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Getting Started : Purposes of IS

Strategic Planning

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Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

A company was recently acquired and initiated the planning process to determine how to merge the systems and processes of two previously separate organizations.

A small and growing company was experiencing severe quality problems and found that the company was losing its competitive edge in the marketplace. * The company was gradually falling behind the industry.

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Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

A new Vice President was hired to lead Info rmation Systems Unit (ISU) for an organiza

tion.

* The strategic planning process was initia ted to assess the current IS situation.

The business departments were frustrated with the response of ISs in another compa

ny. * Response was extremely slow.

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Simplified Supply ChainSimplified Supply Chain

Upstream Internal Downstream

Suppliers

Organization’s production

processes, including materials handling,

inventory management, manufacturing, quality control

Distributorsmaterial

information

moneyRetailers

Customers

material

information

money

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Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

A manufacturing division of a large worldwide organisation was gettin

g pressure to implement a particul - ar vendor supplied application pac

kage that was chosen by the corpo rate division.

* The manufacturing division lacks software experience.

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Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

A company faced the common p roblem of a growing and endless backlog of IS projects.

* The company began the IS st rategic planning process to prior

itise the projects and align IS pri orities with business priorities.

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Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

Reasons for IS Strategic Planning?

A company faced the unpleasant task of downsizing.Executive Management initiated the IS strategic planning process to determine ways to reduce costs and gain efficiencies.

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The Purposes of an IS Strategic Planning

The Purposes of an IS Strategic Planning

Effectively managing the expensive and critical I S asset of the organisation.

Improving “communication” among business m anagement and ISU.

Linking the IS direction to the business direction. Planning the flow of information and business pr

ocesses. Efficiently and effectively allocating IS resources

. Reducing the time and expense of the IS life cycl

e.

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Effectively Managing the IS Asset

Effectively Managing the IS Asset

Management needs effective ways to manage the IS asset.

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Improving “Communication”

Improving “Communication”

Business management will have a clear u nderstanding of the business direction, a

s well as being able to identify any risks a nd opportunities.

ISU will need to understand such busines s direction so that it can then think of ho w technology can help business manage

ment achieve the organisation’s objectives.

This mutual understanding will help esta blish a solid direction.

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Linking the IS DirectionLinking the IS Direction

Business Strategy/Direction

IS Strategy/Direction

Corporate Goals and Objectives

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IS Planning and Business DriversIS Planning and Business Drivers

(Internal and External Forces)

fina nce,

HR, t ime,

etc.

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IS Planning and Business DriversIS Planning and Business Drivers

The IS direction should be aligned with business drivers and must also conform to boundary conditions imposed by the business environment.

Business drivers identify what to do (business direction).

Boundary conditions may limit what can be done.

The resulting plan describes how to do what can be done.

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Planning the Flow of Information and

Processes

Planning the Flow of Information and

Processes Information is a valuable resource and it is

-- important to maximise its value make fu ll use of it.

Planning and managing the flow of inform ation throughout the organisation can min

imise:

* labor, data redundancy and inconsisten cy, in addition to increasing the quality an

d accuracy of information.

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Efficiently and Effectively Allocating

IS Resources

Efficiently and Effectively Allocating

IS Resources Planning will direct the effective

allocation of IS resources and mi nimise the costs of redesign, re

work, and correction of errors. ISU must utilise both computing

and human resources to obtain t he most value for the organisati

on.

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Typical Steps in IS Life Cycle

Typical Steps in IS Life Cycle

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Time Spent on Typical Life Cycle

Time Spent on Typical Life Cycle

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The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

Without proper planning, several steps of the traditional cycle are inefficient and waste time and money.

The vendor review and vendor selection process takes a long time because it may be unclear exactly: what the company is looking for, what is important, or what problems the company is trying to

solve.

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The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

The project approval step may also consume a large amount of time because costs are generally more than management expects. Management begins to ask:

“Do we really need it ?”“Are there less expensive

alternatives ?”

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The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

The Problems with the Traditional Life Cycle

Implementation takes longer than anticipated because it is an inefficiently planned execution or priorities are not clear.

Trying to make an incorrectly chosen package fit the business means more effort expended in the maintenance years.

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Improved IS Life CycleImproved IS Life Cycle

Added step

Added stepAdded step

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Time Spent on Improved Life Cycle

Time Spent on Improved Life Cycle

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Involvement of the Organization

Involvement of the Organization

Communication and involvement amon g employees are key aspects of the plan

ning process. The planning process consists of :

*80% communication and obtaining input and

* 20 % planning. We need to involve all levels of the orga

nisation in the planing process.

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4 Different Groups (Typica OOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

4 Different Groups (Typica lOrgani sati ons)

In a typical organisation, we need to involve the following groups in a strategic planning process

.

- Information Systems Steering Committee (ISSC)- Executive Management (EM)- IS Unit (ISU)

- Vendor Review and Implementation Team (VRIT)

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IS Steering CommitteeIS Steering Committee

ISSC is the most important group and is instrumental in the success of the planning process.

The committee provides ISU with a voice from all areas of the business.

The committee will formulate recommendations regarding

project priorities and resources that will, in turn, be approved by the

executive committee.

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IS Steering CommitteeIS Steering Committee

ISSC may consist of heads one level below Executive Management. Heads may be in the levels of

directors/managers. You (planner) should have

Executive Management select their own representatives to be on the ISSC team.

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ’ ISSC’sResponsi bi l i t i es

To provide recommendations and input to the IS strategic direction and plans.

* The committee will ensure that the plans are in alignment with the business plans and direction.

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ISSC’s Responsibilities ISSC’s Responsibilities

To provide input to assist in developing the vision for the deployment of technology to meet the business requirements.

To approve, sponsor, and support business-requested projects and project plans.

* The committee will be the vehicle (voice) for users in all areas of business to propose and recommend IS projects.

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ISSC’s Responsibilities ISSC’s Responsibilities

To prioritise all projects and proj ect plans.

To provide recommendations fo r the resource allocation.

To monitor project progress agai nst the approved plan.

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ISSC’s Responsibilities ISSC’s Responsibilities

To provide communication to emplo yees in the organisation, regarding I

S activities. To sponsor and initiate BPR projects. To communicate and discuss about f

unctional business issues. To review IS standards and procedur

es.

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Executive ManagementExecutive Management

It is crucial to involve Executive Management in the planning process.

This is because this team will approve the expenditure of the funds. * Their involvement at the beginning and throughout the process will make the approval process significantly easier.

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Executive Management’s

Responsibilities

Executive Management’s

Responsibilities To provide input and approve the IS

strategic direction and plans.* Ensure that the IS plans are in

agreement with the strategic business plans.

To approve all large projects and provide the final authority in the allocation of resources.

To provide high-level business direction that affects the information systems.

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ISUISU

It is important to involve ISU people in the planning process because any changes in business direction will significantly affect them.

They are more of a technical reference and take more of a back-seat/behind-the-scene role in the planning process.

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ISUISU

After communicating the business direction to ISU, they can brainstorm to come up with IS goals and objectives in an IS plan (to be updated and approved by ISSC).

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Vender Review and Implementation TeamVender Review and

Implementation Team Must include representatives from

various areas (functions) of the business, as well as one or two from ISU.

This team will provide recommendations, e.g., on vendor packages, to ISSC and look at various options in detail.

The vendor review team, if possible, should be the same as the implementation team.