When you're creating a prioritize portfolio of IT projects, you must align it with the company goals. I get IT leadership and a few stakeholders in a room with all the possible IT projects on sticky notes (real or virtual). Then I put the company top goals on the board and start having participants add the projects to the goal buckets. Many IT projects may not achieve the goal directly, but could have a direct dependency for teams to complete the work and achieve the goal. If there are other projects that are not aligned to goals, but have high risks for the company, those are also considered for top positions for prioritization as well.

At our company, our approach to prioritizing IT projects is intricately linked with our overarching business strategy, which focuses on enhancing productivity and streamlining operations. For instance, when we consider upgrades or new implementations, we first assess the potential impact on our core functions: Toggl Track, Toggl Plan, and Toggl Hire. A recent project involved enhancing the data analytics capabilities of Toggl Track. We prioritized this because our strategy emphasized data-driven decision-making, and enhancing these capabilities would directly improve our product's value to customers. The decision process involved stakeholders from multiple departments to ensure that the project aligned not just with IT capabilities but also with marketing, sales, and customer support goals. This collaborative approach ensured that the project was not only technically feasible but also commercially beneficial. It's about creating a synergy between technology and business needs, ensuring that every IT project we undertake has a clear, measurable impact on our business objectives.

Aligning IT projects with our overarching business objectives is crucial, for our organization. One strategy we have adopted is prioritizing an approach throughout our operations focusing on adaptability and quick responses. For example, when we recognized the need to improve the scalability of our platform to meet rising customer demands our IT project prioritization was evident. We allocated resources to concentrate on upgrading our cloud infrastructure improving data processing capabilities and strengthening security measures. This initiative was more than advancement; it was, about ensuring the reliability and efficiency of our services directly supporting our goal of delivering uninterrupted digital signage solutions to an expanding global customer base. It involves understanding the perspective and ensuring that every IT investment contributes to that vision allowing us to stay ahead in the signage sector.

Prioritizing IT projects in alignment with broader business goals involves a strategic approach that integrates both short-term needs and long-term vision. It's essential to engage with key stakeholders to understand their objectives and pain points. By mapping IT initiatives to these goals, you ensure that each project contributes to the overall success of the organization. Additionally, using frameworks like the Balanced Scorecard can help in assessing the impact of IT projects on various business dimensions, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive prioritization process. Regularly reviewing and adjusting priorities based on changing business needs and market conditions is also crucial for staying aligned and agile.

Prioritisation should be as a clear line of sight jointly tied back to the clearly defined business goals, through and understanding of what those projects in quantifiable terms provided to that goal - use of OKR/KPI metric elements is useful here. For example what exact monetary value will this project deliver in operational savings, or revenue gain, what defined points in NIST security rating will it achieve, and what non-monetary elements will it achieve, i.e. how many points in customer satisfaction will it move the needle, which regulatory penalties will it avoid etc. Fundamentally a good portfolio prioritisation activity of IT project swill take these variables into account and provide a value and score for each - which an independent documented algorithm can do (and also provide the bonus of providing a fair playing field of parity and assessment - avoiding the pet projects of senior leaders where inappropriately over pushed and/or the HIPPO syndrome of they who shouts loudest gets their work prioritised to the top of the stack inappropriately

Data Security and Compliance Upgrades: Given the sensitivity of the data we handle, ensuring data security and compliance is a top priority at our company. To align with this business goal, we prioritized an IT project to enhance our security infrastructure. This included implementing advanced encryption methods, conducting regular security audits, and training staff on data protection best practices. The impact of this project was significant: it not only protected our clients' data but also built their trust in our services. By prioritizing data security, we reinforced our commitment to integrity and compliance, which is crucial for maintaining our reputation and client confidence.

To ensure prioritising IT projects we first ensure whether they are aligning with our broader business goals or not. To do so, we have to first plan a strategic planning session where key stakeholders from both IT and business units are available. This way, we first identify our business objectives and then choose IT initiatives that complement our business goals. For instance, if our business goal is to improve customer experience, then we will prioritise projects like building a mobile app or designing a CRM system. All the projects are assessed based on their potential impact on efficiency, customer satisfaction and revenue. Apart from this, it is also important to consider resource availability and potential risk factors. By maintaining a balanced portfolio of projects that support growth, efficiency, and innovation, we ensure our IT initiatives drive the business forward.

We prioritize IT projects by aligning them with strategic business objectives. For example, when expanding our e-commerce platform, we prioritized upgrading our cybersecurity infrastructure to protect customer data and build trust. This alignment ensured that our IT investments supported overall business growth and customer satisfaction, demonstrating the critical role of IT in achieving broader goals.