page 2 of  Start an IT Initiatives Portfolio

Example
I have broken the example into two parts to fit it into the web site window without scrolling. In my example, I focus on two major areas for each project initiative.

The first area tells me if the project was finished on time and on budget. It also captures the variance of each issue to help measure effectiveness.

When working with the time section, you may want to include columns that list actual start and end dates. Ultimately, you want to know whether each project was completed "on time" or not.

Another tip is that it will help you compare projects by using the same timeframe element, i.e. weekly or monthly terms. The more you can keep the projects consistent in your descriptions, the easier it will be to analyze your initiatives in an "apples and apples" perspective.

The focus of any IT initiative ultimately boils down to three issues:
    1. Was it completed on time?
    2. Was it completed within budget?
    3. Did we achieve the results we expected?

In the first part of the IT Initiatives Portfolio tool shown above, you can see that I highlight the "on time" and "within budget" columns for that very purpose.

The second area tells me if the project initiative achieved the results we expected and forecasted when we justified doing the project for the company. I break this section into 6-month Results and 12-month Results. For larger projects, you may even want to carry it out beyond a year.

The thing to remember is that you can track any amount of information you deem necessary to help you understand the dynamics of your business, your team's productivity, quality of implementation, etc.

The example chart I show you here is one that I would use in a CIO role to give me the high level perspective of how we are doing overall as well as some insight into each IT manager's responsibility.

In this "Results" section of the portfolio shown above, you may need to use different criteria. For example, an IT initiative may have several specific objectives that should be listed in your forecast such as reduction in expense, elimination of headcount, reduction of support calls, etc.

Obviously, these are all different measurement criteria. One way to compare all your initiatives in an "apple and apple" comparison is to add a column where you simply indicate whether the initiative "met results expectations" and check it "Yes" or "No". This will give you a quick ability to analyze the list of initiatives to determine how effective you are achieving targeted results.

By maintaining this information for each project initiative throughout the year, you have an excellent reference tool to use to discuss your team's successes and failures with staff, clients, and senior management.

This is an important point that many managers fail to realize. Your ability to show others quantitative data relating to what amounts to significant investments by the company gives you powerful ammunition.

When you can show your successful track record, it makes it much easier to get new projects funded.  It's also important to note that most of us tend to focus on current issues and we sometimes lose track of "past victories".

It's important for an IT Manager to help people remember what the IT organizations and teams are getting accomplished and how that benefits the company. After all, if you don't do it, it is likely that no one else will either. You can use this data to reinforce the importance of your team's focus and it can help boost morale of your staff.

Sounds like two pretty compelling reasons to maintain an IT Initiatives Portfolio, doesn't it?

By putting the portfolio into an EXCEL spreadsheet, you can sort the technology initiatives many ways and analyze your IT "business" :
    - analyze the results of a specific manager or leader's initiatives
    - quantify the overall results of a manager and spot trends
    - rank the best and worst projects by dollar results or other criteria
    - determine the percentage of time an individual or organization delivers
         project initiatives on time, within budget, or achieves both.

Once you have one full year of data, you can use the information to set the bar for improving your IT Department's performance in terms of:     
    - delivering initiatives on time
    - completing initiatives within budget
    - improving success rates where both "on time" and "within budget" is
        achieved
    - achieving forecasted results on a more consistent basis

Hopefully, you can see that maintaining an IT Initiatives Portfolio can have some very powerful benefits in helping you manage your business. It really does not take that much time to maintain once you start. If you begin maintaining a portfolio of this nature, you will probably never stop because it will quickly become part of your management process and style.

Best of success in your management efforts. I hope you find the article on Start an IT Initiatives Portfolio beneficial.

Would you like to get the example in an Excel spreadsheet that you can begin using immediately? Simply fill out the quick survey on the first page of the newsletter and it will be included with the free gift you receive for submitting your input.


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