Define Data Collection Methodology

Summary

A common perception is that gathering the necessary information to create an application portfolio is a large and foreboding effort. This best practice offers tips for speeding up and managing the process. 

As with almost any data collection effort, there are cost versus benefit trade-offs that should be consciously considered and managed.  These include controlling the scope of the inventory process, leveraging existing data, and weighing options for how much and what kind of data collection effort to invest in.  Primary among this is deciding when subjective assessments of certain Key Performance Dimension values provided by application subject matter experts are adequate to meet the intended objective of the current inventory cycle.  This may be an attractive consideration when compared to the additional time and cost that may be necessary to acquire quantified source data.