5 IT Project Prioritization Pain Points:

According to Gartner, post-Covid, 69% of boards are pushing to use digital to accelerate business and 60% are pushing for digital to drive operational excellence. This means that the CIO and the IT team are under increasing pressure with too many projects and not enough resources.

It’s not the quantity of projects that really matters, however, it’s the quality. Research shows that the degree to which IT is aligned with strategic goals explains 18% of the overall performance of the organization. In other words, the projects you pick will, to a large extent, determine your organization’s ability to achieve its goals.

How would I know? Well, I’m a regular speaker at project and portfolio management conferences around the world and a guest lecturer (on prioritization and portfolio management) at universities such as Oxford. I’ve helped some of the world’s largest companies, government departments and non-profits “get it right” - eliminating waste and aligning projects to strategy. I’ve been working on decision-making tools since 1996 - man, that makes me feel old!”

How do I know what’s what? Over the last 20-ish years, I’ve led data-to-insight teams at four different large corporates. I’ve wrestled with prioritization issues myself and I’ve seen a lot of missed opportunities, a lot of politics, and I’m passionate about making things work in a much smarter way.”

Here are five avoidable prioritization pain points that we hear time and again. We'll expand on these points in a series of emails coming soon.

1. I Suspect We’re Doing the Wrong Projects
   
   

   Project Management Institute research shows that 20% of the projects in a typical portfolio are waste – they are so badly aligned with strategy that they should be stopped ASAP.

   

2. “The Business” Doesn’t Know What it Wants
   
   
   IT leaders are often frustrated because “the business” seems confused about what it wants. The VP of Sales is pushing in one direction while the Head of Manufacturing is pulling in another.
   
   They’re competing for limited resources and IT is caught in the middle.
   
   The priorities keep changing which makes it impossible to execute with any level of consistency.

3. My Spreadsheet Doesn’t Work
   
   
   If you’re using a “magic spreadsheet” to prioritize projects, you will probably fail because it’s the wrong tool.
   
   You’d never dream of managing your data warehouse, your accounting or your lead generation in spreadsheets - now it’s time for prioritization to make the jump.

4. We’re doing too many projects
   
   

   When we talk to PMO leaders, this is the number 1 complaint. It leads to high project failure rates and burnt-out people. And it’s inexcusable… so why do organizations so often fail to protect their people?
   
   The answer is simple - put in place a process which people can trust.

   

5. We’re Always Trying to Reinvent Prioritization
   
   
   Selecting projects is a “decision problem,” not a project management problem.
   
   If you’re not using decision science, you’re not doing it properly and will be doomed to a never-ending cycle of trying to fix your project intake process.

We’ve shared some of our stories and would love to hear some of yours. Do let us know which items resonated with you.

Connect with us on LinkedIn Stuart / Dan or email us at Stuart / Dan