Your large multinational company sells everything from energy bars to energy reserves. But while your multifaceted business units are in tight alignment with corporate goals, the hundreds of technology projects that support those units are not. It's time to manage those projects the same way you manage your other investments—as part of a single portfolio that provides a comprehensive view of how your $40 million technology budget is doing at any point in time. Implementing a project portfolio management (PPM) system will create a single repository through which projects can be tracked in detail and evaluated on everything from individual performance to how they align with overall corporate goals.

View the PDF -- Turn off pop-up blockers! An internal team of project experts, along with external PPM consultants, will direct the system's design and rollout. The initial requirements analysis will be key, since the performance metrics you put in place will drive the reporting and analysis standards that will judge every project. PPM applications are for the most part proven and stable, but you'll need at least two months for customization and development. Allow nine to 12 months to move from first requirements to live rollout, and plan to pilot the system across, say, a dozen business units before moving to full implementation.

But the real challenge won't come in your technology staff's deployment of the software and infrastructure. Changing your company's siloed technology project culture will be the biggest hurdle. Companies talk about technology alignment, but the only way to get there is to eliminate the project-in-a-vacuum approach, says Diane Nicolls, vice president of professional services at Primavera Systems, a portfolio-management specialist in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. "True alignment comes from complete visibility on all of your projects," Nicolls says. "Everyone has to be looking at the same thing, in the same place, measured in the same way."

Expect a fully operational PPM system to deliver as much as 5% in savings on your technology investment by more efficiently deploying resources, reducing redundancies and, most important, identifying projects that simply need to die before they do any more damage.

To see the details behind this planner and fill in your own estimates, click on the "Get the Tool" icon above and download the interactive worksheet.