The Fourth Factor of Project Prioritization

by Kenneth Rau

Faced with more opportunities for the use of technology than there are resources available for their simultaneous development, organizations are faced with the task of prioritizing or ranking opportunities. Often organizations use a single ranking factor, such as ROI (return on investment). Where the ultimate goal is organizational consensus, it is advisable to use multiple factors or criteria to do the ranking so different scenarios can be presented. Management can then consider these alternatives, apply judgment, and reach consensus. Scenarios can involve combining multiple factors, considering them one at a time, or weighting certain factors more heavily than others given their relative importance to the organization.