All projects are prioritized quarterly by an IT steering committee composed of business, finance and IT representatives. The group uses a project portfolio management process, which takes into consideration long-term business goals and benefits, IT architectural standards and costs across the entire corporation, and opportunities that may come up as the business environment shifts.

There are no prima donnas. A finance project may be put on hold or in queue behind a project for a new warranty services system or a parts-ordering application. Governance team members describe the result as a "healthy tension" among business unit leaders.

"We conduct an annual planning activity with representatives from every part of the business. We look at hundreds of projects and prioritize them," says Hestermeyer. "If you want to be in a room with a lot of tension, that's the place."

"No one likes to be told that their project is being slowed down" because another project is more critical to the company as a whole, says Troy McLean. He leads the business relationship management group, which acts as a liaison between IT and business. "No one likes to be governed, but they like the benefits that governance brings," he says.

Among those benefits is the ability to quickly innovate and respond to changing business conditions, says Lisa Dalmia, general manager of program and project management.