IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology

REALIZING THE BENEFITS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Xcel Energy is more than satisfied with the initial results of its efforts to manage its IT project portfolio and overall IT demand (see Exhibit L). After one year of portfolio management experience, their KPIs looked like this:

IT DEMAND AT XCEL ENERGY CATEGORIZED BY REQUESTING UNIT, ONE OF MANY METRICS AVAILABLE IN REAL TIME

Source: Copyright © Xcel Energy, Inc.

• Identified and stopped $8 million in grandfathered projects determined unlikely to deliver expected business value

• Redeployed $10 million in capital from budgeted projects that couldn't demonstrate value to projects that could

• Reduced operating and maintenance spending by almost $1 million through improved PMO processes

• Reduced project change requests 21% through better front-end analysis and business case development

• Increased the number of healthy (green) projects in Xcel Energy's IT portfolio by more than 70% in the first five months of use—from having only half of the projects meeting schedule and budget criteria to having more than 85% do so

• Reduced the percentage of capital budget consumed by PCR's from over 69% to under 5%

• Between June 2003 and July 2004 approved $100 million in projects that over a seven-year life are expected to return over $600 million in value to Xcel Energy

• 41% turnover in project management resources as result of increasing level of accountability ...