ServiceNow Modules · Lesson

Application Portfolio Mgmt

Quick answer

Application Portfolio Management answers a question every CIO eventually asks: which applications should we keep, invest in, or kill? APM builds an inventory of business applications, scores their technical fit and business value, and models the cost and risk of your estate so rationalisation decisions are evidence-based instead of political.

Key takeaways

Core capabilities
APM and Enterprise Architecture
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Application Portfolio Management answers a question every CIO eventually asks: which applications should we keep, invest in, or kill? APM builds an inventory of business applications, scores their technical fit and business value, and models the cost and risk of your estate so rationalisation decisions are evidence-based instead of political.

Core capabilities

Application inventory, a governed list of business capabilities and the apps that support them.
TIME assessment, classify each app as Tolerate, Invest, Migrate or Eliminate.
Technology risk, surface end-of-life software and technical debt.
Cost modelling, tie spend to capabilities to expose duplication.

APM needs a healthy CMDB. APM maps applications to the business applications and services in your CMDB. The better your Discovery and service mapping, the more trustworthy your rationalisation scores.

APM and Enterprise Architecture

APM and Enterprise Architecture are close cousins: APM tells you the current state and health of the estate; EA plans the target state and roadmaps to get there. Together they feed investment decisions in SPM.

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Check your understanding

The TIME model classifies apps as...
- A. Tolerate, Invest, Migrate, Eliminate
- B. Test, Integrate, Monitor, Export
- C. Track, Improve, Merge, Encrypt
Show answer
A. Tolerate, Invest, Migrate, Eliminate
TIME = Tolerate / Invest / Migrate / Eliminate.
APM decisions are most trustworthy when...
- A. The CMDB and Discovery are healthy
- B. You skip the inventory
- C. No costs are modelled
Show answer
A. The CMDB and Discovery are healthy
APM maps to CMDB apps; good data yields good scores.
APM describes the ____ ; EA plans the ____.
- A. current state / target state
- B. budget / staff
- C. network / storage
Show answer
A. current state / target state
APM = current-state health; EA = target-state roadmap.

Frequently asked questions

What does the term Application Portfolio Management (APM) refer to in ServiceNow?

Application Portfolio Management answers a question every CIO eventually asks: which applications should we keep, invest in, or kill?

What is another point to note about Application Portfolio Management (APM)?

Application inventory, a governed list of business capabilities and the apps that support them. TIME assessment, classify each app as Tolerate, Invest, Migrate or Eliminate. Technology risk, surface end-of-life software and technical debt.