Manage IT as a Business: How to Achieve Alignment and Add Value to the Company

Bennet P. Lientz, Lee Larssen9780750678254, 0-7506-7825-9

Many IT projects fail to deliver the benefits to the business that were promised. Yet IT managers and staff work hard to meet the needs of the business: Systems are put in place; network operations are reliable and stable. The cause is usually a misalignment of IT with the business. In this book, Bennet Lientz and Lee Larssen present over 200 specific, practical guidelines and steps that show how to: align IT and the business, develop methods that make IT more proactive in helping the business, more effectively manage vendors, avoid negative surprises, ensure that more projects are completed on time and within budget, among other things. The techniques in this book have been implemented in over 60 organizations around the world and in over 20 different industries, and the authors include several examples in each chapter to illustrate their points. Follow these proven recommendations to manage IT as a business that adds value to the company.* Techniques in the book have been implemented in over 60 organizations in over 20 countries* Guidelines show how to align IT and the business and make IT more proactive in helping the business* The authors present concrete method to manage IT as a business that adds value to the company”

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Contents……Page 6
Preface……Page 16
Part I Govern and Plan Information Technology……Page 22
Issues with Information Technology and Management……Page 24
Some Past Attempts at Improving IT……Page 25
Efforts at Improving Business Processes……Page 26
A Brief Review of IT Governance……Page 27
Trends and Challenges in IT Governance……Page 28
A Winning Approach for IT Governance……Page 30
Benefits of the Approach……Page 32
Organization of the Book……Page 33
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 34
Manage Risk……Page 35
Examples……Page 36
Performance Measures for the IT Organization……Page 37
Summary……Page 39
Introduction……Page 42
General Purpose and Scope of Oversight……Page 43
The Role of Business Processes……Page 45
The Missing Roles of IT Governance that Cause Business Failure……Page 49
Modern Governance of IT……Page 51
Modern Roles and Responsibilities of IT……Page 53
Modern Roles and Responsibilities of Business Units……Page 54
IT Governance and Business Vision, Mission, and Objectives……Page 55
Benefits of Effective IT Governance……Page 60
Examples……Page 61
Lessons Learned……Page 62
Summary……Page 63
INTRODUCTION……Page 66
Ten Myths about Technology……Page 70
Steps in Technology Management……Page 71
Assess Your Current Technology……Page 72
Identify and Track New Technology……Page 73
Develop a Framework for Technology Implementation and Support……Page 75
Implement the New Technology……Page 76
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 77
Examples……Page 79
Lessons Learned……Page 80
Performance Measures for Technology Management……Page 81
Summary……Page 82
INTRODUCTION……Page 84
Measure Current IT……Page 86
Develop the Initial IT Strategic Plan……Page 87
Relate the Strategic IT Plan to the Business Units……Page 93
IT Planning Guidelines……Page 94
Get the IT Strategic Plan and Action Items Approved……Page 96
Resource Management and Allocation……Page 97
Update Your IT Strategic Plan……Page 99
Manage Risk……Page 100
Examples……Page 101
Performance Measures for IT Planning……Page 102
Summary……Page 103
Part II Manage the People and the Work……Page 104
Introduction……Page 106
Where and How IT Projects Originate……Page 107
Assess Current Projects……Page 110
Project Evaluation and Selection……Page 112
Comprehensive Resource Allocation……Page 114
Set Up a Winning Project……Page 116
Report on the Project……Page 118
Hold Project Meetings……Page 119
Track Projects……Page 120
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 121
Manage Risk……Page 122
Examples……Page 124
Lessons Learned……Page 125
Summary……Page 126
Introduction……Page 128
Evaluate the Current Staff……Page 129
Recruit and Hire New IT Employees……Page 132
Allocate Personnel Resources……Page 133
Motivate IT Employees……Page 135
Deal with Personnel Issues……Page 136
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 137
Manage Risk……Page 138
Examples……Page 139
Performance Measures for IT Staffing……Page 140
Summary……Page 141
Introduction……Page 142
Check on Work Informally……Page 143
Assess Your Methods and Tools……Page 144
