Value-driven IT service portfolio selection under uncertainty

The context: the selection of a maximum value IT service portfolio is a major challenge to be faced by IT executives, during the Service Strategy phase of the IT service life cycle defined in ITIL. The problem: ITIL states that the value of an IT service should be estimated based on the improvement of customers´ outcomes brought by the service. It is hard to apply this approach due to difficulties to access data related to customers´ outcomes and to precisely isolate the influence of IT on the improvements of customers´ performance. Our proposed solution: in this work, we propose the application of a formal business value model to quantify the business value of IT services, so as to pave the way for the definition of a maximum-value portfolio. The quantification method presented estimates the value of IT services through low-intrusion interactions between the IT Service provider and its customers. Validation: our approach was applied with success to the IT department of a multinational manufacturer. Results from the experiments enabled higher expected IT ROI through the use of a value-based portfolio definition process.