Managing Information Technology

Chapter 12 • Planning Information Systems Resources 533

Make

This Next In Two New (N) or (M) or Risk Project

System/Project Year Year Years Replacement (R) Buy (B) Assessment Size Comments

Executive and retiree X N B Low Small Manual assistance

personal income currently provided

tax assistance

Fixed assets X X R B Medium Large Improved asset

accounting management and

ability to respond

to tax law changes

Corporate X X N M High Medium Improved analytical

competitive database capabilities, access

Common tactical X X N M/B High Large An ongoing series

sales information of installations of

system capabilities to

enhance the

effectiveness of the

sales organization

Orderentryby X N M Medium Small Providemore

field organization timely processing

of customer orders

FIGURE 12.11 Operational IS Plan: Project Portfolio

professionals as a constant process to be exploited, not
just an intermittent disturbance to be controlled.
By taking the following actions, managers can also
increase the likelihood of a successful IS planning effort:

1.Alignment of the IS planning process with business

plans is essential. Business managers will not buy in

to an IS vision not linked to business plans and will

not support capital IT investment requests that are

not clearly aligned with business objectives.

2.The information resources planning effort should

be viewed as an iterative effort. A time-consuming

planning process that generates lots of outputs

that are not utilized will be less effective than a

less extensive process that generates a strategic IS

plan that is reviewed and then modified on a regu-

lar basis to reflect the new realities facing the

organization.

3.Operational IS plans should reflect realistic expec-

tations. The operational IS plans should reflect the

current realities in the organization. For example,

planning for twice as many projects as has been

successfully completed in the past sets the IS

organization up for failure and should be avoided.

Summary

To ensure that IT is effectively utilized in today’s increasingly
digital world, organizations must engage in a proactive,
future-based information resources planning process. The
process must include a thorough assessment of the status quo.
Strategic planners must have an understanding of the compet-
itive marketplace in which the company operates, as well as
the strengths and weaknesses of its current IS resources.
The strategic IS plan should mirror and be clearly
linked to not only the IS vision and IT architecture but also
current business plans, and provide a well-documented
roadmap from which the firm can make IT investment and

budgeting decisions. Documentation from the entire IS

planning process ranges from the broad objectives stated in

the strategic IS plan to the detailed staffing requirements

and expense forecasts made in the short-term operational

IS plans.

A number of tools exist for identifying strategic

opportunities to be assimilated into the strategic IS plan.

No matter which of these tools are utilized, both business

and IS managers have crucial roles to play to ensure that

the IS plans are initially aligned with, and continue to be

aligned with, the strategic direction of the business.