As the country girds itself against the prospect of another economic downturn, IT managers once again face the challenge of doing more with less technology and resources.

Industry watchers argue project and portfolio management (PPM) processes - in some cases augmented with commercial tools - can help IT managers deliver more successful projects, prioritize projects based on business need, and maximize financial resources when deploying technology. And technology leaders are looking to PPM to ensure they do the most possible with the budgets available to them.

Dennis Gaughan, research director at AMR Research, says PPM can help IT and business managers prioritize projects across an enterprise, gain visibility into where budget dollars are being spent, and create a standard set of criteria for future technology investments.

"For many organizations, IT projects are prioritized as first in-first out," Gaughan explained at a press briefing with HP in Boston last week. "PPM can give project managers the ability to look at investments with a consistent set of objectives across domains or IT and business."

According to a December 2007 Forrester Research report on the state of PPM tools, project-related investment comprised about 18% of overall IT spend. "And why are PPM tools important to enterprises? Businesses are experiencing expanding investment demand in the midst of constrained capacity, and execs are raising the bar of delivery expectations," the report reads.

Despite tightening budgets, IT managers should invest in PPM to prove to the business they are effectively implementing technology, experts say. Even by establishing best practices around PPM, Gaughan says, organizations can avoid spending too much and prevent wasted time on poorly planned projects. AMR Research data shows that the most often cited initial justification for PPM software is savings or cost avoidance. For instance, if a company spends $250 million annually on IT and engages in PPM practices and technologies, it could potentially save or avoid spending between $5 million and $25 million annually, AMR hypothesizes.

And considering the efficiencies PPM technologies - available from CA, HP, IBM, Innotas, LiquidPlanner, Planview and Primavera, among others - offer technology leaders, AMR says it is an area of great interest among its clients. Of the research firms 2007 IT management inquiries from more than 230 clients, 15% asked about PPM. Another 20% asked about IT strategy and governance, which is closely tied to PPM practices. Another 14% asked about best practices such as those in ITIL, which touts project management processes among its service delivery and management methodologies.

Denise Dubie is senior editor with Network World.