Continued: From business strategy to strategy compliant IT - activity planning Author: Mag Eric Kaltman, Senior Consultant TEMA
Part 2: From IT strategy to IT strategy planning measures conforming In Part 1 of the postings we finished with the thesis that optimum efficiency IT strategy can be achieved only if the action plans are for the individual IT departments in setting priorities consistent with the strategic objectives. The "optimum" Efficiency is derived not only by the high percentage of cover of the strategy measures, but particularly by the inclusion of strategic action at the operational level.
In practice, often hundreds of planned measures on compliance strategy and priority must be checked. A direct mapping of each activity against the SEPs and the IT strategy is doomed in the narrow sense only because of the complexity resulting from the "non-accountability" to fail. As a proven means of such a
allow mapping of measures, has the definition of so-called "category of actions" is presented, in turn, in which we are already known structure formed. Such categories allow subsequently a traceable weighting of the category of activities, which in turn can be easily assigned to each measure.
key to success is the appropriate definition of the categories of measures. They must not only be clearly possible to assign the IT SEPs, but also support in their development a different weighting for each category. The following examples illustrate this is:
Take the following in Part 1 of the article defined IT SEPs for the exemplary formulation:
A.
quality with a focus on availability and performance
b. Short development times
ad a.: quality has focused on performance and reliability in sealed structure particularly relevant to infrastructure measures and processes in operation and Development. Not everything that bears the "stamp" quality, but it should therefore be projected in the strategy for "high flyers". It therefore makes sense, for example. to define the following types of action for this SEP
• Infrastructure measures to protect the operation (Pri 1)
• Infrastructure measures to improve performance and stability (Pri 2) •
process quality assurance in development (Pri 3)
• Process SLA definition and reporting (Pri 4)
These categories of measures can then be weighted differently relatively simple: A measure to protect the operation - such as when a product runs out of maintenance - no doubt would have the highest priority, as would be the other way around. the preparation of a development manual does not equal a priori.
ad b.: Short development time:
Similar to the first example could also be the focus on infrastructure and processes:
• Infrastructure measures / tools for automated testing (Pri 2)
• Infrastructure Implementation Central Services (reuse) (Pri 2)
• Process Standardized development process model (Pri 3)
• Sourcing temporary measures for capacity expansion (Pri 1)
• etc ...
It is important to keep in mind that the definition of the category of actions is the strategy. It even does. no sense in the field of applications, a category of activities "Corporate rollout" to define where the IT strategy does not provide such, vice versa, such a category of action in the case of group projects almost indispensable because it generally in support of the corporate strategy of the highest priority. Here is more difficult to know how your IT manager or consultant in demand. Since most of the SEPs in a number of + - 10 (more than 15, it should not be) is to define, anticipate a prioritization of the SEPs in at least 2 categories
helpful. This is the prioritization of the action, a combination of SEP-priority and the efficiency of each category of action for the SEP. Around 10 up to 15 SEPs can be on around 30-35 of action and hundreds of planned measures "act", if necessary you can also bundle them according to subject.
you have entered the actions such as in MS Excel, you can assign the category of action to take on the weighting of the measures by formula and have the basis for further planning steps. In order to
the existing dependencies of the activities undertaken meet, it is recommended that dependencies from the beginning in the action plan to grasp with (such as a column "predecessor / successor"). Conflicting priorities can thus be resolved "manually". For the master planning, it is also recommended to group the issues to development plans, key projects and operational action plans. These can then be incorporated into the capacity planning of IT. Logically, is an annual review of the strategic planning activities in a timely manner prior to budgeting for next year.
