The Business Case for Project Priortization Confidential

You wouldn’t fire an arrow in battle without knowing which way the enemy is. So why do so many executives approve projects without knowing what strategies they support? Stuart Easton CEO, TransparentChoice

Do you know… …what each project contributes to your strategic direction? …how the projects you are implementing were selected? …what goals you have for each project? Confidential

Recent Examples Project NameWays in which it under- delivered Cost of under-delivery Confidential Insert names of projects that under-delivered. Explain the way it under-delivered (e.g. cost-overrun, was late, was abandoned, didn’t deliver the promised reduction in head- count, etc.) and what the costs were. These costs should include the “lost opportunity.” E.g. if you should have saved $x, but didn’t, you could have done another project that WOULD have saved $x. Or if the project should have generate $y more revenue, and it didn’t, you would have done another project that would have generated value…. Include that “lost value.

Why? Projects are not aligned with strategic goals – Poor use of resources There is poor consensus around portfolio – Lower motivation Lower motivation – Lack of support across exec team Poor understanding of goals undermines project implementation – Goal becomes “implement this” rather than “reduce cost by $x” – Project team makes wrong decisions b/c don’t have clear context for the project Confidential

Business User’s View I’m trying to achieve clear goals, but TEAM X never seems to be working on projects that support me I don’t understand how they chose the projects they implement I don’t know how to get my own projects on the list I cannot deliver my business goals! Confidential

Portfolio Manager’s View I’m trying hard, but nobody seems happy I never have enough hours in the day The project prioritization meetings are painful and they drag on. It’s hard to get clear answers. I can’t really explain to stakeholders why we’ve picked these particular projects I can see projects under-delivering for the organization I WANT to do better Confidential

A Better Way Projects selected Executive selection meeting First-pass filter (PMO) Online project nomination Confidential Consistent goals and criteria Automated notification and publication

The Benefits $6,000,000 additional value to the business Projects that support strategic goals Greater transparency Quicker, less argumentative process Greater buy-in from execs, business teams and implementation teams Confidential Input data is to the LEFT of the graphic in the spreadsheet. Double click graphic to open spreadsheet then scroll left to input your own numbers. Scroll to the right again to show the graphic.

Our Investment We expect to get $6,000,000 extra value, but it’s not free Commit to governance – Set criteria – review every 6 months – Executive team prioritization meeting every 3 months – PMO “filter” cycles every month People and resources – PMO – [insert full-time-equivalent to run your PMO – will vary based on number and value of projects] – Software: $xxxx Software Confidential