IT project management strategies and best practices for delivering business value

Managing projects is inherently challenging, but when it comes to IT project management, the complexity and stakes rise significantly, often involving intricate, high-risk initiatives with uncertain outcomes. 

An alarming 19% of software projects are canceled, often resulting in substantial losses, with investments ultimately written off as sunk costs. Far from bucking the trend, the AI revolution is following the same pattern, with 90% of custom-built AI application projects ending in failure. 

Fortunately, there are practical, actionable strategies available that can empower IT project managers to drive strategic alignment of IT projects and deliver tangible value to the business.

In addition, technological advancements have significantly improved the way organizations manage these projects. Project portfolio management tools and roadmapping applications can ease the workload, automating many routine tasks and providing clear visualizations to help IT project leaders ensure their investments deliver value.

A great starting point might be to clarify what "business value" means in the context of IT project management.

What is “business value” in IT project management?

Business value refers to any outcomes that contribute positively to achieving the organization’s strategic objectives, such as ROI, customer satisfaction, business growth, and gaining a competitive edge.

3 IT project management strategies and best practices for delivering business value

Driving business value starts by aligning your IT strategy with business goals and prioritizing the right projects. Moving on, it also involves adopting the right methodologies, measuring your success, and ensuring continuous improvement. This entire process should be supported and underpinned by investment in the right project and portfolio management software solutions.

1. Align your IT project strategy with business goals

Before launching any project, IT project managers must ensure they have a comprehensive understanding of the company’s strategic goals. These initiatives can then be prioritized according to their level of strategic alignment using a number of methods.

Business-IT integration challenges and solutions

Most IT and business executives understand the importance of closely aligning their efforts and,  structuring their strategies, capabilities, resources, and management systems in order to support the broader goals and purpose of the enterprise.

However, many executives tend to focus too heavily on how their specific area aligns with the overall goals, without considering other critical parts of the organization. What truly matters is how to integrate every function—especially IT and its business counterparts—to achieve common objectives.

Technology can help. Take it from the IT department of airline company Air Tahiti Nui, who, since implementing a robust enterprise-wide IT portfolio management tool, has shared a monthly dashboard of activities and projects with business leaders, boosting alignment between IT projects and business strategy.

Other solutions for promoting integration between the business and IT can include:

• joint governance committees, which is a forum where both IT and business leaders can evaluate a range of initiatives to ensure alignment with broader enterprise goals
• joint strategic roadmaps, which are co-created by CIOs and business heads, to articulate a shared future vision and common milestones
• cross-functional teams, where IT specialists are embedded in business units (such as brand, R&D, and supply chain teams) to give leaders exposure to the reality of business operations
• dedicated business-IT liaisons, tasked with bridging the communication gap (for example by translating technical requirements into business language) to ensure clarity and shared understanding
• integrated workspaces, whether physical hubs or collaborative virtual platforms, that bring together employees from both IT and business functions to promote day-to-day collaboration and shared ownership of outcomes

Project prioritization techniques

Prioritizing projects effectively is essential for aligning IT project management with business strategies. IT project managers should apply various techniques and KPIs that balance value, complexity, business impact, and the resources required. These techniques help decision-makers determine which initiatives will most directly contribute to the organization’s long-term objectives while managing risk and ensuring a sustainable workload.

Common priority evaluation methods and tool include:

• a risk vs. reward analysis helping assess the potential risks of each project against the expected benefits;
• financial metrics such as ROI and NPV calculations that can be used to compare the anticipated benefits (such as increased sales or cost savings) with the estimated costs (in terms of money, time, and resources) of a project;
• resource mapping techniques, designed to assist in understanding the skills, tools, and budget that each project demands. 

Combined, these techniques help IT managers objectively prioritize the projects that offer the best return—a critical first step. But to truly maximize impact, these processes should be integrated into a broader strategic portfolio management solution with IT-oriented capabilities.

After all, delivering real value also requires optimizing execution through refined processes and methodology frameworks.

