approach to projects and details the emergence of the “gymnastic enterprise” that blends governance and structure with flexibility and a lens of change management, particularly in digital transformation. The report covers the shift to virtual work due to the pandemic as a pivot point for high-functioning organizations, focusing less on how people work and process and much more on outcomes.

The value of implementing enterprise-wide project management is that you’re able to act quickly enough to stop losses or capitalize on a potential window of opportunity.

Understanding Enterprise Project Management Frameworks

Strategy and Enterprise Project Management: Effective enterprise project management operates from strategy and top-down governance that encompasses all program and project implementation. Enterprise project management is still evolving as a practice, and therefore requires a cultural shift and a move away from siloed departments. The reality is that projects, from mergers and acquisitions to major IT initiatives, have company-wide impacts on performance and budgets. 

Despite the pressing need for initiatives to fulfill company missions, most initiatives and projects are failure-prone.  PMI’s 2018 Pulse of the Profession report found that every 20 seconds, more than $1 million goes to waste. This result, which is true of businesses all over the globe, is the business case implementation.

• The Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO): The enterprise project management office is a business function and practice that focuses on strategic business objectives: management, growth, core differentiation, competitive direction, value, and finance management. The EPMO works with and reports to C-level officers and senior leadership. The office provides governance, project portfolio management best practices, tools, mentoring, and process standardization. Enterprise project management provides visibility into all projects, up to the top executive level, to ensure value delivery and elimination of waste to speed corporate initiatives to a beneficial conclusion.
• The Project Portfolio Management Office (PPMO): The project portfolio management office establishes methodologies and processes that identify and select value-maximizing project portfolios. PPMO responsibilities include working with executives to specify portfolio objectives and define submission data for project proposals. The office determines and announces the mechanism, algorithm, or model used to estimate the value of ongoing and proposed projects. Based on strategy and data, the office recommends project priorities and the composition of the project portfolio and decides how to allocate available project resources. You can find best practices and practical pathways to PPMO success in our guide to enterprise project portfolio management . 

Tactics and Program Management: The tactical level is responsible for performance, governance, control, compliance, risk management, and program management. Program managers report to the PPMO, which works to improve processes in a multiproject environment.

The Program Management Office (PMO): The program management office reports to senior executives and project sponsors. Program management controls multiple projects in support of programs that are usually interdependent and involve various company departments. Strategic PMOs help control the portfolio, prioritization, and strategy based on directives from the level of the organization. The office coordinates resources from multiple departments, generates reports for executives and project sponsors, identifies project dependencies, and coordinates projects.

How Is Enterprise Project Management Different from Program Management?

Enterprise project management is mission-, strategy-, and value-driven, while program management is a tactical effort. EPM offices handle multiple programs that align with corporate strategy and business value.

The C-suite and senior leadership are responsible for setting the vision and strategy for every level of the company. By contrast, the program management office works at the tactical level. The PMO provides program direction, risk analysis and resolution, performance metrics, and other data. PMOs also ensure compliance with project management standards.

Operations and project management activities focus on human resources, procurement, product management, marketing, sales and customer service, production, supply chain, and logistics. 

For this domain, the PMO supports administration for the project management team and regulates project-related management processes. The PMO is responsible for ensuring accurate time and cost tracking, status reports, and the delivery of approved projects on time and within budget.

Project management is a complex and valuable practice area with many moving parts. Look into best practices and objectives by reading an overview of project management .

How Is Enterprise Project Management Different from Project Management?

Enterprise project management focuses on strategic objectives and the delivery of business plans. The goal of project management is to provide quality deliverables within specified scope, cost, and schedule. 

Program management offices are responsible for delivering quality products or services within scope, on time, and within budget. EPM stakeholders include team leaders, team members, subject matter experts, and process owners.

Roles and Responsibilities in Enterprise Project Management

The roles and responsibilities in enterprise project management vary from organization to organization. In a mature EPM environment, the CEO or COO is the top level of command, and they are supported by a chief project officer and enterprise project manager.

Here is a brief overview of high-level roles in enterprise project management:

• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Operations Officer (COO): Depending on organizational structure, the CEO or COO is the ultimate reporting authority. CEOs are change champions and the driving forces behind a culture that supports organizational agility and the embrace of new technologies. In a 2019 Forbes Insights Survey of executives, 92 percent consider the program management office to be a transformational force for adopting disruptive technology. And nearly 90 percent of executive respondents believe that the EPMO is a critical element in future digital transformations.
• Chief Project Officer (CPO): CPOs are board-level executives. CPOs sponsor and oversee significant projects, portfolios, and programs to achieve strategic business objectives. They evaluate risks and ensure they are well-balanced with rewards. One of the crucial aspects of the position is to drive efficiencies and linkages between projects, including ensuring that each project has an effective leader. The CPO also is in charge of implementing appropriate project management methodology and controls project scope. Overall, the position is charged with achieving excellence in execution. 
• Enterprise Project Manager: Enterprise project managers are in charge of making sure all projects within an organization meet expectations based on the direction of the CEO and CPO. Enterprise project managers aren’t necessarily involved with the details of particular projects, but rather direct projects to align with top-level goals. At the same time, each project in the portfolio needs to be completed on time and under budget.

Major players in the transformation to enterprise-wide project management include the following:

• EPM Executive Owner: Every successful project must have a leader who is the voice and champion of the project. The executive owner must set the vision and direction for the organization's enterprise project management solution and advocate for the EPM vision and leadership among their peer group.
• EPM Sponsor: The sponsor represents the bridge between the high-level vision and direction and the day-to-day planning and execution to achieve enterprise project management.

A Closer Look at What an Enterprise Project Manager Does

Enterprise project managers zero in on the central problem to solve. With input from sponsors and stakeholders, the enterprise project manager decides how to approach the problem by identifying objectives, scope, and tasks to deliver the desired outcome.

Responsibilities of an enterprise project manager include the following:

• Maintain Vision: Successful enterprise project managers keep the corporate vision, goals, and underlying purpose top of mind. The manager devotes ample time to gain a thorough understanding of the project’s value and ensures that all stakeholders comprehend it.
• Market Understanding: Enterprise project managers need to have a strong overview of the market environment that impacts each project and use that knowledge to determine project merit, organization, and oversight.
• Providing a Framework for Project Activities: Based on strategy directives, enterprise project managers provide leadership with a clear structure for team members to follow in order to complete projects.
• Recruit Participants: With all the skill or project needs, enterprise project managers select internal and external vendors. They also hire new talent to complete projects with the greatest possible efficiency.
• Prevent Duplication and Recognize Opportunities: Enterprise project managers identify when projects conflict or duplicate effort since they have an overview and familiarity with initiatives.
• Negotiate with Executives: When personnel, budgets, and timing — or in cases where the project itself — needs reconsideration, the EPM will work with executives and business managers to get projects done.
• Identify Required Resources: Once organized, the enterprise project manager reviews all requirements. Once needs are clarified, the enterprise project manager will align all internal and external human, material, and services with budgetary restrictions.
• Set Milestones and Coordinate Activities: To deliver projects and portfolios on time and budget, project managers provide clarity for all team members. Tasks include oversight or assignment of roles, deliverables, and workable plans that all stakeholders and staff can understand.
• Ensure Team Member Contribution and Benefits: Team member engagement goes hand in hand with vision. Enterprise project managers’ leadership encourages everyone to work in concert to a single goal to perform at the highest possible level.
• Mediate Conflicts: Project and portfolio development is a complex process that involves immense human and monetary resources. The level of complexity requires well-honed management skills to prevent conflict. Conflict resolution techniques include win-win resolution where all parties achieve their goals and reach a satisfactory compromise. Above all, enterprise project managers provide continuous feedback and are flexible in avoiding conflict before it begins.
• Leverage Lessons Learned: Successful project managers review critical data during projects and afterward identify potential issues and improve future projects. Apply evaluations of project failures, successes, and lessons learned in order to refine processes for continuous improvement.

There are many steps, inputs, and partnerships involved in delivering project value. Learn how to take control by understanding the phases of project management .

Elements of Enterprise Project Management

There are seven components or elements involved in enterprise project management: risk control and analysis, estimating, reviewing methodologies, escalating issues, time management, information systems, and training and mentoring.

These elements are described in detail below.

1. Risk Control and Analysis

A well-constructed risk analysis methodology will help you decide how much risk is acceptable in light of potential project rewards. Risk management is vital for organizations of every size. Learn about best practices, and get templates and more in our guide to enterprise risk management implementation .

Project Risk Management Plan Template

Download Project Risk Management Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

This template is easy to customize based on project details, risk tolerance, and mitigation processes. Add needed data and calculations; also, note roles and responsibilities, risk identification, and a risk register for analysis and monitoring.

2. Structured Estimation

Ideally, management will approve a published estimation process and methodology for project managers to follow in a large organization. Then the project manager should explain and defend the estimated time and budget to management before moving forward. Three-point estimates that include the optimistic, likely, and pessimistic views also provide a stringent basis for contingency estimates.

3. Project Reviews

Enterprise project management calls for reviews at multiple points during the project lifecycle. PMI recommends commitment, startup, progress, and close-out reviews. The intent of these reviews is to provide attention through checks on standards, status, and issues, as well as form risk mitigation plan updates. Additionally, reviews support the project managers to provide a value-add consultation. 

4. Project Management Coaching

Coaching accelerates project managers’ competence and decision-making abilities, as well as reduces dropout rates. The coach’s role is to act as a mentor, help during critical periods, and offer assistance in high-risk decision-making. A strong coach will help the project manager understand the need for skill growth and build their development plan.

5. Escalated Issue Management

Projects often consume more effort and time than necessary, or they fail due to an inability to spot and take on issues as they arise. Issues from different projects that share core issues are analyzed, and results are used to prioritize system or organizational changes, departmental quality initiatives, or other challenges that prevent progress. It can be helpful to have a checklist for process reviews.

6. Time Tracking and Accounting

This is one of the most critical — and most difficult — aspects of project management. Time tracking and accounting are essential for current and historical reporting and understanding project ROI. Create estimation guidelines, based on past projects and managed at the project manager level, and have the project manager review them and check overspending time and budget. Project management software is invaluable in making time tracking and accounting more manageable and shareable, and in creating a database in which you can develop dollar and time estimation guidelines.

Project Budgeting Template

Download Project Budgeting Template

Deliver projects on time and under budget with this budgeting template, which allows you to track labor, fixed costs, materials, and other elements. Easily manage additional spending and provide insights into budget variance, so all team members and stakeholders are informed with this practical template.

7. Software Systems

Businesses can use enterprise project management software to gauge progress, handle scope creep, and reliably deliver projects that match business goals. Tools are available as separate tools for niche buyers or complete suite solutions. 

What Are Enterprise Projects?

Transformation and change-oriented companies lean into enterprise projects , which are large-scale projects that impact the entire organization and include hundreds (or even thousands) of stakeholders. Companies with a global footprint increasingly adopt enterprise projects to improve company culture, create shareholder value, and deliver quality products.

Here are a few examples of enterprise projects:

• Tesla, Inc.: Since 2008, Tesla’s bold vision has been to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” The global scope of this vision is an example of proactive systems thinking and strong executive leadership. Despite maintaining regional divisions, Tesla adheres to enterprise project management guidelines and is centralized, and the entire organization is controlled through decisions made by a central group or team. The method is to apply EPM and software development principles to short development cycles in order to create groundbreaking electric vehicles. Tesla employees share a common vision (“Do the impossible”) to unite people and reduce conflict. Teams are asked to think like owners and constantly innovate. The company rewards innovative employee contributions. As a result, Tesla is one of the world’s premier electric automobile manufacturers.
• Lowe’s Companies, Inc.: The company leverages enterprise project management to perform business-critical tasks based on its vision statement: “We will provide customer-valued solutions with the best prices, products, and services to make Lowe's the first choice for home improvement.” Some of the company’s EPM initiatives include expansions into Canada, pre-planning for labor shortages, and new systems, such as the self-checkout program. Lowe’s enterprise project management solutions enable decisions in alignment with the company’s operating model, strategic direction, and areas for growth potential.
• Toyota Motor Credit Corporation: The company offers protection and finance products to Toyota dealers and customers using the Toyota Financial Services brand. In 2001, Toyota Motor Credit Corporation decided to implement EPM to align projects with corporate strategy and use data to drive decision-making. It was important for a global network that covers most of its market, in service of 5.4 million customers. The first project was implementing EPM. While executives readily accepted the change, some project managers had difficulty getting the perceived loss of autonomy and control. Today, all portfolios and projects are scored against three success criteria -— time, cost, and scope — to align project outcomes to the strategy with transparency and reduced complexity. The company’s mantra is “keep it simple” within correct alignment to strategy, governance, and project execution frameworks.

Enterprise Project Management Best Practices Begin with Leadership

The most effective best practices in enterprise project management relate to leadership. The highest function of EPM is the support of change, transformation, improvement, and value across all business sectors.

Scott, of 120VC, says that everything in contemporary project management, particularly at the enterprise level, relies on strong leadership. He and his team developed their methodology and have used it for enterprise-wide projects for Fortune 100 companies for more than 20 years, including many IT development projects. Fortunately, this model is scalable and applies to projects and portfolios of all kinds.

“Most project managers are immersed in the process and imagine they have authority. Yet they usually don’t,” Scott says. “[This is] because, in many companies that don’t practice EPM, project management and managers don’t have a ‘home’ and have no support from leadership. It needs to come from the top. 

“Organizations need one (mission-based) plan and one (mission-based, empowered) team to get to the outcomes you need,” Scott adds.

120VC’s process, which is PMI compliant, is an iterative, nimble, and interconnected process that improves organizational culture and focuses on empowering the humans who deliver projects and thrive in an environment that nurtures results. The transformation accelerator applies to projects organization and completion. 

Leaders ensure that each project undertaken fits the business strategy. This cultural approach is the single most significant factor in project or portfolio success. Solid leadership techniques, such as those described below, are the motor that runs every project of any size:

• Organizational Change Management: Every project and portfolio is an exercise in change discipline. Change management as a mindset. The idea is to advance culture and optimize team member performance. The bird’s-eye view and a flexible perspective mean you always have the option to change.
• Project Team Demand Management: Overall and at every step of the way, the goal is to maximize team member utilization, minimize waste cycles and chaos, and use just-in-time  project resourcing.
• Enterprise Project Management Leadership: At the enterprise level, high-ranking management clearly defines outcomes, involves all teams and vendors, manages cross-organizational dependencies, and works to a fixed deadline and budget.
• Portfolio Management: Balance budget, and after review, “rob from rich and give to poor programs,” recommends Scott. The goal is to maximize portfolio outcomes across all programs.
• Program Management: As in portfolio management, budget balancing and redistribution of assets. Overall, program managers look to maximize desired program outcomes across projects.
• Agile Product Management: Flexible product management in any kind of company, whether it is an IT or manufacturing or service outputs, is about defining the outcome, and that requires the willingness and ability to experiment. 

“The approach is about having more than one tool in the toolkit,” stresses Scott. He notes that companies tied to one modality may not get the outcomes they need. Rather, a wide range of skills and an openness to new knowledge make the difference between winners and losers in an ever more competitive world marketplace. Learn more by reading our guide to expert-tested project management best practices .

What Makes Enterprise Project Management Successful

Successful enterprise project management serves the overarching aims of the organization. Companies thrive long-term with a dedication to continuous improvement, rather than immediate profits. EPM requires companies to maintain high standards, a uniform reporting framework, and centralized leadership and support.

Enterprise project management critical success factors include the following:

• Autonomy: If an organization is introducing an EPMO, the introduction should follow organizational change management best practices. Program and project managers need to understand that top-down enterprise management complements their work and exists to provide additional help. Each office and its humans are empowered to do their job as everyone works toward a common goal.
• Expertise: For the enterprise project management office to be effective, staff it with people who have project management expertise and business acumen, and coach project managers. Require  new hires to meet the high bar set by the company.
• Standardization Enforcement: Standardize processes across departments within the organization.
• Genuine Structural Change: It’s essential to have a structure, so project management offices report directly or indirectly to the enterprise project management office and ultimately from the CEO. The communication and escalation pathways should be clear to avoid bottlenecks.
• Executive Support: There should be constant leadership support and buy-in for the enterprise project management office to perform its role. The enterprise project management office supports the organizational leadership and does not step on their responsibilities or authority.

How to Determine if the EPM Framework Is Right for Your Organization

It can be easy to decide that enterprise project management is the way forward for your company. When the number and quality of projects become unmanageable, few are completed or end in desired outcomes, the enterprise project management framework provides a solution.

Key aspects to consider include the following: 

• Company Size: The more complex the organization, the more helpful EPM can integrate and streamline efforts. 
• Mindset: EPM requires taking a fresh look at the entire portfolio of projects and ranking them based on which hold potential value for the company. That value is about organizational evolution and reinvention, instead of preserving the status quo or meeting business unit performance plans. Projects with the greatest value take priority, and low-value projects are assessed for cancellation.
• Project Management Maturity: At the initial phase of project management maturity, teams don’t properly define their approach to projects, don’t deliver them on time or on schedule, and don’t handle changes well. Organizations with more mature project management capabilities are better candidates for transforming and changing enterprise project management demands.
• Project Assessment and Balance: An enterprise becomes a prime candidate for EPM when the incoming number of projects exceeds its current ability to track current projects and effectively monitor results.

Benefits of Enterprise Project Management Methodology

An enterprise project management office can go beyond project, program, or portfolio management to support overall management strategies. The enterprise project management plan pulls project management offices together and provides unique benefits to the organization.

“Outputs are about organizational culture, and culture is people’s attitude,” says Scott. “It is humans who deliver projects, and best-in-class enterprise project management focuses on developing people.”

