Fast Track – Business/IT Alignment Introduction: How to Use This Tool Fill in the blanks of each section of this tool. Instructional text and directions for using this template appear in grey and/or italics. Feel free to delete such text whenever encountered. For the purpose of brevity, this tool does not rely on outputs from other tools. There are three sections to this tool: 1. IT Strategy and Roadmap Scope Statement: A scope statement makes clear exactly what will, and what will not, be involved in the projects outlined in your IT strategy. 2. Company Strategy and Goals: This tool is designed as an at-the-ready “cheat sheet” for documenting your company’s strategy and goals. 3. IT Imperatives: This tool helps you develop a clear list of what IT must do in order to contribute to the success of the company’s strategic plans.
1. IT Strategy and Roadmap Scope Statement A scope statement is one of the most critical communications in a project. A proper scope statement makes it clear exactly what will, and what will not, be involved in a given project. Setting scope helps determine the money, time, and people required to complete the project. It also serves as an effective tool for measuring whether a project has hit its intended targets. A project that involves the creation of an IT strategic plan should be treated no differently than any other project, thus a scope statement is requisite. To use this tool, simply fill in the blanks provided below. Be sure to delete all introductory, explanatory and sample text in dark grey before finishing and change all remaining text to black.
IT Strategy and Roadmap Overview Created By: Date:
1.1 Purpose, Scope and Objectives In a paragraph, describe the purpose and scope of the IT Strategy and Roadmap. Be sure to include any considerations of scope or objectives that are to be excluded. Ensure the statement of scope is consistent with similar statements in the stakeholder letter and/or any other relevant system or business-level documents. For example: The purpose of ACME Inc’s IT Strategy and Roadmap initiative is to outline the high priority IT projects for the next 18 months required to support and enable ACME’s business objectives. The IT Strategy and Roadmap will cover all major business functions including Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Production. However, the IT Strategy and Roadmap will not include Product Development or Engineering. The IT Strategy and Roadmap will not address minor enhancements, upgrades, or improvements to existing systems that are considered part of IT’s “business as usual” operations.
Assumptions, Constraints and Risks An IT Strategy and Roadmap is an exercise in planning for the long term – nothing is absolutely certain. Use this section to document key assumptions, constraints, and risks that will guide the IT Strategy and Roadmap. An assumption is an "educated guess" – a likely condition, circumstance or event, presumed known and true in the absence of absolute certainty. Each constraint is a limiting condition, circumstance, or event that sets boundaries for the project process and expected results. Once identified, these assumptions and constraints shape a project in specific, but diverging ways – assumptions bring possibilities, and constraints bring limits. (Source: ITtoolkit.com). Think about imposed constraints and risks on the project such as: •
IT resources.
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Business resources.
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Availability of business participants.
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Readiness of business leaders.
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Company’s ability to invest in IT.
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Company’s ability to set or articulate corporate strategies.
The following assumptions and/or constraints have guided the scope and context for this scope statement: •
[List assumptions/constraints here]
•
[List assumptions/constraints here]
1.3 Project Deliverables List the specific deliverables of the project. What are the key products, results, or capabilities to perform a service that must be produced to complete the project? Deliverable
Description
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1.4 Project Plan – Steps to Completing the Project Outline the specific steps for your IT strategy project. If you use a project management tool, Info-Tech suggests that you use it to prepare your p roject plan. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1.5 Project Timeline Provide a summary of the schedule for the project. Restrict the level of detail to an itemization of major work activities and supporting processes. The purpose is to identify major milestones and document an estimated completion date for each. Note: This may be taken verbatim from the project charter. Major Milestone 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Estimated Start Date
Estimated Completion Date
2. Company Strategy and Goals When developing an IT strategy, it’s imperative to constantly remind yourself of the goals and objectives of the enterprise as a whole. This tool is designed as an at-the-ready “cheat sheet” for documenting your enterprise’s strategy and goals. To use this tool, simply fill in the blanks provided. Be sure to delete all introductory and explanatory text in dark grey before completing the tool.
Company Goals List your enterprise’s goals below. Some goa ls might be: •
Drive market share.
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Improve customer satisfaction.
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Increase revenue.
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Reduce production costs.
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Expand geographically.
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Introduce new products or services.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________________________________
Company Strategies Describe the enterprise’s overall strategic goals. Typically, enterprises can classify their overarching goals as: •
Low cost (i.e. being known as the low-cost player in the industry).
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Differentiation (i.e. having a reputation for quality or unique product characteristics).
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Focus (i.e. narrowing activities to target a specific set of customer needs).
The overarching strategy may differ between p roduct lines or customer segments. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ In this section, lay out the primary enterprise business strategies. A strategy, successfully executed, should help
the enterprise achieve one of its strategic goals. Enterprise strategies can take many forms. The most common are those listed below: Customer strategies: •
Segmentation and targeting.
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Expansion.
Corporate strategies: •
Cost reduction.
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Rationalized product lines.
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Simplified processes.
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Sharing resources/achieving economies of scale.
Competitive strategies: •
Sources of differentiation o
Product.
o
Process.
o
Marketing.
o
Distribution.
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Pricing.
Company Objectives Add enterprise objectives below. Be specific when d ocumenting objectives – include an objective metric, target and date. For example: • •
Texas distribution center expansion will reduce distribution costs by 10% by July 2009. Introduce solution bundles by June 2008. Reduce direct sales cost per revenue dollar by 25% by October 2008. Reduce product lifecycle cost by 15% by January 2009.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________________________________
3. IT Imperatives Given that IT is a critical service function, it is directly called upon to participate in the operationalization of many of the enterprise’s strategic goals. It is critical to develop a clear list of what IT must do in order to contribute to the success of the enterprise’s strategic plans. To use this tool, simply fill in the blank provided. Be sure to delete all introductory and explanatory text in dark grey before completing the tool.
Setting IT Imperatives IT Imperatives articulate what IT must do to support the enterprise’s business strategies. Strategic Business Objectives
Implications for IT
IT Imperatives List
For each strategic objective, develop one or two bullet points that describe the implications for IT, and then describe what IT must do to enable those objectives. Remember to be realistic. You can’t do everything for everybody. Keep your IT imperatives list to no more than ten items. This step will require some serious thought and analysis and should be given sufficient time to complete. Typically IT imperatives will involve one or more of the following general applications of technology: •
Automation of a routine, manually-intensive activity.
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Processing of high volumes of transactions.
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Easy access to company records and information.
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Electronic sales and service channels for customers and suppliers.
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Integration and aggregation of information from multiple data so urces.
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Reporting.
Strategic Company Objectives 1.
Rationalize product portfolio based on direct profitability.
Objective Implications for IT •
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•
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2.
Capture product sales information at point of sale. Calculate end-to-end cost of sales for that product sale in that sales channel. Aggregate sales and cost information to identify trends in product profitability by product, product family and sales channel. Monitor products by sales channel that fail to meet profit thresholds.
IT Imperatives •
IT must provide a product performance analysis and insight tool to support product management that combines data from sales, channel management, distribution and manufacturing.
3. 4. 5.
Signoff The purpose of this document is to provide a vehicle for documenting the initial planning efforts for Business/IT Alignment. The undersigned have read and reviewed the contents of the attached scope statement document, agree with what has been stated, and authorize the project team to proceed.
_____________________________________________________ IT Strategy Project Manager Name (print)
_____________________________________________________ IT Strategy Project Manager Signature
_______________________________ Date
_____________________________________________________ Sponsor Name (print)
_____________________________________________________ Sponsor Signature
_______________________________ Date
_____________________________________________________
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