Do Only a Few of the Right Things Well
On 16 October 2026, Prof Herman Steyn facilitated a tutorial at the INCOSE conference at the CSIR Conference Centre in Pretoria.
The title of the tutorial was "Do Only a Few of the Right Things Well," hinting at the necessity of both project management and project portfolio management. The ‘right things’ or ‘right projects’ refer to selecting and prioritizing projects to maximize value, while doing them well requires sound project management.
As project selection forms part of project portfolio management, he explained the fundamentals of portfolio management, which are driven by organizational strategy to deliver maximum value through projects, given available resources.
While organizations should generate many innovative ideas for potential projects, they tend to have too many projects in the project execution phase concurrently. This leads to individuals being involved in too many projects concurrently, “jumping” between projects, resulting in suboptimal project delivery.
The ‘right things’ are not limited to projects; they also include all activities that individuals perform. The tutorial, therefore, included guidelines for managing daily to-do lists.
The tutorial focused mostly on selecting and prioritizing projects, including Prof Herman Steyn’s framework for Project Portfolio Management. The aspect of ‘doing projects the right way’ is addressed in short courses he has been teaching at EUP (Enterprises University of Pretoria) since 1996.
These short courses not only address contemporary developments in the field but also draw on his two decades of industrial experience prior to joining the University.
The next intake of the popular Online Short Course on Project Management Principles, Practices and Scheduling starts on 8 February 2027.
