Resources
Introducing Process to IT Planning
Introduction
By definition a process is “a systematic series of actions directed to some end” (Dictionary.com). So let’s start there – at the end. Let’s start at the end of IT Planning. What is at the end of IT Planning? Well, the IT Plan, of course. That seems obvious enough. But then – what is THE IT PLAN? Well, it describes how to get from here to there, of course. OK. But where is “here” and where is “there”?
It’s easy enough to know where “here” is as long as we have reliably documented the current IT architecture. But we don’t really know where “there” is, do we? The “there” in the IT world is constantly morphing into something different because IT is constantly reacting to environmental influences, be it change in business’ “there”, technological mandates, legal regulations or IT-internal organizational changes. Some changes are tactical manoeuvres (new product line, new geographical market, etc.) changing the little “theres” all along the roadmap and as a result possibly the long-range strategic end-state. Some are monumental changes to the long-range strategic end-state (being acquired, for example) resulting almost inevitably in changes to the tactical plan.
So what does this mean for the IT Planning discipline? It means that it is a constant exercise in re-planning: continuously revisiting and revising plans; adapting to requested – and justified – changes; trying to accommodate the unknown future. How best to cope with all of this volatility and uncertainty? How can IT manage these change factors that insist on injecting chaos into its well-balanced and well-planned world so that progress can be made in its efforts to best support the business? Some type of stability needs to be applied to these change factors to avoid the risk of meltdown – or worse, paralysis. IT Planners need guidelines and guardrails, rules, roles and responsibilities. A systematic series of actions. A process.
Most organizations will have a process set up for IT Planning. The question is how effective and efficient the planning process is. This will determine IT’s agility in supporting business change. For a process to be effective it must be ensured that it is carried out in the prescribed manner (the manner decided upon which should bring about the desired result). This can only be done if it is anchored into the enterprise. Automated workflows are a way to anchor processes into the enterprise. And for a process to be efficient it must be able to be measured. Automated workflows also deliver the ability to evaluate and measure the efficiency of processes.
So in an environment of constant, inevitable disruption, automated workflows furnishes IT with a measure of stability, reliability and control.
The Benefits of Automated Workflows
Besides the obvious benefit of increasing planning speed and accuracy, automated workflows provide many benefits to the enterprise.
Automated workflows integrate the IT Planning discipline into the whole organization
IT Planning is not an exercise performed by a small team of planners. Changes to the IT landscape are going to affect a lot of different people and are going to carry a fair amount of risk if not adequately assessed. A lot can go wrong if people don’t feel responsible for ensuring that changes have as little adverse impact on the organization as possible. Every stakeholder needs to be involved with their piece of information and their role to play in the decision, and both at the right time. Part of workflow design is defining the relevant people – or better, roles - for each individual action and many IT Planning workflows will extend into the Business and Finance departments. Workflows can propagate the responsibility for IT Planning throughout the organization and thus improve the quality of planning results as well as promote backing from stakeholders.
Automated workflows improve IT/Business Collaboration
It’s no secret that IT and Business aren’t the cosiest of bedfellows. In fact, in some enterprises their vocabulary and view of their common mission are so far apart they could be from different planets, sowing the seeds of insecurity and frustration and causing a breakdown in communication. In the course of developing workflows for the planning process, though, business and IT have to communicate. Creating workflows requires that there be a common terminology for articulation of strategy, risk, business cases and IT support. It clears up the roles and responsibilities in the process. It provides for closer interaction in IT Planning - without meetings full of IT problems. Designing workflows in which the business plays a role gets business to the table with IT. Once there, the cooperative design effort can remove the void between Business and IT by making IT processes transparent and providing transparency about “whose court the ball is in” at action and decision points along the workflow.
Automated workflows support IT Governance
According to the IT Governance Institute, COBIT 4.0, Executive Overview: “IT Governance is the responsibility of executive and boards of directors, and consists of the leadership, organizational structures and processes that ensure that the enterprise’s IT sustains and extends the organization‘s strategies and objectives”. Two central themes, then, for IT Governance are Demand Governance and Portfolio Governance as they determine what initiatives and investments will be made to “sustain and extend the organization’s strategies and objectives”. Automated workflows in these areas ensure alignment to policies and timelines to maintain governance and keep IT up-to-speed in the demand and portfolio processes. Project status monitoring, solution approval workflows, and an IT standardization catalog are examples of instruments for governance in these areas.
