Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

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  • EA governance is perceived as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy because business benefits are poorly communicated.
  • The organization doesn’t have a formalized EA practice.
  • Where an EA practice exists, employees are unsure of EA’s roles and responsibilities.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Enterprise architecture is not a technical function – it should be business-value driven and forward looking, positioning organizational assets in favor of long-term strategy rather than short-term tactics.

Impact and Result

  • Value-focused. Focus EA governance on helping the organization achieve business benefits. Promote EA’s contribution in realizing business value.
  • Right-sized. Re-use existing process checkpoints rather than creating new ones. Clearly define EA governance inclusion criteria for projects.
  • Defined and measured process. Define metrics to measure EA’s performance and integrate EA governance with other governance processes such as project governance. Also clearly define the EA governing bodies’ composition, domain, inputs, and outputs.
  • Strike the right balance. Adopt architecture principles that strikes the right balance between business and technology.

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our Executive Brief to find out how implementing a successful enterprise architecture governance framework can benefit your organization.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Current State of EA Governance

Identify the organization’s standing in terms of the enterprise architecture practice, and know the gaps and what the EA practice needs to fulfill to create a good governance framework.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 1: Current State of EA Governance
  • EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool
  • EA Governance Assessment Tool

2. EA Fundamentals

Understand the EA fundamentals and then refresh them to better align the EA practice with the organization and create business benefit.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 2: EA Fundamentals
  • EA Vision and Mission Template
  • EA Goals and Measures Template
  • EA Principles Template

3. Engagement Model

Analyze the IT operating model and identify EA’s role at each stage; refine it to promote effective EA engagement upfront in the early stages of the IT operating model.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 3: Engagement Model
  • EA Engagement Model Template

4. EA Governing Bodies

Set up EA governing bodies to provide guidance and foster a collaborative environment by identifying the correct number of EA governing bodies, defining the game plan to initialize the governing bodies, and creating an architecture review process.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 4: EA Governing Bodies
  • Architecture Board Charter Template
  • Architecture Review Process Template

5. EA Policy

Create an EA policy to provide a set of guidelines designed to direct and constrain the architecture actions of the organization in the pursuit of its goals in order to improve architecture compliance and drive business value.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 5: EA Policy
  • EA Policy Template
  • EA Assessment Checklist Template
  • EA Compliance Waiver Process Template
  • EA Compliance Waiver Form Template

6. Architectural Standards

Define architecture standards to facilitate information exchange, improve collaboration, and provide stability. Develop a process to update the architectural standards to ensure relevancy and promote process transparency.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 6: Architectural Standards
  • Architecture Standards Update Process Template

7. Communication Plan

Craft a plan to engage the relevant stakeholders, ascertain the benefits of the initiative, and identify the various communication methods in order to maximize the chances of success.

  • Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework – Phase 7: Communication Plan
  • EA Governance Communication Plan Template
  • EA Governance Framework Template
[infographic]

Workshop: Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Current State of EA governance (Pre-workshop)

The Purpose

Conduct stakeholder interviews to understand current state of EA practice and prioritize gaps for EA governance based on organizational complexity.

Key Benefits Achieved

Prioritized list of actions to arrive at the target state based on the complexity of the organization

Activities

1.1 Determine organizational complexity.

1.2 Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components.

1.3 Identify and prioritize gaps.

1.4 Conduct senior management interviews.

Outputs

Organizational complexity score

EA governance current state and prioritized list of EA governance component gaps

Stakeholder perception of the EA practice

2 EA Fundamentals and Engagement Model

The Purpose

Refine EA fundamentals to align the EA practice with the organization and identify EA touchpoints to provide guidance for projects.

Key Benefits Achieved

Alignment of EA goals and objectives with the goals and objectives of the organization

Early involvement of EA in the IT operating model

Activities

2.1 Review the output of the organizational complexity and EA assessment tools.

2.2 Craft the EA vision and mission.

2.3 Develop the EA principles.

2.4 Identify the EA goals.

2.5 Identify EA engagement touchpoints within the IT operating model.

Outputs

EA vision and mission statement

EA principles

EA goals and measures

Identified EA engagement touchpoints and EA level of involvement

3 EA Governing Bodies

The Purpose

Set up EA governing bodies to provide guidance and foster a collaborative environment by identifying the correct number of EA governing bodies, defining the game plan to initialize the governing bodies and creating an architecture review process.

Key Benefits Achieved

Business benefits are maximized and solution design is within the options set forth by the architectural reference models while no additional layers of bureaucracy are introduced

Activities

3.1 Identify the number of governing bodies.

3.2 Define the game plan to initialize the governing bodies.

3.3 Define the architecture review process.

Outputs

Architecture board structure and coverage

Identified architecture review template

4 EA Policy

The Purpose

Create an EA policy to provide a set of guidelines designed to direct and constrain the architecture actions of the organization in the pursuit of its goals in order to improve architecture compliance and drive business value.

Key Benefits Achieved

Improved architecture compliance, which ties investments to business value and provides guidance to architecture practitioners

Activities

4.1 Define the scope.

4.2 Identify the target audience.

4.3 Determine the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

4.4 Craft an assessment checklist.

Outputs

Defined scope

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for project review

Architecture assessment checklist

5 Architectural Standards and Communication Plan

The Purpose

Define architecture standards to facilitate information exchange, improve collaboration, and provide stability.

Craft a communication plan to implement the new EA governance framework in order to maximize the chances of success.

Key Benefits Achieved

Consistent development of architecture, increased information exchange between stakeholders

Improved process transparency

Improved stakeholder engagement

Activities

5.1 Identify and standardize EA work products.

5.2 Classifying the architectural standards.

5.3 Identifying the custodian of standards.

5.4 Update the standards.

5.5 List the changes identified in the EA governance initiative

5.6 Create a communication plan.

Outputs

Identified set of EA work products to standardize

Architecture information taxonomy

Identified set of custodian of standards

Standard update process

List of EA governance initiatives

Communication plan for EA governance initiatives

Further reading

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Focus on process standardization, repeatability, and sustainability.

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

"Enterprise architecture is not a technology concept, rather it is the foundation on which businesses orient themselves to create and capture value in the marketplace. Designing architecture is not a simple task and creating organizations for the future requires forward thinking and rigorous planning.

Architecture processes that are supposed to help facilitate discussions and drive option analysis are often seen as an unnecessary overhead. The negative perception is due to enterprise architecture groups being overly prescriptive rather than providing a set of options that guide and constrain solutions at the same time.

EA groups should do away with the direct and control mindset and change to a collaborate and mentor mindset. As part of the architecture governance, EA teams should provide an option set that constrains design choices, and also be open to changes to standards or best practices. "

Gopi Bheemavarapu, Sr. Manager, CIO Advisory Info-Tech Research Group

Our understanding of the problem

This Research Is Designed For:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

This Research Will Help You:

  • Understand the importance of enterprise architecture (EA) governance and how to apply it to guide architectural decisions.
  • Enhance your understanding of the organization’s current EA governance and identify areas for improvement.
  • Optimize your EA engagement model to maximize value creation.
  • Learn how to set up the optimal number of governance bodies in order to avoid bureaucratizing the organization.

This Research Will Also Assist:

  • Business Relationship Managers
  • Business Analysts
  • IT Managers
  • Project Managers
  • IT Analysts
  • Quality Assurance Leads
  • Software Developers

This Research Will Help Them:

  • Give an overview of enterprise architecture governance
  • Clarity on the role of enterprise architecture team

Executive summary

Situation

  • Deployed solutions do not meet business objectives resulting in expensive and extensive rework.
  • Each department acts independently without any regular EA touchpoints.
  • Organizations practice project-level architecture as opposed to enterprise architecture.

Complication

  • EA governance is perceived as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy because business benefits are poorly communicated.
  • The organization doesn’t have a formalized EA practice.
  • Where an EA practice exists, employees are unsure of EA’s roles and responsibilities.

Resolution

  • Value-focused. Focus EA governance on helping the organization achieve business benefits. Promote EA’s contribution in realizing business value.
  • Right-sized. Re-use existing process checkpoints, rather than creating new ones. Clearly define EA governance inclusion criteria for projects.
  • Defined and measured process. Define metrics to measure EA’s performance and integrate EA governance with other governance processes such as project governance. Also clearly define the EA governing bodies’ composition, domain, inputs, and outputs.
  • Strike the right balance. Adopt architecture principles that strikes the right balance between business and technology imperatives.

Info-Tech Insight

Enterprise architecture is critical to ensuring that an organization has the solid IT foundation it needs to efficiently enable the achievement of its current and future strategic goals rather than focusing on short-term tactical gains.

What is enterprise architecture governance?

An architecture governance process is the set of activities an organization executes to ensure that decisions are made and accountability is enforced during the execution of its architecture strategy. (Hopkins, “The Essential EA Toolkit.”)

EA governance includes the following:

  • Implement a system of controls over the creation and monitoring of all architectural components.
  • Ensure effective introduction, implementation, and evolution of architectures within the organization.
  • Implement a system to ensure compliance with internal and external standards and regulatory obligations.
  • Develop practices that ensure accountability to a clearly identified stakeholder community, both inside and outside the organization.

(TOGAF)

IT governance sets direction through prioritization and decision making, and monitors overall IT performance.

The image shows a circle set within a larger circle. The inner circle is connected to the bottom of the larger circle. The inner circle is labelled EA Governance and the larger circle is labelled IT Governance.

EA governance ensures that optimal architectural design choices are being made that focus on long-term value creation.

Harness the benefits of an optimized EA governance

Core benefits of EA governance are seen through:

Value creation

Effective EA governance ensures alignment between organizational investments and corporate strategic goals and objectives.

Cost reduction

Architecture standards provide guidance to identify opportunities for reuse and eliminate redundancies in an organization.

Risk optimization

Architecture review processes and assessment checklists ensure that solutions are within the acceptable risk levels of the organization.

EA governance is difficult to structure appropriately, but having an effective structure will allow you to:

  • Achieve business strategy through faster time-to-market innovations and capabilities.
  • Reduced transaction costs with more consistent business processes and information across business units.
  • Lower IT costs due to better traceability, faster design, and lower risk.
  • Link IT investments to organizational strategies and objectives
  • Integrate and institutionalizes IT best practices.
  • Enable the organization to take full advantage of its information, infrastructure, and hardware and software assets.
  • Support regulatory as well as best practice requirements such as auditability, security, responsibility, and accountability.

Organizations that have implemented EA governance realize greater benefits from their EA programs

Modern day CIOs of high-performing organizations use EA as a strategic planning discipline to improve business-IT alignment, enable innovation, and link business and IT strategies to execution.

Recent Info-Tech research found that organizations that establish EA governance realize greater benefits from their EA initiatives.

The image shows a bar graph, with Impact from EA on the Y-axis, and different initiatives listed on the X-axis. Each initiative has two bars connected to it, with a blue bar representing answers of No and the grey bar representing answers of Yes.

(Info-Tech Research Group, N=89)

Measure EA governance implementation effectiveness

Define key operational measures for internal use by IT and EA practitioners. Also, define business value measures that communicate and demonstrate the value of EA as an “enabler” of business outcomes to senior executives.

EA performance measures (lead, operational) EA value measures (lag)
Application of EA management process EA’s contribution to IT performance EA’s contribution to business value

Enterprise Architecture Management

  • Number of months since the last review of target state EA blueprints.

IT Investment Portfolio Management

  • Percentage of projects that were identified and proposed by EA.

Solution Development

  • Number of projects that passed EA reviews.
  • Number of building blocks reused.

Operations Management

  • Reduction in the number of applications with overlapping functionality.

Business Value

  • Lower non-discretionary IT spend.
  • Decreased time to production.
  • Higher satisfaction of IT-enabled services.

An insurance provider adopts a value-focused, right-sized EA governance program

CASE STUDY

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

The insurance sector has been undergoing major changes, and as a reaction, businesses within the sector have been embracing technology to provide innovative solutions.

The head of EA in a major insurance provider (henceforth to be referred to as “INSPRO01”) was given the mandate to ensure that solutions are architected right the first time to maximize reuse and reduce technology debt. The EA group was at a critical point – to demonstrate business value or become irrelevant.

Complication

The project management office had been accountable for solution architecture and had placed emphasis on short-term project cost savings at the expense of long term durability.

There was a lack of awareness of the Enterprise Architecture group within INSPRO01, and people misunderstood the roles and responsibilities of the EA team.

Result

Info-Tech helped define the responsibilities of the EA team and clarify the differences between the role of a Solution Architect vs. Enterprise Architect.

The EA team was able to make the case for change in the project management practices to ensure architectures are reviewed and approved prior to implementation.

As a result, INSPRO01 saw substantial increases in reuse opportunities and thereby derived more value from its technology investments.

Success factors for EA governance

The success of any EA governance initiative revolves around adopting best practices, setting up repeatable processes, and establishing appropriate controls.

  1. Develop best practices for managing architecture policies, procedures, roles, skills, and organizational structures.
  2. Establish organizational responsibilities and structures to support the architecture governance processes.
  3. Management of criteria for the control of the architecture governance processes, dispensations, compliance assessments, and SLAs.

Info-Tech’s approach to EA governance

Our best-practice approach is grounded in TOGAF and enhanced by the insights and guidance from our analysts, industry experts, and our clients.

Value-focused. Focus EA governance on helping the organization achieve business benefits. Promote EA’s contribution in realizing business value.

Right-sized. Insert EA governance into existing process checkpoints rather than creating new ones. Clearly define EA governance inclusion criteria for projects.

Measured. Define metrics to measure EA’s performance, and integrate EA governance with other governance processes such as project governance. Also clearly define the EA governing bodies’ composition, domain, inputs, and outputs.

Balanced. Adopt architecture principles that strikes the right balance between business and technology.

Info-Tech’s EA governance framework

Info-Tech’s architectural governance framework provides a value-focused, right-sized approach with a strong emphasis on process standardization, repeatability, and sustainability.

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

Use Info-Tech’s templates to complete this project

  1. Current state of EA governance
    • EA Capability - Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool
    • EA Governance Assessment Tool
  2. EA fundamentals
    • EA Vision and Mission Template
    • EA Goals and Measures Template
    • EA Principles Template
  3. Engagement model
    • EA Engagement Model Template
  4. EA governing bodies
    • Architecture Board Charter Template
    • Architecture Review Process Template
  5. EA policy
    • EA Policy Template
    • Architecture Assessment Checklist Template
    • Compliance Waiver Process Template
    • Compliance Waiver Form Template
  6. Architectural standards
    • Architecture Standards Update Process Template
  7. Communication Plan
    • EA Governance Communication Plan Template
    • EA Governance Framework Template

As you move through the project, capture your progress with a summary in the EA Governance Framework Template.

Download the EA Governance Framework Template document for use throughout this project.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

Guided Implementation

“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

Workshop

“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

Consulting

“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

EA governance framework – phase-by-phase outline (1/2)

Current state of EA governance EA Fundamentals Engagement Model EA Governing Bodies
Best-Practice Toolkit

1.1 Determine organizational complexity

1.2 Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components

1.3 Identify and prioritize gaps

2.1 Craft the EA vision and mission

2.2 Develop the EA principles

2.3 Identify the EA goals

3.1 Build the case for EA engagement

3.2 Identify engagement touchpoints within the IT operating model

4.1 Identify the number of governing bodies

4.2 Define the game plan to initialize the governing bodies

4.3 Define the architecture review process

Guided Implementations
  • Determine organizational complexity
  • Assess current state of EA governance
  • Develop the EA fundamentals
  • Review the EA fundamentals
  • Review the current IT operating model
  • Determine the target engagement model
  • Identify architecture boards and develop charters
  • Develop an architecture review process

Phase 1 Results:

  • EA Capability - risk and complexity assessment
  • EA governance assessment

Phase 2 Results:

  • EA vision and mission
  • EA goals and measures
  • EA principles

Phase 3 Results:

  • EA engagement model

Phase 4 Results:

  • Architecture board charter
  • Architecture review process

EA governance framework – phase-by-phase outline (2/2)

EA Policy Architectural Standards Communication Plan
Best-Practice Toolkit

5.1 Define the scope of EA policy

5.2 Identify the target audience

5.3 Determine the inclusion and exclusion criteria

5.4 Craft an assessment checklist

6.1 Identify and standardize EA work products

6.2 Classify the architectural standards

6.3 Identify the custodian of standards

6.4 Update the standards

7.1 List the changes identified in the EA governance initiative

7.2 Identify stakeholders

7.3 Create a communication plan

Guided Implementations
  • EA policy, assessment checklists, and decision types
  • Compliance waivers
  • Understand architectural standards
  • EA repository and updating the standards
  • Create a communication plan
  • Review the communication plan

Phase 5 Results:

  • EA policy
  • Architecture assessment checklist
  • Compliance waiver process
  • Compliance waiver form

Phase 6 Results:

  • Architecture standards update process

Phase 7 Results:

  • Communication plan
  • EA governance framework

Workshop overview

Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

Pre-workshopWorkshop Day 1Workshop Day 2Workshop Day 3Workshop Day 4
ActivitiesCurrent state of EA governance EA fundamentals and engagement model EA governing bodies EA policy Architectural standards and

communication plan

1.1 Determine organizational complexity

1.2 Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components

1.3 Identify and prioritize gaps

1.4 Senior management interviews

  1. Review the output of the organizational complexity and EA assessment tools
  2. Craft the EA vision and mission
  3. Develop the EA principles.
  4. Identify the EA goals
  5. Identify EA engagement touchpoints within the IT operating model
  1. Identify the number of governing bodies
  2. Define the game plan to initialize the governing bodies
  3. Define the architecture review process
  1. Define the scope
  2. Identify the target audience
  3. Determine the inclusion and exclusion criteria
  4. Craft an assessment checklist
  1. Identify and standardize EA work products
  2. Classifying the architectural standards
  3. Identifying the custodian of standards
  4. Updating the standards
  5. List the changes identified in the EA governance initiative
  6. Identify stakeholders
  7. Create a communication plan
Deliverables
  1. EA Capability - risk and complexity assessment tool
  2. EA governance assessment tool
  1. EA vision and mission template
  2. EA goals and measures template
  3. EA principles template
  4. EA engagement model template
  1. Architecture board charter template
  2. Architecture review process template
  1. EA policy template
  2. Architecture assessment checklist template
  3. Compliance waiver process template
  4. Compliance waiver form template
  1. Architecture standards update process template
  2. Communication plan template

Phase 1

Current State of EA Governance

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Current State of EA Governance

  1. Current State of EA Governance
  2. EA Fundamentals
  3. Engagement Model
  4. EA Governing Bodies
  5. EA Policy
  6. Architectural Standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Determine organizational complexity
  • Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components
  • Identify and prioritize gaps

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • Prioritized list of gaps

Info-Tech Insight

Correlation is not causation – an apparent problem might be a symptom rather than a cause. Assess the organization’s current EA governance to discover the root cause and go beyond the symptoms.

Phase 1 guided implementation outline

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 1: Current State of EA Governance

Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks

Step 1.1: Determine organizational complexity

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Discuss how to use Info-Tech’s EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool.
  • Discuss how to complete the inputs on the EA Governance Assessment Tool.

Then complete these activities…

  • Conduct an assessment of your organization to determine its complexity.
  • Assess the state of EA governance within your organization.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool
  • EA Governance Assessment Tool

Step 1.2: Assess current state of EA governance

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Review the output of the EA governance assessment and gather feedback on your goals for the EA practice.

Then complete these activities…

  • Discuss whether you are ready to proceed with the project.
  • Review the list of tasks and plan your next steps.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Governance Assessment Tool

Right-size EA governance based on organizational complexity

Determining organizational complexity is not rocket science. Use Info-Tech’s tool to quantify the complexity and use it, along with common sense, to determine the appropriate level of architecture governance.

Info-Tech’s methodology uses six factors to determine the complexity of the organization:

  1. The size of the organization, which can often be denoted by the revenue, headcount, number of applications in use, and geographical diversity.
  2. The solution alignment factor helps indicate the degree to which various projects map to the organization’s strategy.
  3. The size and complexity of the IT infrastructure and networks.
  4. The portfolio of applications maintained by the IT organization.
  5. Key changes within the organization such as M&A, regulatory changes, or a change in business or technology leadership.
  6. Other negative influences that can adversely affect the organization.

Determine your organization’s level of complexity

1.1 2 hours

Input

  • Group consensus on the current state of EA competencies.

Output

  • A list of gaps that need to be addressed for EA governance competencies.

Materials

  • Info-Tech’s EA assessment tool, a computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows a screenshot of the Table of Contents with the EA Capability section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool to facilitate a session on determining your organization’s complexity.

Download EA Organizational - Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool

Step 2 - Summarize

Summarize the results in the EA governance framework document.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Understand the components of effective EA governance

EA governance is multi-faceted and it facilitates effective use of resources to meet organizational strategic objectives through well-defined structural elements.

EA Governance

  • Fundamentals
  • Engagement Model
  • Policy
  • Governing Bodies
  • Architectural Standards

Components of architecture governance

  1. EA vision, mission, goals, metrics, and principles that provide a direction for the EA practice.
  2. An engagement model showing where and in what fashion EA is engaged in the IT operating model.
  3. An architecture policy formulated and enforced by the architectural governing bodies to guide and constrain architectural choices in pursuit of strategic goals.
  4. Governing bodies to assess projects for compliance and provide feedback.
  5. Architectural standards that codify the EA work products to ensure consistent development of architecture.

Next Step: Based on the organization’s complexity, conduct a current state assessment of EA governance using Info-Tech’s EA Governance Assessment Tool.

Assess the components of EA governance in your organization

1.2 2 hrs

Input

  • Group consensus on the current state of EA competencies.

Output

  • A list of gaps that need to be addressed for EA governance competencies.

Materials

  • Info-Tech’s EA assessment tool, a computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows a screenshot of the Table of Contents with the EA Governance section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the “EA Governance Assessment Tool” to facilitate a session on identifying the best practices to be applied in your organization.

Download Info-Tech’s EA Governance Assessment Tool

Step 2 - Summarize

Summarize the identified best practices in the EA governance framework document.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template


Conduct a current state assessment to identify limitations of the existing EA governance framework

CASE STUDY

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

INSPRO01 was planning a major transformation initiative. The organization determined that EA is a strategic function.

The CIO had pledged support to the EA group and had given them a mandate to deliver long-term strategic architecture.

The business leaders did not trust the EA team and believed that lack of business skills in the group put the business transformation at risk.

Complication

The EA group had been traditionally seen as a technology organization that helps with software design.

The EA team lacked understanding of the business and hence there had been no common language between business and technology.

Result

Info-Tech helped the EA team create a set of 10 architectural principles that are business-value driven rather than technical statements.

The team socialized the principles with the business and technology stakeholders and got their approvals.

By applying the business focused architectural principles, the EA team was able to connect with the business leaders and gain their support.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Determine organizational complexity.
  • Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components.
  • Identify and prioritize gaps.

Outcomes

  • Organizational complexity assessment
  • EA governance capability assessment
  • A prioritized list of capability gaps

Phase 2

EA Fundamentals

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

EA Fundamentals

  1. Current State of EA Governance
  2. EA Fundamentals
  3. Engagement Model
  4. EA Governing Bodies
  5. EA Policy
  6. Architectural Standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Craft the EA vision and mission
  • Develop the EA principles.
  • Identify the EA goals

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • Refined set of EA fundamentals to support the building of EA governance

Info-Tech Insight

A house divided against itself cannot stand – ensure that the EA fundamentals are aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives.

Phase 2 guided implementation outline

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 2: EA Fundamentals

Proposed Time to Completion: 3 weeks

Step 2.1: Develop the EA fundamentals

Review findings with analyst:

  • Discuss the importance of the EA fundamentals – vision, mission, goals, measures, and principles.
  • Understand how to align the EA vision, mission, goals, and measures to your organization’s vision, mission, goals, measures, and principles.

Then complete these activities…

  • Develop the EA vision statements.
  • Craft the EA mission statements.
  • Define EA goals and measures.
  • Adopt EA principles.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Vision and Mission Template
  • EA Principles Template
  • EA Goals and Measures Template

Step 2.2: Review the EA fundamentals

Review findings with analyst:

  • Review the EA fundamentals in conjunction with the results of the EA governance assessment tool and gather feedback.

Then complete these activities…

  • Refine the EA vision, mission, goals, measures, and principles.
  • Review the list of tasks and plan your next steps.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Vision and Mission Template
  • EA Principles Template
  • EA Goals and Measures Template

Fundamentals of an EA organization

Vision, mission, goals and measures, and principles form the foundation of the EA function.

Factors to consider when developing the vision and mission statements

The vision and mission statements provide strategic direction to the EA team. These statements should be created based on the business and technology drivers in the organization.

Business Drivers

  • Business drivers are factors that determine, or cause, an increase in value or major improvement of a business.
  • Examples of business drivers include:
    • Increased revenue
    • Customer retention
    • Salesforce effectiveness
    • Innovation

Technology Drivers

  • Technology drivers are factors that are vital for the continued success and growth of a business using effective technologies.
  • Examples of technology drivers include:
    • Enterprise integration
    • Information security
    • Portability
    • Interoperability

"The very essence of leadership is [that] you have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet." – Theodore Hesburgh

Develop vision, mission, goals, measures, and principles to define the EA capability direction and purpose

EA capability vision statement

Articulates the desired future state of EA capability expressed in the present tense.

  • What will be the role of EA capability?
  • How will EA capability be perceived?

Example: To be recognized by both the business and IT as a trusted partner that drives [Company Name]’s effectiveness, efficiency, and agility.

EA capability mission statement

Articulates the fundamental purpose of the EA capability.

  • Why does EA capability exist?
  • What does EA capability do to realize its vision?
  • Who are the key customers of the EA capability?

Example: Define target enterprise architecture for [Company Name], identify solution opportunities, inform IT investment management, and direct solution development, acquisition, and operation compliance.

EA capability goals and measures

EA capability goals define specific desired outcomes of an EA management process execution. EA capability measures define how to validate the achievement of the EA capability goals.

Example:

Goal: Improve reuse of IT assets at [Company Name].

Measures:

  • The number of building blocks available for reuse.
  • Percent of projects that utilized existing building blocks.
  • Estimated efficiency gain (= effort to create a building block * reuse count).

EA principles

EA principles are shared, long-lasting beliefs that guide the use of IT in constructing, transforming, and operating the enterprise by informing and restricting target-state enterprise architecture design, solution development, and procurement decisions.

Example:

  • EA principle name: Reuse.
  • Statement: Maximize reuse of existing assets.
  • Rationale: Reuse prevents duplication of development and support efforts, increasing efficiency, and agility.
  • Implications: Define architecture and solution building blocks and ensure their consistent application.

EA principles guide decision making

Policies can be seen as “the letter of the law,” whereas EA principles summarize “the spirit of the law.”

The image shows a graphic with EA Principles listed at the top, with an arrow pointing down to Decisions on the use of IT. At the bottom are domain-specific policies, with two arrows pointing upwards: the arrow on the left is labelled direct, and the arrow on the right is labelled control. The arrow points up to the label Decisions on the use of IT. On the left, there is an arrow pointing both up and down. At the top it is labelled The spirit of the law, and at the bottom, The letter of the law. On the right, there is another arrow pointing both up and down, labelled How should decisions be made at the top and labelled Who has the accountability and authority to make decisions? at the bottom.

Define EA capability goals and related measures that resonate with EA capability stakeholders

EA capability goals, i.e. specific desired outcomes of an EA management process execution. Use COBIT 5, APO03 process goals, and metrics as a starting point.

The image shows a chart titled Manage Enterprise Architecture.

Define relevant business value measures to collect indirect evidence of EA’s contribution to business benefits

Define key operational measures for internal use by IT and EA practitioners. Also, define business value measures that communicate and demonstrate the value of EA as an enabler of business outcomes to senior executives.

EA performance measures (lead, operational) EA value measures (lag)
Application of EA management process EA’s contribution to IT performance EA’s contribution to business value

Enterprise Architecture Management

  • Number of months since the last review of target state EA blueprints.

IT Investment Portfolio Management

  • Percentage of projects that were identified and proposed by EA.

Solution Development

  • Number of projects that passed EA reviews.
  • Number of building blocks reused.

Operations Management

  • Reduction in the number of applications with overlapping functionality.

Business Value

  • Lower non-discretionary IT spend.
  • Decreased time to production.
  • Higher satisfaction of IT-enabled services.

Refine the organization’s EA fundamentals

2.1 2 hrs

Input

  • Group consensus on the current state of EA competencies.

Output

  • A list of gaps that need to be addressed for EA governance competencies.

Materials

  • Info-Tech’s EA assessment tool, a computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows the Table of Contents with four sections highlighted, beginning with EA Vision Statement and ending with EA Goals and Measures.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the three templates and hold a working session to facilitate a session on creating EA fundamentals.

Download the EA Vision and Mission Template, the EA Principles Template, and the EA Goals and Measures Template

Step 2 - Summarize

Document the final vision, mission, principles, goals, and measures within the EA Governance Framework.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template


Ensure that the EA fundamentals are aligned to the organizational needs

CASE STUDY

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

The EA group at INSPRO01 was being pulled in multiple directions with requests ranging from architecture review to solution design to code reviews.

Project level architecture was being practiced with no clarity on the end goal. This led to EA being viewed as just another IT function without any added benefits.

Info-Tech recommended that the EA team ensure that the fundamentals (vision, mission, principles, goals, and measures) reflect what the team aspired to achieve before fixing any of the process concerns.

Complication

The EA team was mostly comprised of technical people and hence the best practices outlined were not driven by business value.

The team had no documented vision and mission statements in place. In addition, the existing goals and measures were not tied to the business strategic objectives.

The team had architectural principles documented, but there were too many and they were very technical in nature.

Result

With Info-Tech’s guidance, the team developed a vision and mission statement to succinctly communicate the purpose of the EA function.

The team also reduced and simplified the EA principles to make sure they were value driven and communicated in business terms.

Finally, the team proposed goals and measures to track the performance of the EA team.

With the fundamentals in place, the team was able to show the value of EA and gain organization-wide acceptance.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Craft the EA vision and mission.
  • Develop the EA principles.
  • Identify the EA goals.

Outcomes

  • Refined set of EA fundamentals to support the building of EA governance.

Phase 3

Engagement Model

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Engagement Model

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Build the case for EA engagement
  • Engagement touchpoints within the IT operating model

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • Summary of the assessment of the current EA engagement model
  • Target EA engagement model

Info-Tech Insight

Perform due diligence prior to decision making. Use the EA Engagement Model to promote conversations between stage gate meetings as opposed to having the conversation during the stage gate meetings.

Phase 3 guided implementation outline

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 3: EA engagement model

Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks

Step 3.1 Review the current IT operating model

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Review Info-Tech’s IT operating model.
  • Understand how to document your organization’s IT operating model.
  • Document EA’s current role and responsibility at each stage of the IT operating model.

Then complete these activities…

  • Document your organization’s IT operating model.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Engagement Model Template

Step 3.2: Determine the target engagement model

Review findings with analyst:

  • Review your organization’s current state IT operating model.
  • Review your EA’s role and responsibility at each stage of the IT operating model.
  • Document the role and responsibility of EA in the future state.

Then complete these activities…

  • Document EA’s future role within each stage of your organization’s IT operating model.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Engagement Model Template.

The three pillars of EA Engagement

Effective EA engagement revolves around three basic principles – generating business benefits, creating adaptable models, and being able to replicate the process across the organization.

Business Value Driven

Focus on generating business value from organizational investments.

Repeatable

Process should be standardized, transparent, and repeatable so that it can be consistently applied across the organization.

Flexible

Accommodate the varying needs of projects of different sizes.

Where these pillars meet: Advocates long-term strategic vs. short-term tactical solutions.

EA interaction points within the IT operating model

EA’s engagement in each stage within the plan, build, and run phases should be clearly defined and communicated.

Plan Strategy Development Business Planning Conceptualization Portfolio Management
↓
Build Requirements Solution Design Application Development/ Procurement Quality Assurance
↓
Run Deploy Operate

Document the organization’s current IT operating model

3.1 2-3 hr

Input

  • IT project lifecycle

Output

  • Organization’s current IT operating model.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, IT department leads, business leaders.

Instructions:

Hold a working session with the participants to document the current IT operating model. Facilitate the activity using the following steps:

1. Map out the IT operating model.

  1. Find a project that was just deployed within the organization and backtrack every step of the way to the strategy development that resulted in the conception of the project.
  2. Interview the personnel involved with each step of the process to get a sense of whether or not projects usually move to deployment going through these steps.
  3. Review Info-Tech’s best-practice IT operating model presented in the EA Engagement Model Template, and add or remove any steps to the existing organization’s IT operating model as necessary. Document the finalized steps of the IT operating model.

2. Determine EA’s current role in the operating model.

  1. Interview EA personnel through each step of the process and ask them their role. This is to get a sense of the type of input that EA is having into each step of the process.
  2. Using the EA Engagement Model Template, document the current role of EA in each step of the organization’s IT operation as you complete the interviews.

Download the EA Engagement Model Template to document the organization’s current IT operating model.

Define RACI in every stage of the IT operating model (e.g. EA role in strategy development phase of the IT operating model is presented below)

Strategy Development

Also known as strategic planning, strategy development is fundamental to creating and running a business. It involves the creation of a longer-term game plan or vision that sets specific goals and objectives for a business.

R Those in charge of performing the task. These are the people actively involved in the completion of the required work. → Business VPs, EA, IT directors R
A The one ultimately answerable for the correct and thorough completion of the deliverable or task, and the one who delegates the work to those responsible. → CEO A
C Those whose opinions are sought before a decision is made, and with whom there is two-way communication. → PMO, Line managers, etc. C
I Those who are kept up to date on progress, and with whom there is one-way communication. → Development managers, etc. I

Next Step: Similarly define the RACI for each stage of the IT operating model; refer to the activity slide for prompts.

Best practices on the role of EA within the IT operating model

Plan

Strategy Development

C

Business Planning

C

Conceptualization

A

Portfolio Management

C

Build

Requirements

C

Solution Design

R

Application Development/ Procurement

R

Quality Assurance

I

Run

Deploy

I

Operate

I

Next Step: Define the role of EA in each stage of the IT operating model; refer to the activity slide for prompts.

Define EA’s target role in each step of the IT operating model

3.2 2 hrs

Input

  • Organization’s IT operating model.

Output

  • Organization’s EA engagement model.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, CIO, business leaders, IT department leaders.

The image shows the Table of Contents for the EA Engagement Model Template with the EA Engagement Summary section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the EA Engagement Model Template and hold a working session to define EA’s target role in each step of the IT operating model.

Download the EA Engagement Model Template

Step 2 - Summarize

Document the target state role of EA within the EA Governance Framework document.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template


Design an EA engagement model to formalize EA’s role within the IT operating model

CASE STUDY

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

INSPRO01 had a high IT cost structure with looming technology debt due to a preference for short-term tactical gains over long-term solutions.

The business satisfaction with IT was at an all-time low due to expensive solutions that did not meet business needs.

INSPRO01’s technology landscape was in disarray with many overlapping systems and interoperability issues.

Complication

No single team within the organization had an end-to-end perspective all the way from strategy to project execution. A lot of information was being lost in handoffs between different teams.

This led to inconsistent design/solution patterns being applied. Investment decisions had not been grounded in reality and this often led to cost overruns.

Result

Info-Tech helped INSPRO01 identify opportunities for EA team engagement at different stages of the IT operating model. EA’s role within each stage was clearly defined and documented.

With Info-Tech’s help, the EA team successfully made the case for engagement upfront during strategy development rather than during project execution.

The increased transparency enabled the EA team to ensure that investments were aligned to organizational strategic goals and objectives.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Build the case for EA engagement.
  • Identify engagement touchpoints within the IT operating model.

Outcomes

  • Summary of the assessment of the current EA engagement model
  • Target EA engagement model

Phase 4

EA Governing Bodies

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

EA Governing Bodies

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Identify the number of governing bodies
  • Define the game plan to initialize the governing bodies
  • Define the architecture review process

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • Charter definition for each EA governance board

Info-Tech Insight

Use architecture governance like a scalpel rather than a hatchet. Implement governing bodies to provide guidance rather than act as a police force.

Phase 4 guided implementation

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 4: Create or identify EA governing bodies

Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks

Step 4.1: Identify architecture boards and develop charters

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Understand the factors influencing the number of governing bodies required for an organization.
  • Understand the components of a governing body charter.

Then complete these activities…

  • Identify how many governing bodies are needed.
  • Define EA governing body composition, meeting frequency, and domain of coverage.
  • Define the inputs and outputs of each EA governing body.
  • Identify mandatory inclusion criteria.

With these tools & templates:

  • Architecture Board Charter Template

Step 4.2: Develop an architecture review process

Follow-up with an analyst call:

  • Review the number of boards identified for your organization and gather feedback.
  • Review the charters developed for each governing body and gather feedback.
  • Understand the various factors that impact the architecture review process.
  • Review Info-Tech’s best-practice architecture review process.

Then complete these activities…

  • Refine the charters for governing bodies.
  • Develop the architecture review process for your organization.

With these tools & templates:

  • Architecture Review Process Template

Factors that determine the number of architectural boards required

The primary purpose of architecture boards is to ensure that business benefits are maximized and solution design is within the options set forth by the architectural reference models without introducing additional layers of bureaucracy.

The optimal number of architecture boards required in an organization is a function of the following factors:

  • EA organization model
    • Distributed
    • Federated
    • Centralized
  • Architecture domains Maturity of architecture domains
  • Project throughput

Commonly observed architecture boards:

  • Architecture Review Board
  • Technical Architecture Committee
  • Data Architecture Review Board
  • Infrastructure Architecture Review Board
  • Security Architecture Review Board

Info-Tech Insight

Before building out a new governance board, start small by repurposing existing forums by adding architecture as an agenda item. As the items for review increase consider introducing dedicated governing bodies.

EA organization model drives the architecture governance structure

EA teams can be organized in three ways – distributed, federated, and centralized. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses. EA governance must be structured in a way such that the strengths are harvested and the weaknesses are mitigated.

Distributed Federated Centralized
EA org. structure
  • No overarching EA team exists and segment architects report to line of business (LOB) executives.
  • A centralized EA team exists with segment architects reporting to LOB executives and dotted-line to head of (centralized) EA.
  • A centralized EA capability exists with enterprise architects reporting to the head of EA.
Implications
  • Produces a fragmented and disjointed collection of architectures.
  • Economies of scale are not realized.
  • High cross-silo integration effort.
  • LOB-specific approach to EA.
  • Requires dual reporting relationships.
  • Additional effort is required to coordinate centralized EA policies and blueprints with segment EA policies and blueprints.
  • Accountabilities may be unclear.
  • Can be less responsive to individual LOB needs, because the centralized EA capability must analyze needs of multiple LOBs and various trade-off options to avoid specialized, one-off solutions.
  • May impede innovation.
Architectural boards
  • Cross LOB working groups to create architecture standards, patterns, and common services.
  • Local boards to support responsiveness to LOB-specific needs.
  • Cross LOB working groups to create architecture standards, patterns and common services.
  • Cross-enterprise boards to ensure adherence to enterprise standards and reduce integration costs.
  • Local boards to support responsiveness to LOB specific needs.
  • Enterprise working groups to create architecture standards, patterns, and all services.
  • Central board to ensure adherence to enterprise standards.

Architecture domains influences the number of architecture boards required

  • An architecture review board (ARB) provides direction for domain-specific boards and acts as an escalation point. The ARB must have the right mix of both business and technology stakeholders.
  • Domain-specific boards provide a platform to have focused discussions on items specific to that domain.
  • Based on project throughput and the maturity of each domain, organizations would have to pick the optimal number of boards.
  • Architecture working groups provide a platform for cross-domain conversations to establish organization wide standards.
Level 1 Architecture Review Board IT and Business Leaders
Level 2 Business Architecture Board Data Architecture Board Application Architecture Board Infrastructure Architecture Board Security Architecture Board IT and Business Managers
Level 3 Architecture Working Groups Architects

Create a game plan for the architecture boards

  • Start with a single board for each level – an architecture review board (ARB), a technical architecture committee (TAC), and architecture working groups.
  • As the organization matures and the number of requests to the TAC increase, consider creating domain-specific boards – such as business architecture, data architecture, application architecture, etc. – to handle architecture decisions pertaining to that domain.

Start with this:

Level 1 Architecture Review Board
Level 2 Technical Architecture Committee
Level 3 Architecture Working Groups

Change to this:

Architecture Review Board IT and Business Leaders
Business Architecture Board Data Architecture Board Application Architecture Board Infrastructure Architecture Board Security Architecture Board IT and Business Managers
Architecture Working Groups Architects

Architecture boards have different objectives and activities

The boards at each level should be set up with the correct agenda – ensure that the boards’ composition and activities reflect their objective. Use the entry criteria to communicate the agenda for their meetings.

Architecture Review Board Technical Architecture Committee
Objective
  • Evaluates business strategy, needs, and priorities, sets direction and acts as a decision making authority of the EA capability.
  • Directs the development of target state architecture.
  • Monitors performance and compliance of the architectural standards.
  • Monitor project solution architecture compliance to standards, regulations, EA principles, and target state EA blueprints.
  • Review EA compliance waiver requests, make recommendations, and escalate to the architecture review board (ARB).
Composition
  • Business Leadership
  • IT Leadership
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Business Managers
  • IT Managers
  • Architects
Activities
  • Review compliance of conceptual solution to standards.
  • Discuss the enterprise implications of the proposed solution.
  • Select and approve vendors.
  • Review detailed solution design.
  • Discuss the risks of the proposed solution.
  • Discuss the cost of the proposed solution.
  • Review and recommend vendors.
Entry Criteria
  • Changes to IT Enterprise Technology Policy.
  • Changes to the technology management plan.
  • Approve changes to enterprise technology inventory/portfolio.
  • Ongoing operational cost impacts.
  • Detailed estimates for the solution are ready for review.
  • There are significant changes to protocols or technologies responsible for solution.
  • When the project is deviating from baselined architectures.

Identify the number of governing bodies

4.1 2 hrs

Input

  • EA Vision and Mission
  • EA Engagement Model

Output

  • A list of EA governing bodies.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, CIO, business line leads, IT department leads.

Instructions:

Hold a working session with the participants to identify the number of governing bodies. Facilitate the activity using the following steps:

  1. Examine the EA organization models mentioned previously. Assess how your organization is structured, and identify whether your organization has a federated, distributed or centralized EA organization model.
  2. Reference the “Game plan for the architecture boards” slide. Assess the architecture domains, and define how many there are in the organization.
  3. Architecture domains:
    1. If no defined architecture domains exist, model the number of governing bodies in the organization based on the “Start with this” scenario in the “Game plan for the architecture boards” slide.
    2. If defined architecture domains do exist, model the number of governing bodies based on the “Change to this” scenario in the “Game plan for the architecture boards” slide.
  4. Name each governing body you have defined in the previous step. Download Info-Tech’s Architecture Board Charter Template for each domain you have named. Input the names into the title of each downloaded template.

Download the Architecture Board Charter Template to document this activity.

Defining the governing body charter

The charter represents the agreement between the governing body and its stakeholders about the value proposition and obligations to the organization.

  1. Purpose: The reason for the existence of the governing body and its goals and objectives.
  2. Composition: The members who make up the committee and their roles and responsibilities in it.
  3. Frequency of meetings: The frequency at which the committee gathers to discuss items and make decisions.
  4. Entry/Exit Criteria: The criteria by which the committee selects items for review and items for which decisions can be taken.
  5. Inputs: Materials that are provided as inputs for review and decision making by the committee.
  6. Outputs: Materials that are provided by the committee after an item has been reviewed and the decision made.
  7. Activities: Actions undertaken by the committee to arrive at its decision.

Define EA’s target role in each step of the IT operating model

4.2 3 hrs

Input

  • A list of all identified EA governing bodies.

Output

  • Charters for each EA governing bodies.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows the Table of Contents for the EA Governance Framework document, with the Architecture Board Charters highlighted.

Step 1 Facilitate

Hold a working session with the stakeholders to define the charter for each of the identified architecture boards.

Download Architecture Board Charter Template

Step 2 Summarize

  • Summarize the objectives of each board and reference the charter document within the EA Governance Framework.
  • Upload the final charter document to the team’s common repository.

Update the EA Governance Framework document


Considerations when creating an architecture review process

  • Ensure that architecture review happens at major milestones within the organization’s IT Operating Model such as the plan, build, and run phases.
  • In order to provide continuous engagement, make the EA group accountable for solution architecture in the plan phase. In the build phase, the EA group will be consulted while the solution architect will be responsible for the project solution architecture.

Plan

  • Strategy Development
  • Business Planning
  • A - Conceptualization
  • Portfolio Management

Build

  • Requirements
  • R - Solution Design
  • Application Development/ Procurement
  • Quality Assurance

Run

  • Deploy
  • Operate

Best-practice project architecture review process

The best-practice model presented facilitates the creation of sound solution architecture through continuous engagement with the EA team and well-defined governance checkpoints.

The image shows a graphic of the best-practice model. At the left, four categories are listed: Committees; EA; Project Team; LOB. At the top, three categories are listed: Plan; Build; Run. Within the area between these categories is a flow chart demonstrating the best-practice model and specific checkpoints throughout.

Develop the architecture review process

4.3 2 hours

Input

  • A list of all EA governing bodies.
  • Info-Tech’s best practice architecture review process.

Output

  • The new architecture review process.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

Hold a working session with the participants to develop the architecture review process. Facilitate the activity using the following steps:

  1. Reference Info-Tech’s best-practice architecture review process embedded within the “Architecture Review Process Template” to gain an understanding of an ideal architecture review process.
  2. Identify the stages within the plan, build, and run phases where solution architecture reviews should occur, and identify the governing bodies involved in these reviews.
  3. As you go through these stages, record your findings in the Architecture Review Process Template.
  4. Connect the various activities leading to and from the architecture creation points to outline the review process.

Download the Architecture Review Process Template for additional guidance regarding developing an architecture review process.

Develop the architecture review process

4.3 2 hrs

Input

  • A list of all identified EA governing bodies.

Output

  • Charters for each EA governing bodies.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows a screenshot of the Table of Contents, with the Architecture Review Process highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download Architecture Review Process Template and facilitate a session to customize the best-practice model presented in the template.

Download the Architecture Review Process Template

Step 2 - Summarize

Summarize the process changes and document the process flow in the EA Governance Framework document.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Right-size EA governing bodies to reduce the perception of red tape

Case Study

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

At INSPRO01, architecture governance boards were a bottleneck. The boards fielded all project requests, ranging from simple screen label changes to complex initiatives spanning multiple applications.

These boards were designed as forums for technology discussions without any business stakeholder involvement.

Complication

INSPRO01’s management never gave buy-in to the architecture governance boards since their value was uncertain.

Additionally, architectural reviews were perceived as an item to be checked off rather than a forum for getting feedback.

Architectural exceptions were not being followed through due to the lack of a dispensation process.

Result

Info-Tech has helped the team define adaptable inclusion/exclusion criteria (based on project complexity) for each of the architectural governing boards.

The EA team was able to make the case for business participation in the architecture forums to better align business and technology investment.

An architecture dispensation process was created and operationalized. As a result architecture reviews became more transparent with well-defined next steps.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Identify the number of governing bodies.
  • Define the game plan to initialize the governing bodies.
  • Define the architecture review process.

Outcomes

  • Charter definition for each EA governance board

Phase 5

EA Policy

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

EA Policy

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Define the EA policy scope
  • Identify the target audience
  • Determine the inclusion and exclusion criteria
  • Create an assessment checklist

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Leaders
  • Business Leaders
  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • The completed EA policy
  • Project assessment checklist
  • Defined assessment outcomes
  • Completed compliance waiver process

Info-Tech Insight

Use the EA policy to promote EA’s commitment to deliver value to business stakeholders through process transparency, stakeholder engagement, and compliance.

Phase 5 guided implementation

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 5: EA Policy

Proposed Time to Completion: 3 weeks

Step 5.1–5.3: EA Policy, Assessment Checklists, and Decision Types

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Discuss the three pillars of EA policy and its purpose.
  • Review the components of an effective EA policy.
  • Understand how to develop architecture assessment checklists.
  • Understand the assessment decision types.

Then complete these activities…

  • Define purpose, scope, and audience of the EA policy.
  • Create a project assessment checklist.
  • Define the organization’s assessment decision type.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Policy Template
  • EA Assessment Checklist Template

Step 5.4: Compliance Waivers

Review findings with analyst:

  • Review your draft EA policy and gather feedback.
  • Review your project assessment checklists and the assessment decision types.
  • Discuss the best-practice architecture compliance waiver process and how to tailor it to your organizational needs.

Then complete these activities…

  • Refine the EA policy based on feedback gathered.
  • Create the compliance waiver process.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Compliance Waiver Process Template
  • EA Compliance Waiver Form Template

Three pillars of architecture policy

Architecture policy is a set of guidelines, formulated and enforced by the governing bodies of an organization, to guide and constrain architectural choices in pursuit of strategic goals.

Architecture compliance – promotes compliance to organizational standards through well-defined assessment checklists across architectural domains.

Business value – ensures that investments are tied to business value by enforcing traceability to business capabilities.

Architectural guidance – provides guidance to architecture practitioners on the application of the business and technology standards.

Components of EA policy

An enterprise architecture policy is an actionable document that can be applied to projects of varying complexity across the organization.

  1. Purpose and Scope: This EA policy document clearly defines the scope and the objectives of architecture reviews within an organization.
  2. Target Audience: The intended audience of the policy such as employees and partners.
  3. Architecture Assessment Checklist: A wide range of typical questions that may be used in conducting Architecture Compliance reviews, relating to various aspects of the architecture.
  4. Assessment Outcomes: The outcome of the architecture review process that determines the conformance of a project solution to the enterprise architecture standards.
  5. Compliance Waiver: Used when a solution or segment architecture is perceived to be non-compliant with the enterprise architecture.

Draft the purpose and scope of the EA policy

5.1 2.5 hrs

Input

  • A consensus on the purpose, scope, and audience for the EA policy.

Output

  • Documented version of the purpose, scope, and audience for the EA policy.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, CIO, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows a screenshot of the Table of Contents with the EA Policy section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the EA Policy Template and hold a working session to draft the EA policy.

Download the EA Policy Template

Step 2 - Summarize

  • Summarize purpose, scope, and intended audience of the policy in the EA Governance Framework document.
  • Update the EA policy document with the purpose, scope and intended audience.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Architecture assessment checklist

Architecture assessment checklist is a list of future-looking criteria that a project will be assessed against. It provides a set of standards against which projects can be assessed in order to render a decision on whether or not the project can be greenlighted.

Architecture checklists should be created for each EA domain since each domain provides guidance on specific aspects of the project.

Sample Checklist Questions

Business Architecture:

  • Is the project aligned to organizational strategic goals and objectives?
  • What are the business capabilities that the project supports? Is it creating new capabilities or supporting an existing one?

Data Architecture:

  • What processes are in place to support data referential integrity and/or normalization?
  • What is the physical data model definition (derived from logical data models) used to design the database?

Application Architecture:

  • Can this application be placed on an application server independent of all other applications? If not, explain the dependencies.
  • Can additional parallel application servers be easily added? If so, what is the load balancing mechanism?

Infrastructure Architecture:

  • Does the solution provide high-availability and fault-tolerance that can recover from events within a datacenter?

Security Architecture:

  • Have you ensured that the corporate security policies and guidelines to which you are designing are the latest versions?

Create architectural assessment checklists

5.2 2 hrs

Input

  • Reference architecture models.

Output

  • Architecture assessment checklist.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows a screenshot of the Table of Contents with the EA Assessment Checklist section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the EA Assessment Checklist Template and hold a working session to create the architectural assessment checklists.

Download the EA Assessment Checklist Template

Step 2 - Summarize

  • Summarize the major points of the checklists in the EA Governance Framework document.
  • Update the EA policy document with the detailed architecture assessment checklists.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Architecture assessment decision types

  • As a part of the proposed solution review, the governing bodies produce a decision indicating the compliance of the solution architecture with the enterprise standards.
  • Go, No Go, or Conditional are a sample set of decision outcomes available to the governing bodies.
  • On a conditional approval, the project team must file for a compliance waiver.

Approved

  • The solution demonstrates substantial compliance with standards.
  • Negligible risk to the organization or minimal risks with sound plans of how to mitigate them.
  • Architectural approval to proceed with delivery type of work.

Conditional Approval

  • The significant aspects of the solution have been addressed in a satisfactory manner.
  • Yet, there are some aspects of the solution that are not compliant with standards.
  • The architectural approval is conditional upon presenting the missing evidence within a minimal period of time determined.
  • The risk level may be acceptable to the organization from an overall IT governance perspective.

Not Approved

  • The solution is not compliant with the standards.
  • Scheduled for a follow-up review.
  • Not recommended to proceed until the solution is more compliant with the standards.

Best-practice architecture compliance waiver process

Waivers are not permanent. Waiver terms must be documented for each waiver specifying:

  • Time period after which the architecture in question will be compliant with the enterprise architecture.
  • The modifications necessary to the enterprise architecture to accommodate the solution.

The image shows a flow chart, split into 4 sections: Enterprise Architect; Solution Architect; TAC; ARB. To the right of these section labels, there is a flow chart that documents the waiver process.

Create compliance waiver process

5.4 3-4 hrs

Input

  • A consensus on the compliance waiver process.

Output

  • Documented compliance waiver process and form.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows the Table of Contents with the Compliance Waiver Form section highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the EA compliance waiver template and hold a working session to customize the best-practice process to your organization’s needs.

Download the EA Compliance Waiver Process Template

Step 2 - Summarize

  • Summarize the objectives and high-level process in the EA Governance Framework document.
  • Update the EA policy document with the compliance waiver process.
  • Upload the final policy document to the team’s common repository.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Creates an enterprise architecture policy to drive adoption

Case Study

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

EA program adoption across INSPRO01 was at its lowest point due to a lack of transparency into the activities performed by the EA group.

Often, projects ignored EA entirely as it was viewed as a nebulous and non-value-added activity that produced no measurable results.

Complication

There was very little documented information about the architecture assessment process and the standards against which project solution architectures were evaluated.

Additionally, there were no well-defined outcomes for the assessment.

Project groups were left speculating about the next steps and with little guidance on what to do after completing an assessment.

Result

Info-Tech helped the EA team create an EA policy containing architecture significance criteria, assessment checklists, and reference to the architecture review process.

Additionally, the team also identified guidelines and detailed next steps for projects based on the outcome of the architecture assessment.

These actions brought clarity to EA processes and fostered better engagement with the EA group.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Define the scope.
  • Identify the target audience.
  • Determine the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
  • Create an assessment checklist.

Outcomes

  • The completed EA policy
  • Project assessment checklist
  • Defined assessment outcomes
  • Completed compliance waiver process

Phase 6

Architectural Standards

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Architectural Standards

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Identify and standardize EA work products
  • Classify the architectural standards
  • Identify the custodian of standards
  • Update the standards

This step involves the following participants:

  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • A standardized set of EA work products
  • A way to categorize and store EA work products
  • A defined method of updating standards

Info-Tech Insight

The architecture standard is the currency that facilitates information exchange between stakeholders. The primary purpose is to minimize transaction costs by providing a balance between stability and relevancy.

Phase 6 guided implementation

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 6: Architectural standards

Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks

Step 6.1: Understand Architectural Standards

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Discuss architectural standards.
  • Know how to identify and define EA work products.
  • Understand the standard content of work products.

Then complete these activities…

  • Identify and standardize EA work products.

Step 6.2–6.3: EA Repository and Updating the Standards

Review with analyst:

  • Review the standardized EA work products.
  • Discuss the principles of EA repository.
  • Discuss the Info-Tech best-practice model for updating architecture standards and how to tailor them to your organizational context.

Then complete these activities…

  • Build a folder structure for storing EA work products.
  • Use the Info-Tech best-practice architecture standards update process to develop your organization’s process for updating architecture standards.

With these tools & templates:

  • Architecture Standards Update Process Template

Recommended list of EA work products to standardize

  • EA work products listed below are typically produced as a part of the architecture lifecycle.
  • To ensure consistent development of architecture, the work products need to be standardized.
  • Consider standardizing both the naming conventions and the content of the work products.
  1. EA vision: A document containing the vision that provides the high-level aspiration of the capabilities and business value that EA will deliver.
  2. Statement of EA Work: The Statement of Architecture Work defines the scope and approach that will be used to complete an architecture project.
  3. Reference architectures: A reference architecture is a set of best-practice taxonomy that describes components and the conceptual structure of the model, as well as graphics, which provide a visual representation of the taxonomy to aid understanding. Reference architectures are created for each of the architecture domains.
  4. Solution proposal: The proposed project solution based on the EA guidelines and standards.
  5. Compliance assessment request: The document that contains the project solution architecture assessment details.
  6. Architecture change request: The request that initiates a change to architecture standards when existing standards can no longer meet the needs of the enterprise.
  7. Transition architecture: A transition architecture shows the enterprise at incremental states that reflect periods of transition that sit between the baseline and target architectures.
  8. Architectural roadmap: A roadmap that lists individual increments of change and lays them out on a timeline to show progression from the baseline architecture to the target architecture.
  9. EA compliance waiver request: A compliance waiver request that must be made when a solution or segment architecture is perceived to be non-compliant with the enterprise architecture.

Standardize the content of each work product

  1. Purpose - The reason for the existence of the work product.
  2. Owner - The owner of this EA work product.
  3. Target Audience - The intended audience of the work product such as employees and partners.
  4. Naming Pattern - The pattern for the name of the work product as well as its file name.
  5. Table of Contents - The various sections of the work product.
  6. Review & Sign-Off Authority - The stakeholders who will review the work product and approve it.
  7. Repository Folder Location - The location where the work product will be stored.

Identify and standardize work products

6.1 3 hrs

Input

  • List of various documents being produced by projects currently.

Output

  • Standardized list of work products.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Instructions:

Hold a working session with the participants to identify and standardize work products. Facilitate the activity using the steps below.

  1. Identifying EA work products:
    1. Start by reviewing the list of all architecture-related documents presently produced in the organization. Any such deliverable with the following characteristics can be standardized:
      1. If it can be broken out and made into a standalone document.
      2. If it can be made into a fill-in form completed by others.
      3. If it is repetitive and requires iterative changes.
    2. Create a list of work products that your organization would like to standardize based on the characteristics above.
  2. The content and format of standardized EA work products:
    1. For each work product your organization wishes to standardize, look at its purpose and brainstorm the content needed to fulfill that purpose.
    2. After identifying the elements that need to be included in the work product to fulfill its purpose, order them logically for presentation purposes.
    3. In each section of the work product that need to be completed, include instructions on how to complete the section.
    4. Review the seven elements presented in the previous slide and include them in the work products.

EA repository - information taxonomy

As the EA function begins to grow and accumulates EA work products, having a well-designed folder structure helps you find the necessary information efficiently.

Architecture meta-model

Describes the organizationally tailored architecture framework.

Architecture capability

Defines the parameters, structures, and processes that support the enterprise architecture group.

Architecture landscape

An architectural presentation of assets in use by the enterprise at particular points in time.

Standards information base

Captures the standards with which new architectures and deployed services must comply.

Reference library

Provides guidelines, templates, patterns, and other forms of reference material to accelerate the creation of new architectures for the enterprise.

Governance log

Provides a record of governance activity across the enterprise.

Create repository folder structure

6.2 5-6 hrs

Input

  • List of standardized work products.

Output

  • EA work products mapped to a repository folder.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, IT department leads.

Instructions:

Hold a working session with the participants to create a repository structure. Facilitate the activity using the steps below:

  1. Start with the taxonomy on the previous slide, and sort the existing work products into these six categories.
  2. Assess that the work products are sorted in a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive fashion. This means that a certain work product that appears in one category should not appear in another category. As well, make sure these six categories capture all the existing work products.
  3. Based on the categorization of the work products, build a folder structure that follows these categories, which will allow for the work products to be accessed quickly and easily.

Create a process to update EA work products

  • Architectural standards are not set in stone and should be reviewed and updated periodically.
  • The Architecture Review Board is the custodian for standards.
  • Any change to the standards need to be assessed thoroughly and must be communicated to all the impacted stakeholders.

Architectural standards update process

Identify

  • Identify changes to the standards

Assess

  • Review and assess the impacts of the change

Document

  • Document the change and update the standard

Approve

  • Distribute the updated standards to key stakeholders for approval

Communicate

  • Communicate the approved changes to impacted stakeholders

Create a process to continually update standards

6.3 1.5 hrs

Input

  • The list of work products and its owners.

Output

  • A documented work product update process.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, business line leads, IT department leads.

The image shows the screenshot of the Table of Contents with the Standards Update Process highlighted.

Step 1 - Facilitate

Download the standards update process template and hold a working session to customize the best practice process to your organization’s needs.

Download the Architecture Standards Update Process Template

Step 2 - Summarize

Summarize the objectives and the process flow in the EA governance framework document.

Update the EA Governance Framework Template

Create architectural standards to minimize transaction costs

Case Study

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

INSPRO01 didn’t maintain any centralized standards and each project had its own solution/design work products based on the preference of the architect on the project. This led to multiple standards across the organization.

Lack of consistency in architectural deliverables made the information hand-offs expensive.

Complication

INSPRO01 didn’t maintain the architectural documents in a central repository and the information was scattered across multiple project folders.

This caused key stakeholders to make decisions based on incomplete information and resulted in constant revisions as new information became available.

Result

Info-Tech recommended that the EA team identify and standardize the various EA work products so that information was collected in a consistent manner across the organization.

The team also recommended an information taxonomy to store the architectural deliverables and other collateral.

This resulted in increased consistency and standardization leading to efficiency gains.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • Identify and standardize EA work products.
  • Classify the architectural standards.
  • Identify the custodian of standards.
  • Update the standards.

Outcomes

  • A standardized set of EA work products
  • A way to categorize and store EA work products
  • A defined method of updating standards

Phase 7

Communication Plan

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Communication Plan

  1. Current state of EA governance
  2. EA fundamentals
  3. Engagement model
  4. EA governing bodies
  5. EA policy
  6. Architectural standards
  7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • List the changes identified in the EA governance initiative
  • Identify stakeholders
  • Create a communication plan

This step involves the following participants:

  • Head of Enterprise Architecture
  • Enterprise Architects
  • Domain Architects
  • Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

  • Communication Plan
  • EA Governance Framework

Info-Tech Insight

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail – maximize the likelihood of success for EA governance by engaging the relevant stakeholders and communicating the changes.

Phase 7 guided implementation

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 6: Operationalize the EA governance framework

Proposed Time to Completion: 1 week

Step 7.1: Create a Communication Plan

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Discuss how to communicate changes to stakeholders.
  • Discuss the purposes and benefits of the EA governance framework.

Then complete these activities…

  • Identify the stakeholders affected by the EA governance transformations.
  • List the benefits of the proposed EA governance initiative.
  • Create a plan to communicate the changes to impacted stakeholders.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Governance Communication Plan Template
  • EA Governance Framework Template

Step 7.2: Review the Communication Plan

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

  • Review the communication plan and gather feedback on the proposed stakeholders.
  • Confer about the various methods of communicating change in an organization.
  • Discuss the uses of the EA Governance Framework.

