Use the portfolio to identify service gaps, overlaps, and redundancies

Overview

Individual service owners are rarely in a position to see the service landscape as a whole. They manage their services well but cannot see whether their service duplicates something in another portfolio, whether there is a gap in the overall service offering that no existing service addresses, or whether two services that have evolved independently could be consolidated into one more effective service. This holistic view is the Portfolio Owner’s responsibility.

Best Practice

Conduct regular portfolio-level analyses to identify service gaps — customer needs that no existing service addresses; service overlaps — multiple services that address the same customer need with similar approaches; and service redundancies — services that duplicate functionality without providing differentiated value. Use these findings to guide portfolio decisions: invest in new services to fill gaps, consolidate overlapping services into single offerings, and retire redundant services.

Benefit(s)

Portfolio-level gap and overlap analysis produces a cleaner, more coherent service landscape that serves customers better and costs less to operate. Gaps are filled before they become customer complaints. Overlaps are consolidated before they become organizational confusion. Redundancies are eliminated before they become resource waste. The portfolio becomes more purposeful and more efficient over time because it is actively managed toward coherence rather than allowed to grow without discipline.