Organizing and Leading the ICT-function

Responsibilities
Project management

Direction Committee Steering Committee Project Group Working Groups

Management of the IT-department

Centralized organization Decentralization

The Direction Committee

The responsibility of the management :

The strategic plan

Set up a steering committee Provide facilities

The Steering committee

- group of representative top level managers - meet a few times a year

Responsibilities of the steering committee:

Define Basic Options programming environment tools hardware Coherency between Strategic plan and IT-plan Budget Formal acceptance

Project group
Created by the steering committee for the lifetime of the project Middle-managers and IT-people meeting frequently Directed by a Project Leader

Responsibilities :
daily system follow-up budget follow-up create ad-hoc working groups if needed report to steering committee Project meeting reports are crucial

Working groups
Ad-hoc working groups

created to solve a specific problem or to make a specific report disappear after completion of the job

Permanent working groups

cooperate in all projects very specialized ( security, ergonomic, ... )

Central IT - department
IT-MGR
Finances secretariat

Function Analysis Quality assurance

department-1

Technical units
Software devel.

Operations
Operators

department-2

DBA

job-preparation

Security

. . . department-n.

telecom

librarian

Help desk Training

operating system

Production ctrl.

IT Resource Management: pressures

Pressure Management control Towards centralization Hierarchical Standardization Efficiency Security,reliability Efficient use of resources Specialized, costly equipment Specialized operational skills Multiple access to common data Assurance of data standards Security control Availability of specialized staff Reduced turnover disruption Richer professional career Towards Decentralization Entrepreneurial User responsiveness Simpler control Improvement in local reliability Efficient use of small scale Low cost equipment Local data Fit with field needs Data relevant to one branch Towards Distribution Information age Learning Efficiency, effectiveness Global security, reliability Efficient use of resources Mix of specialized and off-the -shelf Need for information sharing High capacity networks

Technology

Data

IT professionals

Generalized expertise Interfunctional career paths

Technical sophistication Motivated to mana ge IT Decentralized profit centers Result culture

Mix of professional resources

High level of literacy High level of commitment Matrix organization Centralized and decentralized resources

End-users

Low technical skills No IT motivation Organizational fit Functional hierarchy Command and control IT centralized from start

Implications of too much Dominance

Too much emphasis on DB and system maintenance New systems must fit old data structures Service requests require system study and benefit analysis Standardization dominates IT designs/constructs everything Little user control on development IT specializing in technical aspects, not in user business IT spends 80% on maintenance IT thinks they control everything Users express unhappiness General management not involved but concerned Development portfolio under IT control

IT Dominance

User Dominance

Too much focus on problem IT feels out of control Explosive growth of numbers of systems and related staff Multiple, often changing suppliers Lack of standardization and control over data and systems Hard evidence of benefits nonexistent Soft evidence not organized Technical advise of IT not sought or considered irrelevant Buying services from outside Networks not designed for corporate needs Little technology transfer Growth in duplication of technical staff Rising communication cost because of duplication Duplication of effort and input

Pressure towards user dominance

Pent-up user demand

large backlog (3-5 years) due to sustained maintenance first created by conversion to data - program separation staffing problems due to high turnover user-developed systems speed up the process of obtaining the needed service decentralized IT helps educate users, reduces communication problems rotation between IT and non-IT jobs possible decentralization facilitates user interface with network specific applications marketed to end-user managers stand-alone local hardware platforms seem attractive to users seen as operationally simple ( no airco , one operator,...) no cumbersome project proposal to be written and defended projects developed under user control

Competitive and service growth in IT market

Pressure towards user dominance

User control

regaining control over operations is very important for users development control over system development priorities own staff or self selected software houses mistakes made by local group are more easily accepted successes are topics of conversation maintenance users get control over maintenance priorities assumption is that maintenance will not be a problem operations not dependent on corporate computer scheduling

Fit with organization

Benefits can lead to less data hygiene and less regard for control

Pressures toward IT control

Staff professionalism
specialized personnel supporting small divisions graying of IT , reason for outsourcing : easier with central IT developing and enforcing standards of IT management documentation, project management skills decentralization may drop professionalism

Feasibility study concerns

users can hardly estimate growing processing requirements user feasibility study focus on first application more susceptible to acquire products from unstable vendors not enough concern to export developments to other depts

Pressures toward IT control

Corporate Database System
ability to manage and control data flows data integrity and consistency abstraction of data ensure appropriate security

Fit with corporate structure and strategy

centralized IT developments role clearest in organizations with a centralized planning and operational control decentralized structure increases cost of central IT centralized development groups have an explicit marketing activity ( especially for multinationals )

Cost analysis
takes into account the interest of the whole company software costs 75-85% of total cost for a customized system decentralization avoids un-understandable bills but saving are false

Coordination and location of IT policy

IT responsibilities
procedures

for comparison of own development and outsourcing develop standards for project control and documentation define a process for forcing adherence to these standards inventory of installed or planned information services develop standards that establish: mandatory communication standards standard programming environments for used platforms corporate data dictionary auditing procedures for locally developed systems identify and provide IT development staff career paths establish marketing efforts for IT support prepare checklist with questions concerning HW/SW acquisition identify and maintain relationships with preferred system suppliers Education programs for potential users establish ongoing review of systems to avoid obsolete systems

Coordination and location of IT policy

User responsibilities

To assist in orderly implementation of new IT services, and understand their use, cost and impact

understand the scope of all supporting IT activities, including charge-out realistically appraise personnel investment for development and operation ensure comprehensive user input for for all IT projects

nature of service, process of introduction, training

create realistic IT-user interface , consistent with strategic relevance periodical audit of the adequacy of: system reliability standards performance of communication services security procedures

participate in the development and maintenance of an IT plan

Coordination and location of IT policy

General management support Because of the need to link IT to business separation of: IT operations ( e.g. reporting to head of administration ) IT planning (e.g. IT policy group reporting to head of research)
ensure balance between IT and user inputs via eventual personnel and organizational transfers and via a steering committee develop comprehensive corporate IT strategy manage inventory of hardware and software resources , including standard policy with vendors facilitate development and evolution of standards for operations and development , and make sure that they are applied facilitate transfer of technology between units encourage technical experimentation develop an appropriate planning and control system to link IT firmly to the company goals