Abstract:
Effective decision making within the innovation project portfolio process is increasingly important to
organizational survival. Large sums are invested in innovation projects, however a significant proportion of these
do not result in successful new products. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) methods aim to ensure that project
decisions are made so that resources are most effectively allocated. PPM decisions should ultimately improve
success rates and increase the value of the innovation portfolio to the organization. This paper presents the results
of research into innovation PPM practices and new product success levels. The benchmarking study used a
research survey to collect information about PPM decision-making methods, attitudes, satisfaction levels, portfolio
performance and new product success levels. The results show that PPM practices in Australasia and North
America are surprisingly similar indicating that the findings in one region are likely to be relevant in the other.
New product success measures correlated highly with established PPM processes in Australasia suggesting that
improving PPM practices could boost innovation performance. The selection of the right number of projects for
organizational resources was confirmed as one of the biggest PPM challenges. Financial and strategic methods and
criteria dominate PPM decision making, however strategic methods and portfolio maps have the strongest positive
influence on portfolio performance measures.
