Ch 6: Strategic Information Systems Planning Flashcards
The IT decisions your IT people should not make #1 - How much should we spend on IT?
This question requires executives to discuss and decide on the role of IS and technology in the organization. Failing to ask and answer this question puts the firm’s IT department in a reactive mode, having to decide on individual projects with little guidance as to the overall picture.
The IT decisions your IT people should not make #1 - Which IT capabilities need to be companywide?
Large organizations constantly battle the trade-off between standardization and flexibility. Standardization enables the firm to manage operations efficiently, while flexibility enables the firm to react more quickly and more effectively to local needs. This is a business decision that managers should not hand over as they are in the best position to weigh the cost/benefits.
Know Where You Start: Information Systems Assessment
Once the planning team has a clear grasp on the strategic direction the firm intends to pursue, more research is needed. The team needs an information systems resource assessment that includes taking an inventory of the IS resources the firm is currently using and critically evaluating them in terms of how well they are meeting the business needs of the organization. The planning team should assess the firm’s current use of , and satisfaction with, these resources. The objective is to understand what resources are available and whether they are currently satisfying organizational objectives.
The Strategic Impact Grid
A tool that helps in defining the role of IS in a specific company. The main advantage is its ability to enable simultaneous evaluation of the firm’s current and future IS needs.
The Strategic Impact Grid - Two Dimensions
Low to High Need for Reliable IS, Low to High Need for New IS
The Strategic Impact Grid - Four Quadrants
Factory, Strategic, Support, Turnaround
The Strategic Impact Grid - Four Quadrants - Factory
The organization falls in the factory quadrant when it currently has a technology infrastructure that enables the business to operate with the needed degree of efficiency and effectiveness.
The Strategic Impact Grid - Four Quadrants - Strategic
The organization falls in the strategic quadrant when IS are both critical to the firm’s current operations and the planning team foresees new IS or new functionalities of existing systems to be critical for the future viability and prosperity of the business.
The Strategic Impact Grid - Four Quadrants - Support
The organization falls in the support quadrant when IS are not mission critical for current operations, and this state of affairs is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.
The Strategic Impact Grid - Four Quadrants - Turnaround
The organization falls in the turnaround quadrant when IS are not considered mission critical for current operations. Yet unlike firms in the support quadrant, the planning team believes that the current state of affairs is due for a change in the near future, and new IS or new functionalities of existing systems will be critical for the business’s future viability and continued success.
Know How You Are Going to Get There: Information Systems Guidelines
Communication, Identify Responsibilities, Long-Range Decision Support, Technical IS Guidelines, and Organizational IS Guidelines
Reasons for Developing IS Guidelines
The firm executives have a vision for what they want the business to achieve and how they want it to operate. Working in partnership with IS professionals, as part of the planning team, they will refine their vision and establish a blueprint that will enable communication, establish responsibility, and guide future decision making.
IS Guidelines - Communication
By establishing a coherent set of rules stemming from IS vision, these guidelines ensure that future IS use and management in the firm, rather than haphazardly and in an uncoordinated manner.
IS Guidelines - Identify Responsibilities
IS guidelines set expectations for behavior serving a similar binding purpose as policy rules. Decisions that are made in accordance with IS guidelines are deemed appropriate and those not made in accordance are treated as exceptions and will typically need substantial justification.
IS Guidelines - Long-Range Decision Support
Because the firm will not engage in the IS planning process every year, the IS guidelines must be general enough to provide direction over a number of years.
