PAIM Decision Assessment
Application Rationalization Decision Assessment
Three applications do the same job. Which should the organization retain, consolidate, or retire? PAIM is a developing decision assurance method for bringing the evidence, dependencies, risks, options, and approval authority into one reviewable decision record. The recommendation informs the choice; an accountable person approves the action.
What a PAIM-Governed Rationalization Looks Like
A structured assessment replaces opinion-driven portfolio debates with evidence, risk context, and a clear decision record — so leadership can act with confidence.
Why application rationalization decisions stall
An inventory may reveal three tools with similar functions, but overlap alone does not establish that one can be retired. Each tool may support a different business process, hold a system of record, serve a distinct user group, or carry a difficult integration.
License cost matters, but so do migration effort, security, contractual terms, data retention, and operational risk.
The decision is therefore larger than a score or a colored dashboard. Leaders need to see what is known, what remains uncertain, who bears the risk, and who has authority to approve the change.
How a PAIM decision assessment works
1. Frame the decision
Identify the business capability, the candidate applications, the decision owner, and the intended outcome.
2. Build an evidence inventory
Record sources for cost, usage, capabilities, users, integrations, data, contracts, security obligations, and planned changes. Mark missing or stale evidence.
3. Compare options and risks
Evaluate retain, consolidate, retire, or defer against value, cost, dependencies, migration complexity, and risk of disruption. Explain tradeoffs and assumptions.
4. Define the approval path
Identify the business, technology, security, finance, and data stakeholders whose review or approval is required by the organization.
5. Record and revisit the decision
Capture the selected option, evidence considered, dissent or exceptions, approver, action owner, checkpoints, and outcomes to measure.
Example: three customer relationship systems
Suppose CRM A, CRM B, and CRM C appear to duplicate customer management. An initial cost view may favor retiring CRM C. A dependency review then finds that CRM C feeds a regulated reporting process, while CRM B holds records that cannot yet be migrated.
The assessment can still recommend a future consolidation path, but it must identify the prerequisites, unresolved evidence, and authorized decision point. No application is decommissioned merely because a model or scoring method recommends it.
What a scoped PTC assessment delivers
For an agreed set of applications, PTC Consulting can prepare an evidence inventory, an options and risks comparison, a proposed approval path, and a decision record for the organization's accountable decision maker. Scope, access to source information, timeline, and price are agreed before work begins. PAIM is the method under development that structures this engagement; software capabilities and results should be evaluated in the context of a specific use case.
- Evidence inventory
- Options and risks comparison
- Proposed approval path
- Decision record for the accountable decision maker
Ready to review an overlapping application set?
Schedule a consultation with PTC Consulting and describe the applications, the decision deadline, and the stakeholders involved.