Then complete these activities…

  • Refine your communication plan and use it to engage with stakeholders to better serve customers.
  • Create the EA Governance Framework to accompany the communication plan in engaging stakeholders to better understand the value of EA.

With these tools & templates:

  • EA Governance Communication Plan Template
  • EA Governance Framework Template

Communicate changes to stakeholders

The changes made to the EA governance components need to be reviewed, approved, and communicated to all of the impacted stakeholders.

Deliverables to be reviewed:

  • Fundamentals
    • Vision and Mission
    • Goals and Measures
    • Principles
  • Architecture review process
  • Assessment checklists
  • Policy Governing body charters
  • Architectural standards

Deliverable Review Process:

Step 1: Hold a meeting with stakeholders to review, refine, and agree on the changes.

Step 2: Obtain an official approval from the stakeholders.

Step 3: Communicate the changes to the impacted stakeholders.

Communicate the changes by creating an EA governance framework and communication plan

7.1 3 hrs

Input

  • EA governance deliverables.

Output

  • EA Governance Framework
  • Communication Plan.

Materials

  • A computer, and/or a whiteboard and marker.

Participants

  • EA team, CIO, business line leads, IT department leads.

Instructions:

Hold a working session with the participants to create the EA governance framework as well as the communication plan. Facilitate the activity using the steps below:

  1. EA Governance Framework:
    1. The EA Governance Framework is a document that will help reference and cite all the materials created from this blueprint. Follow the instructions on the framework to complete.
  2. Communication Plan:
    1. Identify the stakeholders based on the EA governance deliverables.
    2. For each stakeholder identified, complete the “Communication Matrix” section in the EA Governance Communication Plan Template. Fill out the section based on the instructions in the template.
    3. As the stakeholders are identified based on the “Communication Matrix,” use the EA Governance Framework document to communicate the changes.

Download the EA Governance Communication Plan Template and EA Governance Framework Template for additional instructions and to document your activities in this phase.

Maximize the likelihood of success by communicating changes

Case Study

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

The EA group followed Info-Tech’s methodology to assess the current state and has identified areas for improvement.

Best practices were adopted to fill the gaps identified.

The team planned to communicate the changes to the technology leadership team and get approvals.

As the EA team tried to roll out changes, they encountered resistance from various IT teams.

Complication

The team was not sure of how to communicate the changes to the business stakeholders.

Result

Info-Tech has helped the team conduct a thorough stakeholder analysis to identify all the stakeholders who would be impacted by the changes to the architecture governance framework.

A comprehensive communication plan was developed that leveraged traditional email blasts, town hall meetings, and non-traditional methods such as team blogs.

The team executed the communication plan and was able to manage the change effectively.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

  • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
  • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
  • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

Key Activities

  • List the changes identified in the EA governance initiative.
  • Identify stakeholders.
  • Create a communication plan.
  • Compile the materials created in the blueprint to better communicate the value of EA governance.

Outcomes

  • Communication plan
  • EA governance framework

Bibliography

Government of British Columbia. “Architecture and Standards Review Board.” Government of British Columbia. 2015. Web. Jan 2016. < http://www.cio.gov.bc.ca/cio/standards/asrb.page >

Hopkins, Brian. “The Essential EA Toolkit Part 3 – An Architecture Governance Process.” Cio.com. Oct 2010. Web. April 2016. < http://www.cio.com/article/2372450/enterprise-architecture/the-essential-ea-toolkit-part-3---an-architecture-governance-process.html >

Kantor, Bill. “How to Design a Successful RACI Project Plan.” CIO.com. May 2012. Web. Jan 2016. < http://www.cio.com/article/2395825/project-management/how-to-design-a-successful-raci-project-plan.html >

Sapient. “MIT Enterprise Architecture Guide.” Sapient. Sep 2004. Web. Jan 2016. < http://web.mit.edu/itag/eag/FullEnterpriseArchitectureGuide0.1.pdf >

TOGAF. “Chapter 41: Architecture Repository.” The Open Group. 2011. Web. Jan 2016. < http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap41.html >

TOGAF. “Chapter 48: Architecture Compliance.” The Open Group. 2011. Web. Jan 2016. < http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap48.html >

TOGAF. “Version 9.1.” The Open Group. 2011. Web. Jan 2016. http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/

United States Secret Service. “Enterprise Architecture Review Board.” United States Secret Service. Web. Jan 2016. < http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/toolkit/pdf/ID191.pdf >

Virginia Information Technologies Agency. “Enterprise Architecture Policy.” Commonwealth of Virginia. Jul 2006. Web. Jan 2016. < https://www.vita.virginia.gov/uploadedfiles/vita_main_public/library/eapolicy200-00.pdf >

Research contributors and experts

Alan Mitchell, Senior Manager, Global Cities Centre of Excellence, KPMG

Alan Mitchell has held numerous consulting positions before his role in Global Cities Centre of Excellence for KPMG. As a Consultant, he has had over 10 years of experience working with enterprise architecture related engagements. Further, he worked extensively with the public sector and prides himself on his knowledge of governance and how governance can generate value for an organization.

Ian Gilmour, Associate Partner, EA advisory services, KPMG

Ian Gilmour is the global lead for KPMG’s enterprise architecture method and Chief Architect for the KPMG Enterprise Reference Architecture for Health and Human Services. He has over 20 years of business design experience using enterprise architecture techniques. The key service areas that Ian focuses on are business architecture, IT-enabled business transformation, application portfolio rationalization, and the development of an enterprise architecture capability within client organizations.

Djamel Djemaoun Hamidson, Senior Enterprise Architect, CBC/Radio-Canada

Djamel Djemaoun is the Senior Enterprise Architect for CBC/Radio-Canada. He has over 15 years of Enterprise Architecture experience. Djamel’s areas of special include service-oriented architecture, enterprise architecture integration, business process management, business analytics, data modeling and analysis, and security and risk management.

Sterling Bjorndahl, Director of Operations, eHealth Saskatchewan

Sterling Bjorndahl is now the Action CIO for the Sun Country Regional Health Authority, and also assisting eHealth Saskatchewan grow its customer relationship management program. Sterling’s areas of expertise include IT strategy, enterprise architecture, ITIL, and business process management. He serves as the Chair on the Board of Directors for Gardiner Park Child Care.

Huw Morgan, IT Research Executive, Enterprise Architect

Huw Morgan has 10+ years experience as a Vice President or Chief Technology Officer in Canadian internet companies. As well, he possesses 20+ years experience in general IT management. Huw’s areas of expertise include enterprise architecture, integration, e-commerce, and business intelligence.

Serge Parisien, Manager, Enterprise Architecture at Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation

Serge Parisien is a seasoned IT leader with over 25 years of experience in the field of information technology governance and systems development in both the private and public sectors. His areas of expertise include enterprise architecture, strategy, and project management.

Alex Coleman, Chief Information Officer at Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board

Alex Coleman is a strategic, innovative, and results-driven business leader with a proven track record of 20+ years’ experience planning, developing, and implementing global business and technology solutions across multiple industries in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. Alex’s expertise includes program management, integration, and project management.

L.C. (Skip) Lumley , Student of Enterprise and Business Architecture

Skip Lumley was formerly a Senior Principle at KPMG Canada. He is now post-career and spends his time helping move enterprise business architecture practices forward. His areas of expertise include enterprise architecture program implementation and public sector enterprise architecture business development.

Additional contributors

  • Tim Gangwish, Enterprise Architect at Elavon
  • Darryl Garmon, Senior Vice President at Elavon
  • Steve Ranaghan, EMEIA business engagement at Fujitsu

Release management

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Mergers & Acquisitions: The Buy Blueprint

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There are four key scenarios or entry points for IT as the acquiring organization in M&As:

  • IT can suggest an acquisition to meet the business objectives of the organization.
  • IT is brought in to strategy plan the acquisition from both the business’ and IT’s perspectives.
  • IT participates in due diligence activities and valuates the organization potentially being acquired.
  • IT needs to reactively prepare its environment to enable the integration.

Consider the ideal scenario for your IT organization.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Acquisitions are inevitable in modern business, and IT’s involvement in the process should be too. This progression is inspired by:

  • The growing trend for organizations to increase, decrease, or evolve through these types of transactions.
  • A maturing business perspective of IT, preventing the difficulty that IT is faced with when invited into the transaction process late.
  • Transactions that are driven by digital motivations, requiring IT’s expertise.
  • There never being such a thing as a true merger, making the majority of M&A activity either acquisitions or divestitures.

Impact and Result

Prepare for a growth/integration transaction by:

  • Recognizing the trend for organizations to engage in M&A activity and the increased likelihood that, as an IT leader, you will be involved in a transaction in your career.
  • Creating a standard strategy that will enable strong program management.
  • Properly considering all the critical components of the transaction and integration by prioritizing tasks that will reduce risk, deliver value, and meet stakeholder expectations.

Mergers & Acquisitions: The Buy Blueprint Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out how your organization can excel its growth strategy by engaging in M&A transactions. Review Info-Tech’s methodology and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Proactive Phase

Be an innovative IT leader by suggesting how and why the business should engage in an acquisition or divestiture.

  • One-Pager: M&A Proactive
  • Case Study: M&A Proactive
  • Information Asset Audit Tool
  • Data Valuation Tool
  • Enterprise Integration Process Mapping Tool
  • Risk Register Tool
  • Security M&A Due Diligence Tool

2. Discovery & Strategy

Create a standardized approach for how your IT organization should address acquisitions.

  • One-Pager: M&A Discovery & Strategy – Buy
  • Case Study: M&A Discovery & Strategy – Buy

3. Due Diligence & Preparation

Evaluate the target organizations to minimize risk and have an established integration project plan.

  • One-Pager: M&A Due Diligence & Preparation – Buy
  • Case Study: M&A Due Diligence & Preparation – Buy
  • IT Due Diligence Charter
  • Technical Debt Business Impact Analysis Tool
  • IT Culture Diagnostic
  • M&A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint)
  • SharePoint Template: Step-by-Step Deployment Guide
  • M&A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel)
  • Resource Management Supply-Demand Calculator

4. Execution & Value Realization

Deliver on the integration project plan successfully and communicate IT’s transaction value to the business.

  • One-Pager: M&A Execution & Value Realization – Buy
  • Case Study: M&A Execution & Value Realization – Buy

Infographic

Workshop: Mergers & Acquisitions: The Buy Blueprint

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Pre-Transaction Discovery & Strategy

The Purpose

Establish the transaction foundation.

Discover the motivation for acquiring.

Formalize the program plan.

Create the valuation framework.

Strategize the transaction and finalize the M&A strategy and approach.

Key Benefits Achieved

All major stakeholders are on the same page.

Set up crucial elements to facilitate the success of the transaction.

Have a repeatable transaction strategy that can be reused for multiple organizations.

Activities

1.1 Conduct the CIO Business Vision and CEO-CIO Alignment Diagnostics.

1.2 Identify key stakeholders and outline their relationship to the M&A process.

1.3 Identify the rationale for the company's decision to pursue an acquisition.

1.4 Assess the IT/digital strategy.

1.5 Identify pain points and opportunities tied to the acquisition.

1.6 Create the IT vision and mission statements and identify IT guiding principles and the transition team.

1.7 Document the M&A governance.

1.8 Establish program metrics.

1.9 Create the valuation framework.

1.10 Establish the integration strategy.

1.11 Conduct a RACI.

1.12 Create the communication plan.

1.13 Prepare to assess target organization(s).

Outputs

Business perspectives of IT

Stakeholder network map for M&A transactions

Business context implications for IT

IT’s acquiring strategic direction

Governance structure

M&A program metrics

IT valuation framework

Integration strategy

RACI

Communication plan

Prepared to assess target organization(s)

2 Mid-Transaction Due Diligence & Preparation

The Purpose

Establish the transaction foundation.

Discover the motivation for integration.

Assess the target organization(s).

Create the valuation framework.

Plan the integration roadmap.

Key Benefits Achieved

All major stakeholders are on the same page.

Methodology identified to assess organizations during due diligence.

Methodology can be reused for multiple organizations.

Integration activities are planned and assigned.

Activities

2.1 Gather and evaluate the stakeholders involved, M&A strategy, future-state operating model, and governance.

2.2 Review the business rationale for the acquisition.

2.3 Establish the integration strategy.

2.4 Create the due diligence charter.

2.5 Create a list of IT artifacts to be reviewed in the data room.

2.6 Conduct a technical debt assessment.

2.7 Assess the current culture and identify the goal culture.

2.8 Identify the needed workforce supply.

2.9 Create the valuation framework.

2.10 Establish the integration roadmap.

2.11 Establish and align project metrics with identified tasks.

2.12 Estimate integration costs.

Outputs

Stakeholder map

IT strategy assessment

IT operating model and IT governance structure defined

Business context implications for IT

Integration strategy

Due diligence charter

Data room artifacts

Technical debt assessment

Culture assessment

Workforce supply identified

IT valuation framework

Integration roadmap and associated resourcing

3 Post-Transaction Execution & Value Realization

The Purpose

Establish the transaction foundation.

Discover the motivation for integration.

Plan the integration roadmap.

Prepare employees for the transition.

Engage in integration.

Assess the transaction outcomes.

Key Benefits Achieved

All major stakeholders are on the same page.

Integration activities are planned and assigned.

Employees are set up for a smooth and successful transition.

Integration strategy and roadmap executed to benefit the organization.

Review what went well and identify improvements to be made in future transactions.

Activities

3.1 Identify key stakeholders and determine IT transaction team.

3.2 Gather and evaluate the M&A strategy, future-state operating model, and governance.

3.3 Review the business rationale for the acquisition.

3.4 Establish the integration strategy.

3.5 Prioritize integration tasks.

3.6 Establish the integration roadmap.

3.7 Establish and align project metrics with identified tasks.

3.8 Estimate integration costs.

3.9 Assess the current culture and identify the goal culture.

3.10 Identify the needed workforce supply.

3.11 Create an employee transition plan.

3.12 Create functional workplans for employees.

3.13 Complete the integration by regularly updating the project plan.

3.14 Begin to rationalize the IT environment where possible and necessary.

3.15 Confirm integration costs.

3.16 Review IT’s transaction value.

3.17 Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT.

3.18 Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions.

Outputs

M&A transaction team

Stakeholder map

IT strategy assessed

IT operating model and IT governance structure defined

Business context implications for IT

Integration strategy

Integration roadmap and associated resourcing

Culture assessment

Workforce supply identified

Employee transition plan

Employee functional workplans

Updated integration project plan

Rationalized IT environment

SWOT of transaction

M&A Buy Playbook refined for future transactions

Further reading

Mergers & Acquisitions: The Buy Blueprint

For IT leaders who want to have a role in the transaction process when their business is engaging in an M&A purchase.

EXECUTIVE BRIEF

Analyst Perspective

Don’t wait to be invited to the M&A table, make it.

Photo of Brittany Lutes, Research Analyst, CIO Practice, Info-Tech Research Group.
Brittany Lutes
Research Analyst,
CIO Practice
Info-Tech Research Group
Photo of Ibrahim Abdel-Kader, Research Analyst, CIO Practice, Info-Tech Research Group.
Ibrahim Abdel-Kader
Research Analyst,
CIO Practice
Info-Tech Research Group

IT has always been an afterthought in the M&A process, often brought in last minute once the deal is nearly, if not completely, solidified. This is a mistake. When IT is brought into the process late, the business misses opportunities to generate value related to the transaction and has less awareness of critical risks or inaccuracies.

To prevent this mistake, IT leadership needs to develop strong business relationships and gain respect for their innovative suggestions. In fact, when it comes to modern M&A activity, IT should be the ones suggesting potential transactions to meet business needs, specifically when it comes to modernizing the business or adopting digital capabilities.

IT needs to stop waiting to be invited to the acquisition or divestiture table. IT needs to suggest that the table be constructed and actively work toward achieving the strategic objectives of the business.

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

There are four key scenarios or entry points for IT as the acquiring organization in M&As:

  • IT can suggest an acquisition to meet the business objectives of the organization.
  • IT is brought in to strategy plan the acquisition from both the business’ and IT’s perspectives.
  • IT participates in due diligence activities and valuates the organization potentially being acquired.
  • IT needs to reactively prepare its environment to enable the integration.

Consider the ideal scenario for your IT organization.

Common Obstacles

Some of the obstacles IT faces include:

  • IT is often told about the transaction once the deal has already been solidified and is now forced to meet unrealistic business demands.
  • The business does not trust IT and therefore does not approach IT to define value or reduce risks to the transaction process.
  • The people and culture element are forgotten or not given adequate priority.

These obstacles often arise when IT waits to be invited into the transaction process and misses critical opportunities.

Info-Tech's Approach

Prepare for a growth/integration transaction by:

  • Recognizing the trend for organizations to engage in M&A activity and the increased likelihood that, as an IT leader, you will be involved in a transaction in your career.
  • Creating a standard strategy that will enable strong program management.
  • Properly considering all the critical components of the transaction and integration by prioritizing tasks that will reduce risk, deliver value, and meet stakeholder expectations.

Info-Tech Insight

As the number of merger, acquisition, and divestiture transactions continues to increase, so too does IT’s opportunity to leverage the growing digital nature of these transactions and get involved at the onset.

The changing M&A landscape

Businesses will embrace more digital M&A transactions in the post-pandemic world

  • When the pandemic occurred, businesses reacted by either pausing (61%) or completely cancelling (46%) deals that were in the mid-transaction state (Deloitte, 2020). The uncertainty made many organizations consider whether the risks would be worth the potential benefits.
  • However, many organizations quickly realized the pandemic is not a hindrance to M&A transactions but an opportunity. Over 16,000 American companies were involved in M&A transactions in the first six months of 2021 (The Economist). For reference, this had been averaging around 10,000 per six months from 2016 to 2020.
  • In addition to this transaction growth, organizations have increasingly been embracing digital. These trends increase the likelihood that, as an IT leader, you will engage in an M&A transaction. However, it is up to you when you get involved in the transactions.

The total value of transactions in the year after the pandemic started was $1.3 billion – a 93% increase in value compared to before the pandemic. (Nasdaq)

Virtual deal-making will be the preferred method of 55% of organizations in the post-pandemic world. (Wall Street Journal, 2020)

Your challenge

IT is often not involved in the M&A transaction process. When it is, it’s often too late.

  • The most important driver of an acquisition is the ability to access new technology (DLA Piper), and yet 50% of the time, IT isn’t involved in the M&A transaction at all (IMAA Institute, 2017).
  • Additionally, IT’s lack of involvement in the process negatively impacts the business:
    • Most organizations (60%) do not have a standardized approach to integration (Steeves and Associates).
    • Weak integration teams contribute to the failure of 70% of M&A integrations (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
    • Less than half (47%) of organizations actually experience the positive results sought by the M&A transaction (Steeves and Associates).
  • Organizations pursuing M&A and not involving IT are setting themselves up for failure.

Only half of M&A deals involve IT (Source: IMAA Institute, 2017)

Common Obstacles

These barriers make this challenge difficult to address for many organizations:

  • IT is rarely afforded the opportunity to participate in the transaction deal. When IT is invited, this often happens later in the process where integration will be critical to business continuity.
  • IT has not had the opportunity to demonstrate that it is a valuable business partner in other business initiatives.
  • One of the most critical elements that IT often doesn’t take the time or doesn’t have the time to focus on is the people and leadership component.
  • IT waits to be invited to the process rather then actively involving themselves and suggesting how value can be added to the process.

In hindsight, it’s clear to see: Involving IT is just good business.

47% of senior leaders wish they would have spent more time on IT due diligence to prevent value erosion. (Source: IMAA Institute, 2017)

“40% of acquiring businesses discovered a cybersecurity problem at an acquisition.” (Source: Okta)

Info-Tech's approach

Acquisitions & Divestitures Framework

Acquisitions and divestitures are inevitable in modern business, and IT’s involvement in the process should be too. This progression is inspired by:

  1. The growing trend for organizations to increase, decrease, or evolve through these types of transactions.
  2. Transactions that are driven by digital motivations, requiring IT’s expertise.
  3. A maturing business perspective of IT, preventing the difficulty that IT is faced with when invited into the transaction process late.
  4. There never being such a thing as a true merger, making the majority of M&A activity either acquisitions or divestitures.
A diagram highlighting the 'IT Executives' Role in Acquisitions and Divestitures' when they are integrated at different points in the 'Core Business Timeline'. There are four main entry points 'Proactive', 'Discovery and Strategy', 'Due Diligence and Preparation', and 'Execution and Value Realized'. It is highlighted that IT can and should start at 'Proactive', but most organizations start at 'Execution and Value Realized'. 'Proactive': suggest opportunities to evolve the organization; prove IT's value and engage in growth opportunities early. Innovators start here. Steps of the business timeline in 'Proactive' are 'Organization strategies are defined' and 'M and A is considered to enable strategy'. After a buy or sell transaction is initiated is 'Discovery and Strategy': pre-transaction state. If it is a Buy transaction, 'Establish IT's involvement and approach'. If it is a Sell transaction, 'Prepare to engage in negotiations'. Business Partners start here. Steps of the business timeline in 'Discovery and Strategy' are 'Searching criteria is set', 'Potential candidates are considered', and 'LOI is sent/received'. 'Due Diligence and Preparation': mid-transaction state. If it is a Buy transaction, 'Identify potential transaction benefits and risks'. If it is a Sell transaction, 'Comply, communicate, and collaborate in transaction'. Trusted Operators start here. Steps of the business timeline in 'Due Diligence and Preparation' are 'Due diligence engagement occurs', 'Final agreement is reached', and 'Preparation for transaction execution occurs'. 'Execution and Value Realization': post-transaction state. If it is a Buy transaction, 'Integrate the IT environments and achieve business value'. If it is a Sell transaction, 'Separate the IT environment and deliver on transaction terms'. Firefighters start here. Steps of the business timeline in 'Execution and Value Realization' are 'Staff and operations are addressed appropriately', 'Day 1 of implementation and integration activities occurs', '1st 100 days of new entity state occur' and 'Ongoing risk mitigating and value creating activities occur'.

The business’ view of IT will impact how soon IT can get involved

There are four key entry points for IT

A colorful visualization of the four key entry points for IT and a fifth not-so-key entry point. Starting from the top: 'Innovator', Information and Technology as a Competitive Advantage, 90% Satisfaction; 'Business Partner', Effective Delivery of Strategic Business Projects, 80% Satisfaction; 'Trusted Operator', Enablement of Business Through Application and Work Orders, 70% Satisfaction; 'Firefighter', Reliable Infrastructure and IT Service Desk, 60% Satisfaction; and then 'Unstable', Inability to Consistently Deliver Basic Services, <60% Satisfaction.
  1. Innovator: IT suggests an acquisition to meet the business objectives of the organization.
  2. Business Partner: IT is brought in to strategy plan the acquisition from both the business’ and IT’s perspective.
  3. Trusted Operator: IT participates in due diligence activities and valuates the organization potentially being acquired.
  4. Firefighter: IT reactively engages in the integration with little time to prepare.

Merger, acquisition, and divestiture defined

Merger

A merger looks at the equal combination of two entities or organizations. Mergers are rare in the M&A space, as the organizations will combine assets and services in a completely equal 50/50 split. Two organizations may also choose to divest business entities and merge as a new company.

Acquisition

The most common transaction in the M&A space, where an organization will acquire or purchase another organization or entities of another organization. This type of transaction has a clear owner who will be able to make legal decisions regarding the acquired organization.

Divestiture

An organization may decide to sell partial elements of a business to an acquiring organization. They will separate this business entity from the rest of the organization and continue to operate the other components of the business.

Info-Tech Insight

A true merger does not exist, as there is always someone initiating the discussion. As a result, most M&A activity falls into acquisition or divestiture categories.

Buying vs. selling

The M&A process approach differs depending on whether you are the executive IT leader on the buy side or sell side

This blueprint is only focused on the buy side:

  • More than two organizations could be involved in a transaction.
  • Examples of buy-related scenarios include:
    • Your organization is buying another organization with the intent of having the purchased organization keep its regular staff, operations, and location. This could mean minimal integration is required.
    • Your organization is buying another organization in its entirety with the intent of integrating it into your original company.
    • Your organization is buying components of another organization with the intent of integrating them into your original company.
  • As the purchasing organization, you will probably be initiating the purchase and thus will be valuating the selling organization during due diligence and leading the execution plan.

The sell side is focused on:

  • Examples of sell-related scenarios include:
    • Your organization is selling to another organization with the intent of keeping its regular staff, operations, and location. This could mean minimal separation is required.
    • Your organization is selling to another organization with the intent of separating to be a part of the purchasing organization.
    • Your organization is engaging in a divestiture with the intent of:
      • Separating components to be part of the purchasing organization permanently.
      • Separating components to be part of a spinoff and establish a unit as a standalone new company.
  • As the selling organization, you could proactively seek out suitors to purchase all or components of your organization, or you could be approached by an organization.

For more information on divestitures or selling your entire organization, check out Info-Tech’s Mergers & Acquisitions: The Sell Blueprint.

Core business timeline

For IT to be valuable in M&As, you need to align your deliverables and your support to the key activities the business and investors are working on.

Info-Tech’s methodology for Buying Organizations in Mergers, Acquisitions, or Divestitures

1. Proactive

2. Discovery & Strategy

3. Due Diligence & Preparation

4. Execution & Value Realization

Phase Steps
  1. Identify Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT
  2. Assess IT’s Current Value and Future State
  3. Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities
  1. Establish the M&A Program Plan
  2. Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition
  1. Assess the Target Organization
  2. Prepare to Integrate
  1. Execute the Transaction
  2. Reflection and Value Realization

Phase Outcomes

Be an innovative IT leader by suggesting how and why the business should engage in an acquisition or divestiture.

Create a standardized approach for how your IT organization should address acquisitions.

Evaluate the target organizations successfully and establish an integration project plan.

Deliver on the integration project plan successfully and communicate IT’s transaction value to the business.

Potential metrics for each phase

1. Proactive

2. Discovery & Strategy

3. Due Diligence & Preparation

4. Execution & Value Realization

  • % Share of business innovation spend from overall IT budget
  • % Critical processes with approved performance goals and metrics
  • % IT initiatives that meet or exceed value expectation defined in business case
  • % IT initiatives aligned with organizational strategic direction
  • % Satisfaction with IT's strategic decision-making abilities
  • $ Estimated business value added through IT-enabled innovation
  • % Overall stakeholder satisfaction with IT
  • % Percent of business leaders that view IT as an Innovator
  • % IT budget as a percent of revenue
  • % Assets that are not allocated
  • % Unallocated software licenses
  • # Obsolete assets
  • % IT spend that can be attributed to the business (chargeback or showback)
  • % Share of CapEx of overall IT budget
  • % Prospective organizations that meet the search criteria
  • $ Total IT cost of ownership (before and after M&A, before and after rationalization)
  • % Business leaders that view IT as a Business Partner
  • % Defects discovered in production
  • $ Cost per user for enterprise applications
  • % In-house-built applications vs. enterprise applications
  • % Owners identified for all data domains
  • # IT staff asked to participate in due diligence
  • Change to due diligence
  • IT budget variance
  • Synergy target
  • % Satisfaction with the effectiveness of IT capabilities
  • % Overall end-customer satisfaction
  • $ Impact of vendor SLA breaches
  • $ Savings through cost-optimization efforts
  • $ Savings through application rationalization and technology standardization
  • # Key positions empty
  • % Frequency of staff turnover
  • % Emergency changes
  • # Hours of unplanned downtime
  • % Releases that cause downtime
  • % Incidents with identified problem record
  • % Problems with identified root cause
  • # Days from problem identification to root cause fix
  • % Projects that consider IT risk
  • % Incidents due to issues not addressed in the security plan
  • # Average vulnerability remediation time
  • % Application budget spent on new build/buy vs. maintenance (deferred feature implementation, enhancements, bug fixes)
  • # Time (days) to value realization
  • % Projects that realized planned benefits
  • $ IT operational savings and cost reductions that are related to synergies/divestitures
  • % IT staff–related expenses/redundancies
  • # Days spent on IT integration
  • $ Accurate IT budget estimates
  • % Revenue growth directly tied to IT delivery
  • % Profit margin growth

The IT executive’s role in the buying transaction is critical

And IT leaders have a greater likelihood than ever of needing to support a merger, acquisition, or divestiture.

  1. Reduced Risk

    IT can identify risks that may go unnoticed when IT is not involved.

  2. Increased Accuracy

    The business can make accurate predictions around the costs, timelines, and needs of IT.

  3. Faster Integration

    Faster integration means faster value realization for the business.

  4. Informed Decision Making

    IT leaders hold critical information that can support the business in moving the transaction forward.

  5. Innovation

    IT can suggest new opportunities to generate revenue, optimize processes, or reduce inefficiencies.

The IT executive’s critical role is demonstrated by:

  • Reduced Risk

    47% of senior leaders wish they would have spent more time on IT due diligence to prevent value erosion (IMAA Institute, 2017).

  • Increased Accuracy

    87% of respondents to a Deloitte survey effectively conducted a virtual deal, with a focus on cybersecurity and integration (Deloitte, 2020).

  • Faster Integration

    Integration costs range from as low as $4 million to as high as $3.8 billion, making the process an investment for the organization (CIO Dive).

  • Informed Decision Making

    Only 38% of corporate and 22% of private equity firms include IT as a significant aspect in their transaction approach (IMAA Institute, 2017).

  • Innovation

    Successful CIOs involved in M&As can spend 70% of their time on aspects outside of IT and 30% of their time on technology and delivery (CIO).

Playbook benefits

IT Benefits

  • IT will be seen as an innovative partner to the business, and its suggestions and involvement in the organization will lead to benefits, not hindrances.
  • Develop a streamlined method to valuate the potential organization being purchased and ensure risk management concerns are brought to the business’ attention immediately.
  • Create a comprehensive list of items that IT needs to do during the integration that can be prioritized and actioned.

Business Benefits

  • The business will get accurate and relevant information about the organization being acquired, ensuring that the anticipated value of the transaction is correctly planned for.
  • Fewer business interruptions will happen, because IT can accurately plan for and execute the high-priority integration tasks.
  • The business can make a fair offer to the purchased organization, having properly valuated all aspects being bought, including the IT environment.

Insight summary

Overarching Insight

As an IT executive, take control of when you get involved in a growth transaction. Do this by proactively identifying acquisition targets, demonstrating the value of IT, and ensuring that integration of IT environments does not lead to unnecessary and costly decisions.

Proactive Insight

CIOs on the forefront of digital transformation need to actively look for and suggest opportunities to acquire or partner on new digital capabilities to respond to rapidly changing business needs.

Discovery & Strategy Insight

IT organizations that have an effective M&A program plan are more prepared for the buying transaction, enabling a successful outcome. A structured strategy is particularly necessary for organizations expected to deliver M&As rapidly and frequently.

Due Diligence & Preparation Insight

Most IT synergies can be realized in due diligence. It is more impactful to consider IT processes and practices (e.g. contracts and culture) in due diligence rather than later in the integration.

Execution & Value Realization Insight

IT needs to realize synergies within the first 100 days of integration. The most successful transactions are when IT continuously realizes synergies a year after the transaction and beyond.

Blueprint deliverables

Key Deliverable: M&A Buy Playbook

The M&A Buy Playbook should be a reusable document that enables your IT organization to successfully deliver on any acquisition transaction.

Screenshots of the 'M and A Buy Playbook' deliverable.

M&A Buy One-Pager

See a one-page overview of each phase of the transaction.

Screenshots of the 'M and A Buy One-Pagers' deliverable.

M&A Buy Case Studies

Read a one-page case study for each phase of the transaction.

Screenshots of the 'M and A Buy Case Studies' deliverable.

M&A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint)

Manage the integration process of the acquisition using this SharePoint template.

Screenshots of the 'M and A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint)' deliverable.

M&A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel)

Manage the integration process of the acquisition using this Excel tool if you can’t or don’t want to use SharePoint.

Screenshots of the 'M and A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel)' deliverable.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

Guided Implementation

Workshop

Consulting
"Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

Guided Implementation

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

A typical GI is between 6 to 10 calls over the course of 2 to 4 months.

    Proactive Phase

  • Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

    • Discovery & Strategy Phase

  • Call #2: Determine stakeholders and their perspectives of IT.
  • Call #3: Identify how M&A could support business strategy and how to communicate.

    • Due Diligence & Preparation Phase

  • Call #4: Establish a transaction team and acquisition strategic direction.
  • Call #5: Create program metrics and identify a standard integration strategy.
  • Call #6: Assess the potential organization(s).
  • Call #7: Identify the integration program plan.

    • Execution & Value Realization Phase

  • Call #8: Establish employee transitions to retain key staff.
  • Call #9: Assess IT’s ability to deliver on the acquisition transaction.

The Buy Blueprint

Phase 1

Proactive

Phase 1

 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
  • 1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT
  • 1.2 Assess IT’s Current Value and Future State
  • 1.3 Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities
  • 2.1 Establish the M&A Program Plan
  • 2.2 Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition
  • 3.1 Assess the Target Organization
  • 3.2 Prepare to Integrate
  • 4.1 Execute the Transaction
  • 4.2 Reflection and Value Realization

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Conduct the CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic
  • Conduct the CIO Business Vision diagnostic
  • Visualize relationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers
  • Group stakeholders into categories
  • Prioritize your stakeholders
  • Plan to communicate
  • Valuate IT
  • Assess the IT/digital strategy
  • Determine pain points and opportunities
  • Align goals to opportunities
  • Recommend growth opportunities

This phase involves the following participants:

  • IT and business leadership

What is the Proactive phase?

Embracing the digital drivers

As the number of merger, acquisition, or divestiture transactions driven by digital means continues to increase, IT has an opportunity to not just be involved in a transaction but actively seek out potential deals.

In the Proactive phase, the business is not currently considering a transaction. However, the business could consider one to reach its strategic goals. IT organizations that have developed respected relationships with the business leaders can suggest these potential transactions.

Understand the business’ perspective of IT, determine who the critical M&A stakeholders are, valuate the IT environment, and examine how it supports the business goals in order to suggest an M&A transaction.

In doing so, IT isn’t waiting to be invited to the transaction table – it’s creating it.

Goal: To support the organization in reaching its strategic goals by suggesting M&A activities that will enable the organization to reach its objectives faster and with greater-value outcomes.

Proactive Prerequisite Checklist

Before coming into the Proactive phase, you should have addressed the following:

  • Understand what mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures are.
  • Understand what mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures mean for the business.
  • Understand what mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures mean for IT.

Review the Executive Brief for more information on mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures for purchasing organizations.

Proactive

Step 1.1

Identify M&A Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT

Activities

  • 1.1.1 Conduct the CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic
  • 1.1.2 Conduct the CIO Business Vision diagnostic
  • 1.1.3 Visualize relationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers
  • 1.1.4 Group stakeholders into categories
  • 1.1.5 Prioritize your stakeholders
  • 1.16 Plan to communicate

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive leader
  • IT leadership
  • Critical M&A stakeholders

Outcomes of Step

Understand how the business perceives IT and establish strong relationships with critical M&A stakeholders.

Business executives' perspectives of IT

Leverage diagnostics and gain alignment on IT’s role in the organization

  • To suggest or get involved with a merger, acquisition, or divestiture, the IT executive leader needs to be well respected by other members of the executive leadership team and the business.
  • Specifically, the Proactive phase relies on the IT organization being viewed as an Innovator within the business.
  • Identify how the CEO/business executive currently views IT and where they would like IT to move within the Maturity Ladder.
  • Additionally, understand how other critical department leaders view IT and how they view the partnership with IT.
A colorful visualization titled 'Maturity Ladder' detailing levels of IT function that a business may choose from based on the business executives' perspectives of IT. Starting from the bottom: 'Struggle', Does not embarrass, Does not crash; 'Support', Keeps business happy, Keeps costs low; 'Optimize', Increases efficiency, Decreases costs; 'Expand', Extends into new business, Generates revenue; 'Transform', Creates new industry.

Misalignment in target state requires further communication between the CIO and CEO to ensure IT is striving toward an agreed-upon direction.

Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision (CIO BV) diagnostic measures a variety of high-value metrics to provide a well-rounded understanding of stakeholder satisfaction with IT.

Sample of Info-Tech's CIO Business Vision diagnostic measuring percentages of high-value metrics like 'IT Satisfaction' and 'IT Value' regarding business leader satisfaction. A note for these two reads 'Evaluate business leader satisfaction with IT this year and last year'. A section titled 'Relationship' has metrics such as 'Understands Needs' and 'Trains Effectively'. A note for this section reads 'Examine indicators of the relationship between IT and the business'. A section titled 'Security Friction' has metrics such as 'Regulatory Compliance-Driven' and 'Office/Desktop Security'.

Business Satisfaction and Importance for Core Services

The core services of IT are important when determining what IT should focus on. The most important services with the lowest satisfaction offer the largest area of improvement for IT to drive business value.

Sample of Info-Tech's CIO Business Vision diagnostic specifically comparing the business satisfaction of 12 core services with their importance. Services listed include 'Service Desk', 'IT Security', 'Requirements Gathering', 'Business Apps', 'Data Quality', and more. There is a short description of the services, a percentage for the business satisfaction with the service, a percentage comparing it to last year, and a numbered ranking of importance for each service. A note reads 'Assess satisfaction and importance across 12 core IT capabilities'.

1.1.1 Conduct the CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic

2 weeks

Input: IT organization expertise and the CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic

Output: An understanding of an executive business stakeholder’s perception of IT

Materials: CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, Business executive/CEO

  1. The CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic can be a powerful input. Speak with your Info-Tech account representative to conduct the diagnostic. Use the results to inform current IT capabilities.
  2. You may choose to debrief the results of your diagnostic with an Info-Tech analyst. We recommend this to help your team understand how to interpret and draw conclusions from the results.
  3. Examine the results of the survey and note where there might be specific capabilities that could be improved.
  4. Determine whether there are any areas of significant disagreement between the you and the CEO. Mark down those areas for further conversations. Additionally, take note of areas that could be leveraged to support growth transactions or support your rationale in recommending growth transactions.

Download the sample report.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

1.1.2 Conduct the CIO Business Vision diagnostic

2 weeks

Input: IT organization expertise, CIO BV diagnostic

Output: An understanding of business stakeholder perception of certain IT capabilities and services

Materials: CIO Business Vision diagnostic, Computer, Whiteboard and markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, Senior business leaders

  1. The CIO Business Vision (CIO BV) diagnostic can be a powerful tool for identifying IT capability focus areas. Speak with your account representative to conduct the CIO BV diagnostic. Use the results to inform current IT capabilities.
  2. You may choose to debrief the results of your diagnostic with an Info-Tech analyst. We recommend this to help your team understand how to interpret the results and draw conclusions from the diagnostic.
  3. Examine the results of the survey and take note of any IT services that have low scores.
  4. Read through the diagnostic comments and note any common themes. Especially note which stakeholders identified they have a favorable relationship with IT and which stakeholders identified they have an unfavorable relationship. For those who have an unfavorable relationship, identify if they will have a critical role in a growth transaction.

Download the sample report.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Create a stakeholder network map for M&A transactions

Follow the trail of breadcrumbs from your direct stakeholders to their influencers to uncover hidden stakeholders.

Example:

Diagram of stakeholders and their relationships with other stakeholders, such as 'Board Members', 'CFO/Finance', 'Compliance', etc. with 'CIO/IT Leader' highlighted in the middle. There are unidirectional black arrows and bi-directional green arrows indicating each connection.

    Legend
  • Black arrows indicate the direction of professional influence
  • Dashed green arrows indicate bidirectional, informal influence relationships

Info-Tech Insight

Your stakeholder map defines the influence landscape that the M&A transaction will occur within. This will identify who holds various levels of accountability and decision-making authority when a transaction does take place.

Use connectors to determine who may be influencing your direct stakeholders. They may not have any formal authority within the organization, but they may have informal yet substantial relationships with your stakeholders.

1.1.3 Visualize relationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers

1-3 hours

Input: List of M&A stakeholders

Output: Relationships among M&A stakeholders and influencers

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive leadership

  1. The purpose of this activity is to list all the stakeholders within your organization that will have a direct or indirect impact on the M&A transaction.
  2. Determine the critical stakeholders, and then determine the stakeholders of your stakeholders and consider adding each of them to the stakeholder list.
  3. Assess who has either formal or informal influence over your stakeholders; add these influencers to your stakeholder list.
  4. Construct a diagram linking stakeholders and their influencers together.
    • Use black arrows to indicate the direction of professional influence.
    • Use dashed green arrows to indicate bidirectional, informal influence relationships.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Categorize your stakeholders with a prioritization map

A stakeholder prioritization map helps IT leaders categorize their stakeholders by their level of influence and ownership in the merger, acquisition, or divestiture process.

A prioritization map of stakeholder categories split into four quadrants. The vertical axis is 'Influence', from low on the bottom to high on top. The horizontal axis is 'Ownership/Interest', from low on the left to high on the right. 'Spectators' are low influence, low ownership/interest. 'Mediators' are high influence, low ownership/interest. 'Noisemakers' are low influence, high ownership/interest. 'Players' are high influence, high ownership/interest.

There are four areas in the map, and the stakeholders within each area should be treated differently.

Players – players have a high interest in the initiative and the influence to effect change over the initiative. Their support is critical, and a lack of support can cause significant impediment to the objectives.

Mediators – mediators have a low interest but significant influence over the initiative. They can help to provide balance and objective opinions to issues that arise.

Noisemakers – noisemakers have low influence but high interest. They tend to be very vocal and engaged, either positively or negatively, but have little ability to enact their wishes.

Spectators – generally, spectators are apathetic and have little influence over or interest in the initiative.

1.1.4 Group stakeholders into categories

30 minutes

Input: Stakeholder map, Stakeholder list

Output: Categorization of stakeholders and influencers

Materials: Flip charts, Markers, Sticky notes, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive leadership, Stakeholders

  1. Identify your stakeholders’ interest in and influence on the M&A process as high, medium, or low by rating the attributes below.
  2. Map your results to the model to the right to determine each stakeholder’s category.

Same prioritization map of stakeholder categories as before. This one has specific stakeholders mapped onto it. 'CFO' is mapped as low interest and middling influence, between 'Mediator' and 'Spectator'. 'CIO' is mapped as higher than average interest and high influence, a 'Player'. 'Board Member' is mapped as high interest and high influence, a 'Player'.

Level of Influence
  • Power: Ability of a stakeholder to effect change.
  • Urgency: Degree of immediacy demanded.
  • Legitimacy: Perceived validity of stakeholder’s claim.
  • Volume: How loud their “voice” is or could become.
  • Contribution: What they have that is of value to you.
Level of Interest

How much are the stakeholder’s individual performance and goals directly tied to the success or failure of the product?

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Prioritize your stakeholders

There may be too many stakeholders to be able to manage them all. Focus your attention on the stakeholders that matter most.

Level of Support

Supporter

Evangelist

Neutral

Blocker
Stakeholder Category Player Critical High High Critical
Mediator Medium Low Low Medium
Noisemaker High Medium Medium High
Spectator Low Irrelevant Irrelevant Low

Consider the three dimensions for stakeholder prioritization: influence, interest, and support. Support can be determined by answering the following question: How significant is that stakeholder to the M&A or divestiture process?

These parameters are used to prioritize which stakeholders are most important and should receive your focused attention.

1.1.5 Prioritize your stakeholders

30 minutes

Input: Stakeholder matrix

Output: Stakeholder and influencer prioritization

Materials: Flip charts, Markers, Sticky notes, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive leadership, M&A/divestiture stakeholders

  1. Identify the level of support of each stakeholder by answering the following question: How significant is that stakeholder to the M&A transaction process?
  2. Prioritize your stakeholders using the prioritization scheme on the previous slide.

Stakeholder

Category

Level of Support

Prioritization
CMO Spectator Neutral Irrelevant
CIO Player Supporter Critical

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Define strategies for engaging stakeholders by type

A revisit to the map of stakeholder categories, but with strategies listed for each one, and arrows on the side instead of an axis. The vertical arrow is 'Authority', which increases upward, and the horizontal axis is Ownership/Interest which increases as it moves to the right. The strategy for 'Players' is 'Engage', for 'Mediators' is 'Satisfy', for 'Noisemakers' is 'Inform', and for 'Spectators' is 'Monitor'.

Type

Quadrant

Actions
Players High influence, high interest – actively engage Keep them updated on the progress of the project. Continuously involve Players in the process and maintain their engagement and interest by demonstrating their value to its success.
Mediators High influence, low interest – keep satisfied They can be the game changers in groups of stakeholders. Turn them into supporters by gaining their confidence and trust and including them in important decision-making steps. In turn, they can help you influence other stakeholders.
Noisemakers Low influence, high interest – keep informed Try to increase their influence (or decrease it if they are detractors) by providing them with key information, supporting them in meetings, and using Mediators to help them.
Spectators Low influence, low interest – monitor They are followers. Keep them in the loop by providing clarity on objectives and status updates.

Info-Tech Insight

Each group of stakeholders draws attention and resources away from critical tasks. By properly identifying stakeholder groups, the IT executive leader can develop corresponding actions to manage stakeholders in each group. This can dramatically reduce wasted effort trying to satisfy Spectators and Noisemakers while ensuring the needs of Mediators and Players are met.

1.1.6 Plan to communicate

30 minutes

Input: Stakeholder priority, Stakeholder categorization, Stakeholder influence

Output: Stakeholder communication plan

Materials: Flip charts, Markers, Sticky notes, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive leadership, M&A/divestiture stakeholders

The purpose of this activity is to make a communication plan for each of the stakeholders identified in the previous activities, especially those who will have a critical role in the M&A transaction process.

  1. In the M&A Buy Playbook, input the type of influence each stakeholder has on IT, how they would be categorized in the M&A process, and their level of priority. Use this information to create a communication plan.
  2. Determine the methods and frequency of communication to keep the necessary stakeholder satisfied and maintain or enhance IT’s profile within the organization.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Proactive

Step 1.2

Assess IT’s Current Value and Method to Achieve a Future State

Activities

  • 1.2.1 Valuate IT
  • 1.2.2 Assess the IT/digital strategy

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive leader
  • IT leadership
  • Critical stakeholders to M&A

Outcomes of Step

Identify critical opportunities to optimize IT and meet strategic business goals through a merger, acquisition, or divestiture.

How to valuate your IT environment

And why it matters so much

  • Valuating your current organization’s IT environment is a critical step that all IT organizations should take, whether involved in an M&A or not, to fully understand what it might be worth.
  • The business investments in IT can be directly translated into a value amount. For every $1 invested in IT, the business might be gaining $100 in value back or possibly even loosing $100.
  • Determining, documenting, and communicating this information ensures that the business takes IT’s suggestions seriously and recognizes why investing in IT is so critical.
  • There are three ways a business or asset can be valuated:
    • Cost Approach: Look at the costs associated with building, purchasing, replacing, and maintaining a given aspect of the business.
    • Market Approach: Look at the relative value of a particular aspect of the business. Relative value can fluctuate and depends on what the markets and consequently society believe that particular element is worth.
    • Discounted Cash Flow Approach: Focus on what the potential value of the business could be or the intrinsic value anticipated due to future profitability.
    • (Source: “Valuation Methods,” Corporate Finance Institute)

Four ways to create value through digital

  1. Reduced costs
  2. Improved customer experience
  3. New revenue sources
  4. Better decision making
    5. (Source: McKinsey & Company)

1.2.1 Valuate IT

1 day

Input: Valuation of data, Valuation of applications, Valuation of infrastructure and operations, Valuation of security and risk

Output: Valuation of IT

Materials: Relevant templates/tools listed on the following slides, Capital budget, Operating budget, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate that IT is not simply an operational functional area that diminishes business resources. Rather, IT contributes significant value to the business.

  1. Review each of the following slides to valuate IT’s data, applications, infrastructure and operations, and security and risk. These valuations consider several tangible and intangible factors and result in a final dollar amount.
  2. Input the financial amounts identified for each critical area into a summary slide. Use this information to determine where IT is delivering value to the organization.

Info-Tech Insight

Consistency is key when valuating your IT organization as well as other IT organizations throughout the transaction process.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Data valuation

Data valuation identifies how you monetize the information that your organization owns.

Create a data value chain for your organization

When valuating the information and data that exists in an organization, there are many things to consider.

Info-Tech has two tools that can support this process:

  1. Information Asset Audit Tool: Use this tool first to take inventory of the different information assets that exist in your organization.
  2. Data Valuation Tool: Once information assets have been accounted for, valuate the data that exists within those information assets.

Data Collection

Insight Creation

Value Creation

Data Valuation
01 Data Source
02 Data Collection Method
03 Data 		04 Data Analysis
05 Insight
06 Insight Delivery 		07 Consumer
08 Value in Data 		09 Value Dimension
10 Value Metrics Group
11 Value Metrics
Screenshots of Tab 2 of Info-Tech's Data Valuation Tool.

Instructions

  1. Using the Data Valuation Tool, start gathering information based on the eight steps above to understand your organization’s journey from data to value.
  2. Identify the data value spectrum. (For example: customer sales service, citizen licensing service, etc.)
  3. Fill out the columns for data sources, data collection, and data first.
  4. Capture data analysis and related information.
  5. Then capture the value in data.
  6. Add value dimensions such as usage, quality, and economic dimensions.
    • Remember that economic value is not the only dimension, and usage/quality has a significant impact on economic value.
  7. Collect evidence to justify your data valuation calculator (market research, internal metrics, etc.).
  8. Finally, calculate the value that has a direct correlation with underlying value metrics.

Application valuation

Calculate the value of your IT applications

When valuating the applications and their users in an organization, consider using a business process map. This shows how business is transacted in the company by identifying which IT applications support these processes and which business groups have access to them. Info-Tech has a business process mapping tool that can support this process:

  • Enterprise Integration Process Mapping Tool: Complete this tool first to map the different business processes to the supporting applications in your organization.

Instructions

  1. Start by calculating user costs. This is the product of the (# of users) × (% of time spent using IT) × (fully burdened salary).
  2. Identify the revenue per employee and divide that by the average cost per employee to calculate the derived productivity ratio (DPR).
  3. Once you have calculated the user costs and DPR, multiply those total values together to get the application value.

    4. User Costs

    Total User Costs

    Derived Productivity Ratio (DPR)

    Total DPR

    Application Value
    # of users % time spent using IT Fully burdened salary Multiply values from the 3 user costs columns Revenue per employee Average cost per employee (Revenue P.E) ÷ (Average cost P.E) (User costs) X (DPR)

  4. Once the total application value is established, calculate the combined IT and business costs of delivering that value. IT and business costs include inflexibility (application maintenance), unavailability (downtime costs, including disaster exposure), IT costs (common costs statistically allocated to applications), and fully loaded cost of active (full-time equivalent [FTE]) users.
  5. Calculate the net value of applications by subtracting the total IT and business costs from the total application value calculated in step 3.

    6. IT and Business Costs

    Total IT and Business Costs

    Net Value of Applications
    Application maintenance Downtime costs (include disaster exposure) Common costs allocated to applications Fully loaded costs of active (FTE) users Sum of values from the four IT and business costs columns (Application value) – (IT and business costs)

(Source: CSO)

Infrastructure valuation

Assess the foundational elements of the business’ information technology

The purpose of this exercise is to provide a high-level infrastructure valuation that will contribute to valuating your IT environment.

Calculating the value of the infrastructure will require different methods depending on the environment. For example, a fully cloud-hosted organization will have different costs than a fully on-premises IT environment.

Instructions:

  1. Start by listing all of the infrastructure-related items that are relevant to your organization.
  2. Once you have finalized your items column, identify the total costs/value of each item.
    • For example, total software costs would include servers and storage.
  3. Calculate the total cost/value of your IT infrastructure by adding all of values in the right column.

Item

Costs/Value
Hardware Assets Total Value +$3.2 million
Hardware Leased/Service Agreement -$
Software Purchased +$
Software Leased/Service Agreement -$
Operational Tools
Network
Disaster Recovery
Antivirus
Data Centers
Service Desk
Other Licenses
Total:

For additional support, download the M&A Runbook for Infrastructure and Operations.

Risk and security

Assess risk responses and calculate residual risk

The purpose of this exercise is to provide a high-level risk assessment that will contribute to valuating your IT environment. For a more in-depth risk assessment, please refer to the Info-Tech tools below:

  1. Risk Register Tool
  2. Security M&A Due Diligence Tool
    3.

Instructions

  1. Review the probability and impact scales below and ensure you have the appropriate criteria that align to your organization before you conduct a risk assessment.
  2. Identify the probability of occurrence and estimated financial impact for each risk category detail and fill out the table on the right. Customize the table as needed so it aligns to your organization.

    3. Probability of Risk Occurrence

    Occurrence Criteria
    (Classification; Probability of Risk Event Within One Year)

    Negligible Very Unlikely; ‹20%
    Very Low Unlikely; 20 to 40%
    Low Possible; 40 to 60%
    Moderately Low Likely; 60 to 80%
    Moderate Almost Certain; ›80%

Note: If needed, you can customize this scale with the severity designations that you prefer. However, make sure you are always consistent with it when conducting a risk assessment.

Financial & Reputational Impact

Budgetary and Reputational Implications
(Financial Impact; Reputational Impact)
Negligible (‹$10,000; Internal IT stakeholders aware of risk event occurrence)
Very Low ($10,000 to $25,000; Business customers aware of risk event occurrence)
Low ($25,000 to $50,000; Board of directors aware of risk event occurrence)
Moderately Low ($50,000 to $100,000; External customers aware of risk event occurrence)
Moderate (›$100,000; Media coverage or regulatory body aware of risk event occurrence)

Risk Category Details

Probability of Occurrence

Estimated Financial Impact

Estimated Severity (Probability X Impact)
Capacity Planning
Enterprise Architecture
Externally Originated Attack
Hardware Configuration Errors
Hardware Performance
Internally Originated Attack
IT Staffing
Project Scoping
Software Implementation Errors
Technology Evaluation and Selection
Physical Threats
Resource Threats
Personnel Threats
Technical Threats
Total:

1.2.2 Assess the IT/digital strategy

4 hours

Input: IT strategy, Digital strategy, Business strategy

Output: An understanding of an executive business stakeholder’s perception of IT, Alignment of IT/digital strategy and overall organization strategy

Materials: Computer, Whiteboard and markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, Business executive/CEO

The purpose of this activity is to review the business and IT strategies that exist to determine if there are critical capabilities that are not being supported.

Ideally, the IT and digital strategies would have been created following development of the business strategy. However, sometimes the business strategy does not directly call out the capabilities it requires IT to support.

  1. On the left half of the corresponding slide in the M&A Buy Playbook, document the business goals, initiatives, and capabilities. Input this information from the business or digital strategies. (If more space for goals, initiatives, or capabilities is needed, duplicate the slide).
  2. On the other half of the slide, document the IT goals, initiatives, and capabilities. Input this information from the IT strategy and digital strategy.

For additional support, see Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Proactive

Step 1.3

Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities

Activities

  • 1.3.1 Determine pain points and opportunities
  • 1.3.2 Align goals with opportunities
  • 1.3.3 Recommend growth opportunities

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive leader
  • IT leadership
  • Critical M&A stakeholders

Outcomes of Step

Establish strong relationships with critical M&A stakeholders and position IT as an innovative business partner that can suggest growth opportunities.

1.3.1 Determine pain points and opportunities

1-2 hours

Input: CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic, CIO Business Vision diagnostic, Valuation of IT environment, IT-business goals cascade

Output: List of pain points or opportunities that IT can address

Materials: Computer, Whiteboard and markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Business stakeholders

The purpose of this activity is to determine the pain points and opportunities that exist for the organization. These can be external or internal to the organization.

  1. Identify what opportunities exist for your organization. Opportunities are the potential positives that the organization would want to leverage.
  2. Next, identify pain points, which are the potential negatives that the organization would want to alleviate.
  3. Spend time considering all the options that might exist, and keep in mind what has been identified previously.

Opportunities and pain points can be trends, other departments’ initiatives, business perspectives of IT, etc.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

1.3.2 Align goals with opportunities

1-2 hours

Input: CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostic, CIO Business Vision diagnostic, Valuation of IT environment, IT-business goals cascade, List of pain points and opportunities

Output: An understanding of an executive business stakeholder’s perception of IT, Foundations for growth strategy

Materials: Computer, Whiteboard and markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Business stakeholders

The purpose of this activity is to determine whether a growth or separation strategy might be a good suggestion to the business in order to meet its business objectives.

  1. For the top three to five business goals, consider:
    1. Underlying drivers
    2. Digital opportunities
    3. Whether a growth or reduction strategy is the solution
  2. Just because a growth or reduction strategy is a solution for a business goal does not necessarily indicate M&A is the way to go. However, it is important to consider before you pursue suggesting M&A.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

1.3.3 Recommend growth opportunities

1-2 hours

Input: Growth or separation strategy opportunities to support business goals, Stakeholder communication plan, Rationale for the suggestion

Output: M&A transaction opportunities suggested

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, Business executive/CEO

The purpose of this activity is to recommend a merger, acquisition, or divestiture to the business.

  1. Identify which of the business goals the transaction would help solve and why IT is the one to suggest such a goal.
  2. Leverage the stakeholder communication plan identified previously to give insight into stakeholders who would have a significant level of interest, influence, or support in the process.

Info-Tech Insight

With technology and digital driving many transactions, leverage this opening and begin the discussions with your business on how and why an acquisition would be a great opportunity.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

By the end of this Proactive phase, you should:

Be prepared to suggest M&A opportunities to support your company’s goals through growth or acquisition transactions

Key outcome from the Proactive phase

Develop progressive relationships and strong communication with key stakeholders to suggest or be aware of transformational opportunities that can be achieved through growth or reduction strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures.

Key deliverables from the Proactive phase
  • Business perspective of IT examined
  • Key stakeholders identified and relationship to the M&A process outlined
  • Ability to valuate the IT environment and communicate IT’s value to the business
  • Assessment of the business, digital, and IT strategies and how M&As could support those strategies
  • Pain points and opportunities that could be alleviated or supported through an M&A transaction
  • Acquisition or buying recommendations

The Buy Blueprint

Phase 2

Discovery & Strategy

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3Phase 4
  • 1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT
  • 1.2 Assess IT’s Current Value and Future State
  • 1.3 Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities
  • 2.1 Establish the M&A Program Plan
  • 2.2 Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition
  • 3.1 Assess the Target Organization
  • 3.2 Prepare to Integrate
  • 4.1 Execute the Transaction
  • 4.2 Reflection and Value Realization

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Create the mission and vision
  • Identify the guiding principles
  • Create the future-state operating model
  • Determine the transition team
  • Document the M&A governance
  • Create program metrics
  • Establish the integration strategy
  • Conduct a RACI
  • Create the communication plan
  • Assess the potential organization(s)

This phase involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Company M&A team

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Pre-Work

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Establish the Transaction FoundationDiscover the Motivation for AcquiringFormalize the Program PlanCreate the Valuation FrameworkStrategize the TransactionNext Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

Activities

  • 0.1 Conduct the CIO Business Vision and CEO-CIO Alignment diagnostics
  • 0.2 Identify key stakeholders and outline their relationship to the M&A process
  • 0.3 Identify the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition
  • 1.1 Review the business rationale for the acquisition
  • 1.2 Assess the IT/digital strategy
  • 1.3 Identify pain points and opportunities tied to the acquisition
  • 1.4 Create the IT vision statement, create the IT mission statement, and identify IT guiding principles
  • 2.1 Create the future-state operating model
  • 2.2 Determine the transition team
  • 2.3 Document the M&A governance
  • 2.4 Establish program metrics
  • 3.1 Valuate your data
  • 3.2 Valuate your applications
  • 3.3 Valuate your infrastructure
  • 3.4 Valuate your risk and security
  • 3.5 Combine individual valuations to make a single framework
  • 4.1 Establish the integration strategy
  • 4.2 Conduct a RACI
  • 4.3 Review best practices for assessing target organizations
  • 4.4 Create the communication plan
  • 5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days
  • 5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps

Deliverables

  1. Business perspectives of IT
  2. Stakeholder network map for M&A transactions
  1. Business context implications for IT
  2. IT’s acquisition strategic direction
  1. Operating model for future state
  2. Transition team
  3. Governance structure
  4. M&A program metrics
  1. IT valuation framework
  1. Integration strategy
  2. RACI
  3. Communication plan
  1. Completed M&A program plan and strategy
  2. Prepared to assess target organization(s)

What is the Discovery & Strategy phase?

Pre-transaction state

The Discovery & Strategy phase during an acquisition is a unique opportunity for many IT organizations. IT organizations that can participate in the acquisition transaction at this stage are likely considered a strategic partner of the business.

For one-off acquisitions, IT being invited during this stage of the process is rare. However, for organizations that are preparing to engage in many acquisitions over the coming years, this type of strategy will greatly benefit from IT involvement. Again, the likelihood of participating in an M&A transaction is increasing, making it a smart IT leadership decision to, at the very least, loosely prepare a program plan that can act as a strategic pillar throughout the transaction.

During this phase of the pre-transaction state, IT will also be asked to participate in ensuring that the potential organization being sought will be able to meet any IT-specific search criteria that was set when the transaction was put into motion.

Goal: To identify a repeatable program plan that IT can leverage when acquiring all or parts of another organization’s IT environment, ensuring customer satisfaction and business continuity

Discovery & Strategy Prerequisite Checklist

Before coming into the Discovery & Strategy phase, you should have addressed the following:

  • Understand the business perspective of IT.
  • Know the key stakeholders and have outlined their relationships to the M&A process.
  • Be able to valuate the IT environment and communicate IT's value to the business.
  • Understand the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition and the opportunities or pain points the acquisition should address.

Discovery & Strategy

Step 2.1

Establish the M&A Program Plan

Activities

  • 2.1.1 Create the mission and vision
  • 2.1.2 Identify the guiding principles
  • 2.1.3 Create the future-state operating model
  • 2.1.4 Determine the transition team
  • 2.1.5 Document the M&A governance
  • 2.1.6 Create program metrics

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Company M&A team

Outcomes of Step

Establish an M&A program plan that can be repeated across acquisitions.

The vision and mission statements clearly articulate IT’s aspirations and purpose

The IT vision statement communicates a desired future state of the IT organization, whereas the IT mission statement portrays the organization’s reason for being. While each serves its own purpose, they should both be derived from the business context implications for IT.

Vision Statements

Mission Statements

Characteristics
  • Describe a desired future
  • Focus on ends, not means
  • Concise
  • Aspirational
  • Memorable
  • Articulate a reason for existence
  • Focus on how to achieve the vision
  • Concise
  • Easy to grasp
  • Sharply focused
  • Inspirational

Samples

 To be a trusted advisor and partner in enabling business innovation and growth through an engaged IT workforce. (Source: Business News Daily) IT is a cohesive, proactive, and disciplined team that delivers innovative technology solutions while demonstrating a strong customer-oriented mindset. (Source: Forbes, 2013)

2.1.1 Create the mission and vision statements

2 hours

Input: Business objectives, IT capabilities, Rationale for the transaction

Output: IT’s mission and vision statements for growth strategies tied to mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create mission and vision statements that reflect IT’s intent and method to support the organization as it pursues a growth strategy.

