Develop an Information Strategy Plan

Introduction Aim Use of the Guide This presentation is prepared to support and give a general overview of the ‘How to Develop an Information Strategy Plan’ Guide and should be read in conjunction with the publication. Use of the Guide This guide covers the subject of developing an ‘Information Strategy Plan’. The guide firstly explains why strategic planning is required for companies. Next, a step-by-step procedure for developing an Information Strategy Plan is presented. The final section includes the implementation requirements of an Information Strategy Plan. This part is a summary of the ‘How to Implement an IT Strategy’ Guide.

Strategic Planning Strategic Planning aims to provide an understanding of the functions of the business, as well as a map for its future. What business are you in? Where are you now? How did you get there? Where do you want to be in the future? How are you going to get there?

Strategic Planning Business Strategic Planning Process that your organisation employs to make decisions about its business direction. Information Strategy Planning Deals with the whole ‘information resource’ of an organisation and its relation with the general business environment.

Strategic Planning Information Strategy should be integrated with Business Strategy and other aspects of the organisation.

Strategic Planning As business and information strategies become aligned, organisations can answer questions such as: Is IT adequately supporting our activities? Can we reduce the cost of core processes? Can IT help us ‘tie in’ to clients on a long-term basis? Is IT improving staff satisfaction and motivation? Can new services and products be created? Can IT help us gain new markets? How can the organisation’s information and knowledge be managed as a resource? How can the new technologies be used to address changing business needs?

Developing an Information Strategy Plan There are five stages in developing an Information Strategy Plan: Initiate Information Strategy Planning Project Identify Your Business Position Examine Capabilities and Technologies Develop System and Technology Roadmap Prioritise Solutions

Developing an Information Strategy Plan Five stages are linked:

Initiate Information Strategy Planning Project i. Gain senior management approval and sponsorship Find a senior manager to sponsor the whole project from its inception to the implementation of new IT systems. ii. Appoint a champion Have a key employee or ‘champion’ who drives the process with energy and commitment. iv. Involve business managers and employees Planning process should involve different participants from senior managers to employees. iii. Appoint team and schedule activities Appoint a team that represents a cross section of your organisation’s business area.

Identify Your Business Position i. Assess your current business position What is your current market position How do your customers see you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What kind of culture and business values do you have? Does your organisation make decisions centrally or delegate responsibility? ii. Examine your future business direction Do you want to stay in the same business? Where do you want to be in the future? Which are your priority business areas? iii. Decide what role IT should play in your business Decide on your general approach to developing IT systems. Will you want to use IT to enter into new markets? Decide how much to spend on IT.

Examine Capabilities and Technologies i. Identify your current IT capabilities and key technologies Examine the type of IT systems and infrastructure your organization has. How appropriate are your existing systems and technologies? Which major activities are not supported by IT? ii. Identify your current IT capability Consider your organisation’s IT capability in respect to IS and computer technologies, IT training and awareness and IT business processes. iii. Identify external systems and technologies Search the IT market and identify new technologies which may be of use to your company.

Develop System and Technology Roadmap i. Map your project life cycle processes To understand how your organisation functions it is a good idea to model your business in a graphical form. ii. Examine your information sharing requirements Decide which systems need to share information, and think about how this could be achieved. iv. Decide which major systems you will need Decide which software systems are most important according to your business activities. iii. Explore the relevance of the Internet / E-business to your organisation. Examine whether Internet / E-business could give you advantage in your project life cycle. v. Plan your infrastructure requirements Decide what technology infrastructure your organisation will need to support its systems. vi. Standardise your systems / technologies To ease project communication, it is important to reach agreement on standards systems. vii. Plan your people training and requirements Train your employees according to the requirements of the new system.

Prioritise Solutions Prioritise Solutions i. Prioritise critical software systems Your organisation’s vision and business directions can guide you in prioritising the critical software packages that you must install first. ii. Indicate resources and timeframes Indicate how much each system will cost? How many people are required? How long it will take to install. Who is responsible for the installation? iv. Communicate and seek feedback It is important that other people in the organisation have a ‘buy-in’ to the strategy. iii. Plan how you will manage changes to the document Indicate how your IS Plan will be maintained. How often it will be reviewed? Who will do it, and what resources are needed? How much will it cost? What training will be required to maintain it? iv. Get authorisation Secure authorisation for funding the priority solutions.

Implementing an Information Strategy Plan Implementing IT Strategy guide suggests that: Specification of user requirements Software selection Sequence of implementation What are the major issues when replacing expensive ‘legacy’ systems? Timescales and resources Managing expectations. Training and support are important factors for the implementation of an IS Strategy Plan.

Implementing an Information Strategy Plan It is also important that the developed strategy to be presented clearly to a defined audience. The strategy can be presented to the following: - Senior managers - IT managers and staff - Participants in the planning process - User representatives Other parties affected by the plan: - Clients - Sub-contractors - Associated companies - Unions

Implementing an Information Strategy Plan For large organisations ‘piloting’ a system is often the first step towards implementation. Pilot projects have some advantages including: Reduced risk of time and cost over runs Reduced risk in selecting the wrong system Benefits are achieved earlier thus increasing management and user confidence The organisation is able to revise its requirements The level of training required can be assessed The approach fits well with the construction industry’s tendency to fund IT systems on a project basis

Managing Changes to an Information Strategy The strategy planning project needs all the elements shown in the figure below in order to be successful. If any of the elements are missing, strategic planning will face difficulties.

Concluding Remarks Information strategy will demonstrate to the organisation how it can gain business benefits from IT. Information strategy should be based on the business strategy to gain a greater understanding of the potential of IT systems. Continuous sponsorship and involvement from the top management is needed. Organisations need resources, infrastructure and incentives to implement the strategy.