Template: Prioritizing IT Projects Inspired by Gartner

This template is designed to give an idea of how TransparentChoice can be used to

select the most efficient IT portfolio. This model is inspired by Gartner’s

recommendations for picking IT projects.

The problem we solve

The problem is one of collaboration and structure, not of information

Confidential

50% failure rate

Most significant decisions are made with group input and multiple trade-offs/criteria

How we solve the problem

Structure the decision, eliminate bias

Gather opinion and build consensus

Deliver results and recommendations

How Templates Help

• Provides a starting point to structure your decision

• Shows you how other people think of this type of decision

• Depending on the type of decision you’re making, a template may even be “ready to go”

• Great starting point for “proof of concept”

• NOTE: You should take the time to tailor the template to your specific requirements

Confidential

The scenario

• We are selecting the best portfolio of IT projects.• Projects can be requested online.• We have started with Gartner’s recommended

model for project prioritization (essentially the top-level of the criterion hierarchy) and have then expanded on this model as an example of how it might be used in practice

• This model was not put together by Gartner. Rather, it was built from publically-available information about Gartner’s recommended project prioritization process.

The Decision Team

• It’s important to have the right people play the right role in your decision

• In this example, the executives define corporate priorities, which are represented as weighted criteria (you’ll see one of the execs is way out of step with the others – an opportunity to build understanding and consensus)

• And subject matter experts score each project against those priorities (you’ll see some experts only score those criteria that match to their expertise)

• Then the executives review the overall weighted scores and make their decision based on which projects will deliver the best value for money

Final Decision Meeting

Executives Set Priorities (Weight Criteria)

Subject Matter Experts Score Projects

Criteria

• Criteria make implicit assumptions about priorities explicit

• They are the structure that allows us to break down a complex decision into manageable parts

• Criteria help build a common language and make trade-offs visible

• Clear criteria make it difficult to “game” the system

Criteria

Prioritize your projects

Financial return

Cost reduction

Payback

Reducing business

operating costs

Reducing IT costs

Increase sales contribution

Project risk

Organizational complexity

Project complexity

Strategic impact

Brand building

Business development

Customer intimacy

Product excellence

Technical architecture fit

Alignment with architecture

Capability

Weighting criteria

• Criteria map to your priorities

• Defining these priorities is one of the most important steps in any decision

• Each person (Execs, in this example) answers “A vs. B” questions about which criterion is more important

• These scores are then brought together to discover where disagreements or misunderstandings are getting in the way of the decision

Building consensus

• Voting differences can be due to special knowledge, simple mistake or could even be an attempt to inappropriately influence the decision

• The process of building consensus is not a “fluffy feel-good process”. Decisions with more buy-in get executed better

• By avoiding discussions about items for which consensus already exists, and by having very contained discussions where there is disagreement, the process can reduce the amount of time spent on a decision

Making your choice

Your recommendations are made with clear justification and transparency. Your recommendation is based on clear criteria with explicit weighting – in other words, you explicitly see the priorities and trade-offs involved in making the decision.

Decision makers understand exactly what they are being asked to decide and why. Sensitivity analysis gives them visibility into the robustness of the recommendation.

Download the template now!

• If you don’t have a TransparentChoice account, head over to our website to open a free trial account

• If you already have an account, simply click on this link then select the workspace (folder) into which you want to copy the template(if you can’t open the link above, please copy and paste this link into your web browser https://service1.transparentchoice.com/#/ticket/70e5c004-3741-4f87-9491-2eb03338f89e)

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