Ch14 Final

E. Wainright Martin Carol V. Brown Daniel W. DeHayesJeffrey A. Hoffer William C. Perkins

MANAGINGMANAGINGINFORMATIONINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

FIFTH EDITION

CHAPTER 14

SETTING A DIRECTION FOR INFORMATION RESOURCES

© 2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Chapter 14 - 2

WHY SET A DIRECTION FOR INFORMATION RESOURCES?

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To share information among diverse parts of the organization

To communicate the future to others

To provide a consistent rationale for making individual decisions

Planning discussions help business managers and IS professionals in making decisions about how the “business” of IS will be conducted


THE OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTION-SETTING PROCESS

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Information Resources Assessment

Information resources assessment – includes inventorying and critically evaluating these resources in terms of how well they are meeting the organization’s business needs


OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTION-SETTING PROCESS

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Information Vision and Architecture

Is an ideal view of the future

Not the plan on how to get there

Must be flexible enough to provide policy guidelines for individual decisions

More than just fluff

Must focus on the long term



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Information vision – a written expression of the desired future about how information will be used and managed in the organization



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Information vision – a written expression of the desired future about how information will be used and managed in the organization

Information technology architecture – depicts the way an organization’s information resources will be deployed to deliver that vision



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Information Resources Plans

Strategic IS plan – contains a set of longer-term objectives that represent measurable movement toward the information vision and technology architecture and a set of associated major initiatives that must be undertaken to achieve these objectives



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Information Resources Plans

Strategic IS plan – contains a set of longer-term objectives that represent measurable movement toward the information vision and technology architecture and a set of associated major initiatives that must be undertaken to achieve these objectives

Operational IS plan – is a precise set of shorter-term goals and associated projects that will be executed by the IS department and by business managers in support of the strategic IS plan


THE PROCESS OF SETTING DIRECTION

Assessment

Vision

Strategic Planning

Operational Planning

Page 561 Figure 14.1 The Information Resources Planning Process



Strategic Planning – the process of constructing a viable fit between the organization’s objectives and resources and its changing market and technological opportunities




Operational Planning – lays out the major actions the organization needs to carry out in the shorter term to activate its strategic initiatives




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Needs-based IS planning or project-oriented IS planning: Bottom-up, immediate approach to information resources planning Used when a specific, urgent business need called for a new

system Emphasis on project planning rather than overall organizational

planning

Traditional Planning in the IS Organization


ASSESSING CURRENT INFORMATION RESOURCES

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Information resources assessment: Must measure current levels of information resources use within the organization

and compare it to a set of standards

Standards can come from: Past performance Technical benchmarks Industry norms “Best of class” estimates from other companies

Measuring IS Use and Attitudes



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IS mission statement: Should set forth the fundamental rationale (or reason to

exist) for activities of the IS department Can vary substantially from one organization to another

Reviewing the IS Organizational Mission

© 2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Chapter 14 - 15 Page 565

Reviewing the IS Organizational Mission

Figure 14.3 IS-Prepared Mission Statement Example

Example IS Mission Statement



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Traditional goal: Reduce cost by increasing operating efficiencies

Scope of IS goals has expanded to include: Systems to assist in decision making Ways to help with competitive advantage

Assessing Performance versus Goals


Assessing Performance versus Goals

Table 14.1 Objectives for the IS Department


Information Vision: Represents how senior management wants information to be used and managed in the

future

Starts with speculation on how the business’s competitive environment will change and how the company should take advantage of it

Business vision is specified and written

Implications for information use are outlined

CREATING AN INFORMATION VISION


DESIGNING THE ARCHITECTURE

IT architecture – specifies how the technological and human assets and the IS organization should be deployed in the future to meet the information vision


DESIGNING THE ARCHITECTUREComponents of Architecture

Figure 14.5 Elements of an Information Technology Architecture

© 2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Chapter 14 - 21 Page 569-570

THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN

Strategic IS Plan – statement of the major objectives and initiatives that the IS organization and business managers must accomplish over some time period in order to:

• move toward the information vision• fit the business strategic plan


THE STRATEGIC IS PLANThe Strategic IS Planning Process

The planning process includes: Setting objectives

Conducting internal and external analyses

Establishing strategic initiatives


Critical success factors

Analysis of Competitive Forces

Value Chain Analysis

THE STRATEGIC IS PLANTools for Identifying IT Strategic Opportunities


Value Chain Analysis

Figure 14.11 Strategic Information Systems Opportunities in the Value Chain


After the strategic plan, initiatives must be: Identified Translated into a set of defined IS projects with:

Precise expected results Due dates Priorities Responsibilities

THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN


Developed for a 3-to-5 year time period

Focuses on project definition, selection, and prioritization

THE OPERATIONAL IS PLANThe Long-Term Operational IS Plan


THE OPERATIONAL IS PLANThe Long-Term Operational IS Plan

Table 14.2 IS Long-Range Operational Plan Project Portfolio


THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

Table 14.3 Sample 2004 Operational IS Plan


THE OPERATIONAL IS PLANThe Short-Term Operational IS Plan

Developed for a 1-year time period

Focuses on specific tasks to be completed on projects that are currently underway or ready to be started


1. Early clarification of the purpose of the planning process

2. Planning effort should be iterative

3. Plan should reflect realistic expectations

4. Process of setting expectations should involve business management

5. Plans should integrate all applications of IT

6. Plan will take into consideration the barriers and constraints facing all organizations

GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PLANNING


Better IS resource allocation

Communicating with top management

Helping vendors

Creating a context for decisions

Achieving integration and decentralization

Evaluating options

Meeting expectations of management

BENEFITS OF INFORMATION RESOURCES PLANNING


Active participation

Accept most of responsibility for identifying specific projects that contribute to vision

Stay involved in planning and system development activities

Regularly provide feedback and necessary input

ROLES IN THE INFORMATION RESOURCES PLANNING PROCESSRole of the Business Manager


ROLES IN THE INFORMATION RESOURCES PLANNING PROCESSRole of the IS Professional

Act more in consulting and planning role

Help business managers understand how their ideas for competitive advantage can get built into a new information system

Create a project plan

Combine technical and organizational skills

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Ch14 Final