Too often organizations try to implement total change in a piecemeal fashion. The object, having ensured the definition and delivery of clear business benefits, must be to bring together the 'what' and the 'how' of making change happen in the three dimensions of processes, information and people. The approach enables a business to streamline its business processes in order to combine, for example, low cost operation with high quality and quick response: demanding but realistic plans are developed to enhance such key factors as organizational effectiveness and customer service.
Traditional IT project maxims have to be set aside. It is no longer enough to set up steering committees with the objective of monitoring and controlling budgets and progress against plans. Total management team commitment must be expected if success is to be ensured, with a steering committee mandated to ensure a victory, not merely monitor progress. Strategic change is more than just a series of projects strung together. The key to the process is the establishment of the program management position previously mentioned. Program management recognizes that the strategic implementation of IT initiatives is as much (or more) concerned with business issues as with information technology and systems.
The days when an IT organization could operate independently of the business community are long since past. It is no longer sufficient for an IT department to create a system and to 'abandon it' to the users. The users must be an integral part of the development process. Part and parcel of this will be the identification and resolution of business issues vital to the success of strategic implementation. Professional 'change management' programs are often the key to this process.
Experienced business and It managers naturally expect to be expert in the field of managing change. After all, so much of business life is concerned with organizational and business change. In many cases, of course, managers are good intuitive change agents. When undertaking programs of a strategic nature, the specific identification of major change issues and programs to overcome and resolve potential change problems must receive direct action and powerful focus. It is fundamentally important to understand the roles of sponsors and supporting sponsors, to understand and alleviate resistance to change and put in place practical change management roles and positions.
Having the right resources for the job of implementation is clearly important. Establishing just which resources are required and the organization’s starting point are important aspects of strategic implementation. A good 'baseline' of both the IT organization and the enterprise as a whole must be established before implementation planning begins. Establishing a baseline ensures a full awareness of existing capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. In the IT context this will enable the identification of resource requirements, skill deficiencies or technological needs. For the enterprise as a whole, the baseline ensures, inter alia, an understanding of the most important processes in the organization and those functions or aspects of the organization which require particular care or management attention.
The challenge of implementation is to ensure that an all-round view is taken of an organization’s capabilities and needs. Strategic implementation, and the realization of the benefit this implies, can only be achieved with the full co-operation and commitment of management at all levels and the mobilize for business change, not merely plan for technical development.
Traditional IT project maxims have to be set aside. It is no longer enough to set up steering committees with the objective of monitoring and controlling budgets and progress against plans. Total management team commitment must be expected if success is to be ensured, with a steering committee mandated to ensure a victory, not merely monitor progress. Strategic change is more than just a series of projects strung together. The key to the process is the establishment of the program management position previously mentioned. Program management recognizes that the strategic implementation of IT initiatives is as much (or more) concerned with business issues as with information technology and systems.
The days when an IT organization could operate independently of the business community are long since past. It is no longer sufficient for an IT department to create a system and to 'abandon it' to the users. The users must be an integral part of the development process. Part and parcel of this will be the identification and resolution of business issues vital to the success of strategic implementation. Professional 'change management' programs are often the key to this process.
Experienced business and It managers naturally expect to be expert in the field of managing change. After all, so much of business life is concerned with organizational and business change. In many cases, of course, managers are good intuitive change agents. When undertaking programs of a strategic nature, the specific identification of major change issues and programs to overcome and resolve potential change problems must receive direct action and powerful focus. It is fundamentally important to understand the roles of sponsors and supporting sponsors, to understand and alleviate resistance to change and put in place practical change management roles and positions.
Having the right resources for the job of implementation is clearly important. Establishing just which resources are required and the organization’s starting point are important aspects of strategic implementation. A good 'baseline' of both the IT organization and the enterprise as a whole must be established before implementation planning begins. Establishing a baseline ensures a full awareness of existing capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. In the IT context this will enable the identification of resource requirements, skill deficiencies or technological needs. For the enterprise as a whole, the baseline ensures, inter alia, an understanding of the most important processes in the organization and those functions or aspects of the organization which require particular care or management attention.
The challenge of implementation is to ensure that an all-round view is taken of an organization’s capabilities and needs. Strategic implementation, and the realization of the benefit this implies, can only be achieved with the full co-operation and commitment of management at all levels and the mobilize for business change, not merely plan for technical development.
