Fortune 1000 Companies Say Benefits Realization a Key IT Challenge

Planview Announces Results of CIO Survey

AUSTIN, Texas — June 14, 2005 — Planview, the leading provider of comprehensive IT Portfolio Management solutions today announced the results of the CIO Advisory Council survey that they helped administer. IT leaders spanning multiple industries responded to the survey and voiced their top concerns, imperatives and goals for 2005.

According to the respondents, 90 percent said prioritizing projects to align with business strategies and quantifiably measuring and reporting the benefits of those projects were their most pressing initiatives.

"Accountability is leading to real cultural changes in IT organizations," said Patrick Durbin, chief executive officer at Planview. "IT leaders must to justify their human and financial resources based on the strategic value of technology to the lines of business."

Benefits realization is a key component to the clear communication of IT's contribution to the overall objectives of the organization. It begins with the strategic initiative and is reviewed in a disciplined cycle through funding, project definition and execution and product or service deployment to provable benefit realized.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents stated that IT project benefits are identified at the outset of a project but not at the strategic level and seldom is evaluated during or after project completion.

The survey was collected in conjunction with Planview's CIO Advisory Council held in Dallas, Texas in April. At the meeting, Gunes Sahillioglu, former Director of the Global Project Management Office at information giant Reuters, described a pilot for the implementation and measurement of a benefits realization model. He shared the four phases with the other IT executives:

• Define: Specify benefits at the strategic or objective level
• Develop: Validate the benefits during investment analysis for program and project funding
• Deliver: Check the delivery of early benefits once the programs and projects are defined and have begun execution to validate the long term goals
• Benefits realization: Measure product or service performance once they are deployed to validate early results and assure the strategic goals are met

Sahillioglu's presentations prompted the Council to share their own ideas for implementing a benefits realization process, including creating an atmosphere of acceptance throughout the organization so that every project initiator understands the importance and benefit of determining ultimate ROI for the business. Attendees also suggested that the organization continue to measure benefits long after the IT development work is complete, and that standard metrics are in place and consistently used by every line of business.

Planview's PRISMS™ adaptive IT management best practices incorporates best practices for benefit realization and helps organizations achieve their goals of a demonstrable ROI from IT initiatives. PRISMS' provides the flexibility that allows companies to commit to continuous process improvement to make sure that project return justifies the initial IT investment. Because benefits are seldom linked to just one project, Planview Enterprise™ software starts with strategies and objectives that authorize and measure portfolios of projects to track benefits through the full demand management lifecycle.

The next CIO Advisory Council meeting is planned for Fall 2005. Contact market@planview.com for more information or if you are interested in a report of the full survey results.

About Planview

Since 1989, Planview has been a market leader and trusted partner in software for comprehensive IT management. Our flagship product, Planview Enteprise, brings the most comprehensive IT management solution to the market, combining adaptive IT management best practices, best of breed resource management and portfolio management software. Planview enables business leaders to integrate the decision-making process to improve alignment of IT resources with business strategies. We serve an active and growing global customer community of over 400 organizations in financial, insurance, healthcare, government and other industries. Planview is privately held and has been profitable for over a decade. For more information, visit www.Planview.com.

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