IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance » Project Portfolio Management

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part VIII

Robert Davis — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:26:05 +0000

In group situations, decisions on what should be included in the portfolio of active IT investments may be fragmented between the chief information officer (CIO) and business executives; who may each make assumptions regarding how, and by whom, decisions should be made. However, both IT and business leaders should vet project proposals by matching them with the entity’s strategic objectives. Directly, SILCM has a significant effect on the viability of an IT project governance program. Indirectly, IT project governance may impact stakeholder assessed entity value. Therefore, management should ensure ‘best practices’ IT project governance is deployed, within the IT governance framework, to enable increased valuation by stakeholders.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part VII

Robert Davis — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:10:05 +0000

Technological development and deployment is inextricably connected to the economic, social, political, and informational factors that prevail in the entity’s control environment. The system and infrastructure development life cycle is the process involving multiple stages utilized to convert a managerial need into an operational IT asset — which may be custom-developed, acquired, or a combination of both. To effectively and efficiently accomplish the conversion, project membership cohesion for achieving stated objectives and goals is imperative. Within this context, through aligned policies and procedures, an entity’s control environment can provide discipline and structure to processes ensuring operational, financial, and compliance requirements are adequately addressed for IT projects.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part VI

Robert Davis — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:54:35 +0000

Planning system and infrastructure deployments generally resides with upper level management. In particular, the chief information officer (CIO) or a manager possessing overall responsibility for IT commonly plans system and infrastructure deployments for the entity. Whereby, lower level IT management has an obligation to implement the entity’s strategic plan based on the entity’s long-term objectives.

Typical project constraints that must be managed are ambit, time and budget; wherefore the secondary — and more ambitious — challenge is optimizing the allocation and integration of resources necessary to meet pre-defined objectives and goals. Thus, considering this stated premise, the central dilemma of IT project management is achieving all project objectives, while honoring established project constraints.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part V

Robert Davis — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:37:46 +0000

To effectively report performance for a given investment, entities should utilize preconceived Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management (SILCM) outcomes to enable multiple measurements so the positive impact that an investment contributes is visible. Though SILCM performance reporting can include many indicators, its value is not in the sheer number of indicators. As with other IT programs, the effective utilization of performance reporting requires identification of a critical few measurement indicators in each of the relevant measurement areas to draw the “line of sight” from the IT initiative to the processes and activities it supports (and, by extension, the user results and mission as well as business results it enables).

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part IV

Robert Davis — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:46:52 +0000

IT project managers are typically individuals presumed to have in-depth technical skills. However, technical aptitude is not the primary key to successful project management. Specifically, IT projects generally will not succeed unless they are managed by professionals who have an adequate combination of business as well as technical communication skills.

Considering one project management model definition; Project Communications Management are the processes impacting timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and ultimate disposition of project information. Within this context, planning a formal communications network, with purpose clarity and policy distinctiveness, is essential for IT projects. Furthermore, disseminating IT project information is considered fundamental to practicing structured project management. Wherefore, providing effective and efficient information distribution and storage normally requires a technology-based project management information system.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part III

Robert Davis — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:43:16 +0000

Tactically, a project is a structured set of activities concerned with delivering a defined capability (that is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve a required business outcome) to the entity; based on an agreed-upon schedule and budget. Additionally, a project is a temporary endeavor — having a defined beginning and end — undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives; usually to bring about beneficial change or added value.

The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to on-going operations — which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. Consequently, in practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate administration.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part II

Robert Davis — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:31:51 +0000

Managerially, oversight of IT-enabled investment portfolio assets should be performed throughout their life cycle. Operationally, portfolio management takes a holistic view of an entity’s overall IT strategy, while sustaining clear and active linkage between the entity’s strategy and the portfolio of IT-enabled investments. Whereby, when properly deployed, IT portfolio management can assist in gaining control of IT projects and deliver meaningful value to the entity’s lines of business.

The IT portfolio should be managed like a financial portfolio. Thus, riskier IT investments should be balanced with more conservative investments, and the mix constantly monitored to assess: which projects are on track, which need remediation and which should be shut down. Often portfolio management involves establishing scorecards for projects, infrastructure, and applications to enable decisions on a measurable basis.

“View Part I of the Governance and Managing IT Projects series here“

Governance and Managing IT Projects – Part I

Robert Davis — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:42:39 +0000

Depending on the entity, accountability for defining IT project governance can reside within a single person or group. As with IT Governance and Information Security Governance, entity executives should provide quality leadership when defining and activating IT project governance. Whether a single person or a group, IT project governance leadership normally requires vision as well as a potent organizational structure to ensure an effective and efficient IT architecture.

In most situations, IT project governance responsibility and accountability can be enhanced through portfolio management. Theoretically, IT portfolio management encompasses at least three distinct, yet cross-dependent, concepts: project portfolio management, infrastructure portfolio management, and application portfolio management.