Managing Portfolios: Steve Jenner on Portfolio Management

Steve Jenner literally ‘wrote the book’ on Managing Portfolios. He is the pre-eminent expert on Portfolio Management in the UK. He shares his experience and understanding in this leading interview.

Buy Steve Jenner’s Managing Portfolios.

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This is learning, so, sit back and enjoy

Steve Jenner, Author of Managing Portfolios

Steve Jenner started his career in the UK Civil Service, where he worked from the early 80s to 2011, rising to senior roles in the Home Office and Cabinet Office, among others.

He was Director of Criminal Justice IT, one of the largest IT-enabled business change programs in Europe. While heading the £2bn Criminal Justice System IT Portfolio, Steve led the design, implementation, and operation of the CJS IT approach to Portfolio & Benefits Management.

This led to him working on the development of Project Portfolio and Benefits Management for the Cabinet Office.

After leaving the Civil Service, Steve has written and taught extensively. He co-wrote Management of Portfolios for OGC/Axelos, and was Chief Examiner for MoP until 2015.

I shan’t list all the many books Steve has contributed to the profession. Most recently, he has been working with APMG. He wrote, and is Chief Examiner for, both Managing Benefits and their new Managing Portfolios book and certification (2024).

That’s why I wanted to speak with Steve about Managing Portfolios.

Discussion about Managing Portfolios

I discussed portfolio management with Steve Jenner, asking:

1. What is Portfolio Management?
   Why does it matter to project managers?
2. Steve’s book, Managing Portfolios, splits the process of portfolio management into two main components. We discuss:
   • Designing Portfolios
   • Delivering Portfolios
3. There is an excellent section in Managing Portfolios on governance. What does Steve think of as the key messages of this section?
4. Steve has written Managing Portfolios almost as a companion to his book Managing Benefits. How do the two disciplines relate to one another? (Keep an eye out for our second interview, which will focus on this book)
5. How can you dive deeper into Steve Jenner’s ideas, and how can they contact Steve? 

Contacting Steve Jenner

Steve is on LinkedIn, and you can find out more about the two certification programs we discussed at:

• Managing Portfolios Certification
• Managing Benefits™ Certification

Recommended Videos to Help with …

Carefully curated video recommendations for you:

• What is Project Portfolio Management?
• Project Portfolio Management: How to Craft a Portfolio in 5 Steps
• Introduction to Portfolio Management – with Murali Kulathumani
• PPP – Project – Program – Portfolio: What’s the Difference?
• Decision-Making AI for Project Portfolios – with Stuart Easton
• What is Project Governance?
• Project Governance 101: A guide to the governance of projects
• 5 Project Governance Tips
• What are OKRs?
• Gravitas: 10 Ways to Make an Impact with Your Ideas
• What are Task Dependencies in Project Management? and What are External Dependencies in your Project?

Recommended Articles to Help with …

• Top 15 Portfolio Prioritization Methods: Which Will You Choose?
• Navigating Success: How to Deliver Excellence with Good Project Governance
• AI Governance Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide for Enterprises and AI Projects
• Are You Making Proper Use of Dependencies and Constraints?
• Lead with Gravitas: 5 Ways to Convey Authority and Substance

Mike’s course: How to Develop Gravitas, Your five-step guide to being sought out, listened to, taken seriously, and trusted by the people around you.

What Kit does a Project Manager Need?

I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own. 

Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs

Note that the links are affiliated.

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For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.