Week 6: Reading Questions & Case

Readings

1. What is the importance of having a target mix before starting to approve projects?
2. Why would you want all projects to be proposed in a uniform way?  What would you suggest as information that must be available for all projects?
3. Do you think most organizations compare their projects’ performance to that which was proposed by the project?  Why or why not?

The MDCM Case

Work with your team to prepare project recommendations for the MDCM board.  Please come to class ready to present what projects you think MDCM should pursue, when and why.

Based on the information given in parts A & B of the MDCM case, prepare a recommendation for the board.  The board is looking for three things:

1. List the company’s strategic business objectives (they want to see if you are paying attention)
2. List your IT objectives and show how they align to #1.
3. Recommend whichever projects you think most support MDCM’s strategy. Explain how you would order them and why.

You may find it useful to create a score card to evaluate each project and to compare the projects using the Portfolio Application Model Matrix exhibit in the case. You should also consider the approximate sequence for executing the initiatives and may find that drawing a simple network diagram including the dependencies is a useful tool for discussion. For purposes of this exercise, the data in the case is deliberately presented at a high level, so where details are not given, feel free to make assumptions based on your experience.