  1. Review the definitions and characteristics of mission and vision statements.
  2. Brainstorm different versions of the mission and vision statements.
  3. Edit the statements until you get to a single version of each that accurately reflects IT’s role in the growth process.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Guiding principles provide a sense of direction

IT guiding principles are shared, long-lasting beliefs that guide the use of IT in constructing, transforming, and operating the enterprise by informing and restricting IT investment portfolio management, solution development, and procurement decisions.

A diagram illustrating the place of 'IT guiding principles' in the process of making 'Decisions on the use of IT'. There are four main items, connecting lines naming the type of process in getting from one step to the next, and a line underneath clarifying the questions asked at each step. On the far left, over the question 'What decisions should be made?', is 'Business context and IT implications'. This flows forward to 'IT guiding principles', and they are connected by 'Influence'. Next, over the question 'How should decisions be made?', is the main highlighted section. 'IT guiding principles' flows forward to 'Decisions on the use of IT', and they are connected by 'Guide and inform'. On the far right, over the question 'Who has the accountability and authority to make decisions?', is 'IT policies'. This flows back to 'Decisions on the use of IT', and they are connected by 'Direct and control'.

IT principles must be carefully constructed to make sure they are adhered to and relevant

Info-Tech has identified a set of characteristics that IT principles should possess. These characteristics ensure the IT principles are relevant and followed in the organization.

Approach focused. IT principles should be focused on the approach – how the organization is built, transformed, and operated – as opposed to what needs to be built, which is defined by both functional and non-functional requirements.

Business relevant. Create IT principles that are specific to the organization. Tie IT principles to the organization’s priorities and strategic aspirations.

Long lasting. Build IT principles that will withstand the test of time.

Prescriptive. Inform and direct decision making with actionable IT principles. Avoid truisms, general statements, and observations.

Verifiable. If compliance can’t be verified, people are less likely to follow the principle.

Easily Digestible. IT principles must be clearly understood by everyone in IT and by business stakeholders. IT principles aren’t a secret manuscript of the IT team. IT principles should be succinct; wordy principles are hard to understand and remember.

Followed. Successful IT principles represent a collection of beliefs shared among enterprise stakeholders. IT principles must be continuously communicated to all stakeholders to achieve and maintain buy-in.

In organizations where formal policy enforcement works well, IT principles should be enforced through appropriate governance processes.

Consider the example principles below

IT Principle Name

IT Principle Statement
1. Risk Management We will ensure that the organization’s IT Risk Management Register is properly updated to reflect all potential risks and that a plan of action against those risks has been identified.
2. Transparent Communication We will ensure employees are spoken to with respect and transparency throughout the transaction process.
3. Integration for Success We will create an integration strategy that enables the organization and clearly communicates the resources required to succeed.
4. Managed Data We will handle data creation, modification, integration, and use across the enterprise in compliance with our data governance policy.
5. Establish a single IT Environment We will identify, prioritize, and manage the applications and services that IT provides in order to eliminate redundant technology and maximize the value that users and customers experience.
6. Compliance With Laws and Regulations We will operate in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations for both our organization and the potentially purchased organization.
7. Defined Value We will create a plan of action that aligns with the organization’s defined value expectations.
8. Network Readiness We will ensure that employees and customers have immediate access to the network with minimal or no outages.
9. Operating to Succeed We will bring all of IT into a central operating model within two years of the transaction.

2.1.2 Identify the guiding principles

2 hours

Input: Business objectives, IT capabilities, Rationale for the transaction, Mission and vision statements

Output: IT’s guiding principles for growth strategies tied to mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create the guiding principles that will direct the IT organization throughout the growth strategy process.

  1. Review the role of guiding principles and the examples of guiding principles that organizations have used.
  2. Brainstorm different versions of the guiding principles. Each guiding principle should start with the phrase “We will…”
  3. Edit and consolidate the statements until you have a list of approximately eight to ten statements that accurately reflect IT’s role in the growth process.
  4. Review the guiding principles every six months to ensure they continue to support the delivery of the business’ growth strategy goals.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Create two IT teams to support the transaction

IT M&A Transaction Team

  • The IT M&A Transaction Team should consist of the strongest members of the IT team who can be expected to deliver on unusual or additional tasks not asked of them in normal day-to-day operations.
  • The roles selected for this team will have very specific skills sets or deliver on critical integration capabilities, making their involvement in the combination of two or more IT environments paramount.
  • These individuals need to have a history of proving themselves very trustworthy, as they will likely be required to sign an NDA as well.
  • Expect to have to certain duplicate capabilities or roles across the M&A transaction team and operational team.

IT Operational Team

  • This group is responsible for ensuring the business operations continue.
  • These employees might be those who are newer to the organization but can be counted on to deliver consistent IT services and products.
  • The roles of this team should ensure that end users or external customers remain satisfied.

Key capabilities to support M&A

Consider the following capabilities when looking at who should be a part of the M&A transaction team.

Employees who have a significant role in ensuring that these capabilities are being delivered will be a top priority.

Infrastructure

  • Systems Integration
  • Data Management

Business Focus

  • Service-Level Management
  • Enterprise Architecture
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Project Management

Risk & Security

  • Privacy Management
  • Security Management
  • Risk & Compliance Management

Build a lasting and scalable operating model

An operating model is an abstract visualization, used like an architect’s blueprint, that depicts how structures and resources are aligned and integrated to deliver on the organization’s strategy.

It ensures consistency of all elements in the organizational structure through a clear and coherent blueprint before embarking on detailed organizational design.

The visual should highlight which capabilities are critical to attaining strategic goals and clearly show the flow of work so that key stakeholders can understand where inputs flow in and outputs flow out of the IT organization.

As you assess the current operating model, consider the following:

  • Does the operating model contain all the necessary capabilities your IT organization requires to be successful?
  • What capabilities should be duplicated?
  • Are there individuals with the skill set to support those roles? If not, is there a plan to acquire or develop those skills?
  • A dedicated project team strictly focused on M&A is great. However, is it feasible for your organization? If not, what blockers exist?
A diagram with 'Initiatives' and 'Solutions' on the left and right of an area chart, 'Customer' at the top, the area between them labelled 'Functional Area n', and six horizontal bars labelled 'IT Capability' stacked on top of each other. The 'IT Capability' bars are slightly skewed to the 'Solutions' side of the chart.

Info-Tech Insight

Investing time up-front getting the operating model right is critical. This will give you a framework to rationalize future organizational changes, allowing you to be more iterative and allowing your model to change as the business changes.

2.1.3 Create the future-state operating model

4 hours

Input: Current operating model, IT strategy, IT capabilities, M&A-specific IT capabilities, Business objectives, Rationale for the transaction, Mission and vision statements

Output: Future-state operating model

Materials: Operating model, Capability overlay, Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to establish what the future-state operating model will be if your organization needs to adjust to support a growth transaction.

  1. Ensuring that all the IT capabilities are identified by the business and IT strategy, document your organization’s current operating model.
  2. Identify what core capabilities would be critical to the buying transaction process and integration. Highlight and make copies of those capabilities in the M&A Buy Playbook.
  3. Arrange the capabilities to clearly show the flow of inputs and outputs. Identify critical stakeholders of the process (such as customers or end users) if that will help the flow.
  4. Ensure the capabilities that will be decentralized are clearly identified. Decentralized capabilities do not exist within the central IT organization but rather in specific lines of businesses or products to better understand needs and deliver on the capability.

An example operating model is included in the M&A Buy Playbook. This process benefits from strong reference architecture and capability mapping ahead of time.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

2.1.4 Determine the transition team

3 hours

Input: IT capabilities, Future-state operating model, M&A-specific IT capabilities, Business objectives, Rationale for the transaction, Mission and vision statements

Output: Transition team

Materials: Reference architecture, Organizational structure, Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create a team that will support your IT organization throughout the transaction. Determining which capabilities and therefore which roles will be required ensures that the business will continue to get the operational support it needs.

  1. Based on the outcome of activity 2.1.3, review the capabilities that your organization will require on the transition team. Group capabilities into functional groups containing capabilities that are aligned well with one another because they have similar responsibilities and functionalities.
  2. Replace the capabilities with roles. For example, stakeholder management, requirements gathering, and project management might be one functional group. Project management and stakeholder management might combine to create a project manager role.
  3. Review the examples in the M&A Buy Playbook and identify which roles will be a part of the transition team.

For more information, see Redesign Your Organizational Structure

What is governance?

And why does it matter so much to IT and the M&A process?

  • Governance is the method in which decisions get made, specifically as they impact various resources (time, money, and people).
  • Because M&A is such a highly governed transaction, it is important to document the governance bodies that exist in your organization.
  • This will give insight into what types of governing bodies there are, what decisions they make, and how that will impact IT.
  • For example, funds to support integration need to be discussed, approved, and supplied to IT from a governing body overseeing the acquisition.
  • A highly mature IT organization will have automated governance, while a seemingly non-existent governance process will be considered ad hoc.
A pyramid with four levels representing the types of governing bodies that are available with differing levels of IT maturity. An arrow beside the pyramid points upward. The bottom of the arrow is labelled 'Traditional (People and document centric)' and the top is labelled 'Adaptive (Data centric)'. Starting at the bottom of the pyramid is level 1 'Ad Hoc Governance', 'Governance that is not well defined or understood within the organization. It occurs out of necessity but often not by the right people'. Level 2 is 'Controlled Governance', 'Governance focused on compliance and decisions driven by hierarchical authority. Levels of authority are defined and often driven by regulatory'. Level 3 is 'Agile Governance', 'Governance that is flexible to support different needs and quick response in the organization. Driven by principles and delegated throughout the company'. At the top of the pyramid is level 4 'Automated Governance', 'Governance that is entrenched and automated into organizational processes and product/service design. Empowered and fully delegated governance to maintain fit and drive organizational success and survival'.

2.1.5 Document M&A governance

1-2 hours

Input: List of governing bodies, Governing body committee profiles, Governance structure

Output: Documented method on how decisions are made as it relates to the M&A transaction

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to determine the method in which decisions are made throughout the M&A transaction as it relates to IT. This will require understanding both governing bodies internal to IT and those external to IT.

  1. First, determine the other governance structures within the organization that will impact the decisions made about M&A. List out these bodies or committees.
  2. Create a profile for each committee that looks at the membership, purpose of the committee, decision areas (authority), and the process of inputs and outputs. Ensure IT committees that will have a role in this process are also documented. Consider the benefits realized, risks, and resources required for each.
  3. Organize the committees into a structure, identifying the committees that have a role in defining the strategy, designing and building, and running.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Current-state structure map – definitions of tiers

Strategy: These groups will focus on decisions that directly connect to the strategic direction of the organization.

Design & Build: The second tier of groups will oversee prioritization of a certain area of governance as well as design and build decisions that feed into strategic decisions.

Run: The lowest level of governance will be oversight of more-specific initiatives and capabilities within IT.

Expect tier overlap. Some committees will operate in areas that cover two or three of these governance tiers.

Measure the IT program’s success in terms of its ability to support the business’ M&A goals

Upper management will measure IT’s success based on your ability to support the underlying reasons for the M&A. Using business metrics will help assure business stakeholders that IT understands their needs and is working with the business to achieve them.

Business-Specific Metrics

  • Revenue Growth: Increase in the top line as seen by market expansion, product expansion, etc. by percentage/time.
  • Synergy Extraction: Reduction in costs as determined by the ability to identify and eliminate redundancies over time.
  • Profit Margin Growth: Increase in the bottom line as a result of increased revenue growth and/or decreased costs over time.

IT-Specific Metrics

  • IT operational savings and cost reductions due to synergies: Operating expenses, capital expenditures, licenses, contracts, applications, infrastructure over time.
  • Reduction in IT staff expense and headcount: Decreased budget allocated to IT staff, and ability to identify and remove redundancies in staff.
  • Meeting or improving on IT budget estimates: Delivering successful IT integration on a budget that is the same or lower than the budget estimated during due diligence.
  • Meeting or improving on IT time-to-integration estimates: Delivering successful IT integration on a timeline that is the same or shorter than the timeline estimated during due diligence.
  • Business capability support: Delivering the end state of IT that supports the expected business capabilities and growth.

Establish your own metrics to gauge the success of IT

Establish SMART M&A Success Metrics

S pecific Make sure the objective is clear and detailed.
M easurable Objectives are measurable if there are specific metrics assigned to measure success. Metrics should be objective.
A ctionable Objectives become actionable when specific initiatives designed to achieve the objective are identified.
R ealistic Objectives must be achievable given your current resources or known available resources.
T ime-Bound An objective without a timeline can be put off indefinitely. Furthermore, measuring success is challenging without a timeline.
  • What should IT consider when looking to identify potential additions, deletions, or modifications that will either add value to the organization or reduce costs/risks?
  • Provide a definition of synergies.
  • IT operational savings and cost reductions due to synergies: Operating expenses, capital expenditures, licenses, contracts, applications, infrastructure.
  • Reduction in IT staff expense and headcount: Decreased budget allocated to IT staff, and ability to identify and remove redundancies in staff.
  • Meeting or improving on IT budget estimates: Delivering successful IT integration on a budget that is the same or lower than the budget estimated during due diligence.
  • Meeting or improving on IT time-to-integration estimates: Delivering successful IT integration on a timeline that is the same or shorter than the timeline estimated during due diligence.
  • Revenue growth: Increase in the top line as a result, as seen by market expansion, product expansion, etc.
  • Synergy extraction: Reduction in costs, as determined by the ability to identify and eliminate redundancies.
  • Profit margin growth: Increase in the bottom line as a result of increased revenue growth and/or decreased costs.

Metrics for each phase

1. Proactive

2. Discovery & Strategy

3. Valuation & Due Diligence

4. Execution & Value Realization

  • % Share of business innovation spend from overall IT budget
  • % Critical processes with approved performance goals and metrics
  • % IT initiatives that meet or exceed value expectation defined in business case
  • % IT initiatives aligned with organizational strategic direction
  • % Satisfaction with IT's strategic decision-making abilities
  • $ Estimated business value added through IT-enabled innovation
  • % Overall stakeholder satisfaction with IT
  • % Percent of business leaders that view IT as an Innovator
  • % IT budget as a percent of revenue
  • % Assets that are not allocated
  • % Unallocated software licenses
  • # Obsolete assets
  • % IT spend that can be attributed to the business (chargeback or showback)
  • % Share of CapEx of overall IT budget
  • % Prospective organizations that meet the search criteria
  • $ Total IT cost of ownership (before and after M&A, before and after rationalization)
  • % Business leaders that view IT as a Business Partner
  • % Defects discovered in production
  • $ Cost per user for enterprise applications
  • % In-house-built applications vs. enterprise applications
  • % Owners identified for all data domains
  • # IT staff asked to participate in due diligence
  • Change to due diligence
  • IT budget variance
  • Synergy target
  • % Satisfaction with the effectiveness of IT capabilities
  • % Overall end-customer satisfaction
  • $ Impact of vendor SLA breaches
  • $ Savings through cost-optimization efforts
  • $ Savings through application rationalization and technology standardization
  • # Key positions empty
  • % Frequency of staff turnover
  • % Emergency changes
  • # Hours of unplanned downtime
  • % Releases that cause downtime
  • % Incidents with identified problem record
  • % Problems with identified root cause
  • # Days from problem identification to root cause fix
  • % Projects that consider IT risk
  • % Incidents due to issues not addressed in the security plan
  • # Average vulnerability remediation time
  • % Application budget spent on new build/buy vs. maintenance (deferred feature implementation, enhancements, bug fixes)
  • # Time (days) to value realization
  • % Projects that realized planned benefits
  • $ IT operational savings and cost reductions that are related to synergies/divestitures
  • % IT staff–related expenses/redundancies
  • # Days spent on IT integration
  • $ Accurate IT budget estimates
  • % Revenue growth directly tied to IT delivery
  • % Profit margin growth

2.1.6 Create program metrics

1-2 hours

Input: IT capabilities, Mission, vision, and guiding principles, Rationale for the acquisition

Output: Program metrics to support IT throughout the M&A process

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to determine how IT’s success throughout a growth transaction will be measured and determined.

  1. Document a list of appropriate metrics on the whiteboard. Remember to include metrics that demonstrate the business impact. You can use the sample metrics listed on the previous slide as a starting point.
  2. Set a target and deadline for each metric. This will help the group determine when it is time to evaluate progression.
  3. Establish a baseline for each metric based on information collected within your organization.
  4. Assign an owner for tracking each metric as well as someone to be accountable for performance.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Discovery & Strategy

Step 2.2

Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition

Activities

  • 2.2.1 Establish the integration strategy
  • 2.2.2 Conduct a RACI
  • 2.2.3 Create the communication plan
  • 2.2.4 Assess the potential organization(s)

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Company M&A team

Outcomes of Step

Identify IT’s plan of action when it comes to the acquisition and align IT’s integration strategy with the business’ M&A strategy.

Integration strategies

There are several IT integration strategies that will help you achieve your target technology environment.

IT Integration Strategies
  • Absorption. Convert the target organization’s strategy, structure, processes, and/or systems to that of the acquiring organization.
  • Best-of-Breed. Pick and choose the most effective people, processes, and technologies to form an efficient operating model.
  • Transformation Retire systems from both organizations and use collective capabilities, data, and processes to create something entirely new.
  • Preservation Retain individual business units that will operate within their own capability. People, processes, and technologies are unchanged.

The approach IT takes will depend on the business objectives for the M&A.

  • Generally speaking, the integration strategy is well understood and influenced by the frequency of and rationale for acquiring.
  • Based on the initiatives generated by each business process owner, you need to determine the IT integration strategy that will best support the desired target technology environment.

Key considerations when choosing an IT integration strategy include:

  • What are the main business objectives of the M&A?
  • What are the key synergies expected from the transaction?
  • What IT integration best helps obtain these benefits?
  • What opportunities exist to position the business for sustainable growth?

Absorption and best-of-breed

Review highlights and drawbacks of absorption and best-of-breed integration strategies

Absorption
    Highlights
  • Recommended for businesses striving to reduce costs and drive efficiency gains.
  • Economies of scale realized through consolidation and elimination of redundant applications.
  • Quickest path to a single company operation and systems as well as lower overall IT cost.
    Drawbacks
  • Potential for disruption of the target company’s business operations.
  • Requires significant business process changes.
  • Disregarding the target offerings altogether may lead to inferior system decisions that do not yield sustainable results.
Best-of-Breed
    Highlights
  • Recommended for businesses looking to expand their market presence or acquire new products. Essentially aligning the two organizations in the same market.
  • Each side has a unique offering but complementing capabilities.
  • Potential for better buy-in from the target because some of their systems are kept, resulting in willingness to
    Drawbacks
  • May take longer to integrate because it tends to present increased complexity that results in higher costs and risks.
  • Requires major integration efforts from both sides of the company. If the target organization is uncooperative, creating the desired technology environment will be difficult.

Transformation and preservation

Review highlights and drawbacks of transformation and preservation integration strategies

Transformation
    Highlights
  • This is the most customized approach, although it is rarely used.
  • It is essential to have an established long-term vision of business capabilities when choosing this path.
  • When executed correctly, this approach presents potential for significant upside and creation of sustainable competitive advantages.
    Drawbacks
  • This approach requires extensive time to implement, and the cost of integration work may be significant.
  • If a new system is created without strategic capabilities, the organizations will not realize long-term benefits.
  • The cost of correcting complexities at later stages in the integration effort may be drastic.
Preservation
    Highlights
  • This approach is appropriate if the merging organizations will remain fairly independent, if there will be limited or no communication between companies, and if the companies’ market strategies, products, and channels are entirely distinct.
  • Environment can be accomplished quickly and at a low cost.
    Drawbacks
  • Impact to each business is minimal, but there is potential for lost synergies and higher operational costs. This may be uncontrollable if the natures of the two businesses are too different to integrate.
  • Reduced benefits and limited opportunities for IT integration.

2.2.1 Establish the integration strategy

1-2 hours

Input: Business integration strategy, Guiding principles, M&A governance

Output: IT’s integration strategy

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to determine IT’s approach to integration. The approach might differ slightly from transaction to transaction. However, the business’ approach to transactions should give insight into the general integration strategy IT should adopt.

  1. Make sure you have clearly articulated the business objectives for the M&A, the technology end state for IT, and the magnitude of the overall integration.
  2. Review and discuss the highlights and drawbacks of each type of integration.
  3. Use Info-Tech’s Integration Posture Selection Framework on the next slide to select the integration posture that will appropriately enable the business. Consider these questions during your discussion:
    1. What are the main business objectives of the M&A? What key IT capabilities will need to support business objectives?
    2. What key synergies are expected from the transaction? What opportunities exist to position the business for sustainable growth?
    3. What IT integration best helps obtain these benefits?

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Integration Posture Selection Framework

Business M&A Strategy

Resultant Technology Strategy

M&A Magnitude (% of Acquirer Assets, Income, or Market Value)

IT Integration Posture
A. Horizontal Adopt One Model ‹10% Absorption
10 to 75% Absorption or Best-of-Breed
›75% Best-of-Breed
B. Vertical Create Links Between Critical Systems Any
  • Preservation (Differentiated Functions)
  • Absorption or Best-of-Breed (Non-Differentiated Functions)
C. Conglomerate Independent Model Any Preservation
D. Hybrid: Horizontal & Conglomerate Independent Model Any Preservation

2.2.2 Conduct a RACI

1-2 hours

Input: IT capabilities, Transition team, Integration strategy

Output: Completed RACI for transition team

Materials: Reference architecture, Organizational structure, Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to identify the core accountabilities and responsibilities for the roles identified as critical to your transition team. While there might be slight variation from transaction to transaction, ideally each role should be performing certain tasks.

  1. First, identify a list of critical tasks that need to be completed to support the purchase or acquisition. For example:
    • Communicate with the company M&A team.
    • Identify critical IT risks that could impact the organization after the transaction.
    • Identify key artifacts to collect and review during due diligence.
  2. Next, identify at the activity level which role is accountable or responsible for each activity. Enter an A for accountable, R for responsible, or A/R for both.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Communication and change

Prepare key stakeholders for the potential changes

  • Anytime you are starting a project or program that will depend on users and stakeholders to give up their old way of doing things, change will force people to become novices again, leading to lost productivity and added stress.
  • Change management can improve outcomes for any project where you need people to adopt new tools and procedures, comply with new policies, learn new skills and behaviors, or understand and support new processes.
  • M&As move very quickly, and it can be very difficult to keep track of which stakeholders you need to be communicating with and what you should be communicating.
  • Not all organizations embrace or resist change in the same ways. Base your change communications on your organization’s cultural appetite for change in general.
    • Organizations with a low appetite for change will require more direct, assertive communications.
    • Organizations with a high appetite for change are more suited to more open, participatory approaches.

Three key dimensions determine the appetite for cultural change:

  • Power Distance. Refers to the acceptance that power is distributed unequally throughout the organization.
    In organizations with a high power distance, the unequal power distribution is accepted by the less powerful employees.
  • Individualism. Organizations that score high in individualism have employees who are more independent. Those who score low in individualism fall into the collectivism side, where employees are strongly tied to one another or their groups.
  • Uncertainty Avoidance. Describes the level of acceptance that an organization has toward uncertainty. Those who score high in this area find that their employees do not favor uncertain situations, while those that score low in this area find that their employees are comfortable with change and uncertainty.

2.2.3 Create the communication plan

1-2 hours

Input: IT’s M&A mission, vision, and guiding principles, M&A transition team, IT integration strategy, RACI

Output: IT’s M&A communication plan

Materials: Flip charts/whiteboard, Markers, RACI, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create a communication plan that IT can leverage throughout the initiative.

  1. Create a structured communication plan that allows for continuous communication with the integration management office, senior management, and the business functional heads.
  2. Outline key topics of communication, with stakeholders, inputs, and outputs for each topic.
  3. Review Info-Tech’s example communication plan in the M&A Buy Playbook and update it with relevant information.
  4. Does this communication plan make sense for your organization? What doesn’t make sense? Adjust the communication guide to suit your organization.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Assessing potential organizations

As soon as you have identified organizations to consider, it’s imperative to assess critical risks. Most IT leaders can attest that they will receive little to no notice when they have to assess the IT organization of a potential purchase. As a result, having a standardized template to quickly gauge the value of the business can be critical.

Ways to Assess

  1. News: Assess what sort of news has been announced in relation to the organization. Have they had any risk incidents? Has a critical vendor announced working with them?
  2. LinkedIn: Scan through the LinkedIn profiles of employees. This will give you a sense of what platforms they have based on their employees.
  3. Trends: Some industries will have specific solutions that are relevant and popular. Assess what the key players are (if you don’t already know) to determine the solution.
  4. Business Architecture: While this assessment won’t perfect, try to understand the business’ value streams and the critical business and IT capabilities that would be needed to support them.

2.2.4 Assess the potential organization(s)

1-2 hours

Input: Publicized historical risk events, Solutions and vendor contracts likely in the works, Trends

Output: IT’s valuation of the potential organization(s) for acquisition

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO

The purpose of this activity is to assess the organization(s) that your organization is considering purchasing.

  1. Complete the Historical Valuation Worksheet in the M&A Buy Playbook to understand the type of IT organization that your company may inherit and need to integrate with.
    • The business likely isn’t looking for in-depth details at this time. However, as the IT leader, it is your responsibility to ensure critical risks are identified and communicated to the business.
  2. Use the information identified to help the business narrow down which organizations should be targeted for the acquisition.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

By the end of this pre-transaction phase you should:

Have a program plan for M&As and a repeatable M&A strategy for IT when engaging in growth transactions

Key outcomes from the Discovery & Strategy phase
  • Be prepared to analyze and recommend potential organizations that the business can acquire or merge with, using a strong program plan that can be repeated across transactions.
  • Create a M&A strategy that accounts for all the necessary elements of a transaction and ensures sufficient governance, capabilities, and metrics exist.
Key deliverables from the Discovery & Strategy phase
  • Create vision and mission statements
  • Establish guiding principles
  • Create a future-state operating model
  • Identify the key roles for the transaction team
  • Identify and communicate the M&A governance
  • Determine target metrics
  • Identify the M&A operating model
  • Select the integration strategy framework
  • Conduct a RACI for key transaction tasks for the transaction team
  • Document the communication plan

M&A Buy Blueprint

Phase 3

Due Diligence & Preparation

Phase 1Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4
  • 1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT
  • 1.2 Assess IT’s Current Value and Future State
  • 1.3 Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities
  • 2.1 Establish the M&A Program Plan
  • 2.2 Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition
  • 3.1 Assess the Target Organization
  • 3.2 Prepare to Integrate
  • 4.1 Execute the Transaction
  • 4.2 Reflection and Value Realization

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Drive value with a due diligence charter
  • Identify data room artifacts
  • Assess technical debt
  • Valuate the target IT organization
  • Assess culture
  • Prioritize integration tasks
  • Establish the integration roadmap
  • Identify the needed workforce supply
  • Estimate integration costs
  • Create an employee transition plan
  • Create functional workplans for employees
  • Align project metrics with identified tasks

This phase involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Company M&A team
  • Business leaders
  • Prospective IT organization
  • Transition team

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Pre-Work

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Establish the Transaction FoundationDiscover the Motivation for IntegrationAssess the Target Organization(s)Create the Valuation FrameworkPlan the Integration RoadmapNext Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

Activities

  • 0.1 Identify the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition.
  • 0.2 Identify key stakeholders and determine the IT transaction team.
  • 0.3 Gather and evaluate the M&A strategy, future-state operating model, and governance.
  • 1.1 Review the business rationale for the acquisition.
  • 1.2 Identify pain points and opportunities tied to the acquisition.
  • 1.3 Establish the integration strategy.
  • 1.4 Create the due diligence charter.
  • 2.1 Create a list of IT artifacts to be reviewed in the data room.
  • 2.2 Conduct a technical debt assessment.
  • 2.3 Assess the current culture and identify the goal culture.
  • 2.4 Identify the needed workforce supply.
  • 3.1 Valuate the target organization’s data.
  • 3.2 Valuate the target organization’s applications.
  • 3.3 Valuate the target organization’s infrastructure.
  • 3.4 Valuate the target organization’s risk and security.
  • 3.5 Combine individual valuations to make a single framework.
  • 4.1 Prioritize integration tasks.
  • 4.2 Establish the integration roadmap.
  • 4.3 Establish and align project metrics with identified tasks.
  • 4.4 Estimate integration costs.
  • 5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.
  • 5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

Deliverables

  1. IT strategy
  2. IT operating model
  3. IT governance structure
  4. M&A transaction team
  1. Business context implications for IT
  2. Integration strategy
  3. Due diligence charter
  1. Data room artifacts
  2. Technical debt assessment
  3. Culture assessment
  4. Workforce supply identified
  1. IT valuation framework to assess target organization(s)
  1. Integration roadmap and associated resourcing
  1. Acquisition integration strategy for IT

What is the Due Diligence & Preparation phase?

Mid-transaction state

The Due Diligence & Preparation phase during an acquisition is a critical time for IT. If IT fails to proactively participate in this phase, IT will have to merely react to integration expectations set by the business.

While not all IT organizations are able to participate in this phase, the evolving nature of M&As to be driven by digital and technological capabilities increases the rationale for IT being at the table. Identifying critical IT risks, which will inevitably be business risks, begins during the due diligence phase.

This is also the opportunity for IT to plan how it will execute the planned integration strategy. Having access to critical information only available in data rooms will further enable IT to successfully plan and execute the acquisition to deliver the value the business is seeking through a growth transaction.

Goal: To thoroughly evaluate all potential risks associated with the organization(s) being pursued and create a detailed plan for integrating the IT environments

Due Diligence Prerequisite Checklist

Before coming into the Due Diligence & Preparation phase, you must have addressed the following:

  • Understand the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition and what opportunities or pain points the acquisition should alleviate.
  • Identify the key roles for the transaction team.
  • Identify the M&A governance.
  • Determine target metrics.
  • Select an integration strategy framework.
  • Conduct a RACI for key transaction tasks for the transaction team.

Before coming into the Due Diligence & Preparation phase, we recommend addressing the following:

  • Create vision and mission statements.
  • Establish guiding principles.
  • Create a future-state operating model.
  • Identify the M&A operating model.
  • Document the communication plan.
  • Examine the business perspective of IT.
  • Identify key stakeholders and outline their relationship to the M&A process.
  • Be able to valuate the IT environment and communicate IT’s value to the business.

The Technology Value Trinity

Delivery of Business Value & Strategic Needs

  • Digital & Technology Strategy
    The identification of objectives and initiatives necessary to achieve business goals.
  • IT Operating Model
    The model for how IT is organized to deliver on business needs and strategies.
  • Information & Technology Governance
    The governance to ensure the organization and its customers get maximum value from the use of information and technology.

All three elements of the Technology Value Trinity work in harmony to deliver business value and achieve strategic needs. As one changes, the others need to change as well.

  • Digital and IT Strategy tells you what you need to achieve to be successful.
  • IT Operating Model and Organizational Design is the alignment of resources to deliver on your strategy and priorities.
  • Information & Technology Governance is the confirmation of IT’s goals and strategy, which ensures the alignment of IT and business strategy. It’s the mechanism by which you continuously prioritize work to ensure that what is delivered is in line with the strategy. This oversight evaluates, directs, and monitors the delivery of outcomes to ensure that the use of resources results in the achieving the organization’s goals.

Too often strategy, operating model and organizational design, and governance are considered separate practices. As a result, “strategic documents” end up being wish lists, and projects continue to be prioritized based on who shouts the loudest – not based on what is in the best interest of the organization.

Due Diligence & Preparation

Step 3.1

Assess the Target Organization

Activities

  • 3.1.1 Drive value with a due diligence charter
  • 3.1.2 Identify data room artifacts
  • 3.1.3 Assess technical debt
  • 3.1.4 Valuate the target IT organization
  • 3.1.5 Assess culture

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Company M&A team
  • Business leaders
  • Prospective IT organization
  • Transition team

Outcomes of Step

This step of the process is when IT should actively evaluate the target organization being pursued for acquisition.

3.1.1 Drive value with a due diligence charter

1-2 hours

Input: Key roles for the transaction team, M&A governance, Target metrics, Selected integration strategy framework, RACI of key transaction tasks for the transaction team

Output: IT Due Diligence Charter

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create a charter leveraging the items completed in the previous phase, as listed on the Due Diligence Prerequisite Checklist slide, to gain executive sign-off.

  1. In the IT Due Diligence Charter in the M&A Buy Playbook, complete the aspects of the charter that are relevant for you and your organization.
  2. We recommend including these items in the charter:
    • Communication plan
    • Transition team roles
    • Goals and metrics for the transaction
    • Integration strategy
    • Acquisition RACI
  3. Once the charter has been completed, ensure that business executives agree to the charter and sign off on the plan of action.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

3.1.2 Identify data room artifacts

4 hours

Input: Future-state operating model, M&A governance, Target metrics, Selected integration strategy framework, RACI of key transaction tasks for the transaction team

Output: List of items to acquire and review in the data room

Materials: Critical domain lists on following slides, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to create a list of the key artifacts that should be asked for and reviewed during the due diligence process.

  1. Review the lists on the following pages as a starting point. Identify which domains, stakeholders, artifacts, and information should be requested for the data room. This information should be directed to the target organization.
  2. IT leadership may or may not be asked to enter the data room directly. Therefore, it’s important that you clearly identify these artifacts.
  3. List each question or concern, select the associated workstream in the M&A Buy Playbook, and update the status of the information retrieval.
  4. Use the comments section to document your discoveries or concerns.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Critical domains

Understand the key stakeholders and outputs for each domain

Each critical domain will likely have different stakeholders who know that domain best. Communicate with these stakeholders throughout the M&A process to make sure you are getting accurate information and interpreting it correctly.

Domain

Stakeholders

Key Artifacts

Key Information to request
Business
  • Enterprise Architecture
  • Business Relationship Manager
  • Business Process Owners
  • Business capability map
  • Capability map (the M&A team should be taking care of this, but make sure it exists)
  • Business satisfaction with various IT systems and services
Leadership/IT Executive
  • CIO
  • CTO
  • CISO
  • IT budgets
  • IT capital and operating budgets (from current year and previous year)
Data & Analytics
  • Chief Data Officer
  • Data Architect
  • Enterprise Architect
  • Master data domains, system of record for each
  • Unstructured data retention requirements
  • Data architecture
  • Master data domains, sources, and storage
  • Data retention requirements
Applications
  • Applications Manager
  • Application Portfolio Manager
  • Application Architect
  • Applications map
  • Applications inventory
  • Applications architecture
  • Copy of all software license agreements
  • Copy of all software maintenance agreements
Infrastructure
  • Head of Infrastructure
  • Enterprise Architect
  • Infrastructure Architect
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Infrastructure map
  • Infrastructure inventory
  • Network architecture (including which data centers host which infrastructure and applications)
  • Inventory (including integration capabilities of vendors, versions, switches, and routers)
  • Copy of all hardware lease or purchase agreements
  • Copy of all hardware maintenance agreements
  • Copy of all outsourcing/external service provider agreements
  • Copy of all service-level agreements for centrally provided, shared services and systems
Products and Services
  • Product Manager
  • Head of Customer Interactions
  • Product lifecycle
  • Product inventory
  • Customer market strategy

Critical domains (continued)

Understand the key stakeholders and outputs for each domain

Domain

Stakeholders

Key Artifacts

Key Information to request

Operations
  • Head of Operations
  • Service catalog
  • Service overview
  • Service owners
  • Access policies and procedures
  • Availability and service levels
  • Support policies and procedures
  • Costs and approvals (internal and customer costs)
IT Processes
  • CIO
  • IT Management
  • VP of IT Governance
  • VP of IT Strategy
  • IT process flow diagram
  • Processes in place and productivity levels (capacity)
  • Critical processes/processes the organization feels they do particularly well
IT People
  • CIO
  • VP of Human Resources
  • IT organizational chart
  • Competency & capacity assessment
  • IT organizational structure (including resources from external service providers such as contractors) with appropriate job descriptions or roles and responsibilities
  • IT headcount and location
Security
  • CISO
  • Security Architect
  • Security posture
  • Information security staff
  • Information security service providers
  • Information security tools
  • In-flight information security projects
Projects
  • Head of Projects
  • Project portfolio
  • List of all future, ongoing, and recently completed projects
Vendors
  • Head of Vendor Management
  • License inventory
  • Inventory (including what will and will not be transitioning, vendors, versions, number of licenses)

Assess the target organization’s technical debt

The other organization could be costly to purchase if not yet modernizing.

  • Consider the potential costs that your business will have to spend to get the other IT organization modernized or even digital.
  • This will be highly affected by your planned integration strategy.
  • A best-of-breed strategy might simply mean there's little to bring over from the other organization’s environment.
  • It’s often challenging to identify a direct financial cost for technical debt. Consider direct costs but also assess categories of impact that can have a long-term effect on your business: lost customer, staff, or business partner goodwill; limited flexibility and resilience; and health, safety, and compliance impacts.
  • Use more objective measures to track subjective impact. For example, consider the number of customers who could be significantly affected by each tech debt in the next quarter.

Focus on solving the problems you need to address.

Analyzing technical debt has value in that the analysis can help your organization make better risk management and resource allocation decisions.

Review these examples of technical debt

Do you have any of these challenges?

Applications
  • Inefficient or incomplete code
  • Fragile or obsolete systems of record that limit the implementation of new functionality
  • Out-of-date IDEs or compilers
  • Unsupported applications
Data & Analytics
  • Data presented via API that does not conform to chosen standards (EDI, NRF-ARTS, etc.)
  • Poor data governance
  • No transformation between OLTP and the data warehouse
  • Heavy use of OLTP for reporting
  • Lack of AI model and decision governance, maintenance
End-User Computing
  • Aging and slow equipment
  • No configuration management
  • No MDM/UEM
Security
  • Unpatched/unpatchable systems
  • Legacy firewalls
  • No data classification system
  • “Perimeter” security architecture
  • No documented security incident response
  • No policies, or unenforced policies
Operations
  • Incomplete, ineffective, or undocumented business continuity and disaster recovery plans
  • Insufficient backups or archiving
  • Inefficient MACD processes
  • Application sprawl with no record of installed applications or licenses
  • No ticketing or ITSM system
  • No change management process
  • No problem management process
  • No event/alert management
Infrastructure
  • End-of-life/unsupported equipment
  • Aging power or cooling systems
  • Water- or halon-based data center fire suppression systems
  • Out-of-date firmware
  • No DR site
  • Damaged or messy cabling
  • Lack of system redundancy
  • Integrated computers on business equipment (e.g. shop floor equipment, medical equipment) running out-of-date OS/software
Project & Portfolio Management
  • No project closure process
  • Ineffective project intake process
  • No resource management practices

“This isn’t a philosophical exercise. Knowing what you want to get out of this analysis informs the type of technical debt you will calculate and the approach you will take.” (Scott Buchholz, CTO, Deloitte Government & Public Services Practice, The Wall Street Journal, 2015)

3.1.3 Assess technical debt

1-2 hours

Input: Participant views on organizational tech debt, Five to ten key technical debts, Business impact scoring scales, Reasonable next-quarter scenarios for each technical debt, Technical debt business impact analysis

Output: Initial list of tech debt for the target organization

Materials: Whiteboard, Sticky notes, Technical Debt Business Impact Analysis Tool, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Business leaders, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to assess the technical debt of the other IT organization. Taking on unnecessary technical debt is one of the biggest risks to the IT environment

  1. This activity can be completed by leveraging the blueprint Manage Your Technical Debt, specifically the Technical Debt Business Impact Analysis Tool. Complete the following activities in the blueprint:
    • 1.2.1 Identify your technical debt
    • 1.2.2 Select tech debt for your impact analysis
    • 2.2.2 Estimate tech debt impact
    • 2.2.3 Identify the most-critical technical debts
  2. Review examples of technical debt in the previous slide to assist you with this activity.
  3. Document the results from tab 3, Impact Analysis, in the M&A Buy Playbook if you are trying to record all artifacts related to the transaction in one place.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

How to valuate an IT environment

And why it matters so much

  • Valuating the target organization’s IT environment is a critical step to fully understand what it might be worth. Business partners are often not in the position to valuate the IT aspects to the degree that you would be.
  • The business investments in IT can be directly translated to a value amount. Meaning for every $1 invested in IT, the business might be gaining $100 in value back or possibly even loosing $100.
  • Determining, documenting, and communicating this information ensures that the business takes IT’s suggestions seriously and recognizes why investing in IT can be so critical.
  • There are three ways a business or asset can be valuated:
    • Cost Approach: Look at the costs associated with building, purchasing, replacing, and maintaining a given aspect of the business.
    • Market Approach: Look at the relative value of a particular aspect of the business. Relative value can fluctuate and depends on what the markets and consequently society believe that particular element is worth.
    • Discounted Cash Flow Approach: Focus on what the potential value of the business could be or the intrinsic value anticipated due to future profitability.

The IT valuation conducted during due diligence can have a significant impact on the final financials of the transaction for the business.

3.1.4 Valuate the target IT organization

1 day

Input: Valuation of data, Valuation of applications, Valuation of infrastructure and operations, Valuation of security and risk

Output: Valuation of target organization’s IT

Materials: Relevant templates/tools, Capital budget, Operating budget, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Prospective IT organization

The purpose of this activity is to valuate the other IT organization.

  1. Review each of slides 42 to 45 to generate a valuation of IT’s data, applications, infrastructure, and security and risk. These valuations consider several tangible and intangible factors and result in a final dollar amount. For more information on this activity, review Activity 1.2.1 from the Proactive phase.
  2. Identify financial amounts for each critical area and add the financial output to the summary slide in the M&A Buy Playbook.
  3. Compare this information against your own IT organization’s valuation.
    1. Does it add value to your IT organization?
    2. Is there too much risk to accept if this transaction goes through?

Info-Tech Insight

Consistency is key when valuating your IT organization as well as other IT organizations throughout the transaction process.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Culture should not be overlooked, especially as it relates to the integration of IT environments

  • There are three types of culture that need to be considered.
  • Most importantly, this transition is an opportunity to change the culture that might exist in your organization’s IT environment.
  • Make a decision on which type of culture you’d like IT to have post-transition.

Target Organization’s Culture

The culture that the target organization is currently embracing. Their established and undefined governance practices will lend insight into this.

Your Organization’s Culture

The culture that your organization is currently embracing. Examine people’s attitudes and behaviors within IT toward their jobs and the organization.

Ideal Culture

What will the future culture of the IT organization be once integration is complete? Are there aspects that your current organization and the target organization embrace that are worth considering?

Culture categories

Map the results of the IT Culture Diagnostic to an existing framework

Competitive
  • Autonomy
  • Confront conflict directly
  • Decisive
  • Competitive
  • Achievement oriented
  • Results oriented
  • High performance expectations
  • Aggressive
  • High pay for good performance
  • Working long hours
  • Having a good reputation
  • Being distinctive/different
Innovative
  • Adaptable
  • Innovative
  • Quick to take advantage of opportunities
  • Risk taking
  • Opportunities for professional growth
  • Not constrained by rules
  • Tolerant
  • Informal
  • Enthusiastic
Traditional
  • Stability
  • Reflective
  • Rule oriented
  • Analytical
  • High attention to detail
  • Organized
  • Clear guiding philosophy
  • Security of employment
  • Emphasis on quality
  • Focus on safety
Cooperative
  • Team oriented
  • Fair
  • Praise for good performance
  • Supportive
  • Calm
  • Developing friends at work
  • Socially responsible

Culture Considerations

  • What culture category was dominant for each IT organization?
  • Do you share the same dominant category?
  • Is your current dominant culture category the most ideal to have post-integration?

3.1.5 Assess Culture

3-4 hours

Input: Cultural assessments for current IT organization, Cultural assessment for target IT organization

Output: Goal for IT culture

Materials: IT Culture Diagnostic, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, IT employees of current organization, IT employees of target organization, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to assess the different cultures that might exist within the IT environments of both organizations. More importantly, your IT organization can select its desired IT culture for the long term if it does not already exist.

  1. Complete this activity by leveraging the blueprint Fix Your IT Culture, specifically the IT Culture Diagnostic. Fill out the diagnostic for the IT department in your organization:
    1. Answer the 16 questions in tab 2, Diagnostic.
    2. Find out your dominant culture and review recommendations in tab 3, Results.
  2. Document the results from tab 3, Results, in the M&A Buy Playbook if you are trying to record all artifacts related to the transaction in one place.
  3. Repeat the activity for the target organization.
  4. Leverage the information to determine what the goal for the culture of IT will be post-integration if it will differ from the current culture.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Due Diligence & Preparation

Step 3.2

Prepare to Integrate

Activities

  • 3.2.1 Prioritize integration tasks
  • 3.2.2 Establish the integration roadmap
  • 3.2.3 Identify the needed workforce supply
  • 3.2.4 Estimate integration costs
  • 3.2.5 Create an employee transition plan
  • 3.2.6 Create functional workplans for employees
  • 3.2.7 Align project metrics with identified tasks

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Transition team
  • Company M&A team

Outcomes of Step

Have an established plan of action toward integration across all domains and a strategy toward resources.

Don’t underestimate the importance of integration preparation

Integration is the process of combining the various components of one or more organizations into a single organization.

80% of integration should happen within the first two years. (Source: CIO Dive)

70% of M&A IT integrations fail due to components that could and should be addressed at the beginning. (Source: The Wall Street Journal, 2019)

Info-Tech Insight

Integration is not rationalization. Once the organization has integrated, it can prepare to rationalize the IT environment.

Integration needs

Identify your domain needs to support the target technology environment

Set up a meeting with your IT due diligence team to:

  • Address data, applications, infrastructure, and other domain gaps.
  • Discuss the people and processes necessary to achieve the target technology environment and support M&A business objectives.

Use this opportunity to:

  • Identify data and application complexities between your organization and the target organization.
  • Identify the IT people and process gaps, redundancies, and initiatives.
  • Determine your infrastructure needs and identify redundancies.
    • Does IT have the infrastructure to support the applications and business capabilities of the resultant enterprise?
    • Identify any gaps between the current infrastructure in both organizations and the infrastructure required in the resultant enterprise.
    • Identify any redundancies.
    • Determine the appropriate IT integration strategies.
  • Document your gaps, redundancies, initiatives, and assumptions to help you track and justify the initiatives that must be undertaken and help estimate the cost of integration.

Integration implications

Understand the implications for integration with respect to each target technology environment

Domain

Independent Models

Create Links Between Critical Systems

Move Key Capabilities to Common Systems

Adopt One Model

Data & Analytics

  • Consider data sources that might need to be combined (e.g. financials, email lists, internet).
  • Understand where each organization will warehouse its data and how it will be managed in a cost-effective manner.
  • Consider your reporting and transactional needs. Initially systems may remain separate, but eventually they will need to be merged.
  • Analyze whether or not the data types are compatible between companies.
  • Understand the critical data needs and the complexity of integration activities.
  • Consider your reporting and transactional needs. Initially systems may remain separate, but eventually they will need to be merged.
  • Focus on the master data domains that represent the core of your business.
  • Assess the value, size, location, and cleanliness of the target organization’s data sets.
  • Determine the data sets that will be migrated to capture expected synergies and drive core capabilities while addressing how other data sets will be maintained and managed.
  • Decide which applications to keep and which to terminate. This includes setting timelines for application retirement.
  • Establish interim linkages and common interfaces for applications while major migrations occur.

Applications

  • Establish whether or not there are certain critical applications that still need to be linked (e.g. email, financials).
  • Leverage the unique strengths and functionalities provided by the applications used by each organization.
  • Confirm that adequate documentation and licensing exists.
  • Decide which critical applications need to be linked versus which need to be kept separate to drive synergies. For example, financial, email, and CRM may need to be linked, while certain applications may remain distinct.
  • Pay particular attention to the extent to which systems relating to customers, products, orders, and shipments need to be integrated.
  • Determine the key capabilities that require support from the applications identified by business process owners.
  • Assess which major applications need to be adopted by both organizations, based on the M&A goals.
  • Establish interim linkages and common interfaces for applications while major migrations occur.
  • Decide which applications to keep and which to terminate. This includes setting timelines for application retirement.
  • Establish interim linkages and common interfaces for applications while major migrations occur.

Integration implications (continued)

Understand the implications for integration with respect to each target technology environment

Domain

Independent Models

Create Links Between Critical Systems

Move Key Capabilities to Common Systems

Adopt One Model

Infrastructure

  • Assess the infrastructure demands created by retaining separate models (e.g. separate domains, voice, network integration).
  • Evaluate whether or not there are redundant data centers that could be consolidated to reduce costs.
  • Assess the infrastructure demands created by retaining separate models (e.g. separate domains, voice, network integration).
  • Evaluate whether or not there are redundant data centers that could be consolidated to reduce costs.
  • Evaluate whether certain infrastructure components, such as data centers, can be consolidated to support the new model while also eliminating redundancies. This will help reduce costs.
  • Assess which infrastructure components need to be kept versus which need to be terminated to support the new application portfolio. Keep in mind that increasing the transaction volume on a particular application increases the infrastructure capacity that is required for that application.
  • Extend the network to integrate additional locations.

IT People & Processes

  • Retain workers from each IT department who possess knowledge of key products, services, and legacy systems.
  • Consider whether there are redundancies in staffing that could be eliminated.
  • The IT processes of each organization will most likely remain separate.
  • Consider the impact of the target organization on your IT processes.
  • Retain workers from each IT department who possess knowledge of key products, services, and legacy systems.
  • Consider whether there are redundancies in staffing that could be eliminated.
  • Consider how critical IT processes of the target organization fit with your current IT processes.
  • Identify which redundant staff members should be terminated by focusing on the key skills that will be necessary to support the common systems.
  • If there is overlap with the IT processes in both organizations, you may wish to map out both processes to get a sense for how they might work together.
  • Assess what processes will be prioritized to support IT strategies.
  • Identify which redundant staff members should be terminated by focusing on the key skills that will be necessary to support the prioritized IT processes.

Integration implications (continued)

Understand the implications for integration with respect to each target technology environment

Domain

Independent Models

Create Links Between Critical Systems

Move Key Capabilities to Common Systems

Adopt One Model

Leadership/IT Executive

  • Have insight into the goals and direction of the organization’s leadership. Make sure that a communication path has been established to receive information and provide feedback.
  • The decentralized model will require some form of centralization and strong governance processes to enable informed decisions.
  • Ensure that each area can deliver on its needs while not overstepping the goals and direction of the organization.
  • This will help with integration in the sense that front-line employees can see a single organization beginning to form.
  • In this model, there is the opportunity to select elements of each leadership style and strategy that will work for the larger organization.
  • Leadership can provide a single and unified approach to how the strategic goals will be executed.
  • More often than not, this would be the acquiring organization’s strategic direction.

Vendors

  • Determine which contracts the target organization currently has in place.
  • Having different vendors in place will not be a bad model if it makes sense.
  • Spend time reviewing the contracts and ensuring that each organization has the right contracts to succeed.
  • Identify what redundancies might exist (ERPs, for example) and determine if the vendor would be willing to terminate one contract or another.
  • Through integration, it might be possible to engage in one set of contract negotiations for a single application or technology.
  • Identify whether there are opportunities to combine contracts or if they must remain completely separated until the end of the term.
  • In an effort to capitalize on the contracts working well, reduce the contracts that might be hindering the organization.
  • Speak to the vendor offering the contract.
  • Going forward, ensure the contracts are negotiated to include clauses to allow for easier and more cost-effective integration.

Integration implications (continued)

Understand the implications for integration with respect to each target technology environment

Domain

Independent Models

Create Links Between Critical Systems

Move Key Capabilities to Common Systems

Adopt One Model

Security

  • Both organizations would need to have a process for securing their organization.
  • Sharing and accessing information might be more difficult, as each organization would need to keep the other organization separate to ensure the organization remains secure.
  • Creating standard policies and procedures that each organization must adhere to would be critical here (for example, multifactor authentication).
  • Establish a single path of communication between the two organizations, ensuring reliable and secure data and information sharing.
  • Leverage the same solutions to protect the business as a whole from internal and external threats.
  • Identify opportunities where there might be user points of failure that could be addressed early in the process.
  • Determine what method of threat detection and response will best support the business and select that method to apply to the entire organization, both original and newly acquired.

Projects

  • Projects remain ongoing as they were prior to the integration.
  • Some projects might be made redundant after the initial integration is over.
  • Re-evaluate the projects after integration to ensure they continue to deliver on the business’ strategic direction.
  • Determine which projects are similar to one another and identify opportunities to leverage business needs and solutions for each organization where possible.
  • Review project histories to determine the rationale for and success of projects that could be reused in either organization going forward.
  • Determine which projects should remain ongoing and which projects could wait to be implemented or could be completely stopped.
  • There might be certain modernization projects ongoing that cannot be stopped.
  • However, for all other projects, embrace a single portfolio.
  • Completely reduce or remove all ongoing projects from the one organization and continue with only the projects of the other organization.
  • Add in new projects when they arise as needed.

3.2.1 Prioritize integration tasks

2 hours

Input: Integration tasks, Transition team, M&A RACI

Output: Prioritized integration list

Materials: Integration task checklist, Integration roadmap

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to prioritize the different integration tasks that your organization has identified as necessary to this transaction. Some tasks might not be relevant for this particular transaction, and others might be critical.

  1. Download the SharePoint or Excel version of the M&A Integration Project Management Tool. Identify which integration tasks you want as part of your project plan. Alter or remove any tasks that are irrelevant to your organization. Add in tasks you think are missing.
  2. When deciding criticality of the task, consider the effect on stakeholders, those who are impacted or influenced in the process of the task, and dependencies (e.g. data strategy needs to be addressed first before you can tackle its dependencies, like data quality).
  3. Feel free to edit the way you measure criticality. The standard tool leverages a three-point scale. At the end, you should have a list of tasks in priority order based on criticality.

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint).

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel).

Integration checklists

Prerequisite Checklist
  • Build the project plan for integration and prioritize activities
    • Plan first day
    • Plan first 30/100 days
    • Plan first year
  • Create an organization-aligned IT strategy
  • Identify critical stakeholders
  • Create a communication strategy
  • Understand the rationale for the acquisition or purchase
  • Develop IT's purchasing strategy
  • Determine goal opportunities
  • Create the mission and vision statements
  • Create the guiding principles
  • Create program metrics
  • Consolidate reports from due diligence/data room
  • Conduct culture assessment
  • Create a transaction team
  • Assess workforce demand and supply
  • Plan and communicate potential layoffs
  • Create an employee transition plan
  • Identify the IT investment
Business
  • Design an enterprise architecture
  • Document your business architecture
  • Identify and assess all of IT's risks
Leadership/IT Executive
  • Build an IT budget
  • Structure operating budget
  • Structure capital budget
  • Identify the needed workforce demand vs. capacity
  • Establish and monitor key metrics
  • Communicate value realized/cost savings
Data
  • Confirm data strategy
  • Confirm data governance
  • Data architecture
  • Data sources
  • Data storage (on-premises vs. cloud)
  • Enterprise content management
  • Compatibility of data types between organizations
  • Cleanliness/usability of target organization data sets
  • Identify data sets that need to be combined to capture synergies/drive core capabilities
  • Reporting and analytics capabilities
Applications
  • Prioritize and address critical applications
    • ERP
    • CRM
    • Email
    • HRIS
    • Financial
    • Sales
    • Risk
    • Security
  • Leverage application rationalization framework to determine applications to keep, terminate, or create
  • Develop method of integrating applications
  • Model critical applications that have dependencies on one another
  • Identify the infrastructure capacity required to support critical applications
Operations
  • Communicate helpdesk/service desk information
  • Manage sales access to customer data
  • Determine locations and hours of operation
  • Consolidate phone lists and extensions
  • Synchronize email address books

Integration checklists (continued)

Infrastructure
  • Determine single network access
  • Manage organization domains
  • Consolidate data centers
  • Compile inventory of vendors, versions, switches, and routers
  • Review hardware lease or purchase agreements
  • Review outsourcing/service provider agreements
  • Review service-level agreements
  • Assess connectivity linkages between locations
  • Plan to migrate to a single email system if necessary
Vendors
  • Establish a sustainable vendor management office
  • Review vendor landscape
  • Identify warranty options
  • Rationalize vendor services and solutions
  • Identify opportunities to mature the security architecture
People
  • Design an IT operating model
  • Redesign your IT organizational structure
  • Conduct a RACI
  • Conduct a culture assessment and identify goal IT culture
  • Build an IT employee engagement program
  • Determine critical roles and systems/process/products they support
  • Create a list of employees to be terminated
  • Create employee transition plans
  • Create functional workplans
Projects
  • Stop duplicate or unnecessary target organization projects
  • Communicate project intake process
  • Prioritize projects
Products & Services
  • Ensure customer services requirements are met
  • Ensure customer interaction requirements are met
  • Select a solution for product lifecycle management
Security
  • Conduct a security assessment of target organization
  • Develop accessibility prioritization and schedule
  • Establish an information security strategy
  • Develop a security awareness and training program
  • Develop and manage security governance, risk, and compliance
  • Identify security budget
  • Build a data privacy and classification program
IT Processes
  • Evaluate current process models
  • Determine productivity/capacity levels of processes
  • Identify processes to be terminated
  • Identify process expectations from target organization
  • Establish a communication plan
  • Develop a change management process
  • Establish/review IT policies

3.2.2 Establish the integration roadmap

2 hours

Input: Prioritized integration tasks, Employee transition plan, Integration RACI, Costs for activities, Activity owners

Output: Integration roadmap

Materials: M&A Integration Project Plan Tool (SharePoint), M&A Integration Project Plan Tool (Excel)

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Transition team, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to create a roadmap to support IT throughout the integration process. Using the information gathered in previous activities, you can create a roadmap that will ensure a smooth integration.

  1. Leverage our M&A Integration Project Management Tool to track critical elements of the integration project. There are a few options available:
    1. Follow the instructions on the next slide if you are looking to upload our SharePoint project template.
    2. If you cannot or do not want to use SharePoint as your project management solution, download our Excel version of the tool.
      **Remember that this your tool, so customize to your liking.
  2. Identify who will own or be accountable for each of the integration tasks and establish the time frame for when each project should begin and end. This will confirm which tasks should be prioritized.

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint).

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel).

Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint Template)

Follow these instructions to upload our template to your SharePoint environment

  1. Create or use an existing SP site.
  2. Download the M&A Integration Project Plan Tool (SharePoint) .wsp file from the Mergers & Acquisitions: The Buy Blueprint landing page.
  3. To import a template into your SharePoint environment, do the following:
    1. Open PowerShell.
    2. Connect-SPO Service (need to install PowerShell module).
    3. Enter in your tenant admin URL.
    4. Enter in your admin credentials.
    5. Set-SPO Site https://YourDomain.sharepoint.com/sites/YourSiteHe... -DenyAddAndCustomizePages 0
    OR
    1. Turn on both custom script features to allow users to run custom
    4. Screenshot of the 'Custom Script' option for importing a template into your SharePoint environment. Feature description reads 'Control whether users can run custom script on personal sites and self-service created sites. Note: changes to this setting might take up to 24 hours to take effect. For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkIn=397546'. There are options to prevent or allow users from running custom script on personal/self-service created sites.
  4. Enable the SharePoint Server Standard Site Collection features.
  5. Upload the .wsp file in Solutions Gallery.
  6. Deploy by creating a subsite and select from custom options.
    • Allow or prevent custom script
    • Security considerations of allowing custom script
    • Save, download, and upload a SharePoint site as a template
    7. Refer to Microsoft documentation to understand security considerations and what is and isn’t supported:

For more information, check out the SharePoint Template: Step-by-Step Deployment Guide.

Participate in active workforce planning to transition employees

The chosen IT operating model, primary M&A goals, and any planned changes to business strategy will dramatically impact IT staffing and workforce planning efforts.

Visualization of the three aspects of 'IT workforce planning', as listed below.

IT workforce planning

  • Primary M&A goals
    If the goal of the M&A is cost cutting, then workforce planning will be necessary to identify labor redundancies.
  • Changes to business strategy
    If business strategy will change after the merger, then workforce planning will typically be more involved than if business strategy will not change.
  • Integration strategy
    For independent models, workforce planning will typically be unnecessary.
    For connection of essential systems or absorption, workforce planning will likely be an involved, time-consuming process.
  1. Estimate the headcount you will need through the end of the M&A transition period.
  2. Outline the process you will use to assess staff for roles that have more than one candidate.
  3. Review employees in each department to determine the best fit for each role.
  4. Determine whether terminations will happen all together or in waves.

Info-Tech Insight

Don’t be a short-term thinker when it comes to workforce planning! IT teams that only consider the headcount needed on day one of the new entity will end up scrambling to find skilled resources to fill workforce gaps later in the transition period.

3.2.3 Identify the needed workforce supply

3-4 hours

Input: IT strategy, Prioritized integration tasks

Output: A clear indication of how many resources are required for each role and the number of resources that the organization actually has

Materials: Resource Management Supply-Demand Calculator

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Target organization employees, Company M&A team, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to determine the anticipated amount of work that will be required to support projects (like integration), administrative, and keep-the-lights-on activities.

  1. Download the Resource Management Supply-Demand Calculator.
  2. The calculator requires minimal up-front staff participation: You can obtain meaningful results with participation from as few as one person with insight on the distribution of your resources and their average work week or month.
  3. The calculator will yield a report that shows a breakdown of your annual resource supply and demand, as well as the gap between the supply and demand. Further insight on project and non-project supply and demand are provided.
  4. Repeat the tool several times to identify the needs of your IT environment for day one, day 30/100, and year one. Anticipate that these will change over time. Also, do not forget to obtain this information from the target organization. Given that you will be integrating, it’s important to know how many staff they have in which roles.
    5. **For additional information, please review slides starting from slide 44 in Establish Realistic IT Resource Management Practices to see how to use the tool.

Record the results in the Resource Management Supply-Demand Calculator.

Resource Supply-Demand Calculator Output Example

Example of a 'Resource Management Supply-Demand Analysis Report' with charts and tables measuring Annualized Resource Supply and Demand, Resource Capacity Confidence, Project Capacity, and combinations of those metrics.

Resource Capacity Confidence. This figure is based on your confidence in supply confidence, demand stability, and the supply-demand ratio.

Importance of estimating integration costs

Change is the key driver of integration costs

Integration costs are dependent on the following:
  • Meeting synergy targets – whether that be cost saving or growth related.
    • Employee-related costs, licensing, and reconfiguration fees play a huge part in meeting synergy targets.
  • Adjustments related to compliance or regulations – especially if there are changes to legal entities, reporting requirements, or risk-mitigation standards.
  • Governance or third party–related support required to ensure timelines are met and the integration is a success.
Integration costs vary by industry type.
  • Certain industries may have integration costs made up of mostly one type, differing from other industries, due to the complexity and different demands of the transaction. For example:
    • Healthcare integration costs are mostly driven by regulatory, safety, and quality standards, as well as consolidation of the research and development function.
    • Energy and Utilities tend to have the lowest integration costs due to most transactions occurring within the same sector rather than as a cross-sector investment. For example, oil and gas acquisitions tend to be for oil fields and rigs (strategic fixed assets), which can easily be added to the buyer’s portfolio.

Integration costs are more related to the degree of change required than the size of the transaction.

3.2.4 Estimate integration costs

3-4 hours

Input: Integration tasks, Transition team, Valuation of current IT environment, Valuation of target IT environment, Outputs from data room, Technical debt, Employees

Output: List of anticipated costs required to support IT integration

Materials: Integration task checklist, Integration roadmap, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to estimate the costs that will be associated with the integration. It’s important to ensure a realistic figure is identified and communicated to the larger M&A team within your company as early in the process as possible. This ensures that the funding required for the transaction is secured and budgeted for in the overarching transaction.