2. Leverage the right methodologies for your IT strategy

Much has been said and written about the benefits of Agile methodologies for project execution (quicker time-to-market, cost savings, improved customer satisfaction through regular feedback loops, and more).

Unlike traditional project management approaches like Waterfall, Agile emphasizes iterative development, allowing teams to adapt quickly to changing requirements and deliver incremental value at each stage. This approach is particularly beneficial in software development, where technology and user needs evolve rapidly. 

When it comes to Agile for IT project and portfolio management, the options are anything but limited. The “Agile” bucket encompasses an array of frameworks, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean, that can be used individually depending on the project scope, team, and business needs.

They can even be advantageously combined. Take the example of “Scrumban,” a hybrid Agile framework that blends the structured planning and roles of Scrum with the flexible workflow and visual tools of Kanban.

For enterprise-scale operations, Agile can also be layered on top of broader frameworks, such as Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).

Combining linear and Agile methodologies in IT project management

That said, IT PMOs and CIOs shouldn’t limit themselves to Agile processes. Hybrid methods blending Waterfall and Agile methodologies have actually gained traction with business-oriented IT leaders. For instance, a company might use Waterfall for planning the larger phases of a project, while adopting Agile to iteratively develop the product within each stage. 

To help you develop your IT strategy, a robust project portfolio management (PPM) tool can effectively manage projects of all types, all in one place—as in the example of a large utility firm who effectively combined Agile, SAFe, and Waterfall methodologies. 

Additionally, a good PPM tool should seamlessly integrate with third-party applications, such as Jira and MS Teams, providing visibility into work outside the PPM solution. 

3. Measure success and ensure continuous improvement

Striving to deliver business value isn’t the same as actually achieving it—even if you’re giving 200%. To borrow from legal terminology, IT project strategy leaders should view themselves as bound by an obligation of results, not just an obligation of means, to their organizations. That’s why they must measure the value created by the projects they oversee.

Keep goals measurable and adopt outcome-oriented KPIs

It starts with defining clear, specific goals for each project. These could include metrics like on-time delivery, budget adherence, quality standards, and customer satisfaction. Using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) ensures alignment with business objectives and provides a baseline for evaluating success.

Using KPIs also helps track project performance. Some common KPIs for IT projects include time to market and user satisfaction, which can be measured based on feedback from end-users or stakeholders to assess how well the project meets their needs.

The spotlight should not just be on deliverables, but also on outcomes. For example, rather than focusing myopically on “on-time go-live,” place emphasis on customer retention rates and daily active users. The mindset should not just be “did we build it?” but “did it work?”

Project portfolio management tools offer capabilities to establish various KPIs and track progress against them, such as real-time dashboards, automated alerts, predictive AI analytics, and KPI aggregation.

Create a culture of continuous improvement

Running project retrospectives or reviews will help you analyze successes and identify areas for improvement in future projects. Evaluate what worked well, what didn’t, and what can be done differently next time.

To keep learning fast and bake in a commitment to continual improvement, consider keeping feedback loops short and iterative reviews regular—possibly monthly. Sprint retrospectives or stakeholder demos will allow you to measure progress and fix what’s broken before the next project. It ensures you don’t just celebrate completions, but also have the opportunity to learn from failures.

The insights gained can then be used to refine project management practices and improve future project performance. It is a good idea to document these insights, for example through a “lessons learned” knowledge base. 

Here again, professional tools include functionality to consolidate the management of project documentation and knowledge. 

Start delivering more business value with Planisware

Delivering true business value through IT project management requires more than technical know-how. To keep teams aligned, agile, and focused on meaningful outcomes, a combination of strong collaboration practices, well-established methodologies, and a change-embracing mindset is essential. However, to bring it all together and scale success across projects, organizations must also leverage powerful tools. 

Planisware’s SPM and PPM solutions bridge the gap between IT project strategy and business management, helping CIOs and IT leaders gain real-time visibility into the strategic value of their projects and address key challenges like user expectations, cybersecurity threats, and rapid technological evolution.

Schedule a live demo today to see how a solution like Planisware can transform your IT initiatives into drivers of measurable business impact.