Clear Understanding of Business Goals and Objectives

Information Technology is a business enabler and must be assessed and evaluated like all other departmental programs competing for company’s capital and resources.  Too often; IT is looked at as a black hole, not aligned with and returning value back to the business as a business partner. This is a costly misconception.

It is critical that business strategy, goals, and objectives are clearly defined, communicated across the organization and used as a strategy and planning assumptions for IT projects and operational planning. Without this foundation, IT is unable to prioritize their work and resources to ensure they are  effectively supporting the businesses goals and needs… not creating a value gap.

An Example

A direct retailer’s IT group possessed a significant backload of business projects and required IT upgrades, as well as increased pressure to reduce costs. In addition, there was a lack of alignment on how this work supported current company objectives.

I worked with business leadership to establish a formal IT Program Management Office and Governance Process to formally review, prioritize, confirm status of all IT work. Produced and published an  IT Scorecard that was published company-wide.

The result:  Improved use of Company Assets and viable partnerships – Business and IT aligned on prioritization of work. I also seeded growth to expand the Program Management Office and set in action the goal of implementing Portfolio Management to begin looking at projects enterprise wide.

Establishment of Defined Measurements

“If a project is not being measured, no ones knows you are doing it or if you are doing the right things.”

Creating a few key measurements aligned with business goals and objectives is an important 1^st step in beginning to link operational performance with what is important to the business… improved efficiencies, working on what is most important to the business and positive contributions to the bottom line.  

An Example

A public sector client was experiencing production support issues, as well as an increase in on-going support costs as a result of their ERP implementation. Working with my leadership team, we implemented a common approach for measuring and reporting on the IT work being performed - break/fix, user support, and enhancement initiatives.

To improve efficiencies, we began implementing ITIL practices and  defining a roadmap for implementing ITIL as part of an on-going operational improvement initiative.  Met with stakeholders; to review and confirm Service Levels needed to meet business needs, validate proposed measurements and approach for reporting.

The result: Improved Accountability and partnership! Each of the business departments had improved visibility to the resources the IT department were expending and on what type of work.  Reporting metrics were improved and available and used as input to monthly Operational reports. Business authorized incremental budget for resources to address priority business needs.

Right People in the Right Chairs

“A key objective of leadership is to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses to achieve optimum performance.”

“People are the most important asset” is a well-known cliché. While some  debate this, the majority agrees that while talent is vital, equally important to success is an established game plan for on-going evaluation and building of talent. Knowing your talent needs and current talent resources, as well as attracting, retaining, and positioning talent for success is key to building an effective and efficient organization.

An Example

A $2B retailer was going though a business transformation, implementing ERP and significantly changing their operating model. As a result, the IT organization had fallen out of alignment with business objectives and had significant talent and skills gaps.

Partnering with HR, we developed an IT organization and staffing model structured to align with the business and IT budget. This included the review and revision of required roles and responsibilities, review and assessment of staff, identification of skills gaps, and a transition plan. Evaluated and outsourced non-critical maintenance roles.

The result:  Improved IT service delivery to business!  We were able to provide new opportunities and growth for several of our  best talent. Non-critical skills were re-deployed or separated. Service delivery model was improved without additional resources or costs.

In Summary

Value = Benefits – Costs

A key to accelerating value delivery is engaging results oriented, experienced people with:

• Strong business acumen and a keen eye for identifying benefits and costs;

• An Understanding of integration of People, Processes, and Technology;

• Skills to build necessary relationships across organizations to get things done; and

• Focus and ability to execute and deliver successfully on-time and on-budget.

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