Overview
Within the Enterprise Service Management (ESM) system the Portfolio Planning scorecard can be used to evaluate project requests. This article describes example scorecard configuration and questions. Review the How Project Requests are Scored article for technical details on how the scorecard works.
In this article:
Using Scores Wisely
It is recommend that scorecards be used as inputs or factors in decision-making; however, project request scores should not be the sole determining factor. For example, if project request A receives a score of 87 and project request B receives a score of 84, this does not necessarily mean that project request A should be approved over project request B.
The score should not be the only deciding factor for several reasons:
- The scorecard criteria may be missing questions or may be weighted incorrectly.
- There may be qualitative factors to consider.
- Making decisions based on the score creates a large incentive for people to optimize for a high score, rather than for good project outcomes.
Scores can and should be used to band or group project requests. For example, project requests that receive a score in the lower quartile should usually not be considered.
Types of Scorecard Questions
When considering questions to include on a scorecard, take the following into account:
Value, Cost, and Risk
One way to think about scorecard questions is to collectively weigh value, cost, and risk. In ESM, cost data can be collected in the Expenses section, value data in the scorecard, and risk data in the organizational risks section. It is also possible to ask questions related to value, cost, and risk – all in the scorecard section.
Project (Implementation) vs. Service (Ongoing)
Another way of thinking about scorecard questions is to consider the implementation itself, along with the ongoing service that the project is creating or changing. For example, some scorecard questions might ask about implementation costs; others might ask about the total cost of ownership (TCO), such as the full-time equivalent (FTE) required to maintain the service after the project is complete.
Example Scorecard
Value-Related Questions
- How aligned is this project request with the organization's strategic plans?
- 0 strategic plan goals
- 1 strategic plan goals
- 2+ strategic plan goals
- To what extent is this project expected to generate ongoing cost savings to units outside of IT?
- >$100,000/yr savings
- $10,000/yr-$100,000/yr savings
- less than $10,000/yr savings
- Introduces new costs: less than $10,000/yr new costs
- Introduces new costs: $10,000/yr – $100,000/yr new costs
- Introduces new costs: >$100,000/yr new costs
- What is the level of active sponsorship for this project request?
- Board-level sponsorship
- President-level sponsorship
- Cabinet-level sponsorship
- Assistant Vice President (AVP)-level sponsorship
- No executive sponsorship
Cost-Related Questions
- To what extent is this project expected to generate cost savings for IT?
- >$100,000/yr savings
- $10,000/yr-$100,000/yr savings
- Less than $10,000/yr savings
- Introduces new costs: less than $10,000/yr new costs
- Introduces new costs: $10,000/yr – $100,000/yr new costs
- Introduces new costs: >$100,000/yr new costs
- To what extent does this project request require key constrained IT resources?
- Requires no constrained resources
- Requires minimal involvement from constrained resources
- Requires some involvement from constrained resources
- Requires major involvement from constrained resources
- Are new positions needed to maintain this service post-implementation?
- Yes, 3+ FTE
- Yes, 1-2 FTE
- Yes, up to 1 FTE
- No
- To what extent does IT have the capabilities needed to implement this service?
- IT has performed similar projects in the past
- IT has experience with related projects
- IT has little related experience
- IT has no related experience
Risk-Related Questions
- Are there examples of similar project requests that have been implemented successfully at peer organizations?
- Yes, several examples
- Yes, one example
- Other peers are currently implementing
- No peers have implemented something similar
- To what extent does this project request introduce new operational risks?
- This project request would introduce virtually no new operational risks
- This project request would introduce minor new operational risks, such as the risk of departments not operating
- This project request would introduce major new operational risks, such as the risk of data breach
- To what extent does this project request ameliorate or remove existing operational risks?
- This removes significant current legal or compliance risks
- This lessens significant current legal or compliance risks
- This prevents possible future legal or compliance risks
- No impact
Need additional help or have issues
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