Thoughts on my vision for IT

IT/S exist to support people taking action in the real world.

IT matters if it drives efficiency. It doesn’t always mean lower cost, but should increase productivity and customer service.

Leverage mobile. Make services available across both time & place.

Use data to help drive decision-making process. No more ‘rules of thumb’ – what does the data tell us?

Collaborate! What are the partnership / collaboration opportunities with other business units and outside entities?

Increase customer serivce, productivity, service, data-driven decisions.

IT must be driven by what is technologically possible but also by what is strategically desirable.

IT has no inherent value; it must be unlocked.

Continually ask the question, ‘How can IT ensure the success of the business?’

“It’s just a little change”. Famous last words for a technology project. Unfortunately ’small changes’ have a habit of creating a snowball effect throughout the rest of the project. A project manager needs to take a systems, or holistic, view of any and all change-requests. A simple change on one part of the project can and often does impact other parts in ways that may not be evident right away. All change requests have the potential to impact one of the four constraints of time, cost, scope, and quality of the project.

Websites can be powerful instruments of an organizations marketing, communication, and technology plans. Aligning the information technology systems in general and the web presence specifically, with the business strategy is essential to maintain competitive advantage over other organiful zations. Some questions to ask of your website and web team:

• How can the web site and other web technologies used provide return on investment for the organization?
• How can the web team be aligned with regards to the organization’s business objectives?
• How can Internet technologies be leveraged to provide innovative solutions and approaches to the organization’s business priorities?
• How can analysis of web traffic be used to influence strategic decisions at the management level?
• How can the web site be a business-driven initiative, and not a technology-driven initiative?
• How can the web development team be utilized so that it is regarded as a strategic asset and/or business unit, and not simply a service-unit within the organization?

Many traditional methods of recognition are outdated and ineffective, especially to younger technology workers. Here are some ideas on motivating a technology team.

• One innovative recognition program that an IT Manager can use to keep staff motivated is the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), which is different from classic flextime structure; the boss has no say in scheduling and can judge employees only on tasks successfully completed – even if none of them took place in the office.
• Recognition programs can also lead to greater recruiting successes. Many organizations have geographically separated teams and managers who are located in other cities. The organization’s ability to recruit the most talented personal for a given position is not limited by geographical constraints.
• Technology is another way to facilitate recognition programs and to keep employees connected, even if they do not work in the same office, by virtue of virtual office spaces. Products such as Instant Messaging, Desktop Sharing, Office productivity software and Web conferencing can facilitate effective collaboration.
• A simple pat on the back can also be an effective way to recognize good performance. A simple thank you or other gesture can often help tear down barriers between management and employees.
• Not every employee is satisfied with a pat on the back or thank-you for a job well done. Many employees wish to be compensated with bonuses and/or promotions.
• Employees find great value in being valued. Whether it’s being involved in a department decision or being taken seriously by management on comments and suggestions.
• Employees want to feel appreciated, by their peers and supervisors and organization as a whole. The culture that communicates this appreciation the best is the one that is more likely to achieve greater productivity, increased morale, and lower turnover.
• A manager needs to know his/her employees, know the goal, communicate the plan, recognize individual employee value / contribution to the team, and make them part of the communication chain.

• Social acceptance, esteem, and self-actualization are three inexpensive and easy ways to improve morale.
• Combine the best blend of emphasis on the six basic elements of morale by surveying the employees.
• A simple anonymous survey is the best way for an organization to create a motivation system.
• The key point is to customize your reward system for the current environment.
• IT workers are most engaged when they are creatively solving difficult problems.
• When rewarding employees financially becomes challenging then other ways like training become essential to boosting employee morale.
• Appreciation, self-empower, company mission statement, “family” atmosphere, company pride, interest in individuals, more pleasant and easier life, loyalty, and working environment are areas to research and analyze for ways to Motivate employees and management.
• Alongside every other morale boosting tool, listen to your employees, select the tool, and help your employees do their job. Communication is the hammer of leadership.

If the organization does not go through the project analysis and design process, it would have no idea what to ask a vendor for. What business problem is trying to be solved? How many resources does the organization have at its disposal to devote to this project?

Whether the implementation of the project is conducted using its internal staff or contracted out to an application service provider is irrelevant during the initial phases of analysis. First, the business problem needs to be identified and a statement of the agreed upon goals needs to be established before moving forward to selecting the best method of implementation.

Carr & Snyder discuss many of the drawbacks to the total system solution approach. “One weakness of ASP usage is that the leasing company has little control over the applications” (pg. 446). Since the organization would be giving up operational control of a solution, it is imperative that the guidelines and project specifications are as detailed as possible. That is only likely to happen if the organization first goes through the full design process before moving on to selecting an outside vendor for implementation.

By not following the necessary analysis and design procedures, an organization is at great risk at being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous vendor. At the very least, it could lead to an ineffective and inefficient solution that does not meet the organization’s needs, and thus the project would have to begin over again anyway.