IT Project Portfolio Management Tools: Towards Taxonomy-based Archetypes

Abstract

To achieve organizational goals and remain competitive, evaluating, selecting, and managing IT projects and proposals to build a value-driven portfolio is a critical activity. IT project portfolio management (ITPPM) tools assist these portfolio-related activities, support strategic decision-makers, and help complete more IT projects successfully. Despite existing research on this topic, knowledge about the characteristics and design elements of ITPPM tools is still limited. We develop a taxonomy based on scientific literature and 60 real-word ITPPM tools with four perspectives, 20 dimensions, and 51 characteristics. Subsequently, we perform a cluster analysis and identify five ITPPM tool archetypes. Our results and findings contribute to the knowledge base and integrate scientific and practical knowledge to build the basis for further research on ITPPM tools. Further, we structure the ITPPM tool market, guide practitioners in selecting an appropriate ITPPM tool and support the development of new solutions or develop existing ones further.