Benefits of enterprise project management include the following:

• Executive Visibility and Involvement: Since an EPMO operates at a strategic level, programs and portfolios are more visible to the highest level of the organization.
• Better Alignment with Strategic Goals: Before launching any project, managers need to check projects against company strategy and goals to ensure overall value and ability to deliver substantial ROI.
• Strengthened Organization: Through project portfolio management and analysis, managers promote the highest and best use of resources, cancel project duplication, collect information, and develop best practices. Stakeholders, team members, and the organization at large benefit from enhanced communication, resource management, and productivity.

Advantages of Enterprise Project Management

Enterprise project management (and the EPMO) run projects to enhance project, program, and portfolio management synergies. The framework provides an overarching level of control that improves project outcomes and benefits the entire organization. 

The advantages of enterprise project management include the following:

• Coordinating Global Operations: Centralized enterprise project management brings together departments and geographically dispersed offices. The resulting collaboration and support of cross-functional projects link people and processes to work toward a common goal.
• Understanding Demand: Demand forecasting is integral to successful enterprise project management. Projects should be initiated and prioritized ahead of demand based on needs across the company. 
• Better Value Evaluation: With a broader vision across the organization, an enterprise project management office can also be well-positioned to evaluate the organization’s value and ROI and projects. A financial return may not be the immediate goal, however — value can derive from a learning and innovation perspective.
• Streamlining and Reduced Costs: Organized systems and visibility across multiple departments eliminate duplication of efforts. Another obvious benefit of EPM is a reduction of costs, due to the elimination or reduction of overtime, change orders, and other avoidable expenses.
• Better Project Outcomes: The accurate measure of any project management solution comes from project performance. The real benefits are long-term, enterprise-wide improvement in budget performance, work quality, employee engagement, innovation, and market competitiveness.

Disadvantages of Enterprise Project Management Methodology

Implementing enterprise project management can pose a significant challenge. Many people have to agree upon changes and be willing to make cultural and process shifts that can be uncomfortable for management and teams.

“There is a strange disadvantage — it’s about getting out of the comfort zone. It’s not easy,” Scott points out. “This process requires letting go of the status quo. Getting the process right is often easier than getting things done. Most of the time, when things stall, it’s about getting stuck in the process — people get caught up in the little things. Good project managers at every level are not about scope and schedule but are about every day verifying that they are delivering the right outcome and creating value for the organization overall.”

What your company can save will depend upon many factors, including company culture, cost of implementation, the structure of the organization, and the skill of the enterprise project manager. Consider the following common challenges, too:

• Lack of Support: The ease of implementation will depend on the organization. Companies can struggle with implementation when they don’t have the necessary support.
• Departmental Changes: Departments not directly affected by the switch to EPM, such as HR, may need to modify their procedures to support the new model. 
• Communication Hurdles: You can minimize roadblocks by prioritizing clear communication and ensuring that all changes are realistic.

Challenges of Enterprise Project Management

Companies have challenges to overcome when implementing enterprise project management, so it’s essential to understand them beforehand. The right people, funding, and technological support need to be in place to ensure smooth operations.

“There is no downside to enterprise project management except the challenge that everyone needs to work to a common goal,” says Scott. “Everyone also needs to have more than one tool in the toolkit. It’s not about being Agile — which doesn’t apply to every non-IT project. It’s about ‘lowercase’ agile approaches to develop mastery around all the disciplines involved in project management.”

Challenges of enterprise project management include:

• Adequate Funding: Management needs to allocate adequate funding for projects that have been determined to deliver adequate ROI based on strategy. You can use financial reporting in detail to help measure success, as well as look for ways to improve and which projects should be eliminated or scaled back. 
• Qualified Professionals: Hiring the right people or training existing staff can mean the difference between success or failure. 
• Technological Support: For organizations with large project portfolios, the most effective way to manage and monitor efforts is with software solutions that match company needs.

How to Implement Enterprise Project Management

The shift to EPM is a project in itself. It is an opportunity to demonstrate change and value concepts organization-wide. The roles and responsibilities of implementing EPM reflect the opportunity and mindset in enterprise project management.

“The roadblocks to enterprise project management implementation are information and confirmation bias,” says Scott of 120VC. With strong leadership and effective, ongoing communication, people can move past what they believe to what works.

Implement EPM with careful consideration. Every organization has unique needs, so an EPMO needs to tailor itself to fit company culture and handle any challenges and risks. An excellent process to use before moving forward is to review the checklist below and conduct an enterprise risk assessment analysis.

Download Enterprise Project Management Implementation Checklist

Smartsheet Enterprise Project Management Dashboard

Dashboards display high-level, critical information about the business performance. The central control panel of this enterprise project management dashboard provides an overview of vital information, which you can share with the appropriate parties. The project portfolio management template facilitates a deeper dive into the health of portfolios, both as a whole or individually. Add the demand planning template to forecast inventory and supply chain data to facilitate planning. Enterprise-level project management templates are customizable with new tools and widgets.

What Is an Enterprise Project Management System?

Enterprise project management systems are software applications that are created to specifically suit the needs of large-scale organizations. Enterprise project management tools are scaled-up solutions built for companies that have large numbers of projects and bigger teams.

How to Choose the Right Enterprise Project Management Software

In order to choose the right enterprise project management software, you’ll first need to conduct an assessment of your needs. Based on company size, budget, and other considerations, you can decide what functionalities and integrations will work best.

Download Enterprise Project Management Software Checklist

History and Evolution of Enterprise Project Management

From the 1940s through the 1990s, organizational systems focused on individual projects, planning. and coordination. Today, EPM spans departments and geographic locations with the help of software tools.

IT governance practices have influenced EPM in recent years. Today, the practice has evolved into a set of interrelated techniques and activities, which companies systematically apply to maximize ROI, both in projects and people. 

The underlying motivation is to address business requirements by driving change and cutting through complexity. Find out more about what organizations can accomplish with enterprise portfolio management .

Future of Enterprise Project Management

As the pressure for companies to deliver faster results increases, more organizations will likely adopt enterprise project management. New ways to improve the practice include greater leverage of data and technologies, such as AI, that will change the structure and nature of the practice itself.  

Change is disruptive, but it also brings opportunities. The pandemic forced a reassessment of how businesses operate for many companies and how they can transform to deal with all types of natural and industry events. With the use of AI to help make meaning from meta-data, future work practice flexibility is supported and will help companies meet stressors and come back strong.

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What Is Enterprise Project Management?

• 1.  Project Management Basics
• 2.  Project Management Methodologies
• 3.  Project Management Life Cycle
• 4.  Best Project Management Software
• 5.  Team Collaboration Tips
• 6.  Agile Methodology Basics
• 7.  Agile Project Management Tools & Techniques
• 8.  Project Management Frameworks
• 9.  Resources
• 10.  Glossary
• Advanced Terminology
• Methodologies
• PM Software Features
• Basic Terminology
• Professional Development
• Agile Project Management

Large enterprise organizations typically run multiple complex projects simultaneously. Although these projects do not necessarily seem connected, they all impact the same enterprise organization. Enterprise project management (EPM) refers to the practice of managing projects on a companywide scale. It generally involves implementing strategies and processes to streamline and improve the effectiveness of project management on a large scale. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI) , these initiatives can include:

• Using project management software to consolidate multiple projects and make them more visible and trackable across the organization
• Creating a project management department
• Using “stages of growth” models to improve project-management capabilities

When discussing enterprise project management software, it is essential that they offer specific enterprise-level solutions. They should not only manage a portfolio of initiatives effectively but also facilitate collaboration among teams and departments.

What makes enterprise project management different?

Traditional project management practices focus on seeing one specific project through with a defined, measurable objective.

Enterprise project management focuses on the organization, prioritizing and highlighting its business goals and managing and grouping projects to ensure they meet those broader company objectives.

The end objective is not necessarily a completed project but a project that effectively provides value to the organization.

Utilizing an Enterprise project management tool to align projects with the company's OKRs will aid in maintaining focus across all teams and departments.

Benefits of enterprise project management

Although roughly 25% of the gross domestic product of developed nations is spent on or through projects , there is often a lack of alignment among projects within an organization. This divide can result in duplication, wasted effort, missed opportunities, inconsistent decision-making, and other hurdles. Organizations, and project managers within the company, need to ensure all projects are strategically focused on their overarching business objectives.

Enterprise project management aims to do just that. As Villanova University explains , EPM practices can “identify when projects conflict or duplicate efforts, and they can recognize underfunded projects that might present an opportunity for the organization.” The university cites a potential 20% increase in profits for organizations that employ an EPM system.

The PMI outlines additional benefits of enterprise project management, including:

• Higher-quality output
• Improved productivity
• Reduced impact of skills shortage
• Reduced project risks
• Enhanced reliability of delivery

Implementation of enterprise project management

Since enterprise project management focuses on the organization’s core mission and strategic objectives, implementation of an EPM system begins with a thorough look at the company’s existing projects and organizational culture. After all, EPM will require adaptability and openness to change.

It is vital to include stakeholders in an EPM system since the end goal is full transparency, wider participation, more project visibility, and increased monitoring. A high level of communication is essential to bring everyone on board and ensure goals and efforts are aligned.

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Further reading:.

• Wrike for Enterprise. One connected platform that scales.
• What It Takes to be a Project Portfolio Manager
• The Major Challenges of Enterprise Project Portfolio Management

Basic Project Management

• Project Charter
• Project Management Stakeholders
• What is a Project?
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Project Objectives
• Project Baseline
• Project Management Scheduling
• Project Management Work Packages
• Project Management Scope
• Scope Creep

Advanced Project Management

• What is PERT?
• Network Diagram
• Risk Management
• Cost Estimation
• Feasibility Study
• Monte Carlo Analysis
• Project Integration
• Cost Management
• PMI Project Management
• What To Do With Certification
• Certification
• Become Certified
• PMP Certification
• Best Certification

Software Features

• Critical Success Factors
• Capacity Planning
• User Role Access Permissions
• Time Tracking
• Budget Tracking
• Request Forms
• Work Assignments
• Version Control
• Dependency Managements
• Project management Milestones
• Project Management Software
• Project Management Tools
• Project Management System
• Gantt Charts

• Contact sales

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Enterprise Project Management: Benefits, Challenges & Tools

Managing more than one project at a time creates a lot of problems. How can you allocate resources wisely across all those projects? How can you keep the projects aligned with the strategic goals of the organization? That and more is what enterprise project management does.

Let’s define the term enterprise project management and then identify its unique challenges before going into what an enterprise project manager is and what an enterprise project management office is. We’ll also explain the benefits and share some free templates to help you out.

What Is Enterprise Project Management?

Enterprise project management (EPM) is an umbrella term that covers the professional practices, processes and tools that are used when managing multiple projects, such as a program or portfolio, at the same time. Unlike project management, which focuses on one project at a time with narrowly defined goals, enterprise project management works towards uniform strategies and processes with the goals of efficiency and alignment of all the projects to work collectively towards the organization’s business goals.

You can think of enterprise project management as a way to organize and track multiple projects. Instead of managing one project with teams dedicated only to that one project and other resources allotted to only that one project, enterprise project management works to share these resources across multiple projects in a project portfolio . It seeks to avoid duplication of effort and foster better communication between projects so there are fewer mistakes. As a result, you’ll have a holistic decision-making process that doesn’t overlook opportunities and keeps all projects serving a common purpose.

To do this and avoid potential pitfalls of individual project management while focusing on the strategic goals of the larger organization you’ll want to use project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that can manage multiple projects and resources in real time. Use our roadmap tool to see all your projects on a visual timeline to help you better allocate resources and manage all your projects more efficiently. Roadmaps are Gantt charts that manage multiple projects and can link dependencies to avoid delays and set a baseline to track progress and costs in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Unique Challenges of Enterprise Project Management

While the benefits of enterprise project management include more efficient projects and being able to reach strategic goals through collective projects, that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges to managing multiple projects. These challenges can be faced and controlled, but only if an enterprise project manager is aware of them. Here are some of the more challenging aspects of enterprise project management.

Ensuring Project Strategic Alignment

One of the main goals of enterprise project management is project strategic alignment, which is when all the plans and executions of the projects being managed fit into the organization’s strategic goals. Therefore, all projects must provide business results to help the organization achieve its full potential and long-term plans.

Approving, Selecting and Prioritizing Projects

Part of enterprise project management is determining which of the existing as well as new projects are most urgent. The approval and selection of these prioritized projects is one way to gain efficiency and deliver on the strategic goals of the organization and is one of the duties that an enterprise project manager is responsible for.

Managing Multiple Projects Simultaneously

It’s hard enough to manage one project, but managing multiple projects at the same time is exponentially more difficult. Setting priorities and budgets across projects can be overwhelming and lead to mistakes, which can negatively impact quality and outcomes. It’s imperative to not only look at the larger picture but not forget the important details, too.

Allocating Organizational Resources Across Projects

Being able to share resources across multiple projects is one way to work more efficiently and save on costs, but this is hard to achieve. But teams, tools and materials aren’t unlimited and multiple projects can be vying for the same resources at the same time. Being able to schedule resources and understand resource requirements will improve resource allocation.

Tracking Project Performance

You’ll need to track progress and performance across multiple projects, all of which will be demanding your attention. It’s important to not neglect any data and to have that data delivered in real time to make informed decisions promptly. This can be accomplished with dashboards and reporting tools.

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Strategic Roadmap Template

Use this free Strategic Roadmap Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

What Is an Enterprise Project Manager?

An enterprise project manager is responsible for managing the scope of multiple projects to ensure that they’re sharing resources efficiently and delivering on the strategic goals of the organization. It depends on the organization, but in general, all enterprise project managers share certain core responsibilities.

They’re part of a high-level strategic team and provide business guidelines for all the projects to follow as well as leading the project management practices. Enterprise project managers also oversee all the projects, review them and make sure they’re meeting their schedules and staying on budget.

The enterprise project manager will help the individual project managers with resource management and resolve any resource conflicts. They make sure all project goals are aligned with the overall business goals of the organization as well as train and mentor the individual project managers and their teams.

What Is an Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO)?

An enterprise project management office is a centralized internal or external organization that is responsible for the planning of program and portfolio projects. It specializes in strategy and administration to evaluate projects and continuously optimize them.

An enterprise project management office also works to make sure projects meet their budgets and are completed on time. They monitor projects and act to resolve issues and cut down on wasted resources. But mostly, they want to ensure the projects align with the overall business strategic goals of the organization. They do this and their other duties by using project management and project portfolio management tools.

Other functions of an enterprise project management office include managing risk , standardizing processes, mentoring and improving project accountability. The enterprise project management office is manned by project managers, portfolio managers and other executives with knowledge of the projects. They’re led by an enterprise project management office director.

This strategic roadmap template helps you map all the projects that will be executed by the business departments of your organization over a year so you can better understand how each of these projects contribute to the accomplishment of strategic goals.

We offer a variety of free PMO templates you can use to manage all aspects of your projects, programs and portfolios.

Benefits of an Enterprise Project Management Office

It should be clear how important an enterprise project management office is after defining it and its responsibilities. But to emphasize those points, let’s look a little closer at some of the benefits of having an enterprise project management office.

Uses Project Management Software for Accurate Project Tracking

As noted above, an enterprise project management office will use project management tools to help them manage all their projects. This includes tools such as portfolio dashboards that can give them a high-level view of their project’s progress and performance, which benefits the management of all projects.

Provides One Centralized Location for All Project Management Activities

By having an enterprise project management office, there’s one entity that oversees all the projects. This helps with aligning strategic goals, managing schedules and keeping to budgets. If this was a responsibility spread across many different people, it’d be harder to maintain sight of these collective goals.

Builds the Project Management Know-How of an Organization

Managing multiple projects together within one enterprise project management office means that there’s a wealth of learned knowledge collected under one roof. Not only experience, but the skill sets of all the professionals involved in the enterprise project management office is a valuable benefit.

Facilitates the Communication Between Project Stakeholders Across Departments

Stakeholders want to stay informed on the progress of the projects they’re involved in. Having one communication hub to feed all these distinct channels makes the dissemination of that information more effective and efficient.

More Enterprise Project Management Templates

If you’re looking for a quick fix to help you with your enterprise project management, some templates can give you a headstart. ProjectManager’s site has dozens of free project and portfolio management templates for Excel and Word that you can download to help you get started. Here are a few.

Resource Plan Template

Plan your resources with our free resource plan template for Excel. You can outline the tasks, the departments, the hours and costs for each resource and then map them on a weekly or monthly calendar.

Project Dashboard Template

Get a high-level overview of your project with our free project dashboard template for Excel. It shows you project metrics, such as tasks, workload, costs and more, in easy-to-read graphs and charts.

Project Budget Template

Use our free project budget template for Excel to list your tasks and the associated costs, both labor and material. There’s also room to capture travel, equipment and food expenses, and to see if you’re under or over budget.

How ProjectManager Helps with Enterprise Project Management

Templates are a quick fix, as we said, but when you’re managing a portfolio of projects and need them to align with larger business goals, you need something more powerful. Templates are static and aren’t efficient tools. Project management software takes you to the next level. ProjectManager is award-winning project and project portfolio management software that gives you all the tools you need to plan, manage and track your program or portfolio in real time.

Monitor Costs and Progress of Multiple Projects With Real-Time Dashboards

Enterprise project managers and enterprise project management offices need to have tools that give them an overview of their project’s progress and performance whenever they need it. Our portfolio dashboard shows live data across all your projects. See time, cost, workload and more in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Unlike lightweight tools, there’s no time-consuming setup required. Just toggle over to our dashboard and monitor your projects in real time.

