V4

Optimize IT Project Intake, Approval, and

Prioritization
Decide which IT projects to approve and when to start them.

Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. is a global leader in providing IT research and advice.
Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with
ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.
© 1997-2018 Info-Tech Research Group Inc. Info-Tech Research Group 1
ANALYST PERSPECTIVE
Capacity-constrained intake is the only sustainable path forward.

For years, the goal of project intake was to select the best projects.
It makes sense and most people take it on faith without argument.

But if you end up with too many projects, it’s a bad strategy.

Don’t be afraid to say NO or NOT YET if you don’t have the capacity to
deliver. People might give you a hard time in the near term, but you’re
not helping by saying YES to things you can’t deliver.

Barry Cousins,
Senior Director, PMO Practice
Info-Tech Research Group

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Our understanding of the problem
This Research Is
is Designed For:
 PMO Directors who have trouble with project
throughput
 CIOs who want to improve IT’s responsive-
ness to changing needs of the business
 CIOs who want to maximize the overall
business value of IT’s project portfolio
This Research Will Also
Assist:
Assist:
 C-suite executives and steering committee
members who want to ensure IT’s successful
delivery of projects with high business impact
 Project sponsors and product owners who
seek visibility and transparency towards
proposed projects
This Research Will Help You:
 Align project intake and prioritization with
resource capacity and strategic objectives
 Balance proactive and reactive demand
 Reduce portfolio waste on low-value projects
 Manage project delivery expectations and
satisfaction of business stakeholders
 Get optimized project intake processes off the
ground with low-cost, high-impact tools and
templates
This Research Will Help You:
Them:
Ensure that high-impact projects are approved
and delivered in a timely manner
Gain clarity and visibility in IT’s project
approval process
Improve your understanding of IT’s capacity to
set more realistic expectations on what gets
done
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Executive summary

Situation
• As a portfolio manager, you do not have the authority to decline or defer
1. Approve only the right projects…
new projects – but you also lack the capacity to realistically say yes to
Counterbalance stakeholder needs
more project work.
with strategic objectives of the
• Stakeholders have unrealistic expectations of what IT can deliver. Too business and that of IT, in order to
many projects are approved, and it may be unclear why their project is maintain the value of your project
delayed or in a state of suspended animation. portfolio at a high level.
Complication 2. …that you have capacity to deliver.
• The cycle of competition is making it increasingly difficult to follow a Resource capacity-informed project
longer-term strategy during project intake, making it unproductive to approval process enables you to avoid
approve projects for any horizon longer than one to two years. biting off more than you can chew and,
over time, build a track record of
• As project portfolios become more aligned to “transformative” projects,
fulfilling promises to deliver on projects.
resourcing for smaller, department-level projects becomes increasingly
opaque.

Resolution
• Establish an effective scorecard to create transparency into IT’s capacity and processes. This will help set realistic
expectations for stakeholders, eliminate “squeaky wheel” prioritization, and give primacy to the highest value requests.
• Build a centralized process that funnels requests into a single intake channel to eliminate confusion and doubt for
stakeholders and staff while also reducing off-the-grid initiatives.
• Clearly define a series of project approval steps, and communicate requirements for passing them.
• Developing practices that incorporate the constraint of resource capacity to cap the amount of project approvals to that
which is realistic will help improve the throughput of projects through the portfolio.

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Most organizations are good at approving projects, but bad at
starting them – and even worse at finishing them
Establishing project intake discipline should be a top priority from a long-term strategy
and near-term tactical perspective.
Most organizations approve more projects than The appetite to approve more runs directly
they can finish. In fact, many approve more than counter to the shortage of resources that plagues
they can even start, leading to an ever-growing most IT departments. This tension of wanting more
backlog where project ideas – often good ones – from less suggests that IT departments need to be
are never heard from again. more disciplined in choosing what to take on.

