There is little doubt that the success of a commercial or public organization is based in large part on the effectiveness of its Information Technology and Communications (ICT) systems. Yet, ICT systems are prone to developmental and operational failures, and can easily lead to major financial losses or even corporate bankruptcy. In the public domain, these failures not only waste the taxpayer’s hard-earned monies, but they can negatively affect society’s most vulnerable citizens. In both cases, the opportunity costs incurred can accrue with interest for years afterward.

It is, therefore, vital that the full number and extent of the problems, risks, and opportunities – the PRO portfolio – involved in a proposed ICT effort are identified, assessed and financially accounted for before it is approved. ICT failure is nearly always traced to assumptions that are in reality risks, unrealistic planning, optimistic budgeting, and a misunderstanding of how a project’s problems, risks, and opportunities are interconnected with enterprise problems, risks, and opportunities.

It is as critical that the PRO portfolio is known and accounted for after an ICT effort has been approved and is released into operation, as well. Over 75 percent of an ICT system’s total lifecycle ownership costs are incurred after it has been developed. Further, if the PRO portfolio is not well managed during operations, the possibility of successfully enhancing the ICT system to meet future business or public needs drops substantially.

PRO Enterprise Management Methods and Analytics applied to your ICT efforts will significantly increase the probability of successfully developing your ICT systems, and help keep them operating in a resilient and robust manner with minimal effort and cost.