This presentation will share the findings from the presenter's recently completed PhD dissertation, "A Qualitative Study of Information Technology Project Portfolio Management in Higher Education." The study was conducted to understand the variables, processes, organizational structures, and governance structures that are important to decision makers in their selection and prioritization of IT projects into their universities’ portfolios. This was a qualitative multiple-case study that focused on project selection and prioritization activities as they occur within eight universities in the CSU. Interviews were conducted with 27 subjects across the eight universities. In addition to the interviews, a breadth of other evidence was collected including documentation, physical artifacts, and archival records. Converging lines of data were developed through triangulation and corroboration of all the evidence, and this formed the informational basis for each case and for a cross-case synthesis which aggregated findings across all eight cases. Twelve themes emerged as issues of importance including objectivity, formality, flexibility, alignment with the strategic plan, the difficulty for small projects to compete with large/enterprise projects, senior leadership involvement, transparency in decision-making, transparency in PPM mechanics, the need for consultation and responsiveness, capacity planning, governing bodies’ makeup and their representation of campus stakeholders, and satisfaction with the IT organization (and with its project management office). Technical and non-technical subjects’ perceptions were aligned throughout most of the twelve themes, but there were areas where opinions differed.
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