How to Align Software Projects with Business Strategy

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing a great challenge that consists of using all the opportunities technology can offer in order to help improve their productivity, geographical reach, and reinvent or complement their business models. Those companies that are not capable of using technology in order to become more competitive will face new threats because nowadays SME companies need to compete with companies not only in the same geographic area, but also need to compete with new products and services that change business rules faster than ever. The main purpose of this chapter is to provide a methodological framework to promote strategic alignment and improve execution through a better communication and understanding about IT projects that will help entrepreneurs and managers to make better IT investment decisions in order to offer a competitive edge to their companies through a better management of the strategic IT portfolio.