Glossary
The PAID framework: Plan, Address, Ignore, Delay
PAID is a prioritization model that turns portfolio assessment into action: each item is positioned by Impact against Risk, and its quadrant assigns what to do next — and when.
From assessment to a plan
Classification alone doesn't change a portfolio. Knowing an application should be modernized is not the same as knowing whether to start this quarter or next year — or before or after the other twelve applications that also need work. PAID exists for that second question.
The model is an industry-standard prioritization pattern; GetInSync's framing scores each item's Impact (business criticality) against its Risk (technical exposure), with Cost as a third dimension — the magnitude of the remediation effort. The quadrant assigns the default action; Cost is weighed alongside it.
The four actions
Impact runs on the vertical axis; Risk on the horizontal. Position sets the default action.
Plan
High Impact · Low Risk
The work matters but nothing is on fire. Schedule the remediation deliberately — get it on the roadmap with an owner and a timeline before the risk rises.
Address
High Impact · High Risk
High stakes and high exposure. This is the top of the queue — remediate now, ahead of everything else competing for the same people and budget.
Ignore
Low Impact · Low Risk
Consciously deprioritized — not forgotten. The item stays visible in the portfolio, but effort goes where it changes outcomes.
Delay
Low Impact · High Risk
Risky but low-stakes. Defer it until the high-impact work is handled, and revisit as circumstances change.
PAID and TIME work as a pair
The TIME framework answers the strategic question: what is this application to us — Tolerate, Invest, Modernize, or Eliminate? PAID answers the operational one: given everything competing for attention, what do we act on first?
In GetInSync the two run in sequence. Every application earns a TIME rating from its business and technical scores, then lands on a PAID action — so the portfolio review ends with a ranked, defensible plan rather than a color-coded chart.
Common questions
- What does PAID stand for?
- Plan, Address, Ignore, Delay — the four actions an application (or any portfolio item) can be assigned once its Impact and Risk are assessed. PAID turns portfolio assessment into a prioritized plan.
- How does PAID relate to TIME?
- TIME classifies the portfolio — what each application is, strategically. PAID prioritizes the response — what to fix, and when. An application's TIME rating (Tolerate, Invest, Modernize, Eliminate) describes its condition; its PAID action schedules what happens next.
- What are PAID's axes?
- Impact (vertical) — what the item means for the business, its criticality — against Risk (horizontal) — the technical exposure it carries. GetInSync adds Cost as a third dimension: the magnitude of the remediation effort.
- Is Ignore really a valid action?
- Yes — and making it explicit is the point. Every portfolio has low-impact, low-risk items that shouldn't consume attention. Marking them Ignore is a conscious, recorded decision that keeps effort focused, rather than a silent omission someone rediscovers later.
Turn your portfolio into a plan
Assess your applications with TIME, prioritize with PAID — free for one user, forever.