How do you arbitrate between competing IT projects?

You arbitrate between IT projects by confronting each project's value with available capacity: score projects on shared criteria (value, risk, urgency), see what net capacity allows you to start, then compare scenarios before deciding in committee. Without reliable capacity, trade-offs are endured rather than decided.

How do you arbitrate between IT projects?

A portfolio decision is value against capacity.

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Five-step method

  • Set shared criteria: business value, risk, urgency or regulatory deadline, effort.
  • Compute net available capacity per team and skill.
  • Rank the projects and see how far capacity lets you go.
  • Simulate scenarios: postpone, spread, reinforce, or outsource.
  • Decide in committee, record the decision, and review it at regular intervals.

Common mistakes

  • Arbitrating on value without looking at capacity.
  • Accepting everything and letting overload do the sorting.
  • Not recording decisions, so challenging them at every committee.
  • Forgetting run work in available capacity.

In Workload

  1. Review net capacity and conflicts per team.
  2. Create what-if scenarios without touching the live plan.
  3. Present the capacity pack to the steering committee.
  4. Apply the decision and track planned vs actual.

FAQ

Which criteria should you use?

Business value, risk, urgency or regulatory obligation, and effort. They should be shared and scored the same way for every project.

How often should you arbitrate?

At each portfolio committee, often monthly or quarterly, and whenever a major event changes capacity.

Do you need a PPM to arbitrate?

Not necessarily: a reliable capacity view and scenarios are enough to arbitrate on capacity; a PPM adds financial governance.

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