manage it as a business

[...]... responsibilities of both IT and business units in IT activities Planning and measurement of IT and processes Management of the IT portfolio and projects Resource allocation across various IT activities Direct management of the IT effort TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN IT GOVERNANCE IT was and often is largely a reactive organization IT managers and staff have been trained to begin with user requests These are then... management of IT Governance of IT includes the roles and responsibilities of management, the business, and external governing boards and steering committees In the past, IT governance was not viewed as significantly different from IT management since IT was viewed as a support organization If we go back in history over the past 40 years, we find that initially IT was often embedded in finance and accounting or... it was often called then, was reactive There were no resources to go out and seek out the best opportunities The limited capability of the software and hardware meant that only selected small parts of processes could be automated The remainder of the process was left manual The process was often either split into manual and automated parts, or overlapped and redundant where the manual process was completed... often resistant to change They see, often correctly, that automation will reduce or eliminate their power that has been built up over the years Many IT managers and IT management do not take this resistance into account A WINNING APPROACH FOR IT GOVERNANCE If we were to write another IT management book along traditional lines, it would not address the problems that have been discussed above Our purpose... assessment, planning, and measurement • Part II Manage the IT effort Specific chapters address the project portfolio, the IT staff, projects, and work • Part III—Direct and coordinate IT This encompasses coordinating business unit participation in IT, managing outsourcing, management communications, and system development and software packages A chapter is also included on implementing the approach • Part IV—How... to address key IT- related challenges The areas include personnel, systems and technology, management, business units, and vendors The organization of each chapter in the first three parts follows a parallel structure as follows: • Introduction This section identifies elements of traditional IT management as well as issues and problems involved A table will be included that compares Alignment of it and... the Business 13 the traditional and modern approaches The technical, managerial, and political goals of the approach are defined • Approach This consists of several sections that provide both the general approach for the topic as well as specific guidelines for implementation • Alignment of IT and the business This section shows how the methods in the chapter help to align IT and the business • Manage. .. This is a local government example that involves a middle sized IT group The third is Shamrock Agriculture that has a small IT group that must meet many challenges In each of these we consider political as well as technical and managerial factors • Lessons learned This section includes tips from applying the methods and approach of the chapter • Performance measures To help you assess how you are doing,... allocation • Proactive management of risk and issues related to IT work ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK The book is organized into four parts • Part I—measure, plan, and control of IT • Part II manage IT resources and work • Part III—coordinate vendors, business units, and management xviii Preface • Part IV—deal with detailed and frequently encountered IT issues and problems Each chapter in the first three parts is... manual effort and automating the transactions and work Business managers have had many bad experiences with technology that did not deliver the benefits that were claimed Systems that were to cut paper, save time, increase productivity, and reduce costs failed to deliver In many cases, things actually got worse This is not unusual today Yet, with technology advances and more and expanded use by the business, . better managing IT and achieving increased alignment with the business. HOW DID WE GET HERE? At the start IT was often a part of accounting. It was viewed as strange and technical. Most of the early. class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Manage IT as a Business How to Achieve Alignment and Add Value to the Company LARS-FM.qxd 22/7/04 8:08 PM Page i This page intentionally left blank Manage IT. Plan 78 Alignment of IT and the Business 79 Manage Risk 79 Examples 80 Lessons Learned 81 Performance Measures for IT Planning 81 Summary 82 Part II Manage the People and the Work Chapter 5 Manage