MANAGING

INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
FIFTH EDITION
CHAPTER 14

SETTING A DIRECTION FOR

INFORMATION RESOURCES
E. Wainright Martin Carol V. Brown Daniel W. DeHayes
Jeffrey A. Hoffer William C. Perkins

WHY SET A DIRECTION

FOR INFORMATION RESOURCES?
To share information among diverse parts of the organization
To communicate the future to others
To provide a consistent rationale for making individual decisions
Planning discussions help business managers and IS
professionals in making decisions about how the business of
IS will be conducted

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall

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THE OUTPUTS OF THE

DIRECTION-SETTING PROCESS
Information Resources Assessment

Information resources assessment includes inventorying

and critically evaluating these resources in terms of how
well they are meeting the organizations business needs

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OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTIONSETTING PROCESS

Information Vision and Architecture
Is an ideal view of the future
Not the plan on how to get there
Must be flexible enough to provide policy guidelines for individual decisions
More than just fluff
Must focus on the long term

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OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTIONSETTING PROCESS

Information Vision and Architecture

Information vision a written expression of the desired

future about how information will be used and managed in
the organization

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OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTIONSETTING PROCESS

Information Vision and Architecture

Information vision a written expression of the desired

future about how information will be used and managed in
the organization
Information technology architecture depicts the way an
organizations information resources will be deployed to
deliver that vision

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OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTIONSETTING PROCESS

Information Resources Plans

Strategic IS plan contains a set of longer-term objectives

that represent measurable movement toward the
information vision and technology architecture and a set of
associated major initiatives that must be undertaken to
achieve these objectives

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OUTPUTS OF THE DIRECTIONSETTING PROCESS

Information Resources Plans

Strategic IS plan contains a set of longer-term objectives

that represent measurable movement toward the
information vision and technology architecture and a set of
associated major initiatives that must be undertaken to
achieve these objectives
Operational IS plan is a precise set of shorter-term goals
and associated projects that will be executed by the IS
department and by business managers in support of the
strategic IS plan
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THE PROCESS OF
SETTING DIRECTION
Assessment
Vision
Strategic Planning
Operational Planning

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Figure 14.1 The Information Resources

Planning Process

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THE PROCESS OF
SETTING DIRECTION
Strategic Planning
the process of
constructing a viable fit
between the organizations
objectives and resources
and its changing market
and technological
opportunities

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Figure 14.1 The Information Resources

Planning Process

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THE PROCESS OF
SETTING DIRECTION
Operational Planning
lays out the major actions
the organization needs to
carry out in the shorter
term to activate its
strategic initiatives

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Figure 14.1 The Information Resources

Planning Process

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THE PROCESS OF SETTING

DIRECTION
Traditional Planning in the IS Organization

Needs-based IS planning or project-oriented IS planning:

Bottom-up, immediate approach to information resources planning

Used when a specific, urgent business need called for a new
system
Emphasis on project planning rather than overall organizational
planning

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ASSESSING CURRENT
INFORMATION RESOURCES
Measuring IS Use and Attitudes
Information resources assessment:

Must measure current levels of information resources use within the organization and
compare it to a set of standards

Standards can come from:

Past performance
Technical benchmarks
Industry norms
Best of class estimates from other companies

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ASSESSING CURRENT
INFORMATION RESOURCES
Reviewing the IS Organizational Mission

IS mission statement:

Should set forth the fundamental rationale (or reason to

exist) for activities of the IS department
Can vary substantially from one organization to another

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Reviewing the IS Organizational Mission

Example IS Mission Statement

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Figure 14.3 IS-Prepared Mission Statement

Example

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ASSESSING CURRENT
INFORMATION RESOURCES
Assessing Performance versus Goals
Traditional goal:

Reduce cost by increasing operating efficiencies

Scope of IS goals has expanded to include:

Systems to assist in decision making

Ways to help with competitive advantage

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Assessing Performance versus Goals

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Table 14.1 Objectives for the IS Department

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CREATING AN INFORMATION
VISION
Information Vision:

Represents how senior management wants information to be used and managed in the
future

Starts with speculation on how the businesss competitive environment will change and
how the company should take advantage of it

Business vision is specified and written

Implications for information use are outlined

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DESIGNING THE ARCHITECTURE

IT architecture specifies how the technological and
human assets and the IS organization should be deployed
in the future to meet the information vision

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DESIGNING THE ARCHITECTURE

Components of Architecture

2005 Pearson Prentice-Hall Figure 14.5 Elements of an Information

Technology Architecture

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THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN

Strategic IS Plan statement of the major objectives and
initiatives that the IS organization and business managers
must accomplish over some time period in order to:
move toward the information vision
fit the business strategic plan

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THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN

The Strategic IS Planning Process
The planning process includes:

Setting objectives

Conducting internal and external analyses

Establishing strategic initiatives

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THE STRATEGIC IS PLAN

Tools for Identifying IT Strategic Opportunities

Critical success factors

Analysis of Competitive Forces
Value Chain Analysis

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Value Chain Analysis

2005 Pearson Prentice-HallFigure 14.11 Strategic Information Systems

Opportunities in the Value Chain

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THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

After the strategic plan, initiatives must be:
Identified
Translated into a set of defined IS projects with:

Precise expected results

Due dates
Priorities
Responsibilities

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THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

The Long-Term Operational IS Plan

Developed for a 3-to-5 year time period

Focuses on project definition, selection, and
prioritization

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THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

The Long-Term Operational IS Plan

2005 Pearson Prentice-HallTable 14.2 IS Long-Range Operational Plan

Project Portfolio

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THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

2005 Pearson Prentice-HallTable 14.3 Sample 2004 Operational IS Plan

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THE OPERATIONAL IS PLAN

The Short-Term Operational IS Plan

Developed for a 1-year time period

Focuses on specific tasks to be completed on
projects that are currently underway or ready
to be started

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GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE

PLANNING
1. Early clarification of the purpose of the planning process
2. Planning effort should be iterative
3. Plan should reflect realistic expectations
4. Process of setting expectations should involve business management
5. Plans should integrate all applications of IT
6. Plan will take into consideration the barriers and constraints facing all organizations

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BENEFITS OF INFORMATION
RESOURCES PLANNING
Better IS resource allocation
Communicating with top management
Helping vendors
Creating a context for decisions
Achieving integration and decentralization
Evaluating options
Meeting expectations of management

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ROLES IN THE INFORMATION

RESOURCES PLANNING PROCESS
Role of the Business Manager
Active participation
Accept most of responsibility for identifying specific projects that
contribute to vision
Stay involved in planning and system development activities
Regularly provide feedback and necessary input

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ROLES IN THE INFORMATION

RESOURCES PLANNING PROCESS
Role of the IS Professional
Act more in consulting and planning role
Help business managers understand how their ideas for
competitive advantage can get built into a new information system
Create a project plan
Combine technical and organizational skills

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