Info-Tech’s data shows that most IT organizations struggle with their project backlog.
“There is a minimal list of pending projects” “Last year we delivered the number of projects
we anticipated at the start of the year”
40% 90% 40%
85%
30% 34% 35% 30%
31% 30%
20% 20% 24%
21%
10% 10% 13%
7% 3% 2%
0% 0%
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ee ee n ee ee ee ee en ee ee
r r le r r
ag
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s b ly di
s i bi y
g D gl
gl
y Am on gl
y Am n
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St St
N=397 organizations, Info-Tech Research Group PPM Current State Scorecard, 2017

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The concept of fiduciary duty demonstrates the need for better
discipline in choosing what projects to take on
Unless someone is accountable for making the right investment of resource capacity
for the right projects, project intake discipline cannot be established effectively.

What is fiduciary duty? No question is more important to the organization’s

bottom line. Projects directly impact the bottom line
Officers and directors owe their corporation the duty of because they require investment of resource time and
acting in the corporation’s best interests over their own. money for the purposes of realizing benefits. The
They may delegate the responsibility of implementing the
scarcity of resources requires that choices be made by
actions, but accountability can't be delegated; that is,
those who have the right authority.
they have the authority to make choices and are
ultimately answerable for them. Who approves your projects?
Historically, the answer would have been the executive layer of the organization.
However, in the 1990s management largely abdicated its obligation to control
resources and expenditures via “employee empowerment.”

Controls on approvals became less rigid, and

accountability for choosing what to do (and not
do) shifted onto the shoulders of the individual
worker. This creates a current paradigm where
no one is accountable for the malinvestment…

…of resources that comes from approving too many projects. Instead, it’s up to
individual workers to sink or swim as they attempt to reconcile, day after day,
seemingly infinite organizational demand with their finite supply of working hours.

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Ad hoc project selection schemes do not work
Without active management, reconciling the imbalance between demand with available
work hours is a struggle that results largely in one of these two scenarios:

“Squeaky wheel”: Projects with the most vocal stakeholders

behind them are worked on first.
 IT is seen to favor certain lines of business, leading to
disenfranchisement of other stakeholders.
 Everything becomes the highest priority, which reinforces IT’s
image as a firefighter, rather than a business value contributor
 High-value projects without vocal support never get resourced;
opportunities are missed.

“First in, first out”: Projects are approved and executed in the order
they are requested.
 Urgent or important projects for the business languish in the
project backlog; opportunities are missed.
 Low-value projects dominate the project portfolio.
 Stakeholders leave IT out of the loop and resort to “underground
economy” for getting their needs addressed.

80% of organizations feel that their portfolios are dominated by low-value initiatives that
80% do not deliver value to the business. (Source: Cooper)

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Approve the right projects that you have capacity to deliver by
actively managing the intake of projects
Project intake, approval, and prioritization (collectively “project intake”) reconciles the
appetite for new projects with available resource capacity and strategic goals.
Project intake is a key process of project portfolio
e ed

Resource Capacity
management (PPM). The Project Management Institute N
ld er
(PMI) describes PPM as: o
k eh
Interrelated organizational processes by which an organization St
a je ct
o o
evaluates, selects, prioritizes, and allocates its limited internal Project
Pr tfoli
Intake Str r
resources to best accomplish organizational strategies
ate Po
consistent with its vision, mission, and values. gic
(PMI, Standard for Portfolio Management, 3rd ed.) Ob
jec
Organizations practicing PPM recognize available resource tiv
capacity as a constraint and aim to select projects – and es
commit the said capacity – to projects that: Triple Constraint Model of the Project Portfolio

Best satisfy the stakeholder Best align to the strategic Have sufficient resource capacity
1 needs that constantly change 2 objectives and contribute the 3 available to best ensure consistent
with the market most to business project throughput

92% of high-performing organizations in PPM 82% of high-performing organizations in PPM

92% report that projects are well aligned to 82% report that resources are effectively
strategic initiatives vs. 74% of low reallocated across projects vs. 55% of low
vs 74% performers. – PMI, 2015 vs 55% performers. – PMI, 2015

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 Info-Tech’s data demonstrates that optimizing project intake
can also improve business leaders’ satisfaction of IT
CEOs today perceive IT to be poorly aligned to The key to improving business satisfaction with IT
business’ strategic goals: is to deliver on projects that help the business
achieve its strategic goals:
43%

