Question 547 - CGEIT discussion

A product life cycle is the length of time from a product first being introduced to consumers until it is removed from the market.It consists of four or five stages, depending on the source: introduction, growth, maturity, decline, and sometimes development1. A product life cycle information can help the enterprise to estimate the ongoing maintenance costs of IT-enabled business investments, as well as their expected benefits, risks, and returns.By requiring business cases to have product life cycle information, the enterprise can prioritize IT-enabled business investments based on their long-term value and alignment with the enterprise's objectives2.

A balanced scorecard is a management system that clarifies the strategy and vision of an organization, translating them into action that can be tracked.It uses four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business process, and knowledge, education, and growth3. A balanced scorecard for the IT project portfolio can help the enterprise to measure the performance and value of IT projects, but it does not necessarily consider the ongoing maintenance costs of IT-enabled business investments.

A portfolio manager is a specialized project manager who focuses on IT projects.They are responsible for keeping projects within budget, optimizing time management for IT teams, and allocating resources appropriately4. Establishing a portfolio manager role to monitor and control the IT projects can help the enterprise to manage its IT project portfolio more effectively, but it does not address the issue of prioritizing IT-enabled business investments based on their ongoing maintenance costs.

An enterprise architecture (EA) is a conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organization.It describes the current and future state of the organization in terms of its strategy, processes, information systems, and technology infrastructure5. Mandating an EA review with business stakeholders can help the enterprise to align its IT-enabled business investments with its strategic goals and ensure compliance with defined security rules, but it does not solve the problem of considering the ongoing maintenance costs of IT-enabled business investments.