In our last blog on strategic goals, we discussed the idea of strategic portfolio management (SPM), which helps to streamline the strategic planning and communication process across organizations. ServiceNow® Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) features roadmapping functionality that provides a particularly effective way to increase visibility and understanding across all areas of the enterprise.
But visibility and understanding of strategies, goals, and objectives is just the start. Optimal performance requires a strategy to drive all work, across all functions—not just high-level investments. Everyone involved in discretionary work— projects, products, epics, etc — needs to understand how their efforts contribute to strategy and must be able to operate in a way that optimizes business outcomes.
Optimize business outcomes
SPM as a concept supports that effort, advocating for investments to be derived from strategy, and then for investment owners to break out their investments into the work structures that make sense for their delivery teams. That work is then undertaken in such a way that business imperatives are always clear and prioritized – even as those needs evolve over time in an ever-changing environment. The challenge comes in ensuring that these efforts all align.
That’s where ServiceNow has a clear advantage. With the Now Platform® supporting all aspects of work, there is no need to make additional efforts in integrating planning, funding and execution in traditional, Agile and hybrid methods. All of those elements are already working together, providing compete transparency into everything that needs to happen, and everything that is happening.
The advantages of SPM
The advantages of this approach are many. Productivity is optimized because everyone can understand not just what they are doing, but why they are doing it, and how it contributes to the organizational goals. Leaders can monitor performance across all delivery methods at all times, validating that outcomes are being achieved and making better decisions in less time when adjustments are required. Benefits realization, something that many organizations struggle with, can be made much more effective because there is a direct connection form objectives to success criteria, to solutions, and on to outcomes.
SPM isn’t a silver bullet that will magically make all of your strategies successful. But with the right discipline, supported by the right tool suite, SPM gives your entire organization a common language, a shared understanding, of what’s important, why, and how to achieve success. Combine that with the experienced, skilled resources that you already have, and you’ll be well on your way to better strategic performance.
To explore more steps on how to drive strategic outcomes across the enterprise check out this SPM guide eBook.
