Portfolio Analysis

Introduction

Riordan Manufacturing roots and core competency stem from Dr. Riordan’s research and development (R&D) focused business model. The focus on R&D has forged a reputation as a partner of any organization with a need for plastic, polymer, and fan component products. Due to the wide variety of applications of these products Riordan has developed longterm relationships in several industries including beverage, medical, and manufacturing. The special focus on research allows Riordan to maintain a strategic advantage over competitors due to the scarcity of knowledge related to the creation of materials that support customer requirements. Riordan’s strategic goals are to:

 We will strive to be a solution provider for our customers and not be a part of our customer’s challenges.

 Long-term relationships will be sought by maintaining rigorous quality controls, innovative solutions, a responsive business attitude and reasonable pricing

 We are industry leaders in using polymer materials to provide solutions to our customer’s challenges.

 We must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth.

While broad in scope the goals outline the focus on helping customers achieve their goals as well as maintaining longterm profitability for the organization. The current project portfolio provided by Riordan will be evaluated to ensure alignment to the corporate goals and minimize the likelihood of misdirected investment on projects that do not compliment these goals. The evaluation will help to clarify the role projects have in achieving goals however, the benefits will still need to be appropriately communicated. As McIntyre states “Whether as an executive or a project manager, the ability to decipher and articulate the organization’s strategy helps ensure projects and their outcomes remain aligned to it” (McIntyre, 2006).

Project Portfolio Overview

As an input to this analysis Riordan identified 19 different proposed or current projects that require IT services to accomplish. Riordan has a limited number of resources to perform all the requested projects and is having difficulty determining which projects to approve and what priority the approved projects should be assigned. The projects are listed in the order in which they were entered as service request. Any gaps in the sequence identify a project that was either rejected or does not require IT services. A review of the portfolio identified 4 categories which all projects align including Analysis Request, Core Systems and Integration, Network Related, and Process Tuning.

Projects aligned with Analysis Request where Service Request 12, 13, and 15. Request 12 required an inventory of all current systems used by all business units of Riordan Manufacturing. A project of this nature would likely be used as an input to a strategic roadmap of system implementation and support. Request 13 and 15 involved an analysis of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements as it relates to Riordan Manufacturing and a risk analysis on corporate security (both physical and informational). The SOX analysis would evaluate the performance of current processes against each of the SOX requirements and determine what corrective action is required, if any. “The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created new standards for corporate accountability as well as new penalties for acts of wrongdoing. It changes how corporate boards and executives must interact with each other and with corporate auditors. It removes the defense of "I wasn't aware of financial issues" from CEOs and CFOs, holding them accountable for the accuracy of financial statements.” (Sarbanes, 2006). The security risk analysis would determine risks, likelihood, impact if realized, and mitigation steps. Implementation of an intrusion detection system (IDS) would also be evaluated.

Request 2 - 5, 17 and 20 are grouped under the Core Systems and Integration category. All projects involve enhancements, implementations, or analysis of core systems such as Human Resources Management (HRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Materials Resource Planning (MRP) or the integration of data in or out various internal and external systems. The integration could involve creating an Application Protocol Interface (API) for suppliers to receive, fulfill and invoice orders for supply chain management or for clients to place orders, check status or pay invoices.

The third category, including Request 6 вЂ" 11 and 18 вЂ" 19; involves various network related projects required to manage the ever expanding WAN due to the tremendous growth experienced by the organization, as well as convergence for data and voice traffic on the network. These projects involve updating the WAN and leveraging converging technologies to ensure lean operations that provide agility and supportable infrastructure.

The final two projects, Request 1 and 16 have limited needs for IT services but do require subject matter experts to perform analysis on current processes to determine if any improvements could be implemented to improve efficiency and reduce expenses. In addition these projects will evaluate organizational structure to ensure business unit structure is aligned to compliment the achievement of corporate goals.

Evaluation of Project Relevance to Organizational Strategy

Each project will be evaluated on a scale of 0-5 (see below for process) based on each of the four criteria. Management has determined that each criterion will be weighted equally (25% each) for a total of 100%. The assigned score (0-5) on each criterion for each project will be multiplied by 5% to reach a range between 0 and 25%. The total percentage of each criterion will be summed per project to obtain a total score (out of 100%) for the project. The percentage will represent a suggested rank for each project where the projects with the highest score have the highest priority. Project evaluation scale identified below:

Total Value of Project = Total of percentages of each criterion, not to exceed 100%

Value of Criterion for Project = Assigned Value X 5%, not to exceed 25% which is the determined distribution of importance of criteria by upper management.

Where Criterion Assessment is:

0 вЂ" Criteria is not applicable to this criterion.

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