43% of CEOs believe that business goals

are going unsupported by IT.
Source: Info-Tech’s CEO-CIO Alignment Survey (N=124)

60% of CEOs believe that improvement is

60%

required
of CEOs around
believe IT’s understanding
that business goals of
business goals.
are going unsupported by IT.
Source: Info-Tech’s CEO-CIO Alignment Survey (N=124)

Business leaders today are generally dissatisfied

with IT:
30%

30% of business stakeholders are

supporters of their IT departments.
Source: Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Survey (N=21,367)

Source: Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Survey (N=21,367)

Optimized project intake not only improves the project portfolio’s alignment to business goals, but
provides the most effective way to improve relationships with IT’s key stakeholders.

Benchmark your own current state with overall & industry-specific data using Info-Tech’s Diagnostic Program.
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However, establishing organizational discipline for project
intake, approval, and prioritization is difficult
Capacity awareness Many moving parts Lack of authority
Many IT departments Project intake, approval, Many PMOs and IT
struggle to realistically and prioritization involve departments simply lack
estimate available project the coordination of various the ability to decline or
capacity in a credible way. departments. Therefore, defer new projects.
Stakeholders question the they require a great deal of
validity of your endeavor to buy-in and compliance
install capacity-constrained from multiple stakeholders
intake process, and and senior executives.
mistake it for unwillingness
to cooperate instead.

Unclear definition of value

Defining the project value is difficult because
there are so many different and conflicting ways
that are all valid in their own right. However,
without it, it's impossible to fairly compare among
projects to select what's "best."

Establishing intake discipline requires a great degree of cooperation and conformity

among stakeholders that can be cultivated through strong processes.
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Info-Tech’s intake, approval, and prioritization methodology
systemically fits the project portfolio to its triple constraint
Info-Tech’s Methodology

Project Intake Project Approval Project Prioritization

Business cases are developed,
Project requests are submitted, Work is scheduled to begin,
evaluated, and selected (or
received, triaged, and scoped in based on relative value,
declined) for investment, based
preparation for approval and urgency, and availability of
on estimated value and
prioritization. resources.
feasibility.

1 2 3


Projects
Stakeholder Needs Strategic Objectives Resource Capacity

Project Portfolio Triple Constraint

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Info-Tech’s methodology for optimizing project intake delivers
extraordinary value, fast
In the first step of the blueprint, you will prototype a set of scorecard criteria for
determining project value.
Our methodology is designed to tackle your hardest
challenge first to deliver the highest-value part of the
deliverable. Since the overarching goal of optimizing project
intake, approval, and prioritization process is to maximize the
throughput of the best projects, one must define how “the best
projects” are determined.
In nearly all instances…a key challenge for
the PPM team is reaching agreement over how
projects should rank.
– Merkhofer

A Project Value Scorecard will help you:

 Evolve the discussions on project and portfolio value
beyond a theoretical concept
 Enable apples-to-apples comparisons amongst many
different kinds of projects
The Project Value Scorecard Development Tool is designed
to help you develop the project valuation scheme iteratively.
Download the pre-filled tool with content that represents a
common case, and then, customize it with your data.

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This blueprint provides a clear path to maximizing your chance
of success in optimizing project intake
Info-Tech’s practical, tactical research is accompanied by a suite of tools and
templates to accelerate your process optimization efforts.
Organizational change and stakeholder This blueprint will provide a clear path to not only
management are critical elements of optimizing optimize the processes themselves, but also for the
project intake, approval, and prioritization optimization effort itself. This research is organized
processes because they require a great degree of into three phases, each requiring a few weeks of
cooperation and conformity among stakeholders, work at your team’s own pace – or all in one week,
and the list of key stakeholders are long and far- through a workshop facilitated by Info-Tech
reaching. analysts.