  1. On the associated slide in the M&A Buy Playbook, input:
    • Task
    • Domain
    • Cost type
    • Total cost amount
    • Level of certainty around the cost
  2. Provide a copy of the estimated costs to the company’s M&A team. Also provide any additional information identified earlier to help them understand the importance of those costs.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Employee transition planning

Considering employee impact will be a huge component to ensure successful integration

  • Meet With Leadership
  • Plan Individual and Department Redeployment
  • Plan Individual and Department Layoffs
  • Monitor and Manage Departmental Effectiveness
  • For employees, the transition could mean:
    • Changing from their current role to a new role to meet requirements and expectations throughout the transition.
    • Being laid off because the role they are currently occupying has been made redundant.
  • It is important to plan for what the M&A integration needs will be and what the IT operational needs will be.
  • A lack of foresight into this long-term plan could lead to undue costs and headaches trying to retain critical staff, rehiring positions that were already let go, and keeping redundant employees longer then necessary.

Info-Tech Insight

Being transparent throughout the process is critical. Do not hesitate to tell employees the likelihood that their job may be made redundant. This will ensure a high level of trust and credibility for those who remain with the organization after the transaction.

3.2.5 Create an employee transition plan

3-4 hours

Input: IT strategy, IT organizational design, Resource Supply-Demand Calculator output

Output: Employee transition plans

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook, Whiteboard, Sticky notes, Markers

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company M&A team, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to create a transition plan for employees.

  1. Transition planning can be done at specific individual levels or more broadly to reflect a single role. Consider these four items in the transition plan:
    • Understand the direction of the employee transitions.
    • Identify employees that will be involved in the transition (moved or laid off).
    • Prepare to meet with employees.
    • Meet with employees.
  2. For each employee that will be facing some sort of change in their regular role, permanent or temporary, create a transition plan.
  3. For additional information on transitioning employees, review the blueprint Streamline Your Workforce During a Pandemic.

**Note that if someone’s future role is a layoff, then there is no need to record anything for skills needed or method for skill development.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

3.2.6 Create functional workplans for employees

3-4 hours

Input: Prioritized integration tasks, Employee transition plan, Integration RACI, Costs for activities, Activity owners

Output: Employee functional workplans

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook, Learning and development tools

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, IT management team, Company M&A team, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to create a functional workplan for the different employees so that they know what their key role and responsibilities are once the transaction occurs.

  1. First complete the transition plan from the previous activity (3.2.5) and the separation roadmap. Have these documents ready to review throughout this process.
  2. Identify the employees who will be transitioning to a new role permanently or temporarily. Creating a functional workplan is especially important for these employees.
  3. Identify the skills these employees need to have to support the separation. Record this in the corresponding slide in the M&A Buy Playbook.
  4. For each employee, identify someone who will be a point of contact for them throughout the transition.

It is recommended that each employee have a functional workplan. Leverage the IT managers to support this task.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Metrics for integration

Valuation & Due Diligence

  • % Defects discovered in production
  • $ Cost per user for enterprise applications
  • % In-house-built applications vs. enterprise applications
  • % Owners identified for all data domains
  • # IT staff asked to participate in due diligence
  • Change to due diligence
  • IT budget variance
  • Synergy target

Execution & Value Realization

  • % Satisfaction with the effectiveness of IT capabilities
  • % Overall end-customer satisfaction
  • $ Impact of vendor SLA breaches
  • $ Savings through cost-optimization efforts
  • $ Savings through application rationalization and technology standardization
  • # Key positions empty
  • % Frequency of staff turnover
  • % Emergency changes
  • # Hours of unplanned downtime
  • % Releases that cause downtime
  • % Incidents with identified problem record
  • % Problems with identified root cause
  • # Days from problem identification to root cause fix
  • % Projects that consider IT risk
  • % Incidents due to issues not addressed in the security plan
  • # Average vulnerability remediation time
  • % Application budget spent on new build/buy vs. maintenance (deferred feature implementation, enhancements, bug fixes)
  • # Time (days) to value realization
  • % Projects that realized planned benefits
  • $ IT operational savings and cost reductions that are related to synergies/divestitures
  • % IT staff–related expenses/redundancies
  • # Days spent on IT integration
  • $ Accurate IT budget estimates
  • % Revenue growth directly tied to IT delivery
  • % Profit margin growth

3.2.7 Align project metrics with identified tasks

3-4 hours

Input: Prioritized integration tasks, Employee transition plan, Integration RACI, Costs for activities, Activity owners, M&A goals

Output: Integration-specific metrics to measure success

Materials: Roadmap template, M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Transition team

The purpose of this activity is to understand how to measure the success of the integration project by aligning metrics to each identified task.

  1. Review the M&A goals identified by the business. Your metrics will need to tie back to those business goals.
  2. Identify metrics that align to identified tasks and measure achievement of those goals. For each metric you consider, ask the following questions:
    • What is the main goal or objective that this metric is trying to solve?
    • What does success look like?
    • Does the metric promote the right behavior?
    • Is the metric actionable? What is the story you are trying to tell with this metric?
    • How often will this get measured?
    • Are there any metrics it supports or is supported by?

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

By the end of this mid-transaction phase you should:

Have successfully evaluated the target organization’s IT environment, escalated the acquisition risks and benefits, and prepared IT for integration.

Key outcomes from the Due Diligence & Preparation phase
  • Participate in due diligence activities to accurately valuate the target organization(s) and determine if there are critical risks or benefits the current organization should be aware of.
  • Create an integration roadmap that considers the tasks that will need to be completed and the resources required to support integration.
Key deliverables from the Due Diligence & Preparation phase
  • Establish a due diligence charter
  • Create a list of data room artifacts and engage in due diligence
  • Assess the target organization’s technical debt
  • Valuate the target IT organization
  • Assess and plan for culture
  • Prioritize integration tasks
  • Establish the integration roadmap
  • Identify the needed workforce supply
  • Estimate integration costs
  • Create employee transition plans
  • Create functional workplans for employees
  • Align project metrics with identified tasks

M&A Buy Blueprint

Phase 4

Execution & Value Realization

Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3

Phase 4

  • 1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Their Perspective of IT
  • 1.2 Assess IT’s Current Value and Future State
  • 1.3 Drive Innovation and Suggest Growth Opportunities
  • 2.1 Establish the M&A Program Plan
  • 2.2 Prepare IT to Engage in the Acquisition
  • 3.1 Assess the Target Organization
  • 3.2 Prepare to Integrate
  • 4.1 Execute the Transaction
  • 4.2 Reflection and Value Realization

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

  • Rationalize the IT environment
  • Continually update the project plan
  • Confirm integration costs
  • Review IT’s transaction value
  • Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT
  • Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions

This phase involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Vendor management team
  • IT transaction team
  • Company M&A team

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Pre-Work

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Engage in Integration

Day 4

Establish the Transaction FoundationDiscover the Motivation for IntegrationPlan the Integration RoadmapPrepare Employees for the TransitionEngage in IntegrationAssess the Transaction Outcomes (Must be within 30 days of transaction date)

Activities

  • 0.1 Understand the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition.
  • 0.2 Identify key stakeholders and determine the IT transaction team.
  • 0.3 Gather and evaluate the M&A strategy, future-state operating model, and governance.
  • 1.1 Review the business rationale for the acquisition.
  • 1.2 Identify pain points and opportunities tied to the acquisition.
  • 1.3 Establish the integration strategy.
  • 1.4 Prioritize Integration tasks.
  • 2.1 Establish the integration roadmap.
  • 2.2 Establish and align project metrics with identified tasks.
  • 2.3 Estimate integration costs.
  • 3.1 Assess the current culture and identify the goal culture.
  • 3.2 Identify the needed workforce supply.
  • 3.3 Create an employee transition plan.
  • 3.4 Create functional workplans for employees.
  • I.1 Complete the integration by regularly updating the project plan.
  • I.2 Begin to rationalize the IT environment where possible and necessary.
  • 4.1 Confirm integration costs.
  • 4.2 Review IT’s transaction value.
  • 4.3 Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT.
  • 4.4 Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions.

Deliverables

  1. IT strategy
  2. IT operating model
  3. IT governance structure
  4. M&A transaction team
  1. Business context implications for IT
  2. Integration strategy
  1. Integration roadmap and associated resourcing
  1. Culture assessment
  2. Workforce supply identified
  3. Employee transition plan
  1. Rationalized IT environment
  2. Updated integration project plan
  1. SWOT of transaction
  2. M&A Buy Playbook refined for future transactions

What is the Execution & Value Realization phase?

Post-transaction state

Once the transaction comes to a close, it’s time for IT to deliver on the critical integration tasks. Set the organization up for success by having an integration roadmap. Retaining critical IT staff throughout this process will also be imperative to the overall transaction success.

Throughout the integration process, roadblocks will arise and need to be addressed. However, by ensuring that employees, technology, and processes are planned for ahead of the transaction, you as IT will be able to weather those unexpected concerns with greater ease.

Now that you as an IT leader have engaged in an acquisition, demonstrating the value IT was able to provide to the process is critical to establishing a positive and respected relationship with other senior leaders in the business. Be prepared to identify the positives and communicate this value to advance the business’ perception of IT.

Goal: To carry out the planned integration activities and deliver the intended value to the business

Execution Prerequisite Checklist

Before coming into the Execution & Value Realization phase, you must have addressed the following:

  • Understand the rationale for the company's decisions to pursue an acquisition and what opportunities or pain points the acquisition should alleviate.
  • Identify the key roles for the transaction team.
  • Identify the M&A governance.
  • Determine target metrics and align to project tasks.
  • Select an integration strategy framework.
  • Conduct a RACI for key transaction tasks for the transaction team.
  • Create a list of data room artifacts and engage in due diligence (directly or indirectly).
  • Prioritize integration tasks.
  • Establish the integration roadmap.
  • Identify the needed workforce supply.
  • Create employee transition plans.

Before coming into the Execution & Value Realization phase, we recommend addressing the following:

  • Create vision and mission statements.
  • Establish guiding principles.
  • Create a future-state operating model.
  • Identify the M&A operating model.
  • Document the communication plan.
  • Examine the business perspective of IT.
  • Identify key stakeholders and outline their relationship to the M&A process.
  • Be able to valuate the IT environment and communicate IT's value to the business.
  • Establish a due diligence charter.
  • Assess the target organization’s technical debt.
  • Valuate the target IT organization.
  • Assess and plan for culture.
  • Estimate integration costs.
  • Create functional workplans for employees.

Integration checklists

Prerequisite Checklist
  • Build the project plan for integration and prioritize activities
    • Plan first day
    • Plan first 30/100 days
    • Plan first year
  • Create an organization-aligned IT strategy
  • Identify critical stakeholders
  • Create a communication strategy
  • Understand the rationale for the acquisition or purchase
  • Develop IT's purchasing strategy
  • Determine goal opportunities
  • Create the mission and vision statements
  • Create the guiding principles
  • Create program metrics
  • Consolidate reports from due diligence/data room
  • Conduct culture assessment
  • Create a transaction team
  • Assess workforce demand and supply
  • Plan and communicate potential layoffs
  • Create an employee transition plan
  • Identify the IT investment
Business
  • Design an enterprise architecture
  • Document your business architecture
  • Identify and assess all of IT's risks
Leadership/IT Executive
  • Build an IT budget
  • Structure operating budget
  • Structure capital budget
  • Identify the needed workforce demand vs. capacity
  • Establish and monitor key metrics
  • Communicate value realized/cost savings
Data
  • Confirm data strategy
  • Confirm data governance
  • Data architecture
  • Data sources
  • Data storage (on-premises vs. cloud)
  • Enterprise content management
  • Compatibility of data types between organizations
  • Cleanliness/usability of target organization data sets
  • Identify data sets that need to be combined to capture synergies/drive core capabilities
  • Reporting and analytics capabilities
Applications
  • Prioritize and address critical applications
    • ERP
    • CRM
    • Email
    • HRIS
    • Financial
    • Sales
    • Risk
    • Security
  • Leverage application rationalization framework to determine applications to keep, terminate, or create
  • Develop method of integrating applications
  • Model critical applications that have dependencies on one another
  • Identify the infrastructure capacity required to support critical applications
Operations
  • Communicate helpdesk/service desk information
  • Manage sales access to customer data
  • Determine locations and hours of operation
  • Consolidate phone lists and extensions
  • Synchronize email address books

Integration checklists (continued)

Infrastructure
  • Determine single network access
  • Manage organization domains
  • Consolidate data centers
  • Compile inventory of vendors, versions, switches, and routers
  • Review hardware lease or purchase agreements
  • Review outsourcing/service provider agreements
  • Review service-level agreements
  • Assess connectivity linkages between locations
  • Plan to migrate to a single email system if necessary
Vendors
  • Establish a sustainable vendor management office
  • Review vendor landscape
  • Identify warranty options
  • Rationalize vendor services and solutions
  • Identify opportunities to mature the security architecture
People
  • Design an IT operating model
  • Redesign your IT organizational structure
  • Conduct a RACI
  • Conduct a culture assessment and identify goal IT culture
  • Build an IT employee engagement program
  • Determine critical roles and systems/process/products they support
  • Create a list of employees to be terminated
  • Create employee transition plans
  • Create functional workplans
Projects
  • Stop duplicate or unnecessary target organization projects
  • Communicate project intake process
  • Prioritize projects
Products & Services
  • Ensure customer services requirements are met
  • Ensure customer interaction requirements are met
  • Select a solution for product lifecycle management
Security
  • Conduct a security assessment of target organization
  • Develop accessibility prioritization and schedule
  • Establish an information security strategy
  • Develop a security awareness and training program
  • Develop and manage security governance, risk, and compliance
  • Identify security budget
  • Build a data privacy and classification program
IT Processes
  • Evaluate current process models
  • Determine productivity/capacity levels of processes
  • Identify processes to be terminated
  • Identify process expectations from target organization
  • Establish a communication plan
  • Develop a change management process
  • Establish/review IT policies

Execution & Value Realization

Step 4.1

Execute the Transaction

Activities

  • 4.1.1 Rationalize the IT environment
  • 4.1.2 Continually update the project plan

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Vendor management team
  • IT transaction team
  • Company M&A team

Outcomes of Step

Successfully execute on the integration and strategize how to rationalize the two (or more) IT environments and update the project plan, strategizing against any roadblocks as they might come.

Compile –› Assess –› Rationalize

Access to critical information often does not happen until day one

  • As the transaction comes to a close and the target organization becomes the acquired organization, it’s important to start working on the rationalization of your organization.
  • One of the most important elements will be to have a complete understanding of the acquired organization’s IT environment. Specifically, assess the technology, people, and processes that might exist.
  • This rationalization will be heavily dependent on your planned integration strategy determined in the Discovery & Strategy phase of the process.
  • If your IT organization was not involved until after that phase, then determine whether your organization plans on remaining in its original state, taking on the acquired organization’s state, or forming a best-of-breed state by combining elements.
  • To execute on this, however, a holistic understanding of the new IT environment is required.

Some Info-Tech resources to support this initiative:

  • Reduce and Manage Your Organization’s Insider Threat Risk
  • Build an Application Rationalization Framework
  • Rationalize Your Collaboration Tools
  • Consolidate IT Asset Management
  • Build Effective Enterprise Integration on the Back of Business Process
  • Consolidate Your Data Centers

4.1.1 Rationalize the IT environment

6-12 months

Input: RACI chart, List of critical applications, List of vendor contracts, List of infrastructure assets, List of data assets

Output: Rationalized IT environment

Materials: Software Terms & Conditions Evaluation Tool

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Vendor management

The purpose of this activity is to rationalize the IT environment to reduce and eliminate redundant technology.

  1. Compile a list of the various applications and vendor contracts from the acquired organization and the original organization.
  2. Determine where there is repetition. Have a member of the vendor management team review those contracts and identify cost-saving opportunities.

This will not be a quick and easy activity to complete. It will require strong negotiation on the behalf of the vendor management team.

For additional information and support for this activity, see the blueprint Master Contract Review and Negotiations for Software Agreements.

4.1.2 Continually update the project plan

Reoccurring basis following transition

Input: Prioritized integration tasks, Integration RACI, Activity owners

Output: Updated integration project plan

Materials: M&A Integration Project Management Tool

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, IT transaction team, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to ensure that the project plan is continuously updated as your transaction team continues to execute on the various components outlined in the project plan.

  1. Set a regular cadence for the transaction team to meet, update and review the status of the various integration task items, and strategize how to overcome any roadblocks.
  2. Employ governance best practices in these meetings to ensure decisions can be made effectively and resources allocated strategically.

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (SharePoint).

Record the updates in the M&A Integration Project Management Tool (Excel).

Execution & Value Realization

Step 4.2

Reflection and Value Realization

Activities

  • 4.2.1 Confirm integration costs
  • 4.2.2 Review IT’s transaction value
  • 4.2.3 Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT
  • 4.2.4 Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions

This step involves the following participants:

  • IT executive/CIO
  • IT senior leadership
  • Transition team
  • Company M&A team

Outcomes of Step

Review the value that IT was able to generate around the transaction and strategize on how to improve future acquisition transactions.

4.2.1 Confirm integration costs

3-4 hours

Input: Integration tasks, Transition team, Previous RACI, Estimated costs

Output: Actual integration costs

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, IT transaction team, Company M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to confirm the associated costs around integration. While the integration costs would have been estimated previously, it’s important to confirm the costs that were associated with the integration in order to provide an accurate and up-to-date report to the company’s M&A team.

  1. Taking all the original items identified previously in activity 3.2.4, identify if there were changes in the estimated costs. This can be an increase or a decrease.
  2. Ensure that each cost has a justification for why the cost changed from the original estimation.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

Track synergy capture through the IT integration

The ultimate goal of the M&A is to achieve and deliver deal objectives. Early in the M&A, IT must identify, prioritize, and execute upon synergies that deliver value to the business and its shareholders. Continue to measure IT’s contribution toward achieving the organization’s M&A goals throughout the integration by keeping track of cost savings and synergies that have been achieved. When these achievements happen, communicate them and celebrate success.

  1. Define Synergy Metrics: Select metrics to track synergies through the integration.
    1. You can track value by looking at percentages of improvement in process-level metrics depending on the synergies being pursued.
    2. For example, if the synergy being pursued is increasing asset utilization, metrics could range from capacity to revenue generated through increased capacity.
  2. Prioritize Synergistic Initiatives: Estimate the cost and benefit of each initiative's implementation to compare the amount of business value to the cost. The benefits and costs should be illustrated at a high level. Estimating the exact dollar value of fulfilling a synergy can be difficult and misleading.
      Steps
    • Determine the benefits that each initiative is expected to deliver.
    • Determine the high-level costs of implementation (capacity, time, resources, effort).
  3. Track Synergy Captures: Develop a detailed workplan to resource the roadmap and track synergy captures as the initiatives are undertaken.

Once 80% of the necessary synergies are realized, executive pressure will diminish. However, IT must continue to work toward the technology end state to avoid delayed progression.

4.2.2 Review IT’s transaction value

3-4 hours

Input: Prioritized integration tasks, Integration RACI, Activity owners, M&A company goals

Output: Transaction value

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Company's M&A team

The purpose of this activity is to track how your IT organization performed against the originally identified metrics.

  1. If your organization did not have the opportunity to identify metrics earlier, determine from the company M&A team what those metrics might be. Review activity 3.2.7 for more information on metrics.
  2. Identify whether the metric (which should be used to support a goal) was at, below, or above the original target metric. This is a very critical task for IT to complete because it allows IT to confirm that they were successful engaging in the transaction and that the business can count on them in future transactions.
  3. Be sure to record accurate and relevant information on why the outcomes (good or bad) are supporting the M&A goals that were set out by the business.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

4.2.3 Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT

2 hours

Input: Integration costs, Retention rates, Value IT contributed to the transaction

Output: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

Materials: Flip charts, Markers, Sticky notes

Participants: IT executive/CIO, IT senior leadership, Business transaction team

The purpose of this activity is to assess the positive and negative elements of the transaction.

  1. Consider the various internal and external elements that could have impacted the outcome of the transaction.
    • Strengths. Internal characteristics that are favorable as they relate to your development environment.
    • Weaknesses Internal characteristics that are unfavorable or need improvement.
    • Opportunities External characteristics that you may use to your advantage.
    • Threats External characteristics that may be potential sources of failure or risk.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

M&A Buy Playbook review

With an acquisition complete, your IT organization is now more prepared then ever to support the business through future M&As

  • Now that the transaction is more than 80% complete, take the opportunity to review the key elements that worked well and the opportunities for improvement in future transactions.
  • Critically examine the M&A Buy Playbook your IT organization created and identify what worked well to help the transaction and where your organization could adjust to do better in future transactions.
  • If your organization were to engage in another acquisition under your IT leadership, how would you go about the transaction to make sure the company meets its goals?

4.2.4 Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions

4 hours

Input: Transaction and integration SWOT

Output: Refined M&A playbook

Materials: M&A Buy Playbook

Participants: IT executive/CIO

The purpose of this activity is to revise the playbook and ensure it is ready to go for future transactions.

  1. Using the outputs from the previous activity, 4.2.3, determine what strengths and opportunities there were that should be leveraged in the next transaction.
  2. Likewise, determine which threats and weaknesses could be avoided in the future transactions.
    Remember, this is your M&A Buy Playbook, and it should reflect the most successful outcome for you in your organization.

Record the results in the M&A Buy Playbook.

By the end of this post-transaction phase you should:

Have completed the integration post-transaction and be fluidly delivering the critical value that the business expected of IT.

Key outcomes from the Execution & Value Realization phase
  • Ensure the integration tasks are being completed and that any blockers related to the transaction are being removed.
  • Determine where IT was able to realize value for the business and demonstrate IT’s involvement in meeting target goals.
Key deliverables from the Execution & Value Realization phase
  • Rationalize the IT environment
  • Continually update the project plan for completion
  • Confirm integration costs
  • Review IT’s transaction value
  • Conduct a transaction and integration SWOT
  • Review the playbook and prepare for future transactions

Summary of Accomplishment

Problem Solved

Congratulations, you have completed the M&A Buy Blueprint!

Rather than reacting to a transaction, you have been proactive in tackling this initiative. You now have a process to fall back on in which you can be an innovative IT leader by suggesting how and why the business should engage in an acquisition. You now have:

  • Created a standardized approach for how your IT organization should address acquisitions.
  • Evaluated the target organizations successfully and established an integration project plan.
  • Delivered on the integration project plan successfully and communicated IT’s transaction value to the business.

Now that you have done all of this, reflect on what went well and what can be improved in case if you have to do this all again in a future transaction.

If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

Contact your account representative for more information
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8899

Research Contributors and Experts

Ibrahim Abdel-Kader
Research Analyst | CIO
Info-Tech Research Group 		Brittany Lutes
Senior Research Analyst | CIO
Info-Tech Research Group
John Annand
Principal Research Director | Infrastructure
Info-Tech Research Group 		Scott Bickley
Principal Research Director | Vendor Management
Info-Tech Research Group
Cole Cioran
Practice Lead | Applications
Info-Tech Research Group 		Dana Daher
Research Analyst | Strategy & Innovation
Info-Tech Research Group
Eric Dolinar
Manager | M&A Consulting
Deloitte Canada 		Christoph Egel
Director, Solution Design & Deliver
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Nora Fisher
Vice President | Executive Services Advisory
Info-Tech Research Group 		Larry Fretz
Vice President | Industry
Info-Tech Research Group

Research Contributors and Experts

David Glazer
Vice President of Analytics
Kroll 		Jack Hakimian
Senior Vice President | Workshops and Delivery
Info-Tech Research Group
Gord Harrison
Senior Vice President | Research & Advisory
Info-Tech Research Group 		Valence Howden
Principal Research Director | CIO
Info-Tech Research Group
Jennifer Jones
Research Director | Industry
Info-Tech Research Group 		Nancy McCuaig
Senior Vice President | Chief Technology and Data Office
IGM Financial Inc.
Carlene McCubbin
Practice Lead | CIO
Info-Tech Research Group 		Kenneth McGee
Research Fellow | Strategy & Innovation
Info-Tech Research Group
Nayma Naser
Associate
Deloitte 		Andy Neill
Practice Lead | Data & Analytics, Enterprise Architecture
Info-Tech Research Group

Research Contributors and Experts

Rick Pittman
Vice President | Research
Info-Tech Research Group 		Rocco Rao
Research Director | Industry
Info-Tech Research Group
Mark Rosa
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment 		Tracy-Lynn Reid
Research Lead | People & Leadership
Info-Tech Research Group
Jim Robson
Senior Vice President | Shared Enterprise Services (retired)
Great-West Life 		Steven Schmidt
Senior Managing Partner Advisory | Executive Services
Info-Tech Research Group
Nikki Seventikidis
Senior Manager | Finance Initiative & Continuous Improvement
CST Consultants Inc. 		Allison Straker
Research Director | CIO
Info-Tech Research Group
Justin Waelz
Senior Network & Systems Administrator
Info-Tech Research Group 		Sallie Wright
Executive Counselor
Info-Tech Research Group

Bibliography

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Barbaglia, Pamela, and Joshua Franklin. “Global M&A sets Q1 record as dealmakers shape post-COVID world.” Nasdaq, 1 April 2021. Web.

Boyce, Paul. “Mergers and Acquisitions Definition: Types, Advantages, and Disadvantages.” BoyceWire, 8 Oct. 2020. Web.

Bradt, George. “83% Of Mergers Fail -- Leverage A 100-Day Action Plan For Success Instead.” Forbes, 27 Jan. 2015. Web.

Capgemini. “Mergers and Acquisitions: Get CIOs, IT Leaders Involved Early.” Channel e2e, 19 June 2020. Web.

Chandra, Sumit, et al. “Make Or Break: The Critical Role Of IT In Post-Merger Integration.” IMAA Institute, 2016. Web.

Deloitte. “How to Calculate Technical Debt.” The Wall Street Journal, 21 Jan. 2015. Web.

Ernst & Young. “IT As A Driver Of M&A Success.” IMAA Institute, 2017. Web.

Fernandes, Nuno. “M&As In 2021: How To Improve The Odds Of A Successful Deal.” Forbes, 23 March 2021. Web.

“Five steps to a better 'technology fit' in mergers and acquisitions.” BCS, 7 Nov. 2019. Web.

Fricke, Pierre. “The Biggest Opportunity You’re Missing During an M&Aamp; IT Integration.” Rackspace, 4 Nov. 2020. Web.

Garrison, David W. “Most Mergers Fail Because People Aren't Boxes.” Forbes, 24 June 2019. Web.

Harroch, Richard. “What You Need To Know About Mergers & Acquisitions: 12 Key Considerations When Selling Your Company.” Forbes, 27 Aug. 2018. Web.

Hope, Michele. “M&A Integration: New Ways To Contain The IT Cost Of Mergers, Acquisitions And Migrations.” Iron Mountain, n.d. Web.

“How Agile Project Management Principles Can Modernize M&A.” Business.com, 13 April 2020. Web.

Hull, Patrick. “Answer 4 Questions to Get a Great Mission Statement.” Forbes, 10 Jan. 2013. Web.

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. “What We Can Learn About Unity from Hostile Takeovers.” Harvard Business Review, 12 Nov. 2020. Web.

Koller, Tim, et al. “Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, 7th edition.” McKinsey & Company, 2020. Web.

Labate, John. “M&A Alternatives Take Center Stage: Survey.” The Wall Street Journal, 30 Oct. 2020. Web.

Lerner, Maya Ber. “How to Calculate ROI on Infrastructure Automation.” DevOps.com, 1 July 2020. Web.

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“M&A Trends Survey: The future of M&A. Deal trends in a changing world.” Deloitte, Oct. 2020. Web.

Maheshwari, Adi, and Manish Dabas. “Six strategies tech companies are using for successful divesting.” EY, 1 Aug. 2020. Web.

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“The CIO Playbook. Nine Steps CIOs Must Take For Successful Divestitures.” SNP, 2016. Web.

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Weller, Joe. “The Ultimate Guide to the M&A Process for Buyers and Sellers.” Smartsheet, 16 May 2019. Web.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan

  • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}417|cart{/j2store}
  • member rating overall impact: 9.3/10 Overall Impact
  • member rating average dollars saved: $52,224 Average $ Saved
  • member rating average days saved: 38 Average Days Saved
  • Parent Category Name: DR and Business Continuity
  • Parent Category Link: /business-continuity
  • Disaster recovery plan (DRP) documentation is often driven by audit or compliance requirements rather than aimed at the team that would need to execute recovery.
  • Between day-to-day IT projects and the difficulty of maintaining 300+ page manuals, DRP documentation is not updated and quickly becomes unreliable.
  • Inefficient publishing strategies result in your DRP not being accessible during disaster or key staff not knowing where to find the latest version.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • DR documentation fails when organizations try to boil the ocean with an all-in-one plan aimed at auditors, business leaders, and IT. It’s too long, too hard to maintain, and ends up being little more than shelf-ware.
  • Using flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams aimed at an IT audience is more concise and effective in a disaster, quicker to create, and easier to maintain.
  • Create your DRP in layers to keep the work manageable. Start with a recovery workflow to ensure a coordinated response, and build out supporting documentation over time.

Impact and Result

  • Create visual and concise DR documentation that strips out unnecessary content and is written for an IT audience – the team that would actually be executing the recovery. Your business leaders can take the same approach to create separate business response plans. Don’t mix the two in an all-in-one plan that is not effective for either audience.
  • Determine a documentation distribution strategy that supports ease of maintenance and accessibility during a disaster.
  • Incorporate DRP maintenance into change management procedures to systematically update and refine the DR documentation. Don’t save up changes for a year-end blitz, which turns document maintenance into an onerous project.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should adopt a visual-based DRP, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Streamline DRP documentation

Start by documenting your recovery workflow. Create supporting documentation in the form of checklists, flowcharts, topology diagrams, and contact lists. Finally, summarize your DR capabilities in a DRP Summary Document for stakeholders and auditors.

  • Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 1: Streamline DRP Documentation

2. Select the optimal DRP publishing strategy

Select criteria for assessing DRP tools, and evaluate whether a business continuity management tool, document management solution, wiki site, or manually distributing documentation is best for your DR team.

  • Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 2: Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy
  • DRP Publishing and Document Management Solution Evaluation Tool
  • BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria

3. Keep your DRP relevant through maintenance best practices

Learn how to integrate DRP maintenance into core IT processes, and learn what to look for during testing and during annual reviews of your DRP.

  • Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 3: Keep Your DRP Relevant Through Maintenance Best Practices
  • Sample Project Intake Form Addendum for Disaster Recovery
  • Sample Change Management Checklist for Disaster Recovery
  • DRP Review Checklist
  • DRP-BCP Review Workflow (Visio)
  • DRP-BCP Review Workflow (PDF)

4. Appendix: XMPL Case Study

Model your DRP after the XMPL case study disaster recovery plan documentation.

  • Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Appendix: XMPL Case Study
  • XMPL DRP Summary Document
  • XMPL Notification, Assessment, and Declaration Plan
  • XMPL Systems Recovery Playbook
  • XMPL Recovery Workflows (Visio)
  • XMPL Recovery Workflows (PDF)
  • XMPL Data Center and Network Diagrams (Visio)
  • XMPL Data Center and Network Diagrams (PDF)
  • XMPL DRP Business Impact Analysis Tool
  • XMPL DRP Workbook
[infographic]

Workshop: Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Streamline DRP Documentation

The Purpose

Teach your team how to create visual-based documentation.

Key Benefits Achieved

Learn how to create visual-based DR documentation.

Activities

1.1 Conduct a table-top planning exercise.

1.2 Document your high-level incident response plan.

1.3 Identify documentation to include in your playbook.

1.4 Create an initial collection of supplementary documentation.

1.5 Discuss what further documentation is necessary for recovering from a disaster.

1.6 Summarize your DR capabilities for stakeholders.

Outputs

Documented high-level incident response plan

List of documentation action items

Collection of 1-3 draft checklists, flowcharts, topology diagrams, and contact lists

Action items for ensuring that the DRP is executable for both primary and backup DR personnel

DRP Summary Document

2 Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy

The Purpose

Learn the considerations for publishing your DRP.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identify the best strategy for publishing your DRP.

Activities

2.1 Select criteria for assessing DRP tools.

2.2 Evaluate categories for DRP tools.

Outputs

Strategy for publishing DRP

3 Learn How to Keep Your DRP Relevant Through Maintenance Best Practices

The Purpose

Address the common pain point of unmaintained DRPs.

Key Benefits Achieved

Create an approach for maintaining your DRP.

Activities

3.1 Alter your project intake considerations.

3.2 Integrate DR considerations into change management.

3.3 Integrate documentation into performance measurement and performance management.

3.4 Learn best practices for maintaining your DRP.

Outputs

Project Intake Form Addendum Template

Change Management DRP Checklist Template

Further reading

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Put your DRP on a diet – keep it fit, trim, and ready for action.

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

The traditional disaster recovery plan (DRP) “red binder” is dead. It takes too long to create, it’s too hard to maintain, and it’s not usable in a crisis.

“This blueprint outlines the following key tactics to streamline your documentation effort and produce a better result:

  • Write for an IT audience and focus on how to recover. You don’t need 30 pages of fluff describing the purpose of the document.
  • Use flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams over traditional manuals. This drives documentation that is more concise, easier to maintain, and effective in a crisis.
  • Create your DRP in layers to get tangible results faster, starting with a recovery workflow that outlines your DR strategy, and then build out the specific documentation needed to support recovery.”
    •
(Frank Trovato, Research Director, Infrastructure, Info-Tech Research Group)

This project is about DRP documentation after you have clarified your DR strategy; create these necessary inputs first

These artifacts are the cornerstone for any disaster recovery plan.

  • Business Impact Analysis
  • DR Roles and Responsibilities
  • Recovery Workflow

Missing a component? Start here. ➔ Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan

This blueprint walks you through building these inputs.
Our approach saves clients on average US$16,825.22. (Clients self-reported an average saving of US$16,869.21 while completing the Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan blueprint through advisory calls, guided implementations, or workshops (Info-Tech Research Group, 2017, N=129).)

How this blueprint will help you document your DRP

This Research is Designed For:

  • IT managers in charge of disaster recovery planning (DRP) and execution.
  • Organizations seeking to optimize their DRP using best-practice methodology.
  • Business continuity professionals that are involved with disaster recovery.

This Research Will Help You:

  • Divide the process of creating DR documentation into manageable chunks, providing a defined scope for you to work in.
  • Identify an appropriate DRP document management and distribution strategy.
  • Ensure that DR documentation is up to date and accessible.

This Research Will Also Assist:

  • IT managers preparing for a DR audit.
  • IT managers looking to incorporate components of DR into an IT operations document.

This Research Will Help Them:

  • Follow a structured approach in building DR documentation using best practices.
  • Integrate DR into day-to-day IT operations.

Executive summary

Situation

  • DR documentation is often driven by audit or compliance requirements, rather than aimed at the team that would need to execute recovery.
  • Traditional DRPs are text-heavy, 300+ page manuals that are simply not usable in a crisis.
  • Compounding the problem, DR documentation is rarely updated, so it’s just shelf-ware.

Complication

  • DRP is often given lower priority as day-to-day IT projects displace DR documentation efforts.
  • Inefficient publishing strategies result in your DRP not being accessible during disasters or key staff not knowing where to find the latest version.
  • Organizations that create traditional DRPs end up with massive manuals that are difficult to maintain, so they quickly become unreliable.

Resolution

  • Create visual and concise DR documentation that strips out unnecessary content and is written for an IT audience – the team that would actually be executing the recovery. Your business leaders can take the same approach to create separate business response plans – don’t mix the two into an all-in-one plan that is not effective for either audience.
  • Determine a documentation distribution strategy that supports ease of maintenance and accessibility during a disaster.
  • Incorporate DRP maintenance into change management and project intake procedures to systematically update and refine the DR documentation. Don’t save up changes for a year-end blitz, which turns document maintenance into an onerous project.

Info-Tech Insight

  1. DR documentation fails when organizations try to boil the ocean with an all-in-one plan aimed at auditors, business leaders, and IT. It’s too long, too hard to maintain, and ends up being little more than shelf-ware.
  2. Using flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams aimed at an IT audience is more concise and effective in a disaster, quicker to create, and easier to maintain.
  3. Create your DRP in layers to keep the work manageable. Start with a recovery workflow to ensure a coordinated response, and build out supporting documentation over time.

An effective DRP that mitigates a wide range of potential outages is critical to minimizing the impact of downtime

The criticality of having an effective DRP is underestimated.

Cost of Downtime for the Fortune 1000
  • Cost of unplanned apps downtime per year: $1.25B to $2.5B
  • Cost of critical apps failure per hour: $500,000 to $1M
  • Cost of infrastructure failure per hour: $100,000
  • 35% reported to have recovered within 12 hours.
  • 17% of infrastructure failures took more than 24 hours to recover.
  • 13% of application failures took more than 24 hours to recover.
Size of Impact Increasing Across Industries
  • The cost of downtime is rising across the board and not just for organizations that traditionally depend on IT (e.g. e-commerce).
  • Downtime cost increase since 2010:
    • Hospitality: 129% increase
    • Transportation: 108% increase
    • Media organizations: 104% increase
Potential Lost Revenue
A line graph of Potential Lost Revenue with vertical axis 'LOSS ($)' and horizontal axis 'TIME'. The line starts with low losses near the origin where 'Incident Occurs', gradually accelerates to higher losses as time passes, then decelerates before 'All Revenue Lost'. Note: 'Delay in recovery causes exponential revenue loss'.
(Adapted from: Rothstein, Philip Jan. Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan (2007 Edition).)

The impact of downtime increases significantly over time, not just in terms of lost revenue (as illustrated here) but also goodwill/reputation and health/safety. An effective DR solution and overall resiliency that mitigate a wide range of potential outages are critical to minimizing the impact of downtime.

Without an effective DRP, your organization is gambling on being able to define and implement a recovery strategy during a time of crisis. At the very least, this means extended downtime – potentially weeks – and substantial impact.

Only 38% of those with a full or mostly complete DRP believe their DRPs would be effective in a real crisis

Organizations continue to struggle with creating DRPs, let alone making them actionable.

Why are so many living with either an incomplete or ineffective DRP? For the same reasons that IT documentation in general continues to be a pain point:

  • It is an outdated model of what documentation should be – the traditional manual with detailed (lengthy) descriptions and procedures.
  • Despite the importance of DR, low priority is placed on creating a DRP and the day-to-day SOPs required to support a recovery.
  • There is a lack of effective processes for ensuring documentation stays up to date.
A bar graph documenting percentages of survey responses about the completeness of their DRP. 'Only 20% of survey respondents indicated they have a complete DRP'. 13% said 'No DRP'. 33% said 'Partial DRP'. 34% said 'Mostly Completed'. 20% said 'Full DRP'.
(Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=165) 		A bar graph documenting percentages of survey responses about the level of confidence in their DRP. 'Only 38% of those who have a mostly completed or full DRP actually feel it would be effective in a crisis'. 4% said 'Low'. 58% said 'Unsure'. 38% said 'Confident'.
(Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=69 (includes only those who indicated DRP is mostly completed or completed))

Improve usability and effectiveness with visual-based and more-concise documentation

Choose flowcharts over process guides, checklists over lengthy procedures, and diagrams over descriptions.

If you need a three-inch binder to hold your DRP, imagine having to flip through it to determine next steps during a crisis.

DR documentation needs to be concise, scannable, and quickly understood to be effective. Visual-based documentation meets these requirements, so it’s no surprise that it also leads to higher DR success.

DR success scores are based on:

  • Meeting recovery time objectives (RTOs).
  • Meeting recovery point objectives (RPOs).
  • IT staff’s confidence in their ability to meet RTOs/RPOs.
A line graph of DR documentation types and their effectiveness. The vertical axis is 'DR Success', from Low to High. The horizontal axis is Documentation Type, from 'Traditional Manual' to 'Primarily flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams'. The line trends up to higher success with visual-based and more-concise documentation.(Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=95)

“Without question, 300-page DRPs are not effective. I mean, auditors love them because of the detail, but give me a 10-page DRP with contact lists, process flows, diagrams, and recovery checklists that are easy to follow.” (Bernard Jones, MBCI, CBCP, CORP, Manager Disaster Recovery/BCP, ActiveHealth Management)

Maintainability is another argument for visual-based, concise documentation

There are two end goals for your DR documentation: effectiveness and maintainability. Without either, you will not have success during a disaster.

Organizations using a visual-based approach were 30% more likely to find that DR documentation is easy to maintain. ➔ “Easy to maintain” leads to a 46% higher rate of DR success.
Two bar graphs documenting survey responses regarding maintenance ease of DR documentation types. The first graph compares Traditional Manual vs Visual-based. For 'Traditional Manual' 72% responded they were Difficult to maintain while 28% responded they were Easy to maintain; for 'Visual-based' 42% responded they were Difficult to maintain while 58% responded they were Easy to maintain. Visual-based DR documentation received 30% more votes for Easy to Maintain. The second graph compares success rates of 'Difficult to Maintain' vs 'Easy to Maintain' DR documentation with Difficult being 31% and Easy being 77%, a 46% difference. 'Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=96'.

Not only are visual-based disaster recovery plans more effective, but they are also easier to maintain.

Overcome documentation inertia with a tiered model that allows you to eat the elephant one bite at a time

Start with a recovery workflow to at least ensure a coordinated response. Then use that workflow to determine required supporting documentation.

Recovery Workflow: Starting the project with overly detailed documentation can slow down the entire process. Overcome planning inertia by starting with high-level incident response plans in a flowchart format. For examples and additional information, see XMPL Medical’s Recovery Workflows.

Recovery Procedures (Systems Recovery Playbook): For each step in the high-level flowchart, create recovery procedures where necessary using additional flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams as appropriate. Leverage Info-Tech’s Systems Recovery Playbook example as a starting point.

Additional Reference Documentation: Reference existing IT documentation, such as network diagrams and configuration documents, as well as more detailed step-by-step procedures where necessary (e.g. vendor documentation), particularly where needed to support alternate recovery staff who may not be as well versed as the primary system owners.

Info-Tech Insight

Organizations that use flowcharts, checklist, and diagrams over traditional, dense DRP manuals are far more likely to meet their RTOs/RPOs because their documentation is more usable and easier to maintain.

Use a DRP summary document to satisfy executives, auditors, and clients

Stakeholders don’t have time to sift through a pile of paper. Summarize your overall continuity capabilities in one, easy-to-read place.

DRP Summary Document

  • Summarize BIA results
  • Summarize DR strategy (including DR sites)
  • Summarize backup strategy
  • Summarize testing and maintenance plans

Follow Info-Tech’s methodology to make DRP documentation efficient and effective

Phases

 Phase 1: Streamline DRP documentation Phase 2: Select the optimal DRP publishing strategy Phase 3: Keep your DRP relevant through maintenance best practices

Phases

1.1

 Start with a recovery workflow

2.1

 Decide on a publishing strategy

3.1

 Incorporate DRP maintenance into core IT processes

1.2

 Create supporting DRP documentation

3.2

 Conduct an annual focused review

1.3

 Write the DRP Summary

Tools and Templates

 End-to-End Sample DRP DRP Publishing Evaluation Tool Project In-take/Request Form

Change Management Checklist

Follow XMPL Medical’s journey through DR documentation

CASE STUDY

Industry Healthcare
Source Created by amalgamating data from Info-Tech’s client base

Streamline your documentation and maintenance process by following the approach outlined in XMPL Medical’s journey to an end-to-end DRP.

Outline of the Disaster Recovery Plan

XMPL’s disaster recovery plan includes its business impact analysis and a subset of tier 1 and tier 2 patient care applications.

Its DRP includes incident response flowcharts, system recovery checklists, and a communication plan. Its DRP also references IT operations documentation (e.g. asset management documents, system specs, and system configuration docs), but this material is not published with the example documentation.

Resulting Disaster Recovery Plan

XMPL’s DRP includes actionable documents in the form of high-level disaster response plan flowcharts and system recovery checklists. During an incident, the DR team is able to clearly see the items for which they are responsible.

Disaster Recovery Plan
  • Recovery Workflow
  • Business Impact Analysis
  • DRP Summary
  • System Recovery Checklists
  • Communication, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan

Info-Tech Best Practice

XMPL Medical’s disaster recovery plan illustrates an effective DRP. Model your end-to-end disaster recovery plan after XMPL’s completed templates. The specific data points will differ from organization to organization, but the structure of each document will be similar.

Model your disaster recovery documentation off of our example

CASE STUDY

Industry Healthcare
Source Created by amalgamating data from Info-Tech’s client base

Recovery Workflow:

  • Recovery Workflows (PDF, VSDX)

Recovery Procedures (Systems Recovery Playbook):

  • DR Notification, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan
  • Systems Recovery Playbook
  • Network Topology Diagrams

Additional Reference Documentation:

  • DRP Workbook
  • Business Impact Analysis
  • DRP Summary Document

Use Info-Tech’s DRP Maturity Scorecard to evaluate your progress

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

Guided Implementation

Workshop

Consulting
"Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Project Overview

1. Streamline DRP Documentation 2. Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy 3. Keep Your DRP Relevant
Supporting Tool icon
Best-Practice Toolkit

1.1 Start with a recovery workflow

1.2 Create supporting DRP documentation

1.3 Write the DRP summary

2.1 Create Committee Profiles

3.1 Build Governance Structure Map

3.2 Create Committee Profiles

Guided Implementations
  • Review Info-Tech’s approach to DRP documentation.
  • Create a high-level recovery workflow.
  • Create supporting DRP documentation.
  • Write the DRP summary.
  • Identify criteria for selecting a DRP publishing strategy.
  • Select a DRP publishing strategy.
  • Optional: Select requirements for a BCM tool and issue an RFP.
  • Optional: Review responses to RFP.
  • Learn best practices for integrating DRP maintenance into day-to-day IT processes.
  • Learn best practices for DRP-focused reviews.
Associated Activity icon
Onsite Workshop 		Module 1:
Streamline DRP documentation 		Module 2:
Select the optimal DRP publishing strategy 		Module 3:
Learn best practices for keeping your DRP relevant
Phase 1 Outcome:
  • A complete end-to-end DRP
 Phase 2 Outcome:
  • Selection of a publishing and management tool for your DRP documentation
 Phase 3 Outcome:
  • Strategy for maintaining your DRP documentation

Workshop Overview Associated Activity icon

Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4 Workshop Day 5
Info-Tech Analysts Finalize Deliverables
Activities
Assess DRP Maturity and Review Current Capabilities

0.1 Assess current DRP maturity through Info-Tech’s Maturity Scorecard.

0.2 Identify the IT systems that support mission-critical business activities, and select 2 or 3 key applications to be the focus of the workshop.

0.3 Identify current recovery strategies for selected applications.

0.4 Identify current DR challenges for selected applications.

Document Your Recovery Workflow

1.1 Create a recovery workflow: review tabletop planning, walk through DR scenarios, identify DR gaps, and determine how to fill them.

Create Supporting Documentation

1.2 Create supporting DRP documentation.

1.3 Write the DRP summary.

Establish a DRP Publishing, Management, and Maintenance Strategy

2.1 Decide on a publishing strategy.

3.1 Incorporate DRP maintenance into core IT.

3.2 Considerations for reviewing your DRP regularly.

Deliverables
  1. Baseline DRP metric (based on DRP Maturity Scorecard)
  1. High-level DRP workflow
  2. DRP gaps and risks identified
  1. Recovery workflow and/or checklist for sample of IT systems
  2. Customized DRP Summary Template
  1. Strategy for selecting a DRP publishing tool
  2. DRP management and maintenance strategy
  3. Workshop summary presentation deck

Workshop Goal: Learn how to document and maintain your DRP.

Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

A small monochrome icon of a wrench and screwdriver creating an X.

This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.

A small monochrome icon depicting a person in front of a blank slide.

This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.


Phase 1: Streamline DRP Documentation

Step 1.1: Start with a recovery workflow

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 3.1 3.2
Start with a Recovery Workflow Create Supporting Documentation Write the DRP Summary Select DRP Publishing Strategy Integrate into Core IT Processes Conduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Review a model DRP.
  • Review your recovery workflow.
  • Identify documentation required to support the recovery workflow.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner
  • System SMEs
  • Alternate DR Personnel

Outcomes of this step

  • Understanding the visual-based, concise approach to DR documentation.
  • Creating a recovery workflow that provides a roadmap for coordinating incident response and identifying required supporting documentation.

Info-Tech Insights

A DRP is a collection of procedures and supporting documents that allow an organization to recover its IT services to minimize system downtime for the business.

1.1 — Start with a recovery workflow to ensure a coordinated response and identify required supporting documentation

The recovery workflow clarifies your DR strategy and ensures the DR team is on the same page.

Recovery Workflow

 ➔

The recovery workflow maps out the incident response plan from event detection, assessment, and declaration to systems recovery and validation.

This documentation includes:

  • Clarifying initial incident response steps.
  • Clarifying the order of systems recovery and which recovery actions can occur concurrently.
  • Estimating actual recovery timeline through each stage of recovery.
Recovery Procedures (Playbook)
Additional Reference Documentation

“We use flowcharts for our declaration procedures. Flowcharts are more effective when you have to explain status and next steps to upper management.” (Assistant Director-IT Operations, Healthcare Industry)

Review business impact analysis (BIA) results to plan your recovery workflow

The BIA defines system criticality from the business’s perspective. Use it to guide system recovery order.

Specifically, review the following from your BIA:

  • The list of tier 1, 2, and 3 applications. This will dictate the recovery order in your recovery workflow.
  • Application dependencies. This will outline what needs to be included as part of an application recovery workflow.
  • The recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each application. This will also guide the recovery, and enable you to identify gaps where the recovery workflow does not meet RTOs and RPOs.

CASE STUDY: The XMPL DRP documentation is based on this Business Impact Analysis Tool.

Haven’t conducted a BIA? Use Info-Tech’s streamlined approach.

Info-Tech’s publication Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan takes a very practical approach to BIA work. Our process gives IT leaders a mechanism to quickly get agreement on system recovery order and DR investment priorities.

Conduct a tabletop planning exercise to determine your recovery workflow

Associated Activity icon 1.1.1 Tabletop Planning Exercise

  1. Define a scenario to drive the tabletop planning exercise:
    • Use a scenario that forces a full failover to your DR environment, so you can capture an end-to-end recovery workflow.
    • Avoid scenarios that impact health and safety such as tornados or a fire. You want to focus on IT recovery.
    • Example scenarios: Burst water pipe that causes data-center-wide damage or a gas leak that forces evacuation and power to be shut down for at least two days.

Note: You may have already completed this exercise as part of Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan.

Info-Tech Insight

Use scenarios to provide context for DR planning, and to test your plans, but don’t create a separate plan for every possibility.

The high-level recovery plan will be the same whether the incident is a fire, flood, or tornado. While there might be some variances and outliers, these scenarios can be addressed by adding decision points and/or separate, supplementary instructions.

Walk through the scenario and capture the recovery workflow

Associated Activity icon 1.1.2 Tabletop Planning Exercise
  1. Capture the following information for tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 systems:
    1. On white cue cards, record the steps and track start and end times for each step (where 00:00 is when the incident occurred).
    2. On yellow cue cards, document gaps in people, process, and technology requirements to complete the step.
    3. On red cue cards, indicate risks (e.g. no backup person for a key staff member).

Note:

  • Ensure the language is sufficiently genericized (e.g. refer to events, not specifically a burst water pipe).
  • Review isolated failures (e.g. hardware, software). Typically, the recovery procedure documented for individual systems covers the essence of the recovery workflow whether it’s just the one system that failed or it’s part of a site-wide recovery.

Note: You may have already completed this exercise as part of Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan.

Document your current-state recovery workflow based on the results of the tabletop planning

Supporting Tool icon 1.1.2 Incident Response Plan Flowcharts, Tabs 2 and 3

After you finish the tabletop planning exercise, the steps on the set of cue cards define your recovery workflow. Capture this in a flowchart format.

Use the sample DRP to guide your own flowchart. Some notes on the example are:

  • XMPL’s Incident Management to DR flowchart shows the connection between its standard Service Desk processes and DR processes.
  • XMPL’s high-level workflows outline its recovery of tier 1, 2, and 3 systems.
  • Where more detail is required, include links to supporting documentation. In this example, XMPL Medical includes links to its Systems Recovery Playbook.
Preview of an Info-Tech Template depicting a sample flowchart.

This sample flowchart is included in XMPL Recovery Workflows.

Step 1.2: Create Supporting DRP Documentation

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.11.21.32.13.13.2
Start with a Recovery WorkflowCreate Supporting DocumentationWrite the DRP SummarySelect DRP Publishing StrategyIntegrate into Core IT ProcessesConduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Create checklists for your playbook.
  • Document more complex procedures with flowcharts.
  • Gather and/or write network topology diagrams.
  • Compile a contact list.
  • Ensure there is enough material for backup personnel.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner
  • System SMEs
  • Backup DR Personnel

Outcomes of this step

  • Actionable supporting documentation for your disaster recovery plan.
  • Contact list for IT personnel, business personnel, and vendor support.

1.2 — Create supporting documentation for your disaster recovery plan

Now that you have a high-level incident response plan, collect the information you need for executing that plan.

Recovery Workflow

Write your recovery procedures playbook to be effective and usable. Your playbook documentation should include:

  • Supplementary flowcharts
  • Checklists
  • Topology diagrams
  • Contact lists
  • DRP summary

Reference vendors’ technical information in your flowcharts and checklists where appropriate.

Recovery Procedures (Playbook)

 ➔

Additional Reference Documentation

 ➔

Info-Tech Insight

Write for your audience. The playbook is for IT; include only the information they need to execute the plan. DRP summaries are for executives and auditors; do not include information intended for IT. Similarly, your disaster recovery plan is not for business units; keep BCP content out of your DRP.

Use checklists to streamline step-by-step procedures

Supporting Tool icon 1.2.1 XMPL Medical’s System Recovery Checklists

Checklists are ideal when staff just need a reminder of what to do, not how to do it.

XMPL Medical used its high-level flowcharts as a roadmap for creating its Systems Recovery Playbook.

  • Since its Playbook is intended for experienced IT staff, the writing style in the checklists is concise. XMPL includes links to reference material to support recovery, especially for alternate staff who might need additional instruction.
  • XMPL includes key parameters (e.g. IP addresses) rather than assume those details would be memorized, especially in a stressful DR scenario.
  • Similarly, include links to other useful resources such as VM templates.
Preview of the Info-Tech Template 'Systems Recovery Playbook'.

Included in the XMPL Systems Recovery Playbook are checklists for recovering XMPL’s virtual desktop infrastructure, mission-critical applications, and core infrastructure components.

Use flowcharts to document processes with concurrent tasks not easily captured in a checklist

Supporting Tool icon 1.2.2 XMPL Medical’s Phone Services Recovery Flowchart

Recovery procedures can consist of flowcharts, checklists, or both, as well as diagrams. The main goal is to be clear and concise.

  • XMPL Medical created a flowchart to capture its phone services recovery procedure to capture concurrent tasks.
  • Additional instructions, where required, could still be captured in a Playbook checklist or other supporting documentation.
  • The flowchart could have also included key settings or other details as appropriate, particularly if the DR team chose to maintain this recovery procedure just in a flowchart format.
Preview of the Info-Tech Template 'Recovery Workflows'.

Included in the XMPL DR documentation is an example flowchart for recovering phone systems. This flowchart is in Recovery Workflows.

Reference this blueprint for more SOP flowchart examples: Create Visual SOP Documents that Drive Process Optimization, Not Just Peace of Mind

Use topology diagrams to capture network layout, integrations, and system information

Supporting Tool icon 1.2.4 XMPL Medical’s Data Center and Network Diagrams

Topology diagrams, key checklists, and configuration settings are often enough for experienced networking staff to carry out their DR tasks.

  • XMPL Medical includes these diagrams with its DRP. Instead of recreating these diagrams, the XMPL Medical DR Manager asked their network team for these diagrams:
    • Primary data center diagram
    • DR site diagram
    • High-level network diagrams
  • Often, organizations already have network topology diagrams for reference purposes.

“Our network engineers came to me and said our standard SOP template didn't work for them. They're now using a lot of diagrams and flowcharts, and that has worked out better for them.” (Assistant Director-IT Operations, Healthcare Industry)

Preview of the Info-Tech Template 'Systems Recovery Playbook'.

You can download a PDF and a VSD version of these Data Center and Network Diagrams from Info-Tech’s website.

Create a list of organizational, IT, and vendor contacts that may be required to assist with recovery

If there is something strange happening to your IT infrastructure, who you gonna call?

Many DR managers have their team on speed dial. However, having the contact info of alternate staff, BCP leads, and vendors can be very helpful during a disaster. XMPL Medical lists the following information in its DRP Workbook:

  • The DR Teams, SMEs critical to disaster recovery, their backups, and key contacts (e.g. BC Management team leads, vendor contacts) that would be involved in:
    • Declaring a disaster.
    • Coordinating a response at an organizational level.
    • Executing recovery.
  • The people that have authority to declare a disaster.
  • Each person’s spending authority.
  • The rules for delegating authority.
  • Primary and alternate staff for each role.
Example list of alternate staff, BCP leads, and vendors.

Confirm with your DR team that you have all of the documentation that you need to recover during a disaster

Associated Activity icon 1.2.7 Group Discussion

DISCUSS: Is there enough information in your DRP for both primary and backup DR personnel?

  • Is it clear who is responsible for each DR task, including notification steps?
  • Have alternate staff for each role been identified?
  • Does the recovery workflow capture all of the high-level steps?
  • Is there enough documentation for alternate staff (e.g. network specs)?

Step 1.3: Write the DRP Summary

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.11.21.32.13.13.2
Start with a Recovery WorkflowCreate Supporting DocumentationWrite the DRP SummarySelect DRP Publishing StrategyIntegrate into Core IT ProcessesConduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Write a DRP summary document.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner

Outcomes of this step

  • High-level outline of your DRP capabilities for stakeholders such as executives, auditors, and clients.

Summarize your DR capabilities using a DRP summary document

Supporting Tool icon 1.3.1 DRP Summary Document

The sample included on Info-Tech’s website is customized for the XMPL Medical Case Study – use the download as a starting point for your own summary document.

DRP Summary Document

XMPL’s DRP Summary is organized into the following categories:

  • DR requirements: This includes a summary of scope, business impact analysis (BIA), risk assessment, and high-level RTOs and achievable RTOs.
  • DR strategy: This includes a summary of XMPL’s recovery procedures, DR site, and backup strategy.
  • Testing and maintenance: This includes a summary of XMPL’s DRP testing and maintenance strategy.

Be transparent about existing business risks in your DRP summary

The DRP summary document is business facing. Include information of which business leaders (and other stakeholders) need to be aware.

  • Discrepancies between desired and achievable RTOs? Organizational leadership needs to know this information. Only then can they assign the resources and budget that IT needs to achieve the desired DR capabilities.
  • What is the DRP’s scope? XMPL Medical lists the IT components that will be recovered during a disaster, and components which will not. For instance, XMPL’s DRP does not recover medical equipment, and XMPL has separate plans for business continuity and emergency response coordination.
Application tier Desired RTO (hh:mm) Desired RPO (hh:mm) Achievable RTO (hh:mm) Achievable RPO (hh:mm)
Tier 1 4:00 1:00 *90:00 1:00
Tier 2 8:00 1:00 *40:00 1:00
Tier 3 48:00 24:00 *96:00 24:00

The above table to is a snippet from the XMPL DR Summary Document (section 2.1.3.2).

In the example, the DR team is unable to recover tier 1, 2, and 3 systems within the desired RTO. As such, they clearly communicate this information in the DRP summary, and include action items to address these gaps.

Phase 2: Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy

Step 2.1: Select a DRP Publishing Strategy

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.11.21.32.13.13.2
Start with a Recovery WorkflowCreate Supporting DocumentationWrite the DRP SummarySelect DRP Publishing StrategyIntegrate into Core IT ProcessesConduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Select criteria for assessing DRP tools.
  • Evaluate categories for DRP tools.
  • Optional: Write an RFP for a BCM tool.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner

Outcomes of this step

  • Identified strategies for publishing your DRP (i.e. making it available to your DR team).

Info-Tech Insights

Diversify your publishing strategy to ensure you can access your DRP in a disaster. For example, if you are using a BCM tool or SharePoint Online as your primary documentation repository, also push the DRP to your DR team’s smartphones as a backup in case the disaster affects internet access.

2.1 — Select a DR publishing and document management strategy that fits your organization

Publishing and document management considerations:

Portability/External Access: Assume your primary site is down and inaccessible. Can you still access your documentation? As shown in this chart, traditional strategies of either keeping a copy at another location (e.g. at the failover site) or with staff (e.g. on a USB drive) still dominate, but these aren’t necessarily the best options. ➔
 A bar chart titled 'Portability Strategy Popularity'. 'External Website (wiki site, cloud-based DRP tool, etc.)' scored 16%. 'Failover Site (network drive or redundant SharePoint, etc.)' scored 53%. 'Distribute to Staff (use USB drive, personal email, etc.)' scored 50%. 'Not Accessible Offsite' scored 7%.
Note: Percentages total more than 100% due to respondents using more than one portability strategy.
(Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=118)
Maintainability/Usability: How easy is it to create, update, and use the documentation? Is it easy to link to other documents as shown in the flowchart and checklist examples? Is there version control? Lack of version control can create a maintenance nightmare as well as issues in a crisis if staff are questioning whether they have the right version.
Cost/Effort: Is the cost and effort appropriate? For example, a large enterprise may need a formal solution (e.g. DRP tools or SharePoint), but the cost might be hard to justify for a smaller company.

Pros and cons of potential strategies

This section will review the following strategies, their pros and cons, and how they meet publishing and document management requirements:

  • DRP tools (e.g. eBRP, Recovery Planner, LDRPS)
  • In-house solutions combining SharePoint and MS Office (or equivalent)
  • Wiki site
  • “Manual” approaches such as storing documents on a USB drive

Avoid 42 hours of downtime due to a non-diversified publishing strategy

CASE STUDY

Industry Municipality
Source Interview

Situation

  • A municipal government has recently completed an end-to-end disaster recovery plan.
  • The team is feeling good about the fact that they were able to identify:
    • Relative criticality of applications.
    • Dependencies for each application.
    • Incident response plans for the current state and desired state.
    • System recovery procedures.

Challenge

  • While the DR plan itself was comprehensive, the team only published the DR onto the government’s network drives.
  • A power generation issue caused power to be shut down, which in turn cascaded into downtime for the network.
  • Once the network was down, their DRP was inaccessible.

Insights

  • Each piece of documentation that was created could have contributed to recovery efforts. However, because they were inaccessible, there was a delayed response to the incident. The result was 42 hours of downtime for end users.
  • Having redundant publishing strategies is just like having redundant IT infrastructure. In the event of downtime, not only do you need to have DR documentation, but you also need to make sure that it is accessible.

Decide on a DR publishing strategy by looking at portability, maintainability, cost, and required effort

Supporting Tool icon 2.1.1 DRP Publishing and Management Evaluation Tool

Use the information included in Step 2.1 to guide your analysis of DRP publishing solutions.

