Whenever I hear the term “Portfolio Management” I start
to think in terms of dealing with a financial advisor for retirement planning.
So it came as no surprise that when I started my next section in the training
from ITSM Zone called Portfolio Management it
talked about investments.
The portfolio accounts for the providers investments,
which includes new projects or programs as well as existing services and
capabilities.
The BRMI definition
describes portfolio management as “The art and science of making decisions
about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset
allocation and balancing risk against performance.”
The nice things about the course work as it applied here
was it broke this definition down into consumable chunks. Taking the definition
we can see that:
“The art and
science of making decisions” applies to portfolio management making
objective, repeatable and consistent decisions. Where we may have had made
decisions for priority on ‘gut feeling’ or escalations by the loudest voice
previously we now have something that assists in that regard systematically
“Investment mix and
policy” this speaks to the ability to classify the investments. Much like a
personal portfolio you may want to have more or less risk in the mix depending
on the organizational appetites as well as what their business objectives support.
“Matching
investments to objectives” this speaks to making decisions based on the mix
of investments and matching them to objectives, much like it says.
“Asset allocation” outlines all of the provider’s
resources. Typically when we speak of assets we are talking about technology or
finance but it also includes people as resources.
“Balancing risk
against performance”. It almost goes without saying that the lowest risk
opportunities also have the lowest, if even more stable, returns. This component
of the definition speaks to just that. Portfolio management needs to find the
right balance when making investment decisions. This will differ from
organization to organization.
So what makes this important? Well, this is a key
component in the value management approach, it also ensures that the provider
only has services available that contribute to strategic objectives and meet
business outcomes.
The benefit of doing this is that we are able to make consistent
and objective decisions as it applies to investments which represent the
business strategy.
For more information check the BRMI and consider membership to reap the
full benefits available.
Feel free to send me questions, comments or any other
feedback
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Labels: BRM, BRMP, Business Relationship Management, business value, ITSM, Training