Implementing Service Portfolio Management: what are the advantages?

I recently responded to a question in a LinkedIn group that asked "What are the advantages to implementing Service Portfolio Management into your organisation?" This seems to be a hot topic at present!

My view is that Service Portfolio Management must be seen as a strategic activity that helps to ensure that the IT and business strategies remain aligned. By periodically reviewing all ICT services in terms of their business value, both planned ones in the pipiline and current ones in the service catalogue, it becomes possible to ensure that the business's investment in IT is actually aligned to its strategic needs.

Value is often difficult to measure and should not be restricted to purely financial aspects. Factors such as damage to reputation if services do not function as expected can also impact the value. In the absence of other measures, current services in the catalogue can be valued by looking at the business value at risk should the service fail.

Often this information is available throuth business impact analyses conducted as part of Business (and IT Service) Continuity Management. We also need to look at both the current value of a service AND its potential value in the future in supporting planned business initiatives.

New services in the pipeline are reliant on the accuracy of the associated business case to provide an indicator of expected value and we have probably all had experiences when the actual outcomes delivered by new of changed services bear little or no resemblance to the benefits predicted in the business case. Perhaps that is why many organisations are reluctant to revisit a business case once a project has been closed down and the associated service is in production.

This leads me to a key point; that the business case is ideally treated as a living document that continues to be reviewed, by Service Portfolio Management to ensure that each service continues to deliver business benefits and value during its operational phase. If a service stops doing this, it needs to be rejuventated in some way to improve its value proposition, replaced, outsourced or retired.

In summary, the real value of Service Portfolio Management is in its examination of the full range of services, both planned and operational, to ensure that the IT organisation is doing the right things to support the strategic objectives and outcomes of the business in a way that maximises business value.

I'd be interested in your views on this!  Submit your comments on our forum by clicking here.

Michael Davies,

Strategic Consultant