The tool enables you to compare two possible solutions based on these key considerations discussed in this section:

  • Portability/external access
  • Maintainability/usability
  • Cost
  • Effort

The right choice will depend on factors such as current in-house tools, maturity around document management, the size of your IT department, and so on.

For example, a small shop may do very well with the USB drive strategy, whereas a multi-national company will need a more formal strategy to manage consistent DRP distribution.

Preview of Info-Tech's 'DRP Publishing and Management Solution Evaluation Tool'.

The DRP Publishing and Management Solution Evaluation Tool helps you to evaluate the tools included in this section.

Don’t think of a business continuity management (BCM) tool as a silver bullet; know what you’re getting out of it

Portability/External Access:
  • Pros: Typically a SaaS option provides built-in external access with appropriate security and user administration to vary access rights.
  • Cons: Degree of external access is often dependent on the vendor.
Maintainability/Usability:
  • Pros: Built-in templates encourage consistency and guide initial content development by indicating what details need to be captured.
  • Pros: Built-in document management (e.g. version control, metadata support), centralized access/navigation to required documents, and some automation (e.g. update contacts throughout the system).
  • Cons: Not a silver bullet. You still have to do the work to define and capture your processes.
  • Cons: Requires end-user and administrator training.
Cost/Effort:
  • Pros: For large enterprises, the convenience of built-in document management and templates can outweigh the cost.
  • Cons: Expect leading DRP tools to cost $20K or more per year.

About this approach:
BCM tools are solutions that provide templates, tools, and document management to create BC and DR documentation.

Info-Tech Insight

The business case for a BCM tool is built by answering the following questions:

  • Will the BCM tool solve an unmet need?
  • Will the tool be more effective and efficient than an in-house solution?
  • Will the solution provide enhanced capabilities that an in-house solution cannot provide?

If you cannot get a satisfactory answer to each of these questions, then opt for an in-house solution.

“We explored a DRP tool, and it was something we might have used, but it was tens of thousands of pounds per year, so it didn’t stack up financially for us at all.” (Rik Toms, Head of Strategy – IP and IT, Cable and Wireless Communications)

For in-house solutions, leverage tools such as SharePoint to provide document management capabilities

Portability/External Access:
  • Pros: SharePoint is commonly web-enabled and supports external access with appropriate security and user administration.
  • Cons: Must be installed at redundant sites or be cloud-based to be effective in a crisis that takes down your primary data center.
Maintainability/Usability:
  • Pros: Built-in document management (e.g. version control, metadata support) as well as centralized access/navigation to required documents.
  • Pros: No tool learning curve – SharePoint and MS Office would be existing solutions already used on a daily basis.
  • Cons: No built-in automation (e.g. automated updates to contacts throughout the system).
  • Cons: Consistency depends on creating templates and implementing processes for document updates, review, and approval.
Cost/Effort:
  • Pros: Using existing tools, so this is a sunk cost in terms of capex.
  • Cons: Additional effort required to create templates and manage the documentation library.

About this approach:
DRPs and SOPs most often start as MS Office documents, even if there is a DRP tool available. For organizations that elect to bypass a formal DRP tool, and most do, the biggest gap they have to overcome is document management.

Many organizations are turning to SharePoint to meet this need. For those that already have SharePoint in place, it makes sense to further leverage SharePoint for DR documentation and day-to-day SOPs.

For SharePoint to be a practical solution, the documentation must still be accessible if the primary data center is down, e.g. by having redundant SharePoint instances at multiple in-house locations, or using a cloud-based SharePoint solution.

“Just about everything that a DR planning tool does, you can do yourself using homegrown solutions or tools that you're already familiar with such as Word, Excel, and SharePoint.” (Allen Zuk, President and CEO, Sierra Management Consulting)

A healthcare company uses SharePoint as its DRP and SOP documentation management solution

CASE STUDY Healthcare

  • This organization is responsible for 50 medical facilities across three states.
  • It explored DRP tools, but didn’t find the right fit, so it has developed an in-house solution based in SharePoint. While DRP tools have improved, the organization no longer needs that type of solution. Its in-house solution is meeting its needs.
  • It has SharePoint instances at multiple locations to ensure availability if one site is down.

Documentation Strategy

  • Created an IT operations library in SharePoint for DR and SOPs, from basic support to bare-metal restore procedures.
  • SOPs are linked from SharePoint to the virtual help desk for greater accessibility.
  • Where practical, diagrams and flowcharts are used, e.g. DR process flowcharts and network services SOPs dominated by diagrams and flowcharts.

Management Strategy

  • Directors and the CIO have made finishing off SOPs their performance improvement objective for the year. The result is staff have made time to get this work done.
  • Status updates are posted monthly, and documentation is a regular agenda item in leadership meetings.
  • Regular tabletop testing validates documentation and ensures familiarity with procedures, including where to find required information.

Results

  • Dependency on a few key individuals has been reduced. All relevant staff know what they need to do and where to access required documentation.
  • SOPs are enabling DR training as well as day-to-day operations training for new staff.
  • The organization has a high confidence in its ability to recovery from a disaster within established timelines.

Explore using a wiki site as an inexpensive alternative to SharePoint and other content management solutions

Portability/External Access:
  • Pros: Wiki sites can support external access as with any web solution.
  • Cons: Must be installed at redundant sites, hosted, or cloud-based to be effective in a crisis that takes down your primary data center.
Maintainability/Usability:
  • Pros: Built-in document management (version control, metadata support, etc.) as well as centralized access/navigation to required information.
  • Pros: Authorized users can make updates dynamically, depending on how much restriction you have on the site.
  • Cons: No built-in automation (e.g. automated updates to contacts throughout the system).
  • Cons: Consistency depends on creating templates and implementing processes for document updates, review, and approval.
Cost/Effort:
  • Pros: An inexpensive option compared to traditional content management solutions such as SharePoint.
  • Cons: Learning curve if wikis are new to your organization.

About this approach:
Wiki sites are websites where users collaborate to create and edit the content. Wikipedia is an example.

While wiki sites are typically used for collaboration and dynamic content development, the traditional collaborative authoring model can be restricted to provide structure and an approval process.

Several tools are available to create and manage wiki sites (and other collaboration solutions), as outlined in the following research:

Info-Tech Insight

If your organization is not already using wiki sites, this technology can introduce a culture shock. Start slow by using a wiki site within a specific department or for a particular project. Then evaluate how well your staff adapt to this technology as well as its potential effectiveness in your organization. Refer to our collaboration strategy research for additional guidance.

For small IT shops, distributing documentation to key staff (e.g. via a USB drive) can still be effective

Portability/External Access:
  • Pros: Appropriate staff have the documentation with them; there is no need to log into a remote site or access a tool to get at the information.
  • Cons: Relies on staff to be diligent about ensuring they have the latest documentation and keep it with them (not leave it in their desk drawer).
Maintainability/Usability:
  • Pros: With this strategy, MS Office (or equivalent) is used to create and maintain the documentation, so there is no learning curve.
  • Pros: Simple, straightforward methodology – keep the master on a network drive, and download a copy to your USB drive.
  • Cons: No built-in automation (e.g. automated updates to contact information) or document management (e.g. version control).
  • Cons: Consistency depends on creating templates and implementing rigid processes for document updates, review, and approval.
Cost/Effort:
  • Pros: Little to no cost and no tool management required.
  • Cons: “Manual” document management requires strict attention to process for version control, updates, approvals, and distribution.

About this approach:
With this strategy, your ERT and key IT staff keep a copy of your DRP and relevant documentation with them (e.g. on a USB drive). If the primary site experiences a major event, they have ready access to the documentation.

Fifty percent of respondents in our recent survey use this strategy. A common scenario is to use a shared network drive or a solution such as SharePoint as the master centralized repository, but distribute a copy to key staff.

Info-Tech Insight

This approach can have similar disadvantages as using hard copies. Ensuring the USB drives are up to date, and that all staff who might need access have a copy, can become a burdensome process. More often, USB drives are updated periodically, so there is the risk that the information will be out of date or incomplete.

Avoid extensive use of paper copies of DR documentation

DR documents need to be easy to update, accessible from anywhere, and searchable. Paper doesn’t meet these needs.

Portability/External Access:
  • Pros: Does not rely on technology or power.
  • Cons: Requires all staff who might be involved in a DR to have a copy, and to have it with them at all times, to truly have access at any time from anywhere.
Maintainability/Usability:
  • Pros: In terms of usability, again there is no dependence on technology.
  • Cons: Updates need to be printed and distributed to all relevant staff every time there is a change to ensure staff have access to the latest, most accurate documentation if a disaster occurred. You can’t schedule disasters, so information needs to be current all the time.
  • Cons: Navigation to other information is manual – flipping through pages, etc. No searching or hyperlinks.
Cost/Effort:
  • Pros: No technology system to maintain, aside from what you use for printing.
  • Cons: Printing expenses are actually among the highest incurred by organizations, and this adds to it.
  • Cons: Labor intensive due to need to print and physically distribute documentation updates.

About this approach:
Traditionally DRPs are printed and distributed to managers and/or kept in a central location at both the primary site and a secondary site. In addition, wallet cards are distributed that contain key information such as contact numbers.

A wallet card or even a few printed copies of your high-level DRP for general reference can be helpful, but paper is not a practical solution for your overall DR documentation library, particularly when you include SOPs for recovery procedures.

One argument in favor of paper is there is no dependency on power during a crisis. However, in a power outage, staff can use smartphones and potentially laptops (with battery power) to access electronically stored documentation to get through first response steps. In addition, your DR site should have backup power to be an appropriate recovery site.

Optional: Partial list of BCM tool vendors

A partial list of BCM tool vendors, including: Business Protector, catalyst, clearview, ContinuityLogic. Fusion, Logic Manager, Quantivate, RecoveryPlanner.com, MetricStream, SimpleRisk, riskonnect, Strategic BCP - ResilienceONE, RSA, and Sungard Availability Services.

The list is only a partial list of BCM tool vendors. The order in which vendors are presented, and inclusion in this list, does not represent an endorsement.

Optional: Use our list of requirements as a foundation for selecting and reviewing BCM tools

Supporting Tool icon 2.1.2 BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria

If a BCM tool is the best option for your environment, expedite the evaluation process with our BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria.

Through advisory services, workshops, and consulting engagements, we have created this BCM Tool Requirements List. The featured requirements includes the following categories:

  1. Integrations
  2. Planning and Monitoring
  3. Administration
  4. Architecture
  5. Security
  6. Support and Training
Preview of the Info-Tech template 'BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria'.

This BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria can be appended to an RFP. You can leverage Info-Tech’s RFP Template if your organization does not have one.

Info-Tech can write full RFPs

As part of a consulting engagement, Info-Tech can write RFPs for BCM tools and provide a customized scoring tool based on your environment’s unique requirements.

Phase 3: Keep Your DRP Relevant Through Maintenance Best Practices

Step 3.1: Integrate DRP maintenance into core IT processes

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.11.21.32.13.13.2
Start with a Recovery WorkflowCreate Supporting DocumentationWrite the DRP SummarySelect DRP Publishing StrategyIntegrate into Core IT ProcessesConduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  • Integrate DRP maintenance with Project Management.
  • Integrate DRP considerations into Change Management.
  • Integrate with Performance Management.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner
  • Head of Project Management Office
  • Head of Change Advisory Board
  • CIO

Outcomes of this step

  • Updated project intake form.
  • Updated change management practice.
  • Updated performance appraisals.

3.1 — Incorporate DRP maintenance into core IT processes

Focusing on these three processes will help ensure that your plan stays current, accurate, and usable.

The Info-Tech / COBIT5 'IT Management and Governance Framework' with three processes highlighted: 'MEA01 Performance Measurement', 'BAI06 Change Management', and 'BAI01 Project Management'.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Prioritize quick wins that will have large benefits. The advice presented in this section offers easy ways to help keep your DRP up to date. These simple solutions can save a lot of time and effort for your DRP team as opposed to more intricate changes to the processes above.

Assess how new projects impact service criticality and DR requirements upfront during project intake

 Icon for process 'BAI01 Project Management'.
Supporting Tool icon 3.1.1 Sample Project Intake Form Addendum

Understand the RTO/RPO requirements and IT impacts for new or enhanced services to ensure appropriate provisioning and overall DRP updates.

  • Have submitters include service continuity requirements. This information can be inserted into your business impact analysis. Use similar language that you use in your own BIA.
    • The submitter should know how critical the resulting project will be. Any items that the submitter doesn’t know, the Project Steering Committee should investigate.
  • Have IT assess the impact on the DRP. The submitter will not know how the DRP will be impacted directly. Ask the project committee to consider how DRP documentation and the DR environment will need to be changed due to the project under consideration.

Note: The goal is not to make DR a roadblock, but rather to ensure project requirements will be met – including availability and DR requirements.

Preview of the Info-Tech template 'Project Intake Form'.

This Project Intake Form asks the submitter to fill out the availability and criticality requirements for the project.

Leverage your change management process to identify required DRP updates as they occur

 Icon for process 'BAI06 Change Management'.

Avoid the year-end rush to update your DRP. Keeping it up to date as changes occur saves time in the long run and ensures your plan is accurate when you need it.

  • As part of your change management process, identify potential updates to:
    • System documentation (e.g. configuration settings).
    • Recovery procedures (e.g. if a system has been virtualized, that changes the recovery procedure).
    • Your DR environment (e.g. system configuration updates for standby systems).
  • Keep track of how often a system has changed. Relevant DRP documentation might be due for a deeper review:
    • After a system has been changed ten times (even from routine changes), notify your DRP Manager to flag the relevant DRP documentation for review.
    • As part of formal DRP reviews, pay closer attention to DRP documentation for the flagged systems.
Preview of the Info-Tech template 'Disaster Recovery Change Management'.

This template asks the submitter to fill out the availability and criticality requirements for the project.

For change management best practices beyond DRP considerations, please see Optimize Change Management.

Integrate documentation into performance measurement and performance management

 Icon for process 'MEA01 Performance Measurement'.

Documentation is a necessary evil – few like to create it and more immediate tasks take priority. If it isn’t scheduled and prioritized, it won’t happen.

Why documentation is such a challenge

How management can address these challenges
We all know that IT staff typically do not like to write documentation. That’s not why they were hired, and good documentation is not what gets them promoted. Include documentation deliverables in your IT staff’s performance appraisal to stress the importance of ensuring documentation is up to date, especially where it might impact DR success.
Similarly, documentation is secondary to more urgent tasks. Time to write documentation is often not allocated by project managers. Schedule time for developing documentation, just like any other project, or it won’t happen.
Writing manuals is typically a time-intensive task. Focus on what is necessary for another experienced IT professional to execute the recovery. As discussed earlier, often a diagram or checklist is good enough and actually far more usable in a crisis.

“Our directors and our CIO have tied SOP work to performance evaluations, and SOP status is reviewed during management meetings. People have now found time to get this work done.” (Assistant Director – IT Operations, Healthcare Industry)

Step 3.2: Conduct an Annual Focused Review

PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
1.11.21.32.13.13.2
Start with a Recovery WorkflowCreate Supporting DocumentationWrite the DRP SummarySelect DRP Publishing StrategyIntegrate into Core IT ProcessesConduct an Annual Focused Review

This step will walk you through the following activities:

  1. Identify components of your DRP to refresh.
  2. Identify organizational changes requiring further focus.
  3. Test your DRP and identify problems.
  4. Correct problems identified with DRP.

This step involves the following participants:

  • DRP Owner
  • System SMEs
  • Backup DR Personnel

Outcomes of this step

  • An actionable, up-to-date DRP.

Info-Tech Insight

Testing is a waste of time and resources if you do not fix what’s broken. Tabletop testing is effective at uncovering gaps in your DR processes, but if you don’t address those gaps, then your DRP will still be unusable in a disaster.

Set up a safety net to capture changes that slipped through the cracks with a focused review process

Evaluate documentation supporting high-priority systems, as well as documentation supporting IT systems that have been significantly changed.

  • Ideally you’re maintaining documentation as you go along. But you need to have an annual review to catch items that may have slipped through.
  • Don’t review everything. Instead, review:
    • IT systems that have had 10+ changes: small changes and updates can add up over time. Ensure:
      • The plans for these systems are updated for changes (e.g. configuration changes).
      • SMEs and backup personnel are familiar with the changes.
    • Tier 1 / Gold Systems: Ensure that you can still recover tier 1 systems with your existing DRP documentation.
  • Track documentation issues that you discovered with your ticketing system or service desk tool to ensure necessary documentation changes are made.
  1. Annual Focused Review
  2. Tier 1 Systems
  3. Significantly Changed Systems
  4. Organizational Changes

Identify larger changes, both organizational and within IT, that necessitate DRP updates

During your focused review, consider how organizational changes have impacted your DRP.

The COBIT 5 Enablers provide a foundation for this analysis. Consider:

  • Changes in regulatory requirements: Are there new requirements for IT that are not reflected in your DRP? Is the organization required to comply with any additional regulations?
  • Changes to organizational structures, business processes, and how employees work: Can employees still be productive once tier 1 services are restored or have RTOs changed? Has organizational turnover impacted your DRP?
  • SMEs leaving or changing roles: Can IT still execute your DRP? Are there still people for all the key roles?
  • Changes to IT infrastructure and applications: Can the business still access the information they need during a disaster? Is your BIA still accurate? Do new services need to be considered tier 1?

Info-Tech Best Practice

COBIT 5 Enablers
What changes need to be reflected in your DRP?

A cycle visualization titled 'Disaster Recovery Plan'. Starting at 'Changes in Regulatory Requirements', it proceeds clockwise to 'Organizational Structure', 'Changes in Business Processes', and 'How Employees Work', before it returns to DRP. Then 'Changes to Applications', 'Changes to Infrastructure', 'SMEs Leaving or Changing Roles', and then back to the DRP.

Create a plan during your annual focused review to test your DRP throughout the year

Regardless of your documentation approach, training and familiarity with relevant procedures is critical.

  • Start with tabletop exercises and progress to technology-based testing (simulation, parallel, and full-scale testing).
  • Ask staff to reference documentation while testing, even if they do not need to. This practice helps to confirm documentation accuracy and accessibility.
  • Incorporate cross-training in DR testing. This gives important experience to backup personnel and will further validate that documents are complete and accurate.
  • Track any discovered documentation issues with your ticketing system or project tracking tools to ensure necessary documentation changes are made.

Example Test Schedule:

  1. Q1: Tabletop testing shadowed by backup personnel
  2. Q2: Tabletop testing led by backup personnel
  3. Q3: Technology-based testing
  4. Annual Focused Review: Review Results

Reference this blueprint for guidance on DRP testing plans: Reduce Costly Downtime Through DR Testing

Appendix A: XMPL Case Study

Follow XMPL Medical’s journey through DR documentation

CASE STUDY

Industry Healthcare
Source Created by amalgamating data from Info-Tech’s client base

Streamline your documentation and maintenance process by following the approach outlined in XMPL Medical’s journey to an end-to-end DRP.

Outline of the Disaster Recovery Plan

XMPL’s disaster recovery plan includes its business impact analysis and a subset of tier 1 and tier 2 patient care applications.

Its DRP includes incident response flowcharts, system recovery checklists, and a communication plan. Its DRP also references IT operations documentation (e.g. asset management documents, system specs, and system configuration docs), but this material is not published with the example documentation.

Resulting Disaster Recovery Plan

XMPL’s DRP includes actionable documents in the form of high-level disaster response plan flowcharts and system recovery checklists. During an incident, the DR team is able to clearly see the items for which they are responsible.

Disaster Recovery Plan
  • Recovery Workflow
  • Business Impact Analysis
  • DRP Summary
  • System Recovery Checklists
  • Communication, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan

Info-Tech Best Practice

XMPL Medical’s disaster recovery plan illustrates an effective DRP. Model your end-to-end disaster recovery plan after XMPL’s completed templates. The specific data points will differ from organization to organization, but the structure of each document will be similar.

Model your disaster recovery documentation off of our example

CASE STUDY

Industry Healthcare
Source Created by amalgamating data from Info-Tech’s client base

Recovery Workflow:

  • Recovery Workflows (PDF, VSDX)

Recovery Procedures (Systems Recovery Playbook):

  • DR Notification, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan
  • Systems Recovery Playbook
  • Network Topology Diagrams

Additional Reference Documentation:

  • DRP Workbook
  • Business Impact Analysis
  • DRP Summary Document

Use our structure to create your practical disaster recovery plan.

Appendix B: Summary, Next Steps, and Bibliography

Insight breakdown

Use visual-based documentation instead of a traditional DRP manual.

  • Flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams are more concise, easier to maintain, and more effective in a crisis.
  • Write for an IT audience and focus on how to recover. You don’t need 30 pages of fluff describing the purpose of the document.

Create your DRP in layers to keep the work manageable.

  • Start with a recovery workflow to ensure a coordinated response, and build out supporting documentation over time.

Prioritize quick wins to make DRP maintenance easier and more likely to happen.

  • Incorporate DRP maintenance into change management and project intake procedures to systematically update and refine the DR documentation. Don’t save up changes for a year-end blitz, which turns document maintenance into an onerous project.

Summary of accomplishment

Knowledge Gained

  • How to create visual-based DRP documentation
  • How to integrate DRP maintenance into core IT processes

Processes Optimized

  • DRP documentation creation
  • DRP publishing tool selection
  • DRP documentation maintenance

Deliverables Completed

  • DRP documentation
  • Strategy for publishing your DRP
  • Modified project-intake form
  • Change management checklist for DR considerations

Project step summary

Client Project: Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan

  • Create a recovery workflow.
  • Create supporting DRP documentation.
  • Write a summary for your DRP.
  • Decide on a publishing strategy.
  • Incorporate DRP maintenance into core IT processes.
  • Conduct an annual focused review.

Info-Tech Insight

This project has the ability to fit the following formats:

  • Onsite workshop by Info-Tech Research Group consulting analysts.
  • Do-it-yourself with your team.
  • Remote delivery (Info-Tech Guided Implementation).

Related Info-Tech research

Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan
Close the gap between your DR capabilities and service continuity requirements.

Reduce Costly Downtime Through DR Testing
Improve the accuracy of your DRP and your team’s ability to efficiently execute recovery procedures through regular DR testing.

Create Visual SOP Documents that Drive Process Optimization, Not Just Peace of Mind
Go beyond satisfying auditors to drive process improvement, consistent IT operations, and effective knowledge transfer.

Prepare for a DRP Audit
Assess your current DRP maturity, identify required improvements, and complete an audit-ready DRP summary document.

Bibliography

A Structured Approach to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and the Requirements of ISO 31000. The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers, Alarm: The Public Risk Management Association, and The Institute of Risk Management, 2010.

“APO012: Manage Risk.” COBIT 5: Enabling Processes. ISACA, 2012.

Bird, Lyndon, Ian Charters, Mel Gosling, Tim Janes, James McAlister, and Charlie Maclean-Bristol. Good Practice Guidelines: A Guide to Global Good Practice in Business Continuity. Global ed. Business Continuity Institute, 2013.

COBIT 5: A Business Framework for the Governance and Management of Enterprise IT. ISACA, 2012.

“EDM03: Ensure Risk Optimisation.” COBIT 5: Enabling Processes. ISACA, 2012.

Risk Management. ISO 31000:2009.

Rothstein, Philip Jan. Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan. Rothstein Associates: 1 Oct. 2007.

Societal Security – Business continuity management systems – Guidance. ISO 22313:2012.

Societal Security – Business continuity management systems – Requirements. ISO 22301:2012.

Understanding and Articulating Risk Appetite. KPMG, 2008.

Optimize IT Change Management

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  • Infrastructure managers and change managers need to re-evaluate their change management processes due to slow change turnaround time, too many unauthorized changes, too many incidents and outages because of poorly managed changes, or difficulty evaluating and prioritizing changes.
  • IT system owners often resist change management because they see it as slow and bureaucratic.
  • Infrastructure changes are often seen as different from application changes, and two (or more) processes may exist.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • ITIL provides a usable framework for change management, but full process rigor is not appropriate for every change request.
  • You need to design a process that is flexible enough to meet the demand for change, and strict enough to protect the live environment from change-related incidents.
  • A mature change management process will minimize review and approval activity. Counterintuitively, with experience in implementing changes, risk levels decline to a point where most changes are “pre-approved.”

Impact and Result

  • Create a unified change management process that reduces risk. The process should be balanced in its approach toward deploying changes while also maintaining throughput of innovation and enhancements.
  • Categorize changes based on an industry-standard risk model with objective measures of impact and likelihood.
  • Establish and empower a change manager and change advisory board with the authority to manage, approve, and prioritize changes.
  • Integrate a configuration management database with the change management process to identify dependencies.

Optimize IT Change Management Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should optimize change management, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

  • Optimize IT Change Management – Phases 1-4

1. Define change management

Assess the maturity of your existing change management practice and define the scope of change management for your organization.

  • Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool
  • Change Management Risk Assessment Tool

2. Establish roles and workflows

Build your change management team and standardized process workflows for each change type.

  • Change Manager
  • Change Management Process Library – Visio
  • Change Management Process Library – PDF
  • Change Management Standard Operating Procedure

3. Define the RFC and post-implementation activities

Bookend your change management practice by standardizing change intake, implementation, and post-implementation activities.

  • Request for Change Form Template
  • Change Management Pre-Implementation Checklist
  • Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist

4. Measure, manage, and maintain

Form an implementation plan for the project, including a metrics evaluation, change calendar inputs, communications plan, and roadmap.

  • Change Management Metrics Tool
  • Change Management Communications Plan
  • Change Management Roadmap Tool
  • Optimize IT Change Management Improvement Initiative: Project Summary Template

[infographic]

Workshop: Optimize IT Change Management

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Define Change Management

The Purpose

Discuss the existing challenges and maturity of your change management practice.

Build definitions of change categories and the scope of change management.

Key Benefits Achieved

Understand the starting point and scope of change management.

Understand the context of change request versus other requests such as service requests, projects, and operational tasks.

Activities

1.1 Outline strengths and challenges

1.2 Conduct a maturity assessment

1.3 Build a categorization scheme

1.4 Build a risk assessment matrix

Outputs

Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool

Change Management Risk Assessment Tool

2 Establish Roles and Workflows

The Purpose

Define roles and responsibilities for the change management team.

Develop a standardized change management practice for approved changes, including process workflows.

Key Benefits Achieved

Built the team to support your new change management practice.

Develop a formalized and right-sized change management practice for each change category. This will ensure all changes follow the correct process and core activities to confirm changes are completed successfully.

Activities

2.1 Define the change manager role

2.2 Outline the membership and protocol for the Change Advisory Board (CAB)

2.3 Build workflows for normal, emergency, and pre-approved changes

Outputs

Change Manager Job Description

Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Change Management Process Library

3 Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

The Purpose

Create a new change intake process, including a new request for change (RFC) form.

Develop post-implementation review activities to be completed for every IT change.

Key Benefits Achieved

Bookend your change management practice by standardizing change intake, implementation, and post-implementation activities.

Activities

3.1 Define the RFC template

3.2 Determine post-implementation activities

3.3 Build your change calendar protocol

Outputs

Request for Change Form Template

Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist

Project Summary Template

4 Measure, Manage, and Maintain

The Purpose

Develop a plan and project roadmap for reaching your target for your change management program maturity.

Develop a communications plan to ensure the successful adoption of the new program.

Key Benefits Achieved

A plan and project roadmap for reaching target change management program maturity.

A communications plan ready for implementation.

Activities

4.1 Identify metrics and reports

4.2 Build a communications plan

4.3 Build your implementation roadmap

Outputs

Change Management Metrics Tool

Change Management Communications Plan

Change Management Roadmap Tool

Further reading

Optimize IT Change Management

Right-size IT change management practice to protect the live environment.

EXECUTIVE BRIEF

Analyst Perspective

Balance risk and efficiency to optimize IT change management.

Change management (change enablement, change control) is a balance of efficiency and risk. That is, pushing changes out in a timely manner while minimizing the risk of deployment. On the one hand, organizations can attempt to avoid all risk and drown the process in rubber stamps, red tape, and bureaucracy. On the other hand, organizations can ignore process and push out changes as quickly as possible, which will likely lead to change related incidents and debilitating outages.

Right-sizing the process does not mean adopting every recommendation from best-practice frameworks. It means balancing the efficiency of change request fulfillment with minimizing risk to your organization. Furthermore, creating a process that encourages adherence is key to avoid change implementers from skirting your process altogether.

Benedict Chang, Research Analyst, Infrastructure and Operations, Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

Infrastructure and application change occurs constantly and is driven by changing business needs, requests for new functionality, operational releases and patches, and resolution of incidents or problems detected by the service desk.

IT managers need to follow a standard change management process to ensure that rogue changes are never deployed while the organization remains responsive to demand.

Common Obstacles

IT system owners often resist change management because they see it as slow and bureaucratic.

At the same time, an increasingly interlinked technical environment may cause issues to appear in unexpected places. Configuration management systems are often not kept up-to-date and do not catch the potential linkages.

Infrastructure changes are often seen as “different” from application changes and two (or more) processes may exist.

Info-Tech’s Approach

Info-Tech’s approach will help you:

  • Create a unified change management practice that balances risk and throughput of innovation.
  • Categorize changes based on an industry-standard risk model with objective measures of impact and likelihood.
  • Establish and empower a Change Manager and Change Advisory Board (CAB) with the authority to manage, approve, and prioritize changes.

Balance Risk and Efficiency to Optimize IT Change Management

Two goals of change management are to protect the live environment and deploying changes in a timely manner. These two may seem to sometimes be at odds against each other, but assessing risk at multiple points of a change’s lifecycle can help you achieve both.

Your challenge

This research is designed to help organizations who need to:

  • Build a right-sized change management practice that encourages adherence and balances efficiency and risk.
  • Integrate the change management practice with project management, service desk processes, configuration management, and other areas of IT and the business.
  • Communicate the benefits and impact of change management to all the stakeholders affected by the process.

Change management is heavily reliant on organizational culture

Having a right-sized process is not enough. You need to build and communicate the process to gather adherence. The process is useless if stakeholders are not aware of it or do not follow it.

Increase the Effectiveness of Change Management in Your Organization

The image is a bar graph, with the segments labelled 1 and 2. The y-axis lists numbers 1-10. Segment 1 is at 6.2, and segment 2 is at 8.6.

Of the eight infrastructure & operations processes measured in Info-Tech’s IT Management and Governance Diagnostic (MGD) program, change management has the second largest gap between importance and effectiveness of these processes.

Source: Info-Tech 2020; n=5,108 IT professionals from 620 organizations

Common obstacles

These barriers make this challenge difficult to address for many organizations:

  • Gaining buy-in can be a challenge no matter how well the process is built.
  • The complexity of the IT environment and culture of tacit knowledge for configuration makes it difficult to assess cross-dependencies of changes.
  • Each silo or department may have their own change management workflows that they follow internally. This can make it difficult to create a unified process that works well for everyone.

“Why should I fill out an RFC when it only takes five minutes to push through my change?”

“We’ve been doing this for years. Why do we need more bureaucracy?”

“We don’t need change management if we’re Agile.”

“We don’t have the right tools to even start change management.”

“Why do I have to attend a CAB meeting when I don’t care what other departments are doing?”

Info-Tech’s approach

Build change management by implementing assessments and stage gates around appropriate levels of the change lifecycle.

The image is a circle, comprised of arrows, with each arrow pointing to the next, forming a cycle. Each arrow is labelled, as follows: Improve; Request; Assess; Plan; Approve; Implement

The Info-Tech difference:

  1. Create a unified change management process that balances risk and throughput of innovation.
  2. Categorize changes based on an industry-standard risk model with objective measures of impact and likelihood.
  3. Establish and empower a Change Manager and Change Advisory Board (CAB) with the authority to manage, approve, and prioritize changes.

IT change is constant and is driven by:

Change Management:

  1. Operations - Operational releases, maintenance, vendor-driven updates, and security updates can all be key drivers of change. Example: ITSM version update
    • Major Release
    • Maintenance Release
    • Security Patch
  2. Business - Business-driven changes may include requests from other business departments that require IT’s support. Examples: New ERP or HRIS implementation
    • New Application
    • New Version
  3. Service desk → Incident & Problem - Some incident and problem tickets require a change to facilitate resolution of the incident. Examples: Outage necessitating update of an app (emergency change), a user request for new functionality to be added to an existing app
    • Workaround
    • Fix
  4. Configuration Management Database (CMDB) ↔ Asset Management - In addition to software and hardware asset dependencies, a configuration management database (CMDB) is used to keep a record of changes and is queried to assess change requests.
    • Hardware
    • Software

Insight summary

“The scope of change management is defined by each organization…the purpose of change management is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that the risk have been properly assessed, authorizing changes to process, and managing the change schedule.” – ALEXOS Limited, ITIL 4

Build a unified change management process balancing risk and change throughput.

Building a unified process that oversees all changes to the technical environment doesn’t have to be burdensome to be effective. However, the process is a necessary starting point to identifying cross dependencies and avoiding change collisions and change-related incidents.

Use an objective framework for estimating risk

Simply asking, “What is the risk?” will result in subjective responses that will likely minimize the perceived risk. The level of due diligence should align to the criticality of the systems or departments potentially impacted by the proposed changes.

Integrate your change process with your IT service management system

Change management in isolation will provide some stability, but maturing the process through service integrations will enable data-driven decisions, decrease bureaucracy, and enable faster and more stable throughput.

Change management and DevOps can work together effectively

Change and DevOps tend to be at odds, but the framework does not have to change. Lower risk changes in DevOps are prime candidates for the pre-approved category. Much of the responsibility traditionally assigned to the CAB can be diffused throughout the software development lifecycle.

Change management and DevOps can coexist

Shift the responsibility and rigor to earlier in the process.

  • If you are implementing change management in a DevOps environment, ensure you have a strong DevOps lifecycle. You may wish to refer to Info-Tech’s research Implementing DevOps Practices That Work.
  • Consider starting in this blueprint by visiting Appendix II to frame your approach to change management. Follow the blueprint while paying attention to the DevOps Callouts.

DEVOPS CALLOUTS

Look for these DevOps callouts throughout this storyboard to guide you along the implementation.

The image is a horizontal figure eight, with 7 arrows, each pointing into the next. They are labelled are follows: Plan; Create; Verify; Package; Release; Configure; Monitor. At the centre of the circles are the words Dev and Ops.

Successful change management will provide benefits to both the business and IT

Respond to business requests faster while reducing the number of change-related disruptions.

IT Benefits

  • Fewer change-related incidents and outages
  • Faster change turnaround time
  • Higher rate of change success
  • Less change rework
  • Fewer service desk calls related to poorly communicated changes

Business Benefits

  • Fewer service disruptions
  • Faster response to requests for new and enhanced functionalities
  • Higher rate of benefits realization when changes are implemented
  • Lower cost per change
  • Fewer “surprise” changes disrupting productivity

IT satisfaction with change management will drive business satisfaction with IT. Once the process is working efficiently, staff will be more motivated to adhere to the process, reducing the number of unauthorized changes. As fewer changes bypass proper evaluation and testing, service disruptions will decrease and business satisfaction will increase.

Change management improves core benefits to the business: the four Cs

Most organizations have at least some form of change control in place, but formalizing change management leads to the four Cs of business benefits:

Control

Change management brings daily control over the IT environment, allowing you to review every relatively new change, eliminate changes that would have likely failed, and review all changes to improve the IT environment.

Collaboration

Change management planning brings increased communication and collaboration across groups by coordinating changes with business activities. The CAB brings a more formalized and centralized communication method for IT.

Consistency

Request for change templates and a structured process result in implementation, test, and backout plans being more consistent. Implementing processes for pre-approved changes also ensures these frequent changes are executed consistently and efficiently.

Confidence

Change management processes will give your organization more confidence through more accurate planning, improved execution of changes, less failure, and more control over the IT environment. This also leads to greater protection against audits.

You likely need to improve change management more than any other infrastructure & operations process

The image shows a vertical bar graph. Each segment of the graph is labelled for an infrastructure/operations process. Each segment has two bars one for effectiveness, and another for importance. The first segment, Change Management, is highlighted, with its Effectiveness at a 6.2 and Importance at 8.6

Source: Info-Tech 2020; n=5,108 IT Professionals from 620 organizations

Of the eight infrastructure and operations processes measured in Info-Tech’s IT Management and Governance Diagnostic (MGD) program, change management consistently has the second largest gap between importance and effectiveness of these processes.

Executives and directors recognize the importance of change management but feel theirs is currently ineffective

Info-Tech’s IT Management and Governance Diagnostic (MGD) program assesses the importance and effectiveness of core IT processes. Since its inception, the MGD has consistently identified change management as an area for immediate improvement.

The image is a vertical bar graph, with four segments, each having 2 bars, one for Effectiveness and the other for Importance. The four segments are (with Effectiveness and Importance ratings in brackets, respectively): Frontline (6.5/8.6); Manager (6.6/8.9); Director (6.4/8.8); and Executive (6.1/8.8)

Source: Info-Tech 2020; n=5,108 IT Professionals from 620 organizations

Importance Scores

No importance: 1.0-6.9

Limited importance: 7.0-7.9

Significant importance: 8.0-8.9

Critical importance: 9.0-10.0

Effectiveness Scores

Not in place: n/a

Not effective: 0.0-4.9

Somewhat Ineffective: 5.0-5.9

Somewhat effective: 6.0-6.9

Very effective: 7.0-10.0

There are several common misconceptions about change management

Which of these have you heard in your organization?

 Reality
“It’s just a small change; this will only take five minutes to do.” Even a small change can cause a business outage. That small fix could impact a large system connected to the one being fixed.
“Ad hoc is faster; too many processes slow things down.” Ad hoc might be faster in some cases, but it carries far greater risk. Following defined processes keeps systems stable and risk-averse.
“Change management is all about speed.” Change management is about managing risk. It gives the illusion of speed by reducing downtime and unplanned work.
“Change management will limit our capacity to change.” Change management allows for a better alignment of process (release management) with governance (change management).

Overcome perceived challenges to implementing change management to reap measurable reward

Before: Informal Change Management

Change Approval:

  • Changes do not pass through a formal review process before implementation.
  • 10% of released changes are approved.
  • Implementation challenge: Staff will resist having to submit formal change requests and assessments, frustrated at the prospect of having to wait longer to have changes approved.

Change Prioritization

  • Changes are not prioritized according to urgency, risk, and impact.
  • 60% of changes are urgent.
  • Implementation challenge: Influential stakeholders accustomed to having changes approved and deployed might resist having to submit changes to a standard cost-benefit analysis.

Change Deployment

  • Changes often negatively impact user productivity.
  • 25% of changes are realized as planned.
  • Implementation challenge: Engaging the business so that formal change freeze periods and regular maintenance windows can be established.

After: Right-Sized Change Management

Change Approval

  • All changes pass through a formal review process. Once a change is repeatable and well-tested, it can be pre-approved to save time. Almost no unauthorized changes are deployed.
  • 95% of changes are approved.
  • KPI: Decrease in change-related incidents

Change Prioritization

  • The CAB prioritizes changes so that the business is satisfied with the speed of change deployment.
  • 35% of changes are urgent.
  • KPI: Decrease in change turnaround time.

Change deployment

  • Users are always aware of impending changes and changes don’t interrupt critical business activities.
  • Over 80% of changes are realized as planned
  • KPI: Decrease in the number of failed deployments.

Info-Tech’s methodology for change management optimization focuses on building standardized processes

 1. Define Change Management2. Establish Roles and Workflows3. Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities4. Measure, Manage, and Maintain
Phase Steps

1.1 Assess Maturity

1.2 Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

2.1 Determine Roles and Responsibilities

2.2 Build Core Workflows

3.1 Design the RFC

3.2 Establish Post-Implementation Activities

4.1 Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

4.2 Implement the Project
  Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Change Management Project Summary Template
Phase Deliverables
  • Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool
  • Change Management Risk Assessment Tool
  • Change Manager Job Description
  • Change Management Process Library
  • Request for Change (RFC) Form Template
  • Change Management Pre-Implementation Checklist
  • Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist
  • Change Management Metrics Tool
  • Change Management
  • Communications Plan
  • Change Management Roadmap Tool

Blueprint deliverables

Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

Change Management Process Library

Document your normal, pre-approved, and emergency change lifecycles with the core process workflows .

Change Management Risk Assessment Tool

Test Drive your impact and likelihood assessment questionnaires with the Change Management Risk Assessment Tool.

Project Summary Template

Summarize your efforts in the Optimize IT Change Management Improvement Initiative: Project Summary Template.

Change Management Roadmap Tool

Record your action items and roadmap your steps to a mature change management process.

Key Deliverable:

Change Management SOP

Document and formalize your process starting with the change management standard operating procedure (SOP).

These case studies illustrate the value of various phases of this project

Define Change Management

Establish Roles and Workflows

Define RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

A major technology company implemented change management to improve productivity by 40%. This case study illustrates the full scope of the project.

A large technology firm experienced a critical outage due to poor change management practices. This case study illustrates the scope of change management definition and strategy.

Ignorance of change management process led to a technology giant experiencing a critical cloud outage. This case study illustrates the scope of the process phase.

A manufacturing company created a makeshift CMDB in the absence of a CMDB to implement change management. This case study illustrates the scope of change intake.

A financial institution tracked and recorded metrics to aid in the success of their change management program. This case study illustrates the scope of the implementation phase.

Working through this project with Info-Tech can save you time and money

Engaging in a Guided Implementation doesn’t just offer valuable project advice, it also results in significant cost savings.

Guided ImplementationMeasured Vale
Phase 1: Define Change Management
  • We estimate Phase 1 activities will take 2 FTEs 10 days to complete on their own, but the time saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology will cut that time in half, thereby saving $3,100 (2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year).

Phase 2: Establish Roles and Workflows
  • We estimate Phase 2 will take 2 FTEs 10 days to complete on their own, but the time saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology will cut that time in half, thereby saving $3,100 (2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year).
Phase 3: Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities
  • We estimate Phase 3 will take 2 FTEs 10 days to complete on their own, but the time saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology will cut that time in half, thereby saving $3,100 (2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year).

Phase 4: Measure, Manage, and Maintain
  • We estimate Phase 4 will take 2 FTEs 5 days to complete on their own, but the time saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology will cut that time in half, thereby saving $1,500 (2 FTEs * 2.5 days * $80,000/year).
Total Savings $10,800

Case Study

Industry: Technology

Source: Daniel Grove, Intel

Intel implemented a robust change management program and experienced a 40% improvement in change efficiency.

Founded in 1968, the world’s largest microchip and semiconductor company employs over 100,000 people. Intel manufactures processors for major players in the PC market including Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

ITIL Change Management Implementation

With close to 4,000 changes occurring each week, managing Intel’s environment is a formidable task. Before implementing change management within the organization, over 35% of all unscheduled downtime was due to errors resulting from change and release management. Processes were ad hoc or scattered across the organization and no standards were in place.

Results

After a robust implementation of change management, Intel experienced a number of improvements including automated approvals, the implementation of a formal change calendar, and an automated RFC form. As a result, Intel improved change productivity by 40% within the first year of the program’s implementation.

Define Change Management

↓

Establish Roles and Workflows

↓

Define RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

↓

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

"Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

Guided Implementation

"Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

Workshop

"We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

Consulting

"Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

Guided Implementation

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

A typical GI is between 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

Define Change Management

  • Call #1: Introduce change concepts.
  • Call #2: Assess current maturity.
  • Call #3: Identify target-state capabilities.

Establish Roles and Workflows

  • Call #4: Review roles and responsibilities.
  • Call #5: Review core change processes.

Define RFC and Post- Implementation Activities

  • Call #6: Define change intake process.
  • Call #7: Create pre-implementation and post-implementation checklists.

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

  • Call #8: Review metrics.
  • Call #9: Create roadmap.

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

 Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5
Activities

Define Change Management

1.1 Outline Strengths and Challenges

1.2 Conduct a Maturity Assessment

1.3 Build a Change Categorization Scheme

1.4 Build Your Risk Assessment

Establish Roles and Workflows

2.1 Define the Change Manager Role

2.2 Outline CAB Protocol and membership

2.3 Build Normal Change Process

2.4 Build Emergency Change Process

2.5 Build Pre-Approved Change Process

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

3.1 Create an RFC Template

3.2 Determine Post-Implementation Activities

3.3 Build a Change Calendar Protocol

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

4.1 Identify Metrics and Reports

4.2 Create Communications Plan

4.3 Build an Implementation Roadmap

Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days

5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps
Deliverables
  1. Maturity Assessment
  2. Risk Assessment
  1. Change Manager Job Description
  2. Change Management Process Library
  1. Request for Change (RFC) Form Template
  2. Pre-Implementation Checklist
  3. Post-Implementation Checklist
  1. Metrics Tool
  2. Communications Plan
  3. Project Roadmap
  1. Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
  2. Workshop Summary Deck

Phase 1

Define Change Management

Define Change Management

1.1 Assess Maturity

1.2 Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

Establish Roles and Workflows

2.1 Determine Roles and Responsibilities

2.2 Build Core Workflows

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

3.1 Design the RFC

3.2 Establish Post-Implementation Activities

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

4.1 Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

4.2 Implement the Project

This phase will guide you through the following steps:

  • Assess Maturity
  • Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

This phase involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Step 1.1

Assess Maturity

Activities

1.1.1 Outline the Organization’s Strengths and Challenges

1.1.2 Complete a Maturity Assessment

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • An understanding of maturity change management processes and frameworks
  • Identification of existing change management challenges and potential causes
  • A framework for assessing change management maturity and an assessment of your existing change management processes

Define Change Management

Step 1.1: Assess Maturity → Step 1.2: Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

Change management is often confused with release management, but they are distinct processes

Change

  • Change management looks at software changes as well as hardware, database, integration, and network changes, with the focus on stability of the entire IT ecosystem for business continuity.
  • Change management provides a holistic view of the IT environment, including dependencies, to ensure nothing is negatively affected by changes.
  • Change documentation is more focused on process, ensuring dependencies are mapped, rollout plans exist, and the business is not at risk.

Release

  • Release and deployment are the detailed plans that bundle patches, upgrades, and new features into deployment packages, with the intent to change them flawlessly into a production environment.
  • Release management is one of many actions performed under change management’s governance.
  • Release documentation includes technical specifications such as change schedule, package details, change checklist, configuration details, test plan, and rollout and rollback plans.

Info-Tech Insight

Ensure the Release Manager is present as part of your CAB. They can explain any change content or dependencies, communicate business approval, and advise the service desk of any defects.

Integrate change management with other IT processes

As seen in the context diagram, change management interacts closely with many other IT processes including release management and configuration management (seen below). Ensure you delineate when these interactions occur (e.g. RFC updates and CMDB queries) and which process owns each task.

The image is a chart mapping the interactions between Change Management and Configuration Management (CMDB).

Avoid the challenges of poor change management

  1. Deployments
    • Too frequent: The need for frequent deployments results in reduced availability of critical business applications.
    • Failed deployments or rework is required: Deployments are not successful and have to be backed out of and then reworked to resolve issues with the installation.
    • High manual effort: A lack of automation results in high resource costs for deployments. Human error is likely, which adds to the risk of a failed deployment.
  2. Incidents
    • Too many unauthorized changes: If the process is perceived as cumbersome and ineffective, people will bypass it or abuse the emergency designation to get their changes deployed faster.
    • Changes cause incidents: When new releases are deployed, they create problems with related systems or applications.
  3. End Users
    • Low user satisfaction: Poor communication and training result in surprised and unhappy users and support staff.

“With no controls in place, IT gets the blame for embarrassing outages. Too much control, and IT is seen as a roadblock to innovation.” – Anonymous, VP IT of a federal credit union

1.1.1 Outline the Organization’s Strengths and Challenges

Input

  • Current change documentation (workflows, SOP, change policy, etc.)
  • Organizational chart(s)

Output

  • List of strengths and challenges for change management

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. As group, discuss and outline the change management challenges facing the organization. These may be challenges caused by poor change management processes or by a lack of process.
  2. Use the pain points found on the previous slide to help guide the discussion.
  3. As a group, also outline the strengths of change management and the strengths of the current organization. Use these strengths as a guide to know what practices to continue and what strengths you can leverage to improve the change management process.
  4. Record the activity results in the Project Summary Template.

Download the Optimize IT Change Management Improvement Initiative: Project Summary Template

Assess current change management maturity to create a plan for improvement

 ChaosReactiveControlled

Proactive

Optimized
Change Requests No defined processes for submitting changes Low process adherence and no RFC form RFC form is centralized and a point of contact for changes exists RFCs are reviewed for scope and completion RFCs trend analysis and proactive change exists
Change Review Little to no change risk assessment Risk assessment exists for each RFC RFC form is centralized and a point of contact for changes exists Change calendar exists and is maintained System and component dependencies exist (CMDB)
Change Approval No formal approval process exists Approval process exists but is not widely followed Unauthorized changes are minimal or nonexistent Change advisory board (CAB) is established and formalized Trend analysis exists increasing pre-approved changes
Post-Deployment No post-deployment change review exists Process exists but is not widely followed Reduction of change-related incidents Stakeholder satisfaction is gathered and reviewed Lessons learned are propagated and actioned
Process Governance Roles & responsibilities are ad hoc Roles, policies & procedures are defined & documented Roles, policies & procedures are defined & documented KPIs are tracked, reported on, and reviewed KPIs are proactively managed for improvement

Info-Tech Insight

Reaching an optimized level is not feasible for every organization. You may be able to run a very good change management process at the Proactive or even Controlled stage. Pay special attention to keeping your goals attainable.

1.1.2 Complete a Maturity Assessment

Input

  • Current change documentation (workflows, SOP, change policy, etc.)

Output

  • Assessment of current maturity level and goals to improve change management

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)
  1. Use Info-Tech’s Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool to assess the maturity and completeness of your change process.
  2. Significant gaps revealed in this assessment should be the focal points of your discussion when investigating root causes and brainstorming remediation activities:
    1. For each activity of each process area of change management, determine the degree of completeness of your current process.
    2. Review your maturity assessment results and discuss as a group potential reasons why you arrived at your maturity level. Identify areas where you should focus your initial attention for improvement.
    3. Regularly review the maturity of your change management practices by completing this maturity assessment tool periodically to identify other areas to optimize.

Download the Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool

Case Study

Even Google isn’t immune to change-related outages. Plan ahead and communicate to help avoid change-related incidents

Industry: Technology

Source: The Register

As part of a routine maintenance procedure, Google engineers moved App Engine applications between data centers in the Central US to balance out traffic.

Unfortunately, at the same time that applications were being rerouted, a software update was in progress on the traffic routers, which triggered a restart. This temporarily diminished router capacity, knocking out a sizeable portion of Google Cloud.

The server drain resulted in a huge spike in startup requests, and the routers simply couldn’t handle the traffic.

As a result, 21% of Google App Engine applications hosted in the Central US experienced error rates in excess of 10%, while an additional 16% of applications experienced latency, albeit at a lower rate.

Solution

Thankfully, engineers were actively monitoring the implementation of the change and were able to spring into action to halt the problem.

The change was rolled back after 11 minutes, but the configuration error still needed to be fixed. After about two hours, the change failure was resolved and the Google Cloud was fully functional.

One takeaway for the engineering team was to closely monitor how changes are scheduled. Ultimately, this was the result of miscommunication and a lack of transparency between change teams.

Step 1.2

Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

Activities

1.2.1 Define What Constitutes a Change

1.2.2 Build a Change Categorization Scheme

1.2.3 Build a Classification Scheme to Assess Impact

1.2.4 Build a Classification Scheme to Define Likelihood

1.2.5 Evaluate and Adjust Your Risk Assessment Scheme

Define Change Management

Step 1.1: Assess Maturity → Step 1.2: Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

This step involves the following participants:

  • Infrastructure/Applications Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • A clear definition of what constitutes a change in your organization
  • A defined categorization scheme to classify types of changes
  • A risk assessment matrix and tool for evaluating and prioritizing change requests according to impact and likelihood of risk

Change must be managed to mitigate risk to the infrastructure

Change management is the gatekeeper protecting your live environment.

Successfully managed changes will optimize risk exposure, severity of impact, and disruption. This will result in the bottom-line business benefits of removal of risk, early realization of benefits, and savings of money and time.

  • IT change is constant; change requests will be made both proactively and reactively to upgrade systems, acquire new functionality, and to prevent or resolve incidents.
  • Every change to the infrastructure must pass through the change management process before being deployed to ensure that it has been properly assessed and tested, and to check that a backout /rollback plan is in place.
  • It will be less expensive to invest in a rigorous change management process than to resolve incidents, service disruptions, and outages caused by the deployment of a bad change.
  • Change management is what gives you control and visibility regarding what is introduced to the live environment, preventing incidents that threaten business continuity.

80%

In organizations without formal change management processes, about 80% (The Visible Ops Handbook) of IT service outage problems are caused by updates and changes to systems, applications, and infrastructure. It’s crucial to track and systematically manage change to fully understand and predict the risks and potential impact of the change.

Attributes of a change

Differentiate changes from other IT requests

Is this in the production environment of a business process?

The core business of the enterprise or supporting functions may be affected.

Does the task affect an enterprise managed system?

If it’s for a local application, it’s a service request

How many users are impacted?

It should usually impact more than a single user (in most cases).

Is there a configuration, or code, or workflow, or UI/UX change?

Any impact on a business process is a change; adding a user or a recipient to a report or mailing list is not a change.

Does the underlying service currently exist?

If it’s a new service, then it’s better described as a project.

Is this done/requested by IT?

It needs to be within the scope of IT for the change management process to apply.

Will this take longer than one week?

As a general rule, if it takes longer than 40 hours of work to complete, it’s likely a project.

Defining what constitutes a change

Every change request will initiate the change management process; don’t waste time reviewing requests that are out of scope.

ChangeService Request (User)Operational Task (Backend)
  • Fixing defects in code
  • Changing configuration of an enterprise system
  • Adding new software or hardware components
  • Switching an application to another VM
  • Standardized request
  • New PC
  • Permissions request
  • Change password
  • Add user
  • Purchases
  • Change the backup tape
  • Delete temporary files
  • Maintain database (one that is well defined, repeatable, and predictable)
  • Run utilities to repair a database

Do not treat every IT request as a change!

  • Many organizations make the mistake of calling a standard service request or operational task a “change.”
  • Every change request will initiate the change management process; don’t waste time reviewing requests that are out of scope.
  • While the overuse of RFCs for out-of-scope requests is better than a lack of process, this will slow the process and delay the approval of more critical changes.
  • Requiring an RFC for something that should be considered day-to-day work will also discourage people from adhering to the process, because the RFC will be seen as meaningless paperwork.

 

1.2.1 Define What Constitutes a Change

Input

  • List of examples of each category of the chart

Output

  • Definitions for each category to be used at change intake

Materials

  • Whiteboard/flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
  • Service catalog (if applicable)
  • Sticky notes
  • Markers/pens
  • Change Management SOP

Participants

  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. As a group, brainstorm examples of changes, projects, service requests (user), operational tasks (backend), and releases. You may add additional categories as needed (e.g. incidents).
  2. Have each participant write the examples on sticky notes and populate the following chart on the whiteboard/flip chart.
  3. Use the examples to draw lines and define what defines each category.
    • What makes a change distinct from a project?
    • What makes a change distinct from a service request?
    • What makes a change distinct from an operational task?
    • When do the category workflows cross over with other categories? (For example, when does a project interact with change management?)
  4. Record the definitions of requests and results in section 2.3 of the Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
ChangeProjectService Request (User)Operational Task (Backend)Release
Changing Configuration ERP upgrade Add new user Delete temp files Software release

Download the Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Each RFC should define resources needed to effect the change

In addition to assigning a category to each RFC based on risk assessment, each RFC should also be assigned a priority based on the impact of the change on the IT organization, in terms of the resources needed to effect the change.

Categories include

Normal

Emergency

Pre-Approved

The majority of changes will be pre-approved or normal changes. Definitions of each category are provided on the next slide.

Info-Tech uses the term pre-approved rather than the ITIL terminology of standard to more accurately define the type of change represented by this category.

A potential fourth change category of expedited may be employed if you are having issues with process adherence or if you experience changes driven from outside change management’s control (e.g. from the CIO, director, judiciary, etc.) See Appendix I for more details.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Do not rush to designate changes as pre-approved. You may have a good idea of which changes may be considered pre-approved, but make sure they are in fact low-risk and well-documented before moving them over from the normal category.

The category of the change determines the process it follows

 Pre-ApprovedNormalEmergency
Definition
  • Tasks are well-known, documented, and proven
  • Budgetary approval is preordained or within control of change requester
  • Risk is low and understood
  • There’s a low probability of failure
  • All changes that are not pre-approved or emergency will be classified as normal
  • Further categorized by priority/risk
  • The change is being requested to resolve a current or imminent critical/severity-1 incident that threatens business continuity
  • Associated with a critical incident or problem ticket
Trigger
  • The same change is built and changed repeatedly using the same install procedures and resulting in the same low-risk outcome
  • Upgrade or new functionality that will capture a business benefit
  • A fix to a current problem
  • A current or imminent critical incident that will impact business continuity
  • Urgency to implement the change must be established, as well as lack of any alternative or workaround
Workflow
  • Pre-established
  • Repeatable with same sequence of actions, with minimal judgment or decision points
  • Dependent on the change
  • Different workflows depending on prioritization
  • Dependent on the change
Approval
  • Change Manager (does not need to be reviewed by CAB)
  • CAB
  • Approval from the Emergency Change Advisory Board (E-CAB) is sufficient to proceed with the change
  • A retroactive RFC must be created and approved by the CAB

Pay close attention to defining your pre-approved changes. They are going to be critical for running a smooth change management practice in a DevOps Environment

1.2.2 Build a Change Categorization Scheme

Input

  • List of examples of each change category

Output

  • Definitions for each change category

Materials

  • Whiteboard/flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
  • Service catalog (if applicable)
  • Sticky notes
  • Markers
  • Change Management SOP

Participants

  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Discuss the change categories on the previous slide and modify the types of descriptions to suit your organization.
  2. Once the change categories or types are defined, identify several examples of change requests that would fall under each category.
  3. Types of normal changes will be further defined in the next activity and can be left blank for now.
  4. Examples are provided below. Capture your definitions in section 4 of your Change Management SOP.
Pre-Approved (AKA Standard)NormalEmergency
  • Microsoft patch management/deployment
  • Windows update
  • Minor form changes
  • Service pack updates on non-critical systems
  • Advance label status on orders
  • Change log retention period/storage
  • Change backup frequency

Major

  • Active directory server upgrade
  • New ERP

Medium

  • Network upgrade
  • High availability implementation

Minor

  • Ticket system go-live
  • UPS replacement
  • Cognos update
  • Any change other than a pre-approved change
  • Needed to resolve a major outage in a Tier 1 system

Assess the risk for each normal change based on impact (severity) and likelihood (probability)

Create a change assessment risk matrix to standardize risk assessment for new changes. Formalizing this assessment should be one of the first priorities of change management.

The following slides guide you through the steps of formalizing a risk assessment according to impact and likelihood:

  1. Define a risk matrix: Risk matrices can either be a 3x3 matrix (Minor, Medium, or High Risk as shown on the next slide) or a 4x4 matrix (Minor, Medium, High, or Critical Risk).
  2. Build an impact assessment: Enable consistent measurement of impact for each change by incorporating a standardized questionnaire for each RFC.
  3. Build a likelihood assessment: Enable the consistent measurement of impact for each change by incorporating a standardized questionnaire for each RFC.
  4. Test drive your risk assessment and make necessary adjustments: Measure your newly formed risk assessment questionnaires against historical changes to test its accuracy.

Consider risk

  1. Risk should be the primary consideration in classifying a normal change as Low, Medium, High. The extent of governance required, as well as minimum timeline to implement the change, will follow from the risk assessment.
  2. The business benefit often matches the impact level of the risk – a change that will provide a significant benefit to a large number of users may likely carry an equally major downside if deviations occur.

Info-Tech Insight

All changes entail an additional level of risk. Risk is a function of impact and likelihood. Risk may be reduced, accepted, or neutralized through following best practices around training, testing, backout planning, redundancy, timing and sequencing of changes, etc.

Create a risk matrix to assign a risk rating to each RFC

Every normal RFC should be assigned a risk rating.

How is risk rating determined?

  • Priority should be based on the business consequences of implementing or denying the change.
  • Risk rating is assigned using the impact of the risk and likelihood/probability that the event may occur.

Who determines priority?

  • Priority should be decided with the change requester and with the CAB, if necessary.
  • Don’t let the change requester decide priority alone, as they will usually assign it a higher priority than is justified. Use a repeatable, standardized framework to assess each request.

How is risk rating used?

  • Risk rating is used to determine which changes should be discussed and assessed first.
  • Time frames and escalation processes should be defined for each risk level.

RFCs need to clearly identify the risk level of the proposed change. This can be done through statement of impact and likelihood (low/medium/high) or through pertinent questions linked with business rules to assess the risk.

Risk always has a negative impact, but the size of the impact can vary considerably in terms of cost, number of people or sites affected, and severity of the impact. Impact questions tend to be more objective and quantifiable than likelihood questions.

Risk Matrix

Risk Matrix. Impact vs. Likelihood. Low impact, Low Likelihood and Medium Impact, Medium Likelihood are minor risks. High Likelihood, Low Impact; Medium Likelihood, Medium Impact; and Low Likelihood, High Impact are Medium Risk. High Impact, High Likelihood; High Impact, Medium Likelihood; and Medium Impact, High Likelihood are Major risk.

1.2.3 Build a Classification Scheme to Assess Impact

Input

  • Current risk assessment (if available)

Output

  • Tailored impact assessment

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Define a set of questions to measure risk impact.
  2. For each question, assign a weight that should be placed on that factor.
  3. Define criteria for each question that would categorize the risk as high, medium, or low.
  4. Capture your results in section 4.3.1 of your Change Management SOP.
Impact
Weight Question High Medium Low
15% # of people affected 36+ 11-35 <10
20% # of sites affected 4+ 2-3 1
15% Duration of recovery (minutes of business time) 180+ 30-18 <3
20% Systems affected Mission critical Important Informational
30% External customer impact Loss of customer Service interruption None

1.2.4 Build a Classification Scheme to Define Likelihood

Input

  • Current risk assessment (if available)

Output

  • Tailored likelihood assessment

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Define a set of questions to measure risk likelihood.
  2. For each question, assign a weight that should be placed on that factor.
  3. Define criteria for each question that would categorize the risk as high, medium, or low.
  4. Capture your results in section 4.3.2 of your Change Management SOP.
LIKELIHOOD
Weight Question High Medium Low
25% Has this change been tested? No   Yes
10% Have all the relevant groups (companies, departments, executives) vetted the change? No Partial Yes
5% Has this change been documented? No   Yes
15% How long is the change window? When can we implement? Specified day/time Partial Per IT choice
20% Do we have trained and experienced staff available to implement this change? If only external consultants are available, the rating will be “medium” at best. No   Yes
25% Has an implementation plan been developed? No   Yes

1.2.5 Evaluate and Adjust Your Risk Assessment Scheme

Input

  • Impact and likelihood assessments from previous two activities

Output

  • Vetted risk assessment

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Draw your risk matrix on a whiteboard or flip chart.
  2. As a group, identify up to 10 examples of requests for changes that would apply within your organization. Depending on the number of people participating, each person could identify one or two changes and write them on sticky notes.
  3. Take turns bringing your sticky notes up to the risk matrix and placing each where it belongs, according to the assessment criteria you defined.
  4. After each participant has taken a turn, discuss each change as a group and adjust the placement of any changes, if needed. Update the risk assessment weightings or questions, if needed.