Assign Work to Your Team Members and Track Their Workload

Our software allows you to put the availability of everyone working for your program or portfolio into the tool, including their vacation, PTO and even global holidays for remote teams. That makes it easier to assign and reallocate resources as needed. Once your teams are executing projects, visit the workload chart. It’s color-coded to show each team member’s allocation and you can balance their workload right from the chart to have everyone working at capacity and staying productive.

Those are just some of the tools you get with our software. There are also risk management features that help you identify and track issues to keep them from negatively impacting your projects. Our multiple project views allow everyone to work how they like, whether on kanban boards , task lists, sheet or calendar views. Enterprise project managers can plan and assign on Gantt charts, but teams have the freedom to use whichever view they want to manage their work.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere in between. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email notifications and in-app alerts. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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What Is Enterprise Project Management?

Written by samantha ferguson.

Last updated on 22nd March 2023

In this article we are going to answer the question: What is enterprise project management?

Project management is such a broad term and it impacts every business in some way or another. And yet, a lot of businesses still struggle to get it right. 

According to our Communication Statistics 2023 , 96% of people feel the businesses they buy from have room for improvement when it comes to effective communication and project management.

Here’s an in-depth look into what enterprise project management is and how to implement it in your business…

What is enterprise project management?

Enterprise project management focuses on the management of projects on a company-wide scale. This usually refers to multiple projects that require standardised processes to make managing them easier and more streamlined for everyone involved. 

Enterprise project management is typically implemented by an enterprise project manager . The role of this person is to oversee all of the projects that are occurring in the company at any one time, usually across multiple departments. 

The enterprise project manager will monitor projects to see if they are meeting their goals, and may occasionally be required to cancel projects that are under-perfoming. It’s very important for enterprise project managers to be able to tell the difference! 

The 7 elements of enterprise project management

According to the Project Management Institute, there are 7 elements of enterprise project management (sometimes referred to as EPM). 

Here we’ll take a look at each element in more detail to see why it’s important. 

1. Risk analysis

Risk analysis is the process of identifying and analysing potential risks, and then implementing measures that can be put in place to mitigate those risks.

In terms of enterprise project management, this means evaluating what went wrong with past projects and using this information to inform future risk management decisions. Risk analysis should be applied to projects on an individual level, but also to the company as a whole. 

A list of potential risks should be made, along with the likelihood of them happening and a contingency plan to mitigate the risks if they occur.

2. Project estimation

Project estimation refers to estimating things like project costs, duration, and resources required. This will help you to determine a standard or “rule of thumb” for your projects. You’ll be able to understand how long projects should take, how much they should cost, what resources you’ll need, and also what revenue you can expect. 

This is a really important part of enterprise project management because it can inform the management of projects for years to come. It can help you to decide which projects to take on, and which to refuse (or cancel before they cause big issues). 

3. Project reviews

Reviewing projects is of course a crucial aspect of enterprise project management. We’ve already mentioned how reviewing past projects can help you set new standards for risk analysis and cost estimations, among other things. 

Regular reviews of your ongoing projects will help you to keep all of these things in check, and ensure your projects are running efficiently. According to our Communication Statistics 2023 , just 4% of businesses rate their efficiency as excellent. 

Project reports can be really useful to give you a quick overview of the condition your projects are in so you can work more efficiently and be more productive. 

4. Project management coaching

As vital as your enterprise project manager will be, they also need to delegate some tasks to the project managers throughout your different teams. 

Project management can be a stressful job without the proper coaching and resources, so that’s exactly what this element of EPM is about. 

Training can be provided in house by your enterprise project manager or externally using a team of sourced experts. You want to make sure your project managers are trained on project execution, problem solving, and decision making so that they can manage large amounts of projects with more ease. 

5. Escalated issue management

Even with a solid risk analysis process in place and well-trained project managers, sometimes issues will inevitably arise that require intervention from upper-level management. 

The best way to prepare for these escalated issues is to create a protocol for how to handle them when they do arise. This can include things like what qualifies as an ‘escalated issue’, who should be contacted about it, and how you want to proceed going forward. It may be that escalated issues result in the implementation of wide-scale organisational changes. 

6. Time tracking

Time tracking is key for managing projects on an enterprise level. This data allows you to understand how long each section of each project should take, and this can help you with future planning and estimations. 

With time tracking being so important for project management in general (both enterprise and not), it may shock you to know that only 34% of people actually use a dedicated time tracking tool .

Time tracking tools, like the one available in Project.co, can save project management teams a lot of time and effort: 

Not only that, you can rest assured that the data you’re tracking is accurate and available at your fingertips whenever you need it. 

7. Information system

This last element of enterprise project management is probably the most important. When managing everything from risk analysis to time tracking, you need a solid system to store all of your precious information. 

A robust enterprise project management tool will allow you to keep all of your important project information in one place. 

The perfect platform will give you the opportunity to manage every project individually and also manage your projects together as a whole. 

You need a platform that you can personalise and use to communicate with clients and team members alike. Somewhere to keep your files safe and centralised, and also integrate with your most-used tools, like Google Drive. Plus, get access to the reporting insights you need to ensure your projects are profitable and successful. You can get all this and more from Project.co, check it out: 

How to implement enterprise project management

1. define how epm will be used.

Step one is all about personalising EPM to fit your business and individual projects. You’ll need to first define what your objectives are, and then decide who will be in charge of what. This gives you clear goals and also ensures people will be held accountable for each stage of your projects, to give you a better chance of project success. 

From there, you can start to define your processes. This might be easier to explain with an example. Let’s say you’re making explainer videos on a large scale. You could have 100 videos moving through your company at any given time. 

You’ll need to break this down into smaller processes to understand how each video can be completed on time and on budget. So your processes might be listed as follows: initial meeting with stakeholders, planning meeting, scriptwriting, storyboarding, and so on. 

This is just one example but hopefully it gives you an idea of how to define EPM for your business! 

2. Communicate with project managers

Once you’ve decided on how enterprise project management will be used in your business, it’s time to communicate that to all of your project managers and team members. 

This is a great chance to reflect on the processes that you plan on implementing, and gather feedback from the people who will be working on the projects more closely. They may spot something you’ve missed! 

3. Create a plan

After your meeting with stakeholders, you should be in a pretty good place to start solidifying your processes and creating a plan for implementing enterprise project management.

This plan should detail things discussed with your teams, such as any training that needs to take place, technologies that you plan on implementing and/or switching to, and any changes to current teams or responsibilities. 

You can roll out your implementation plan over time to make it easier on your teams, and also to allow you to check in on everything routinely to ensure all is going to plan.

When asked to evaluate how organised their business is for our Communication Statistics 2023 , 45% of people only marked their organisation as ‘average’, with 4% even marking their business as ‘poor’. Creating a project management plan will help you to be more organised and reduce the possibilities of things going wrong during implementation.   

4. Utilise a project management technique

As you’ve probably realised by now, there’s no universal application for enterprise project management. It will look different from company to company, and depend on the type of projects you run, your goals, your resources, and all the other things that are unique to your business. 

But coming up with an enterprise project management plan from scratch can be a monumental task. It can really take some of the load off if you find a project management technique (or project management methodology) that fits your business. 

There are lots of different kinds of project management techniques , from Kanban to Waterfall. Finding and utilising one that fits well with the projects you manage can help you stay on track. 

5. Make sure you have the right tools

Lastly, you want to make sure you have the right enterprise project management tools so that managing your projects is as easy as it can be. 

This is where a good enterprise project management software can help. After all, they’ve been designed especially for this purpose! 

You’ll need a project management tool that keeps all communication and files in one centralised place, allows you to create schedules and assign tasks, plus gives you the freedom to personalise the tool depending on your specific project needs. 

The importance of choosing the right enterprise project management software

It’s so important to choose the right enterprise project management software because you could end up relying on this tool so much to help you keep your projects on track. You need something that’s solid, scalable, and reliable. 

The right enterprise project management software will allow you to manage all 7 elements in one place. For example, you should be able to review and schedule projects, track time, and so on, all from your project management tool . 

The best project management software for enterprise businesses will also make it easy for you to manage multiple projects at once, and be flexible enough to allow for easy collaboration with team members and/or clients. 

Benefits of enterprise project management

1. improve efficiency and reduce errors.

With a structured enterprise project management plan in place, your business should quickly improve in efficiency and notice less errors. This is because enterprise project management almost creates a manual or handbook for how to do things in your business – all you have to do is follow that and you’ll be golden! 

To show how desperately enterprise project management is needed, only 20% of people actually rate their business’s efficiency as ‘excellent’.

2. Easy to scale

One of the main benefits of enterprise project management is that it’s easy to scale for however many projects you have. The idea is to get your processes in a place where they’re solid and projects can run effortlessly from team to team without issue. From there, it makes it so much easier to manage every project that comes into your business, whether you have 100 on the go or 1,000. 

3. Better visibility

Having an enterprise project manager that oversees all of your projects and is in constant communication with team leaders and/or project managers improves your project visibility, and this results in an abundance of benefits. 

According to our Project Management Statistics 2021 , 94% of people feel that having a good view of what their teammates are working on improves productivity and efficiency in a business.  

4. Better project outcomes

When projects run more efficiently it results in better project outcomes. It’s as simple as that! By reducing risks, tracking time, and ensuring communication runs smoothly between departments, you can ensure better project outcomes for your enterprise. 

Final thoughts

At the top of this article we told you that a shocking 96% of people feel the businesses they buy from have room for improvement when it comes to effective communication and project management.

So you may be relieved to know that the same survey found brands that primarily use a project management tool for client and co-worker communication are more than twice as likely to rate their project efficiency as ‘excellent’ (than those who don’t use a project management tool). 

The implementation of an all-in-one project management system can help make enterprise project management so much easier for you.

Check out Project.co today to see for yourself.

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A Complete Guide to Enterprise Project Management in 2024

Richi Gupta

Lead Product Analyst

Review Board Member

Richi Gupta, a Lead Product Analyst, excels in systems integration and translating complex business needs into actionable tech strategies. Her attention to detail, coupled with exemplary project management skills, drive ... Read more

Richi Gupta, a Lead Product Analyst, excels in systems integration and translating complex business needs into actionable tech strategies. Her attention to detail, coupled with exemplary project management skills, drive her success in product feedback management, competitive analysis, strategic planning, and budget management. As a valued member of the ProProfs Survey Maker Advisory Board, Richi's primary objective is to deliver precise and coherent content, ensuring alignment with the company's strategic vision and objectives. Read less

Project Management Expert

David Miller, a seasoned Senior Project Manager at ProProfs with over two decades of diverse expertise, shares impactful insights on project management, leadership, and personal development through his writing.

‘ Organizational change management ‘ and ‘ seamless team collaboration ’ – If you’re managing an enterprise, you’ll find yourself often torn between the two.

Additionally, as an enterprise project manager, you are also responsible for analyzing key metrics and enabling a seamless transition from one project to another. Not to forget the mind-numbing repetitive tasks that take most of your time at work.

So how do you navigate through all this and still manage to increase your business’ profit margin?

The solution lies in implementing enterprise project management. It helps shape workflows and streamline processes. It establishes a robust system for organization-wide visibility, team collaboration , task automation, project analysis, and more. Such a system lets you track every detail and ensures smooth project completion.

In this blog, we will dive deeply into what enterprise project management is, your responsibilities as an enterprise project manager, and the advantages and disadvantages of implementing enterprise project management across your organization.

Let’s begin!

What Is Enterprise Project Management?

Enterprise project management refers to managing projects, resources, and timelines on a company-wide scale. It involves handling various aspects of a business enterprise, from project selection and team collaboration to risk and client management. 

The overall aim of enterprise project management is to streamline processes, integrate seamless change management , and ensure consistency and standardization across departments.

Roles & Responsibilities of an Enterprise Project Manager

An enterprise project manager ensures project outcomes align with high-level company goals, objectives, and strategy. They oversee project execution , looking for risks to ongoing project tasks and activities.

One of their key responsibility areas includes providing a clear workflow for team members to follow. They prioritize projects after weighing their importance or urgency and lead teams and departments to collaborate on given deliverables effectively.

To create a robust enterprise project management system, they take appropriate steps to ensure goals are achieved within the defined timeline and budget. These steps may include reminding team members about the approaching deadlines or allocating resources optimally across various projects and tasks.

Enterprise project managers are also responsible for keeping stakeholders informed about a project’s real-time status. They even receive client feedback and implement it with an efficient change management strategy.

So, yes, you may say that an enterprise project manager runs the organization’s functioning for consistent and assured success.

Various Elements of Enterprise Project Management System

Enterprise project management (EPM) has seven crucial elements for long-lasting success.

These elements are:

1. Risk Analysis

If you’re running an enterprise, risks are part of the grind. What enables you to tackle these risks is identifying them and preparing a plan for their timely mitigation. 

So, you identify the potential risks based on similar projects that you may have done before. Once you have identified the risks, you move on to evaluate their type and impact. Doing this will set the best course of action to curate a mitigation plan that will minimize its effect on your enterprise work management.

Lastly, you must keep an eye on their possible recurrence and monitor them in real-time.

2. Structured Estimation

Project costs, resources, and timeline are the three essential estimates you need to consider when planning your project.

✅ The project cost must be accurately estimated based on similar projects accomplished before. This prevents you from exceeding the budget and asking concerned stakeholders for additional budget approvals.

✅ The project resources must be optimally allocated across different projects and tasks. This should be done such that no resource is either wasted or overburdened.

✅ The project timeline must be estimated such that the project gets completed on time without any last-minute scrambles.

3. Project Reviews

Successful project completion demands more than just planning and implementing execution strategies. It requires periodic reviews that intend to spot potential problems and track progress on ongoing projects.

According to the PMI , there are four review types that you must incorporate: commitment, startup, progress, and close-out. Each of these aims to get updates on existing standards, status, issues, and the risk management plan .

After a thorough review, if you spot any bottlenecks, adjust workflows and processes immediately to prevent delays, budget overruns, or even project failure.

4. Project Management Coaching

Being an enterprise project manager can be challenging. Innumerable tasks, overburdened resources, delayed deadlines, and exceeding budgets are some of the aspects that you constantly have to keep a tab on.

But don’t worry. Project management coaching can save the day! It can turn the tables for you when you have reached your wits’ end, trying to cross the finish line while keeping everything in check.

Proper training can equip enterprise project managers with essential technical and decision-making skills. This enhances the overall competence of the project managers, leading to strengthened enterprise project portfolio management for sure-shot success.

5. Escalated Issue Management

While routine reviewing, if you spot an issue that needs the intervention of higher authorities, you immediately prioritize it. Prioritizing them makes everybody aware that the matter needs to be addressed first so that processes can flow smoothly without a halt. This may require tweaking existing processes or methodologies to tackle issues at the earliest.

6. Time Accounting

Not creating accurate timelines is among the primary reasons your projects get delayed. Thus, it would be best if you tracked which tasks take up more time and which ones get completed faster. When this is sorted, you are better able to create project timelines for future projects with a better time estimate.

7. Information Systems

A robust information system can transform your enterprise project management and drive better results. It holds power to streamline day-to-day processes and offer you a single source of information for all your projects.

Using a simple enterprise project management software such as ProProfs Project can help:

• Track all your projects, resources, and timelines in one place
• Encourage organization-wide collaboration via task comments and file sharing
• Visualize real-time progress using Gantt chart , Kanban , List, and Calendar views
• Get rich insights into team performance and key project metrics
• Stay up-to-date with progress via alerts and notifications
• Create hassle-free client invoices with billable and non-billable hours

Thus, enterprise project management software is a must-have to collate all information regarding a project and make data-driven decisions easily.

Each of these elements contributes to building a reliable EPM model, leading to assured project success.

Enterprise Project Management Methodology

Leveraging an enterprise project management methodology puts you on the right path for successful goal achievement.

Let’s take a look at different methodologies.

1. Project Selection

The first step to reliable enterprise work management is selecting the project that leads to desired organizational outcomes.

Some key aspects to consider may be:

• Whether the project aligns with your organization’s unique goals
• The time and budget you are willing to dedicate to a project
• The payback period of a project
• Risks associated with the project

So, to select a project that your team can work on, analyze these aspects and choose the project that has the best potential to succeed.

2. Project Planning

Once you have picked up a project, it’s time to develop a project implementation plan . Without a well-analyzed plan, you may encounter unexpected issues and detours, impacting the objectives that you set out to accomplish.

Each project is unique and demands a workflow unique to its requirements.

Create a project implementation plan stage by stage. Start by breaking down a project into manageable tasks and activities. Assign an estimated delivery date to each. Outline which team members will work on which tasks. Prioritize tasks and set dependencies between them. 

Don’t forget to carry out a risk assessment plan while creating the schedule. Weighing the risks will enable you to build effective project schedules that have taken the project, feeding, and resource buffers into account.

Following these steps will equip you with a foolproof project plan for enhanced output.

3. Project Controls

As an enterprise project manager, you are in charge of monitoring how work is progressing.

Is the project on track to meet the deadline? 

Will it fall short of resources at any stage? 

Will it exceed the budget by the end of its completion? 

These are some of the questions that will help you understand whether you need to take corrective actions for a high-performing project.

So, measure key project metrics, identify roadblocks, and adjust schedules accordingly. Quickly responding to any potential risk on time will minimize the impact and redirect you to the right project execution path.

4. Project Termination

While project termination is not on anybody’s to-do list, it is undeniably essential if you cannot bring the project back to life.

Not every project sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Your decision to terminate may be influenced by:

• A project’s inability to perform
• Not achieving the desired results
• Increasing the scope of the project
• Lack of sufficient resources to deliver the expected results

Let’s understand this with a scenario. Suppose you commence a project. Though the project was backed with a comprehensive plan, it faced hiccups during its execution. The budget fell short while the scope increased as you involved the client. You reach a point where you know there’s no going forward.