Review Work and Project Milestones……Page 146
Deal with Issues……Page 148
Use Lessons Learned Effectively……Page 149
Decide on the Approach for Documentation……Page 152
Introduce New Methods or Tools……Page 154
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 155
Examples……Page 156
Performance Measures for Work Management……Page 157
Summary……Page 158
Part III Direct and Coordinate IT……Page 160
Introduction……Page 162
Collaborate on Defining the Roles of Business Units in IT……Page 163
Create Long-Term Process Plans……Page 166
Develop a Business Unit IT Strategy……Page 169
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 171
Examples……Page 172
Lessons Learned……Page 173
Performance Measures for User Relations……Page 174
Summary……Page 175
Introduction……Page 176
Pursue an Organized Approach to Outsourcing……Page 179
Develop an Overall Outsourcing Strategy……Page 180
Determine What Is to Be Outsourced……Page 181
Prepare for Outsourcing……Page 183
Prepare the Request for Proposal……Page 184
Select the Right Vendors……Page 185
Manage the Outsourcing……Page 186
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 187
Examples……Page 188
Performance Measures for Outsourcing……Page 190
Summary……Page 191
Introduction……Page 192
Implement Collaboration in Management Communications……Page 193
Use Informal Communications……Page 194
Make Formal Presentations……Page 195
Present the Overall Status of IT……Page 196
Report to Management on Status……Page 197
Address a Specific Issue……Page 198
Propose New Work……Page 199
Present an IT Budget……Page 200
Communicate with Business Unit Managers……Page 201
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 202
Examples……Page 203
Lessons Learned……Page 205
Performance Measures for Management Communications……Page 206
Summary……Page 207
Introduction……Page 208
Evaluate the Process and System and Determine Requirements……Page 210
Make the Buy or Build Decision……Page 214
Evaluate and Select Software Packages……Page 215
Implement the Software Package……Page 216
Carry Out Data Conversion……Page 217
Conduct the Training……Page 218
Alignment of IT and the Business……Page 219
Examples……Page 220
Performance Measures for Packages and Development……Page 221
Summary……Page 222
Implement New Roles and Responsibilities for IT……Page 224
Instill Greater Collaboration……Page 225
Measure What You Have, Do, and Where You Are Going……Page 227
Become Issues Focused……Page 229
Become Process Oriented……Page 230
Implement More Effective Project Management……Page 231
Deal Effectively with Resistance to Change……Page 232
Examples……Page 235
Performance Measures for Implementation……Page 236
Summary……Page 237
Part IV Address Specific Challenges……Page 238
Introduction……Page 240
IT Staff Turnover is High……Page 241
IT Morale is Low……Page 242
There is Poor Communications between IT and Users……Page 243
Too Much Critical Work Depends on the Same Few People……Page 245
IT Staff Members Work in Isolation……Page 246
Supervisors Lack Management Skills……Page 247
The Wrong Technology is Selected……Page 250
There are Integration Problems with the Technology……Page 252
The Technology Does Not Deliver Results……Page 254
The Technology was Imposed On Us……Page 255
Legacy Systems Consume Too Many Resources and Are Inflexible……Page 257
There is High Backlog of Work……Page 258
Management is Not Involved in IT……Page 260
Some Managers are Overinvolved with IT……Page 262
Management Places Unrealistic Demands on IT……Page 263
Management Falls under the Influence of Vendors……Page 265
Management Changes Direction……Page 266
Middle Level Managers Resist IT Efforts……Page 267
Introduction……Page 270
The Wrong Employees Are Assigned to IT Work and Projects……Page 271
Employees Resist Change……Page 272
There are Too Many Exceptions and Workarounds……Page 274
There are Shadow Systems in the Department……Page 275
Several Business Departments Do Not Get Along……Page 277
There are Problems with the Business Rules and Policies……Page 278
Vendor Performance is Poor……Page 280
There is Substantial Turnover of Vendor Staff……Page 282
Multiple Vendors are Fighting……Page 284
The Vendor is Not Managing Their Work……Page 286
There is a Difficulty in Transferring Knowledge from the Vendor……Page 287
There are Problems in Vendor Communications……Page 288
The Vendor Has a Close Personal Relationship with a Senior Manager……Page 290
Appendix A: Magic Cross Reference……Page 292
Appendix B: References……Page 294
Appendix C: Websites……Page 296
Index……Page 298