Download the Change Management Rick Assessment Tool.

#

Change Example

Impact

Likelihood

Risk

1

ERP change

High

Medium

Major

2

Ticket system go-live

Medium

Low

Minor

3

UPS replacement

Medium

Low

Minor

4

Network upgrade

Medium

Medium

Medium

5

AD upgrade

Medium

Low

Minor

6

High availability implementation

Low

Medium

Minor

7

Key-card implementation

Low

High

Medium

8

Anti-virus update

Low

Low

Minor

9

Website

Low

Medium

Minor

 

Case Study

A CMDB is not a prerequisite of change management. Don’t let the absence of a configuration management database (CMDB) prevent you from implementing change management.

Industry: Manufacturing

Source: Anonymous Info-Tech member

Challenge

The company was planning to implement a CMDB; however, full implementation was still one year away and subject to budget constraints.

Without a CMDB, it would be difficult to understand the interdependencies between systems and therefore be able to provide notifications to potentially affected user groups prior to implementing technical changes.

This could have derailed the change management project.

Solution

An Excel template was set up as a stopgap measure until the full implementation of the CMDB. The template included all identified dependencies between systems, along with a “dependency tier” for each IT service.

Tier 1: The dependent system would not operate if the upstream system change resulted in an outage.

Tier 2: The dependent system would suffer severe degradation of performance and/or features.

Tier 3: The dependent system would see minor performance degradation or minor feature unavailability.

Results

As a stopgap measure, the solution worked well. When changes ran the risk of degrading downstream dependent systems, the impacted business system owner’s authorization was sought and end users were informed in advance.

The primary takeaway was that a system to manage configuration linkages and system dependencies was key.

While a CMDB is ideal for this use case, IT organizations shouldn’t let the lack of such a system stop progress on change management.

Case Study (part 1 of 4)

Intel used a maturity assessment to kick-start its new change management program.

Industry: Technology

Source: Daniel Grove, Intel

Challenge

Founded in 1968, the world’s largest microchip and semiconductor company employs over 100,000 people. Intel manufactures processors for major players in the PC market including Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

Intel IT supports over 65,000 servers, 3.2 petabytes of data, over 70,000 PCs, and 2.6 million emails per day.

Intel’s change management program is responsible for over 4,000 changes each week.

Solution

Due to the sheer volume of change management activities present at Intel, over 35% of unscheduled outages were the result of changes.

Ineffective change management was identified as the top contributor of incidents with unscheduled downtime.

One of the major issues highlighted was a lack of process ownership. The change management process at Intel was very fragmented, and that needed to change.

Results

Daniel Grove, Senior Release & Change Manager at Intel, identified that clarifying tasks for the Change Manager and the CAB would improve process efficiency by reducing decision lag time. Roles and responsibilities were reworked and clarified.

Intel conducted a maturity assessment of the overall change management process to identify key areas for improvement.

Phase 2

Establish Roles and Workflows

For running change management in DevOps environment, see Appendix II.

Define Change Management

1.1 Assess Maturity

1.2 Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

Establish Roles and Workflows

2.1 Determine Roles and Responsibilities

2.2 Build Core Workflows

Define RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

3.1 Design the RFC

3.2 Establish Post-Implementation Activities

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

4.1 Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

4.2 Implement the Project

This phase will guide you through the following steps:

  • Determine Roles and Responsibilities
  • Build Core Workflows

This phase involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Step 2.1

Determine Roles and Responsibilities

Activities

2.1.1 Capture Roles and Responsibilities Using a RACI Chart

2.1.2 Determine Your Change Manager’s Responsibilities

2.1.3 Define the Authority and Responsibilities of Your CAB

2.1.4 Determine an E-CAB Protocol for Your Organization

Establish Roles and Workflows

Step 2.1: Determine Roles and Responsibilities → Step 2.2: Build Core Workflows

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • Clearly defined responsibilities to form the job description for a Change Manager
  • Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the change management team, including the business system owner, technical SME, and CAB members
  • Defined responsibilities and authority of the CAB
  • Protocol for an emergency CAB (E-CAB) meeting

Identify roles and responsibilities for your change management team

Business System Owner

  • Provides downtime window(s)
  • Advises on need for change (prior to creation of RFC)
  • Validates change (through UAT or other validation as necessary)
  • Provides approval for expedited changes (needs to be at executive level)

Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME)

  • Advises on proposed changes prior to RFC submission
  • Reviews draft RFC for technical soundness
  • Assesses backout/rollback plan
  • Checks if knowledgebase has been consulted for prior lessons learned
  • Participates in the PIR, if necessary
  • Ensures that the service desk is trained on the change

CAB

  • Approves/rejects RFCs for normal changes
  • Reviews lessons learned from PIRs
  • Decides on the scope of change management
  • Reviews metrics and decides on remedial actions
  • Considers changes to be added to list of pre-approved changes
  • Communicates to organization about upcoming changes

Change Manager

  • Reviews RFCs for completeness
  • Ensures RFCs brought to the CAB have a high chance of approval
  • Chairs CAB meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, reporting, and follow-ups
  • Manages post-implementation reviews and reporting
  • Organizes internal communications (within IT)

2.1.1 Capture Roles and Responsibilities Using a RACI Chart

Input

  • Current SOP

Output

  • Documented roles and responsibilities in change management in a RACI chart

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. As a group, work through developing a RACI chart to determine the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in the change management practice based on the following criteria:
    • Responsible (performs the work)
    • Accountable (ensures the work is done)
    • Consulted (two-way communication)
    • Informed (one-way communication)
  2. Record your results in slide 14 of the Project Summary Template and section 3.1 of your Change Management SOP.
Change Management TasksOriginatorSystem OwnerChange ManagerCAB MemberTechnical SMEService DeskCIO/ VP ITE-CAB Member
Review the RFC C C A C R C R  
Validate changes C C A C R C R  
Assess test plan A C R R C   I  
Approve the RFC I C A R C   I  
Create communications plan R I A     I I  
Deploy communications plan I I A I   R    
Review metrics   C A R   C I  
Perform a post implementation review   C R A     I  
Review lessons learned from PIR activities     R A   C    

Designate a Change Manager to own the process, change templates, and tools

The Change Manager will be the point of contact for all process questions related to change management.

  • The Change Manager needs the authority to reject change requests, regardless of the seniority of the requester.
  • The Change Manager needs the authority to enforce compliance to a standard process.
  • The Change Manager needs enough cross-functional subject-matter expertise to accurately evaluate the impact of change from both an IT and business perspective.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Some organizations will not be able to assign a dedicated Change Manager, but they must still task an individual with change review authority and with ownership of the risk assessment and other key parts of the process.

Responsibilities

  1. The Change Manager is your first stop for change approval. Both the change management and release and deployment management processes rely on the Change Manager to function.
  2. Every single change that is applied to the live environment, from a single patch to a major change, must originate with a request for change (RFC), which is then approved by the Change Manager to proceed to the CAB for full approval.
  3. Change templates and tools, such as the change calendar, list of preapproved changes, and risk assessment template are controlled by the Change Manager.
  4. The Change Manager also needs to have ownership over gathering metrics and reports surrounding deployed changes. A skilled Change Manager needs to have an aptitude for applying metrics for continual improvement activities.

2.1.2 Document Your Change Manager’s Responsibilities

Input

  • Current Change Manager job description (if available)

Output

  • Change Manager job description and list of responsibilities

Materials

  • Whiteboard/flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
  • Markers/pens
  • Info-Tech’s Change Manager Job Description
  • Change Management SOP

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

1.Using the previous slide, Info-Tech’s Change Manager Job Description, and the examples below, brainstorm responsibilities for the Change Manager.

2.Record the responsibilities in Section 3.2 of your Change Management SOP.

Example:

Change Manager: James Corey

Responsibilities

  1. Own the process, tools, and templates.
  2. Control the Change Management SOP.
  3. Provide standard RFC forms.
  4. Distribute RFCs for CAB review.
  5. Receive all initial RFCs and check them for completion.
  6. Approve initial RFCs.
  7. Approve pre-approved changes.
  8. Approve the conversion of normal changes to pre-approved changes.
  9. Assemble the Emergency CAB (E-CAB) when emergency change requests are received.
  10. Approve submission of RFCs for CAB review.
  11. Chair the CAB:
    • Set the CAB agenda and distribute it at least 24 hours before the meeting.
    • Ensure the agenda is adhered to.
    • Make the final approval/prioritization decision regarding a change if the CAB is deadlocked and cannot come to an agreement.
    • Distribute CAB meeting minutes to all members and relevant stakeholders.

Download the Change Manager Job Description

Create a Change Advisory Board (CAB) to provide process governance

The primary functions of the CAB are to:

  1. Protect the live environment from poorly assessed, tested, and implemented changes.
    • CAB approval is required for all normal and emergency changes.
    • If a change results in an incident or outage, the CAB is effectively responsible; it’s the responsibility of the CAB to assess and accept the potential impact of every change.
  2. Prioritize changes in a way that fairly reflects change impact and urgency.
    • Change requests will originate from multiple stakeholders, some of whom have competing interests.
    • It’s up to the CAB to prioritize these requests effectively so that business need is balanced with any potential risk to the infrastructure.
    • The CAB should seek to reduce the number of emergency/expedited changes.
  3. Schedule deployments in a way that minimizes conflict and disruption.
    • The CAB uses a change calendar populated with project work, upcoming organizational initiatives, and change freeze periods. They will schedule changes around these blocks to avoid disrupting user productivity.
    • The CAB should work closely with the release and deployment management teams to coordinate change/release scheduling.

See what responsibilities in the CAB’s process are already performed by the DevOps lifecycle (e.g. authorization, deconfliction etc.). Do not duplicate efforts.

Use diverse representation from the business to form an effective CAB

The CAB needs insight into all areas of the business to avoid approving a high-risk change.

Based on the core responsibilities you have defined, the CAB needs to be composed of a diverse set of individuals who provide quality:

  • Change need assessments – identifying the value and purpose of a proposed change.
  • Change risk assessments – confirmation of the technical impact and likelihood assessments that lead to a risk score, based on the inputs in RFC.
  • Change scheduling – offer a variety of perspectives and responsibilities and will be able to identify potential scheduling conflicts.
 CAB RepresentationValue Added
Business Members
  • CIO
  • Business Relationship Manager
  • Service Level Manager
  • Business Analyst
  • Identify change blackout periods, change impact, and business urgency.
  • Assess impact on fiduciary, legal, and/or audit requirements.
  • Determine acceptable business risk.
IT Operations Members
  • Managers representing all IT functions
  • IT Directors
  • Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
  • Identify dependencies and downstream impacts.
  • Identify possible conflicts with pre-existing OLAs and SLAs.
CAB Attendees
  • Specific SMEs, tech specialists, and business and vendor reps relevant to a particular change
  • Only attend meetings when invited by the Change Manager
  • Provide detailed information and expertise related to their particular subject areas.
  • Speak to requirements, change impact, and cost.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Form a core CAB (members attend every week) and an optional CAB (members who attend only when a change impacts them or when they can provide value in discussions about a change). This way, members can have their voice heard without spending every week in a meeting where they do not contribute.

2.1.3 Define the Authority and Responsibilities of Your CAB

Input

  • Current SOP or CAB charter (if available)

Output

  • Documented list of CAB authorities and responsibilities

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

1.Using the previous slide and the examples below, list the authorities and responsibilities of your CAB.

2.Record the responsibilities in section 3.3.2 of your Change Management SOP and the Project Summary Template.

Example:

CAP AuthorityCAP Responsibilities
  • Final authority over the deployment of all normal and emergency changes.
  • Authority to absorb the risk of a change.
  • Authority to set the change calendar:
    • Maintenance windows.
    • Change freeze periods.
    • Project work.
    • Authority to delay changes.
  • Evaluate all normal and emergency changes.
  • Verify all normal change test, backout, and implementation plans.
  • Verify all normal change test results.
  • Approve all normal and emergency changes.
  • Prioritize all normal changes.
  • Schedule all normal and emergency changes.
  • Review failed change deployments.

Establish an emergency CAB (E-CAB) protocol

  • When an emergency change request is received, you will not be able to wait until the regularly scheduled CAB meeting.
  • As a group, decide who will sit on the E-CAB and what their protocol will be when assessing and approving emergency changes.

Change owner conferences with E-CAB (best efforts to reach them) through email or messaging.

E-CAB members and business system owners are provided with change details. No decision is made without feedback from at least one E-CAB member.

If business continuity is being affected, the Change Manager has authority to approve change.

Full documentation of the change (a retroactive RFC) is done after the change and is then reviewed by the CAB.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Members of the E-CAB should be a subset of the CAB who are typically quick to respond to their messages, even at odd hours of the night.

2.1.4 Determine an E-CAB Protocol for Your Organization

Input

  • Current SOP or CAB charter (if available)

Output

  • E-CAB protocol

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Gather the members of the E-CAB and other necessary representatives from the change management team.
  2. Determine the order of operations for the E-CAB in the event that an emergency change is needed.
  3. Consult the example emergency protocol below. Determine what roles and responsibilities are involved at each stage of the emergency change’s implementation.
  4. Document the E-CAB protocol in section 3.4 of your Change Management SOP.

Example

Assemble E-CAB

Assess Change

Test (if Applicable)

Deploy Change

Create Retroactive RFC

Review With CAB

Step 2.2

Build Core Workflows

Activities

2.2.1 Build a CMDB-lite as a Reference for Requested Changes

2.2.2 Create a Normal Change Process

2.2.3 Create a Pre-Approved Change Process

2.2.4 Create an Emergency Change Process

Establish Roles and Workflows

Step 2.1: Determine Roles and Responsibilities → Step 2.2: Build Core Workflows

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • Emergency change workflow
  • Normal process workflow
  • Pre-approved change workflow

Establishing Workflows: Change Management Lifecycle

Improve

  • A post-implementation review assesses the value of the actual change measured against the proposed change in terms of benefits, costs, and impact.
  • Results recorded in the change log.
  • Accountability: Change Manager Change Implementer

Request

  • A change request (RFC) can be submitted via paper form, phone, email, or web portal.
  • Accountability: Change requester/Initiator

Assess

  • The request is screened to ensure it meets an agreed-upon set of business criteria.
  • Changes are assessed on:
    • Impact of change
    • Risks or interdependencies
    • Resourcing and costs
  • Accountability: Change Manager

Plan

  • Tasks are assigned, planned, and executed.
  • Change schedule is consulted and necessary resources are identified.
  • Accountability: Change Manager

Approve

  • Approved requests are sent to the most efficient channel based on risk, urgency, and complexity.
  • Change is sent to CAB members for final review and approval
  • Accountability: Change Manager
    • Change Advisory Board

Implement

  • Approved changes are deployed.
  • A rollback plan is created to mitigate risk.
  • Accountability: Change Manager Change Implementer

Establishing workflows: employ a SIPOC model for process definition

A good SIPOC (supplier, input, process, output, customer) model helps establish the boundaries of each process step and provides a concise definition of the expected outcomes and required inputs. It’s a useful and recommended next step for every workflow diagram.

For change management, employ a SIPOC model to outline your CAB process:

Supplier

  • Who or what organization provides the inputs to the process? The supplier can be internal or external.

Input

  • What goes into the process step? This can be a document, data, information, or a decision.

Process

  • Activities that occur in the process step that’s being analyzed.

Output

  • What does the process step produce? This can be a document, data, information, or a decision.

Customer

  • Who or what organization(s) takes the output of the process? The customer can be internal or external.

Optional Fields

Metrics

  • Top-level indicators that usually relate to the input and output, e.g. turnaround time, risk matrix completeness.

Controls

  • Checkpoints to ensure process step quality.

Dependencies

  • Other process steps that require the output.

RACI

  • Those who are Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed (RACI) about the input, output, and/or process.

Establish change workflows: assess requested changes to identify impact and dependencies

An effective change assessment workflow is a holistic process that leaves no stone unturned in an effort to mitigate risk before any change reaches the approval stage. The four crucial areas of risk in a change workflow are:

Dependencies

Identify all components of the change.

Ask how changes will affect:

  • Services on the same infrastructure?
  • Applications?
  • Infrastructure/app architecture?
  • Security?
  • Ability to support critical systems?

Business Impact

Frame the change from a business point of view to identify potential disruptions to business activities.

Your assessment should cover:

  • Business processes
  • User productivity
  • Customer service
  • BCPs

SLA Impact

Each new change can impact the level of service available.

Examine the impact on:

  • Availability of critical systems
  • Infrastructure and app performance
  • Infrastructure and app capacity
  • Existing disaster recovery plans and procedures

Required Resources

Once risk has been assessed, resources need to be identified to ensure the change can be executed.

These include:

  • People (SMEs, tech support, work effort/duration)
  • System time for scheduled implementation
  • Hardware or software (new or existing, as well as tools)

Establishing workflows: pinpoint dependencies to identify the need for additional changes

An assessment of each change and a query of the CMDB needs to be performed as part of the change planning process to mitigate outage risk.

  • A version upgrade on one piece of software may require another component to be upgraded as well. For example, an upgrade to the database management system requires that an application that uses the database be upgraded or modified.
  • The sequence of the release must also be determined, as certain components may need to be upgraded before others. For example, if you upgrade the Exchange Server, a Windows update must be installed prior to the Exchange upgrade.
  • If you do not have a CMDB, consider building a CMDB-lite, which consists of a listing of systems, primary users, SMEs, business owners, and system dependencies (see next slide).

Services Impacted

  • Have affected services been identified?
  • Have supporting services been identified?
  • Has someone checked the CMDB to ensure all dependencies have been accounted for?
  • Have we referenced the service catalog so the business approves what they’re authorizing?

Technical Teams Impacted

  • Who will support the change throughout testing and implementation?
  • Will additional support be needed?
  • Do we need outside support from eternal suppliers?
  • Has someone checked the contract to ensure any additional costs have been approved?

Build a dependency matrix to avoid change related collisions (optional)

A CMDB-lite does not replace a CMDB but can be a valuable tool to leverage when requesting changes if you do not currently have configuration management. Consider the following inputs when building your own CMDB-lite.

  • System
    • To build a CMDB-lite, start with the top 10 systems in your environment that experience changes. This list can always be populated iteratively.
  • Primary Users
    • Listing the primary users will give a change requester a first glance at the impact of the change.
    • You can also use this information when looking at the change communication and training after the change is implemented.
  • SME/Backup
    • These are the staff that will likely build and implement the change. The backup is listed in case the primary is on holiday.
  • Business System Owner
    • The owner of the system is one of the people needed to sign off on the change. Having their support from the beginning of a change is necessary to build and implement it successfully.
  • Tier 1 Dependency
    • If the primary system experiences and outage, Tier 1 dependency functionality is also lost. To request a change, include the business system owner signoffs of the Tier 1 dependencies of the primary system.
  • Tier 2 Dependency
    • If the primary system experiences an outage, Tier 2 dependency functionality is lost, but there is an available workaround. As with Tier 1, this information can help you build a backout plan in case there is a change-related collision.
  • Tier 3 Dependency
    • Tier 3 functionality is not lost if the primary system experiences an outage, but nice-to-haves such as aesthetics are affected.

2.2.1 Build a CMDB-lite as a Reference for Requested Changes

Input

  • Current system ownership documentation

Output

  • Documented reference for change requests (CMDB-lite)

Materials

  • Whiteboard/flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
  • Sticky notes
  • Markers/pens

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Start with a list of your top 10-15 systems/services with the highest volume of changes.
  2. Using a whiteboard, flip chart, or shared screen, complete the table below by filling the corresponding Primary Users, SMEs, Business System Owner, and Dependencies as shown below. It may help to use sticky notes.
  3. Iteratively populate the table as you notice gaps with incoming changes.
SystemPrimary UsersSMEBackup SME(s)Business System OwnerTier 1 Dependency (system functionality is down)Tier 2 (impaired functionality/ workaround available)Tier 3 Dependency (nice to have)
Email Enterprise Naomi Amos James
  • ITSMs
  • Scan-to-email
  • Reporting
  
  • Lots
Conferencing Tool Enterprise Alex Shed James
  • Videoconferencing
  • Conference rooms (can use Facebook messenger instead in worst case scenario)
  • IM
ITSM (Service Now) Enterprise (Intl.) Anderson TBD Mike
  • Work orders
  • Dashboards
  • Purchasing
  
ITSM (Manage Engine) North America Bobbie Joseph Mike
  • Work orders
  • Dashboards
  • Purchasing
  

Establishing workflows: create standards for change approvals to improve efficiency

  • Not all changes are created equal, and not all changes require the same degree of approval. As part of the change management process, it’s important to define who is the authority for each type of change.
  • Failure to do so can create bureaucratic bottlenecks if each change is held to an unnecessary high level of scrutiny, or unplanned outages may occur due to changes circumventing the formal approval process.
  • A balance must be met and defined to ensure the process is not bypassed or bottlenecked.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Define a list pre-approved changes and automate them (if possible) using your ITSM solution. This will save valuable time for more important changes in the queue.

Example:

Change CategoryChange Authority
Pre-approved change Department head/manager
Emergency change E-CAB
Normal change – low and medium risk CAB
Normal change – high risk CAB and CIO (for visibility)

Example process: Normal Change – Change Initiation

Change initiation allows for assurance that the request is in scope for change management and acts as a filter for out-of-scope changes to be redirected to the proper workflow. Initiation also assesses who may be assigned to the change and the proper category of the change, and results in an RFC to be populated before the change reaches the build and test phase.

The image is a horizontal flow chart, depicting an example of a change process.

The change trigger assessment is critical in the DevOps lifecycle. This can take a more formal role of a technical review board (TRB) or, with enough maturity, may be automated. Responsibilities such as deconfliction, dependency identification, calendar query, and authorization identification can be done early in the lifecycle to decrease or eliminate the burden on CAB.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

Example process: Normal Change – Technical Build and Test

The technical build and test stage includes all technical prerequisites and testing needed for a change to pass before proceeding to approval and implementation. In addition to a technical review, a solution consisting of the implementation, rollback, communications, and training plan are also built and included in the RFC before passing it to the CAB.

The image is a flowchart, showing the process for change during the technical build and test stage.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

Example process: Normal Change – Change Approval (CAB)

Change approval can start with the Change Manager reviewing all incoming RFCs to filter them for completeness and check them for red flags before passing them to the CAB. This saves the CAB from discussing incomplete changes and allows the Change Manager to set a CAB agenda before the CAB meeting. If need be, change approval can also set vendor communications necessary for changes, as well as the final implementation date of the change. The CAB and Change Manager may follow up with the appropriate parties notifying them of the approval decision (accepted, rescheduled, or rejected).

The image shows a flowchart illustrating the process for change approval.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

Example process: Normal Change – Change Implementation

Changes should not end at implementation. Ensure you define post-implementation activities (documentation, communication, training etc.) and a post-implementation review in case the change does not go according to plan.

The image is a flowchart, illustrating the work process for change implementation and post-implementation review.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

2.2.2 Create a Normal Change Process

Input

  • Current SOP/workflow library

Output

  • Normal change process

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Gather representatives from the change management team.
  2. Using the examples shown on the previous few slides, work as a group to determine the workflow for a normal change, with particular attention to the following sub-processes:
    1. Request
    2. Assessment
    3. Plan
    4. Approve
    5. Implementation and Post-Implementation Activities
  3. Optionally, you may create variations of the workflow for minor, medium, and major changes (e.g. there will be fewer authorizations for minor changes).
  4. For further documentation, you may choose to run the SIPOC activity for your CAB as outlined on this slide.
  5. Document the resulting workflows in the Change Management Process Library and section 11 of your Change Management SOP.

Download the Change Management Process Library.

Identify and convert low-risk normal changes to pre-approved once the process is established

As your process matures, begin creating a list of normal changes that might qualify for pre-approval. The most potential for value in gains from change management comes from re-engineering and automating of high-volume changes. Pre-approved changes should save you time without threatening the live environment.

IT should flag changes they would like pre-approved:

  • Once your change management process is firmly established, hold a meeting with all staff that make change requests and build changes.
  • Run a training session detailing the traits of pre-approved changes and ask these individuals to identify changes that might qualify.
  • These changes should be submitted to the Change Manager and reviewed, with the help of the CAB, to decide whether or not they qualify for pre-approval.

Pre-approved changes are not exempt from due diligence:

  • Once a change is designated as pre-approved, the deployment team should create and compile all relevant documentation:
    • An RFC detailing the change, dependencies, risk, and impact.
    • Detailed procedures and required resources.
    • Implementation and backout plan.
    • Test results.
  • When templating the RFC for pre-approved changes, aim to write the documentation as if another SME were to implement it. This reduces confusion, especially if there’s staff turnover.
  • The CAB must approve, sign off, and keep a record of all documents.
  • Pre-approved changes must still be documented and recorded in the CMDB and change log after each deployment.

Info-Tech Best Practice

At the beginning of a change management process, there should be few active pre-approved changes. However, prior to launch, you may have IT flag changes for conversion.

Example process: Pre-Approved Change Process

The image shows two horizontal flow charts, the first labelled Pre-Approval of Recurring RFC, and the second labelled Implementation of Child RFC.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

Review the pre-approved change list regularly to ensure the list of changes are still low-risk and repeatable.

IT environments change. Don’t be caught by surprise.

  • Changes which were once low-risk and repeatable may cause unforeseen incidents if they are not reviewed regularly.
  • Dependencies change as the IT environment changes. Ensure that the changes on the pre-approved change list are still low-risk and repeatable, and that the documentation is up to date.
  • If dependencies have changed, then move the change back to the normal category for reassessment. It may be redesignated as a pre-approved change once the documentation is updated.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Other reasons for moving a pre-approved change back to the normal category is if the change led to an incident during implementation or if there was an issue during implementation.

Seek new pre-approved change submissions. → Re-evaluate the pre-approved change list every 4-6 months.

The image shows a horizontal flow chart, depicting the process for a pre-approved change list review.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

2.2.3 Create a Pre-Approved Change Process

Input

  • Current SOP/workflow library

Output

  • Pre-approved change process

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Gather representatives from the change management team.
  2. Using the examples shown on the previous few slides, work as a group to determine the workflow for a pre-approved change, with particular attention to the following sub-processes:
    1. Request
    2. Assessment
    3. Plan
    4. Approve
  3. Document the process of a converting a normal change to pre-approved. Include the steps from flagging a low-risk change to creating the related RFC template.
  4. Document the resulting workflows in the Change Management Process Library and sections 4.2 and 13 of your Change Management SOP.

Reserve the emergency designation for real emergencies

  • Emergency changes have one of the following triggers:
    • A critical incident is impacting user productivity.
    • An imminent critical incident will impact user productivity.
  • Unless a critical incident is being resolved or prevented, the change should be categorized as normal.
  • An emergency change differs from a normal change in the following key aspects:
    • An emergency change is required to recover from a major outage – there must be a validated service desk critical incident ticket.
    • An urgent business requirement is not an “emergency.”
    • An RFC is created after the change is implemented and the outage is over.
    • A review by the full CAB occurs after the change is implemented.
    • The first responder and/or the person implementing the change may not be the subject matter expert for that system.
  • In all cases, an RFC must be created and the change must be reviewed by the full CAB. The review should occur within two business days of the event.
Sample ChangeQuick CheckEmergency?
Install the latest critical patches from the vendor. Are the patches required to resolve or prevent an imminent critical incident? No
A virus or worm invades the network and a patch is needed to eliminate the threat. Is the patch required to resolve or prevent an imminent critical incident? Yes

Info-Tech Best Practice

Change requesters should be made aware that senior management will be informed if an emergency RFC is submitted inappropriately. Emergency requests trigger urgent CAB meetings, are riskier to deploy, and delay other changes waiting in the queue.

Example process: Emergency Change Process

The image is a flowchart depicting the process for an emergency change process

When building your emergency change process, have your E-CAB protocol from activity 2.1.4 handy.

  • Focus on the following requirements for an emergency process:
    • E-CAB protocol and scope: Does the SME need authorization first before working on the change or can the SME proceed if no E-CAB members respond?
    • Documentation and communication to stakeholders and CAB after the emergency change is completed.
    • Input from incident management.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

2.2.4 Create an Emergency Change Process

Input

  • Current SOP/workflow library

Output

  • Emergency change process

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Gather representatives from the change management team.
  2. Using the examples shown on the previous few slides, work as a group to determine the workflow for an emergency change, with particular attention to the following sub-processes:
    1. Request
    2. Assessment
    3. Plan
    4. Approve
  3. Ensure that the E-CAB protocol from activity 2.1.4 is considered when building your process.
  4. Document the resulting workflows in the Change Management Process Library and section 12 of your Change Management SOP.

Case Study (part 2 of 4)

Intel implemented a robust change management process.

Industry: Technology

Source: Daniel Grove, Intel

Challenge

Founded in 1968, the world’s largest microchip and semiconductor company employs over 100,000 people. Intel manufactures processors for major players in the PC market including Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

Intel IT supports over 65,000 servers, 3.2 petabytes of data, over 70,000 PCs, and 2.6 million emails per day.

Intel’s change management program is responsible for over 4,000 changes each week.

Solution

Intel identified 37 different change processes and 25 change management systems of record with little integration.

Software and infrastructure groups were also very siloed, and this no doubt contributed to the high number of changes that caused outages.

The task was simple: standards needed to be put in place and communication had to improve.

Results

Once process ownership was assigned and the role of the Change Manager and CAB clarified, it was a simple task to streamline and simplify processes among groups.

Intel designed a new, unified change management workflow that all groups would adopt.

Automation was also brought into play to improve how RFCs were generated and submitted.

Phase 3

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

Define Change Management

1.1 Assess Maturity

1.2 Categorize Changes and Build Your Risk Assessment

Establish Roles and Workflows

2.1 Determine Roles and Responsibilities

2.2 Build Core Workflows

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

3.1 Design the RFC

3.2 Establish Post-Implementation Activities

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

4.1 Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

4.2 Implement the Project

This phase will guide you through the following activities:

  • Design the RFC
  • Establish Post-Implementation Activities

This phase involves the following participants:

  • IT Director
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Step 3.1

Design the RFC

Activities

3.1.1 Evaluate Your Existing RFC Process

3.1.2 Build the RFC Form

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

Step 3.1: Design the RFC

Step 3.2: Establish Post-Implementation Activities

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • A full RFC template and process that compliments the workflows for the three change categories

A request for change (RFC) should be submitted for every non-standard change

An RFC should be submitted through the formal change management practice for every change that is not a standard, pre-approved change (a change which does not require submission to the change management practice).

  • The RFC should contain all the information required to approve a change. Some information will be recorded when the change request is first initiated, but not everything will be known at that time.
  • Further information can be added as the change progresses through its lifecycle.
  • The level of detail that goes into the RFC will vary depending on the type of change, the size, and the likely impact of the change.
  • Other details of the change may be recorded in other documents and referenced in the RFC.

Info-Tech Insight

Keep the RFC form simple, especially when first implementing change management, to encourage the adoption of and compliance with the process.

RFCs should contain the following information, at a minimum:

  1. Contact information for requester
  2. Description of change
  3. References to external documentation
  4. Items to be changed, reason for the change, and impact of both implementing and not implementing the change
  5. Change type and category
  6. Priority and risk assessment
  7. Predicted time frame, resources, and cost
  8. Backout or remediation plan
  9. Proposed approvers
  10. Scheduled implementation time
  11. Communications plan and post-implementation review

3.1.1 Evaluate Your Existing RFC Process

Input

  • Current RFC form or stock ITSM RFC
  • Current SOP (if available)

Output

  • List of changes to the current RFC form and RFC process

Materials

Participants

  • IT Director
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. If the organization is already using an RFC form, review it as a group now and discuss its contents:
    • Does this RFC provide adequate information for the Change Manager and/or CAB to review?
    • Should any additional fields be added?
  2. Show the participants Info-Tech’s Request for Change Form Template and compare it to the one the organization is currently using.
  3. As a group, finalize an RFC table of contents that will be used to formalize a new or improved RFC.
  4. Decide which fields should be filled out by the requester before the initial RFC is submitted to the Change Manager:
    • Many sections of the RFC are relevant for change assessment and review. What information does the Change Manager need when they first receive a request?
    • The Change Manager needs enough information to ensure that the change is in scope and has been properly categorized.
  5. Decide how the RFC form should be submitted and reviewed; this can be documented in section 5 of your Change Management SOP.

Download the Request for Change Form Template.

Design the RFC to encourage process buy-in

  • When building the RFC, split the form up into sections that follow the normal workflow (e.g. Intake, Assessment and Build, Approval, Implementation/PIR). This way the form walks the requester through what needs to be filled and when.
  • Revisit the form periodically and solicit feedback to continually improve the user experience. If there’s information missing on the RFC that the CAB would like to know, add the fields. If there are sections that are not used or not needed for documentation, remove them.
  • Make sure the user experience surrounding your RFC form is a top priority – make it accessible, otherwise change requesters simply will not use it.
  • Take advantage of your ITSM’s dropdown lists, automated notifications, CMDB integrations, and auto-generated fields to ease the process of filling the RFC

Draft:

  • Change requester
  • Requested date of deployment
  • Change risk: low/medium/high
  • Risk assessment
  • Description of change
  • Reason for change
  • Change components

Technical Build:

  • Assess change:
    • Dependencies
    • Business impact
    • SLA impact
    • Required resources
    • Query the CMS
  • Plan and test changes:
    • Test plan
    • Test results
    • Implementation plan
    • Backout plan
    • Backout plan test results

CAB:

  • Approve and schedule changes:
    • Final CAB review
    • Communications plan

Complete:

  • Deploy changes:
    • Post-implementation review

Designing your RFC: RFC draft

  • Change requester – link your change module to the active directory to pull the change requester’s contact information automatically to save time.
  • A requested date of deployment gives approvers information on timeline and can be used to query the change calendar for possible conflicts
  • Information about risk assessment based on impact and likelihood questionnaires are quick to fill out but provide a lot of information to the CAB. The risk assessment may not be complete at the draft stage but can be updated as the change is built. Ensure this field is up-to- date before it reaches CAB.
  • If you have a technical review stage where changes are directed to the proper workflow and resourcing is assessed, the description, reason, and change components are high-level descriptors of the change that will aid in discovery and lining the change up with the business vision (viability from both a technical and business standpoint).
  • Change requester
  • Requested date of deployment
  • Change Risk: low/medium/high
  • Risk assessment
  • Description of change
  • Reason for change
  • Change components

Use the RFC to point to documentation already gathered in the DevOps lifecycle to cut down on unnecessary manual work while maintaining compliance.

Designing your RFC: technical build

  • Dependencies and CMDB query, along with the proposed implementation date, are included to aid in calendar deconfliction and change scheduling. If there’s a conflict, it’s easier to reschedule the proposed change early in the lifecycle.
  • Business, SLA impact, and required resources can be tracked to provide the CAB with information on the business resources required. This can also be used to prioritize the change if conflicts arise.
  • Implementation, test, and backout plans must be included and assessed to increase the probability that a change will be implemented without failure. It’s also useful in the case of PIRs to determine root causes of change-related incidents.
  • Assess change:
    • Dependencies
    • Business impact
    • SLA impact
    • Required resources
    • Query the CMS
  • Plan and test changes:
    • Test plan
    • Test results
    • Implementation plan
    • Backout plan
    • Backout plan test results

Designing your RFC: approval and deployment

  • Documenting approval, rejection, and rescheduling gives the change requester the go-ahead to proceed with the change, rationale on why it was prioritized lower than another change (rescheduled), or rationale on rejection.
  • Communications plans for appropriate stakeholders can also be modified and forwarded to the communications team (e.g. service desk or business system owners) before deployment.
  • Post-implementation activities and reviews can be conducted if need be before a change is closed. The PIR, if filled out, should then be appended to any subsequent changes of the same nature to avoid making the same mistake twice.
  • Approve and schedule changes:
    • Final CAB review
    • Communications plan
  • Deploy changes:
    • Post-implementation review

Standardize the request for change protocol

  1. Submission Standards
    • Electronic submission will make it easier for CAB members to review the documentation.
    • As the change goes through the assessment, plan, and test phase, new documentation (assessments, backout plans, test results, etc.) can be attached to the digital RFC for review by CAB members prior to the CAB meeting.
    • Change management software won’t be necessary to facilitate the RFC submission and review; a content repository system, such as SharePoint, will suffice.
  2. Designate the first control point
    • All RFCs should be submitted to a single point of contact.
    • Ideally, the Change Manager or Technical Review Board should fill this role.
    • Whoever is tasked with this role needs the subject matter expertise to ensure that the change has been categorized correctly, to reject out-of-scope requests, or to ask that missing information be provided before the RFC moves through the full change management practice.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Technical and SME contacts should be noted in each RFC so they can be easily consulted during the RFC review.

3.1.2 Build the RFC Form

Input

  • Current RFC form or stock ITSM RFC
  • Current SOP (if available)

Output

  • List of changes to the current RFC and RFC process

Materials

Participants

  • IT Director
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Use Info-Tech’s Request for Change Form Template as a basis for your RFC form.
  2. Use this template to standardize your change request process and ensure that the appropriate information is documented effectively each time a request is made. The change requester and Change Manager should consolidate all information associated with a given change request in this form. This form will be submitted by the change requester and reviewed by the Change Manager.

Case Study (part 3 of 4)

Intel implemented automated RFC form generation.

Industry: Technology

Source: Daniel Grove, Intel

Challenge

Founded in 1968, the world’s largest microchip and semiconductor company employs over 100,000 people. Intel manufactures processors for major players in the PC market including Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

Intel IT supports over 65,000 servers, 3.2 petabytes of data, over 70,000 PCs, and 2.6 million emails per day.

Intel’s change management program is responsible for over 4,000 changes each week.

Solution

One of the crucial factors that was impacting Intel’s change management efficiency was a cumbersome RFC process.

A lack of RFC usage was contributing to increased ad hoc changes being put through the CAB, and rescheduled changes were quite high.

Additionally, ad hoc changes were also contributing heavily to unscheduled downtime within the organization.

Results

Intel designed and implemented an automated RFC form generator to encourage end users to increase RFC usage.

As we’ve seen with RFC form design, the UX/UI of the form needs to be top notch, otherwise end users will simply circumvent the process. This will contribute to the problems you are seeking to correct.

Thanks to increased RFC usage, Intel decreased emergency changes by 50% and reduced change-caused unscheduled downtime by 82%.

Step 3.2

Establish Post-Implementation Activities

Activities

3.2.1 Determine When the CAB Would Reject Tested Changes

3.2.2 Create a Post-Implementation Activity Checklist

Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

Step 3.1: Design RFC

Step 3.2: Establish Post-Implementation Activities

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Outcomes of this step

  • A formalized post-implementation process for continual improvement

Why would the CAB reject a change that has been properly assessed and tested?

Possible reasons the CAB would reject a change include:

  • The product being changed is approaching its end of life.
  • The change is too costly.
  • The timing of the change conflicts with other changes.
  • There could be compliance issues.
  • The change is actually a project.
  • The risk is too high.
  • There could be regulatory issues.
  • The peripherals (test, backout, communication, and training plans) are incomplete.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Many reasons for rejection (listed above) can be caught early on in the process during the technical review or change build portion of the change. The earlier you catch these reasons for rejection, the less wasted effort there will be per change.

Sample RFCReason for CAP Rejection
There was a request for an update to a system that a legacy application depends on and only a specific area of the business was aware of the dependency. The CAB rejects it due to the downstream impact.
There was a request for an update to a non-supported application, and the vendor was asking for a premium support contract that is very costly. It’s too expensive to implement, despite the need for it. The CAB will wait for an upgrade to a new application.
There was a request to update application functionality to a beta release. The risk outweighs the business benefits.

Determine When the CAB Would Reject Tested Changes

Input

  • Current SOP (if available)

Output

  • List of reasons to reject tested changes

Materials

  • Whiteboard/flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
  • Projector
  • Markers/pens
  • Laptop with ITSM admin access
  • Project Summary Template

Participants

  • IT Director
  • Infrastructure Manager
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board

Avoid hand-offs to ensure a smooth implementation process

The implementation phase is the final checkpoint before releasing the new change into your live environment. Once the final checks have been made to the change, it’s paramount that teams work together to transition the change effectively rather than doing an abrupt hand-off. This could cause a potential outage.

1.

  • Deployment resources identified, allocated, and scheduled
  • Documentation complete
  • Support team trained
  • Users trained
  • Business sign-off
  • Target systems identified and ready to receive changes
  • Target systems available for installation maintenance window scheduled
  • Technical checks:
    • Disk space available
    • Pre-requisites met
    • Components/Services to be updated are stopped
    • All users disconnected
  • Download Info-Tech’sChange Management Pre-Implementation Checklist

Implement change →

2.

  1. Verification – once the change has been implemented, verify that all requirements are fulfilled.
  2. Review – ensure that all affected systems and applications are operating as predicted. Update change log.
  3. Transition – a crucial phase of implementation that’s often overlooked. Once the change implementation is complete from a technical point of view, it’s imperative that the team involved with the change inform and train the group responsible for managing the new change.

Create a backout plan to reduce the risk of a failed change

Every change process needs to plan for the potential for failure and how to address it effectively. Change management’s solution to this problem is a backout plan.

A backout plan needs to contain a record of the steps that need to be taken to restore the live environment back to its previous state and maintain business continuity. A good backout plan asks the following questions:

  1. How will failure be determined? Who will make the determination to back out of a change be made and when?
  2. Do we fix on fail or do we rollback to the previous configuration?
  3. Is the service desk aware of the impending change? Do they have proper training?

Notify the Service Desk

  • Notify the Service Desk about backout plan initiation.

Disable Access

  • Disable user access to affected system(s).

Conduct Checks

  • Conduct checks to all affected components.

Enable User Access

  • Enable user access to affected systems.

Notify the Service Desk

  • Notify the service desk that the backout plan was successful.

Info-Tech Best Practice

As part of the backout plan, consider the turnback point in the change window. That is, the point within the change window where you still have time to fully back out of the change.

Ensure the following post-implementation review activities are completed

Service Catalog

Update the service catalog with new information as a result of the implemented change.

CMDB

Update new dependencies present as a result of the new change.

Asset DB

Add notes about any assets newly affected by changes.

Architecture Map

Update your map based on the new change.

Technical Documentation

Update your technical documentation to reflect the changes present because of the new change.

Training Documentation

Update your training documentation to reflect any information about how users interact with the change.

Use a post-implementation review process to promote continual improvement

The post-implementation review (PIR) is the most neglected change management activity.

  • All changes should be reviewed to understand the reason behind them, appropriateness, and recommendations for next steps.
  • The Change Manager manages the completion of information PIRs and invites RFC originators to present their findings and document the lessons learned.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Review PIR reports at CAB meetings to highlight the root causes of issues, action items to close identified gaps, and back-up documentation required. Attach the PIR report to the relevant RFC to prevent similar changes from facing the same issues in the future.

  1. Why do a post-implementation review?
    • Changes that don’t fail but don’t perform well are rarely reviewed.
    • Changes may fail subtly and still need review.
    • Changes that cause serious failures (i.e. unplanned downtime) receive analysis that is unnecessarily in-depth.
  2. What are the benefits?
    • A proactive, post-implementation review actually uses less resources than reactionary change reviews.
    • Root-cause analysis of failed changes, no matter what the impact.
    • Insight into changes that took longer than projected.
    • Identification of previously unidentified risks affecting changes.

Determine the strategy for your PIR to establish a standardized process

Capture the details of your PIR process in a table similar to the one below.

Frequency Part of weekly review (IT team meeting)
Participants
  • Change Manager
  • Originator
  • SME/supervisor/impacted team(s)

Categories under review

Current deviations and action items from previous PIR:

  • Complete
  • Partially complete
  • Complete, late
  • Change failed, rollback succeeded
  • Change failed, rollback failed
  • Major deviation from implementation plan
Output
  • Root cause or failure or deviation
  • External factors
  • Remediation focus areas
  • Remediation timeline (follow-up at appropriate time)
Controls
  • Reviewed at next CAB meeting
  • RFC close is dependent on completion of PIR
  • Share with the rest of the technical team
  • Lessons learned stored in the knowledgebase and attached to RFC for easy search of past issues.

3.2.2 Create a Post-Implementation Activity Checklist

Input

  • Current SOP (if available)

Output

  • List of reasons to reject tested changes

Materials

Participants

  • CIO
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  1. Gather representatives from the change management team.
  2. Brainstorm duties to perform following the deployment of a change. Below is a sample list:
    • Example:
      • Was the deployment successful?
        • If no, was the backout plan executed successfully?
      • List change-related incidents
      • Change assessment
        • Missed dependencies
        • Inaccurate business impact
        • Incorrect SLA impact
        • Inaccurate resources
          • Time
          • Staff
          • Hardware
      • System testing
      • Integration testing
      • User acceptance testing
      • No backout plan
      • Backout plan failure
      • Deployment issues
  3. Record your results in the Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist.

Download the Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist

Case Study

Microsoft used post-implementation review activities to mitigate the risk of a critical Azure outage.

Industry: Technology

Source: Jason Zander, Microsoft

Challenge

In November 2014, Microsoft deployed a change intended to improve Azure storage performance by reducing CPU footprint of the Azure Table Front-Ends.

The deployment method was an incremental approach called “flighting,” where software and configuration deployments are deployed incrementally to Azure infrastructure in small batches.

Unfortunately, this software deployment caused a service interruption in multiple regions.

Solution

Before the software was deployed, Microsoft engineers followed proper protocol by testing the proposed update. All test results pointed to a successful implementation.

Unfortunately, engineers pushed the change out to the entire infrastructure instead of adhering to the traditional flighting protocol.

Additionally, the configuration switch was incorrectly enabled for the Azure Blob storage Front-Ends.

A combination of the two mistakes exposed a bug that caused the outage.

Results

Thankfully, Microsoft had a backout plan. Within 30 minutes, the change was rolled back on a global scale.

It was determined that policy enforcement was not integrated across the deployment system. An update to the system shifted the process of policy enforcement from human-based decisions and protocol to automation via the deployment platform.

Defined PIR activities enabled Microsoft to take swift action against the outage and mitigate the risk of a serious outage.

Phase 4

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

Define Change Management

1.1 Assess Maturity

1.2 Categorize Changes and Build Risk Assessment

Establish Roles and Workflows

2.1 Determine Roles and Responsibilities

2.2 Build Core Workflows

Define RFC and Post-Implementation Activities

3.1 Design RFC

3.2 Establish post-implementation activities

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

4.1 Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

4.2 Implement the Project

This phase will guide you through the following activities:

  • Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar
  • Implement the Project

This phase involves the following participants:

  • CIO/IT Director
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager

Step 4.1

Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

Activities

4.1.1 Create an Outline for Your Change Calendar

4.1.2 Determine Metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

4.1.3 Track and Record Metrics Using the Change Management Metrics Tool

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

Step 4.1: Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

Step 4.2: Implement the Project

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO/IT Director
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager

Outcomes of this step

  • Clear definitions of change calendar content
  • Guidelines for change calendar scheduling
  • Defined metrics to measure the success of change management with associated reports, KPIs, and CSFs

Enforce a standard method of prioritizing and scheduling changes

The impact of not deploying the change and the benefit of deploying it should determine its priority.

Risk of Not Deploying

  • What is the urgency of the change?
  • What is the risk to the organization if the change is not deployed right away?
  • Will there be any lost productivity, service disruptions, or missed critical business opportunities?
    • Timing
      • Does the proposed timing work with the approved changes already on the change schedule?
      • Has the change been clash checked so there are no potential conflicts over services or resources?
    • Once prioritized, a final deployment date should be set by the CAB. Check the change calendar first to avoid conflicts.

Positive Impact of Deployment

  • What benefits will be realized once the change is deployed?
  • How significant is the opportunity that triggered the change?
  • Will the change lead to a positive business outcome (e.g. increased sales)?

“The one who has more clout or authority is usually the one who gets changes scheduled in the time frame they desire, but you should really be evaluating the impact to the organization. We looked at the risk to the business of not doing the change, and that’s a good way of determining the criticality and urgency of that change.” – Joseph Sgandurra, Director, Service Delivery, Navantis

Info-Tech Insight

Avoid a culture where powerful stakeholders are able to push change deployment on an ad hoc basis. Give the CAB the full authority to make approval decisions based on urgency, impact, cost, and availability of resources.

Develop a change schedule to formalize the planning process

A change calendar will help the CAB schedule changes more effectively and increase visibility into upcoming changes across the organization.

  1. Establish change windows in a consistent change schedule:
    • Compile a list of business units that would benefit from a change.
    • Look for conflicts in the change schedule.
    • Avoid scheduling two or more major business units in a day.
    • Consider clients when building your change windows and change schedule.
  2. Gain commitments from key participants:
    • These individuals can confirm if there are any unusual or cyclical business requirements that will impact the schedule.
  3. Properly control your change calendar to improve change efficiency:
    • Look at the proposed start and end times: Are they sensible? Does the implementation window leave time for anything going wrong or needing to roll back the change?
    • Special considerations: Are there special circumstances that need to be considered? Ask the business if you don’t know.
    • The key principle is to have a sufficient window available for implementing changes so you only need to set up calendar freezes for sound business or technical reasons.

“Our mantra is to put it on the calendar. Even if it’s a preapproved change and doesn’t need a vote, having it on the calendar helps with visibility. The calendar is the one-stop shop for scheduling and identifying change dependencies.“ – Wil Clark, Director of Service and Performance Management, University of North Texas Systems

Provide clear definitions of what goes on the change calendar and who’s responsible

Roles

  • The Change Manager will be responsible for creating and maintaining a change calendar.
  • Only the Change Manager can physically alter the calendar by adding a new change after the CAB has agreed upon a deployment date.
  • All other CAB members, IT support staff, and other impacted stakeholders should have access to the calendar on a read-only basis to prevent people from making unauthorized changes to deployment dates.

Inputs

  • Freeze periods for individual business departments/applications (e.g. finance month-end periods, HR payroll cycle, etc. – all to be investigated).
  • Maintenance windows and planned outage periods.
  • Project schedules, and upcoming major/medium changes.
  • Holidays.
  • Business hours (some departments work 9-5, others work different hours or in different time zones, and user acceptance testing may require business users to be available).

Guidelines

  • Business-defined freeze periods are the top priority.
  • No major or medium normal changes should occur during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
  • Vendor SLA support hours are the preferred time for implementing changes.
  • The vacation calendar for IT will be considered for major changes.
  • Change priority: High > Medium > Low.
  • Minor changes and preapproved changes have the same priority and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The change calendar is a critical pre-requisite to change management in DevOps. Use the calendar to be proactive with proposed implementation dates and deconfliction before the change is finished.

4.1.1 Create Guidelines for Your Change Calendar

Input

  • Current change calendar guidelines

Output

  • Change calendar inputs and schedule checklist

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)
  1. Gather representatives from the change management team.
    • Example:
      • The change calendar/schedule includes:
        • Approved and scheduled normal changes.
        • Scheduled project work.
        • Scheduled maintenance windows.
        • Change freeze periods with affected users noted:
          • Daily/weekly freeze periods.
          • Monthly freeze periods.
          • Annual freeze periods.
          • Other critical business events.
  2. Create a checklist to run through before each change is scheduled:
    • Check the schedule and assess resource availability:
      • Will user productivity be impacted?
      • Are there available resources (people and systems) to implement the change?
      • Is the vendor available? Is there a significant cost attached to pushing change deployment before the regularly scheduled refresh?
      • Are there dependencies? Does the deployment of one change depend on the earlier deployment of another?
  3. Record your results in your Project Summary Template.

Start measuring the success of your change management project using three key metrics

Number of change-related incidents that occur each month

  • Each month, record the number of incidents that can be directly linked to a change. This can be done using an ITSM tool or manually by service desk staff.
  • This is a key success metric: if you are not tracking change-related incidents yet, start doing so as soon as possible. This is the metric that the CIO and business stakeholders will be most interested in because it impacts users directly.

Number of unauthorized changes applied each month

  • Each month, record the number of changes applied without approval. This is the best way to measure adherence to the process.
  • If this number decreases, it demonstrates a reduction in risk, as more changes are formally assessed and approved before being deployed.

Percentage of emergency changes

  • Each month, compare the number of emergency change requests to the total number of change requests.
  • Change requesters often designate changes as emergencies as a way of bypassing the process.
  • A reduction in emergency changes demonstrates that your process is operating smoothly and reduces the risk of deploying changes that have not been properly tested.

Info-Tech Insight

Start simple. Metrics can be difficult to tackle if you’re starting from scratch. While implementing your change management practice, use these three metrics as a starting point, since they correlate well with the success of change management overall. The following few slides provide more insight into creating metrics for your change process.

If you want more insight into your change process, measure the progress of each step in change management with metrics

Improve

  • Number of repeat failures (i.e. making the same mistake twice)
  • Number of changes converted to pre-approved
  • Number of changes converted from pre-approved back to normal

Request

  • What percentage of change requests have errors or lack appropriate support?
  • What percentage of change requests are actually projects, service requests, or operational tasks?
  • What percentage of changes have been requested before (i.e. documented)?

Assess

  • What percentage of change requests are out of scope?
  • What percentage of changes have been requested before (i.e. documented)?
  • What are the percentages of changes by category (normal, pre-approved, emergency)?

Plan

  • What percentage of change requests are reviewed by the CAB that should have been pre-approved or emergency (i.e. what percentage of changes are in the wrong category)?

Approve

  • Number of changes broken down by department (business unit/IT department to be used in making core/optional CAB membership more efficient)
  • Number of workflows that can be automated

Implement

  • Number of changes completed on schedule
  • Number of changes rolled back
  • What percentage of changes caused an incident?

Use metrics to inform project KPIs and CSFs

Leverage the metrics from the last slide and convert them to data communicable to IT, management, and leadership

  • To provide value, metrics and measurements must be actionable. What actions can be taken as a result of the data being presented?
  • If the metrics are not actionable, there is no value and you should question the use of the metric.
  • Data points in isolation are mostly meaningless to inform action. Observe trends in your metrics to inform your decisions.
  • Using a framework to develop measurements and metrics provides a defined methodology that enables a mapping of base measurements through CSFs.
  • Establishing the relationship increases the value that measurements provide.

Purposely use SDLC and change lifecycle metrics to find bottlenecks and automation candidates.

Metrics:

Metrics are easily measured datapoints that can be pulled from your change management tool. Examples: Number of changes implemented, number of changes without incident.

KPIs:

Key Performance Indicators are metrics presented in a way that is easily digestible by stakeholders in IT. Examples: Change efficiency, quality of changes.

CSFs:

Critical Success Factors are measures of the business success of change management taken by correlating the CSF with multiple KPIs. Examples: consistent and efficient change management process, a change process mapped to business needs

List in-scope metrics and reports and align them to benefits

Metric/Report (by team)Benefit
Total number of RFCs and percentages by category (pre-approved, normal, emergency, escalated support, expedited)
  • Understand change management activity
  • Tracking maturity growth
  • Identifying “hot spots”
Pre-approved change list (and additions/removals from the list) Workload and process streamlining (i.e. reduce “red tape” wherever possible)
Average time between RFC lifecycle stages (by service/application) Advance planning for proposed changes
Number of changes by service/application/hardware class
  • Identifying weaknesses in the architecture
  • Vendor-specific TCO calculations
Change triggers Business- vs. IT-initiated change
Number of RFCs by lifecycle stage Workload planning
List of incidents related to changes Visible failures of the CM process
Percentage of RFCs with a tested backout/validation plan Completeness of change planning
List of expedited changes Spotlighting poor planning and reducing the need for this category going forward (“The Hall of Shame”)
CAB approval rate Change coordinator alignment with CAB priorities – low approval rate indicates need to tighten gatekeeping by the change coordinator
Calendar of changes Planning

4.1.2 Determine Metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

Input

  • Current metrics

Output

  • List of trackable metrics, KPIs and CSFs

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)
  1. Draw three tables for metrics, KPIs, and CSFs.
  2. Starting with the CSF table, fill in all relevant CSFs that your group wishes to track and measure.
  3. Next, work to determine relevant KPIs correlated with the CSFs and metrics needed to measure the KPIs. Use the tables included below (taken from section 14 of the Change Management SOP) to guide the process.
  4. Record the results in the tables in section 14 of your Change Management SOP.
  5. Decide on where and when to review the metrics to discuss your change management strategy. Designate and owner and record in the RACI and Communications section of your Change Management SOP.
Ref #Metric

M1

 Number of changes implemented for a time period
M2 Number of changes successfully implemented for a time period
M3 Number of changes implemented causing incidents
M4 Number of accepted known errors when change is implemented
M5 Total days for a change build (specific to each change)
M6 Number of changes rescheduled
M7 Number of training questions received following a change
Ref#KPIProduct
K1 Successful changes for a period of time (approach 100%) M2 / M1 x 100%
K2 Changes causing incidents (approach 0%) M3 / M1 x 100%
K3 Average days to implement a change ΣM5 / M1
K4 Change efficiency (approach 100%) [1 - (M6 / M1)] x 100%
K5 Quality of changes being implemented (approach 100%) [1 - (M4 / M1)] x 100%
K6 Change training efficiency (approach 100%) [1 - (M7 / M1)] x 100%
Ref#CSFIndicator
C1 Successful change management process producing quality changes K1, K5
C2 Consistent efficient change process K4, K6
C3 Change process maps to business needs K5, K6

Measure changes in selected metrics to evaluate success

Once you have implemented a standardized change management practice, your team’s goal should be to improve the process, year over year.

  • After a process change has been implemented, it’s important to regularly monitor and evaluate the CSFs, KPIs, and metrics you chose to evaluate. Examine whether the process change you implemented has actually resolved the issue or achieved the goal of the critical success factor.
  • Establish a schedule for regularly reviewing the key metrics. Assess changes in those metrics and determine progress toward reaching objectives.
  • In addition to reviewing CSFs, KPIs, and metrics, check in with the release management team and end users to measure their perceptions of the change management process once an appropriate amount of time has passed.
  • Ensure that metrics are telling the whole story and that reporting is honest in order to be informative.

Outcomes of standardizing change management should include:

  1. Improved efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of changes.
  2. Changes and processes are more aligned with the business needs and strategy.
  3. Improved maturity of change processes.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Make sure you’re measuring the right things and considering all sources of information. It’s very easy to put yourself in a position where you’re congratulating yourselves for improving on a specific metric such as number of releases per month, but satisfaction remains low.

4.1.3 Track and Record Metrics Using the Change Management Metrics Tool

Input

  • Current metrics

Output

  • List of trackable metrics, KPIs and CSFs to be observed over the length of a year

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)

Tracking the progress of metrics is paramount to the success of any change management process. Use Info-Tech’s Change Management Metrics Tool to record metrics and track your progress. This tool is intended to be a substitute for organizations who do not have the capability to track change-related metrics in their ITSM tool.

  1. Input metrics from the previous activity to track over the course of a year.
  2. To record your metrics, open the tool and go to tab 2. The tool is currently primed to record and track five metrics. If you need more than that, you can edit the list in the hidden calculations tab.
  3. To see the progress of your metrics, move to tab 3 to view a dashboard of all metrics in the tool.

Download the Change Management Metrics Tool

Case Study

A federal credit union was able to track maturity growth through the proper use of metrics.

Industry: Federal Credit Union (anonymous)

Source: Info-Tech Workshop

Challenge

At this federal credit union, the VP of IT wanted a tight set of metrics to engage with the business, communicate within IT, enable performance management of staff, and provide visibility into workload demands, among other requirements.

The organization was suffering from “metrics fatigue,” with multiple reports being generated from all groups within IT, to the point that weekly/monthly reports were being seen as spam.

Solution

Stakeholders were provided with an overview of change management benefits and were asked to identify one key attribute that would be useful to their specific needs.

Metrics were designed around the stakeholder needs, piloted with each stakeholder group, fine-tuned, and rolled out.

Some metrics could not be automated off-the-shelf and were rolled out in a manual fashion. These metrics were subsequently automated and finally made available through a dashboard.

Results

The business received clear guidance regarding estimated times to implement changes across different elements of the environment.

The IT managers were able to plan team workloads with visibility into upstream change activity.

Architects were able to identify vendors and systems that were the leading source of instability.

The VP of IT was able to track the maturity growth of the change management process and proactively engage with the business on identified hot spots.

Step 4.2

Implement the Project

Activities

4.2.1 Use a Communications Plan to Gain End User Buy-In

4.2.2 Create a Project Roadmap to Track Your Implementation Progress

Measure, Manage, and Maintain

Step 4.1: Identify Metrics and Build the Change Calendar

Step 3.2: Implement the Project

This step involves the following participants:

  • CIO/IT Director
  • IT Managers
  • Change Manager

Outcomes of this step

  • A communications plan for key messages to communicate to relevant stakeholders and audiences
  • A roadmap with assigned action items to implement change management

Success of the new process will depend on introducing change and gaining acceptance

Change management provides value by promptly evaluating and delivering changes required by the business and by minimizing disruption and rework caused by failed changes. Communication of your new change management process is key. If people do not understand the what and why, it will fail to provide the desired value.

Info-Tech Best Practice

Gather feedback from end users about the new process: if the process is too bureaucratic, end users are more likely to circumvent it.

Main Challenges with Communication

  • Many people fail before they even start because they are buried in a mess created before they arrived – either because of a failed attempt to get change management implemented or due to a complicated system that has always existed.
  • Many systems are maintained because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”
  • Organizations don’t know where to start; they think change management is too complex a process.
  • Each group needs to follow the same procedure – groups often have their own processes, but if they don’t agree with one another, this could cause an outage.

Educate affected stakeholders to prepare for organizational change

An organizational change management plan should be part of your change management project.

  • Educate stakeholders about:
    • The process change (describe it in a way that the user can understand and is clear and concise).
      • IT changes will be handled in a standardized and repeatable fashion to minimize change-related incidents.
    • Who is impacted?
      • All users.
    • How are they impacted?
      • All change requests will be made using a standard form and will not be deployed until formal approval is received.
    • Change messaging.
      • How to communicate the change (benefits).
    • Learning and development – training your users on the change.
      • Develop and deliver training session on the Change Management SOP to familiarize users with this new method of handling IT change.

Host a lunch-and-learn session

  • For the initial deployment, host a lunch-and-learn session to educate the business on the change management practice. Relevant stakeholders of affected departments should host it and cover the following topics:
  • What is change management (change management/change control)?
  • The value of change management.
  • What the Change Management SOP looks like.
  • Who is involved in the change management process (the CAB, etc.)?
  • What constitutes a pre-approved change and an emergency change?
  • An overview of the process, including how to avoid unauthorized changes.
  • Who should they contact in case of questions?

Communicate the new process to all affected stakeholders

Do not surprise users or support staff with changes. This will result in lost productivity and low satisfaction with IT services.

  • User groups and the business need to be given sufficient notice of an impending change.
  • This will allow them to make appropriate plans to accept the change, minimizing the impact of the change on productivity.
  • A communications plan will be documented in the RFC while the release is being built and tested.
  • It’s the responsibility of the change team to execute on the communications plan.