What do you do? Put in an extra budget to fulfill the evolving scope of the project? And do this even when you believe the outcome will not align with your greater business objectives? Definitely not.

The right thing to do would be to terminate the project immediately. Putting a halt to a project at the right time is crucial to dodging the dire consequences of an underperforming project.

What Is Enterprise Project Management Software?

An enterprise project management software offers a platform that helps bring people, projects, and processes to a centralized place. Using it, you can plan, track, and deliver projects within the defined timeline and budget. It lets you schedule project tasks and delegate to the team regardless of the department they belong to. 

This way, project, and organization-wide responsibilities are clear from the start. Also, whether you’re looking for features for global team collaboration, overall project visualization, real-time expense tracking, project reporting, or more, there’s a solution tailor-made for every enterprise project management need.

Further, no matter which industry you belong to, whether IT industry, marketing, consulting, or human resource, you can implement a reliable enterprise project management system across your organization efficiently.

Advantages of Enterprise Project Management

Here are the advantages of integrating enterprise project management to scale your business easily:

1. Global collaboration

If you’re an enterprise project manager, we understand insufficient team coordination is a daily challenge you face. The simple reason is that teams are most likely working from different cities, countries, and offices. Thus, collaboration becomes a considerable hindrance. 

However, using enterprise project management software can save you from this and provide you with a reliable system that team members can use to unify and collaborate on projects.

2. Well-defined workflows

When you’re handling multiple projects with hundreds of team members, things are bound to slip your mind. To prevent such scenarios, you must prioritize tasks and set dependencies between them. Setting priorities and task dependencies will vary depending on the requirements of your project.

3. Accurate resource allocation

An enterprise has hundreds of resources allocated to multiple running projects and tasks. In such a scenario, how do you ensure that resources don’t fall short at any stage or that no resource is assigned to two overlapping tasks? 

Here, leveraging enterprise project management comes into play. With accurate planning, you create a robust system that defines key roles and responsibilities across various projects right from the start. This eliminates the overutilization of resources, leading to burnout.

4. Reduced Execution Costs

When you tap into the nitty-gritty of a project, you map out every aspect that can help reduce project costs. You analyze the potential risks associated with a project and create risk management plans to tackle those risks. 

This helps reduce costs that may arise from unforeseen project risks. Also, with accurate resource planning , you can create budgets that do not exceed during project execution.

5. High-performing projects

Detailed enterprise project management planning leads to consistent and best-optimized processes. This means that the best possible route is taken to accomplish simultaneous tasks without overburdening resources, exceeding the budget, or hampering project quality. This further leads to an improved project success rate.

Disadvantages of Enterprise Project Management

Transitioning to incorporating an enterprise project management system is not easy. It demands a complete change to the ongoing processes. Thus, change management needs to be seamless.

1. Poor communication

The most crucial aspect while implementing organizational change is the communication channel within. How good is the communication network between team members? Are there any challenges that teams face while interacting with other departments? The answer to these questions will ascertain whether the change to an enterprise project management system will be conflict-free and smooth.

2. Complicated customization process

Managing an enterprise means adjusting workflows and processes per existing needs. The customization process is a little more complex within enterprises as changes are made on a company-wide scale. Thus, you will require significant time, effort, and expertise to incorporate changes swiftly across the organization.

3. Too many projects to handle

Too many projects mean too many tasks! Handling one project can be nerve-racking at times; imagine handling simultaneously running projects and their simultaneously running tasks… Not easy!

4. Budgetary Support

While running a business, budget is everything. It determines the number of projects you can take up at a time, the resources you can hire, and the investments you can make such as onboarding a powerful enterprise project management software. 

These are some prominent disadvantages of implementing an EPM solution across the organization. Keep these into account while implementing enterprise project management for your business.

How to Implement Enterprise Project Management

Ready to implement the enterprise project management methodology into your organization?

We’ve gone step-by-step to help you scale your operations while enabling smooth functioning across teams and departments.

Let’s dive into it!

1. Define how EPM will be used

To start with, you need to analyze factors unique to your organization. Do you require more resources to evolve into an enterprise project management system? Do you need more funding to do the same? How will EPM contribute to the overall company objectives? Do roles and responsibilities need to be shifted to different team members to lead the processes? These are some questions to be considered while taking the first step into an enterprise project management solution.

2. Stakeholder involvement

Stakeholders! The most important people who will enable your implementation need to be looped in and conveyed about the benefits of the system. Once they are onboard, it will better equip you to leverage budgets for a successful move.

3. Rollout EPM

To roll out the model, you can either do it at once or implement it across different departments in phases. The option you choose depends on the resources and funds you have by your side. Leverage reliable enterprise project management software to schedule projects and delegate responsibilities. This way, you establish everybody’s roles and responsibilities while eliminating confusion at any stage of the rollout.

4. Monitor the transition

You cannot let your hair lose and afford to take your eyes off the ball at this stage. You have integrated a new model across your organization that needs to be monitored closely. So, look out for any possible deviations and take immediate action to bring things back on track. As an enterprise project manager, you single-handedly manage processes across the enterprise. Stay calm, delegate responsibilities, and keep track of on-ground progress using a good enterprise project management tool .

Of course, the transition will require sufficient adaptability on your part and everyone in the organization to successfully implement enterprise project management. Analyze your current position, plan smart, and discover success with an enterprise-level project management solution!

Implement a Robust Enterprise Project Management Solution

Integrating the right enterprise-level methodologies coupled with powerful enterprise project management software can help you scale your operations for consistent project success.

Remember, implementing an enterprise project management solution has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Gear up to tackle its shortcomings to enjoy its significant benefits.

So, get down to business and integrate the right practices to scale up your operations today!

Do you want a free Project Management Software?

About the author

David miller.

David is a Project Management expert. He has been published in elearningindustry.com , simpleprogrammer.com . As a project planning and execution expert at ProProfs, he has offered a unique outlook on improving workflows and team efficiency. Connect with David for more engaging conversations on Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook .

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What is enterprise project management?

Enterprise project managemen t often takes the cake when it comes to complexities—managing a whole portfolio of projects across a range of teams, departments, branches, and even countries takes a lot of tactfulness and the right technology to support it.

In this article, we will define enterprise project management, outline useful information about relevant software, and how to implement large-scale EPM in your company.

Get started with monday.com

Enterprise project management (EPM) describes the practice of managing projects on an organization-wide scale. It often involves the coordination of several complex projects at once. While the projects may not seem related, they all result in an impact on the same organization.

There are 7 elements of EPM :

• Risk analysis
• Structured estimating
• Project reviews
• Project management coaching
• Escalated issue management
• Time accounting
• Information system management

As you can see, some of these elements — like risk analysis and time accounting are similar to what’s required of project management. The key difference is that they play out on a larger scale. These processes involve strong leadership and organization and may require the use of project management software to successfully manage. Let’s take a look at one of these leaders— the enterprise project manager.

What does an enterprise project manager do?

An enterprise project manager prevails over the various projects that are occurring in tandem across different departments. Their chief role is to ensure that these projects are meeting organizational expectations and goals. Key skills of an enterprise project manager include prioritizing and highlighting an organization’s business goals and then managing and grouping projects according to this. They also serve to manage dependencies between projects and prioritize certain projects over others without bias.

At some point certain projects will become no longer viable or will provide a lower return on investment than originally planned. If trade offs have to be made, it’s essential that management can tell which project to sacrifice for another to succeed.

This becomes especially important to monitor when poorly performing projects may be hindering the progression of others.

A key component of enterprise project management is identifying which projects may no longer be viable and ditching them in favor of more lucrative options. This involves specific workflows and tools that give project managers a high-level view of all of the moving parts.

What is enterprise project management software?

Enterprise project management software is essentially any tool that helps organizations manage multiple projects both on a daily basis and in the long term. This includes everything from various measurements, monitoring scope creep, and more. In many cases, enterprise project management software will be a fully-fledged project management tool that extends beyond single project management into portfolio management and multi-project assessment and reporting.

What are the essential capabilities of good enterprise project management software?

Effective enterprise project management software platforms offer a few defining features:

Project portfolio management

Portfolio management is a feature that is important to EPMs who are managing projects across a variety of business areas. Portfolio-focused features allow PMs to analyze the potential return on projects, review costs and scope, and gain a big-picture on current or potential projects. monday.com even has a Portfolio management template to help you tackle all of those tasks.

Management of global teams

It’s not unusual in today’s climate to manage a remote and distributed project team, or indeed, multiple teams. Large enterprise companies need project management software that allows for the management of global teams, inspires team communication, and updates in real-time.

Collaboration

Traditional project management is, of course, often a collaborative effort, but enterprise project management takes this to the next level, requiring collaboration between multiple teams, business units, and often several project managers.

Enterprise project management software must not only enable this form of collaboration on projects, but it must make it easy .

Flexibility

Because enterprise project management encompasses so many different projects and organizational needs, the enterprise project management software you choose should be flexible enough to meet them. For example, monday.com Work OS is not simply a CRM nor a project portfolio management tool, you can also use it to create workdocs , create a knowledge base, or even monitor software development. You should also seek out software that can accommodate team growth and support multiple tools through integrations.

How is enterprise project management implemented?

How do you go about actually implementing effective epm here’s 6 essential steps:, determine how epm would be used.

Though there are some facets to EPM that are the same across the board, every enterprise makes use of this business unit in a slightly different way,

Before jumping headfirst into EPM, you should ask yourself:

• What does the role entail? What is required of the person in charge of EPM on a daily basis (this may indeed be more than one role).
• What kind of resources are required? This includes personnel, as well as equipment, office space, and enterprise project management software and tools — from a CRM with project management to how your teams will manage payroll.
• What are your long-term business objectives? And, most importantly, how does the implementation of EPM contribute toward them?
• What are your current business and PM processes? Consider how implemented EPM may affect these processes or be affected by them. In some cases, you may need to consider making some changes to processes.

1. Determine who will take the reigns

Every  change management  process starts with setting accountability and task allocation.  Someone is going to need to be at the head of your EPM team, typically called the enterprise project manager or enterprise program director. Depending on the scale of your operations, this might be an entirely new role (and thus require the typical HR hoops to jump through), or a role that an existing executive takes on. In either case, consider job descriptions, resource management , and reporting lines for any roles under the EPM umbrella.

2. Create a Project Support Office (PSO)

Your Project Support Office is a supporting unit to your enterprise PMO (project or program management office) and provides a variety of support functions to enterprise-wide project management.

These functions include:

• Project Identification: assessing the impact of a project on the company and defining the benefits of completing a given project.
• Project Definition: budgeting and planning, choosing an appropriate enterprise project management solution (or solutions).
• Project Execution: risk assessment, project analysis, status updates, and project communications.
• Project Audit: assessing the performance of a project, keeping training coming, and refining business operations where required.

3. Communicate and earn stakeholder trust

Larger enterprises tend to have very specific processes for undertaking new investments, and this often requires obtaining the buy-in of specific stakeholders, executives, and/or board members. Before approaching these stakeholders to obtain approval, ensure you can clearly communicate what the benefits to your business will be, as well as any expected returns on investment. One way you can do this is with a platform built for communicating clearly with status updates, file sharing, and seamless dashboard and reporting automation like monday.com—but more on that soon.

4. Embed a consistent project management methodology

In a large organization, you’ll be managing projects (and project managers) across a variety of business units. To ensure consistency across the board, and to maximize the strategic execution of individual projects, you should implement a consistent project management methodology. This is crucial to ensure that training across various teams remains consistent, and it allows the enterprise project manager to properly assess projects against each other and make decisions at a high-level relating to the profitability of each.

Common project management methodologies  include:

5. Select the right tools

When setting up an enterprise project management office, you’re going to need to put a fair bit of thought into the tools required.

Some basic EPM software to bring on board should support:

• Scheduling:  you’ll need a tool for booking time with team members to meet. It’s wise to make these available for everyone on your team to view, keeping lines of communication open and transparent.
• Accounting: project success is often defined based on return on investment, and as such, you’ll need a quality EPM system for tracking expenses and for reporting any spend back to senior management.
• Process management: business processes often change, and it’s true that complex projects often require a number of specific processes to be followed by every team member. Process management tools help you to monitor, refine, and communicate each business process to project teams.
• Timesheet capture and time tracking: your EPM solution should also make it easy to track time spent on tasks and projects and for employees to log timesheets, giving your PMs strong visibility over resource utilization.

Enterprise project management with monday.com work management

Considering how complex EPM can get, it’s obvious that your enterprise project management tool chest can become quite full — and quite costly — fairly quickly.

To keep workflows simple — and costs low — you’re going to need more than a simple project management software. You’re going to need an enterprise-scale Work OS.

Like monday.com.

monday work management offers a wide variety of tools to nail enterprise project management, from the initial project plan right through to daily task management.

Here’s a taste of what’s on offer:

• Multiple project views including Gantt chart , Kanban board, Calendar, and Timeline
• Scalable team communications
• Enterprise-level data protection and administrative control
• Resource management capabilities
• Expense tracking
• Time tracking
• Advanced reporting and analytics
• Integrations with other popular enterprise tools like Jira and Salesforce
• Tailored onboarding to align with your strategic objectives
• Robust automation functions

Build an effective enterprise project management system

When it comes to diving into enterprise project management, proper preparation and foresight are crucial—from the tools you use to the way you align and communicate goals throughout the organization.

Check out our project roadmap template for monday.com and kickstart your enterprise project management planning.

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EPM - Enterprise Project Management: Elements, Benefits, Methodologies, And Challenges

Written By : Bakkah

Table of Content

What is Enterprise Project Management?

How to build an effective enterprise project management, what do enterprise project managers do, elements of enterprise project management, enterprise project management methodologies, benefits of enterprise project management, challenges of enterprise project management, difference between enterprise project management and traditional project management, unlock your potential with bakkah's project management courses, popular articles.

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Enterprise Project Management (EPM) encompasses a holistic approach to managing projects within an organization, aligning them with strategic objectives and ensuring optimal resource allocation. At its core, EPM integrates project management practices with business processes to drive organizational growth and success.

The elements of EPM include robust project governance structures, standardized project management methodologies, centralized project portfolio management , and effective communication and collaboration channels. By leveraging these elements, organizations can gain better visibility into their project portfolios, improve decision-making processes, and enhance overall project performance.

The benefits of adopting EPM methodologies are manifold. EPM enables organizations to prioritize and execute projects that are aligned with their strategic goals, leading to improved efficiency and effectiveness in project delivery. By centralizing project management processes and standardizing methodologies, EPM fosters consistency and repeatability across projects, resulting in enhanced project outcomes and stakeholder satisfaction.

"EPM Project Management" typically refers to Enterprise Project Management, a comprehensive approach to managing projects across an organization. It involves using standardized processes, tools , and techniques to plan, execute, and monitor projects in a coordinated manner, aligning them with the organization's strategic objectives.

Enterprise Project Management focuses on optimizing resource allocation, managing risks, and ensuring that projects deliver value to the organization. It often involves the use of project management software and platforms that support collaboration, communication, and decision-making across different project teams and departments.

EPM Project Management encompasses various aspects of project management, including portfolio management, program management, and project governance. By adopting an EPM approach, organizations can improve project outcomes, enhance efficiency, and achieve greater visibility and control over their project portfolios.

Implementation of enterprise project management involves a systematic approach to aligning project management practices with organizational goals and establishing processes, tools, and governance structures to support project management at the enterprise level. 

By following these steps, organizations can successfully implement Enterprise Project Management and realize the benefits of aligning project management practices with strategic objectives, driving improved project outcomes, and achieving organizational success. Here are the key steps to implementing EPM:

1. Define Strategic Objectives

Start by identifying and defining the strategic objectives of the organization. Understand the goals, priorities, and challenges that the organization is facing, and determine how project management practices can contribute to achieving these objectives.

2. Establish Governance Structures

Develop governance structures and processes to provide oversight and guidance for project management activities. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, establishing decision-making authorities, and creating policies and standards for project management.

3. Create a Project Management Office (PMO)

Establish a Project Management Office (PMO) or enhance the existing PMO to support EPM implementation. The PMO serves as the central hub for project management activities, providing support, guidance, and resources to project teams across the organization.

4. Develop Standardized Processes and Methodologies

Define standardized project management processes, methodologies , and best practices that align with organizational goals and objectives. This includes project initiation, planning , execution, monitoring, and closure processes tailored to meet the needs of the organization.

5. Select and Implement Project Management Tools

Identify and implement project management tools and software that support EPM practices. These tools should facilitate collaboration, communication, resource allocation, and project tracking across the organization.

6. Provide Training and Development

Offer training and development programs to build project management capabilities across the organization. Provide training on EPM processes, methodologies, tools, and best practices to project managers , team members, and other stakeholders.

7. Promote a Culture of Collaboration and Continuous Improvement

Foster a culture of collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement in project management practices. Encourage open communication, knowledge sharing, and lessons learned to drive innovation and enhance project outcomes.

8. Monitor and Measure Performance

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the performance of EPM initiatives. Regularly monitor and evaluate project performance against these metrics to identify areas for improvement and ensure alignment with organizational goals.

9. Adapt and Evolve

Continuously review and adapt EPM practices to meet changing business needs and external factors. Solicit feedback from project stakeholders and adjust processes, tools, and governance structures as necessary to improve effectiveness and drive success.

10. Drive Strategic Alignment

Ensure that project portfolios and individual projects are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives. Regularly assess project portfolios to prioritize initiatives that deliver the most value and support organizational goals.

