I want to start my first blog posting of the year by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I do so with the realization that 2009 has not started well and there is every indication it will be far from "happy" for many. The economic downturn has and will continue to present numerous problems and challenges for enterprises in almost every business sector. What is happening in your organization?

As I noted in my last post, I am hopeful that this downturn will be the catalyst for the advocacy and fostering of good IT Governance and the associated Project and Portfolio Management.  Very few organizations will elect to "stand still."  Leadership will be taking action in response to the state of our economy. And every action is made up of multiple decisions. Should we invest or not invest? Should we cut here or there or not at all. Should we act sooner or later? Decisions will be made and actions will be taken.     

But will these decisions be born of good IT Governance?

What and how decisions are made, and who is accountable, are the basic and critical elements of Governance. Now, more than ever, the criticality of these decisions is magnified due to the potential cost of bad decisions. Most enterprises have little to no room for failure. Consider your organizations:

• What decisions are being made? Are "new" decisions being made?
• Do you know who is accountable for those decisions? Are the right people involved?
• Do you know the process for making the decision? What data was used to make the decision?
• How will the result of the decision be determined? What are the metrics and measures?

Let me know. Sooner rather than later.