Information Technology (IT) Projects will play a vital role in organizations and will become more critical this 21st century. A strategic direction and a corporate bottom-line can help create a good relationship between the IT projects and the organization’s objectives. Using the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) can help us identify and invest only in those projects that have a high success potential for the organization. Criteria are identified for the evaluation of the factors to be considered for the prioritization of the IT project. A scoring/rating for evaluation is also presented.
PRIORITIZING THE IT PROJECT PORTFOLIO
Most organizations have a so many factors to consider when prioritizing IT projects. In reality, IT projects are more often funded for the sole purpose of their perceived merits or their project owner’s interests. The organizational leaders begin with the IT strategy rather than the goals of the business. Little rigor is involved in the prioritization and the overall ranking of it is subjective. So, the Project Portfolio Management (PPM), a powerful tool that focuses on the selection and management of a set of projects to meet specific business objectives, shall be used. It is designated to assure the prioritization of IT projects. To make the IT projects able to compete for the prioritization with all the other initiatives or projects of the company, they must undergo the same process with such amount of rigor and business justification as the other investments. Also, the strategic value and alignment with the corporate objectives must be clearly recognized. Through this, IT project requests can get funding, resources and commitments.
In order to begin the evaluation, it is important to carefully review the strategic objectives of the organization. This can be achieved through reviewing existing information, such as the strategic plan. A systematic, rational approach for selecting and prioritizing IT projects based upon
References: Miller, Bruce. () Portfolio Management: Linking Corporate Strategy to Project Priority and Selection. A paper presented on Sept. 30, 1997 at PMI Symposium, Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved 22 May 2010 from PM Solutions http://www.pmsolutions.com Denbo, Adam D. and Rand W. Guthrie. () Prioritizing IT Projects: An Empirical Application of an IT Investment Model. A research paper from California State Polytechnic University. Retrieved 22May 2010 from http://www.iima.org/CIIMA/CIIMA%20V3%20N210%20Denbo.pdf Machavarapu, Sai. Prioritizing IT Projects Based on Business Strategy. Retrieved 22 May 2010 from a web-published article posted July 15, 2006 at http://www.cio.com/article/print/22976