Return on Investment
(Now available on GSA. GS-02F-0046P)

Module Duration: 2 days; 2-3 days of preparation time is normally required to allow work on client-specific projects on Day Two.

Number of Participants: Minimum 4; Preferred 6-8; Maximum 10

Participants will learn to:

• Understand and apply “The Portfolio Pyramid”, a method of classifying assets in a project context

• Develop in-depth tools and techniques for defining and quantifying all classes of benefits: Operational, Avoidance, Synergistic, Enabling and Strategic

• Develop in-depth tools and techniques for defining and quantifying all categories of project cost

• Develop quantitative models for determining ROI

• Understand the role of risk in a project context Learn how to present projects effectively at senior, executive and Board management level

Course Topics See detailed Course Schedule below; workshop may be modified for client-specific situations.

Course includes significant hands on work; participants are expected to have access to at least one laptop computer for every two participants.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT WORKSHOP - COURSE OUTLINE

9:00-9:30 Unit One - Getting Started
	Introductions and Expectations; course objectives and agenda
9:30-10:45 Unit Two: Establishing a Foundation: the Company Portfolio
	A brief Project Management refresher; The nature of projects; clients, constraints, objective setting, scoping; value addition and sources of benefits
	A brief Portfolio Management refresher and discussion; “The Portfolio Pyramid”, asset classification best practice, asset classification at Company
	Exercise One: A review and discussion of a sample project portfolio and classifications; projects in the Company Portfolio today
	BREAK
10:45-2:00 Unit Three: Project benefit description, quantification and marketing
	Operational benefits: identification, quantification and the pitfalls of cost-cutting.
	Exercise Two: Selected Case Project; define and quantify possible operational benefits
	Avoidance benefits: identification and quantification; the politics of project support in middle and executive management
	Exercise Three: Brainstorm Selected Case Project avoidance benefits
	LUNCH
	Synergistic and Enabling benefits: Thinking beyond cost and “hard” benefits to make your case
	Exercise Four – Describe synergies and enabling benefits for the Selected Case Project
	The big picture: When a project brings strategic benefits (and when it doesn't)
	BREAK- Recap; questions
2:15-4:00 Unit Four: Quantitative Analysis in a Project Context
	Models for determining the value of project investments in the for-profit context: underpinnings including Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, positive and negative cash flow streams.
4:00-5:30	Unit Five: Future Value, The Influence of Risk
	Shareholder value in a project context; CAP-M and EVA; understanding risk and setting discount rates.
5:45	End of formal workshop day one

DAY TWO

9:00-11:00 Unit Six: Placing the Project in a Value Context
	Projects, Programs, Capabilities, Strategic Goals and Portfolio Management: The Portfolio Pyramid.
	The role of Enterprise Architecture
	ROI at portfolio level; organization level path to required/desired capabilities; the capital allocation process
	Probabilistic Risk approach: advantages and limitations. Chaos Theory. VC approach to dispersion of returns
11:00-1:00 Unit Seven Preparing the Project for Executive or Board Presentation
	Components of Board-level Project presentations; do's and don't of effective presentations; balancing the story and the numbers
	LUNCH
	Exercise: Prepare a Board Level presentation
1:00-4:00 Unit Eight: Work on Selected Company Projects
	Participants will spend the afternoon working on 1 or 2 selected Company projects to apply course learning's and grapple with specific issues with the facilitation and guidance of the instructor team.
4:00-5:30 Unit Nine: Present Selected Company Projects
	Participants will present work on selected projects and discuss; ideally there will be a small executive management audience for these presentations.-course ends