Multi-Project Management: How to Manage Multiple Projects Simultaneously
| Translated by Julian Hammer
In many organisations today, numerous projects are running simultaneously. New projects are launched, existing ones evolve, and priorities shift. Whilst project management provides the framework for individual initiatives, a different question arises at the organisational level: how do companies maintain control over the interplay of all ongoing projects? This is where multi-project management comes in. It describes the active, cross-project management of priorities, resources and decisions during day-to-day operations. The aim is not only to ensure transparency across projects, but also to be able to intervene in the project landscape in a targeted manner – even when conditions change at short notice. Whilst project management provides the framework for individual projects, the focus here is on managing their interaction during day-to-day operations.
Multi-project management involves the cross-project management of several parallel projects within an organisation. It encompasses the adjustment of priorities, the reallocation of resources and the management of deadlines during day-to-day operations. The aim is to resolve conflicting objectives between projects and to actively manage the overall project portfolio.
In practice, multi-project management is particularly evident in specific decision-making situations: for example, when several projects are simultaneously accessing the same resources, short-term shifts in priorities become necessary, or dependencies between projects require adjustments.
The challenges of multi-project management include:
- Resource bottlenecks caused by overlapping project requirements
- Conflicts of interest between strategically important and operationally urgent projects
- A lack of prioritisation at portfolio level
- Insufficient transparency regarding dependencies between projects
These challenges demonstrate that multi-project management is not merely a matter of reporting, but an ongoing management responsibility.
Table of Contents
- Why multi-project management is more than just keeping track of things
- Operational levers for multi-project management in day-to-day project work
- Steering committees as a key element
- Control mechanisms within the system
- Multi-project management in a challenging environment: balancing stability and dynamism
- Conclusion: Multi-project management is the active management of the project portfolio
- FAQ on multi-project management
Why multi-project management is more than just keeping track of things
Transparency is a prerequisite – but management is a lot more than that
Project management begins where decisions about projects are made
The crux of effective management of multiple projects lies in decisions that affect several initiatives simultaneously. These include questions such as: Which project takes priority when resources are scarce? Which initiatives must be postponed to make way for strategically more important projects? Where is intervention necessary to mitigate risks affecting multiple projects simultaneously?
Such decisions go beyond the remit of individual project managers. They involve conflicting objectives between projects and require a broader perspective on the entire project landscape.
Operational levers for multi-project management in day-to-day project work
Cross-project management is not reflected in concept papers, but in concrete interventions in ongoing project operations. It becomes apparent where priorities are adjusted, resources are reallocated and projects are restructured.
Adjusting priorities during ongoing operations
Strategic priorities are not static. Market changes, regulatory requirements or new business opportunities can lead to projects being assessed differently than originally planned. Cross-project management ensures that such changes do not merely exist on paper, but also have operational implications.
This may mean that a project of high strategic importance receives additional support, whilst other initiatives are deliberately slowed down. Prioritisation thus becomes a continuous process. A sound basis for this is provided by project prioritisation within the organisation, where initiatives are assessed and ranked according to clear criteria.
Priorities can thus be adjusted not only periodically, but also at short notice as required.
Redistribute resources between projects in a targeted manner
In practice, resources are often the limiting factor. Skilled staff, budgets or external capacity cannot simply be multiplied at will. Cross-project resource management makes it possible to view these capacities within the overall context of the project and reallocate them in a targeted manner.
Starting, postponing or stopping projects
Steering committees as a key element
Regular steering meetings instead of isolated project decisions
Effective management requires established formats in which cross-project decisions are prepared and taken. Regular steering meetings do not involve discussing individual projects in detail, but rather addressing overarching issues: Where are bottlenecks arising? Which projects influence one another? Where are adjustments needed?
These bodies create a binding framework within which priorities, bottlenecks and conflicts are assessed in a structured manner.
In practice, however, it is evident that decisions often fail due to unclear responsibilities, despite such formats.
For steering committees to fulfil their role effectively, clearly defined responsibilities are required. Strategic prioritisation typically falls to portfolio managers, whilst resource managers decide on capacities and their allocation. Project managers, in turn, are responsible for the operational implementation of individual projects.
Clear roles between project management, the PMO and senior management
Project managers provide the operational perspective on their projects. The PMO consolidates information, standardises it for comparison and ensures a cross-project perspective. Senior management takes on the role of setting overarching priorities.
Effective management of multiple projects only works if these roles are clearly defined and decision-making processes are transparent.
