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Choose your area of interest:
Applications Management & Governance
Overseeing an applications portfolio is as much about managing people, projects, and process as it is about technology. Gain insight into the "soft" skills and practices surrounding applications team governance. Forecast - Trends & PredictionsOutsourcing of App Dev and Maintenance Still PrevalentOutsourcing applications development and maintenance continues to be prevalent among enterprises. Cost savings, improved application support and delivery are strong business and technology motivations that characterize this trend. IT departments tend to manage and govern outsourcing initiatives, while business and IT work together to define and sponsor them. Understand - Technology InsightsPM Success: Dress QA to the NinesDesigning a high-quality project management approach will inevitably lead to projects that are on track, on budget, on scope, and satisfy the needs for which they were undertaken. Once the enterprise has mastered project management fundamentals, conduct regular quality audits by assessing the nine project management knowledge areas. Doing so will help identify inefficient or incomplete processes... Project Management: Back to BasicsIT Projects are characterized by changing technologies, uncertainty, and shifting business needs and objectives. Review core project management basics and increase the chances for ongoing IT project success. Common Pitfalls of Dysfunctional SpecsIneffective functional specifications result in wasted time, costly mistakes, and increased development time. Further, they contribute to failures in... Strategize - Strategy & PlanningFeasibility Study Suitability ToolThis practical tool helps IT managers identify situations where a feasibility study would be the best method to employ for making a decision to either accept or reject a software project. Making Cross-Functional Teams Work: A Case StudyEnterprises continue to face the challenge of rapidly deploying high-performance applications across network infrastructures. Cross-functional teams can improve the performance of business applications and a network’s service level capabilities. This case study reviews how Company Z made a cross-functional team a success. Get Requirements Right the First TimeA thorough business requirements gathering process can spell the difference between project success and failure. Follow Info-Tech's nine steps to... Pilot Implementations: The PrimerA pilot implementation is a reliable means of validating an application’s overall implementation approach. Understand the objectives of pilot... Select - Selection AdviceConduct Vendor Due Diligence Before Signing the ContractEnterprise software is a major investment for any enterprise. The process of defining requirements and evaluating vendors is long and arduous. Before signing the contract with the lucky finalist, the last step is due diligence. Enterprise Apps Vendor Demo ScorecardApplication demonstrations play an important part in the software selection process, and many stakeholders will be involved. Use this template to quickly customize a scorecard that stakeholders can use to rank vendors on important criteria. Master the Enterprise Application Vendor DemoOrganizations that have vigilantly shortlisted a long list of application vendors into a few serious contenders should plan the demonstration day with the same level of care. Build a well-defined demo agenda, pick a cross-section of important stakeholders to participate, and develop a sound scoring strategy. Turn a vendor demo day into a valuable selection aid for choosing the best software... Perform Due Diligence on App Vendors to Avoid Unpleasant SurprisesDuring procurement, evaluate application vendors on a variety of disruption risks to identify problems that, while easy to spot, might otherwise be missed. Up-front risk awareness provides important input to the selection process. Scouting vendors first will better prepare the organization for unpleasant surprises. Implement - Implement & IntegrateApplication Development Contracts: Avoid the PitfallsMany enterprises contract to outside development teams to create new applications, to modify internally developed code, or to enhance packaged software. The risk of unsatisfactory performance within these projects is high. Understand the pitfalls of managing software development contracts and take appropriate action to reduce these risks. Cost/Benefit Analysis ToolAn important tool in a feasibility study or project assessment report is a Cost/Benefit Analysis. Use this tool to help provide deeper insight to pros and cons of the project options under consideration. Development Contracting ChecklistWhen enterprises contract development projects, project success improves when they actively manage the contractor. Use this checklist at the beginning of a project and weekly during the project to identify which key controls are missing and need correction. ERP Implementations: 20 Steps to SuccessMany enterprises are overwhelmed by the prospect of implementing an ERP solution. Info-Tech’s project plan outlines the 20 steps of a typical implementation. Use the plan as a starting point for aligning internal resources and, if needed, getting outside assistance. Feasibility Study TemplateA feasibility study is an invaluable tool that helps companies assess the level of risk the company faces when selecting certain IT projects. Creating a feasibility study is a daunting task for newcomers, and angst-ridden for companies that lack documentation standards. Use this template to reduce documentation