1. Business – IT Alignment
August 2016
Copyright © 2016 Keystone Technology Consultants

2. Agenda Two IT types: We will cover: Those that do not think about this
Those that do, but want a framework and tools
We will cover:
Why is this important?
How can I accomplish it?

3. Terms to know
IT Function: The entire IT operation, including internal and external people, the technology, process, and business relationship.
Alignment: The coordinated efforts of the IT function intended to support and develop business goals.
Capability Maturity Model (CMM) – A way to measure a function on its capabilities in a continuum.
IT function is much like other business units, especially back office support units. They must be aligned to the business, and represent their unique views.

4. What is Business – IT Alignment?
What is an example of an IT Project?
What project most often fails to meet its goals and why?
IT projects are not ERP, CRM, Office Upgrades, etc. These are business projects. IT projects are a narrow set of projects like “upgrade the existing server”, patch the PCs, etc.
CRM is the project most likely to fail – though IT may do everything well, the process and business alignment is not there. Better planning, training, and especially communication of goals and seeing what each stakeholder and party must understand and do to meet these goals is essential.

5. Business – IT Alignment
Business – IT alignment requires IT be the tail on the dog, and wag when the dog needs it; but it serves an important function!

6. How do we get aligned? Process with Three Phases: Then Repeat…
Assess and Baseline
Deeper Analysis, and Define and Design Based on Findings
Ongoing Operational Work
Then Repeat…
You are in a relationship now, with a framework, keep going back to it!

7. Step 1: Assess and Baseline

8. Step 1: Assess and Baseline
Goal: Identify resources available to the organization, and how the users and leadership perceive them.
Three Primary Activities:
Survey for baseline against “world class”
Interview key business personnel
Interview key IT personnel
World Class IT Includes:
It creates and maintains a platform that is stable and robust that business units can reliably employ through all business cycles and functions.
It has people that are skilled in their roles, committed to the organization’s success, and is a stable team with low turnover.
It provides the needed systems and tools to enable all business units to understand processes, and measure and manage them for improvement.
It spends just the right amount, with measures in place to understand costs. In other words, it has a budget in alignment with the rest of the organization – and has demonstrable value.
It takes its knowledge of the organization through the lens of data movement and helps define and improve business process for the betterment of the whole organization.

9. Assess and Baseline: CMM

10. Baseline: Assessment Survey Tool
Use a tool to collect feedback from business users on key views regarding IT Management, Mission Support, Personnel, Reliability and more.
Questions are often subjective because we want the perception – what does the business receive AND feel about IT?

11. Baseline: Interview Key Personnel
Goals:
Understand barriers and where investment could be done to generate results.
Identify key business drivers of the organization. (e.g. “increase profit by 10%”). This is what IT needs to align with.
Tools:
Microsoft Word – document key points and actual language and words as much as possible
Summarization Tool – Mind Map or PowerPoint

12. Baseline: Interview Key IT Personnel
Before starting:
Inventory Technology in place
Build a matrix of needed skills to maintain it
Interview:
Similar to how business personnel interviews went
Look for Skills and Strengths (Consider StrengthsFinder)
Look for Interests – what interests IT people often gets done first and best.
Analyze skills and Interests against the matrix of needed skills
Review current IT documentation and policies
IT people are often learners and analytical – it fits their mindset of new technology and a logical approach to using it.

13. IT Skills Needed to Personnel Matrix

14. Step 2: Deeper Analysis; and Define and Design Based on Findings

15. Step 2: Deeper Analysis; and Define and Design Based on Findings
Goal: Identify specific trends, and areas to investigate further. I.E. “Start to look for the key problems and possible solutions”
Process:
Process Mapping and identify costs for processes (optional)
Assess Opportunities to improve the Technology Function 
Define opportunities to improve

16. Process Mapping and Identify Costs for Business Workflows
May require some significant time
Helps if Lean or Six Sigma already in use and may be available already, or will contribute to that
Document the Workflow and costs from point A to Point B
Point A to Point B may be order -> Cash, etc. but could start earlier (marketing and sales, and end later (service and support, RMA, etc.)
Workflow
Use Large Whiteboard or large white paper and post its
Document in Visio
Add properties to Visio for cost, time, etc. and probabilities (yes/no), etc. – Or connect to Excel, or database of same

17. Process - Sample

18. Summarize - Again Review all findings again for:
Key pain points, persistent problems, recurring issues
Repeated Opportunities
Develop a map or summary

19. Identify Value Added Opportunities
Review notes and analysis for key pain points
Review IT personnel use and realign as needed
Change IT policies, SLAs, services
For any opportunity, ensure you have:
A champion from the business
A way to assess multiple options (Excel tool for identifying requirements, weighting, and scoring)

20. Phase 3: Establish and Operate an IT Steering Committee

21. Phase 3: Establish and Operate an IT Steering Committee
Focus: Involve business leaders who have business goals and could benefit from the right technology solutions to meet those goals.
Translate business goals into initiatives that include technology.

22. Goals of the IT Steering Committee
Project Approval
Project Prioritization
IT Strategic Planning
IT Policies and Standards
IT Project Portfolio Monitoring
IT budgeting and Forecasting
IT Strategic Planning - plan the strategic direction for the organization and how it employs technology assets. For example, they will be the group that determines if you need a new ERP system, what benefits a CRM system may provide to the sales force, and if iPads would be an appropriate tool for service technicians.

23. IT Steering Committee – What do they need?
A charter that delegates authority to them
Agreed to operating procedures
A clear idea of the business goals, described a “drivers”
Meet regularly
Executive Sponsorship
A project ranking and portfolio management tool

24. Questions? Contact the Keystone Technology Consultants