Set Realistic Goals for

Optimizing Project
Intake, Approval, and
Prioritization
Tools and Templates:
• Project Value Scorecard
Development Tool (.xlsx)
• PPM Assessment Report
(Info-Tech Diagnostics)
• Standard Operating Procedure
Template (.docx)
Build Optimized Project Integrate the Newly
Intake, Approval, and Optimized Processes
Prioritization Processes into Practice
Tools and Templates: Tools and Templates:
• Project Request Forms (.docx) • Process Pilot Plan Template
• Project Classification Matrix (.xlsx) (.docx)
• Benefits Commitment Form (.xlsx) • Impact Assessment and
• Proposed Project Technology Communication Planning Tool
Assessment Tool (.xlsx) (.xlsx)
• Business Case Templates (.docx)
• Intake and Prioritization Tool (.xlsx)

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Info-Tech’s approach to PPM is informed by industry best
practices and rooted in practical insider research
Info-Tech uses PMI and ISACA frameworks for areas of this research.

PMI’s Standard for Portfolio Management, 3 rd ed. is the COBIT 5 is the leading framework for the governance
leading industry framework, proving project portfolio and management of enterprise IT.
management best practices and process guidelines.

In addition to industry-leading frameworks, our best-practice approach is enhanced by the insights and
guidance from our analysts, industry experts, and our clients.
Our peer network of over 33,000 happy
33,000+ clients proves the effectiveness of our
research.

Our team conducts 1,000+ hours of primary

1,000+ and secondary research to ensure that our
approach is enhanced by best practices.

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Deliver measurable project intake success for your
organization with this blueprint
Measure the value of your effort to track your success quantitatively and demonstrate
the proposed benefits, as you aim to do so with other projects through improved PPM.

Optimized project intake, approval, and prioritization High PPM maturity yields measurable
processes lead to a high PPM maturity, which will benefits 100% 81% 77% 70% 70%
80%
improve the successful delivery and throughput of your 60% 44%
35%
projects, resource utilization, business alignment, and 40% 26% 26%
20%
stakeholder satisfaction. 0%

Measure your success through the following metrics:

 Reduced turnaround time between project requests
and initial scoping
 Number of project proposals with articulated benefits
 Reduction in “off-
the-grid” projects High maturity Low maturity (Source: BCG/PMI)

$44,700  Team satisfaction and workplace engagement

In the past 12 months, Info-Tech
clients have reported an average
measured value of $44,700 from
undertaking a guided
implementation of this research.
 PPM stakeholder satisfaction score from business
stakeholders: see Info-Tech’s PPM Customer Satisfaction
Diagnostics
Add your own organization-specific goals, success
criteria, and metrics by following the steps in the
blueprint.

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Case Study: Financial Services PMO prepares annual planning
process with Project Value Scorecard Development Tool

CASE STUDY Industry

Source
Financial Services
Info-Tech Client

Challenge
The Project Value Scorecard provided early value
PMO plays a diverse set of roles, including project management
with multiple options for prioritized rankings.
for enterprise projects (i.e. PMI’s “Directive” PMO), standards
management for department-level projects (i.e. PMI’s “Supportive”
PMO), process governance of strategic projects (i.e. PMI’s
“Controlling” PMO), and facilitation / planning / reporting for the
corporate business strategy efforts (i.e. Enterprise PMO).
To facilitate the annual planning process, the PMO needed to
develop a more data-driven and objective project intake process
that implicitly aligned with the corporate strategy.

Solution
Info-Tech’s Project Value Scorecard tool was incorporated into the
strategic planning process.

Results
The scorecard provided a simple way to list the competing
strategic initiatives, objectively score them, and re-sort the results
on demand as the leadership chooses to switch between ranking
by overall score, project value, ability to execute, strategic
alignment, operational alignment, and feasibility.

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Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this
research
Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to
the recommended activities.

This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform
the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get
the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.

This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as
part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to
facilitate a workshop for your organization.

