With lists, libraries, sites, and site collections, the SharePoint platform is really well suited to project management.
Learn more about portfolio reporting with BrightWork for SharePoint On-Premises [Free video]
BrightWork leverages the hierarchical structure of SharePoint On-Premises to create a logical project management structure for organizations.
The parent-site and sub-site structure is reflected in BrightWork as the Project Office template and individual project sites.
BrightWork Reporter is behind it all, enabling the Project Office to report on, or roll-up, all the project data from the sites beneath it.
Typically, this hierarchy aligns to organizational structure, with a Project Office for Finance, Marketing, Engineering, IT, etc.
So it starts with project sites to manage individual initiatives, which roll up to department-level project office dashboard, all of which roll up to the high-level business Project Office.
What is the Portfolio Reporting Area in BrightWork?
Project Office templates in BrightWork adhere to the logic of the project management hierarchy.
They will report only on the projects (or project offices) beneath them in the hierarchical structure.
Portfolio Reporting sits outside of this is structure.
In BrightWork, a Portfolio is a special type of reporting site that operates like a dynamic Project Office.
Any site you add to the Portfolios list in a portfolio will be reported on as if the site were under the portfolio site.
This enables you to create collections of project sites for your own reporting purposes.
With a Portfolio in BrightWork, you can pick and choose the projects you want to report on.
To understand the significance of this, take another look at our project hierarchy below.
The highlighted Project Office automatically reports on the sites in the red box.
A portfolio would allow you to report on just the sites in the green (or any mix of sites that made sense to you).
The Portfolio Reporting is super handy when you need to report on a group of projects that fall outside the typical hierarchy.
It could be a series of projects that are of particularly high-value, maybe sensitive projects that require extra scrutiny, or some other grouping that is of importance to you.
This short video explains how to create a personalized portfolio dashboard in BrightWork.
Features of Portfolio Reports in BrightWork
The Project Office and Portfolio Reporting templates both include a set of cross-project dashboards that enable senior executives to see, at-a-glance, how all projects are performing and easily identify the ones that are in trouble.
The dashboards roll-up data from nominated projects, automatically and in real-time.
Some of the flexible cross-project reporting dashboards include:
- Project Status Reports and Charts
- Project Gantt / Schedules
- Work Reports and Charts
- Issue and Risk Reports and Charts
- Project Status Reports
- Scorecards of Key Metrics
- Exception and In-Trouble Reports.
In this video, you’ll see how BrightWork reports across portfolios, including issues, work reports, and resource allocation.
Conclusion
Out of the box, BrightWork uses sites and sub-sites (Project Sites and Project Office dashboards) to create a logical project management office hierarchy.
But, sometimes you need more flexibility in order to get the visibility you need… and that’s where BrightWork Portfolio Reporting comes in!
Take a closer look at our portfolio templates (and other BrightWork capabilities) in action in our free 20-minute demo.
Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in October 2021 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