Escalation processes for conflicting objectives between projects
Where several projects run in parallel, conflicting objectives are inevitable. Two projects may require the same specialists, budgets may not be sufficient for all planned projects, or deadlines may clash.
Control mechanisms within the system – how multi-project management is supported in practice
How multi-project management is supported operationally Multi-project management requires more than just organisational structures and regular coordination. It needs a robust, integrated data foundation and tools that highlight cross-project interdependencies. Only when information from scheduling, resource management and controlling is consistently consolidated can a sound basis for decision-making at portfolio level be established.
This includes, in particular, key performance indicators such as resource utilisation across all projects, schedule variances within the portfolio, the relationship between project priorities and available capacity, and bottleneck analyses of critical resources.
Dependencies and schedule chains as a basis for project management
Delays in one project rarely fail to affect other projects. Effective project management therefore requires transparency regarding schedules and dependencies across multiple projects. In PLANTA Project, schedule structures are managed centrally and displayed in clear planning views such as Gantt charts. This makes it clear which milestones are interdependent and where schedule changes trigger knock-on effects.
Resource and capacity management across multiple projects
In multi-project environments, resources are often the critical bottleneck. Whilst looking at individual projects in isolation reveals the requirements for each project, it does not show the actual utilisation across all projects. PLANTA Project provides a cross-project resource and capacity overview that highlights both overloaded and available capacity. For optimal resource planning in multi-project management, available resources must be coordinated across projects in such a way that deadlines and budgets are met throughout the entire portfolio.
Aggregated key performance indicators instead of isolated status reports
Individual status updates provide important detailed information, but are of limited use for cross-project decision-making. Managing multiple projects requires aggregated key performance indicators that highlight trends across the entire project portfolio.
Traffic light ratings can serve as aggregated leading indicators to highlight critical trends across multiple projects.
Up-to-date project data as the basis for timely decisions
Cross-project management is only as effective as the timeliness of its data. Delayed or manually consolidated information makes decision-making difficult, as the situation across the project portfolio has often already changed by the time measures can be implemented.
In practice, multi-project management involves identifying interdependencies between projects and using these to inform decision-making. This is based on up-to-date, centrally available project data, which enables management across all projects.
Multi-project management in a challenging environment: balancing stability and dynamism
Project landscapes must be both stable and adaptable. Projects require a reliable framework, whilst priorities, resource availability and external influences are constantly changing. Governance therefore involves providing structures that enable both reliability and adaptability.
Why management must be reviewed regularly
Project initiatives are constantly evolving. New projects are added, existing ones are rescheduled, and dependencies change. Without regular review, previous assumptions remain in place even though the reality has already changed.
Dealing with short-term changes during ongoing operations
In addition to regular adjustments, short-term changes also occur. A key member of staff is absent, a project is delayed, or new regulatory requirements arise. Such events rarely affect just a single project.
A cross-project management approach ensures that these changes are assessed within the context of all projects. In PLANTA Project, the impact on other projects and resources can be made immediately visible. This reveals where bottlenecks are arising or which projects need to be adjusted.
A typical scenario illustrates the necessary level of intervention: a strategic project launched at short notice requires key resources that are already firmly allocated to ongoing projects. In such a situation, it is not enough merely to highlight the impacts – rather, conscious decisions must be made, such as delaying projects, reallocating resources or resetting priorities.
Conclusion: Multi-project management is the active management of the project portfolio
Cross-project management means not merely monitoring projects, but actively shaping the project landscape. It combines transparency with clear decision-making processes and concrete opportunities for intervention. Priorities are effectively implemented, resources are deployed thoughtfully, and conflicting objectives are resolved in a structured manner.
In day-to-day project work, this is particularly evident where priorities are actively adjusted, resources are consciously reallocated and interactions between projects are specifically managed – and thus precisely in those situations where decisions must be made under conditions of uncertainty.
FAQ on multi-project management
What is multi-project management?
Multi-project management refers to the cross-project management of several projects whilst business operations continue. It ensures that priorities, resources and deadlines are coordinated within the overall context and actively adjusted where necessary.
Why is multi-project management important?
What is the difference between this and multi-project management?
Multi-project management describes the organisational framework and methods for coordinating multiple projects. Multi-project control, on the other hand, involves specific interventions in ongoing projects, such as prioritisation or the reallocation of resources.
In everyday use, both terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different levels: whilst multi-project management creates the structural conditions, multi-project control determines how projects are actually aligned and adapted during day-to-day operations.
When does multi-project management become necessary?
When several projects are competing for resources at the same time, there are dependencies, or priorities need to be adjusted on a regular basis.
What challenges commonly arise in multi-project management?
