Application Management vs. Application Portfolio Management vs. Application Lifecycle Management - Application Management Best Practices
Application Management vs. Application Portfolio Management vs. Application Lifecycle Management
(Chapter 8 of Application Management Best Practices)
Executive Summary: Chapter Overview
IF4ITThe Bottom Line
Core Concepts
| Concept | Definition & Strategic Role |
|---|---|
| Application Portfolio Management (APM) | The discipline governing a defined group of Applications, such as a business unit’s or the enterprise’s entire portfolio, owned by the Application Portfolio Owner. Its decisions are only as good as the documentation and records Application Management produces for each Application. |
| Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) | Used here in its strategic sense: the strategy and direction for one Application from inception through Full Application Retirement, tied to enterprise strategy management and owned by the Business Application Owner. It is distinct from the common industry use describing software delivery tools and processes. |
| Scope vs. Role Distinction | Application Management and APM differ in scope, one Application versus a group. Application Management and ALM differ in role: ALM sets direction for an Application, while Application Management carries out the work needed to execute that strategy. |
Quick Q&A
Question: Who is primarily accountable for Application Management, APM, and ALM respectively?
Question: What happens when Application Management is disconnected from ALM and APM?
Read More Below
This chapter distinguishes three closely related disciplines that are frequently confused: Application Management, Application Portfolio Management, and Application Lifecycle Management.
The Three Disciplines Compared
| Discipline | Scope | Primary Question It Answers | Primary Accountability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Management | One specific, individual Application | How is this Application planned, designed, built, deployed, operated, supported, documented, and governed? | The Application Manager, on behalf of the Business Application Owner, with the IT Application Owner |
| Application Portfolio Management (APM) | A defined group of Applications, such as a business unit’s Applications or the enterprise’s entire portfolio | Which Applications should the enterprise keep, invest in, consolidate, replace, or retire, and why? | The Application Portfolio Owner and the enterprise’s APM function |
| Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) | One specific Application, across the full span of its life | What is the strategy and direction for this Application, from its inception through its Full Application Retirement? | The Business Application Owner |
How the Three Relate
Application Management and Application Portfolio Management differ in scope. Application Management deals with one Application; APM deals with a group of them. APM decisions depend on the information that Application Management produces: an Application Portfolio can be analyzed only as well as its individual Applications are documented and registered.
Application Lifecycle Management and Application Management differ in role. ALM sets the strategy and direction for one Application across its entire life, and it is tied to the enterprise’s broader strategy management. It is performed by the Business Application Owner, with help from the IT Application Owner, Enterprise Architecture, technology leadership, and the business organizations the Application serves. Application Management carries out the work needed to execute that strategy. In short, ALM decides where an Application is going; Application Management gets it there.
The term “Application Lifecycle Management” is also commonly used in industry to describe the tools and processes that support software delivery. This document uses ALM in its strategic sense: the lifecycle strategy and direction for a single Application.
How to Act on the Distinction
Assign each discipline to the right people and connect them. Each Application needs an ALM strategy owned by its Business Application Owner, and an Application Manager who carries that strategy out through Application Management. Each group of Applications needs an Application Portfolio Owner who uses the records produced by Application Management to make portfolio decisions. Practicing Active ALM for every Application is addressed in the chapter “Practice Active Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) for Every Application.”
Best Practice: Connect Application Management Upward to ALM and APM
Ensure that the work of managing each individual Application feeds both its own lifecycle strategy and the portfolio decisions made about it: the Application’s documentation and record should give its Business Application Owner what they need for ALM, and give its Application Portfolio Owner what they need for APM.
Benefits: When the three disciplines are connected, strategy is grounded in accurate, current facts about each Application, and day-to-day management is guided by a clear strategy. When they are disconnected, portfolio decisions are made on stale information and individual Applications drift without direction.
Connections to Related IF4IT Practices and Inventories
The Application Portfolio Management (APM) Best Practices describes portfolio-level governance in detail. The Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC) Best Practices describes the lifecycle through which each Application’s strategy is carried out.
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