WiseTechGuy

           Welcome to part three of this blog series, click here for a link to Part One or here for Part Two . Before beginning a prioritization process, it is essential to align the organization on how decisions will be made. Specifically, on the criteria used to evaluate and rank projects across the organization. The criteria is often derived from both internal and external drivers. Internal drives typically include factors such as financial resources, staff availability, pending transformations (e.g. M&As). I also advise looking carefully at the organization's ability to adsorb additional change. External drivers typical involve customer commitments, market conditions, evolving threats and opportunities, and possibly regulatory requirements. Step 4: Managing the Portfolio - Managing the Project List With your criteria in hand, a weighted project list can now be developed. A sample is show below. It lists each project (...

Welcome to part two of this blog series, click here for a link to Part One . Step 1: Defining the Core Capabilities As noted in the last entry, an organization’s core capability can be viewed as those things an organization does particularly well to drive meaningful business results. Examples can range from talent management, lean manufacturing, customer care, research or product design. For pharmaceuticals, some specific examples could be pipeline management, study design, regulatory management including submissions, responses, and related matters, as well as drug discovery. If you do not already have an organizational capability map, you need to begin by meeting with each business area. From those discussions, you can collaboratively develop a capabilities list for that area. That list will need to be filtered and sorted into priority order. The output from this, as well as discussions with other areas, will then need to be consolidated into a single list. Step 2: Enumerat...

There are many things I associate with fall: cooler temperatures, vivid colors, and of course, falling leafs (and raking!) As an IT executive, there is something else I can count on: lots of e-mails focusing on CIO/IT Priorities for the new year. Many of these articles are insightful and can provoke some interesting and thoughtful discussions. Nevertheless, the one-size-fits-all approach can limit their usefulness. Companies, like snowflakes, are unique. In this case, that uniqueness is result of many factors including: Industry Sub-Industry Focus Development state (startup, growth, downsizing) Operating status (pending sale, M&A, legal complications, etc.) Access to capital Talent base Each of these factors can shift priorities, and collectively their impacts can be substantial. Consequently, I view these yearly priority articles as generalized recommendations that may or may not be relevant in my circumstance. To be sure, the often contained points have great value, bu...