These are some of the methods/tools I have used previously to rationalise applications portfolio
Gartner PACE Layering
Gartner PACE layering method - This tool provides a way to categorise the apps in order to understand the apps that are relevant to the organisation. This helps in identify bespoke apps that are truly org specific and those that need to be standard COTS products.
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| Applications Portfolio Analysis - Gartner PACE Layering |
Gartner TIME Model
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Gartner TIME Model
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The TIME model is a method for evaluating and categorising applications based on their technical and functional fit within an organisation.
The technical fit pertains to the quality of the application, its maintainability, and its compatibility with other systems.
The functional fit refers to how well the application aligns and supports business capabilities
Applications Reference Model (ARM)
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Application Reference Model
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The Application Reference Model allows you to understand your Application Landscape and see where duplication of Applications exists.
The Application Reference Model provides an overview of the applications that exist in the organisation associated with Application Services, Standards, Usage and Lifecycle.
The Application Capabilities are mapped to Application Services and also to the Applications that provide those Services. You can use this as part of your portfolio strategy to show applications that can provide support in the future, and also for rationalisation analysis to identify where you have multiple applications providing the same services across the organisation.
Business Capability Mapping
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| Business Capability Mapping |
Once you have a complete
business capability map, you can look at what resources you need to support those capabilities.
Tracking your business capability map against your application portfolio can bring a wealth of insight. Your ideal, rationalised portfolio should fit almost one-to-one to your business capability map.
As such:A software application that does not support a business function is extraneous and should be retired
For gaps where there is no application supporting a capability, is it worth investing in one?
Where two applications support a single function, there may be duplication and one could be retired
Where a single application exists that can support multiple capabilities, would it be less expensive to use it instead of separate applications?
Conversely, if you are using a single application for two functions, might two specialized applications be more effective?
You may notice that none of these considerations are clear cut. All the business capability map will do is highlight applications that you need to look at, but it can't make the final decision for you.
Perhaps some capabilities don't need applications to support them, while others may need several applications to complete a single function. It may, equally, not be worthwhile financially to make the effort to migrate all your teams onto one application for a set function if the cost savings are minimal.
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