I.T. Strategic Planning Series
I.T. Strategic Planning – KRA's
Possibly the third step in your plan will be a category called KRA ( Key Result Areas). This area will be different for each organization, this is due to different infrastructures and software that may already be in place. This is more of an observation and desire to improve on existing services provided by your current I.T. team.
I have listed 5 items below that might be on your list under KRA’s, also keep in mind every experienced I.T. leader will view these items differently and might not agree so try to keep an open mind.
Key Result Area’s
1. Integrate Core Application – you may have multiple applications that don’t speak to each other and you want to solve this short coming.
2. Constituent Self-serve Via the Internet – you may want to give more and easier access to data via the internet to staff.
3. Realign and Train Existing Staff – an obvious one for improving the skill set of all staff members using core applications
4. Improve Support To Field Staff – if you have staff in the field, your goal should be to get them more connected to HQ or central office.
5. Provide a stable IT Infrastructure – this should be an ongoing goal from day one and never end.
I hope that helps you in designing your I.T. Strategic Plan, your list will look different based on organizational needs, but you get the idea.
Feel free to leave questions and comments below, until next time.
I.T. Strategic Planning – Two Key Ingredients
Two Key Ingredients To A Successful I.T. Strategic Plan
Before entering into an I.T. Strategic Planning session there are two key areas of your business you need to be well versed, it will make or break your plan. Prepare your team and arm them with the right information, they will develop a sound strategy that may only require minor corrections 3 – 5 years down the road. Every plan needs to be updated and adjusted as to ensure it is inline with the business needs.
I’m not going to go into great detail here but you will get the picture, there are many steps in developing a sound strategy and it’s up to you, The Leader, to ensure you equip your team with as much information as possible. Without the right tools & information the exercise will take twice as long and you will most likely never provide solutions for your organization, hence you may not be kept on for a second shot at it.
KEY #1
As a Leader in your organization you know what it means to be well informed and it’s no different for this team, in order for the strategic team to be successful you must be able to articulate the companies business plan in simple terms. Your team needs to understand the company objectives and how they originally planned to achieve them, otherwise there is no target, no way to know which direction to go, this business plan is a compass. If you do not know or someone on your I.T. Strategic Planning Team is not privy to this information, stop and get it, this information will set the tone of your plan. Get a strong understanding of this business plan at high level at the minimum, as it is must have information.
KEY #2
You must know ALL your organizations business processes. What are the processes that take place in one business day to get the job done for each department in your company. This is important to know because you’ll want an inventory of all processes so they can be reviewed to determine which ones can and can not be automated. This key is also critical in order to find the right ERP solution for your organization should that be identified as a project in your I.T. Plan for the next 3 – 5 years. Some call this the pulse of the business, it is the oil, the workflow that determines profitability or the lack of, you need to get a good handle on this item to ensure you are identifying, addressing and eliminating broken parts of your system or systems.
As you can see the above are preliminary but are essential if you want to be of value to your organizations future success. You also need to have a good understanding of these two keys for step one in designing your I.T. Strategic Plan, step one is the Vision / Mission of your I.T. Department. Without that understanding it will hamper your efforts to find your voice, to articulate your vision to those who are looking to you to solve and provide the best service possible to the whole organization.
Feel free to leave your comments and input, if you wish to hire Owen to help you develop an I.T. Strategic Plan simpy e-mail me at:
Until next time 🙂
Social Media & The I.T. Strategic Plan
The past three years have seen huge growth in a phenomenon called Social Media, very few organizations understand what it is and don’t have a solid strategic way of maximizing the potential market growth. They know their staff are spending vasts amount of personal time and company time in those networks but don’t understand why and or the power of Social Media Networks.
The challenge with Social Media Networks are many but the one CEO’s and the like will struggle with is control and how they can leverage those environments. Which Network do we hitch our wagon too? How does it work and why? How do we control those networks for our purposes? You can make up your question here as it fits with the not knowing of how to harness a wild beast called Social Media.
Has the time come for organizations to take Social Media Networks seriously and should they include them in their I.T. & Business strategic plans? What’s your plan? Does your company have an I.T. Strategic Plan? Do you know what one is and looks like? Does the I.T. Plan align with with business processes?
Here is a breakdown of how an I.T. Strategic Plan might look:
1.) Purpose (Vision, Mission)
2.) Services
3.) KRA ( Key Result Areas)
4.) Objectives
5.) Action Plans
6.) Markets
7.) List of Similar Providers
8.) Current Business Relationships
9.) Key Success Factors
10.) Core Competencies
11.) SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
12.) Budget Alignment
13.) Planning Observations
This is not written in stone but you get the idea, each consulting group will have their own framework, this happens to be mine. If you have questions or thoughts please leave a comment and I’ll try to answer your request.
No matter how or what you do and or how you use technology (Information Technology) you should have a plan and Social Media Networks could be a strategy in your plan, it depends on the perceived value of those networks.
If you would like to hire Owen to assist you in developing a positive I.T. Strategic Plan and ensure that plan aligns with your overall business strategy you can e-mail me: owen@owengreaves.com