Mastering the IT Project Pipeline

This report profiles tactics that improve project management’s ability to gain control over chaotic project backlogs, develop a standardized project request process, cost-effectively filter project requests for further development, and shape customer project demand.

In 2019, the IT Forum launched our Functional Collaborative on IT Project Management. About 55 project management leaders came together to discuss and seek advice about how to control project demand on campus and how to accurately prioritize projects.

At the root of the project prioritization challenge is a competition between campus units, each trying to get IT to dedicate resources to its requests. Because technology touches so many aspects of university operations, the project request pool is diverse and complex. But requesters see only the thin slice representing their needs. They naturally look for ways to advance their interests—minimizing project costs, submitting requests to friendly parties, exaggerating the benefits of their initiative. Effective project prioritization must tame these tendencies and assert the interests of the institution.