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Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your
needs

Guided
DIY Toolkit Implementation Workshop Consulting

“Our team has already “Our team knows that “We need to hit the “Our team does not
made this critical we need to fix a ground running and have the time or the
project a priority, and process, but we need get this project kicked knowledge to take this
we have the time and assistance to off immediately. Our project on. We need
capability, but some determine where to team has the ability to assistance through the
guidance along the focus. Some check-ins take this over once we entirety of this project.”
way would be helpful.” along the way would get a framework and
help keep us on track.” strategy in place.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

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 Optimize Project Intake, Approval, and Prioritization – project
overview
1. Set Realistic Goals for
Optimizing Process
1.1 Define the criteria with which to
determine project value.
1.2 Envision your target state for your
optimized project intake, approval, and
prioritization process.
Best-Practice
Toolkit
Introduce Project Value Scorecard
Development Tool and pilot Info-
Tech’s example scorecard on your
own backlog.
Map current project intake, approval,
and prioritization process and key
stakeholders.
Set realistic goals for process
Guided optimization.
Implementations
Module 1:
Refocus on Project Value to Set Realistic
Goals for Optimizing Project Intake,
Approval, and Prioritization Process
Onsite
Workshop
Phase 1 Outcome:
• Draft project valuation criteria
• Examination of current process
• Definition of process success criteria
2. Build New Optimized
Processes
2.1 Streamline intake to manage
stakeholder expectations.
2.2 Set up steps of project approval to
maximize strategic alignment while
right-sizing the required effort.
2.3 Prioritize projects to maximize the
value of the project portfolio within the
constraint of resource capacity.
Improve the management of
stakeholder expectations with an
optimized intake process.
Improve the alignment of the project
portfolio to strategic objectives with
an optimized approval process.
Enable resource capacity-constrained
greenlighting of projects with an
optimized prioritization process.
Module 2:
Examine, Optimize, and Document the
New Project Intake, Approval, and
Prioritization Process
Phase 2 Outcome:
• Documentation of new project intake,
approval, and prioritization process
• Tools and templates to aid the process
3. Integrate the New
Processes into Practice
3.1 Pilot your intake, approval, and
prioritization process to refine it
before rollout.
3.2 Analyze the impact of
organizational change through the
eyes of PPM stakeholders to gain their
buy-in.
Create a process pilot strategy with
supportive stakeholders.
Conduct a change impact analysis for
your PPM stakeholders to create an
effective communication strategy.
Roll out the new process and
measure success.
Module 3:
Pilot, Plan, and Communicate the New
Process and Its Required Organizational
Changes
Phase 3 Outcome:
• Process pilot plan
• Organizational change communication
plan
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 Workshop overview
Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

Workshop Day 1
Benefits of optimizing
project intake and
project value definition
1.1 Complete and review
PPM Current State
Scorecard
Activities
Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4 Workshop Day 5
Set realistic goals for Optimize project intake Optimize project Analyze stakeholder
process optimization and approval processes prioritization process & impact and create
plan for a process pilot communication strategy
2.1 Map current intake, 3.1 Conduct focused
approval, and retrospectives for 4.1 Conduct focused 5.1 Analyze stakeholder
prioritization workflow project intake and retrospective for impact and responses
2.2 Enumerate and approval project prioritization to impending

Assessment prioritize process 3.2 Define project levels 4.2 Estimate available organization change
1.2 Define project value stakeholders 3.3 Optimize project resource capacity 5.2 Create message
for the organization 2.3 Determine the current intake processes 4.3 Pilot Project Intake canvas for at-risk
1.3 Engage key PPM and target capability 3.4 Optimize project and Prioritization Tool change impacts and
stakeholders to iterate levels approval processes with your project stakeholders
on the scorecard 2.4 Define the process 3.5 Compose SOP for backlog 5.3 Set course of action
prototype success criteria and intake and approval 4.4 Compose SOP for for communicating
KPIs 3.6 Document the new prioritization change
intake and approval 4.5 Document the new
workflow prioritization workflow
4.6 Discuss process pilot
1. PPM Current State 1. Current intake, 1. Project request form 1. Estimated resource 1. Completed Intake and
Scorecard approval, and 2. Project level capacity for projects Prioritization Impact
2. Project Value prioritization workflow classification matrix 2. Customized Project Analysis Tool
Deliverables

Scorecard prototype 2. Stakeholder register
3. Intake process success
criteria
3. Proposed project Intake and Prioritization 2. Communication
deliverables toolkit Tool strategy and plan
4. Customized intake and 3. Customized
approval SOP prioritization SOP
5. Flowchart for the new 4. Flowchart for the new
intake and approval prioritization workflow
workflow 5. Process pilot plan

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