preparation woes, and create a standard for the company. Quality Assurance Checklist for Feasibility StudiesCreating a feasibility study is a daunting task for newcomers and for companies that lack experience in developing feasibility studies. Use this checklist as part of a quality assurance process to ensure the feasibility study document meets existing documentation quality standards. Key Success Factors for IT ProjectsInfo-Tech research reveals seven factors that differentiate IT project success from project failure. Avoid common pitfalls with Info-Tech's project... Operate - Operate & OptimizeApp Vendor Risk Quick Check ToolAs part of the ongoing vendor management process, IT professionals should monitor the business and application health of vendors. Use this tool to detect increased risks before they materialize into negative events. Be Prepared: Monitor App Vendor StabilityDevelop vendor risk profiles to anticipate disruption proactively, and have an action plan ready with application alternatives for the various disruptive scenarios that can occur. Cross-Functional Teams Improve Network and App PerformanceNetwork infrastructures must consistently deliver reliable, quality services to enterprise users. To achieve this, application developers must work closely with the network team to verify that the network quality of service (QoS) and an application’s required performance metrics are in sync. Cross-functional teams should be formed and assigned this task. Manage - Management & StaffingBI Competency Center: Prevent Pricey MistakesWith Business Intelligence (BI) fast becoming a significant part of how companies do business, the need for BI Competency Centers (BICCs) is increasing. Senior leaders must understand when a BICC is required and the strategies for implementation to avoid expensive organizational mistakes. Enterprise Apps Planning: Construct User-Driven Business Process TeamsRecent Info-Tech research finds that business process modeling efforts led by end users and business managers produce more successful enterprise application projects. Learn how IT departments with user-driven modeling build effective business process teams, and about the best practices they use to accelerate the success of these teams. Enterprise Information Management: Leadership Crucial for InnovationIn today’s competitive market, Enterprise Information Management (EIM) teams must be swift and flexible to keep up with the demands of the business. Staff must overcome their fear of failure and plunge into unknown territory. Managers must make the transition from management to leadership to drive innovation and effectively contribute to overall business growth. How to Keep Information Management Staff from DefectingIn the race for competitive advantage, many companies are using their available information assets to fuel their business strategy. Losing Enterprise Information Management (EIM) staff can hinder growth through loss of key business systems knowledge. EIM IT leaders must invest in talent development and employee satisfaction to reduce attrition costs and maximize employee retention. Issue Management Process Set-up GuideIssue management is a practical necessity for IT projects. Determining the best approach to handling issues is an essential element of issue management. Use the ITA Premium “Issue Management Process Set-up Guide” to help guarantee issues don’t cause a project derailment. Manage Project Issues to Avoid Nasty SurprisesIt would be a rare project that didn’t have unforeseen issues. Issue avoidance is a laudable goal, but issue management is a practical necessity. Unmanaged issues add unnecessary costs, delays and risks to project delivery and erode business confidence in IT’s project capability. Define an issue management approach for every project to avoid nasty surprises. Match Leadership Style to Employee Development GoalsSituational leadership is an effective model for managing and developing people. This model helps managers to be flexible and adjust their leadership style according to the individual and the situation. It not only helps managers increase the productivity and job satisfaction of their staff, but it also helps employees improve their performance and accelerate career development. Project Issue LogIssue management is a practical necessity for IT projects. A key element in effectively handling issues is the tracking of issues that arise during a project. Use the ITA Premium “Project Issue Log” tool to ensure issues don’t cause a project derailment. Training the Business User: Models and PlansThe success of enterprise application projects depends on successful uptake by business users. The importance of training is often overlooked by IT managers. Understand the fundamentals of business-user training and follow a formal process for crafting the training plan. Enterprise Apps Planning: Minimize Business Stakeholder ObjectionsInfo-Tech finds that IT departments run into the same classic issues in getting the business on board when planning enterprise application projects. Understand the best practices for working through objections from end users and business managers, and make education and engagement continuous priorities. Reduce Stress, Improve Time ControlInfo-Tech Research found that sixty-six percent of IT Managers feel stressed. The research shows that the stress does not originate primarily from... Shaping Up for Project ManagementIT projects often underperform. When faced with the responsibility for a new project, the Project Manager (PM) can significantly improve the chances...
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