Solution Set

Applications pass through four lifecycle stages: Birth, Growth, Maturity, and Death. To effectively manage each application, the IT leader and Applications Manager (AM) must know to which state it belongs.

Case Study

Ad hoc management of the application lifecycle leads to inefficient management of the application, reducing its overall value.

Tool

Determining if or when to retire an application is a difficult proposition. Retirement decisions have a reactionary effect on an enterprise's corporate and technology infrastructure. Using the wrong criteria to determine whether or not to retire...

Note

Pull the right levers to promote innovation in your IT department. Review the six most important cultural preconditions for fostering innovation in the IT department.

Tool

Assess your IT department for the six key preconditions of IT innovation. Learn the precondition priorities for your IT department and plan your roadmap to innovation success.

Solution Set

Business and IT leaders have come under increasing pressure to reduce costs while maintaining organizational effectiveness. IT does not have the capability to do this, using its existing toolbox.

Note

End user-IT relationships have an impact on overall workplace conditions. End-user satisfaction with IT service and communication determines the overall end user-IT relationship. Identify what relationship type you are in with the end user and...

Video

Info-Tech research has shown that improving end-user satisfaction with IT results in higher employee engagement, better working conditions throughout the organization, and higher employee effectiveness and productivity.

Note

When it comes to enacting change, IT is its own worst enemy. They fail to address four important issues when preparing users, which ultimately results in resistance to the change.

Solution Set

IT Leaders need to provide the guidance and direction to prepare the rest of the organization to navigate the treacherous waters of organizational change and gain buy in and support.

Solution Set

Too often maintenance tasks take a backseat and don't get the attention they require. Good process and control is critical to ensure that systems remain functional, no matter from where the changes came.

Template/Policy

Configuration change control involves the systematic proposal, justification, implementation, test/evaluation, review, and disposition of changes to information systems, including upgrades and modifications. Without system change control the...

Template/Policy

Requirements may change throughout the project life cycle. Documenting and tracking these changes ensures accuracy when addressing the requests for change. Ensure that the accurate assessment and impact of the change are documented whenever a...

Note

New IT leaders are often met with political and skills-based challenges for which they aren't prepared. Follow Info-Tech's one-hundred day plan to kick-off your new IT leadership position. Not only will you start off on the right foot, but you...

Template/Policy

Unscheduled moves, adds, and changes (MACs) to desktop systems can lead to a drain on resources and inefficiencies. Draft a move/add/change policy to help you control the process, reduce IT support costs, and increase end-user satisfaction.

The interview process is two-fold. Just as an organization is eager to find out what you are about, you must also be keen to understand the role and the organization. Leverage the interview process to be sure this is the job for you, and be sure...

IT leaders should generally stick to quick wins and avoid making deep-seated changes in their first 100 days. However, new leaders must also recognize when long-term change is needed. The real-world scenarios presented in this note provide new...

As the need for particular maintenance activities waxes and wanes, small enterprise IT managers who outsource their application maintenance often face the challenge of dealing with varying levels of resource demand. Move seamlessly through...

Video

Just as the organization is eager to find out all about you, the job candidate, the interview process also provides you with a unique opportunity to understand the role and the organization. Leverage the interview process to be sure that this is...

Video

Application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) often involves peaks and valleys in resource demand as the need for support activities waxes and wanes. This videocast highlights how several IT executives interviewed by Info-Tech manage fluctuations in...

(By Info-Tech Analyst Andy Woyzbun- Printed with permission from Processor magazine www.processor.com) Times are tough. Business is down. Some organizations hunker down, limiting their responses to reducing expenses and stopping projects and...

Premium Resource

Whether it's planned, routine, or emergency-related, the constant change involved in application maintenance must be managed in order to minimize possible downtime and maximize maintenance efforts without overrunning the maintenance budget.

Premium Resource

The decision has been made to make changes to an application. Now these changes must be executed and rolled out to the user base in a controlled way that maximizes the change's success and minimizes disruption to the business. This process is...

When the economy takes a turn for the worse, IT is often the target of budget and staffing cuts, regardless of the negative impact the cuts may have on projects or service levels. With the nature of the cuts out of IT's control, how can you...

Change management has become entrenched in the 21st century. Organizational change provides a great opportunity for enterprises to build a more effective, and more focused business. Avoid the eight common mistakes that lead to change failure.

Template/Policy

Trying to manage unscheduled moves, adds, and changes (MACs) to desktop systems and user accounts can be one of IT's biggest headaches. Use a move/add/change request form to help you control the process, organize your IT resources, and increase...

Moves, Adds, and Changes (MACs) can be a big hassle if managed poorly. Control the process to reduce IT support costs and increase end-user satisfaction. Use these tips to help control and enforce MAC best practices.

Template/Policy

Change is a part of every organization and the result of improving business practices and of working with technology. Many significant organizational changes break the implicit employment contract between the company and employee, and it's...

IT leaders are faced with frequent technology changes that undoubtedly have an effect on other people in the enterprise. For many, change can mean a kink in their regular routine so it's no surprise that it is resisted. Use Info-Tech's eight...

Managing change has become the "silver bullet" in successfully managing strategy, process, people, and culture in most modern enterprises. Use these best practices to successfully and effectively manage organizational change.