Many government organizations consist of complex application portfolios with significant redundant functionalities and in order to run this portfolio, 80% of the IT budget is consumed by maintenance cost. Eliminating redundant functionalities improves efficiency, operational performance and decreases maintenance costs. A midsized Swedish municipality has a complex application portfolio with redundant functionalities, and this study aims to suggest actions for reducing redundant functionalities of citizen related applications. In order to identify redundant functionalities in a complex organization such as the government, all surrounding complexities need to be identified. Therefore, by performing a literature study, Application Portfolio Rationalization has been selected as an approach for reducing redundant functionalities. An online survey was conducted for gathering data about applications and the total response rate was 46.5%. The collected data was analyzed to identify complexities and applications with similar purpose and functions. Finally, actions were suggested for reducing redundant functionalities of applications by consolidating them with the “best-in-class” application, and implementing a central database for reducing redundant storage of data by the applications.

Application portfolio management (APM) is the ongoing process of managing and optimizing the IT application portfolio to maximize its value. It has become increasingly important since large organizations today rely on hundreds, if not thousands, of applications to operate their businesses which in turn causes problems such as unused, redundant, or inefficient applications. Thus, numerous APM research has been conducted in the past to efficiently manage the application portfolio, but there is a lack of recent studies. This case study, which is a collaboration with Atlas Copco aims to contribute to both research and industry by developing and implementing a simple yet flexible APM framework that yields insightful analysis and application assessments. We propose a comprehensive APM framework consisting of the key phases: Objectives & scope definition, data type definition, data collection, process review and process adjustment. We identify the relevant information to be collected and the essential data analysis methods. To improve the flexibility of the proposed APM model, we also recommend adopting an iterative workflow by focusing on a small set of applications at a time. Our research approach consists in conducting interviews and workshops to gather input from key stakeholders and experts. Additionally, we perform a literature study to establish the theoretical foundation. In the considered case study, Power Apps and Power BI were used to collect and analyze the data. The outcomes were evaluated by the project managers and deemed successful in terms of fulfilling the main objectives. Furthermore, the evaluation reveals that the model is applicable not only within different departments of the company but potentially to other organizations as well. / Organisering av applikationsportfölj är ett sätt att hantera och optimera företagets applikationsportfölj för att maximera dess värde. Det har blivit allt viktigare i och med stora organisationer idag förlitar sig på hundratals, om inte tusentals, applikationer för att driva sina verksamheter. Detta i sin tur kan orsaka problem som oanvända, överflödiga eller ineffektiva applikationer. Således har en del forskning utförts tidigare för att effektivt hantera applikationsportföljen, dock finns det en brist på nya studier inom området. Denna uppsats, som är ett samarbete med Atlas Copco, syftar till att bidra till både forskning och industri genom att utveckla och implementera ett enkelt men flexibelt ramverk som ger insiktsfulla analyser och bedömning av applikationer. Vi föreslår ett ramverk bestående av nyckelfaserna: Mål & omfattningsdefinition, datatypsdefinition, datainsamling, processgranskning och processjustering. Vi identifierar relevant information som ska inhämtas och essentiella datanalysmetoder. Därtill, för att förbättra modellens flexibilitet rekommenderar vi ett iterativt arbetsflöde genom att fokusera på en mindre grupp applikationer i taget. Vår forskningsmetod består i att genomföra intervjuer och workshops för att samla in data från viktiga intressenter och experter. Dessutom genomför vi en litteraturstudie för att etablera den teoretiska grunden. I fallstudien användes tjänsterna Power Apps och Power BI för att samla in och analysera data. Resultatet utvärderas av projektledarna och bedömdes uppfylla huvudmålen. Vidare visar utvärderingen att modellen är tillämpbar i andra avdelningar och potentiellt även på andra organisationer.