Although mountains of books have been written about IT management and even project management, few have focused specifically on IT portfolio management. That's somewhat surprising, given the rising number of blue-chip companies, such as KeySpan Energy Corp. and Lowe's Cos., that have adopted the techniques to fundamentally improve the way they manage their IT investments.

For the uninitiated, IT portfolio management is a set of techniques that IT managers can use to effectively place a Buy, Sell or Hold on IT investments such as software, similar to what a financial investor would do with stocks. Some organizations use IT portfolio management tools and techniques to rank IT projects using criteria such as anticipated business value and return on investment.

Maizlish, chief technology officer program team at Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions, and Handler, an analyst at Gartner Inc., offer a very detailed and pragmatic approach to IT portfolio management. The authors' expertise is apparent throughout the book, including in useful tips on how to handle the software vendor selection process.

As the authors point out, IT portfolio processes don't make decisions, people do. So they wisely devote a fair amount of discussion to people and cultural issues. And given the increased focus on regulations that IT managers must contend with these days, the authors also provide helpful guidelines on linking IT portfolio management strategies with Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance and IT governance efforts.

Maizlish and Handler have put together a useful guide for novice and veteran IT portfolio managers.