A Single Comparative Measure for Decision Support

in Project and Portfolio Management

COMMENTARY

By Alexander Apostolov, PhD                                                                              

Sofia, Bulgaria

Introduction

Imagine that in your portfolio management system, you have an invisible assistant: an AI-enabled module that collects data from various sources, forecasts the outcomes of your portfolio, and evaluates the impact of alternative methods and decisions that you could implement—all in real time. Wouldn’t that be a true Decision Support System?

But an important condition for such a system to work is the existence of a way of evaluating alternative methods and decisions.

In a LinkedIn discussion, Bill Duncan asked what exactly does better project management mean, and how can it be measured. If we answer this “Better-PM” question, we will provide a necessary component for Decision Support Systems in project and portfolio management.

Project management is a discipline that is “evolving” rapidly, and this implies improvement. However, if we have no means to identify and measure the impact of one method, principle, or decision compared to others, how can we claim that they are better in a specific context? How do we direct our efforts if we have no compass? How do we avoid favoring isolated effects that often have more to do with personal preferences or established conventions than with the fundamental role of projects?

Until we start answering these questions, many discussions in the project management community will continue to resemble scholastic disputes.

But that’s not the point. What’s more important is that project management will continue to evolve on the principle of local “improvements” that “inevitably” lead to global improvements in “project success,” no matter how success is defined. Decision Support Systems will either be tools for “more of the same” or be involved in endless “great” local optimizations.

This article addresses the issue of measuring improved project and portfolio management from a systemic and holistic perspective and proposes a specific Better-PM metric for this purpose: avoided systemic waste.

The article is divided into two parts. The first part justifies the Better-PM metric, and the second demonstrates its use in portfolio optimization.

More…

To read entire article, click here

How to cite this article: Apostolov, A. (2026).  A Single Comparative Measure for Decision Support in Project and Portfolio Management, commentary, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VII, July.  Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/pmwj166-Jul2026-Apostolov-A-Better-Comparative-Measure.pdf

About the Author

Alexander Apostolov

Sofia, Bulgaria

Alexander Apostolov holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a PhD in Project Management and Sustainable Development. He has 25 years of experience in project management for new product development, construction, IT, events, and more.

He is currently the managing director of a project management consulting firm and the Lean Project Management Foundation. His interests lie in the development and implementation of holistic project management methods and tools.

Alexander Apostolov can be reached at contact@leanpm.org and www.leanpm.org.