Info-Tech Insight

The success of change communication can be measured by monitoring the number of service desk tickets related to a change that was not communicated to users.

Communication is crucial to the integration and overall implementation of your change management initiative. An effective communications plan will:

  • Gain support from management at the project proposal phase.
  • Create end-user buy-in once the program is set to launch.
  • Maintain the presence of the program throughout the business.
  • Instill ownership throughout the business from top-level management to new hires.

Create your communications plan to anticipate challenges, remove obstacles, and ensure buy-in

Management

Technicians

Business Stakeholders

Provide separate communications to key stakeholder groups

Why? What problems are you trying to solve?

What? What processes will it affect (that will affect me)?

Who? Who will be affected? Who do I go to if I have issues with the new process?

When? When will this be happening? When will it affect me?

How? How will these changes manifest themselves?

Goal? What is the final goal? How will it benefit me?

Info-Tech Insight

Pay close attention to the medium of communication. For example, stakeholders on their feet all day would not be as receptive to an email communication compared to those who primarily work in front of a computer. Put yourself into various stakeholders’ shoes to craft a tailored communication of change management.

4.2.1 Use a Communications Plan to Gain End User Buy-In

Input

  • List of stakeholder groups for change management

Output

  • Tailored communications plans for various stakeholder groups

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)
  1. Using Info-Tech’s Change Management Communications Plan, identify key audiences or stakeholder groups that will be affected by the new change management practice.
  2. For each group requiring a communications plan, identify the following:
    • The benefits for that group of individuals.
    • The impact the change will have on them.
    • The best communication method(s) for them.
    • The time frame of the communication.
  3. Complete this information in a table like the one below:
GroupBenefitsImpactMethodTimeline
IT Standardized change process All changes must be reviewed and approved Poster campaign 6 months
End Users Decreased wait time for changes Formal process for RFCs Lunch-and-learn sessions 3 months
Business Reduced outages Increased involvement in planning and approvals Monthly reports 1 year
  1. Discuss the communications plan:
    • Will this plan ensure that users are given adequate opportunities to accept the changes being deployed?
    • Is the message appropriate for each audience? Is the format appropriate for each audience?
    • Does the communication include training where necessary to help users adopt any new functions/workflows being introduced?

Download the Change Management Communications Plan

Present your SOP to key stakeholders and obtain their approval

Now that you have completed your Change Management SOP, the final step is to get sign-off from senior management to begin the rollout process.

Know your audience:

  • Determine the service management stakeholders who will be included in the audience for your presentation.
  • You want your presentation to be succinct and hard hitting. Management’s time is tight and they will lose interest if you drag out the delivery.
  • Briefly speak about the need for more formal change management and emphasize the benefits of implementing a more formal process with a SOP.
  • Present your current state assessment results to provide context before presenting the SOP itself.
  • As with any other foundational activity, be prepared with some quick wins to gain executive attention.
  • Be prepared to review with both technical and less technical stakeholders.

Info-Tech Insight

The support of senior executive stakeholders is critical to the success of your SOP rollout. Try to wow them with project benefits and make sure they know about the risks/pain points.

Download the Change Management Project Summary Template

4.2.2 Create a Project Roadmap to Track Your Implementation Progress

Input

  • List of implementation tasks

Output

  • Roadmap and timeline for change management implementation

Materials

Participants

  • Change Manager
  • Members of the Change Advisory Board
  • Service Desk Manager
  • Operations (optional)
  1. Info-Tech’s Change Management Roadmap Tool helps you identify and prioritize tasks that need to be completed for the change management implementation project.
  2. Use this tool to identify each action item that will need to be completed as part of the change management initiative. Chart each action item, assign an owner, define the duration, and set a completion date.
  3. Use the resulting rocket diagram as a guide to task completion as you work toward your future state.

Download the Change Management Roadmap Tool

Case Study (part 4 of 4)

Intel implemented a robust change management process.

Industry: Technology

Source: Daniel Grove, Intel

Challenge

Founded in 1968, the world’s largest microchip and semiconductor company employs over 100,000 people. Intel manufactures processors for major players in the PC market including Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

Intel IT supports over 65,000 servers, 3.2 petabytes of data, over 70,000 PCs, and 2.6 million emails per day.

Intel’s change management program is responsible for over 4,000 changes each week.

Solution

Intel had its new change management program in place and the early milestones planned, but one key challenge with any new project is communication.

The company also needed to navigate the simplification of a previously complex process; end users could be familiar with any of the 37 different change processes or 25 different change management systems of record.

Top-level buy-in was another concern.

Results

Intel first communicated the process changes by publishing the vision and strategy for the project with top management sponsorship.

The CIO published all of the new change policies, which were supported by the Change Governance Council.

Intel cited the reason for success as the designation of a Policy and Guidance Council – a group designed to own communication and enforcement of the new policies and processes put in place.

Summary of Accomplishment

Problem Solved

You now have an outline of your new change management process. The hard work starts now for an effective implementation. Make use of the communications plan to socialize the new process with stakeholders and the roadmap to stay on track.

Remember as you are starting your implementation to keep your documents flexible and treat them as “living documents.” You will likely need to tweak and refine the processware and templates several times to continually improve the process. Furthermore, don’t shy away from seeking feedback from your stakeholders to gain buy-in.

Lastly, keep an eye on your progress with objective, data-driven metrics. Leverage the trends in your data to drive your decisions. Be sure to revisit the maturity assessment not only to measure and visualize your progress, but to gain insight into your next steps.

If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

Contact your account representative for more information.

workshops@infotech.com

1-888-670-8889

Additional Support

If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.

Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.

Contact your account representative for more information.

workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

1.1.2 Complete a Change Management Maturity Assessment

Run through the change management maturity assessment with tailored commentary for each action item outlining context and best practices.

2.2.1 Plot the Process for a Normal Change

Build a normal change process using Info-Tech’s Change Management Process Library template with an analyst helping you to right size the process for your organization.

Related Info-Tech Research

Standardize the Service Desk

Improve customer service by driving consistency in your support approach and meeting SLAs.

Stabilize Release and Deployment Management

Maintain both speed and control while improving the quality of deployments and releases within the infrastructure team.

Incident and Problem Management

Don’t let persistent problems govern your department.

Select Bibliography

AXELOS Limited. ITIL Foundation: ITIL 4th edition. TSO, 2019, pp. 118–120.

Behr, Kevin and George Spafford. The Visible Ops Handbook: Implementing ITIL in 4 Practical and Auditable Steps. IT Revolution Press. 2013.

BMC. “ITIL Change Management.” BMC Software Canada, 22 December 2016.

Brown, Vance. “Change Management: The Greatest ROI of ITIL.” Cherwell Service Management.

Cisco. “Change Management: Best Practices.” Cisco, 10 March 2008.

Grove, Daniel. “Case Study ITIL Change Management Intel Corporation.” PowerShow, 2005.

ISACA. “COBIT 5: Enabling Processes.” ISACA, 2012.

Jantti, M. and M. Kainulainen. “Exploring an IT Service Change Management Process: A Case Study.” ICDS 2011: The Fifth International Conference on Digital Society, 23 Feb. 2011.

Murphy, Vawns. “How to Assess Changes.” The ITSM Review, 29 Jan. 2016.

Nyo, Isabel. “Best Practices for Change Management in the Age of DevOps.” Atlassian Engineering, 12 May 2021.

Phillips, Katherine W., Katie A. Liljenquist, and Margaret A. Neale. “Better Decisions Through Diversity.” Kellogg Insight, 1 Oct. 2010.

Pink Elephant. “Best Practices for Change Management.” Pink Elephant, 2005.

Sharwood, Simon. “Google broke its own cloud by doing two updates at once.” The Register, 24 Aug. 2016.

SolarWinds. “How to Eliminate the No: 1 Cause of Network Downtime.” SolarWinds Tech Tips, 25 Apr. 2014.

The Stationery Office. “ITIL Service Transition: 2011.” The Stationary Office, 29 July 2011.

UCISA. “ITIL – A Guide to Change Management.” UCISA.

Zander, Jason. “Final Root Cause Analysis and Improvement Areas: Nov 18 Azure Storage Service Interruption.” Microsoft Azure: Blog and Updates, 17 Dec. 2014.

Appendix I: Expedited Changes

Employ the expedited change to promote process adherence

In many organizations, there are changes which may not fit into the three prescribed categories. The reason behind why the expedited category may be needed generally falls between two possibilities:

  1. External drivers dictate changes via mandates which may not fall within the normal change cycle. A CIO, judge, state/provincial mandate, or request from shared services pushes a change that does not fall within a normal change cycle. However, there is no imminent outage (therefore it is not an emergency). In this case, an expedited change can proceed. Communicate to the change requester that IT and the change build team will still do their best to implement the change without issue, but any extra risk of implementing this expedited change (compared to an normal change) will be absorbed by the change requester.
  2. The change requester did not prepare for the change adequately. This is common if a new change process is being established (and stakeholders are still adapting to the process). Change requesters or the change build team may request the change to be done by a certain date that does not fall within the normal change cycle, or they simply did not give the CAB enough time to vet the change. In this case, you may use the expedited category as a metric (or a “Hall of Shame” example). If you identify a department or individual that frequently request expedited changes, use the expedited category as a means to educate them about the normal change to discourage the behavior moving forward.

Two possible ways to build an expedited change category”

  1. Build the category similar to an emergency change. In this case, one difference would be the time allotted to fully obtain authorization of the change from the E-CAB and business owner before implementing the change (as opposed to the emergency change workflow).
  2. Have the expedited change reflect the normal change workflow. In this case, all the same steps of the normal change workflow are followed except for expedited timelines between processes. This may include holding an impromptu CAB meeting to authorize the change.

Example process: Expedited Change Process

The image is a flowchart, showing the process for Expedited Change.

For the full process, refer to the Change Management Process Library.

Appendix II: Optimize IT Change Management in a DevOps Environment

Change Management cannot be ignored because you are DevOps or Agile

But it can be right-sized.

The core tenets of change management still apply no matter the type of development environment an organization has. Changes in any environment carry risk of degrading functionality, and must therefore be vetted. However, the amount of work and rigor put into different stages of the change life cycle can be altered depending on the maturity of the development workflows. The following are several stage gates for change management that MUST be considered if you are a DevOps or Agile shop:

  • Intake assessment (separation of changes from projects, service requests, operational tasks)
    • Within a DevOps or Agile environment, many of the application changes will come directly from the SDLC and projects going live. It does not mean a change must go through CAB, but leveraging the pre-approved category allows for an organization to stick to development lifecycles without being heavily bogged down by change bureaucracy.
  • Technical review
    • Leveraging automation, release contingencies, and the current SDLC documentation to decrease change risk allows for various changes to be designated as pre-approved.
  • Authorization
    • Define the authorization and dependencies of a change early in the lifecycle to gain authorization and necessary signoffs.
  • Documentation/communication
    • Documentation and communication are post-implementation activities that cannot be ignored. If documentation is required throughout the SDLC, then design the RFC to point to the correct documentation instead of duplicating information.

"Understand that process is hard and finding a solution that fits every need can be tricky. With this change management process we do not try to solve every corner case so much as create a framework by which best judgement can be used to ensure maximum availability of our platforms and services while still complying with our regulatory requirements and making positive changes that will delight our customers.“ -IT Director, Information Cybersecurity Organization

Five principals for implementing change in DevOps

Follow these best practices to make sure your requirements are solid:

People

The core differences between an Agile or DevOps transition and a traditional approach are the restructuring and the team behind it. As a result, the stakeholders of change management must be onboard for the process to work. This is the most difficult problem to solve if it’s an issue, but open avenues of feedback for a process build is a start.

DevOps Lifecycles

  • Plan the dev lifecycle so people can’t skirt it. Ensure the process has automated checks so that it’s more work to skirt the system than it is to follow it. Make the right process the process of least resistance.
  • Plan changes from the start to ensure that cross-dependencies are identified early and that the proposed implementation date is deconflicted and visible to other change requesters and change stakeholders.

Automation

Automation comes in many forms and is well documented in many development workflows. Having automated signoffs for QA/security checks and stakeholders/cross dependency owner sign offs may not fully replace the CAB but can ease the burden on discussions before implementation.

Contingencies

Canary releases, phased releases, dark releases, and toggles are all options you can employ to reduce risk during a release. Furthermore, building in contingencies to the test/rollback plan decreases the risk of the change by decreasing the factor of likelihood.

Continually Improve

Building change from the ground up doesn’t meant the process has to be fully fledged before launch. Iterative improvements are possible before achieving an optimal state. Having the proper metrics on the pain points and bottlenecks in the process can identify areas for automation and improvement.

Increasing the proportion of pre-approved changes

Leverage the traditional change infrastructure to deploy changes quickly while keeping your risk low.

  • To designate a change as a pre-approved change it must have a low risk rating (based on impact and likelihood). Fortunately, many of the changes within the Agile framework are designed to be small and lower risk (at least within application development). Putting in the work ahead of time to document these changes, template RFCs, and document the dependencies for various changes allows for a shift in the proportion of pre-approved changes.
  • The designation of pre-approved changes is an ongoing process. This is not an overnight initiative. Measure the proportion of changes by category as a metric, setting goals and interim goals to shift the change proportion to a desired ratio.

The image is a bar graph, with each bar having 3 colour-coded sections: Emergency, Normal, and Pre-Approved. The first bar is before, where the largest change category is Normal. The second bar is after, and the largest change category is Pre-Approved.

Turn your CAB into a virtual one

  • The CAB does not have to fully disappear in a DevOps environment. If the SDLC is built in a way that authorizes changes through peer reviews and automated checks, by the time it’s deployed, the job of the CAB should have already been completed. Then the authorization stage-gate (traditionally, the CAB) shifts to earlier in the process, reducing the need for an actual CAB meeting. However, the change must still be communicated and documented, even if it’s a pre-approved change.
  • As the proportion of changes shifts from a high degree of normal changes to a high degree of pre-approved changes, the need for CAB meetings should decrease even further. As an end-state, you may reserve actual CAB meetings for high-profile changes (as defined by risk).
  • Lastly, change management does not disappear as a process. Periodic reviews of change management metrics and the pre-approved change list must still be completed.

Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts

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  • Parent Category Name: Governance, Risk & Compliance
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  • Organizations often tackle compliance efforts in an ad hoc manner, resulting in an ineffective use of resources.
  • The alignment of business objectives, information security, and data privacy is new for many organizations, and it can seem overwhelming.
  • GDPR is an EU regulation that has global implications; it likely applies to your organization more than you think.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Financial impact isn’t simply fines. A data controller fined for GDPR non-compliance may sue its data processor for damage.
  • Even day-to-day activities may be considered processing. Screen-sharing from a remote location is considered processing if the data shown onscreen contains personal data!
  • This is not simply an IT problem. Organizations that address GDPR in a siloed approach will not be as successful as organizations that take a cross-functional approach.

Impact and Result

  • Follow a robust methodology that applies to any organization and aligns operational and situational GDPR scope. Info-Tech's framework allows organizations to tackle GDPR compliance in a right-sized, methodical approach.
  • Adhere to a core, complex GDPR requirement through the use of our documentation templates.
  • Understand how the risk of non-compliance is aligned to both your organization’s functions and data scope.
  • This blueprint will guide you through projects and steps that will result in quick wins for near-term compliance.

Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should fast track your GDPR compliance efforts, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Understand your compliance requirements

Understand the breadth of the regulation’s requirements and document roles and responsibilities.

  • Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts – Phase 1: Understand Your Compliance Requirements
  • GDPR RACI Chart

2. Define your GDPR scope

Define your GDPR scope and prioritize initiatives based on risk.

  • Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts – Phase 2: Define Your GDPR Scope
  • GDPR Initiative Prioritization Tool

3. Satisfy documentation requirements

Understand the requirements for a record of processing and determine who will own it.

  • Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts – Phase 3: Satisfy Documentation Requirements
  • Record of Processing Template
  • Legitimate Interest Assessment Template
  • Data Protection Impact Assessment Tool
  • A Guide to Data Subject Access Requests

4. Align your data breach requirements and security program

Document your DPO decision and align security strategy to data privacy.

  • Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts – Phase 4: Align Your Data Breach Requirements & Security Program

5. Prioritize your GDPR initiatives

Prioritize any initiatives driven out of Phases 1-4 and begin developing policies that help in the documentation effort.

  • Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts – Phase 5: Prioritize Your GDPR Initiatives
  • Data Protection Policy
[infographic]

Workshop: Fast Track Your GDPR Compliance Efforts

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Understand Your Compliance Requirements

The Purpose

Kick-off the workshop; understand and define GDPR as it exists in your organizational context.

Key Benefits Achieved

Prioritize your business units based on GDPR risk.

Assign roles and responsibilities.

Activities

1.1 Kick-off and introductions.

1.2 High-level overview of weekly activities and outcomes.

1.3 Identify and define GDPR initiative within your organization’s context.

1.4 Determine what actions have been done to prepare; how have regulations been handled in the past?

1.5 Identify key business units for GDPR committee.

1.6 Document business units and functions that are within scope.

1.7 Prioritize business units based on GDPR.

1.8 Formalize stakeholder support.

Outputs

Prioritized business units based on GDPR risk

GDPR Compliance RACI Chart

2 Define Your GDPR Scope

The Purpose

Know the rationale behind a record of processing.

Key Benefits Achieved

Determine who will own the record of processing.

Activities

2.1 Understand the necessity for a record of processing.

2.2 Determine for each prioritized business unit: are you a controller or processor?

2.3 Develop a record of processing for most-critical business units.

2.4 Perform legitimate interest assessments.

2.5 Document an iterative process for creating a record of processing.

Outputs

Initial record of processing: 1-2 activities

Initial legitimate interest assessment: 1-2 activities

Determination of who will own the record of processing

3 Satisfy Documentation Requirements and Align With Your Data Breach Requirements and Security Program

The Purpose

Review existing security controls and highlight potential requirements.

Key Benefits Achieved

Ensure the initiatives you’ll be working on align with existing controls and future goals.

Activities

3.1 Determine the appetite to align the GDPR project to data classification and data discovery.

3.2 Discuss the benefits of data discovery and classification.

3.3 Review existing incident response plans and highlight gaps.

3.4 Review existing security controls and highlight potential requirements.

3.5 Review all initiatives highlighted during days 1-3.

Outputs

Highlighted gaps in current incident response and security program controls

Documented all future initiatives

4 Prioritize GDPR Initiatives

The Purpose

Review project plan and initiatives and prioritize.

Key Benefits Achieved

Finalize outputs of the workshop, with a strong understanding of next steps.

Activities

4.1 Analyze the necessity for a data protection officer and document decision.

4.2 Review project plan and initiatives.

4.3 Prioritize all current initiatives based on regulatory compliance, cost, and ease to implement.

4.4 Develop a data protection policy.

4.5 Finalize key deliverables created during the workshop.

4.6 Present the GDPR project to key stakeholders.

4.7 Workshop executive presentation and debrief.

Outputs

GDPR framework and prioritized initiatives

Data Protection Policy

List of key tools

Communication plans

Workshop summary documentation

Enterprise Network Design Considerations

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Security, risk, and trust models play into how networks are designed and deployed. If these models are not considered during network design, band-aids and workarounds will be deployed to achieve the needed goals, potentially bypassing network controls.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

The cloud “gold rush” has made it attractive for many enterprises to migrate services off the traditional network and into the cloud. These services are now outside of the traditional network and associated controls. This shifts the split of east-west vs. north-south traffic patterns, as well as extending the network to encompass services outside of enterprise IT’s locus of control.

Impact and Result

Where users access enterprise data or services and from which devices dictate the connectivity needed. With the increasing shift of work that the business is completing remotely, not all devices and data paths will be under the control of IT. This shift does not allow IT to abdicate from the responsibility to provide a secure network.

Enterprise Network Design Considerations Research & Tools

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Enterprise Network Design Considerations Deck – A brief deck that outlines key trusts and archetypes when considering enterprise network designs.

This blueprint will help you:

  • Enterprise Network Design Considerations Storyboard

2. Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool – Build an infrastructure assessment in an hour.

Dispense with detailed analysis and customizations to present a quick snapshot of the road ahead.

  • Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool
[infographic]

Further reading

Enterprise Network Design Considerations

It is not just about connectivity.

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight

Connectivity and security are tightly coupled

Security, risk, and trust models play into how networks are designed and deployed. If these models are not considered during network design, band-aids and workarounds will be deployed to achieve the needed goals, potentially bypassing network controls.

Many services are no longer within the network

The cloud “gold rush” has made it attractive for many enterprises to migrate services off the traditional network and into the cloud. These services are now outside of the traditional network and associated controls. This shifts the split of east-west vs. north-south traffic patterns, as well as extending the network to encompass services outside of enterprise IT’s locus of control.

Users are demanding an anywhere, any device access model

Where users access enterprise data or services and from which devices dictate the connectivity needed. With the increasing shift of work that the business is completing remotely, not all devices and data paths will be under the control of IT. This shift does not allow IT to abdicate from the responsibility to provide a secure network.

Enterprise networks are changing

The new network reality

The enterprise network of 2020 and beyond is changing:

  • Services are becoming more distributed.
  • The number of services provided “off network” is growing.
  • Users are more often remote.
  • Security threats are rapidly escalating.

The above statements are all accurate for enterprise networks, though each potentially to differing levels depending on the business being supported by the network. Depending on how affected the network in question currently is and will be in the near future, there are different common network archetypes that are best able to address these concerns while delivering business value at an appropriate price point.

High-Level Design Considerations

  1. Understand Business Needs

    2. Understand what the business needs are and where users and resources are located.

  2. Define Your Trust Model

    3. Trust is a spectrum and tied tightly to security.

  3. Align With an Archetype

    4. How will the network be deployed?

  4. Understand Available Tooling

    5. What tools are in the market to help achieve design principles?

Understand business needs

Mission

Never ignore the basics. Start with revisiting the mission and vision of the business to address relevant needs.

Users

Identify where users will be accessing services from. Remote vs. “on net” is a design consideration now more than ever.

Resources

Identify required resources and their locations, on net vs. cloud.

Controls

Identify required controls in order to define control points and solutions.

Define a trust model

Trust is a spectrum

  • There is a spectrum of trust, from fully trusted to not trusted at all. Each organization must decide for their network (or each area thereof) the appropriate level of trust to assign.
  • The ease of network design and deployment is directly proportional to the trust spectrum.
  • When resources and users are outside of direct IT control, the level of appropriate trust should be examined closely.

Implicit

Trust everything within the network. Security is perimeter based and designed to stop external actors from entering the large trusted zone.

Controlled

Multiple zones of trust within the network. Segmentation is a standard practice to separate areas of higher and lower trust.

Zero

Verify trust. The network is set up to recognize and support the principle of least privilege where only required access is supported.

Align with an archetype

Archetypes are a good guide

  • Using a defined archetype as a guiding principle in network design can help clarify appropriate tools or network structures.
  • Different aspects of a network can have different archetypes where appropriate (e.g. IT vs. OT [operational technology] networks).

Traditional

Services are provided from within the traditional network boundaries and security is provided at the network edge.

Hybrid

Services are provided both externally and from within the traditional network boundaries, and security is primarily at the network edge.

Inverted

Services are provided primarily externally, and security is cloud centric.

Traditional networks

Resources within network boundaries

Moat and castle security perimeter

Abstract

A traditional network is one in which there are clear boundaries defined by a security perimeter. Trust can be applied within the network boundaries as appropriate, and traffic is generally routed through internally deployed control points that may be centralized. Traditional networks commonly include large firewalls and other “big iron” security and control devices.

Network Design Tenets

  • The full network path from resource to user is designed, deployed, and controlled by IT.
  • Users external to the network must first connect to the network to gain access to resources.
  • Security, risk, and trust controls will be implemented by internal enterprise hardware/software devices.

Control

In the traditional network, it is assumed that all required control points can be adequately deployed across hardware/software that is “on prem” and under the control of central IT.

Info-Tech Insight

With increased cloud services provided to end users, this network is now more commonly used in data centers or OT networks.

Traditional networks

The image contains an example of what traditional networks look like, as described in the text below.

Defining Characteristics

  • Traffic flows in a defined path under the control of IT to and from central IT resources.
  • Due to visibility into, and the control of, the traffic between the end user and resources, IT can relatively simply implement the required security controls on owned hardware.

Common Components

  • Traditional offices
  • Remote users/road warriors
  • Private data center/colocation space

Hybrid networks

Resources internal and external to network

Network security perimeter combined with cloud protection

Abstract

A hybrid network is one that combines elements of a traditional network with cloud resources. As some of these resources are not fully under the control of IT and may be completely “offnet” or loosely coupled to the on-premises network, the security boundaries and control points are less likely to be centralized. Hybrid networks allow the flexibility and speed of cloud deployment without leaving behind traditional network constructs. This generally makes them expensive to secure and maintain.

Network Design Tenets

  • The network path from resource to user may not be in IT’s locus of control.
  • Users external to the network must first connect to the network to gain access to internal resources but may directly access publicly hosted ones.
  • Security, risk, and trust controls may potentially be implemented by a mixture of internal enterprise hardware/software devices and external control points.

Control

The hallmark of a hybrid network is the blending of public and private resources. This blending tends to necessitate both public and private points of control that may not be homogenous.

Info-Tech Insight

With multiple control points to address, take care in simplifying designs while addressing all concerns to ease operational load.

Hybrid networks

The image contains an example of what hybrid networks look like, as described in the text below.

Defining Characteristics

  • Traffic flows to central resources across a defined path under the control of IT.
  • Traffic to cloud assets may be partially under the control of IT.
  • For central resources, the traffic to and from the end user can have the required security controls relatively simply implemented on owned hardware.
  • For public cloud assets, IT may or may not have some control over part of the path.

Common Components

  • Traditional offices
  • Remote users/road warriors
  • Private data center/colocation space
  • Public cloud assets (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS)

Inverted perimeter

Resources primarily external to the network

Security control points are cloud centric

Abstract

An inverted perimeter network is one in which security and control points cover the entire workflow, on or off net, from the consumer of services through to the services themselves with zero trust. Since the control plane is designed to encompass the workflow in a secure manner, much of the underlying connectivity can be abstracted. In an extreme version of this deployment, IT would abstract end-user access, and any cloud-based or on-premises resources would be securely published through the control plane with context-aware precision access.

Network Design Tenets

  • The network path from resource to user is abstracted and controlled by IT through services like secure access service edge (SASE).
  • Users only need internet access and appropriate credentials to gain access to resources.
  • Security, risk, and trust controls will be implemented through external cloud based services.

Control

An inverted network abstracts the lower-layer connectivity away and focuses on implementing a cloud-based zero trust control plane.

Info-Tech Insight

This model is extremely attractive for organizations that consume primarily cloud services and have a large remote work force.

Inverted networks

The image contains an example of what inverted networks look like, as described in the text below.

Defining Characteristics

  • The end user does not have to be in a defined location.
  • All central resources that are to be accessed are hosted on cloud resources.
  • IT has little to no control of the path between the end user and central resources.

Common Components

  • Traditional offices
  • Regent offices/shared workspaces
  • Remote users/road warriors
  • Public cloud assets (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS)

Understand available tooling

Don’t buy a hammer and go looking for nails

  • A network archetype must be defined in order to understand what tools (hardware or software) are appropriate for consideration in a network build or refresh.
  • Tools are purpose built and generally designed to solve specific problems if implemented and operated correctly. Choose the tools to align with the challenges that you are solving as opposed to choosing tools and then trying to use those purchases to overcome challenges.
  • The purchase of a tool does not allow for abdication of proper design. Tools must be chosen appropriately and integrated properly to orchestrate the best solutions. Purchasing a tool and expecting the tool to solve all your issues rarely succeeds.

“It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the right way.” — Wallace D. Wattles

Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN)

Simplified branch office connectivity

Archetype Value: Traditional Networks

What It Is Not

SD-WAN is generally not a way to slash spending by lowering WAN circuit costs. Though it is traditionally deployed across lower cost access, to minimize risk and realize the most benefits from the platform many organizations install multiple circuits with greater bandwidths at each endpoint when replacing the more costly traditional circuits. Though this maximizes the value of the technology investment, it will result in the end cost being similar to the traditional cost plus or minus a small percentage.

What It Is

SD-WAN is a subset of software-defined networking (SDN) designed specifically to deploy a secure, centrally managed, connectivity agnostic, overlay network connecting multiple office locations. This technology can be used to replace, work in concert with, or augment more traditional costly connectivity such as MPLS or private point to point (PtP) circuits. In addition to the secure overlay, SD-WAN usually also enables policy-based, intelligent controls, based on traffic and circuit intelligence.

Why Use It

You have multiple endpoint locations connected by expensive lower bandwidth traditional circuits. Your target is to increase visibility and control while controlling costs if and where possible. Ease of centralized management and the ability to more rapidly turn up new locations are attractive.

Cloud access security broker (CASB)

Inline policy enforcement placed between users and cloud services

Archetype Value: Hybrid Networks

What It Is Not

CASBs do not provide network protection; they are designed to provide compliance and enforcement of rules. Though CASBs are designed to give visibility and control into cloud traffic, they have limits to the data that they generally ingest and utilize. A CASB does not gather or report on cloud usage details, licencing information, financial costing, or whether the cloud resource usage is aligned with the deployment purpose.

What It Is

A CASB is designed to establish security controls beyond a company’s environment. It is commonly deployed to augment traditional solutions to extend visibility and control into the cloud. To protect assets in the cloud, CASBs are designed to provide central policy control and apply services primarily in the areas of visibility, data security, threat protection, and compliance.

Why Use It

You a mixture of on-premises and cloud assets. In moving assets out to the cloud, you have lost the traditional controls that were implemented in the data center. You now need to have visibility and apply controls to the usage of these cloud assets.

Secure access service edge (SASE)

Convergence of security and service access in the cloud

Archetype Value: Inverted Networks

What It Is Not

Though the service will consist of many service offerings, SASE is not multiple services strung together. To present the value proposed by this platform, all functionality proposed must be provided by a single platform under a “single pane of glass.” SASE is not a mature and well-established service. The market is still solidifying, and the full-service definition remains somewhat fluid.

What It Is

SASE exists at the intersection of network-as-a-service and network-security-as-a-service. It is a superset of many network and security cloud offerings such as CASB, secure web gateway, SD-WAN, and WAN optimization. Any services offered by a SASE provider will be cloud hosted, presented in a single stack, and controlled through a single pane of glass.

Why Use It

Your network is inverting, and services are provided primarily as cloud assets. In a full realization of this deployment’s value, you would abstract how and where users gain initial network access yet remain in control of the communications and data flow.

Activity

Understand your enterprise network options

Activity: Network assessment in an hour

  • Learn about the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool
  • Complete the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool

This activity involves the following participants:

  • IT strategic direction decision makers.
  • IT managers responsible for network.
  • Organizations evaluating platforms for mission critical applications.

Outcomes of this step:

  • Completed Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool

Info-Tech Insight

Review your design options with security and compliance in mind. Infrastructure is no longer a standalone entity and now tightly integrates with software-defined networks and security solutions.

Build an assessment in an hour

Learn about the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool.

This workbook provides a high-level analysis of a technology’s readiness for adoption based on your organization’s needs.

  • The workbook then places the technology on a graph that measures both the readiness and fit for your organization. In addition, it provides warnings for specific issues and lets you know if you have considerable uncertainty in your answers.
  • At a glance you can now communicate what you are doing to help the company:
    • Grow
    • Save money
    • Reduce risk
  • Regardless of your specific audience, these are important stories to be able to tell.
The image contains three screenshots from the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool.

Build an assessment in an hour

Complete the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool.

Dispense with detailed analysis and customizations to present a quick snapshot of the road ahead.

  1. Weightings: Adjust the Weighting tab to meet organizational needs. The provided weightings for the overall solution areas are based on a generic firm; individual firms will have different needs.
  2. Data Entry: For each category, answer the questions for the technology you are considering. When you have completed the questionnaire, go to the next tab for the results.
  3. Results: The Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool provides a value versus readiness assessment of your chosen technology customized to your organization.

The image contains three screenshots from the Enterprise Network Roadmap Technology Assessment Tool. It has a screenshot for each step as described in the text above.

Related Info-Tech Research

Effectively Acquire Infrastructure Services

Acquiring a service is like buying an experience. Don’t confuse the simplicity of buying hardware with buying an experience.

Outsource IT Infrastructure to Improve System Availability, Reliability, and Recovery

There are very few IT infrastructure components you should be housing internally – outsource everything else.

Build Your Infrastructure Roadmap

Move beyond alignment: Put yourself in the driver’s seat for true business value.

Drive Successful Sourcing Outcomes With a Robust RFP Process

Leverage your vendor sourcing process to get better results.

Research Authors

The image contains a photo of Scott Young.

Scott Young, Principal Research Advisor, Info-Tech Research Group

Scott Young is a Director of Infrastructure Research at Info-Tech Research Group. Scott has worked in the technology field for over 17 years, with a strong focus on telecommunications and enterprise infrastructure architecture. He brings extensive practical experience in these areas of specialization, including IP networks, server hardware and OS, storage, and virtualization.

The image contains a photo of Troy Cheeseman.

Troy Cheeseman, Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group

Troy has over 24 years of experience and has championed large enterprise-wide technology transformation programs, remote/home office collaboration and remote work strategies, BCP, IT DRP, IT operations and expense management programs, international right placement initiatives, and large technology transformation initiatives (M&A). Additionally, he has deep experience working with IT solution providers and technology (cloud) startups.

Bibliography

Ahlgren, Bengt. “Design considerations for a network of information.” ACM Digital Library, 21 Dec. 2008.

Cox Business. “Digital transformation is here. Is your business ready to upgrade your mobile work equation?” BizJournals, 1 April 2022. Accessed April 2022.

Elmore, Ed. “Benefits of integrating security and networking with SASE.” Tech Radar, 1 April 2022. Web.

Greenfield, Dave. “From SD-WAN to SASE: How the WAN Evolution is Progressing.” Cato Networks, 19 May 2020. Web

Korolov, Maria. “What is SASE? A cloud service that marries SD-WAN with security.” Network World, 7 Sept. 2020. Web.

Korzeniowski, Paul, “CASB tools evolve to meet broader set of cloud security needs.” TechTarget, 26 July 2019. Accessed March 2022.

Build a Software Quality Assurance Program

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  • Parent Category Name: Testing, Deployment & QA
  • Parent Category Link: /testing-deployment-and-qa
  • Today’s rapidly scaling and increasingly complex products create mounting pressure on delivery teams to release new systems and changes quickly and with sufficient quality.
  • Many organizations lack the critical capabilities and resources needed to satisfy their growing testing backlog, risking product success.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Testing is often viewed as a support capability rather than an enabler of business growth. It receives focus and investment only when it becomes a visible problem.
  • The rise in security risks, aggressive performance standards, constantly evolving priorities, and misunderstood quality policies further complicate QA as it drives higher expectations for effective practices.
  • QA starts with good requirements. Tests are only as valuable as the requirements they are validating and verifying. Early QA improves the accuracy of downstream tests and reduces costs of fixing defects late in delivery.
  • Quality is an organization-wide accountability. Upstream work can have extensive ramifications if all roles are not accountable for the decisions they make.
  • Quality must account for both business and technical requirements. Valuable change delivery is cemented in a clear understanding of quality from both business and IT perspectives.

Impact and Result

  • Standardize your definition of a product. Come to an organizational agreement of what attributes define a high-quality product. Accommodate both business and IT perspectives in your definition.
  • Clarify the role of QA throughout your delivery pipeline. Indicate where and how QA is involved throughout product delivery. Instill quality-first thinking in each stage of your pipeline to catch defects and issues early.
  • Structure your test design, planning, execution, and communication practices to better support your quality definition and business and IT environments and priorities. Adopt QA good practices to ensure your tests satisfy your criteria for a high-quality and successful product.

Build a Software Quality Assurance Program Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should build a strong foundation for quality, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Define your QA process

Standardize your product quality definition and your QA roles, processes, and guidelines according to your business and IT priorities.

  • Build a Strong Foundation for Quality – Phase 1: Define Your QA Process
  • Test Strategy Template

2. Adopt QA good practices

Build a solid set of good practices to define your defect tolerances, recognize the appropriate test coverage, and communicate your test results.

  • Build a Strong Foundation for Quality – Phase 2: Adopt QA Good Practices
  • Test Plan Template
  • Test Case Template
[infographic]

Workshop: Build a Software Quality Assurance Program

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

1 Define Your QA Process

The Purpose

Discuss your quality definition and how quality is interpreted from both business and IT perspectives.

Review your case for strengthening your QA practice.

Review the standardization of QA roles, processes, and guidelines in your organization.

Key Benefits Achieved

Grounded understanding of quality that is accepted across IT and between the business and IT.

Clear QA roles and responsibilities.

A repeatable QA process that is applicable across the delivery pipeline.

Activities

1.1 List your QA objectives and metrics.

1.2 Adopt your foundational QA process.

Outputs

Quality definition and QA objectives and metrics.

QA guiding principles, process, and roles and responsibilities.

2 Adopt QA Good Practices

The Purpose

Discuss the practices to reveal the sufficient degree of test coverage to meet your acceptance criteria, defect tolerance, and quality definition.

Review the technologies and tools to support the execution and reporting of your tests.

Key Benefits Achieved

QA practices aligned to industry good practices supporting your quality definition.

Defect tolerance and acceptance criteria defined against stakeholder priorities.

Identification of test scenarios to meet test coverage expectations.

Activities

2.1 Define your defect tolerance.

2.2 Model and prioritize your tests.

2.3 Develop and execute your QA activities.

2.4 Communicate your QA activities.

Outputs

Defect tolerance levels and courses of action.

List of test cases and scenarios that meet test coverage expectations.

Defined test types, environment and data requirements, and testing toolchain.

Test dashboard and communication flow.

Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk

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  • Parent Category Name: Service Desk
  • Parent Category Link: /service-desk
  • IT suffers from a lack of strategy and plan for transitioning support processes to the service desk.
  • Lack of effective communication between the project delivery team and the service desk, leads to an inefficient knowledge transfer to the service desk.
  • New service is not prioritized and categorized, negatively impacting service levels and end-user satisfaction.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Make sure to build a strong knowledge management strategy to identify, capture, and transfer knowledge from project delivery to the service desk.

Impact and Result

  • Build touchpoints between the service desk and project delivery team and make strategic points in the project lifecycles to ensure service support is done effectively following the product launch.
  • Develop a checklist of action items on the initiatives that should be done following project delivery.
  • Build a training plan into the strategy to make sure service desk agents can handle tickets independently.

Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk Research & Tools

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

1. Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk – A guideline to walk you through transferring project support to the service desk.

This storyboard will help you craft a project support plan to document information to streamline service support.

  • Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk Storyboard

2. Project Handover and Checklist – A structured document to help you record information on the project and steps to take to transfer support.

Use these two templates as a means of collaboration with the service desk to provide information on the application/product, and steps to take to make sure there are efficient service processes and knowledge is appropriately transferred to the service desk to support the service.

  • Project Handover Template
  • Service Support Transitioning Checklist
[infographic]

Further reading

Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk

Increase the success of project support by aligning your service desk and project team.

Analyst Perspective

Formalize your project support plan to shift customer service to the service desk.

Photo of Mahmoud Ramin, Senior Research Analyst, Infrastructure and Operations, Info-Tech Research Group

As a service support team member, you receive a ticket from an end user about an issue they’re facing with a new application. You are aware of the application release, but you don’t know how to handle the issue. So, you will need to either spend a long time investigating the issue via peer discussion and research or escalate it to the project team.

Newly developed or improved services should be transitioned appropriately to the support team. Service transitioning should include planning, coordination, and communication. This helps project and support teams ensure that upon a service failure, affected end users receive timely and efficient customer support.

At the first level, the project team and service desk should build a strategy around transitioning service support to the service desk by defining tasks, service levels, standards, and success criteria.

In the second step, they should check the service readiness to shift support from the project team to the service desk.

The next step is training on the new services via efficient communication and coordination between the two parties. The project team should allocate some time, according to the designed strategy, to train the service desk on the new/updated service. This will enable the service desk to provide independent service handling.

This research walks you through the above steps in more detail and helps you build a checklist of action items to streamline shifting service support to the service desk.

Mahmoud Ramin, PhD

Senior Research Analyst
Infrastructure and Operations
Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

  • IT suffers from a lack of strategy and planning for transitioning support processes to the service desk.
  • Lack of effective communication between the project delivery team and the service desk leads to an inefficient knowledge transfer to the service desk.
  • New service is not prioritized and categorized, negatively impacting service levels and end-user satisfaction.

Common Obstacles

  • Building the right relationship between the service desk and project team is challenging, making support transition tedious.
  • The service desk is siloed; tasks and activities are loosely defined. Service delivery is inconsistent, which impacts customer satisfaction.
  • Lack of training on new services forces the service desk to unnecessarily escalate tickets to other levels and delays service delivery.

Info-Tech’s Approach

  • Build touchpoints between the service desk and project delivery team and make strategic points in the project lifecycles to ensure service support is done effectively following the product launch.
  • Develop a checklist of action items on the initiatives that should be done following project delivery.
  • Build a training plan into the strategy to make sure service desk agents can handle tickets independently.

Info-Tech Insight

Make sure to build a strong knowledge management strategy to identify, capture, and transfer knowledge from project delivery to the service desk.

A lack of formal service transition process presents additional challenges

When there is no formal transition process following a project delivery, it will negatively impact project success and customer satisfaction.

Service desk team:

  • You receive a request from an end user to handle an issue with an application or service that was recently released. You are aware of the features but don’t know how to solve this issue particularly.
  • You know someone in the project group who is familiar with the service, as he was involved in the project. You reach out to him, but he is very busy with another project.
  • You get back to the user to let them know that this will be done as soon as the specialist is available. But because there is no clarity on the scope of the issue, you cannot tell them when this will be resolved.
  • Lack of visibility and commitment to the service recovery will negatively impact end-user satisfaction with the service desk.

Project delivery team:

  • You are working on an exciting project, approaching the deadline. Suddenly, you receive a ticket from a service desk agent asking you to solve an incident on a product that was released three months ago.
  • Given the deadline on the current project, you are stressed, thinking about just focusing on the projects. On the other hand, the issue with the other service is impacting multiple users and requires much attention.
  • You spend extra time handling the issue and get back to your project. But a few days later the same agent gets back to you to take care of the same issue.
  • This is negatively impacting your work quality and causing some friction between the project team and the service desk.

Link how improvement in project transitioning to the service desk can help service support

A successful launch can still be a failure if the support team isn't fully informed and prepared.

  • In such a situation, the project team sends impacted users a mass notification without a solid plan for training and no proper documentation.
  • To provide proper customer service, organizations should involve several stakeholder groups to collaborate for a seamless transition of projects to the service desk.
  • This shift in service support takes time and effort; however, via proper planning there will be less confusion around customer service, and it will be done much faster.
    • For instance, if AppDev is customizing an ERP solution without considering knowledge transfer to the service desk, relevant tickets will be unnecessarily escalated to the project team.
  • On the other hand, the service desk should update configuration items (CIs) and the service catalog and related requests, incidents, problems, and workarounds to the relevant assets and configurations.
  • In this transition process, knowledge transfer plays a key role. Users, the service desk, and other service support teams need to know how the new application or service works and how to manage it when an issue arises.
  • Without a knowledge transfer, service support will be forced to either reinvent the wheel or escalate the ticket to the development team. This will unnecessarily increase the time for ticket handling, increase cost per ticket, and reduce end-user satisfaction.

Info-Tech Insight

Involve the service desk in the transition process via clear communication, knowledge transfer, and staff training.

Integrate the service desk into the project management lifecycle for a smooth transition of service support

Service desk involvement in the development, testing, and maintenance/change activity steps of your project lifecycle will help you logically define the category and priority level of the service and enable service level improvement accordingly after the project goes live.

Project management lifecycle

As some of the support and project processes can be integrated, responsibility silos should be broken

Processes are done by different roles. Determine roles and responsibilities for the overlapping processes to streamline service support transition to the service desk.

The project team is dedicated to projects, while the support team focuses on customer service for several products.

Siloed responsibilities:

  • Project team transfers the service fully to the service desk and leaves technicians alone for support without a good knowledge transfer.
  • Specialists who were involved in the project have deep knowledge about the product, but they are not involved in incident or problem management.
  • Service desk was not involved in the planning and execution processes, which leads to lack of knowledge about the product. This leaves the support team with some vague knowledge about the service, which negatively impacts the quality of incident and problem management.

How to break the silos:

Develop a tiered model for the service desk and include project delivery in the specialist tier.

  • Use tier 1 (service desk) as a single point of contact to support all IT services.
  • Have tier 2/3 as experts in technology. These agents are a part of the project team. They are also involved in incident management, root-cause analysis, and change management.

Determine the interfaces

At the project level, get a clear understanding of support capabilities and demands, and communicate them to the service desk to proactively bring them into the planning step.

The following questions help you with an efficient plan for support transition

Questions for support transition

Clear responsibilities help you define the level of involvement in the overlapping processes

Conduct a stakeholder analysis to identify the people that can help ensure the success of the transition.

Goal: Create a prioritized list of people who are affected by the new service and will provide support.

Why is stakeholder analysis essential?

Why is stakeholder analysis essential

Identify the tasks that are required for a successful project handover

Embed the tasks that the project team should deliver before handing support to the service desk.

Task/Activity Example

Conduct administrative work in the application
  • New user setup
  • Password reset

Update documentation
  • Prepare for knowledge transfer>
Service request fulfillment/incident management
  • Assess potential bugs
Technical support for systems troubleshooting
  • Configure a module in ITSM solution

End-user training
  • FAQs
  • How-to questions
Service desk training
  • Train technicians for troubleshooting

Support management (monitoring, meeting SLAs)
  • Monitoring
  • Meeting SLAs

Report on the service transitioning
  • Transition effectiveness
  • Four-week warranty period
Ensure all policies follow the transition activities
  • The final week of transition, the service desk will be called to a meeting for final handover of incidents and problems

Integrate project description and service priority throughout development phase

Include the service desk in discussions about project description, so it will be enabled to define service priority level.

  • Project description will be useful for bringing the project forward to the change advisory board (CAB) for approval and setting up the service in the CMDB.
  • Service priority is used for adding the next layer of attributes to the CMDB for the service and ensuring the I&O department can set up systems monitoring.
  • This should be done early in the process in conjunction with the project manager and business sponsors.
  • It should be done as the project gets underway and the team can work on specifically where that milestone will be in each project.
  • What to include in the project description:
    • Name
    • Purpose
    • Publisher
    • Departments that will use the service
    • Service information
    • Regulatory constrains
  • What to include in the service priority information:
    • Main users
    • Number of users
    • Service requirements
    • System interdependencies
    • Criticality of the dependent systems
    • Service category
    • Service SME and support backup
    • System monitoring resources
    • Alert description and flow

Document project description and service priority in the Project Handover Template.

Embed service levels and maintenance information

Include the service desk in discussions about project description, so it will be enabled to define service priority level.

  • Service level objectives (SLOs) will be added to CMDB to ensure the product is reviewed for business continuity and disaster recovery and that the service team knows what is coming.
  • This step will be good to start thinking about training agents and documenting knowledgebase (KB) articles.
  • What to include in SLO:
    • Response time
    • Resolution time
    • Escalation time
    • Business owner
    • Service owner
    • Vendor(s)
    • Vendor warranties
    • Data archiving/purging
    • Availability list
    • Business continuity/recovery objectives
    • Scheduled reports
    • Problem description
  • Maintenance and change requirements: You should add maintenance windows to the change calendar and ensure the maintenance checklist is added to KB articles and technician schedules.
  • What to include in maintenance and change requirements:
    • Scheduled events for the launch
    • Maintenance windows
    • Module release
    • Planned upgrades
    • Anticipated intervals for changes and trigger points
    • Scheduled batches

Document service level objectives and maintenance in the Project Handover Template.

Enhance communication between the project team and the service desk

Communicating with the service desk early and often will ensure that agents fully get a deep knowledge of the new technology.

Transition of a project to the service desk includes both knowledge transfer and execution transfer.

01

Provide training and mentoring to ensure technical knowledge is passed on.

02

Transfer leadership responsibilities by appointing the right people.

03

Transfer support by strategically assigning workers with the right technical and interpersonal skills.

04

Transfer admin rights to ensure technicians have access rights for troubleshooting.

05

Create support and a system to transfer work process. For example, using an online platform to store knowledge assets is a great way for support to access project information.

Info-Tech Insight

A communication plan and executive presentation will help project managers outline recommendations and communicate their benefits.

Communicate reasons for projects and how they will be implemented

Proactive communication of the project to affected stakeholders will help get their buy-in for the new technology and feedback for better support.

Leaders of successful change spend considerable time developing a powerful change message, i.e. a compelling narrative that articulates the desired end state, that makes the change concrete and meaningful to staff.

The message should:

  • Explain why the change or new application is needed.
  • Summarize what will stay the same.
  • Highlight what will be left behind.
  • Emphasize what is being changed due to the new or updated product.
  • Explain how the application will be implemented.
  • Address how this will affect various roles in the organization.
  • Discuss the staff’s role in making the project successful.
  • Communicate the supporting roles in the early implementation stages and later on.

Five elements of communicating change

Implement knowledge transfer to the service desk to ensure tickets won’t be unnecessarily escalated

The support team usually uses an ITSM solution, while the project team mostly uses a project management solution. End users’ support is done and documented in the ITSM tool.

Even terminologies used by these teams are different. For instance, service desk’s “incident” is equivalent to a project manager’s “defect.” Without proper integration of the development and support processes, the contents get siloed and outdated over time.

Potential ways to deal with this challenge:

Use the same platform for both project and service support

This helps you document information in a single platform and provides better visibility of the project status to the support team as well. It also helps project team find out change-related incidents for a faster rollback.

Note: This is not always feasible because of the high costs incurred in purchasing a new application with both ITSM and PM capabilities and the long time it takes for implementing such a solution.

Integrate the PM and ITSM tools to improve transition efficiency

Note: Consider the processes that should be integrated. Don’t integrate unnecessary steps in the development stage, such as design, which will not be helpful for support transition.

Build a training plan for the new service

When a new system is introduced or significant changes are applied, describe the steps and timeline for training.

Training the service desk has two-fold benefits:
Improve support:
  • Support team gets involved in user acceptance testing, which will provide feedback on potential bugs or failures in the technology.
  • Collaboration between specialists and tier 1 technicians will allow the service desk to gather information for handling potential incidents on the application.
Shift-left enablement:
  • At the specialist level, agents will be more focused on other projects and spend less time on application issues, as they are mostly handled by the service desk.
  • As you shift service support left:
    • Cost per ticket decreases as more of the less costly resources are doing the work.
    • Average time to resolve decreases as the ticket is handled by the service desk.
    • End-user satisfaction increases as they don’t need to wait long for resolution.

Who resolves the incident

For more information about shift-left enablement, refer to InfoTech’s blueprint Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy.

Integrate knowledge management in the transition plan

Build a knowledge transfer process to streamline service support for the newly developed technology.

Use the following steps to ensure the service desk gets trained on the new project.

  1. Identify learning opportunities.
  2. Prioritize the identified opportunities based on:
  • Risk of lost knowledge
  • Impact of knowledge on support improvement
  • Define ways to transfer knowledge from the project team to the service desk. These could be:
    • One-on-one meetings
    • Mentoring sessions
    • Knowledgebase articles
    • Product road test
    • Potential incident management shadowing
  • Capture and transfer knowledge (via the identified means).
  • Support the service desk with further training if the requirement arises.
    		•
    Info-Tech Insight

    Allocate knowledge transfer within ticket handling workflows. When incident is resolved by a specialist, they will assess if it is a good candidate for technician training and/or a knowledgebase article. If so, the knowledge manager will be notified of the opportunity to assign it to a SME for training and documentation of an article.

    For more information about knowledge transfer, refer to phase 3 of Info-Tech’s blueprint Standardize the Service Desk.

    Focus on the big picture first

    Identify training functions and plan for a formal knowledge transfer

    1. Brainstorm training functions for each group.
    2. Determine the timeline needed to conduct training for the identified training topics.
    RoleTraining FunctionTimeline

    Developer/Technical Support
    • Coach the service desk on the new application
    • Document relevant KB articles
    Business Analysts
    • Conduct informational interviews for new business requirements

    Service Desk Agents
    • Conduct informational interviews
    • Shadow incident management procedures
    • Document lessons learned
    Vendor
    • Provide cross-training to support team

    Document your knowledge transfer plan in the Project Handover Template.

    Build a checklist of the transition action items

    At this stage, the project is ready to go live and support needs to be independently done by the service desk.

    Checklist of the transition action items

    Info-Tech Insight

    No matter how well training is done, specialists may need to work on critical incidents and handle emergency changes. With effective service support and transition planning, you can make an agreement between the incident manager, change manager, and project manager on a timeline to balance critical incident or emergency change management and project management and define your SLA.

    Activity: Prepare a checklist of initiatives before support transition

    2-3 hours

    Document project support information and check off each support transition initiative as you shift service support to the service desk.

    1. As a group, review the Project Handover Template that you filled out in the previous steps.
    2. Download the Service Support Transitioning Checklist, and review the items that need to be done throughout the development, testing, and deployment steps of your project.
    3. Brainstorm at what step service desk needs to be involved.
    4. As you go through each initiative and complete it, check it off to make sure you are following the agreed document for a smooth transition of service support.
    Input Output
    • Project information
    • Support information for developed application/service
    • List of transitioning initiatives
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Project Handover Template
    • Service Support Transitioning Checklist
    • Project Team
    • Service Desk Manager
    • IT Lead

    Download the Project Handover Template

    Download the Service Support Transitioning Checklist

    Define metrics to track the success of project transition

    Consider key metrics to speak the language of targeted end users.

    You won’t know if transitioning support processes are successful unless you measure their impact. Find out your objectives for project transition and then track metrics that will allow you to fulfill these goals.

    Determine critical success factors to help you find out key metrics:

    High quality of the service

    Effectiveness of communication of the transition

    Manage risk of failure to help find out activities that will mitigate risk of service disruption

    Smooth and timely transition of support to the service desk

    Efficient utilization of the shared services and resources to mitigate conflicts and streamline service transitioning

    Suggested metrics:

    • Time to fulfill requests and resolve incidents for the new project
    • Time spent training the service desk
    • Number of knowledgebase articles created by the project team
    • Percentage of articles used by the service desk that prevented ticket escalation
    • First-level resolution
    • Ratio of escalated tickets for the new project
    • Problem ticket volume for the new project
    • Average customer satisfaction with the new project support
    • SLA breach rate

    Summary of Accomplishment

    Problem Solved

    Following the steps outlined in this research has helped you build a strategy to shift service support from the project team to the service desk, resulting in an improvement in customer service and agent satisfaction.

    You have also developed a plan to break the silo between the service desk and specialists and enable knowledge transfer so the service desk will not need to unnecessarily escalate tickets to developers. In the meantime, specialists are also responsible for service desk training on the new application.

    Efficient communication of service levels has helped the project team set clear expectations for managers to create a balance between their projects and service support.

    If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

    Contact your account representative for more information

    workshops@infotech.com

    1-888-670-8889

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Standardize the Service Desk

    Improve customer service by driving consistency in your support approach and meeting SLAs.

    Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy

    The best type of service desk ticket is the one that doesn’t exist.

    Tailor IT Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects

    Right-size PMBOK for all of your IT projects.

    Works Cited

    Brown, Josh. “Knowledge Transfer: What it is & How to Use it Effectively.” Helpjuice, 2021. Accessed November 2022.

    Magowan, Kirstie. “Top ITSM Metrics & KPIs: Measuring for Success, Aiming for Improvement.” BMC Blogs, 2020. Accessed November 2022.

    “The Complete Blueprint for Aligning Your Service Desk and Development Teams (Process Integration and Best Practices).” Exalate, 2021. Accessed October 2022.

    “The Qualities of Leadership: Leading Change.” Cornelius & Associates, 2010. Web.

    Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps

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    • Parent Category Name: Enterprise Integration
    • Parent Category Link: /enterprise-integration
    • Data teams do not have a mechanism to integrate with operations teams and operate in a silo.
    • Significant delays in the operationalization of analytical/algorithms due to lack of standards and a clear path to production.
    • Raw data is shared with end users and data scientists due to poor management of data, resulting in more time spent on integration and less on insight generation and analytics.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Data and analytics teams need a clear mechanism to separate data exploratory work and repetitive data insights generation. Lack of such separation is the main cause of significant delays, inefficiencies, and frustration for data initiatives.
    • Access to data and exploratory data analytics is critical. However, the organization must learn to share insights and reuse analytics.
    • Once analytics finds wider use in the organization, they need to adopt a disciplined approach to ensure its quality and continuous integration in the production environment.

    Impact and Result

    • Use a metrics-driven approach and common framework across silos to enable the rapid development of data initiatives using Agile principles.
    • Implement an approach that allows business, data, and operation teams to collaboratively work together to provide a better customer experience.
    • Align DataOps to an overall data management and governance program that promotes collaboration, transparency, and empathy across teams, establishes the appropriate roles and responsibilities, and ensures alignment to a common set of goals.
    • Assess the current maturity of the data operations teams and implement a roadmap that considers the necessary competencies and capabilities and their dependencies in moving towards the desired DataOps target state.

    Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to understand the operational challenges associated with productizing the organization's data-related initiative. Review Info-Tech’s methodology for enabling the improved practice to operationalize data analytics and how we will support you in creating an agile data environment.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Discover benefits of DataOps

    Understand the benefits of DataOps and why organizations are looking to establish agile principles in their data practice, the challenges associated with doing so, and what the new DataOps strategy needs to be successful.

    • Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps – Phase 1: Discover Benefits of DataOps

    2. Assess your data practice for DataOps

    Analyze DataOps using Info-Tech’s DataOps use case framework, to help you identify the gaps in your data practices that need to be matured to truly realize DataOps benefits including data integration, data security, data quality, data engineering, and data science.

    • Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps – Phase 2: Assess Your Data Practice for DataOps
    • DataOps Roadmap Tool

    3. Mature your DataOps practice

    Mature your data practice by putting in the right people in the right roles and establishing DataOps metrics, communication plan, DataOps best practices, and data principles.

    • Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps – Phase 3: Mature Your DataOps Practice
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Sprint Toward Data-Driven Culture Using DataOps

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Identify the Drivers of the Business for DataOps

    The Purpose

    Understand the DataOps approach and value proposition.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A clear understanding of organization data priorities and metrics along with a simplified view of data using Info-Tech’s Onion framework.

    Activities

    1.1 Explain DataOps approach and value proposition.

    1.2 Review the common business drivers and how the organization is driving a need for DataOps.

    1.3 Understand Info-Tech’s DataOps Framework.

    Outputs

    Organization's data priorities and metrics

    Data Onion framework

    2 Assess DataOps Maturity in Your Organization

    The Purpose

    Assess the DataOps maturity of the organization.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Define clear understanding of organization’s DataOps capabilities.

    Activities

    2.1 Assess current state.

    2.2 Develop target state summary.

    2.3 Define DataOps improvement initiatives.

    Outputs

    Current state summary

    Target state summary

    3 Develop Action Items and Roadmap to Establish DataOps

    The Purpose

    Establish clear action items and roadmap.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Define clear and measurable roadmap to mature DataOps within the organization.

    Activities

    3.1 Continue DataOps improvement initiatives.

    3.2 Document the improvement initiatives.

    3.3 Develop a roadmap for DataOps practice.

    Outputs

    DataOps initiatives roadmap

    4 Plan for Continuous Improvement

    The Purpose

    Define a plan for continuous improvements.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Continue to improve DataOps practice.

    Activities

    4.1 Create target cross-functional team structures.

    4.2 Define DataOps metrics for continuous monitoring.

    4.3 Create a communication plan.

    Outputs

    DataOps cross-functional team structure

    DataOps metrics

    Perform an Agile Skills Assessment

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    • Parent Category Name: Development
    • Parent Category Link: /development
    • Your organization is trying to address the key delivery challenges you are facing. Early experiments with Agile are starting to bear fruit.
    • As part of maturing your Agile practice, you want to evaluate if you have the right skills and capabilities in place.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Focusing on the non-technical skills can yield significant returns for your products, your team, and your organization. These skills are what should be considered as the real Agile skills.

    Impact and Result

    • Define the skills and values that are important to your organization to be successful at being Agile.
    • Put together a standard criterion for measurement of the attainment of given skills.
    • Define the roadmap and communication plan around your agile assessment.

    Perform an Agile Skills Assessment Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should perform an agile skills assessment. review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Take stock of the Agile skills and values important to you

    Confirm the list of Agile skills that you wish to measure.

    • Perform an Agile Skills Assessment – Phase 1: Take Stock of the Agile Skills and Values Important to You
    • Agile Skills Assessment Tool
    • Agile Skills Assessment Tool Example

    2. Define an assessment method that works for you

    Define what it means to attain specific agile skills through a defined ascension path of proficiency levels, and standardized skill expectations.

    • Perform an Agile Skills Assessment – Phase 2: Define an Assessment Method That Works for You

    3. Plan to assess your team

    Determine the roll-out and communication plan that suits your organization.

    • Perform an Agile Skills Assessment – Phase 3: Plan to Assess Your Team
    • Agile Skills Assessment Communication and Roadmap Plan
    • Agile Skills Assessment Communication and Roadmap Plan Example
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Perform an Agile Skills Assessment

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Define Agile Skills and Maturity Levels

    The Purpose

    Learn about and define the Agile skills that are important to your organization.

    Define the different levels of attainment when it comes to your Agile skills.

    Define the standards on a per-role basis.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Get a clear view of the Agile skills important into meet your Agile transformation goals in alignment with organizational objectives.

    Set a clear standard for what it means to meet your organizational standards for Agile skills.

    Activities

    1.1 Review and update the Agile skills relevant to your organization.

    1.2 Define your Agile proficiency levels to evaluate attainment of each skill.

    1.3 Define your Agile team roles.

    1.4 Define common experience levels for your Agile roles.

    1.5 Define the skill expectations for each Agile role.

    Outputs

    A list of Agile skills that are consistent with your Agile transformation

    A list of proficiency levels to be used during your Agile skills assessment

    A confirmed list of roles that you wish to measure on your Agile teams

    A list of experience levels common to Agile team roles (example: Junior, Intermediate, Senior)

    Define the skill expectations for each Agile role

    Select and Implement an IT PPM Solution

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    • Parent Category Name: Portfolio Management
    • Parent Category Link: /portfolio-management
    • The number of IT project resources and the quantity of IT projects and tasks can no longer be recorded, prioritized, and tracked using non-commercial project portfolio management (PPM) solutions.
    • Your organization has attained a moderate level of PPM maturity.
    • You have sufficient financial and technical resources to purchase a commercial PPM solution.
    • There is a wide variety of commercial PPM solutions; different kinds of PPM solutions are more appropriate for organizations of a certain size and a certain PPM maturity level than others.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Implementations of PPM solutions are often unsuccessful resulting in wasted time and resources; failing to achieve sustainable adoption of the tool is a widespread pain point.
    • The costs of PPM solutions do not end after the implementation and subscription invoices are paid. Have realistic expectations about the time required to use and maintain PPM solutions to ensure success.
    • PPM solutions help PMOs serve the organization’s core decision makers. Success depends on improved service to these stakeholders.

