Key Performance Indicators for a Capability-Based Application Portfolio Management

In this paper, we define three key performance indicators (KPI) to measure the health of application portfolios (AP) and use the business capability map (BCM) as a visualization lens. Based on a literature review of AP management and BCM practices, we conduct a case study with a large European automotive company to develop three KPIs related to AP complexity, AP quality, and AP impact. The application of the KPIs is illustrated for the BCM of our case study partner and evaluated by conducting expert interviews with ten enterprise architecture experts of the company. Our results provide further insights on AP management practices that are enabled by using the BCM as a holistic visualization tool.