Enterprise Project Managers are critical in ensuring the successful delivery of projects, programs, and initiatives that support organizational objectives and drive business value. They oversee project portfolios, manage resources, mitigate risks, and foster collaboration to achieve strategic goals and deliver positive outcomes for the organization. They are responsible for overseeing and managing multiple projects across an organization to ensure they align with strategic objectives and deliver value. Their role encompasses various responsibilities, including:

1. Strategic Alignment

Aligning project objectives with the organization's strategic goals and priorities. This involves understanding the organization's strategic direction and ensuring that project portfolios support and contribute to these goals.

2. Project Portfolio Management

Managing a portfolio of projects, programs, and initiatives to ensure they collectively deliver desired outcomes and benefits. This includes prioritizing projects, allocating resources, and balancing risks and rewards across the portfolio.

3. Governance and Oversight

Establishing governance structures and processes to provide oversight and guidance for project management activities. This includes defining project management standards, policies, and procedures, and ensuring compliance with organizational requirements.

4. Resource Management

Optimizing the allocation of resources, including human resources, finances, and materials, to support project activities and maximize efficiency. This involves managing resource availability, capacity, and utilization across multiple projects.

5. Stakeholder Management

Identifying and managing stakeholders across various projects, including internal stakeholders such as executives, project sponsors, and team members, as well as external stakeholders such as customers, vendors, and regulatory bodies.

6. Risk Management

Identifying, assessing, and managing risks and issues that may impact project outcomes or organizational objectives. This involves implementing risk management processes and mitigation strategies to minimize project disruptions and ensure project success.

7. Communication and Collaboration

Facilitating communication and collaboration among project teams, stakeholders, and other relevant parties. This includes establishing communication channels, facilitating meetings, and ensuring timely and effective communication throughout the project lifecycle .

8. Performance Monitoring and Reporting

Monitoring project performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track progress, identify issues, and make data-driven decisions. This involves collecting and analyzing project data, preparing reports, and providing insights to stakeholders.

9. Continuous Improvement

Driving continuous improvement in project management practices by identifying opportunities for enhancement, implementing best practices, and fostering a culture of learning and innovation within the organization.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) encompasses various elements that contribute to its effectiveness in aligning project activities with organizational goals and driving project success. These elements work together to create a comprehensive and integrated approach to project management at the enterprise level, enabling organizations to effectively plan, execute, and monitor projects while ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and maximizing value delivery. Some key components of Enterprise Project Management include:

Ensuring that project portfolios and individual projects are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives and priorities. This involves understanding the organization's mission, vision, and goals, and selecting and prioritizing projects that contribute to achieving them.

2. Governance and Oversight

3. project portfolio management.

Managing a portfolio of projects, programs, and initiatives to ensure they collectively deliver desired outcomes and benefits. This involves prioritizing projects, allocating resources, balancing risks and rewards, and optimizing the portfolio to maximize value.

7. Performance Monitoring and Reporting

8. communication and collaboration.

Facilitating communication and collaboration among project teams, stakeholders, and other relevant parties. This includes establishing communication channels, facilitating meetings, and ensuring timely and effective communication throughout the project lifecycle.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) encompasses various methodologies and approaches that organizations can adopt to effectively manage their projects and project portfolios at the enterprise level. These methodologies provide organizations with a range of approaches to choose from based on their specific needs, project characteristics, and organizational culture. 

By adopting and adapting these methodologies, organizations can improve project outcomes, enhance project delivery capabilities, and achieve strategic objectives at the enterprise level. Some commonly used EPM methodologies include:

1. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

Developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), PMBOK is a comprehensive guide that outlines best practices and standards for project management. It covers areas such as project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure, and provides a framework for managing projects of varying complexity.

2. PRINCE2 (Projects In Controlled Environments)

PRINCE2 is a structured project management methodology that provides a systematic approach to managing projects. It emphasizes principles such as business justification, defined roles and responsibilities, and continuous review and improvement. PRINCE2 is widely used in industries such as government, construction, and IT.

3. Agile Project Management

Agile is an iterative and incremental approach to project management that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer feedback. Agile methodologies, such as Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP), focus on delivering value to customers through iterative development cycles and adapting to changing requirements.

4. Lean Project Management

Lean project management is based on the principles of Lean manufacturing, which aim to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. Lean methodologies, such as Lean Six Sigma, focus on streamlining processes, optimizing resources, and delivering maximum value to customers with minimal waste.

5. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

SAFe is a framework for scaling Agile practices to the enterprise level. It provides guidance on how to coordinate and synchronize Agile teams, align them with organizational goals, and facilitate large-scale Agile transformations. SAFe includes principles, roles, practices, and processes for implementing Agile at scale.

6. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)

CCPM is a project management approach that focuses on identifying and managing project constraints to optimize project schedules and resources. It emphasizes the use of buffers and buffer management to protect project timelines and ensure on-time project delivery.

7. PRiSM (Projects integrating Sustainable Methods)

PRiSM is a project management methodology that integrates sustainability principles and practices into project management processes. It emphasizes environmental, social, and economic sustainability considerations throughout the project lifecycle.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) offers several benefits to organizations that adopt this approach to manage their projects and project portfolios at the enterprise level. Enterprise Project Management offers organizations a structured and comprehensive approach to managing projects and project portfolios, enabling them to achieve strategic objectives, optimize resources, mitigate risks, and drive project success. By adopting EPM principles and practices, organizations can enhance their project management capabilities and achieve sustainable growth and competitiveness. Some key benefits of EPM include:

1. Improved Strategic Alignment

EPM helps organizations align their project portfolios with strategic objectives and priorities. By selecting and prioritizing projects that contribute to organizational goals, EPM ensures that resources are allocated to initiatives that deliver maximum value and support the organization's long-term vision.

2. Enhanced Decision-Making

EPM provides organizations with visibility into their project portfolios, enabling informed decision-making at all levels of the organization. With centralized project data and performance metrics, stakeholders can identify trends, anticipate risks, and make data-driven decisions to optimize project outcomes.

3. Efficient Resource Management

EPM enables organizations to optimize the allocation of resources, including human resources , finances, and materials, across multiple projects. By effectively managing resource availability, capacity, and utilization, organizations can minimize waste, reduce costs , and improve project efficiency.

4. Risk Mitigation and Management

EPM helps organizations identify, assess, and manage risks across their project portfolios. By implementing risk management processes and mitigation strategies, organizations can proactively address potential issues and minimize project disruptions, ensuring project success and delivering value to stakeholders.

5. Improved Collaboration and Communication

EPM fosters collaboration and communication among project teams, stakeholders , and other relevant parties. By providing centralized communication channels, facilitating meetings, and promoting transparency, EPM enhances teamwork, fosters innovation, and ensures alignment among project stakeholders.

6. Increased Project Success Rate

By adopting standardized project management practices and methodologies, EPM improves project success rates and delivery outcomes. With consistent project management processes, organizations can minimize project failures, delays, and budget overruns, leading to increased customer satisfaction and stakeholder confidence.

7. Continuous Improvement

EPM promotes a culture of continuous improvement by identifying opportunities for enhancement and implementing best practices across the organization. By regularly reviewing project performance, identifying lessons learned, and implementing process improvements, organizations can enhance their project management capabilities and drive ongoing success.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) comes with its set of challenges that organizations need to address to ensure successful implementation and execution. Addressing these challenges requires organizations to adopt robust project management practices, leverage technology and tools for improved collaboration and communication, and foster a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement within the organization.

By addressing these challenges effectively, organizations can maximize the benefits of EPM and achieve their strategic objectives successfully. Some common challenges of EPM include:

1. Complexity

Managing projects at the enterprise level involves dealing with a higher degree of complexity compared to individual projects. EPM requires aligning multiple projects with organizational goals, coordinating resources across projects, and managing interdependencies and conflicts, which can be challenging.

2. Resource Allocation

Optimizing resource allocation across multiple projects is a significant challenge in EPM. Organizations need to ensure that resources, including human resources, finances, and materials, are allocated efficiently to support project activities while balancing competing priorities and constraints.

3. Strategic Alignment

Ensuring strategic alignment between project portfolios and organizational goals is essential but challenging. Organizations need to prioritize projects based on strategic objectives, ensure that projects deliver value aligned with organizational priorities, and adjust project portfolios as strategic goals evolve.

4. Stakeholder Management

Managing stakeholders across multiple projects can be challenging in EPM. Organizations need to identify and engage with diverse stakeholders, including executives, project sponsors, team members, and external partners, and ensure effective communication and collaboration to gain their support and alignment with project objectives.

5. Governance and Oversight

Establishing effective governance and oversight mechanisms is crucial in EPM but can be challenging. Organizations need to define clear governance structures, roles, and responsibilities, and ensure compliance with project management standards and policies across projects while allowing flexibility to adapt to project-specific needs.

Managing risks across multiple projects is a significant challenge in EPM. Organizations need to identify, assess, and mitigate risks and issues that may impact project outcomes or organizational objectives while considering the interconnected nature of projects and their potential impact on each other.

Monitoring project performance and providing accurate and timely reporting can be challenging in EPM. Organizations need to collect and analyze project data from multiple sources, ensure data consistency and accuracy, and provide insights to stakeholders to support decision-making across projects.

Corporate project management and traditional project management share similarities but also have distinct differences. Overall, while both corporate project management and traditional project management involve planning, executing, and controlling projects, they differ in terms of scope, strategic alignment, stakeholder engagement, resource management, and risk management. Corporate project management is geared towards addressing strategic organizational priorities, while traditional project management focuses on delivering specific project objectives within a department or functional area. Here are some key points of difference between the two:

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Program Management Professional (PgMP®) : Become a certified PgMP® and take your program management skills to new heights. Learn advanced techniques for orchestrating multiple projects and aligning them with organizational objectives. Lead with confidence and drive strategic initiatives to success.

Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP®) : Master the art of portfolio management and become a certified PfMP®. Gain the expertise to oversee a portfolio of projects and investments, optimize resource allocation, and maximize ROI. Elevate your strategic planning abilities and become a trusted advisor in portfolio management.

Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) : Explore the MSP® framework and learn how to effectively manage complex programs from conception to delivery. Acquire the tools and methodologies to navigate program challenges, mitigate risks, and deliver value to stakeholders. Lead with agility and drive program success in today's dynamic business environment.

PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP®) : Dive into the intricacies of project scheduling and become a certified PMI-SP®. Master the art of developing and maintaining project schedules, optimizing resource allocation, and ensuring timely project delivery. Gain the skills to keep projects on track and drive project success with precision.

Management of Portfolios Principles, Practices, and Procedures (MoP®) : Explore the MoP® framework and learn how to align portfolios with organizational objectives, maximize value, and prioritize investments effectively. Gain insights into portfolio governance, risk management, and performance measurement. Elevate your portfolio management capabilities and drive strategic outcomes for your organization.

Don't miss this opportunity to accelerate your career in project management. Enroll now and take the first step toward becoming a certified expert in your field!

Overall, EPM Project Management is about driving organizational success by effectively managing projects and resources in a structured and strategic manner. It enables organizations to make informed decisions, prioritize projects, and maximize the return on investment in project initiatives.

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Enterprise project management (epmo) 101: how to get started.

Updated on April 13, 2023 by Luke Henderson

Published on November 29, 2021 by Luke Henderson

EPMO stands for Enterprise Project Management Office. For large enterprises with multiple projects running simultaneously, knowing how to implement enterprise project management (EPM) can be the difference between success and failure. 

However, transitioning from a traditional project management system to EPM can be pretty complicated.

In this guide, we will define enterprise project management, explain its benefits, and the different ways to implement EPM to ensure the success of your projects.

What is Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO)? 

Enterprise project management is the process of managing multiple projects on an organization-wide scale. While the projects might not be connected, they all impact the same organization.

Unlike traditional project management that focuses on a single, small-scale project, EPM focuses on aligning the organization’s goals and objectives with ongoing projects to ensure the company is directing its resources towards the right people in the right places at the right time.

The key responsibilities of an enterprise project manager include prioritizing tasks at hand, managing and grouping projects, identifying gaps between projects, and, above all, ensuring that the projects are meeting the company’s goals and expectations. 

Further, they also recognize the poorly performing projects and ditch them for more viable options.

Know the basics: What is PMO ?

4 Benefits of EPMO  

Here’s how enterprise project management can benefit you and your team. 

1. Improved productivity 

While working on a project, employees often juggle between apps to get their job done—opening Gmail to find the assigned task, calling the project manager from Slack to get instructions on how to do that task. 

EPM eliminates this problem. You can create a task on EPM software, assign it to your team members, and include instructions on how to do it. Plus, you can attach the required files, if any.

This way, employees need not navigate through different apps and spend more time on their respective tasks, increasing productivity.

2. High-quality output 

Poor quality of work is the last thing you want from your team members. While using EPM, you need to ensure that each member is assigned the tasks according to their strengths and expertise. 

Plus, it also ensures that you’re not putting high pressure on any employee with additional tasks. This helps the employee focus on one given task and give their hundred percent to succeed.

3. Reduced risks 

Picture this: You recently bagged a new project and understood what the client wants to achieve. You planned everything with your entire team, set a deadline, allocated resources, and assigned tasks to each member. Everything is going as planned. 

But, after three months, the client contacts you and communicates their changed vision—they now want to target a new set of audiences. So, how do you change your entire project three months into execution? 

Risks are inevitable in any organization. But how you manage them can make or break your project success. 

An EPM software allows you to have all the projects at once place. You can get a strategic viewpoint of each project and identify the risks associated with them. Plus, take precautionary measures to avoid or eliminate them in the future.

4. Enhanced team collaboration 

Team collaboration is a crucial element that helps your company reach new heights. When your employees work in a collaborative environment , it becomes easier to retain them longer, saving you money finding new ones. 

Enterprise project management takes team collaboration to the next level. Since everyone can see the assigned tasks, employees tend to work together and help each other complete the tasks. This promotes transparent and healthy communication among the team members.

5 Steps to Implement an EPMO

Now that you’re aware of EPM and how it can benefit your large enterprise, let’s look at the five EPM implementation steps for successful management and organization across different departments. 

1. Determine the use of a EPMO

Even though some aspects of enterprise project management are the same across the organizations, every company uses it differently. So, the first step involves determining how you will implement EPM after identifying problems and reviewing current processes. 

You should ask yourself questions like: 

• What kind of resources are required to implement this process? This includes personnel, equipment, office space, and EPM software and tools. 
• What are your long-term company objectives? And, how does the use of EPM help achieve them? 
• Who will take on the new role, and what is required of that person daily?
• What are the responsibilities of the enterprise project management office?
• What are the current project management processes, and how the implementation of EPM will affect them?

2. Communicate with stakeholders

Large organizations have definite rules and processes for undertaking new investments, and this involves obtaining the acceptance of stakeholders or board members.

Developing a positive relationship with the stakeholders and earning their trust are essential aspects of managing a project. So, the next step involves communicating your plan to stakeholders and explaining to them the benefits and process of implementing EPM.

Understand that critical stakeholders are present both inside and outside of the company. Identifying them will allow you to better execute your project planning by ensuring all stakeholders have complete information throughout the project and are satisfied with the results.

However, before you approach them, make sure you can convey the benefits of EPM and the expected results of the same.

3. Create a EPMO Project Support Office (PSO) 

Project Support Office (PSO) plays a crucial role in implementing the EPM process throughout the organization. It is a temporary or permanent support department that offers a plethora of support functions to enterprise-wide project managers and teams daily. These functions include: 

• Determining the impact of a project on the enterprise and identifying the benefits of completing it. 
• Preparing a budget and plan for the given project. 
• Selecting reliable enterprise project management solutions. 
• Providing training of EPM software to the project personnel.
• Assessing the risks associated with the project and managing them. 
• Communicating the project status updates to the concerned team members. 
• Assessing the performance of the project and modifying business operations wherever required. 
• Preparing additional paperwork for research, training, and legal purposes. 
• Developing an effective communication method for the team members.
• Ensuring that the company’s objectives are aligned with the project. 

4. Practice a Consistent EPMO Methodology 

When it comes to successfully managing projects and project managers in large organizations, it’s best to practice a clear and consistent approach across various business units. 

Project methodologies are the rules or practices used by organizations to guide processes to achieve a particular goal. These ensure sound clarity by defining roles, which helps in an effective decision-making process. These also set standards for when and how to assess projects against each other and take resulting actions. 

Standard project management methodologies include:

• Waterfall: It is a sequential process where each step wraps up before the next one begins. This model works best for projects with detailed plans that require a single timeline. Each member has a clearly defined goal that is never expected to change. The typical stages involve requirements, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance. 
• Agile: In this model, large projects are broken down into small manageable tasks completed in short periods throughout the project life cycle. The agile method works well when the product features are not or do not have to be well-defined. Project owners can make changes in project requirements to deliver better results to the stakeholders.

5. Select the correct tool 

Using office tools and spreadsheets for managing organization-wide projects can be an uphill task. Tons of resources, files, conversations, and agreements can be pretty challenging to keep track of. Further, it can result in ineffective collaboration, delay in tasks, lack of project visibility, etc. 

Enter: Enterprise Project management tools. 

An enterprise project management tool is software that helps teams manage multiple projects across the organization. It involves planning and tracking the project’s progress, aligning resources with the company’s vision, communicating and collaborating on a project, etc. 

Some basic features an EPM tool must have include:  

• Scheduling meetings with team members and keeping communication open and transparent
• Smooth integration with other enterprise-grade tools for seamless workflows
• Assigning and tracking tasks throughout the project life cycle
• Sharing documents with team members back and forth
• Using Gantt charts to showcase project schedules, changing the start and end date, and controlling which team members are working on which project
• Tracking time spent on each task and project allows employees to log timesheets, solid visibility over resource utilization.

