1. MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 7th EDITION
CHAPTER 12
PLANNING INFORMATION SYSTEM RESOURCES
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2. PLANNING INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESOURCES
IS and business managers need to work together to guide their organization in the planning and management of IS resources
- Chapter 12: Steps for effective IS resource planning to best position the IS organization to enable current and future business goals
- Chapter 13: Roles, responsibilities, and some “best practices” for leading an IS organization
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3. BENEFITS OF INFORMATION RESOURCES PLANNING
Creating a context for IS resource decision-making
Aligning IS and business goals
Balancing the tradeoffs between standardization and agility
Obtaining IT capital investment approvals
This requires both a periodic strategic planning process, as well as an ongoing monitoring of the appropriateness of IS plans in response to changes in the business and its environment.
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4. MULTI-STEP PLANNING PROCESS ( from an Enterprise perspective)
Assessment of current Information resources (the status quo)
Establishment of an Information Vision
Establishment of an IT Architecture for that vision
Formulation of an IS Strategic Plan (roadmap) to evolve an organization’s information resources from their current status toward the desired vision and IT architecture
Formulation of short-term Operational IS Plans based on the IS Strategic Plan
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5. ALIGNING BUSINESS AND IS PLANNING
IS decisions should be tightly aligned with the direction of the business
IS steps ideally impact the next step in the business planning process, but in practice this is not
yet typically found
Fig 12.1 The Information Resources Planning Process
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6. ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES
Inventorying and critically evaluating an organization’s technical and human resources in terms of how well they are meeting the organization’s business needs
Current performance is compared to a previous plan, competitors,
or a set of past objectives
Comparisons are made using:
- Operational data (usage of IS resources)
- Survey of client satisfaction with IS performance
- Benchmarks of what is being achieved at other organizations
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7. INFORMATION RESOURCES ASSESMENT: Examples of Assessment Statements
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8. ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES
Assessing IS Performance
Example: comparing actual performance to goals
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9. ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES
Measuring Attitudes of Users
IT managers should also consider assessing the attitudes of users about the performance of the IS organization in relation to the current needs & future direction of the business
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10. ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES
IS Organizational Mission Statement
Sets forth the fundamental rationale (or reason to exist) for activities of the IS organization
Can vary substantially from one organization to another because some IS departments play more “support” roles than “strategic” roles
The extent to which the IS organization plays a strategic role can be measured by:
the degree to which the organization is dependent on IT for business operations
the degree to which IT is enabling the current business strategy
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11. ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES
Assessing the IS Mission involves reconciling any differences between IS manager and business manager views
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12. CREATING AN INFORMATION VISION
A written expression of the desired future about how information will be used and managed in the organization
- Specific enough to guide policy decisions
Developing a vision requires both an understanding of the future direction of the business and an understanding of the role information can best play in enabling that future business strategy
- Focus is on the long term
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13. DESIGNING THE IT ARCHITECTURE
Information Technology Architecture
Depicts the way an organization’s information resources will be deployed to deliver its vision
Specifies how the Technological and Human assets of the IS organization will be deployed in the future to meet the information vision .
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14. DESIGNING THE IT ARCHITECTURE
Four Stages of IT Architecture Maturity (Ross, 2003):
Application Silos – companies seek to maximize individual business unit or functional needs
Standardized Technology – companies seek to enable IT efficiencies through shared services and application rationalization, resulting in enterprise-wide IT standardization
Rationalized Data – companies implement enterprise-wide business processes and data with tightly linked systems and processes (such as with ERP systems)
Modular – companies seek global flexibility with loosely coupled IT-enabled business process components, which enable local differences but also preserve enterprise-wide standards
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15. 4 STAGES OF ARCHITECTURE MATURITY
Fig 12.5 Changing Resource Allocation across Architecture stages, Ross 2003
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16. IT CAPABILITIES AND BUSINESS METRICS FOR IT ARCHITECTURE STAGES
Figure IT Capabilities and Business Metrics for 4 IT Architecture Stages (Based on Ross, 2003)
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17. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
Long-term objectives (often three to five years) that represent measurable movement toward the Information Vision and IT Architecture
and
Major initiatives that must be undertaken to achieve these objectives
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18. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
4 Steps in Strategic IS Planning Process
Setting objectives
2. Conducting an external analysis
3. Conducting an internal analysis
4. Establishing strategic initiatives
Most planning processes involve iterations through these 4 steps
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19. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
Setting objectives
Measures are identified for each of the key result areas
IS objectives may be established for:
- IS department service image
- IS personnel productivity
- The appropriateness of technology applications
- Increased effectiveness
- Access to external resources
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20. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
2 & 3
Conducting internal and external analyses
Review external environment and internal capabilities
One approach: SWOT analysis
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
Identify leverage points or limiting factors for new strategic initiatives
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21. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
4. Establishing strategic initiatives
Establish high-level initiatives for IS organization
These initiatives will be translated into actual projects as part of the operational IS planning
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22. FORMULATING THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN
Example: Strategic IS Plan for mid-sized company
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23. OTHER TOOLS FOR IDENTIFYING STRATEGIC IT OPPORTUNITIES
Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
Information needs and processes critical to the success of an entire organization or a specific business function (e.g., sales)
Analysis of Competitive Forces
Using Porter’s 5 Forces model to analyze potential changes in competitive advantage due to changes in balance of power between a business, its competitors, and other key stakeholders in the industry
- Examples of ways a company can create competitive advantage:
- Raising the stakes for competition in the market
- Providing difficult-to-duplicate product/service features
- Providing unique product features or customer services
- Making it easier for customers to do business with the company and more difficult to switch to a competitor
- More strongly linking with suppliers to obtain lower-cost, higher-quality materials
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24. OTHER TOOLS FOR IDENTIFYING STRATEGIC IT OPPORTUNITIES
Value Chain Analysis
Based on the value chain of Porter and Millar, analysis of Primary and Support activities of the business
Examine how data can be captured, manipulated, and distributed to better support each activity and its linkages to other activities
- Idea-generation and action-planning sessions with business and IT managers can be used to generate ideas for strategic applications of IT
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25. TOOLS FOR IDENTIFYING STRATEGIC IT OPPORTUNITIES
Strategic IT Application Opportunities in the Value Chain
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26. OTHER TOOLS FOR IDENTIFYING STRATEGIC IT OPPORTUNITIES
Scenario Planning
- Used by leaders to address an uncertain future
- Alternative scenarios for what the future might look like are developed
Typically a few major drivers are identified to create a matrix based on different values (e.g., high, low) of the drivers
Characteristics of the scenarios are then used to help plan for the future
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27. FORMULATING OPERATIONAL IS PLANS
Details the major initiatives the organization needs to carry out in the short term to achieve its strategic initiatives
Action plans for one or more years based on Strategic IS Plan, with a focus on prioritizing projects currently underway and new projects
Specifies for current and newly defined IS projects:
- Expected benefits and risks
- Due dates
- Responsibilities
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28. FORMULATING OPERATIONAL IS PLANS
Balancing the risks and returns of the Portfolio of IS Projects
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29. GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE IS PLANNING
Early clarification of the purpose of the planning process is essential
The information resources planning effort should be viewed as an iterative effort
The plan should reflect realistic expectations
A unified approach to delivering IT services should be used
An effective IS plan will also take into consideration potential barriers and constraints
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30. Copyright Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.  
Publishing as Prentice Hall
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall