Step 1: Set Conditions to Achieve Alignment
The first task in aligning IT goals and objectives to those of the business is to establish a working environment that promotes strategic objective setting and collaboration. A key factor in gaining alignment is the support and commitment of business executives to your IT strategy and planning efforts.
Info-Tech Tip: Use the opportunity of developing an IT Strategy to get to know the business executives in the company. Your mandate requires that you understand their business, their challenges and how technology can help them develop business capabilities that will drive value.
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1.1 Obtain Stakeholder Support
An IT strategy is difficult to set in a vacuum, that is, without a solid understanding of market factors, business challenges and corporate initiatives. Active commitment from business executives ensures that the IT strategy and roadmap are designed to optimize value from IT investments, resources and assets. During this activity, you will identify key executives important to your IT strategy efforts. You will solicit their participation and support. You can use Info-Tech’s "Stakeholder Guidelines and Analysis” tool to document the role of each stakeholder and their expectations of the strategic planning process.
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- Managing Business Expectations of IT Projects
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1.2 Set Parameters of the IT Strategy
For most companies, the IT Strategy process is straightforward and revisited on an annual basis. The executive team has frequent interaction and the strategy can be developed over a series of key meetings supported with clear-cut back-room work. However, larger organizations or companies that are geographically dispersed may have infrequent interaction between IT leaders and business executives. For some organizations, this may be the first development of an IT Strategy. In these cases, you should follow a more formal, advanced activity. Use Info-Tech’s "IT Strategy and Roadmap Scope Statement” tool to establish a project charter for your efforts.
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- Simple IT Strategy Better Than No IT Strategy
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1.3 Launch IT Strategy Initiatives
For many companies, an explicit launch to the IT Strategy is unnecessary. The strategy will be developed by the core IT leadership team. Interaction with other business executives is informal and frequent. However, as in the previous activity, if a more formal approach is warranted, conduct a kickoff meeting with your stakeholders and your strategy team. Use Info-Tech’s advanced "Kickoff Meeting Template” to help you complete this activity.
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- Champion Clear Communications for Project Wins
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Step 2: Scan for Potentially Enabling Technologies
Periodically, every enterprise should consider how advancements in technology or technology management practices can be applied to drive business value. Advancements can be new product announcements or new uses for proven technologies. Some organizations systematically monitor industry developments to determine if and when a technology is right for them. However, since this activity is not necessary every time you develop a strategy and may not be necessary for your situation, Info-Tech considers it advanced.
Info-Tech Tip: Don’t sweat the small stuff. The landscape of technologies can be confusing and there is no shortage of advice. Make this step part of your quarterly or semi-annual routine. It can be fun to explore possibilities and consider creative ideas. And it is important to plan for technology migration as vendor products evolve and even become discontinued.
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2.1 Scan for Potential Business Enabling Technologies
Take a deliberate approach to identifying and evaluating how and when emerging technologies can have a strategic impact on the enterprise. Your objective during this activity is to assess whether the company can gain competitive advantage and strategic value by adopting a new technology. During this activity, you should talk to your key vendors to understand their strategic roadmap and innovations. You can also use your professional network to understand how your competitors, customers and suppliers are using advanced technologies and what value they are seeing. Discover which technologies to investigate, deploy, or ignore based on results from using Info-Tech’s "Technology Monitor.”
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- How to Align IT Resources with the Value Chain
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Step 3: Determine IT Value Imperatives
The key step in this program, clearly articulating how IT will contribute to business goals, sets the tone and intent for the IT Strategy and Investment Roadmap. During this step, you will clearly confirm the strategic priorities of the enterprise and propose specifically what IT must accomplish for the company to achieve those priorities.
Info-Tech Tip: Beware of dreaming too large. When you consider each company strategy objective, don’t brainstorm all the possible ways that IT might participate. Rather, focus on how the company will miss its objectives without IT’s contribution. What services, systems functionality, and processes are critical?
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3.1 Document Strategic Business Objectives
During this activity you will summarize and condense key elements of the company’s strategy that become the anchor of the IT Strategy. Where a company documents a corporate strategy, this activity may be as simple as pulling the critical priorities where IT has a significant role to play. In the event where the company does not have a documented business strategy, do not expect to develop one unilaterally. That is not your responsibility.
- If you are going to develop a successful IT strategy where there is no documented business strategy, you still need your business anchor. Meet with key business stakeholders to understand what their unwritten priorities and strategic initiatives might be. Use Info-Tech’s "Business Executive Interview Guide” to assist in conducting these interviews. Also use Info-Tech’s "Enterprise Strategy and Goals” template to document priorities and objectives.
- Where a Business Strategy document exists, use Info-Tech’s advanced tool, "Assessing Enterprise Strategy," to know how to read the key sections included in many business strategy documents. Also use Info-Tech’s advanced tool, "Key Success Factors Analysis,” to help pull the critical components from the Business Strategy and understand the implications on business operations.
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- The Goal of IT/Business Alignment: Why so Elusive?
- Give IT and Business an Attitude Alignment
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3.2 Develop IT Value Imperatives
Once you have summarized the company’s business goals and objectives, it is important to articulate what IT must achieve in order for the company to realize them. For each strategic objective, clearly develop one or two sentence statements that describe what IT must do to enable those objectives. Use Info-Tech’s "IT Imperatives" template to document your imperatives.
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- Alignment is No Longer Good Enough
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Step 4: Develop IT Vision and Mission
Have you ever felt that the harmony of your organization is just a little off-key? When parts and pieces of your organization seem to demonstrate different values and behaviors, it may be time to refocus your team. If it appears that business stakeholders don’t know what to expect from IT or expect widely differing things, perhaps it’s time to clearly articulate the role of IT in the organization. IT organizations ready to answer or address these issues are ready to perform this advanced step in the program.
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4.1 Conduct IT Visioning Working Session
Enlist your management team and key business stakeholders in a working meeting to reassess the role of IT and how IT should be contributing value to the enterprise. Use Info-Tech’s "IT Vision Meeting Agenda” to help you structure your session.
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4.2 Articulate IT's Role, Objectives and Values
Based on your working session and IT Imperatives, develop an overarching Vision and Mission statement for your organization. Use Info-Tech’s "IT Vision and Mission Statements Template” to help you.
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