5 Powerful Ways to Improve Your EPMO

Whether you’re an EPM expert or just a beginner, check out these five tips for implementing enterprise project management in your organization. 

1. Plan thoroughly 

Planning is a crucial aspect of a successful organization-wide project. However, it’s often underestimated by most companies. Here are a few tips for nailing the initial planning stage and avoiding confusion due to unclear planning. 

Clearly define your project goals and objectives and make sure they align with the company’s vision. When you define goals poorly, you won’t have anything to refer to when you need to make difficult decisions later. Ask yourself: 

What are the core objectives you should focus on? What should you keep in mind when the scope and requirements need to change due to unexpected circumstances? This phase could take some time—a few weeks or even months—as it will be the foundation for everyone involved in the project. 

 Once you have your objectives in place, you will need to set milestones for each project. Since complex projects can take a lot of time to finish, break them up into small tasks so you can track the progress smoothly. Also, when a milestone is complete, congratulate your team members and let them know their efforts are paying off.  Understand the risks associated with each project and when and how they may occur. Have a plan in place so your progress doesn’t get delayed.

2. Encourage open communication 

Effective and open communication between team members and stakeholders is another vital element in project planning. If done right, it can go a long way in keeping everyone in the loop. On the other hand, poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary delays. 

Here’s how you can encourage open communication: 

• Set the right tone from the beginning. Give opportunity to every team member to express their opinions—both positive and negative. Plus, invite everyone to discuss their feedback during daily or weekly meetings. This way, the members will get motivated to share their thoughts. 
• Make sure the team can access the required information easily . Confidential information could result in delayed work and frustrated employees. If you’re confused, ask the members and stakeholders about what information they need to help them the most. 
• Use reliable collaboration and communication tools that align with your project needs. Choose the ones that boost everyone’s productivity, ensure smooth communication, file sharing, and so on. Also, make sure that the software supports a wide range of integration for streamlined project operations. Some examples include Slack, Microsoft Team, Skype, etc.

3. Track your progress

While managing a project, things can often go off track. Research shows that nearly 15% of projects fail. And out of the successful ones, half fail to meet time commitments, 43% exceed their budget, and 32% fail to deliver the required product. 

This is where tracking the progress of your project can help. 

It might sound simple, but monitoring the project progress can make a massive difference between the success and failure of the project. It gives you a better understanding of the different project phases, resource allocation, and the status of each team member. 

Here’s how you can master progress tracking:

• Conduct weekly meetings and prepare reports. Done efficiently, these are excellent ways to help team members and stakeholders be on the same page. Before writing reports, clearly define what should and should not be included in them. Also, avoid spending hours on unnecessary meetings without results.
• Have an effective escalation system so that team members can communicate their issues without any hesitation or ask for the required information to make well-informed decisions. This includes preparing the correct information and sharing it with the right people at the right time. 
• Make sure the feedback and reporting are two-way. Make sure the upper management and key decision-makers engage with various stakeholders and team members and spend time hearing their positive or negative feedback .

4. Motivate your Team 

Employees are the center of every project. So, it’s crucial to keep them motivated, focused, and aligned with the company’s goals and objectives. Here’s how you can do it: 

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each team member to pick the right employee for the project. 
• Maintain excellent and diverse relationships with the employees as a toxic work environment with backstabbing and office politics can lower their morale. Host workshops, lunch parties, and other team-building activities to boost their productivity. 
• Personal growth should also be encouraged. When employees develop an interest in different things, it can bring positive energy and results to a project. 
• When a milestone is achieved, appreciate the efforts of everyone involved. This can go a long way for members to complete the tasks on time, with high quality.

Qualified Project Managers 

Project management is one of those roles that anyone cannot do and requires the skills to control budget, hire team members, manage client relationships and processes, and the bottom line of your business operations. 

It’s an important role, but most applicants don’t have more than a resume to show their experience. 

No matter how nerve-wracking it is, finding a great project manager is different between meeting deadlines, budget, and other requirements and not fulfilling the expectations. 

Follow these tips to hire a project manager who will drive your organization forward: 

• Determine what this role means to your enterprise and what experience your potential candidate will bring to the table. 
• Define the skills your project manager must possess. These include communicating effectively, prioritizing the tasks at hand, identifying and managing risks, providing helpful feedback, and so on. Also, assess the ability of the candidate to remain calm at the time of crisis. 
• Sell your brand to ideal candidates. What makes you a great place to work? Will your company help them to grow their career as a project manager? What opportunities will they receive to improve themselves? 

As your company grows, it gets challenging to manage every project without any inconsistency. Moving to enterprise project management is a huge step, but it can streamline your project management across different departments in the long run. Further, it focuses on highlighting its mission and objective and providing valuable insights to make effective decisions.

In a nutshell, when it comes to EPMO, proper preparation is the key—from the tools you use to the methodology you choose and how you align goals. And, if you are struggling with implementing EPM in your organization, take advantage of top EPM software for more effective project planning and management.

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• Project management methodologies: 12 po ...

Project management methodologies: 12 popular frameworks

Project management is an ever-evolving field that requires a number of approaches to be successful. Learning the most popular project management methodologies can help you become an industry expert. 

In order to be the best possible project manager , learn about each of these 12 frameworks to find the one that best fits your team’s needs. 

12 project management frameworks

What it is: The Agile project management methodology is one of the most common project management processes. But the reality is that Agile isn’t technically a methodology. Instead, it’s best defined as a project management principle. 

The basis of an Agile approach is:

Collaborative

Fast and effective

Iterative and data-backed

Values individuals over processes

When it comes to putting the Agile manifesto in place, teams often choose specific methodologies to use alongside Agile. These could include Scrum, Kanban, extreme programming, crystal, or even Scrumban . That's because connecting Agile methodology with a more detailed approach produces a well-rounded project management philosophy and a tangible plan for delivering great work. 

Who should use it: The Agile framework can be used for just about any team. This is because the principle behind it is rather universal. The real trick is deciding which methodology to use with it.

2. Waterfall

What it is: The waterfall model is also a very popular framework. But unlike Agile, waterfall is an actual methodology that is rather straightforward. The waterfall methodology , also known as software development life cycle (SDLC), is a linear process in which work cascades down (similar to a waterfall) and is organized in sequential order. 

To achieve this approach, each work task is connected by a dependency. This means each task must be completed before the next task can be started. Not only does this ensure that work stays on track, but it also fosters clear communication throughout the process. 

While viewed as a traditional approach by some modern organizations, this method is good for creating a predictable and thoroughly planned-out project plan . 

Who should use it: Since the waterfall project management methodology is so detailed, it’s great for working on large projects with multiple different stakeholders. This is because there are clear steps throughout the project and dependencies that help track the work needed to reach goals. 

What it is: The Scrum methodology involves short “sprints” that are used to create a project cycle. These cycles span one to two weeks at a time and are organized with teams of 10 or less. This is different from the waterfall approach where individual tasks are broken down into dependencies.

Scum is unique for a variety of reasons, one being the use of a Scrum master. Or, in other words, a project manager that leads daily Scrum meetings, demos, sprints, and sprint retrospectives after each sprint is completed. These meetings aim to connect project stakeholders and ensure tasks are completed on time. 

While Scrum is technically a project management methodology in its own right, it’s most commonly associated with an Agile framework. This is because they share similar principles, such as collaboration and valuing individuals over processes. 

Who should use it: Teams that use an Agile approach should use, or at least try, the Scrum methodology as well. Since sprints are divided into small teams, this approach can work for both small and large teams. 

What it is: The Kanban methodology represents project backlogs using visual elements, specifically boards. This approach is used by Agile teams to better visualize workflows and project progress while decreasing the likelihood of bottlenecks. It’s also usually in the form of a software tool that allows you to change and drag boards seamlessly within projects, though it’s not a requirement. 

Since this method doesn’t have a defined process like others, many teams use it differently. The main concept to keep in mind is that Kanban aims to focus on the most important project tasks, keeping the overall framework simple.

Who should use it: Kanban boards are great for teams of all sizes and specifically remote-first teams. This is because the visual capabilities of Kanban boards help team members stay on track no matter where they are. 

5. Scrumban

What it is: As you may have guessed, Scrumban is a methodology that draws inspiration from both Scrum and Kanban frameworks. Some think of this as a hybrid approach that incorporates the best of each. 

Scrumban uses a similar sprint cycle as Scrum but allows individual tasks to be pulled into the plan like Kanban. This allows the most important work to be completed and keeps project plans simple. Scrumban also uses Scrum meetings to enhance collaboration and keep goals top of mind. 

Who should use it: If you like the idea of breaking down a project into smaller tasks, but likewise want to keep it visually simple, Scrumban might be for you. It’s the perfect intersection of simplicity and clarity.  

What it is: PRINCE2 , otherwise known as PR ojects IN C ontrolled E nvironments, uses the overarching waterfall methodology to define stages within a project. It was initially created by the UK government for IT projects and still primarily suits large IT initiatives over the traditional product or market-focused projects. 

There are seven main principles of PRINCE2, which include:

Starting a project

Directing a project

Initiating a project

Controlling a project

Managing product delivery

Managing a stage boundary

Closing a project

These seven principles create a thorough project process and make for an effective enterprise project methodology altogether. It aims to define roles and back management. Not only that, but PRINCE2 can be used to streamline a ton of individual project management tasks, like controlling a stage, managing product delivery, and initiating and closing a project. 

Who should use it: Due to the particular nature of the PRINCE2 project management methodology, it’s best suited for large enterprise projects with a number of project stakeholders . Using it for small projects may create a longer and more complicated process than necessary. 

7. Six Sigma

What it is: Unlike the other PM methodologies, Six Sigma is used for quality management and is frequently described as a philosophy rather than a traditional methodology. It is often paired with either a lean methodology or Agile framework, otherwise known as lean Six Sigma and Agile Six Sigma. 

The main purpose of Six Sigma is to continuously improve processes and eliminate defects. This is achieved through continuous improvements by field experts to sustain, define, and control processes. 

To take this method one step further, you can use a Six Sigma DMAIC process, which creates a phased approach. These phases include:

Define: Create a project scope , business case , and initial stand-up meeting.

Measure: Collect data that helps inform improvement needs.

Analyze: Identify the root causes of problems. 

Improve: Solve the root causes found.

Control: Work to sustain the solutions for future projects. 

Who should use it: Six Sigma is best for large organizations, usually those with a few hundred employees or more. This is when the need to eliminate project waste starts to have a larger impact on your organization. 

8. Critical path method (CPM)

What it is: The critical path method works to identify and schedule critical tasks within a project. This includes creating task dependencies, tracking project goals and progress, prioritizing deliverables , and managing due dates—all of which are similar to a work breakdown structure .

The objective of this methodology is to properly manage successful projects at scale so that milestones and deliverables are mapped correctly. 

Who should use it: The critical path method is best for small and mid-size projects and teams. This is because large projects require many deliverables with multiple stakeholders and the CPM isn’t built to manage complex projects. 

9. Critical chain project management (CCPM)

What it is: The critical chain project management framework is closely related to the critical path methodology but is even more detailed, making it one of the most comprehensive options. 

Along with implementing a work breakdown structure like CPM, CCPM includes specific time requirements for each task. This helps take task tracking one step further, making it clear when tasks are going over their allotted time. It also uses resource leveling which aims to resolve large workloads by distributing work across available resources. 

Not only do these help both productivity and efficiency, but they also help connect the work needed to be completed with project goals. Many project management tools even have visual elements to better visualize these goals, creating an organized road map for team members. 

Who should use it: CCPM is a great method for both small and large teams, but it mostly helps solve project efficiency problems . It can also be a great way to report work in progress to leadership. 

What it is: The lean project management methodology aims to cut waste and create a simple framework for project needs. This ultimately means doing more with less in order to maximize efficiency and teamwork. 

While reducing waste originally referred to a physical product (which dates back to the method used by Henry Ford and later by Toyota and Motorola), it now refers to wasteful practices. There are three Ms that represent this:

Muda (wastefulness): Practices that consume resources but don’t add value  

Mura (unevenness): Occurs through overproduction and leaves behind waste 

Muri (overburden): Occurs when there is too much strain on resources  

As a project manager, your job is to prevent the three Ms in order to better execute projects and streamline processes. This is similar to the approach of rational unified process (RUP), which also aims to reduce waste. The difference is that RUP aims to reduce development costs instead of wasteful practices. 

Who should use it: Since lean is all about reducing waste, it’s best suited for teams struggling with efficiency issues. While this will have a greater impact on large organizations, it can be helpful for project teams of all sizes. 

11. Project management institute’s PMBOK® Guide

What it is: While the PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge is associated as a project management methodology, it’s more closely related to a set of best practices that take into account various development processes. 

This framework focuses on implementing the five project management phases , all of which help easily manage a project from start to finish in a structured phase approach. The five phases include:

Project initiation

Project planning

Project executing

Project performance

Project closure

While this is a good foundation to keep in mind, the PMBOK® Guide isn’t necessarily as specific as other approaches. This means you’ll need to decide which tasks to complete in each phase. 

Who should use it: The PMBOK® Guide can be used on its own for small teams on standard projects, though it’s a good idea to pair it with a more detailed methodology (like CPM) for large teams handling complex projects. 

12. Extreme programming (XP)

What it is: As the name suggests, extreme programming is used for fast-paced projects with tight deadlines. The approach works by creating short development cycles with many releases. This makes for quick turnaround times and increased productivity . 

Extreme programming has a few core values, which include simplicity, communication, feedback, respect, and courage. It also includes a specific set of XP rules which includes all phases from planning to testing. 

Who should use it: Extreme programming can be used for individual projects with tight deadlines, most commonly with small to midsize teams. Since XP is a fast-paced method, it should be used lightly in order to prevent burnout . 

Choosing the right project management methodology for your team

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to project management methodologies. Each one offers unique principles to take a development project from an initial plan to final execution. 

The main aspects to keep in mind are the size of your team and how your team prefers to work. Here are some additional tips to consider:

Your industry : Consider if you’re in an industry that changes frequently. For example, a technology company would be an industry that is ever-evolving. This will affect project consistency and should be paired with either a flexible or stagnant methodology. 

Your project focus : Consider the objectives of your projects . Do you value people over efficiency? This will help pair you with a methodology that matches a similar objective. 

The complexity of projects : Are your projects on the more complex side, or are they usually straightforward? Some methods aren’t as good as others at organizing complex tasks, such a CCPM.

The specialization of roles : Consider how niche the roles within your team are. Can multiple team members alternate the same type of work, or do you need a method that focuses on specialization?

Your organization’s size : The size of your organization and team should be weighed heavily when deciding on a methodology. Methods like Kanban are universal for team size, while options like CPM are better suited for small teams. 

Whether your team members prefer a visual process like Kanban or a more traditional project management approach like the waterfall method, there’s an option for every type of team. To take a project management methodology one step further, consider a work management tool to better track and execute development projects. 

Methods to manage your projects mindfully

With the right project management methodology in place, you’ll be able to take your projects to new levels of efficiency and implement processes that are right for your team, your organization, and yourself.

Related resources

What are story points? Six easy steps to estimate work in Agile

What is a flowchart? Symbols and types explained

How to choose project management software for your team

7 steps to complete a social media audit (with template)

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• Agile project management

Program management vs. project management

How program and project management work together to improve organizational performance

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Programs and projects are at the heart of many business endeavors. To use a metaphor, projects are like trains operated by project managers, who help pull the work of a team to achieve goals and ultimately arrive with a finished good or service.

To continue with the metaphor, a program is like a collection of trains running on different tracks, yet headed to the same station, or goal. The program manager is the station conductor,  directing the various project trains.

What is program management?

Program management is the process of managing programs mapped to business objectives that improve organizational performance. Program managers oversee and coordinate the various projects and other strategic initiatives throughout an organization.

Program managers also help to drive organizational change by helping with agile transformations, including helping to implement DevOps practices and principles. Program managers may align program management practices and processes with agile values such as collaboration, team autonomy and empowerment, delivering value to customers, and adapting to change in the moment. A program manager can bring agile and DevOps to life for teams across large programs or individual projects by tailoring programs to the specific requirements and opportunities of the business.

A program manager can bring agile and DevOps to life for teams across large programs or individual projects by tailoring programs to the specific requirements and opportunities of the business.

Program management is sometimes confused with project management. Project management is the process of leading a project performed by a team to achieve certain goals, such as building a new product. 

A project represents a single, focused piece of work with a specific scope and defined output. Projects can run for several years, but their main focus remains the same. A project’s success can be measured by the delivery of artifacts and deliverables that roll up to a program’s larger goals. 

Project management is the process of delivering value that incrementally moves a program forward. Despite the emphasis on artifacts and deliverables, project management still involves strategy and planning, since a project manager must determine how to meet the goals laid out at the beginning of the project. Once a project is underway, a project manager tracks progress, allocates resources, manages risks, communicates, and more. 

Program management entails managing a program with multiple, related projects. Since programs are linked to strategic initiatives, they are often long-running and possibly permanent. Programs continue through organizational change, contribute to multiple goals, and contain many projects that deliver specific components of the larger strategic initiative.

At the highest level, a project generally focuses on outputs, while a program focuses on outcomes.

Projects have: 

• A set of tasks with a clear deliverable and a deadline for completion
• Relates to creating, updating, or reviewing a particular document, process, outcome, or another single unit of work
• A predefined scope that is limited to a specific output
• Improves quality, efficiency, cost management, or customer satisfaction in a specific and predetermined way  

Programs have:

• Unknown or fluid deadlines due to the large scope and impact of the work that must be done continuously over a long period of time
• Multiple deliverables with inter-related dependencies that may continue to evolve based on changing business needs
• A series of deliverables completed together to increase efficiency, accuracy, reliability, or other business needs
• The work enables the company to achieve a long-term business goal or initiative that will run in perpetuity
• Success delivers long-term benefits or unlocks new capabilities for the organization  

What does a program manager do?

