Program & Portfolio Strategy for Scaling Delivery
Keep adding new skills with 10,000+ programs for $239 (usually $399). Save now.
Program & Portfolio Strategy for Scaling Delivery
This course is part of Project & Process Management for a Tech-Driven Workplace Specialization
Instructor: Evan Kimbrell
Included with
Ask Coursera
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Prioritize initiatives using value scoring tied to business outcomes—not politics or “loudest voice wins.”
Set lightweight governance, change control, and portfolio reviews that drive stop/pivot/scale decisions.
Plan across teams with dependency maps, risk heatmaps, and capacity/throughput constraints
Skills you'll gain
- Coordination
- Dependency Analysis
- Goal Setting
- Decision Making
- Business Priorities
- Program Management
- Change Control
- Capacity Management
- Prioritization
- Performance Measurement
- Governance
- Product Roadmaps
- Project Management
- Organizational Strategy
- Risk Management
- Project Portfolio Management
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Capacity Planning
- Portfolio Management
Details to know
March 2026
8 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 4 modules in this course
Most organizations don’t struggle because teams can’t execute—they struggle because too many initiatives compete for the same people, dependencies stay invisible, priorities flip midstream, and “green” projects don’t add up to real business value.
In this course, you’ll learn how to manage programs and portfolios as a system, not a pile of disconnected projects. You’ll start by distinguishing projects, programs, and portfolios—and how that choice changes how you plan, measure, and lead. Next, you’ll set portfolio-level objectives, apply simple value scoring to prioritize initiatives, and build an initiative inventory that makes work visible and comparable. From there, you’ll map cross-team dependencies, visualize risk with heatmaps, and plan realistically using capacity and historical throughput to avoid the overstuffed roadmap. Finally, you’ll design lightweight change control and governance that keeps decisions moving without bureaucracy, then connect delivery to outcomes through benefits realization, OKRs, and KPIs. By the end, you’ll be able to prioritize better, coordinate across teams, and run portfolio reviews that drive clear decisions to stop, pivot, continue, or scale initiatives.
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 19 minutes
- Program vs. Project vs. Portfolio (and Why It Matters)•6 minutes
- Objectives & Value Scoring Across Initiatives•7 minutes
- Building an Initiative Inventory•6 minutes
6 readings•Total 140 minutes
- A quick classifier for tech + knowledge-work•10 minutes
- Going deeper into projects, programs, and portfolio•35 minutes
- Scoring Model Starter Kit •10 minutes
- Going deeper into objectives and value scoring•45 minutes
- Going deeper into initiative inventories•30 minutes
- The Initiative Inventory (How to Use It, Best Practices, Common Mistakes)•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Module 1 Knowledge Check•30 minutes
- Classify and Score a Portfolio of Initiatives•60 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 17 minutes
- Dependency & Risk Heatmaps•6 minutes
- Capacity & Throughput Planning Across Teams•6 minutes
- Cross-Team Roadmapping & Sequencing•5 minutes
6 readings•Total 205 minutes
- Worksheet: Dependency & Risk Heatmap Builder•30 minutes
- Going deeper into dependency mapping•45 minutes
- Examples List: Signs Your Roadmap Exceeds Real Capacity•15 minutes
- New Reading•60 minutes
- Designing Integration Points So They Actually Reduce Risk•10 minutes
- Going deeper into cross-team roadmapping•45 minutes
2 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Module 2 Knowledge Check•30 minutes
- Portfolio Planning with Dependencies, Risk, and Capacity•60 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 22 minutes
- Change Control Paths — Handling Scope & Priority Shifts•7 minutes
- Lightweight Governance & Steering Forums•7 minutes
- Operating Rhythm for Programs & Portfolios•7 minutes
6 readings•Total 145 minutes
- Examples List: Changes That Should Stay Local vs. Changes That Need Escalation•10 minutes
- Going deeper into change control paths•30 minutes
- Examples List: Governance vs. Micromanagement in Real Situations•10 minutes
- Going deeper into governance•40 minutes
- Designing Forums That Make Decisions Instead of Just Sharing Updates•10 minutes
- Going deeper into operating rhythms•45 minutes
2 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Module 3 Knowledge Check•30 minutes
- Governance Under Pressure: Designing Change Control and an Operating Rhythm•60 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 23 minutes
- From Delivery to Benefits Realization•7 minutes
- OKRs, KPIs & Metrics for Programs/Portfolios•7 minutes
- Reviewing, Learning & Adjusting the Portfolio•8 minutes
6 readings•Total 205 minutes
- Worksheet: Benefits Realization Tracker•20 minutes
- Going deeper into benefits realization•60 minutes
- When a Metric Should Stay a KPI vs. Become an OKR•15 minutes
- Going deeper into OKRs, KPIs, and metrics•45 minutes
- Examples List: Signals That Mean Stop, Pivot, Continue, or Scale•15 minutes
- Going deeper into portfolio reviews•50 minutes
2 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Module 4 Knowledge Check•30 minutes
- Portfolio Review — Delivery vs. Benefits•60 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
Instructor
Offered by
Explore more from Leadership and Management
- Status: Free TrialP
PracticalGrowth
Course
- Status: Free Trial
Specialization
- Status: Free Trial
Course
- Status: Free TrialC
Coursera
Course
Why people choose Coursera for their career
Frequently asked questions
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
More questions
Financial aid available,
