Resources
Master Planning: translating business strategy into IT tactics with planningIT
The IT master plan is the keystone in translating business strategy into IT tactics. Without it, the IT organization’s capability to progress in line with the business strategy will be constrained, especially in a climate of accelerating environmental and organizational change.
In the dynamics of today's business and IT environments, it is essential that IT organizations are agile in response to constant environmental and organizational change. Preferably the IT organization can position itself to drive innovation and help create market opportunities in support of the business strategy. In order for this to occur the IT organization needs a clear overview of the relevant aspects of the IT landscape and must understand how strategic decisions should impact the IT’s tactics and direction over time.
Chess players develop a strategy before a big match but cannot predict which tactics they'll be using halfway through the match until they see how it develops. Just as the player develops options to respond to changing dynamics during the game, the IT Master Plan helps planners to explore tactical options and ensure that flexibility in the IT architecture is accommodated to manage the changing environment on an ongoing basis.
This use case examines how alfabet’s planningIT supports an IT organization to effectively filter IT strategy derived from the business strategy to an IT master plan, from which a detailed solution plan can be prepared for proposal approval.
The IT Planning Baseline – the bedrock for all plans
The IT planning baseline is the collection of objects from the repository that form the basis for any planning activity. This includes all artefacts that are part of the as-is landscape – anything that is presently in operation or has been in operation in the past and is deemed important for the conception of further plans – and the artefacts associated with planning activities that have reached final approval though the respective realization is pending or ongoing. Like a movie freeze frame, The IT planning baseline represents a snapshot in time in a continuum of changing events. Events such as refinement of the documentation of the as-is architecture (business, application, information or deployment architecture), progress towards completion of ongoing projects or approval of new projects with a subordinated solution architecture are constantly changing the face of the IT landscape. Similarly scope changes triggered during the execution of an already approved project and solution architecture or the capture of new or consolidation and refinement of existing demands will influence and change the IT architecture.
The Strategic Plan – reflecting the business strategy in IT strategy
An IT strategy allows users to draft, discuss, decide and communicate the long term vision of IT and business alignment. In that sense the IT strategy is the representation of the strategic plan of the IT organization which is generally derived from the business strategy of the enterprise. The IT strategy may be formulated using already established ICT objects (Information Communication Technology, a “wrapper” object around applications, components, or standard platforms, abstracting from the specific version of these or placeholders thereof). Standardization aspects of the IT strategy can be defined, communicated and enforced using the enterprise architecture functions in planningIT.
This in particular comprises the definition of:
- Master platforms as guidelines for the creation of standard platforms
- Standard platforms available to application architects as the foundation for applications and architecture solutions. The use of such platforms may be mandated for specific domains of the IT landscape. Succession logic for standard platforms may be defined.
- Standard components available to the IT architecture community as building blocks for standard platforms and applications in a specific period of time.
- Standard component catalogues recommended or mandated for use throughout the enterprise or specific parts thereof in a specified period of time.
- Approved vendor lists.
- Enterprise integration strategies.
- Business function catalogues as the basis for the initiation and further development of a service oriented architecture.
- An enterprise wide business object structure supporting endeavours of the ITO regarding the enterprise wide creation, maintenance and use of associated data.