Program managers need to balance delivering artifacts, engaging with strategic decisions, managing stakeholders, and mitigating risks across the program. In a fully empowered organizational program, program managers should be able to solve — or connect to people who can solve — and plan to mitigate any problem that impacts the strategic initiative they seek to achieve.

Because of the breadth of their responsibilities, program managers play a key enabling role in companies. The role is flexible by design to meet the different challenges that teams encounter while going to production. 

On any given day a program manager may do any of the following tasks:

Evaluate the state of the portfolio 

A program manager reviews and evaluates a portfolio by connecting with teams to identify any risk mitigation or improvement opportunities. These connections can be coffee chats or team meetings. The program manager’s goal is to stay connected and engaged enough to work in lockstep towards shared goals. This includes connecting with project teams to ensure the project managers are supported and unblocked. 

Manage risks

Risk management is a key element of portfolio management. Risks include a project timeline slipping, changing requirements, or the discovery of additional stakeholders. A program manager should be aware of anything that could impact the progress or outcome of the program and related projects. Ideally, a program manager can take corrective actions to reduce or manage risks in the portfolio.

Run the program

Program managers are responsible for running the program, which includes:

• Managing budgets and resources in cooperation with project managers
• Defining the operating parameters and controls
• Maintaining the core elements of the program that set the foundation from team charters and other establishing documents   

Engage with stakeholders 

A program manager connects with stakeholders to get a sense of the wider context that surrounds goals. These conversations provide key insights into the overall landscape. By partnering with stakeholders, a program manager can help guide project teams.

Refine the operating model

The operating model shapes how teams progress toward their goals. This can include establishing communication channels and reporting methods, identifying goals, establishing priorities across the entire program. During the course of a program, a program manager optimizes the operating model to increase the likelihood of success and reduce the impact of risks.

Support decisions 

Decision-making takes many forms, from running a meeting with decision-makers, to compiling background information on what decisions are needed, or doing a comparative analysis of multiple options. Specific program managers may lean into different areas, depending on their strengths. The program manager reviews outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement in systems, processes, or results. 

The focus and scope of each program manager shape the specifics of how they engage with these practices.

What does a project manager do?

A typical day for a project manager can include:

• Checking on the status of a deliverable to determine whether it will be delivered on time and within budget
• Reviewing a queue to identify new work, monitor existing tasks, and unblock specific elements for the project team
• Create a plan for how to reach a specific milestone that describes the stakeholder management and communications opportunities
• Ensure that project work meets the quality and reliability requirements established at the beginning of the project  

As you can see, program and project managers work on highly related tasks. The primary difference between these two roles is scope and ambiguity:

• Projects are scoped tightly and controlled from the beginning, while programs have a larger scope that may change over the course of the program.
• Projects have limited ambiguity because success has been clearly defined at the start, while programs need to work through ambiguity to define what needs to be done and how to conceptualize “success” for the overall program.  

In conclusion...

The Program Management Institute notes that “organizations with mature program management are far more successful than those without it.” That’s because program management allows organizations to achieve better alignment with strategic goals, management of project interdependencies, better resource management, and more. 

Jira Align provides program management features that connect business strategy to technical execution. Its program management features include visual program boards, forecasting and simulation, program tracking, multi-tiered roadmaps, dependency management, and more. 

Learn more about Jira Align’s program management features . Also be sure to check out Jira’s advanced planning  for strategic planning.

Laureli Mallek is a builder at heart who supports organizational effectiveness by removing blockers to fulfilling work. As a program manager and coach, she empowers teams to be more resilient, scalable, and human-centric by crafting tailored solutions that span process improvement, team practices, and leadership development. Laureli has spent much of her career in tech, where she focused on security and privacy at large and small companies.

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What is ERP?

See the industry-leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) cloud solution, serving as your integrated management of business processes and applications, to gain resilience and real-time agility, to position yourself for growth.

Enterprise resource planning—Overview

Definition of enterprise resource planning (erp), what is an erp system, what’s the difference between erp and financials, erp fundamentals, the business value of erp, a brief history of erp, erp deployment models: from on-premises to the cloud, cloud erp—a new erp delivery model, 7 reasons to move to an erp cloud solution.

• Get started with ERP

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting , procurement , project management , risk management and compliance , and supply chain operations . A complete ERP suite also includes enterprise performance management , software that helps plan, budget, predict, and report on an organization’s financial results.

ERP systems tie together a multitude of business processes and enable the flow of data between them. By collecting an organization’s shared transactional data from multiple sources, ERP systems eliminate data duplication and provide data integrity with a single source of truth.

Today, ERP systems are critical for managing thousands of businesses of all sizes and in all industries. To these companies, ERP is as indispensable as the electricity that keeps the lights on.

Cloud ERP for Dummies

Read this guide to learn how to:

• Find the right cloud ERP partner
• Gain productivity and flexibility
• Have a consistent view across your business
• Get next-gen technology and enhancements

How can these solutions manage organizations day-to-day business activities, such as accounting, finance, procurement, project management, supply chain, and manufacturing.

Enterprise resource planning systems are complete, integrated platforms, either on-premises or in the cloud, managing all aspects of a production-based or distribution business. Furthermore, ERP systems support all aspects of financial management, human resources, supply chain management, and manufacturing with your core accounting function.

ERP systems will also provide transparency into your complete business process by tracking all aspects of production, logistics, and financials. These integrated systems act as a business's central hub for end-to-end workflow and data, allowing a variety of departments to access.

ERP Systems and software support multiple functions across the enterprise, mid-sized, or small businesses, including customizations for your industry.

Although the term “financials” is often used when describing ERP software, financials and ERP are not the same thing. Financials refers to a subset of modules within ERP .

Financials are the business functions relating to the finance department of an organization and includes modules for financial accounting, subledger accounting, accounting hub, payables and receivables, revenue management, billing, grants, expense management, project management, asset management, joint venture accounting, and collections.

Financials software uses reporting and analytical capabilities to comply with the reporting requirements of governing bodies, such as the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation ( IFRS ), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP), as well as for other countries (HGB in Germany and PCG in France, for example).

For public organizations, financials software has to be able to produce periodic financial statements for governing regulators, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) (with reports such as quarterly 10-Q and annual 10-K), European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA ), and others. For these types of financial reports, a narrative reporting tool is used. The person who is ultimately responsible for financials is the CFO.

While financials handles one area of the business, ERP encompasses a wide range of business processes—including financials. ERP software can include capabilities for procurement , supply chain management , inventory, manufacturing, maintenance, order management, project management, logistics, product lifecycle management, risk management , enterprise performance management (EPM), human resources/human capital management .

ERP also integrates with front-office applications to build holistic views of customers, including customer relationship management ( CRM ) solutions. Additionally, cloud-based ERP applications are often embedded with next-generation technologies, such as the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, AI, machine learning, and digital assistants. These advanced technologies deliver data and capabilities that not only enhance many traditional ERP functions; they create new opportunities for increased efficiencies, new services, and deeper insight across an enterprise. Since ERP systems are comprehensive across an enterprise, their management often involves a partnership with the CFO as well as the CIO, COO, and other key executive leaders.

Cloud-based ERP applications are often embedded with next-generation technologies, such as the internet of things ( IoT ), blockchain , AI, machine learning, and digital assistants.

ERP systems are designed around a single, defined data structure (schema) that typically has a common database. This helps ensure that the information used across the enterprise is normalized and based on common definitions and user experiences. These core constructs are then interconnected with business processes driven by workflows across business departments (e.g. finance, human resources, engineering, marketing, and operations), connecting systems and the people who use them. Simply put, ERP is the vehicle for integrating people, processes, and technologies across a modern enterprise.

See how industry analysts compare Oracle Cloud ERP against other financial management software providers.

For example: consider a company that builds cars by procuring parts and components from multiple suppliers. It could use an ERP system to track the requisition and purchase of these goods and ensure that each component across the entire procure-to-pay process uses uniform and clean data connected to enterprise workflows, business processes, reporting, and analytics.

When ERP is properly deployed at this automotive manufacturing company, a component, for example, “front brake pads,” is uniformly identified by part name, size, material, source, lot number, supplier part number, serial number, cost, and specification, along with a plethora of other descriptive and data-driven items.

Since data is the lifeblood of every modern company, ERP makes it easier to collect, organize, analyze, and distribute this information to every individual and system that needs it to best fulfill their role and responsibility.

ERP also ensures that these data fields and attributes roll up to the correct account in the company’s general ledger so that all costs are properly tracked and represented. If the front brake pads were called “front brakes” in one software system (or maybe a set of spreadsheets), “brake pads” in another, and “front pads” in a third, it would be tough for the automotive manufacturing company to figure out how much is spent annually on front brake pads, and whether it should switch suppliers or negotiate for better pricing.

A key ERP principle is the central collection of data for wide distribution. Instead of several standalone databases with an endless inventory of disconnected spreadsheets, ERP systems bring order to chaos so that all users—from the CEO to accounts payable clerks—can create, store, and use the same data derived through common processes. With a secure and centralized data repository, everyone in the organization can be confident that data is correct, up-to-date, and complete. Data integrity is assured for every task performed throughout the organization, from a quarterly financial statement to a single outstanding receivables report, without relying on error-prone spreadsheets.

Trending in modern finance

The ERP landscape has shifted with the rapid evolution of software as a service (SaaS) cloud applications. Because of the mobile platforms and decentralized workforce–work anywhere and anytime–ERP systems can no longer be tied to yesterday’s on-premises back-office applications. The next-generation, cloud-based, and modern ERP solutions support the new industry dynamics while providing the ability to reduce support time to enable organizations to respond quickly to volatile markets and industry trends.

It’s impossible to ignore the impact of ERP in today’s business world. As enterprise data and processes are corralled into ERP systems, businesses can align separate departments and improve workflows, resulting in significant bottom-line savings. Examples of specific business benefits include:

• Improved business insight from real-time information generated by reports
• Lower operational costs through streamlined business processes and best practices
• Enhanced collaboration from users sharing data in contracts, requisitions, and purchase orders
• Improved efficiency through a common user experience across many business functions and well-defined business processes
• Consistent infrastructure from the back office to the front office, with all business activities having the same look and feel
• Higher user-adoption rates from a common user experience and design
• Reduced risk through improved data integrity and financial controls
• Lower management and operational costs through uniform and integrated systems

From paper cards to mobile devices The history of ERP goes back more than 100 years. In 1913, engineer Ford Whitman Harris developed what became known as the economic order quantity (EOQ) model, a paper-based manufacturing system for production scheduling. For decades, EOQ was the standard for manufacturing. Toolmaker Black and Decker changed the game in 1964 when it became the first company to adopt a material requirements planning (MRP) solution that combined EOQ concepts with a mainframe computer.

MRP remained the manufacturing standard until manufacturing resource planning (called MRP II) was developed in 1983. MRP II featured “modules” as a key software architectural component, and integrated core manufacturing components including purchasing, bills of materials, scheduling, and contract management. For the first time, different manufacturing tasks were integrated into a common system. MRP II also provided a compelling vision of how organizations could leverage software to share and integrate enterprise data and boost operational efficiency with better production planning, reduced inventory, and less waste (scrap). As computer technology evolved through the 1970s and 1980s, concepts similar to MRP II were developed to handle business activities beyond manufacturing, incorporating finance, customer relationship management, and human resources data. By 1990, technology analysts had a name for this new category of business management software—enterprise resource planning.

ERP's past: 1990s to the new millennium From the 1990s until the beginning of the twenty-first century, ERP adoption grew rapidly . At the same time, the costs of implementing an ERP system began to climb. The hardware required to run the software was typically on company premises, with big machines in a server room. Both the hardware and the software licenses required capital investments and depreciated over 5 to 10 years. In addition, organizations nearly always wanted to customize their ERP systems to fit their specific needs, entailing an additional expense of software consultants and training.

Meanwhile, ERP technology was evolving to embrace the internet, with new features and functionality such as embedded analytics. As time went on, many organizations discovered that their on-premises ERP systems couldn’t keep up with modern security demands or emerging technologies such as smartphones.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) Enter the cloud—specifically, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery model for ERP. When ERP software is delivered as a service in the cloud, it runs on a network of remote servers instead of inside a company’s server room. The cloud provider patches, manages, and updates the software several times a year—rather than an expensive upgrade every 5 to 10 years with an on-premises system. The cloud can reduce both operational expenses (OpEx) and capital expenses (CapEx) because it eliminates the need for companies to purchase software and hardware, or hire additional IT staff. These resources can instead be invested in new business opportunities, and the organization is always up-to-date on the most recent ERP software. Employees can shift their focus from managing IT to more value-added tasks such as innovation and growth.

For businesses of all sizes, including enterprise and small to midsize , retiring on-premises systems and moving entirely to the cloud all at once isn’t possible. Or, at the very least, it’s not something they’re comfortable doing within a short development window. Meanwhile, staying the course with an on-premises ERP, ignoring all the advantages of enterprise resource planning as a cloud solution, is no longer an ideal path, either. Why should you consider using cloud applications to replace or augment your on-premises system?

1. Readily adopt new and evolving SaaS technologies

Next-generation technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI), help cloud-based systems rapidly improve their capabilities with no need for periodic updates, unlike your legacy system. Now, with no additional or new input from the end-user, ERP systems continually become significantly easier to manage and use.

2. Extend the value of your existing ERP System

Augmenting and integrating legacy software with cloud applications can complement, enhance, and supplement important tasks. This approach can breathe new life into legacy ERP systems, giving businesses a great opportunity to start adopting cloud capabilities.

3. Access new technologies

Finding cloud applications that complement your legacy ERP software modules lets you immediately take advantage of rapidly advancing new technologies and improving user paradigms. These provide complimentary systems that deliver immediate business capabilities and value without a fundamental change in your operations.

4. Reduce third-party dependencies

Reporting and analytics for legacy systems typically require involvement from a third-party vendor to generate operational business intelligence. Using cloud applications from your legacy ERP vendor often produces the same or better intelligence without needing an additional vendor relationship.

5. Evolve your financial systems

Legacy systems were never meant to be modern reporting engines. Cloud-based technology was born in the last decade and developed, as a core principle, with an entirely different mindset and understanding of not only what was possible but what was needed to be successful for ERP platforms.

6. More robust security resources

Cloud solution service providers have large, full-time teams that are exclusively dedicated to proactively monitoring and staying current with cloud security issues and threats, 24 hours a day.

7. Attract in-demand talent

The next generation of young workers have grown up with seamless technology that is mobile, easy to use, and always-on. No company that continues to rely purely with on-premises technology will be able to recruit top talent, regardless of age.

Get started with Oracle ERP

Organizations have always struggled to balance traditional ERP’s high costs and complexity against the need for customized features and flexibility, all while meeting the demands of the business. Watch and learn how Oracle ERP Cloud delivers connected teams, unified data, and real-time insights to help you and your finance team ensure that the best business decisions are made. With ERP delivered as a service in the cloud, your organization can be future-ready and outpace change.

One of the benefits of the SaaS model is that the software is kept up-to-date with the latest features, functions, and best practices. Cloud ERP providers roll out updates regularly (as often as monthly, in Oracle’s case). This means that the latest new and revolutionary emerging technologies—such as AI, digital assistants, machine learning, blockchain, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—become available to subscribers on a regular cadence.

With access to these new technologies, organizations can quickly improve their business best practices as the ERP software evolves. They can automate processes that used to require heavy manual intervention, such as reconciling financial accounts. In addition, users gain a comprehensive, real-time understanding of enterprise business activities not only in the front office, but also in warehouses, on factory floors, and everywhere else across the enterprise. This knowledge is then readily available to every appropriate employee on their mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Built for the digital age, today’s ERP cloud embraces mobile, social, analytics, and the latest emerging technologies. Anything less won’t move an organization forward.

What is ERP in simple terms? ERP stands for enterprise resource planning. It’s a software system that includes all the tools and processes required to run a successful company, including HR, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, accounting, and more.

What are the 3 common types of ERP? The three most common types of ERP are on-premises, cloud-based, and hybrid ERP. An on-premises ERP system is run on-location on a company’s servers, while cloud-based ERP operates on a third-party, remote server. Hybrid ERP is a mix of both, often with an on-premises ERP at headquarters and cloud-based ERP systems at subsidiaries.

What is an example of ERP? One example of ERP is industry-specific ERP systems that meet the specific requirements for those business types and offer industry-specific capabilities like materials planning and specialized manufacturing records management. Because these systems offer such tailored features, businesses don’t have to do too much customization or integrate with many other external tools.

Learn more about Oracle Cloud ERP

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• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

What is ERP?

• What is cloud ERP?
• Benefits of ERP
• Replacing legacy ERP
• Evaluating ERP software
• ERP implementation best practices

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a software system that helps you run your entire business, supporting automation and processes in finance, human resources, manufacturing, supply chain, services, procurement, and more.

Discover how we can drive business innovation together.

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• ERP definition in detail

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, but what does ERP mean? The simplest way to define ERP is to think about all the core business processes needed to run a company: finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, services, procurement, and others. At its most basic level, ERP helps to efficiently manage all these processes in an integrated system. It is often referred to as the system of record of the organization.

Yet today’s ERP systems are anything but basic and have little resemblance to the ERP of decades ago. They are now delivered via the cloud and use the latest technologies – such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning – to provide intelligent automation, greater efficiency, and instant insight across the business. Modern cloud ERP software also connects internal operations with business partners and networks around the world, giving companies the collaboration , agility, and speed they need to be competitive today.

