CHAPTER 9 DEVELOPING BUSINESS/IT STRATEGIES IT Planning

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CHAPTER 9

• DEVELOPING BUSINESS/IT STRATEGIES

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IT Planning

• Planning an information system doesnt start with
  bits, and bytes, or a Web site.
• It starts with gaining a holistic perspective on
  what the firm aims to achieve and how it will do
  so.
• IT planning is one of the most challenging and
  difficult tasks facing all of management.
• Improving the planning process for IS has long
  been one of the top concerns of ISD management.

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IT Planning

• Deciding which new systems to build should be an
  essential component of the organizational
  planning process.
• Organizations need to develop an information
  systems plan that supports their overall business
  plan.

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IT Planning

• The major information systems planning issues
  are
• Strategy development
• Resource management
• Technology architecture

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Strategy development

• IT planning begins with the strategic plan of the
  organization.
• IS applications and business strategies that fit
  the priorities established by the organization
  should be identified.
• The organization's strategic plan states the
  firms overall mission.
• IS plan should be aligned to organizational
  strategies and goals.

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Strategy development

• To accomplish this alignment, the organizations
  must do the following
• Set the IT mission
• Asses the environment
• Assess existing systems availabilities
• Set IT objectives, strategies and policies
• Asses organizational objectives and strategies.

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Resource management

• Optimal allocation of IS resources among
  competing organizational units is difficult.
• This stage consists of developing hardware,
  software, data communications personnel plans.
• It also provides the framework for technology and
  labor procurement.

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Technology architecture

• It refers to the overall structure of all
  information systems in an organization.
• Technology architecture includes infrastructure
  such as the databases, supporting software, and
  networks.
• An IT architecture consists of the combination of
  hardware, software, data, personnel and
  telecommunications elements within an
  organization, along with procedures to employ
  them.
• An IT architecture specifies the technological
  and organizational infrastructure that physically
  implements an information architecture.

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The IS operational Plan

• The IS strategic plan leads to the IS operational
  plan.
• It is a clear set of projects that will be
  executed by the IS departments and by functional
  area managers in support of the IS strategic plan.

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The IS operational Plan

• A typical IS plan contains the following
  elements
• Mission The mission of the IS function.
• IS environment A summary of the information
  needs of the functional areas and of the
  organization as a whole.
• Objectives of the IS function The IS functions
  current best estimate of its goals.
• Constraints on the IS function Technological,
  financial, and personnel.
• Long-term systems needs A summary of the systems
  needed by the company and the IS projects
  selected to reach organizational goals
• Short-range plan An inventory of present
  projects, and a detailed plan of projects to be
  developed or continued during the current year.

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Implementing IT Planning

• Planning IT is followed by implementation.
• After planning IT, you need to implement, that is
  you do what you planned to do.
• Implementation is the process of converting from
  the old system to the new system.
• The effect of major changes in key organizational
  structures, managerial roles, employee work
  assignments are needed to be managed.

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Implementing IT Planning

• The management face some kind of problems when
  they want to implement a new IT strategy/system
  such as TQM, BPR, CRM, etc.
• There might be a resistance by the people.
• They can afraid of losing their jobs or they
  might think that new technology replace with
  themselves or they will insufficient to implement
  new technology.
• They may not get involved in implementing stage.

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Implementing IT Planning

• What can managers do about this problem?
• Training is one of the key solutions.
• If they are involved in developing and planning
  stage of IT strategy, a resistance might be weak.
• In some companies, end users become one of the
  systems development teams because of this reason.
• User involvement in the design and operation of
  IS has several positive results.

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Change Management

• Companies use change management tactics to reduce
  end user resistance.
• Change management involves identifying and
  analyzing all changes facing the organization and
  developing programs to reduce risks and costs and
  to max the benefits of change.
• A very large percentage of information systems
  fail to deliver benefits or to solve the problems
  for which they were intended because the process
  of organizational change surrounding
  system-building was not properly addressed.
• Successful systems-building requires careful
  change management.