IT Portfolio Management Tools Not a Panacea

There's an excellent article in Computerworld on how IT portfolio management tools alone will not decide which projects get done. Politics, organizational dynamics, and subjective opinion still need to play a role, even with the best of software.

People have this picture in their mind that tools can be used to calculate ROI and magically align projects with strategic need according to a perfect formula. Voila! Automatic project prioritization and selection. The fact is that this is a myth. Tools can absolutely help, and can offer a first pass view of where projects line up. But ultimately, people must make decisions----and whenever people are involved, a myriad of other issues come up, including conflicts that must be resolved.

Here's the article at Computerworld, that rightfully talks about these tools as enablers and not the be-all, end-all ...

What IT portfolio management tools can't do: Stop politics - Computerworld