Service Management Best Practices

Overview

A portfolio whose composition reflects historical decisions rather than current strategic priorities is a portfolio that is consuming resources on yesterday’s needs rather than tomorrow’s opportunities. Strategic drift in portfolio composition is gradual and often invisible until it becomes severe. By the time the misalignment becomes obvious, significant organizational resources have been consumed on services that no longer serve strategic priorities.

Best Practice

Conduct regular portfolio strategy reviews that explicitly assess the alignment between portfolio composition and current organizational priorities. For each service in the portfolio, ask: does this service support a current organizational priority? Is the investment in this service proportional to its strategic importance? Are there strategic priorities that the portfolio does not currently address? Use the answers to these questions to guide portfolio investment decisions, development priorities, and retirement candidates.

Benefit(s)

Regular portfolio-strategy alignment reviews keep the portfolio relevant and efficient. Investment naturally flows toward services that support current priorities. Services that have drifted from strategic relevance are identified and addressed before they become significant resource drains. The portfolio becomes a genuine strategic asset that leadership can rely on to support organizational goals rather than a historical artifact that must be worked around.