To help ensure the IT portfolio provides maximum value to an organization, IT projects are BEST prioritized based on:

Cost-benefit analysis is an important input for evaluating individual projects but prioritizing *solely* on it might lead to selecting projects that are financially beneficial but not strategically critical.

Prioritizing IT projects based on alignment with business strategy ensures that IT investments directly contribute to the organization's overarching goals and objectives. This approach maximizes the value derived from the IT portfolio by focusing resources on initiatives that are most critical for business success and strategic competitive advantage.

Recommendations from business owners are valuable for gathering requirements and understanding needs, but prioritization must consider the broader strategic context, not just individual preferences or departmental needs.

Alignment with IT architecture is important for technical consistency and efficiency, but it's a secondary consideration to the primary goal of aligning IT investments with core business strategy to deliver value.