July 2016 - The velocity of change, especially transformative change, continues to increase across the industry. Companies embarking on large, multi-year initiatives often experience challenges in prioritizing projects as these efforts compete for finite resources (capital and people). Efficient project portfolio management combines effective business judgment (the art of prioritization) enabled by strong, disciplined processes with fact-based information and resource allocations (the science of prioritization). The resulting portfolio should best meet the needs of the business while being able to react effectively to changes in the underlying assumptions or business conditions.

This executive brief offers a range of best practices to consider that will help CIOs and their business partners successfully optimize the business value of the project portfolio.

The Checklist

• Create a portfolio management function
• Define the business strategies and objectives
• Create a comprehensive inventory of projects
• Establish business case guidelines
• Rise above the annual budgeting cycle
• Optimize the portfolio
• Establish business-based metrics