Managing Uncertainty And Conflict In It Project Portfolio Management

Abstract

Maximizing the outcome of IT project investments has been a major concern for years. Several approaches have been suggested one of them being Project Portfolio Management (PPM). Even though PPM offers valuable techniques for aligning IT project portfolios with organizational needs and maximizing the outcome of project portfolios, practitioners find it difficult to implement. Our research suggests one of the reasons being the fact that PPM builds upon classic rational ideals about decision-making in organizations that are hard to realize and in some aspects counterproductive for non-routine decision-making. Especially, we focus on the importance of incorporating mechanisms that deal with uncertainty and conflict during portfolio decision-making, and on the importance of identifying and understanding dysfunctional decision- making patterns as part of improving PPM practice. Reducing the reliance on classic rational decision-making ideals and incorporating other decision-making styles more aligned with decision-making practices in organizations might ease PPM implementation and improve the outcome of systematic PPM efforts.

The research is based upon a multisite case study from public sector organizations attempting to improve their PPM capabilities.

Keywords:

• IT Project
• Portfolio Management
• Decision-making
• Public organizations

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Keld Pedersen

Keld Pedersen, PhD, associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, Denmark. His research interest includes IT project and portfolio management, IT management in general, software process improvement and information systems. Keld Pedersen has published in several international information systems journals.

Jeppe A. Nielsen

Jeppe Agger Nielsen, PhD, assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, Denmark. His research interests include E-government and new management principles in the public sector. Jeppe Agger Nielsen has co-authored a number of books and published in Nordic and international journals, e.g. Local Government Studies.