Final answer:
Individual projects typically focus on specific tasks and short-term objectives with immediate outcomes.
Project portfolio management, however, aligns multiple projects with an organization's long-term strategic goals, taking a broader view.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individual projects often address specific tasks, whereas project portfolio management addresses strategic goals. Individual projects typically focus on immediate and tangible outcomes such as meeting task deadlines, which are crucial for success.
Engineers, for instance, may multitask across various projects, each with its own deadlines and objectives. This can involve a variety in daily experience and fulfillment of short goal-achievement cycles.
Missing deadlines in such projects could have significant impacts, such as revenue loss or missed market opportunities.
In contrast, project portfolio management takes a broader, more strategic approach.
It involves aligning projects with the long-term goals of the organization, ensuring that the collective effort of several projects contributes towards the overarching strategic objectives.
This holistic view helps the organization to prioritize projects that will deliver the most value and align with its strategic aims.