Forging a double-edged sword: Resource synergies and dependencies in complex IT project portfolios

These days, due to the high level of interactions between individual projects, IT project portfolios are best described as IT project networks. While varied and frequent interactions between single IT projects create additional risks, they also generate the possibility of additional synergistic effects. This, however, is not reflected in current methods for IT project portfolio evaluation and project portfolio selection, which neither account for specific network characteristics nor do they clearly distinguish between the types of interaction and their effects. In this paper, we model resource synergies and dependencies within IT project networks by means of weighted, undirected and directed graphs and describe how alpha centrality allows for an assessment of both. We further illustrate the importance of accounting for network characteristics and the equal importance of distinguishing between resource synergies and resource dependencies. Our model can therefore be applied to gain practical insights on IT project portfolios.