Critical factors for effective project portfolio management of capital projects for a Western Cape municipality in South Africa

Abstract

The majority of service delivery demands can be fulfilled by successfully implementing capital projects and effectively monitoring capital projects portfolio management. In a multi-project environment, such as that of municipalities, where service delivery is prioritised, capital project delivery must be constantly improved. Companies are attempting to deliver a portfolio of projects rather than just one project despite the fact that municipalities are struggling to recruit enough personnel to deliver these massive capital projects in the face of increasing demand and resource constraints. The aim of the study is measuring the effectiveness of the project, programme and portfolio management processes in meeting strategic objectives as well as identifying the key success factors in the execution of capital projects. A municipality in the Western Cape has been designated as the local government implementing the portfolio and programme management as an operational framework in capital project delivery. Current literature lacks empirical evidence of the levels of implementation, functionality, and success of the Project Portfolio Management approach in South African local governments. The researcher applied a mixed method approach to the investigation, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods. Participants, on the other hand, were given an open and closed ended questionnaire with the goal of ensuring that the data obtained can be analysed in a way that produces useful and trustworthy results. A consent letter was provided, and respondents were allowed to withdraw from the study at any stage. It is important to emphasise that the survey results show that survey participants are well educated and come from diverse departments, age groups, and have extensive experience in the project portfolio management field. In the Western Cape municipality portfolio management is perceived as very successful by an overwhelming majority of respondents (81%), slightly successful by 16%, and unsuccessful by 3%. As a result, it is critical for senior management to support project portfolio management methodology to achieve organisational strategic goals and ensure the success of project portfolio management (PPM). PPM techniques and managerial styles must be carefully tailored to the organisation's qualities and complexities, just as the strategy must be tailored to the firm's characteristics.