Table of Contents

Why is erp important, erp examples in different industries, how do erp systems work, common erp modules.

Types of ERP deployment

ERP integration

The total cost of erp.

• History and the future of ERP

10 things to look for in an ERP system

Erp at any size: what are my options.

Sometimes described as “the central nervous system of an enterprise,” an ERP software system provides the automation, integration, and intelligence that is essential to efficiently run all day-to-day business operations. Most or all of an organization’s data should reside in the ERP system to provide a single source of truth across the business.

Finance requires an ERP to quickly close the books. Sales needs ERP to manage all customer orders. Logistics relies on well-running ERP software to deliver the right products and services to customers on time. Accounts payable needs ERP to pay suppliers correctly and on time. Management needs instant visibility into the company’s performance to make timely decisions. And banks and shareholders require accurate financial records, so they count on reliable data and analysis made possible by the ERP system.

The importance of ERP software to businesses is illustrated by the growing adoption rate. According to G2 , “The global ERP software market is projected to reach US$78.40 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% from 2019 to 2026.”

Discover why an ERP system is so important.

Six key benefits of ERP

A good ERP system offers many advantages — which can vary depending on how the system is deployed. The benefits of cloud ERP , for example, are different than on premise. That said, there are six major benefits that apply to all modern ERP solutions:

• Higher productivity: Streamline and automate your core business processes to help everyone in your organization do more with fewer resources.
• Deeper insights: Eliminate information silos, gain a single source of truth, and get fast answers to mission-critical business questions.
• Accelerated reporting: Fast-track business and financial reporting and easily share results. Act on insights and improve performance in real time.
• Lower risk: Maximize business visibility and control, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and predict and prevent risk.
• Simpler IT: By using integrated ERP applications that share a database, you can simplify IT and give everyone an easier way to work.
• Improved agility: With efficient operations and ready access to real-time data, you can quickly identify and react to new opportunities.

Businesses in every industry – from automotive to wholesale distribution – need accurate, real-time information and effective business processes to compete and thrive. Different industries rely on their ERP software for quite different reasons, however. Here are just a few examples:

• Utilities need to constantly review their capital assets, not only to meet demand for future services but also for the replacement of aging assets. Without ERP, the effort to prioritize these major asset investments would be difficult and error prone. ERP also helps solve another critical utility company issue: forecasting of spare parts. Not having the right parts during an outage can create a significant customer service issue. On the other hand, having too many spare parts means excessive costs and out-of-date stock.
• For wholesalers , importers, direct store delivery, and 3PL/4PL firms, on-time delivery is key. All of these organizations want to reduce distribution costs, increase inventory turns, and shorten order-to-cash time. To achieve these goals, they need integration of inventory management, purchasing, and logistics functionality, as well as automated processes that are customized to their needs.
• Discrete, batch, and continuous process manufacturers all rely on ERP and supply chain systems to meet product quality goals, manage asset utilization, control overtime costs, handle customer returns and more. Manufacturers can also gain end-to-end inventory control by monitoring stock movements, pinpointing top and underperforming products, and managing procurement more efficiently.
• Service companies – including accounting, tax, engineering, IT, legal, and other professional services firms – require powerful, real-time mobile ERP technology to balance service delivery commitments with financial health. Key to professional service success is the ability to stay on schedule while managing project profitability, resource utilization, revenue recognition, recurring revenue objectives, and growth opportunities.
• Retail has undergone a significant transformation now that e-commerce has merged with other sales channels as well as brick-and-mortar operations. The ability to provide self-service options for identifying, configuring, purchasing, and shipping products is dependent on integrated data. A modern ERP also helps retailers reduce cart abandonments, improve Web site conversions, boost average order value, and increase customer lifetime value.

An ERP system – also called an ERP suite – is made up of integrated modules or business applications that talk to each other and share common a database.

Each ERP module typically focuses on one business area, but they work together using the same data to meet the company’s needs. Finance , accounting, human resources , sales, procurement , logistics , and supply chain are popular starting points. Companies can pick and choose the module they want and can add on and scale as needed.

ERP systems also support industry-specific requirements, either as part of the system’s core functionality or through application extensions that seamlessly integrate with the suite.

ERP software can be bought using a cloud subscription model (software-as-a-service) or a licensing model (on premise).

The ERP software system shown here illustrates enterprise resource planning use cases for sourcing and procurement, as well as sales. Typical ERP modules also address finance, manufacturing, and supply chain, among other applications.

Enterprise resource planning systems include a variety of different modules. Each ERP module supports specific business processes – like finance, procurement, or manufacturing – and provides employees in that department with the transactions and insight they need do their jobs. Every module connects to the ERP system, which delivers a single source of truth and accurate, shared data across departments.

Components of an enterprise resource planning system

The most widely used ERP modules include:

• Finance:  The finance and accounting module is the backbone of most ERP systems. In addition to managing the general ledger and automating key financial tasks, it helps businesses track accounts payable (AP) and receivable (AR), close the books efficiently, generate financial reports, comply with revenue recognition standards, mitigate financial risk, and more.
• Human resources management:  Most ERP systems include an HR module that provides core capabilities such as time and attendance and payroll. Add-ons, or even entire human capital management (HCM) suites, can connect to the ERP and deliver more robust HR functionality – everything from workforce analytics to employee experience management.
• Sourcing and procurement:  The sourcing and procurement module helps businesses procure the materials and services they need to manufacture their goods – or the items they want to resell. The module centralizes and automates purchasing, including requests for quotes, contract creation, and approvals. It can minimize underbuying and overbuying, improve supplier negotiations with AI-powered analytics, and even seamlessly connect with buyer networks.
• Sales:  The sales module keeps track of communications with prospects and customers – and helps reps use data-driven insights to increase sales and target leads with the right promotions and upsell opportunities. It includes functionality for the order-to-cash process, including order management, contracts, billing, sales performance management, and sales force support.
• Manufacturing:  The manufacturing module is a key planning and execution component of ERP software. It helps companies simplify complex manufacturing processes and ensure production is in line with demand. This module typically includes functionality for material requirements planning (MRP), production scheduling, manufacturing execution, quality management, and more.
• Logistics and supply chain management:  Another key component of ERP systems, the supply chain module tracks the movement of goods and supplies throughout an organization’s supply chain. The module provides tools for real-time inventory management, warehousing operations, transportation, and logistics – and can help increase supply chain visibility and resilience.
• Service:  In an ERP, the service module helps companies deliver the reliable, personalized service customers have come to expect. The module can include tools for in-house repairs, spare parts, field service management, and service-based revenue streams. It also provides analytics to help service reps and technicians rapidly solve customer issues and improve loyalty.
• R&D and engineering:  Feature-rich ERP systems include an R&D and engineering module . This module provides tools for product design and development, product lifecycle management (PLM), product compliance, and more – so companies can quickly and cost-effectively create new innovations.
• Enterprise asset management: Robust ERP systems can include an EAM module – which helps asset-intensive businesses minimize downtime and keep their machines and equipment running at peak efficiency. This module includes functionality for predictive maintenance, scheduling, asset operations and planning, environment, health and safety (EHS), and more.

Modern ERP systems can be deployed in a number of ways: in a public or private cloud, on premise, or in various hybrid scenarios that combine environments. Here are some of the high-level benefits of each to help you identify the ERP deployment option that makes the most sense for your business.

With cloud ERP , the software is hosted in the cloud and delivered over the Internet as a service that you subscribe to. The software provider generally takes care of regular maintenance, updates, and security on your behalf. Today, cloud ERP is the most popular deployment method for many reasons – including lower upfront costs, greater scalability and agility, easier integration, and much more.

On-Premise ERP

This is the traditional model for deploying software where you control everything. The ERP software is typically installed in your data center at the locations of your choice. The installation and maintenance of the hardware and software is your staff’s responsibility.

Many companies are modernizing and upgrading their on-premise ERP systems to cloud deployments. This requires careful planning of your ERP upgrade as well as a thoughtful process of evaluating ERP software and deployment options .

For companies that want a mixture of both to meet their business requirements, there is the hybrid cloud ERP model. This is where some of your ERP applications and data will be in the cloud and some on premise. Sometimes this is referred to as two-tier ERP .

ERP for finance can help you manage your daily accounting and financial close processes securely, regardless of your deployment approach.

Today’s ERP systems provide an enormous range of business functionality, but they still need to connect to and synchronize with other applications and data sources – such as CRM and HCM software, e-commerce platforms, industry-specific solutions, and even other ERPs. With ERP integration , companies can gain a unified view of information from different systems, increase business process efficiency, improve customer experiences, and facilitate collaboration across teams and business partners.

Modern ERP systems are open and flexible – and can easily integrate with a wide range of software products using connectors or customized adaptors, such as application programming interfaces (APIs). Other methods for ERP integration include ESB (enterprise service bus) and iPaaS (integration platform-as-a-service). iPaaS, which offers a cloud-based approach, is a very popular option for modern businesses. iPaaS platforms can rapidly sync on-premise or cloud-based ERP with SaaS applications from the same vendor or third-parties. They typically require little-to-no coding, they’re flexible and relatively inexpensive, and they offer a whole host of other uses – such as automatic API generation, machine learning data integration, Internet of Things (IoT) network integration, prebuilt content, and more.

The cost of ERP depends on the software vendor, the modules selected, and the deployment method. Generally speaking, cloud-based ERP has lower costs than on-premise ERP because there is no hardware that needs to be purchased – and no expensive in-house IT experts that need to be hired. The vendor handles the maintenance and charges the customer an annual or monthly subscription fee, usually based on the number of users.

When calculating the return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) of a new ERP implementation, the initial and ongoing workforce costs are just as important as the software selection and deployment costs. With cloud and hybrid options, new factors must be evaluated. For example, software maintenance, facility, computer capacity, downtime, recovery, security, privacy, and IT staff costs are all important considerations. As mentioned, cloud options significantly reduce both capital and operating costs – improving both ROI and TCO.

ERP history: The rapid evolution of ERP

Computerized business applications were born in the accounting and finance world in the 1960’s using mainframe computers. These pioneering applications were faster and more accurate than manual processes – but were expensive, limited in functionality, and still slow. Before long, these applications spawned the development of dedicated, standalone solutions such as sales order processing and manufacturing requirements planning ( MRP ).

In the mid 1980’s, competition in the manufacturing sector was exploding and new tools were required. New MRP II software integrated accounting and finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, and manufacturing planning and scheduling – providing the manufacturer with an integrated system.

Near the end of the 1990’s, ERP was introduced. ERP transformed the technology sector by serving a broader range of industries and by combining MRP II, human resources, project accounting, and end-user reporting.

In the short span of the 21st century, faster Internet speeds and new development tools have again revolutionized ERP suites. The introduction of browser-based software paved the way for cloud ERP software , a breakthrough that has expanded both the reach and the functionality of ERP solutions.

Today – in the era of digital transformation – modern ERP systems are increasingly taking advantage of new intelligent technologies such as AI, machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA), the IoT, natural language processing (NLP), and in-memory databases. They provide businesses with the ability to run even more efficient processes, leverage up-to-the-minute insights from both transactional and unstructured data, and ultimately remain competitive in a time of unprecedented change.

The future of ERP

Digital transformation is speeding up – and ERP is at the core. As enterprises adopt digital technologies in every part of the business, they are fundamentally changing the way they operate.

According to Gartner , one of the core digital business accelerators is to “banish drags” – in other words, eliminate any negative force that slows the business down, including outdated processes and systems. So, it’s not surprising that companies are already demanding more robust ERP systems.

Following are three major trends that build on the momentum we see today:

• Cloud, cloud, cloud: Preference for cloud ERP will continue to intensify as more and more companies discover the benefits – including “anywhere” access, reduced cost of hardware and technical support, greater security, and integration with other systems, to name just a few. According to Panorama Research in their 2020 ERP Report , “More than half of organizations are selecting cloud software (63%) instead of on-premises software (37%).” As the speed of business continues to accelerate, cloud becomes even more essential.
• Vertical integration: The tug of war between best-of-breed solutions and integrated ERP is officially over. Going forward, we believe that companies will demand the best of both worlds – a fully integrated ERP system with vertical extensions. This allows companies to get the specific functionality they need, without painful integration issues or data locked in information silos. We also see the shift toward ever greater flexibility, as business processes are tailored to individual company needs.
• User personalization: Staff, customers, and suppliers all want content and functionality that matches their specific needs or interests and makes them more productive. The changing demographics of the workforce, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, are also driving interest in low-code, no-code platforms. These platforms allow users to get the experience they want, rather than having to adapt to the software. Users can also expect customized dashboards, AI-driven search, personalized chat, and personalized workflows across devices.

Explore more ERP technology trends – and learn how to systematically evaluate your options, avoid pitfalls, and get started with the right innovations for your business.

Any modern ERP system will have a long list of capabilities based on the industry they serve and the modules they offer. However, there are 10 fundamental features that all enterprise resource management systems should have:

• A common database: Centralized information and single version of the truth – providing consistent, shared data and a cross-functional view of the company.
• Embedded analytics: Built-in analytics, self-service BI, reporting, and compliance tools that can deliver intelligent insight for any area of the business.
• Data visualization: Visual presentation of key information with dashboards, KPIs, and point-and-click analytics to assist in quick and informed decision-making.
• Automation. Automation of repetitive tasks as well as advanced RPA powered by AI and machine learning .
• Consistent UI/UX: The same look and feel across modules – as well as easy-to-use configuration and personalization tools for processes, users (including customers and suppliers), business units, locations, and product lines, for example.
• Integration: Seamless integration of business processes and workflows – as well as open and easy integration with other software solutions and data sources, including from third parties.
• New technologies: Support for AI and machine learning, digital assistants, the IoT , RPA , security and privacy, and mobile.
• Technology platform: A fast, proven, and stable technology stack for this long-term investment – including a low-code/no-code platform , iPaaS, data management, and more.
• Multinational support: Including for languages, currencies, and local business practices and regulations – as well as technical support for cloud services, training, help desk, and implementation.
• Choice of deployment: Cloud, on-premise, or hybrid.

ERP isn’t just for global enterprises. ERP solutions are designed for businesses of all sizes – small, midsize, and large. You can also get industry- and company-specific functionality to meet unique business needs. Regardless of your business sector and size, you’ll want to plan your ERP implementation project carefully, following best practices.

Small business ERP

ERP software for small businesses can help you move beyond spreadsheets and efficiently manage every aspect of your growing company – from sales and customer relationships to financials and operations. Small business ERP tools are typically in the cloud, quick to install, and designed to grow with you.

Mid-Market ERP

Today, ERP software designed for mid-market companies and subsidiaries benefit from built-in analytics, rapid deployment, and best practices for dozens of different business processes – financials, HR, supply chain management, and more. Midsize ERP tools help growing businesses scale and compete, even with limited resources. Modular, cloud-based enterprise ERP systems are also a popular choice for midmarket companies with complex processes or plans for rapid growth.

Enterprise ERP

Large companies with global or subsidiary operations need a robust, market-leading ERP system with embedded AI, machine learning, and analytics – and intelligent automation to transform business models and processes. ERP systems can be deployed on premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid scenario depending on business need. They can integrate with existing databases or, ideally, run on newer, powerful in-memory databases .

Many companies are modernizing and upgrading their on-premise ERP systems to cloud deployments. This requires careful planning of your ERP upgrade , as well as an ERP evaluation and review of your deployment options .

What is an ERP software system?

An ERP software system is a set of integrated applications or modules for managing a company’s core business processes – including finance and accounting , supply chain , HR , procurement , sales, inventory management, and more. ERP modules are integrated into one complete system and share a common database to streamline processes and information across the enterprise. Businesses can expand the scope of their ERP as they grow.

What is ERP cloud software?

Cloud ERP is the deployment of ERP in the cloud rather than on premise. The cloud provides an ideal environment for ERP as it is an accessible, reliable, secure, and highly scalable platform for mission-critical software. True cloud ERP software is developed specifically for cloud deployment and takes full advantage of the cloud environment. Learn more about cloud ERP and ERP deployment options .

What is ERP in accounting?

In accounting, the acronym ERP stands for enterprise resource planning – which is a type of business management software. ERP finance modules offer many of the same features as accounting software, such as tools for accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, expense management, reporting and analysis, and more. In addition to finance, ERP includes modules for different lines of business, such as supply chain and HR, and integrates everything together in a single system.

How do I know I'm ready for an ERP system?

Most businesses start out using a variety of simple, standalone tools to manage different business processes – such as QuickBooks or Excel spreadsheets. Here are five signs you’ve outgrown them and need a modern ERP system .

• You’re spending more time on daily activities. If it’s taking longer to manage key activities, like closing the books, too many disparate applications may be to blame. ERP software integrates solutions and data into one system with a common interface, making it easier for business units to communicate and do their jobs effectively.
• You have many unanswered business questions. Can you easily answer important questions about your business, such as revenue per product line or number of returns? If not, segregated systems and a lack of access to metrics and KPIs may be holding you back. Enterprise resource planning software is designed to address these challenges.
• You have runaway business processes. Are there areas where your processes are getting away from you? Maybe it’s harder for you to manage inventory, satisfy customers, or keep costs in check. If so, your business processes may need to be restructured to accommodate growth or changing priorities – a natural fit for ERP software.
• You have manual processes with multiple data sets. Are most of your departments using their own applications and processes to get things done? If so, chances are you’re spending too much time on duplicate data entry. When information can’t flow between systems, reporting takes longer, errors happen often, and decision-making is hampered.
• You’re missing out on fast-moving opportunities. Are you spending so much time running your business that you can’t pursue exciting new opportunities? Newer ERP systems include advanced, intelligent capabilities, like machine learning and predictive analytics, that make it easier to identify and capitalize on profitable new ventures.

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