    Impact and Result

    • Using Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape and PPM solution use cases, you will be able to make sense of the diversity of PPM solutions available in today’s market and choose the most appropriate solution for your organization’s size and level of PPM maturity.
    • Info-Tech’s blueprint for a PPM solution selection and implementation project will provide you with a variety of tools and templates.
    • A carefully planned out and executed selection and implementation process will help ensure your organization can maximize the value of your project portfolio and will allow the PMO to improve portfolio stakeholder satisfaction.

    Select and Implement an IT PPM Solution Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should implement a commercial PPM solution, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Launch the PPM solution project and collect requirements

    Create a PPM solution selection and implementation project charter and gather your organizations business and technical requirements.

    • Select and Implement a PPM Solution – Phase 1: Launch the PPM Solution Project and Collect Requirements
    • PPM Solution Project Charter Template
    • PPM Implementation Work Breakdown Structure
    • PPM Solution Requirements Gathering Tool
    • PPM Solution Cost-of-Use Estimation Tool
    • PPM Solution RFP Template
    • PPM Solution Success Metrics Workbook
    • PPM Solution Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool

    2. Select a PPM solution

    Select the most appropriate PPM solution for your organization by using Info-Tech’s PPM solution Vendor Landscape and use cases to help you create a vendor shortlist, produce an RFP, and establish evaluation criteria for ranking your shortlisted solutions.

    • Select and Implement a PPM Solution – Phase 2: Select a PPM Solution
    • PPM Vendor Shortlist & Detailed Feature Analysis Tool
    • PPM Solution Vendor Response Template
    • PPM Solution Evaluation & RFP Scoring Tool
    • PPM Solution Vendor Demo Script

    3. Plan the PPM solution implementation

    Plan a PPM solution implementation that will result in long-term sustainable adoption of the tool and that will allow the PMO to meet the needs of core project portfolio stakeholders.

    • Select and Implement a PPM Solution – Phase 3: Plan the PPM Solution Implementation
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Select and Implement an IT PPM Solution

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Launch the PPM Solution Project and Gather Requirements

    The Purpose

    Create a PPM solution selection and implementation project charter.

    Gather the business and technical requirements for the PPM solution.

    Establish clear and measurable success criteria for your PPM solution project.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Comprehensive project plan

    Comprehensive and organized record of the various PPM solution requirements

    A record of PPM solution project goals and criteria that can be used in the future to establish the success of the project

    Activities

    1.1 Brainstorm, refine, and prioritize your PPM solution needs

    1.2 Stakeholder identification exercise

    1.3 Project charter work session

    1.4 Requirements gathering work session

    1.5 PPM solution success metrics workbook session

    Outputs

    High-level outline of PPM solution requirements

    Stakeholder consultation plan

    A draft project charter and action plan to fill in project charter gaps

    A draft requirements workbook and action plan to fill in requirement gathering gaps

    A PPM project success metrics workbook that can be used during and after the project

    2 Select a PPM Solution

    The Purpose

    Identify the PPM solutions that are most appropriate for your organization’s size and level of PPM maturity.

    Create a PPM solution and vendor shortlist.

    Create a request for proposal (RFP).

    Create a PPM solution scoring and evaluation tool.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Knowledge of the PPM solution market and the various features available

    An informed shortlist of PPM vendors

    An organized and focused method for evaluating the often long and complex responses to the RFP that vendors provide

    The groundwork for an informed and defensible selection of a PPM solution for your organization

    Activities

    2.1 Assess the size of your organization and the level of PPM maturity to select the most appropriate use case

    2.2 PPM solution requirements and criteria ranking activity

    2.3 An RFP working session

    2.4 Build an RFP evaluation tool

    Outputs

    Identification of the most appropriate use case in Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape

    A refined and organized list of the core features that will be included in the RFP

    A draft RFP with an action plan to fill in any RFP gaps

    An Excel tool that can be used to compare and evaluate vendors’ responses to the RFP

    3 Prepare for the PPM Solution Implementation

    The Purpose

    To think ahead to the eventual implementation of the solution that will occur once the selection phase is completed

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An understanding of key insights and steps that will help avoid mistakes resulting in poor adoption or PPM solutions that end up producing little tangible value

    Activities

    3.1 Outline high-level implementation stages

    3.2 Organizational change management strategy session

    3.3 A PPM project success metrics planning session

    Outputs

    High-level implementation tasks and milestones

    A RACI chart for core implementation tasks

    A high-level PPM solution implementation organizational change management strategy

    A RACI chart for core organizational change management tasks related to the PPM solution implementation

    A PPM project success metrics schedule and plan

    The First 100 Days As CIO

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    • Parent Category Name: High Impact Leadership
    • Parent Category Link: /lead
    • You’ve been promoted from within to the role of CIO.
    • You’ve been hired externally to take on the role of CIO.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Foundational understanding must be achieved before you start. Hit the ground running before day one by using company documents and initial discussions to pin down the company’s type and mode.
    • Listen before you act (usually). In most situations, executives benefit from listening to peers and staff before taking action.
    • Identify quick wins early and often. Fix problems as soon as you recognize them to set the tone for your tenure.

    Impact and Result

    • Collaborate to collect the details needed to identify the right mode for your organization and determine how it will influence your plan.
    • Use Info-Tech’s diagnostic tools to align your vision with that of business executives and form a baseline for future reference.

    The First 100 Days As CIO Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why the first 100 days of being a new executive is a crucial time that requires the right balance of listening with taking action. See how seven calls with an executive advisor will guide you through this period.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Check in with your executive advisor over seven calls

    Organize your first 100 days as CIO into activities completed within two-week periods, aided by the guidance of an executive advisor.

    • The First 100 Days As CIO – Storyboard
    • Organizational Catalog
    • Cultural Archetype Calculator
    • IT Capability Assessment

    2. Communicate your plan to your manager

    Communicate your strategy with a presentation deck that you will complete in collaboration with Info-Tech advisors.

    • The First 100 Days As CIO – Presentation Deck

    3. View an example of the final presentation

    See an example of a completed presentation deck, from the new CIO of Gotham City.

    • The First 100 Days As CIO – Presentation Deck Example

    4. Listen to our podcast

    Check out The Business Leadership podcast in Info-Tech's special series, The First 100 Days.

    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Alan Fong, CTO, DealerFX
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Denis Gaudreault, country manager for Intel’s Canada and Latin America region
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Dave Penny & Andrew Wertkin, BlueCat
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Susan Bowen, CEO, Aptum
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Wayne Berger, CEO IWG Plc Canada and Latin America
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Eric Wright, CEO, LexisNexis Canada
    • "The First 100 Days" Podcast – Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
    [infographic]

    Further reading

    The First 100 Days As CIO

    Partner with Info-Tech for success in this crucial period of transition.

    Analyst Perspective

    The first 100 days refers to the 10 days before you start and the first three months on the job.

    “The original concept of ‘the first 100 days’ was popularized by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who passed a battery of new legislation after taking office as US president during the Great Depression. Now commonly extended to the business world, the first 100 days of any executive role is a critically important period for both the executive and the organization.

    But not every new leader should follow FDR’s example of an action-first approach. Instead, finding the right balance of listening and taking action is the key to success during this transitional period. The type of the organization and the mode that it’s in serves as the fulcrum that determines where the point of perfect balance lies. An executive facing a turnaround situation will want to focus on more action more quickly. One facing a sustaining success situation or a realignment situation will want to spend more time listening before taking action.” (Brian Jackson, Research Director, CIO, Info-Tech Research Group)

    Executive summary

    Situation

    • You’ve been promoted from within to the role of CIO.
    • You’ve been hired externally to take on the role of CIO.

    Complication

    Studies show that two years after a new executive transition, as many as half are regarded as failures or disappointments (McKinsey). First impressions are hard to overcome, and a CIO’s first 100 days are heavily weighted in terms of how others will assess their overall success. The best way to approach this period is determined by both the size and the mode of an organization.

    Resolution

    • Work with Info-Tech to prepare a 100-day plan that will position you for success.
    • Collaborate to collect the details needed to identify the right mode for your organization and determine how it will influence your plan.
    • Use Info-Tech’s diagnostic tools to align your vision with that of business executives and form a baseline for future reference.

    Info-Tech Insight

    1. Foundational understanding must be achieved before you start.
      Hit the ground running before day one by using company documents and initial discussions to pin down the company’s type and mode.
    2. Listen before you act (usually).
      In most situations, executives benefit from listening to peers and staff before taking action.
    3. Identify quick wins early and often.
      Fix problems as soon as you recognize them to set the tone for your tenure.

    The First 100 Days: Roadmap

    A roadmap timeline of 'The 100-Day Plan' for your first 100 days as CIO and related Info-Tech Diagnostics. Step A: 'Foundational Preparation' begins 10 days prior to your first day. Step B: 'Management's Expectations' is Days 0 to 30, with the diagnostic 'CIO-CEO Alignment'. Step C: 'Assessing the IT Team' is Days 10 to 75, with the diagnostics 'IT M&G Diagnostic' at Day 30 and 'IT Staffing Assessment' at Day 60. Step D: 'Assess the Key Stakeholders' is Days 40 to 85 with the diagnostic 'CIO Business Vision Survey'. Step E: 'Deliver First-Year Plan' is Days 80 to 100.

    Concierge service overview

    Organize a call with your executive advisor every two weeks during your first 100 days. Info-Tech recommends completing our diagnostics during this period. If you’re not able to do so, instead complete the alternative activities marked with (a).

    Call 1 Call 2 Call 3 Call 4 Call 5 Call 6 Call 7
    Activities
    Before you start: Day -10 to Day 1
    • 1.1 Interview your predecessor.
    • 1.2 Learn the corporate structure.
    • 1.3 Determine STARS mode.
    • 1.4 Create a one-page intro sheet.
    • 1.5 Update your boss.
    Day 0 to 15
    • 2.1 Introduce yourself to your team.
    • 2.2 Document your sphere of influence.
    • 2.3 Complete a competitor array.
    • 2.4 Complete the CEO-CIO Alignment Program.
    • 2.4(a) Agree on what success looks like with the boss.
    • 2.5 Inform team of IT M&G Framework.
    Day 16 to 30
    • 3.1 Determine the team’s cultural archetype.
    • 3.2 Create a cultural adjustment plan.
    • 3.3 Initiate IT M&G Diagnostic.
    • 3.4 Conduct a high-level analysis of current IT capabilities.
    • 3.4 Update your boss.
    Day 31 to 45
    • 4.1 Inform stakeholders about CIO Business Vision survey.
    • 4.2 Get feedback on initial assessments from your team.
    • 4.3 Initiate CIO Business Vision survey.
    • 4.3(a) Meet stakeholders and catalog details.
    Day 46 to 60
    • 5.1 Inform the team that you plan to conduct an IT staffing assessment.
    • 5.2 Initiate the IT Staffing Assessment.
    • 5.3 Quick wins: Make recommend-ations based on CIO Business Vision Diagnostic/IT M&G Framework.
    • 5.4 Update your boss.
    Day 61 to 75
    • 6.1 Run a start, stop, continue exercise with IT staff.
    • 6.2 Make a categorized vendor list.
    • 6.3 Determine the alignment of IT commitments with business objectives.
    Day 76 to 90
    • 7.1 Finalize your vision – mission – values statement.
    • 7.2 Quick Wins: Make recommend-ations based on IT Staffing Assessment.
    • 7.3 Create and communicate a post-100-day plan.
    • 7.4 Update your boss.
    Deliverables Presentation Deck Section A: Foundational Preparation Presentation Deck slides 9, 11-13, 19-20, 29 Presentation Deck slides 16, 17, 21 Presentation Deck slides 30, 34 Presentation Deck slides 24, 25, 2 Presentation Deck slides 27, 42

    Call 1

    Before you start: Day -10 to Day 1

    Interview your predecessor

    Interviewing your predecessor can help identify the organization’s mode and type.

    Before reaching out to your predecessor, get a sense of whether they were viewed as successful or not. Ask your manager. If the predecessor remains within the organization in a different role, understand your relationship with them and how you'll be working together.

    During the interview, make notes about follow-up questions you'll ask others at the organization.

    Ask these open-ended questions in the interview:

    • Tell me about the team.
    • Tell me about your challenges.
    • Tell me about a major project your team worked on. How did it go?
    • Who/what has been helpful during your tenure?
    • Who/what created barriers for you?
    • What do your engagement surveys reveal?
    • Tell me about your performance management programs and issues.
    • What mistakes would you avoid if you could lead again?
    • Why are you leaving?
    • Could I reach out to you again in the future?

    Learn the corporate structure

    Identify the organization’s corporate structure type based on your initial conversations with company leadership. The type of structure will dictate how much control you'll have as a functional head and help you understand which stakeholders you'll need to collaborate with.

    To Do:

    • Review the organization’s structure list and identify whether the structure is functional, prioritized, or a matrix. If it's a matrix organization, determine if it's a strong matrix (project manager holds more authority), weak matrix (functional manager holds more authority), or balanced matrix (managers hold equal authority).

    Functional
    • Most common structure.
    • Traditional departments such as sales, marketing, finance, etc.
    • Functional managers hold most authority.

    Projectized
    • Most programs are implemented through projects with focused outcomes.
    • Teams are cross-functional.
    • Project managers hold the most authority.

    Matrix
    • Combination of projectized and functional.
    • Organization is a dynamic environment.
    • Authority of functional manager flows down through division, while authority of project manager flows sideways through teams.

    This organization is a ___________________ type.

    (Source: Simplilearn)

    Presentation Deck, slide 6

    Determine the mode of the organization: STARS

    Based on your interview process and discussions with company leadership, and using Michael Watkins’ STARS assessment, determine which mode your organization is in: startup, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, or sustaining success.

    Knowing the mode of your organization will determine how you approach your 100-day plan. Depending on the mode, you'll rebalance your activities around the three categories of assess, listen, and deliver.

    To Do:

    • Review the STARS table on the right.

    Based on your situation, prioritize activities in this way:

    • Startup: assess, listen, deliver
    • Turnaround: deliver, listen, assess
    • Accelerated Growth: assess, listen, deliver
    • Realignment: listen, assess, deliver
    • Sustaining success: listen, assess, deliver

    This organization is a ___________________ type.

    (Source: Watkins, 2013.)

    Presentation Deck, slide 6

    Determine the mode of the organization: STARS

    STARS Startup Turnaround Accelerated Growth Realignment Sustaining Success
    Definition Assembling capabilities to start a project. Project is widely seen as being in serious trouble. Managing a rapidly expanding business. A previously successful organization is now facing problems. A vital organization is going to the next level.
    Challenges Must build strategy, structures, and systems from scratch. Must recruit and make do with limited resources. Stakeholders are demoralized; slash and burn required. Requires structure and systems to scale; hiring and onboarding. Employees need to be convinced change is needed; restructure at the top required. Risk of living in shadow of a successful former leader.
    Advantages No rigid preconceptions. High-energy environment and easy to pivot. A little change goes a long way when people recognize the need. Motivated employee base willing to stretch. Organization has clear strengths; people desire success. Likely a strong team; foundation for success likely in place.

    Satya Nadella's listen, lead, and launch approach

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Software
    Source Gregg Keizer, Computerworld, 2014

    When Satya Nadella was promoted to the CEO role at Microsoft in 2014, he received a Glassdoor approval rating of 85% and was given an "A" grade by industry analysts after his first 100 days. What did he do right?

    • Created a sense of urgency by shaking up the senior leadership team.
    • Already understood the culture as an insider.
    • Listened a lot and did many one-on-one meetings.
    • Established a vision communicated with a mantra that Microsoft would be "mobile-first, cloud-first."
    • Met his words with actions. He launched Office for iPad and made many announcements for cloud platform Azure.
    		 Photo of Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corp.
    Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corp. (Image source: Microsoft)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Alan Fong

    Create a one-page introduction sheet to use in communications

    As a new CIO, you'll have to introduce yourself to many people in the organization. To save time on communicating who you are as a person outside of the office, create a brief one-pager that includes a photo of you, where you were born and raised, and what your hobbies are. This helps make a connection more quickly so your conversations can focus on the business at hand rather than personal topics.

    For your presentation deck, remove the personal details and just keep it professional. The personal aspects can be used as a one-pager for other communications. (Source: Personal interview with Denis Gaudreault, Country Lead, Intel.)

    Presentation Deck, slide 5

    Call 2

    Day 1 to Day 15

    Introduce yourself to your team

    Prepare a 20-second pitch about yourself that goes beyond your name and title. Touch on your experience that's relevant to your new role or the industry you're in. Be straightforward about your own perceived strengths and weaknesses so that people know what to expect from you. Focus on the value you believe you'll offer the group and use humor and humility where you're comfortable. For example:

    “Hi everyone, my name is John Miller. I have 15 years of experience marketing conferences like this one to vendors, colleges, and HR departments. What I’m good at, and the reason I'm here, is getting the right people, businesses, and great ideas in a room together. I'm not good on details; that's why I work with Tim. I promise that I'll get people excited about the conference, and the gifts and talents of everyone else in this room will take over from there. I'm looking forward to working with all of you.”

    Have a structured set of questions ready that you can ask everyone.

    For example:
    • How well is the company performing based on expectations?
    • What must the company do to sustain its financial performance and market competitiveness?
    • How do you foresee the CIO contributing to the team?
    • How have past CIOs performed from the perspective of the team?
    • What would successful performance of this role look like to you? To your peers?
    • What challenges and obstacles to success am I likely to encounter? What were the common challenges of my predecessor?
    • How do you view the culture here and how do successful projects tend to get approved?
    • What are your greatest challenges? How could I help you?

    Get to know your sphere of influence: prepare to connect with a variety of people before you get down to work

    Your ability to learn from others is critical at every stage in your first 100 days. Keep your sphere of influence in the loop as you progress through this period.

    A diagram of circles within circles representing your spheres of influence. The smallest circle is 'IT Leaders' and is noted as your 'Immediate circle'. The next largest circle is 'IT Team', then 'Peers - Business Leads', then 'Internal Clients' which is noted as you 'Extended circle'. The largest circle is 'External clients'.

    Write down the names, or at least the key people, in each segment of this diagram. This will serve as a quick reference when you're planning communications with others and will help you remember everyone as you're meeting lots of new people in your early days on the job.

    • Everyone knows their networks are important.
    • However, busy schedules can cause leaders to overlook their many audiences.
    • Plan to meet and learn from all people in your sphere to gain a full spectrum of insights.

    Presentation Deck, slide 29

    Identify how your competitors are leveraging technology for competitive advantage

    Competitor identification and analysis are critical steps for any new leader to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of their organization and develop a sense of strategic opportunity and environmental awareness.

    Today’s CIO is accountable for driving innovation through technology. A competitive analysis will provide the foundation for understanding the current industry structure, rivalry within it, and possible competitive advantages for the organization.

    Surveying your competitive landscape prior to the first day will allow you to come to the table prepared with insights on how to support the organization and ensure that you are not vulnerable to any competitive blind spots that may exist in the evaluations conducted by the organization already.

    You will not be able to gain a nuanced understanding of the internal strengths and weaknesses until you are in the role, so focus on the external opportunities and how competitors are using technology to their advantage.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    For a more in-depth approach to identifying and understanding relevant industry trends and turning them into insights, leverage the following Info-Tech blueprints:

    Presentation Deck, slide 9

    Assess the external competitive environment

    Associated Activity icon

    INPUT: External research

    OUTPUT: Competitor array

    1. Conduct a broad analysis of the industry as a whole. Seek to answer the following questions:
      1. Are there market developments or new markets?
      2. Are there industry or lifestyle trends, e.g. move to mobile?
      3. Are there geographic changes in the market?
      4. Are there demographic changes that are shaping decision making?
      5. Are there changes in market demand?
    2. Create a competitor array by identifying and listing key competitors. Try to be as broad as possible here and consider not only entrenched close competitors but also distant/future competitors that may disrupt the industry.
    3. Identify the strengths, weaknesses, and key brand differentiators that each competitor brings to the table. For each strength and differentiator, brainstorm ways that IT-based innovation enables each. These will provide a toolkit for deeper conversations with your peers and your business stakeholders as you move further into your first 100 days.
    Competitor Strengths Weaknesses Key Differentiators IT Enablers
    Competitor 1
    Competitor 2
    Competitor 3

    Complete the CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Associated Activity icon Run the diagnostic program or use the alternative activities to complete your presentation

    INPUT: CEO-CEO Alignment Program (recommended)

    OUTPUT: Desired and target state of IT maturity, Innovation goals, Top priorities

    Materials: Presentation Deck, slides 11-13

    Participants: CEO, CIO

    Introduce the concept of the CEO-CIO Alignment Program using slide 10 of your presentation deck and the brief email text below.

    Talk to your advisory contact at Info-Tech about launching the program. More information is available on Info-Tech’s website.

    Once the report is complete, import the results into your presentation:

    • Slide 11, the CEO’s current and desired states
    • Slide 12, IT innovation goals
    • Slide 13, top projects and top departments from the CEO and the CIO

    Include any immediate recommendations you have.

    Hello CEO NAME,

    I’m excited to get started in my role as CIO, and to hit the ground running, I’d like to make sure that the IT department is aligned with the business leadership. We will accomplish this using Info-Tech Research Group’s CEO-CIO Alignment Program. It’s a simple survey of 20 questions to be completed by the CEO and the CIO.

    This survey will help me understand your perception and vision as I get my footing as CIO. I’ll be able to identify and build core IT processes that will automate IT-business alignment going forward and create an effective IT strategy that helps eliminate impediments to business growth.

    Research shows that IT departments that are effectively aligned to business goals achieve more success, and I’m determined to make our IT department as successful as possible. I look forward to further detailing the benefits of this program to you and answering any questions you may have the next time we speak.

    Regards,
    CIO NAME

    New KPIs for CEO-CIO Alignment — Recommended

    Info-Tech CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program is set up to build IT-business alignment in any organization. It helps the CIO understand CEO perspectives and priorities. The exercise leads to useful IT performance indicators, clarifies IT’s mandate and which new technologies it should invest in, and maps business goals to IT priorities.

    Benefits

    Master the Basics
    Cut through the jargon.
    Take a comprehensive look at the CEO perspective.     		Target Alignment
    Identify how IT can support top business priorities. Address CEO-CIO differences.     		Start on the Right Path
    Get on track with the CIO vision. Use correct indicators and metrics to evaluate IT from day one.

    Supporting Tool or Template icon Additional materials are available on Info-Tech’s website.

    The desired maturity level of IT — Alternative

    Associated Activity icon Use only if you can’t complete the CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Step 1: Where are we today?

    Determine where the CEO sees the current overall maturity level of the IT organization.

    Step 2: Where do we want to be as an organization?

    Determine where the CEO wants the IT organization to be in order to effectively support the strategic direction of the business.

    		A colorful visual representation of the different IT maturity levels. At the bottom is 'STRUGGLE, Unable to Provide Reliable Business Services', then moving upwards are 'SUPPORT, Reliable Infrastructure and IT Service Desk', 'OPTIMIZE, Effective Fulfillment of Work Orders, Functional Business Applications, and Reliable Service Management', 'EXPAND, Effective Execution on Business Projects, Strategic Use of Analytics and Customer Technology', and at the top is 'TRANSFORM, Reliable Technology Innovation'.

    Presentation Deck, slide 11

    Tim Cook's powerful use of language

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Consumer technology
    Source Carmine Gallo, Inc., 2019

    Apple CEO Tim Cook, an internal hire, had big shoes to fill after taking over from the late Steve Jobs. Cook's ability to control how the company is perceived is a big credit to his success. How does he do it? His favorite five words are “The way I see it..." These words allow him to take a line of questioning and reframe it into another perspective that he wants to get across. Similarly, he'll often say, "Let me tell you the way I look at it” or "To put it in perspective" or "To put it in context."

    In your first two weeks on the job, try using these phrases in your conversations with peers and direct reports. It demonstrates that you value their point of view but are independently coming to conclusions about the situation at hand.

    		Photo of Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Inc.
    Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Inc. (Image source: Apple)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Denis Gaudreault

    Inform your team that you plan to do an IT Management & Governance Diagnostic survey

    Associated Activity icon Run the diagnostic program or use the alternative activities to complete your presentation

    INPUT: IT Management & Governance Diagnostic (recommended)

    OUTPUT: Process to improve first, Processes important to the business

    Materials: Presentation Deck, slides 19-20

    Participants: CIO, IT staff

    Introduce the IT Management & Governance Diagnostic survey that will help you form your IT strategy.

    Explain that you want to understand current IT capabilities and you feel a formal approach is best. You’ll also be using this approach as an important metric to track your department’s success. Tell them that Info-Tech Research Group will be conducting the survey and it’s important to you that they take action on the email when it’s sent to them.

    Example email:

    Hello TEAM,

    I appreciate meeting each of you, and so far I’m excited about the talents and energy on the team. Now I need to understand the processes and capabilities of our department in a deeper way. I’d like to map our process landscape against an industry-wide standard, then dive deeper into those processes to understand if our team is aligned. This will help us be accountable to the business and plan the year ahead. Advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group will be reaching out to you with a simple survey that shouldn’t take too long to complete. It’s important to me that you pay attention to that message and complete the survey as soon as possible.

    Regards,
    CIO NAME

    Call 3

    Day 16 to Day 30

    Leverage team interviews as a source of determining organizational culture

    Info-Tech recommends that you hold group conversations with your team to uncover their opinions of the current organizational culture. This not only helps build transparency between you and your team but also gives you another means of observing behavior and reactions as you listen to team members’ characterizations of the current culture.

    A visualization of the organizational culture of a company asks the question 'What is culture?' Five boxes are stacked, the bottom two are noted as 'The invisible causes' and the top two are noted as 'The visible signs'. From the bottom, 'Fundamental assumptions and beliefs', 'Values and attitudes', 'The way we do things around here', 'Behaviors', and at the top, 'Environment'. (Source: Hope College Blog Network)

    Note: It is inherently difficult for people to verbalize what constitutes a culture – your strategy for extracting this information will require you to ask indirect questions to solicit the highest value information.

    Questions for Discussion:

    • What about the current organizational environment do you think most contributes to your success?
    • What barriers do you experience as you try to accomplish your work?
    • What is your favorite quality that is present in our organization?
    • What is the one thing you would most like to change about this organization?
    • Do the organization's policies and procedures support your efforts to accomplish work or do they impede your progress?
    • How effective do you think IT’s interactions are with the larger organization?
    • What would you consider to be IT’s top three guiding principles?
    • What kinds of people fail in this organization?

    Supporting Tool or Template icon See Info-Tech’s Cultural Archetype Calculator.

    Use the Competing Values Framework to define your organization’s cultural archetype

    THE COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK (CVF):

    CVF represents the synthesis of academic study of 39 indicators of effectiveness for organizations. Using a statistical analysis, two polarities that are highly predictive of differences in organizational effectiveness were isolated:

    1. Internal focus and integration vs. external focus and differentiation.
    2. Stability and control vs. flexibility and discretion.

    By plotting these dimensions on a matrix of competing values, four main cultural archetypes are identified with their own value drivers and theories of effectiveness.

    		A map of cultural archetypes with 'Internal control and integration' on the left, 'External focus and differentiation' on the right, 'Flexibility and discretion' on top, and 'Stability and control' on the bottom. Top left is 'Clan Archetype', internal and flexible. Top right is 'Adhocracy Archetype', external and flexible. Bottom left is 'Hierarchy Archetype', internal and controlled. Bottom right is 'Market Archetype', external and controlled.

    Presentation Deck, slide 16

    Create a cultural adjustment plan

    Now that you've assessed the cultural archetype, you can plan an appropriate approach to shape the culture in a positive way. When new executives want to change culture, there are a few main options at hand:

    Autonomous evolution: Encourage teams to learn from each other. Empower hybrid teams to collaborate and reward teams that perform well.

    Planned and managed change: Create steering committee and project-oriented taskforces to work in parallel. Appoint employees that have cultural traits you'd like to replicate to hold responsibility for these bodies.

    Cultural destruction: When a toxic culture needs to be eliminated, get rid of its carriers. Putting new managers or directors in place with the right cultural traits can be a swift and effective way to realign.

    Each option boils down to creating the right set of incentives and deterrents. What behaviors will you reward and which ones will you penalize? What do those consequences look like? Sometimes, but not always, some structural changes to the team will be necessary. If you feel these changes should be made, it's important to do it sooner rather than later. (Source: “Enlarging Your Sphere of Influence in Your Organization,” MindTools Corporate, 2014.)

    As you're thinking about shaping a desired culture, it's helpful to have an easy way to remember the top qualities you want to espouse. Try creating an acronym that makes it easy for staff to remember. For example: RISE could remind your staff to be Responsive, Innovative, Sustainable, and Engaging (RISE). Draw upon your business direction from your manager to help produce desired qualities (Source: Jennifer Schaeffer).

    Presentation Deck, slide 17

    Gary Davenport’s welcome “surprise”

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Telecom
    Source Interview with Gary Davenport

    After Gary Davenport was hired on as VP of IT at MTS Allstream, his first weekend on the job was spent at an all-executive offsite meeting. There, he learned from the CEO that the IT department had a budget reduction target of 25%, like other departments in the company. “That takes your breath away,” Davenport says.

    He decided to meet the CEO monthly to communicate his plans to reduce spending while trying to satisfy business stakeholders. His top priorities were:

    1. Stabilize IT after seven different leaders in a five-year period.
    2. Get the IT department to be respected. To act like business owners instead of like servants.
    3. Better manage finances and deliver on projects.

    During Davenport’s 7.5-year tenure, the IT department became one of the top performers at MTS Allstream.

    		Photo of Gary Davenport.
    Gary Davenport’s first weekend on the job at MTS Allstream included learning about a 25% reduction target. (Image source: Ryerson University)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – David Penny & Andrew Wertkin

    Initiate IT Management & Governance Diagnostic — Recommended

    Info-Tech Management & Governance Diagnostic

    Talk to your Info-Tech executive advisor about launching the survey shortly after informing your team to expect it. You'll just have to provide the names and email addresses of the staff you want to be involved. Once the survey is complete, you'll harvest materials from it for your presentation deck. See slides 19 and 20 of your deck and follow the instructions on what to include.

    Benefits

    A sample of the 'High Level Process Landscape' materials available from Info-Tech. A sample of the 'Strategy and Governance In Depth Results' materials available from Info-Tech. A sample of the 'Process Accountability' materials available from Info-Tech.
    Explore IT Processes
    Dive deeper into performance. Highlight problem areas.     		Align IT Team
    Build consensus by identifying opposing views.     		Ownership & Accountability
    Identify process owners and hold team members accountable.

    Supporting Tool or Template icon Additional materials available on Info-Tech’s website.

    Conduct a high-level analysis of current IT capabilities — Alternative

    Associated Activity icon

    INPUT: Interviews with IT leadership team, Capabilities graphic on next slide

    OUTPUT: High-level understanding of current IT capabilities

    Run this activity if you're not able to conduct the IT Management & Governance Diagnostic.

    Schedule meetings with your IT leadership team. (In smaller organizations, interviewing everyone may be acceptable.) Provide them a list of the core capabilities that IT delivers upon and ask them to rate them on an effectiveness scale of 1-5, with a short rationale for their score.

    • 1. Not effective (NE)
    • 2. Somewhat Effective (SE)
    • 3. Effective (E)
    • 4. Very Effective (VE)
    • 5. Extremely Effective (EE)

    Presentation Deck, slide 21

    Use the following set of IT capabilities for your assessment

    Strategy & Governance

    		 IT Governance Strategy Performance Measurement Policies Quality Management Innovation

    People & Resources

    		 Stakeholder Management Resource Management Financial Management Vendor Selection & Contract Management Vendor Portfolio Management Workforce Strategy Strategic Comm. Organizational Change Enablement

    Service Management & Operations

    		 Operations Management Service Portfolio Management Release Management Service Desk Incident & Problem Management Change Management Demand Management

    Infrastructure

    		 Asset Management Infrastructure Portfolio Management Availability & Capacity Management Infrastructure Management Configuration Management

    Information Security & Risk

    		 Security Strategy Risk Management Compliance, Audit & Review Security Detection Response & Recovery Security Prevention

    Applications

    		 Application Lifecycle Management Systems Integration Application Development User Testing Quality Assurance Application Maintenance

    PPM & Projects

    		 Portfolio Management Requirements Gathering Project Management

    Data & BI

    		 Data Architecture BI & Reporting Data Quality & Governance Database Operations Enterprise Content Management

    Enterprise Architecture

    		 Enterprise Architecture Solution Architecture

    Quick wins: CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Complete this while waiting on the IT M&G survey results. Based on your completed CEO-CIO Alignment Report, identify the initiatives you can tackle immediately.

    If you are here... And want to be here... Drive toward... Innovate around...
    Business Partner Innovator Leading business transformation
    • Emerging technologies
    • Analytical capabilities
    • Risk management
    • Customer-facing tech
    • Enterprise architecture
    Trusted Operator Business Partner Optimizing business process and supporting business transformation
    • IT strategy and governance
    • Business architecture
    • Projects
    • Resource management
    • Data quality
    Firefighter Trusted Operator Optimize IT processes and services
    • Business applications
    • Service management
    • Stakeholder management
    • Work orders
    Unstable Firefighter Reduce use disruption and adequately support the business
    • Network and infrastructure
    • Service desk
    • Security
    • User devices

    Call 4

    Day 31 to Day 45

    Inform your peers that you plan to do a CIO Business Vision survey to gauge your stakeholders’ satisfaction

    Associated Activity icon Run the diagnostic program or use the alternative activities to complete your presentation

    INPUT: CIO Business Vision survey (recommended)

    OUTPUT: True measure of business satisfaction with IT

    Materials: Presentation Deck, slide 30

    Participants: CIO, IT staff

    Meet the business leaders at your organization face-to-face if possible. If you can't meet in person, try a video conference to establish some rapport. At the end of your introduction and after listening to what your colleague has to say, introduce the CIO Business Vision Diagnostic.

    Explain that you want to understand how to meet their business needs and you feel a formal approach is best. You'll also be using this approach as an important metric to track your department's success. Tell them that Info-Tech Research Group will be conducting the survey and it’s important to you that they take the survey when the email is sent to them.

    Example email:

    Hello PEER NAMES,

    I'm arranging for Info-Tech Research Group to invite you to take a survey that will be important to me. The CIO Business Vision survey will help me understand how to meet your business needs. It will only take about 15 minutes of your time, and the top-line results will be shared with the organization. We will use the results to plan initiatives for the future that will improve your satisfaction with IT.

    Regards,
    CIO NAME

    Gain feedback on your initial assessments from your IT team

    There are two strategies for gaining feedback on your initial assessments of the organization from the IT team:

    1. Review your personal assessments with the relevant members of your IT organization as a group. This strategy can help to build trust and an open channel for communication between yourself and your team; however, it also runs the risk of being impacted by groupthink.
    2. Ask for your team to complete their own assessments for you to compare and contrast. This strategy can help extract more candor from your team, as they are not expected to communicate what may be nuanced perceptions of organizational weaknesses or criticisms of the way certain capabilities function.

    Who you involve in this process will be impacted by the size of your organization. For larger organizations, involve everyone down to the manager level. In smaller organizations, you may want to involve everyone on the IT team to get an accurate lay of the land.

    Areas for Review:

    • Strategic Document Review: Are there any major themes or areas of interest that were not covered in my initial assessment?
    • Competitor Array: Are there any initiatives in flight to leverage new technologies?
    • Current State of IT Maturity: Does IT’s perception align with the CEO’s? Where do you believe IT has been most effective? Least effective?
    • IT’s Key Priorities: Does IT’s perception align with the CEO’s?
    • Key Performance Indicators: How has IT been measured in the past?

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    You need your team’s hearts and minds or you risk a short tenure. Overemphasizing business commitment by neglecting to address your IT team until after you meet your business stakeholders will result in a disenfranchised group. Show your team their importance.

    Susan Bowen's talent maximization

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Infrastructure Services
    Source Interview with Susan Bowen

    Susan Bowen was promoted to be the president of Cogeco Peer 1, an infrastructure services firm, when it was still a part of Cogeco Communications. Part of her mandate was to help spin out the business to a new owner, which occurred when it was acquired by Digital Colony. The firm was renamed Aptum and Bowen was put in place as CEO, which was not a certainty despite her position as president at Cogeco Peer 1. She credits her ability to put the right talent in the right place as part of the reason she succeeded. After becoming president, she sought a strong commitment from her directors. She gave them a choice about whether they'd deliver on a new set of expectations – or not. She also asks her leadership on a regular basis if they are using their talent in the right way. While it's tempting for directors to want to hold on to their best employees, those people might be able to enable many more people if they can be put in another place.

    Bowen fully rounded out her leadership team after Aptum was formed. She created a chief operating officer and a chief infrastructure officer. This helped put in place more clarity around roles at the firm and put an emphasis on client-facing services.

    		Photo of Susan Bowen, CEO, Aptum.
    Susan Bowen, CEO, Aptum (Image source: Aptum)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Susan Bowen

    Initiate CIO Business Vision survey – new KPIs for stakeholder management — Recommended

    Info-Tech CIO Business Vision

    Be sure to effectively communicate the context of this survey to your business stakeholders before you launch it. Plan to talk about your plans to introduce it in your first meetings with stakeholders. When ready, let your executive advisor know you want to launch the tool and provide the names and email addresses of the stakeholders you want involved. After you have the results, harvest the materials required for your presentation deck. See slide 30 and follow the instructions on what to include.

    Benefits

    Icon for Key Stakeholders. Icon for Credibility. Icon for Improve. Icon for Focus.
    Key Stakeholders
    Clarify the needs of the business.     		Credibility
    Create transparency.     		Improve
    Measure IT’s progress.     		Focus
    Find what’s important.

    Supporting Tool or Template icon Additional materials are available on Info-Tech’s website.

    Create a catalog of key stakeholder details to reference prior to future conversations — Alternative

    Only conduct this activity if you’re not able to run the CIO Business Vision diagnostic.

    Use the Organizational Catalog as a personal cheat sheet to document the key details around each of your stakeholders, including your CEO when possible.

    The catalog will be an invaluable tool to keep the competing needs of your different stakeholders in line, while ensuring you are retaining the information to build the political capital needed to excel in the C-suite.

    Note: It is important to keep this document private. While you may want to communicate components of this information, ensure your catalog remains under lock and (encryption) key.

    Screenshot of the Organizational Catalog for Stakeholders. At the top are spaces for 'Name', 'Job Title', etc. Boxes include 'Key Personal Details', 'Satisfaction Levels With IT', 'Preferred Communications', 'Key Activities', 'In-Flight and Scheduled Projects', 'Key Performance Indicators', and 'Additional Details'.

    Info-Tech Insight

    While profiling your stakeholders is important, do not be afraid to profile yourself as well. Visualizing how your interests overlap with those of your stakeholders can provide critical information on how to manage your communications so that those on the receiving end are hearing exactly what they need.

    Activity: Conduct interviews with your key business stakeholders — Alternative

    Associated Activity icon

    1. Once you have identified your key stakeholders through your interviews with your boss and your IT team, schedule a set of meetings with those individuals.
    2. Use the meetings to get to know your stakeholders, their key priorities and initiatives, and their perceptions of the effectiveness of IT.
      1. Use the probative questions to the right to elicit key pieces of information.
      2. Refer to the Organizational Catalog tool for more questions to dig deeper in each category. Ensure that you are taking notes separate from the tool and are keeping the tool itself secure, as it will contain private information specific to your interests.
    3. Following each meeting, record the results of your conversation and any key insights in the Organizational Catalog. Refer to the following slide for more details.

    Questions for Discussion:

    • Be indirect about your personal questions – share stories that will elicit details about their interests, kids, etc.
    • What are your most critical/important initiatives for the year?
    • What are your key revenue streams, products, and services?
    • What are the most important ways that IT supports your success? What is your satisfaction level with those services?
    • Are there any current in-flight projects or initiatives that are a current pain point? How can IT assist to alleviate challenges?
    • How is your success measured? What are your targets for the year on those metrics?

    Presentation Deck, slide 34

    Call 5

    Day 46 to Day 60

    Inform your team that you plan to do an IT staffing assessment

    Associated Activity icon Introduce the IT Staffing Assessment that will help you get the most out of your team

    INPUT: Email template

    OUTPUT: Ready to launch diagnostic

    Materials: Email template, List of staff, Sample of diagnostic

    Participants: CIO, IT staff

    Explain that you want to understand how the IT staff is currently spending its time by function and by activity. You want to take a formal approach to this task and also assess the team’s feelings about its effectiveness across different processes. The results of the assessment will serve as the foundation that helps you improve your team’s effectiveness within the organization.

    Example email:

    Hello PEER NAMES,

    The feedback I've heard from the team since joining the company has been incredibly useful in beginning to formulate my IT strategy. Now I want to get a clear picture of how everyone is spending their time, especially across different IT functions and activities. This will be an opportunity for you to share feedback on what we're doing well, what we need to do more of, and what we're missing. Expect to receive an email invitation to take this survey from Info-Tech Research Group. It's important to me that you complete the survey as soon as you're can. Attached you’ll find an example of the report this will generate. Thank you again for providing your time and feedback.

    Regards,
    CIO NAME

    Wayne Berger's shortcut to solve staffing woes

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Office leasing
    Source Interview with Wayne Berger

    Wayne Berger was hired to be the International Workplace Group (IWG) CEO for Canada and Latin America in 2014.

    Wayne approached his early days with the office space leasing firm as a tour of sorts, visiting nearly every one of the 48 office locations across Canada to host town hall meetings. He heard from staff at every location that they felt understaffed. But instead of simply hiring more staff, Berger actually reduced the workforce by 33%.

    He created a more flexible approach to staffing:

    • Employees no longer just reported to work at one office; instead, they were ready to go to wherever they were most needed in a specific geographic area.
    • He centralized all back-office functions for the company so that not every office had to do its own bookkeeping.
    • Finally, he changed the labor profile to consist of full-time staff, part-time staff, and time-on-demand workers.
    		 Photo of Wayne Berger, CEO, IWG Plc.
    Wayne Berger, CEO, IWG Plc (Image source: IWG)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Wayne Berger

    Initiate IT Staffing Assessment – new KPIs to track IT performance — Recommended

    Info-Tech IT Staffing Assessment

    Info-Tech’s IT Staffing Assessment provides benchmarking of key metrics against 4,000 other organizations. Dashboard-style reports provide key metrics at a glance, including a time breakdown by IT function and by activity compared against business priorities. Run this survey at about the 45-day mark of your first 90 days. Its insights will be used to inform your long-term IT strategy.

    Benefits

    Icon for Right-Size IT Headcount. Icon for Allocate Staff Correctly. Icon for Maximize Teams.
    Right-Size IT Headcount
    Find the right level for stakeholder satisfaction.     		Allocate Staff Correctly
    Identify staff misalignments with priorities.     		Maximize Teams
    Identify how to drive staff.

    Supporting Tool or Template icon Additional materials are available on Info-Tech’s website.

    Quick wins: Make recommendations based on IT Management & Governance Framework

    Complete this exercise while waiting on the IT Staffing Assessment results. Based on your completed IT Management & Governance report, identify the initiatives you can tackle immediately. You can conduct this as a team exercise by following these steps:

    1. Create a shortlist of initiatives based on the processes that were identified as high need but scored low in effectiveness. Think as broadly as possible during this initial brainstorming.
    2. Write each initiative on a sticky note and conduct a high-level analysis of the amount of effort that would be required to complete it, as well as its alignment with the achievement of business objectives.
    3. Draw the matrix below on a whiteboard and place each sticky note onto the matrix based on its potential impact and difficulty to address.
    A matrix of initiative categories based on effort to achieve and alignment with business objectives. It is split into quadrants: the vertical axis is 'Potential Impact' with 'High, Fully supports achievement of business objectives' at the top and 'Low, Limited support of business objectives' at the bottom; the horizontal axis is 'Effort' with 'Low' on the left and 'High' on the right. Low impact, low effort is 'Low Current Value, No immediate attention required, but may become a priority in the future if business objectives change'. Low impact, high effort is 'Future Reassessment, No immediate attention required, but may become a priority in the future if business objectives change'. High impact, high effort is 'Long-Term Initiatives, High impact on business outcomes but will take more effort to implement. Schedule these in your long-term roadmap'. High impact, low effort is 'Quick Wins, High impact on business objectives with relatively small effort. Some combination of these will form your early wins'.

    Call 6

    Day 61 to Day 75

    Run a start, stop, continue exercise with your IT staff — Alternative

    This is an alternative activity to running an IT Staffing Assessment, which contains a start/stop/continue assessment. This activity can be facilitated with a flip chart or a whiteboard. Create three pages or three columns and label them Start, Stop, and Continue.

    Hand out sticky notes to each team member and then allow time for individual brainstorming. Instruct them to write down their contributions for each category on the sticky notes. After a few minutes, have everyone stick their notes in the appropriate category on the board. Discuss as a group and see what themes emerge. Record the results that you want to share in your presentation deck (GroupMap).

    Gather your team and explain the meaning of these categories:

    Start: Activities you're not currently doing but should start doing very soon.

    Stop: Activities you're currently doing but aren’t working and should cease.

    Continue: Things you're currently doing and are working well.

    Presentation Deck, slide 24

    Determine the alignment of IT commitments with business objectives

    Associated Activity icon

    INPUT: Interviews with IT leadership team

    OUTPUT: High-level understanding of in-flight commitments and investments

    Run this only as an alternative to the IT Management & Governance Diagnostic.

    1. Schedule meetings with IT leadership to understand what commitments have been made to the business in terms of new products, projects, or enhancements.
    2. Determine the following about IT’s current investment mix:
      1. What are the current IT investments and assets? How do they align to business goals?
      2. What investments in flight are related to which information assets?
      3. Are there any immediate risks identified for these key investments?
      4. What are the primary business issues that demand attention from IT consistently?
      5. What choices remain undecided in terms of strategic direction of the IT organization?
    3. Document your key investments and commitments as well as any points of misalignment between objectives and current commitments as action items to address in your long-term plans. If they are small fixes, consider them during your quick-win identification.

    Presentation Deck, slide 25

    Determine the alignment of IT commitments with business objectives

    Run this only as an alternative to the IT Staffing Assessment diagnostic.

    Schedule meetings with IT leadership to understand what commitments have been made to the business in terms of new products, projects, or enhancements.

    Determine the following about IT’s current investment mix:

    • What are the current IT investments and assets?
    • How do they align to business goals?
    • What in-flight investments are related to which information assets?
    • Are there any immediate risks identified for these key investments?
    • What are the primary business issues that demand attention from IT consistently?
    • What remains undecided in terms of strategic direction of the IT organization?

    Document your key investments and commitments, as well as any points of misalignment between objectives and current commitments, as action items to address in your long-term plans. If they are small-effort fixes, consider them during your quick-win identification.

    Presentation Deck, slide 25

    Make a categorized vendor list by IT process

    As part of learning the IT team, you should also create a comprehensive list of vendors under contract. Collaborate with the finance department to get a clear view of how much of the IT budget is spent on specific vendors. Try to match vendors to the IT processes they serve from the IT M&G framework.

    You should also organize your vendors based on their budget allocation. Go beyond just listing how much money you’re spending with each vendor and categorize them into either “transactional” relationships or “strategic relationships.” Use the grid below to organize them. Ideally, you’ll want most relationships to be high spend and strategic (Source: Gary Davenport).

    A matrix of vendor categories with the vertical axis 'Spend' increasing upward, and the horizontal axis 'Type of relationship' with values 'Transactional' or 'Strategic'. The bottom left corner is 'Low Spend Transactional', the top right corner is 'High Spend Strategic'.

    Where to source your vendor list:

    • Finance department
    • Infrastructure managers
    • Vendor manager in IT

    Further reading: Manage Your Vendors Before They Manage You

    Presentation Deck, slide 26

    Jennifer Schaeffer’s short-timeline turnaround

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Education
    Source Interview with Jennifer Schaeffer

    Jennifer Schaeffer joined Athabasca University as CIO in November 2017. She was entering a turnaround situation as the all-online university lacked an IT strategy and had built up significant technical debt. Armed with the mandate of a third-party consultant that was supported by the president, Schaeffer used a people-first approach to construct her strategy. She met with all her staff, listening to them carefully regardless of role, and consulted with the administrative council and faculty members. She reflected that feedback in her plan or explained to staff why it wasn’t relevant for the strategy. She implemented a “strategic calendaring” approach for the organization, making sure that her team members were participating in meetings where their work was assessed and valued. Drawing on Spotify as an inspiration, she designed her teams in a way that everyone was connected to the customer experience. Given her short timeline to execute, she put off a deep skills analysis of her team for a later time, as well as creating a full architectural map of her technology stack. The outcome is that 2.5 years later, the IT department is unified in using the same tooling and optimization standards. It’s more flexible and ready to incorporate government changes, such as offering more accessibility options.

    		Photo of Jennifer Schaeffer.
    Jennifer Schaeffer took on the CIO role at Athabasca University in 2017 and was asked to create a five-year strategic plan in just six weeks.
    (Image source: Athabasca University)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Eric Wright

    Call 7

    Day 76 to Day 90

    Finalize your vision – mission – values statement

    A clear statement for your values, vision, and mission will help crystallize your IT strategy and communicate what you're trying to accomplish to the entire organization.

    Mission: This statement describes the needs that IT was created to meet and answers the basic question of why IT exists.

    Vision: Write a statement that captures your values. Remember that the vision statement sets out what the IT organization wants to be known for now and into the future.

    Values: IT core values represent the standard axioms by which the IT department operates. Similar to the core values of the organization as a whole, IT’s core values are the set of beliefs or philosophies that guide its strategic actions.

    Further reading: IT Vision and Mission Statements Template

    Presentation Deck, slide 42

    John Chen's new strategic vision

    CASE STUDY

    Industry Mobile Services
    Source Sean Silcoff, The Globe and Mail

    John Chen, known in the industry as a successful turnaround executive, was appointed BlackBerry CEO in 2014 following the unsuccessful launch of the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system and a new tablet.

    He spent his first three months travelling, talking to customers and suppliers, and understanding the company's situation. He assessed that it had a problem generating cash and had made some strategic errors, but there were many assets that could benefit from more investment.

    He was blunt about the state of BlackBerry, making cutting observations of the past mistakes of leadership. He also settled a key question about whether BlackBerry would focus on consumer or enterprise customers. He pointed to a base of 80,000 enterprise customers that accounted for 80% of revenue and chose to focus on that.

    His new mission for BlackBerry: to transform it from being a "mobile technology company" that pushes handset sales to "a mobile solutions company" that serves the mobile computing needs of its customers.

    		Photo of John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry.
    John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, presents at BlackBerry Security Summit 2018 in New York City (Image source: Brian Jackson)

    Listen to 'The First 100 Days' podcast – Erin Bury

    Quick wins: Make recommendations based on the CIO Business Vision survey

    Based on your completed CIO Business Vision survey, use the IT Satisfaction Scorecard to determine some initiatives. Focus on areas that are ranked as high importance to the business but low satisfaction. While all of the initiatives may be achievable given enough time, use the matrix below to identify the quick wins that you can focus on immediately. It’s important to not fail in your quick-win initiative.

    • High Visibility, Low Risk: Best bet for demonstrating your ability to deliver value.
    • Low Visibility, Low Risk: Worth consideration, depending on the level of effort required and the relative importance to the stakeholder.
    • High Visibility, High Risk: Limit higher-risk initiatives until you feel you have gained trust from your stakeholders, demonstrating your ability to deliver.
    • Low Visibility, High Risk: These will be your lowest value, quick-win initiatives. Keep them in a backlog for future consideration in case business objectives change.
    A matrix of initiative categories based on organizational visibility and risk of failure. It is split into quadrants: the vertical axis is 'Organizational Visibility' with 'High' at the top and 'Low' at the bottom; the horizontal axis is 'Risk of Failure' with 'Low' on the left and 'High' on the right. 'Low Visibility, Low Risk, Few stakeholders will benefit from the initiative’s implementation.' 'Low Visibility, High Risk, No immediate attention is required, but it may become a priority in the future if business objectives change.' 'High Visibility, Low Risk, Multiple stakeholders will benefit from the initiative’s implementation, and it has a low risk of failure.' 'High Visibility, High Risk, Multiple stakeholders will benefit from the initiative’s implementation, but it has a higher risk of failure.'

    Presentation Deck, slide 27

    Create and communicate a post-100 plan

    The last few slides of your presentation deck represent a roundup of all the assessments you’ve done and communicate your plan for the months ahead.

    Slide 38. Based on the information on the previous slide and now knowing which IT capabilities need improvement and which business priorities are important to support, estimate where you'd like to see IT staff spend their time in the near future. Will you be looking to shift staff from one area to another? Will you be looking to hire staff?

    Slide 39. Take your IT M&G initiatives from slide 19 and list them here. If you've already achieved a quick win, list it and mark it as completed to show what you've accomplished. Briefly outline the objectives, how you plan to achieve the result, and what measurement will indicate success.

    Slide 40. Reflect your CIO Business Vision initiatives from slide 31 here.

    Slide 41. Use this roadmap template to list your initiatives by roughly when they’ll be worked on and completed. Plan for when you’ll update your diagnostics.

    Expert Contributors

    Photo of Alan Fong, Chief Technology Officer, Dealer-FX Alan Fong, Chief Technology Officer, Dealer-FX
    Photo of Andrew Wertkin, Chief Strategy Officer, BlueCat NetworksPhoto of David Penny, Chief Technology Officer, BlueCat Networks Andrew Wertkin, Chief Strategy Officer, BlueCat Networks
    David Penny, Chief Technology Officer, BlueCat Networks
    Photo of Susan Bowen, CEO, Aptum Susan Bowen, CEO, Aptum
    Photo of Erin Bury, CEO, Willful Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
    Photo of Denis Gaudreault, Country Manager, Intel Canada and Latin America Denis Gaudreault, Country Manager, Intel Canada and Latin America
    Photo of Wayne Berger, CEO, IWG Plc Wayne Berger, CEO, IWG Plc
    Photo of Eric Wright, CEO, LexisNexis Canada Eric Wright, CEO, LexisNexis Canada
    Photo of Gary Davenport Gary Davenport, past president of CIO Association” of Canada, former VP of IT, Enterprise Solutions Division, MTS AllStream
    Photo of Jennifer Schaeffer, VP of IT and CIO, Athabasca University Jennifer Schaeffer, VP of IT and CIO, Athabasca University

    Bibliography

    Beaudan, Eric. “Do you have what it takes to be an executive?” The Globe and Mail, 9 July 2018. Web.

    Bersohn, Diana. “Go Live on Day One: The Path to Success for a New CIO.” PDF document. Accenture, 2015. Web.

    Bradt, George. “Executive Onboarding When Promoted From Within To Follow A Successful Leader.” Forbes, 15 Nov. 2018. Web.

    “CIO Stats: Length of CIO Tenure Varies By Industry.” CIO Journal, The Wall Street Journal. 15 Feb. 2017. Web.

    “Enlarging Your Sphere of Influence in Your Organization: Your Learning and Development Guide to Getting People on Side.” MindTools Corporate, 2014.

    “Executive Summary.” The CIO's First 100 Days: A Toolkit. PDF document. Gartner, 2012. Web.

    Forbes, Jeff. “Are You Ready for the C-Suite?” KBRS, n.d. Web.

    Gallo, Carmine. “Tim Cook Uses These 5 Words to Take Control of Any Conversation.” Inc., 9 Aug. 2019. Web.

    Giles, Sunnie. “The Most Important Leadership Competencies, According to Leaders Around the World.” Harvard Business Review, 15 March 2016. Web.

    Godin, Seth. “Ode: How to tell a great story.” Seth's Blog. 27 April 2006. Web.

    Green, Charles W. “The horizontal dimension of race: Social culture.” Hope College Blog Network, 19 Oct. 2014. Web.

    Hakobyan, Hayk. “On Louis Gerstner And IBM.” Hayk Hakobyan, n.d. Web.

    Bibliography

    Hargrove, Robert. Your First 100 Days in a New Executive Job, edited by Susan Youngquist. Kindle Edition. Masterful Coaching Press, 2011.

    Heathfield, Susan M. “Why ‘Blink’ Matters: The Power of Your First Impressions." The Balance Careers, 25 June 2019. Web.

    Hillis, Rowan, and Mark O'Donnell. “How to get off to a flying start in your new job.” Odgers Berndtson, 29 Nov. 2018. Web.

    Karaevli, Ayse, and Edward J. Zajac. “When Is an Outsider CEO a Good Choice?” MIT Sloan Management Review, 19 June 2012. Web.

    Keizer, Gregg. “Microsoft CEO Nadella Aces First-100-Day Test.” Computerworld, 15 May 2014. Web.

    Keller, Scott, and Mary Meaney. “Successfully transitioning to new leadership roles.” McKinsey & Company, May 2018. Web.

    Kress, R. “Director vs. Manager: What You Need to Know to Advance to the Next Step.” Ivy Exec, 2016. Web.

    Levine, Seth. “What does it mean to be an ‘executive’.” VC Adventure, 1 Feb. 2018. Web.

    Lichtenwalner, Benjamin. “CIO First 90 Days.” PDF document. Modern Servant Leader, 2008. Web.

    Nawaz, Sabina. “The Biggest Mistakes New Executives Make.” Harvard Business Review, 15 May 2017. Web.

    Pruitt, Sarah. “Fast Facts on the 'First 100 Days.‘” History.com, 22 Aug. 2018. Web.

    Rao, M.S. “An Action Plan for New CEOs During the First 100 Days.” Training, 4 Oct. 2014. Web.

    Reddy, Kendra. “It turns out being a VP isn't for everyone.” Financial Post, 17 July 2012. Web.

    Silcoff, Sean. “Exclusive: John Chen’s simple plan to save BlackBerry.” The Globe & Mail, 24 Feb. 2014. Web.

    Bibliography

    “Start Stop Continue Retrospective.” GroupMap, n.d. Web.

    Surrette, Mark. “Lack of Rapport: Why Smart Leaders Fail.” KBRS, n.d. Web.

    “Understanding Types of Organization – PMP Study.” Simplilearn, 4 Sept. 2019. Web.

    Wahler, Cindy. “Six Behavioral Traits That Define Executive Presence.” Forbes, 2 July 2015. Web.

    Watkins, Michael D. The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded. Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.

    Watkins, Michael D. “7 Ways to Set Up a New Hire for Success.” Harvard Business Review, 10 May 2019. Web.

    “What does it mean to be a business executive?” Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, 12 Aug. 2014. Web.

    Yeung, Ken. “Turnaround: Marissa Mayer’s first 300 days as Yahoo’s CEO.” The Next Web, 19 May 2013. Web.

    Vendor Management

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    • byline: Manage your vendors, do not let your vendors manage you.
    That does not mean strong-arming. It means maximizing the vendor relationship value.

    Create a Customized Big Data Architecture and Implementation Plan

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    • Parent Category Name: Data Management
    • Parent Category Link: /data-management
    • Big data architecture is different from traditional data for several key reasons, including:
      • Big data architecture starts with the data itself, taking a bottom-up approach. Decisions about data influence decisions about components that use data.
      • Big data introduces new data sources such as social media content and streaming data.
      • The enterprise data warehouse (EDW) becomes a source for big data.
      • Master data management (MDM) is used as an index to content in big data about the people, places, and things the organization cares about.
      • The variety of big data and unstructured data requires a new type of persistence.
    • Many data architects have no experience with big data and feel overwhelmed by the number of options available to them (including vendor options, storage options, etc.). They often have little to no comfort with new big data management technologies.
    • If organizations do not architect for big data, there are a couple of main risks:
      • The existing data architecture is unable to handle big data, which will eventually result in a failure that could compromise the entire data environment.
      • Solutions will be selected in an ad hoc manner, which can cause incompatibility issues down the road.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Before beginning to make technology decisions regarding the big data architecture, make sure a strategy is in place to document architecture principles and guidelines, the organization’s big data business pattern, and high-level functional and quality of service requirements.
    • The big data business pattern can be used to determine what data sources should be used in your architecture, which will then dictate the data integration capabilities required. By documenting current technologies, and determining what technologies are required, you can uncover gaps to be addressed in an implementation plan.
    • Once you have identified and filled technology gaps, perform an architectural walkthrough to pull decisions and gaps together and provide a fuller picture. After the architectural walkthrough, fill in any uncovered gaps. A proof-of-technology project can be started as soon as you have evaluation copies (or OSS) products and at least one person who understands the technology.

    Impact and Result

    • Save time and energy trying to fix incompatibilities between technology and data.
    • Allow the Data Architect to respond to big data requests from the business more quickly.
    • Provide the organization with valuable insights through the analytics and visualization technologies that are integrated with the other building blocks.

    Create a Customized Big Data Architecture and Implementation Plan Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Recognize the importance of big data architecture

    Big data is centered on the volume, variety, velocity, veracity, and value of data. Achieve a data architecture that can support big data.

    • Storyboard: Create a Customized Big Data Architecture and Implementation Plan

    2. Define architectural principles and guidelines while taking into consideration maturity

    Understand the importance of a big data architecture strategy. Assess big data maturity to assist with creation of your architectural principles.

    • Big Data Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Big Data Architecture Principles & Guidelines Template

    3. Build the big data architecture

    Come to accurate big data architecture decisions.

    • Big Data Architecture Decision Making Tool

    4. Determine common services needs

    What are common services?

    5. Plan a big data architecture implementation

    Gain business satisfaction with big data requests. Determine what steps need to be taken to achieve your big data architecture.

    • Big Data Architecture Initiative Definition Tool
    • Big Data Architecture Initiative Planning Tool

    Infographic

    Workshop: Create a Customized Big Data Architecture and Implementation Plan

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Recognize the Importance of Big Data Architecture

    The Purpose

    Set expectations for the workshop.

    Recognize the importance of doing big data architecture when dealing with big data.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Big data defined.

    Understanding of why big data architecture is necessary.

    Activities

    1.1 Define the corporate strategy.

    1.2 Define big data and what it means to the organization.

    1.3 Understand why doing big data architecture is necessary.

    1.4 Examine Info-Tech’s Big Data Reference Architecture.

    Outputs

    Defined Corporate Strategy

    Defined Big Data

    Reference Architecture

    2 Design a Big Data Architecture Strategy

    The Purpose

    Identification of architectural principles and guidelines to assist with decisions.

    Identification of big data business pattern to choose required data sources.

    Definition of high-level functional and quality of service requirements to adhere architecture to.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Key Architectural Principles and Guidelines defined.

    Big data business pattern determined.

    High-level requirements documented.

    Activities

    2.1 Discuss how maturity will influence architectural principles.

    2.2 Determine which solution type is best suited to the organization.

    2.3 Define the business pattern driving big data.

    2.4 Define high-level requirements.

    Outputs

    Architectural Principles & Guidelines

    Big Data Business Pattern

    High-Level Functional and Quality of Service Requirements Exercise

    3 Build a Big Data Architecture

    The Purpose

    Establishment of existing and required data sources to uncover any gaps.

    Identification of necessary data integration requirements to uncover gaps.

    Determination of the best suited data persistence model to the organization’s needs.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Defined gaps for Data Sources

    Defined gaps for Data Integration capabilities

    Optimal Data Persistence technology determined

    Activities

    3.1 Establish required data sources.

    3.2 Determine data integration requirements.

    3.3 Learn which data persistence model is best suited.

    3.4 Discuss analytics requirements.

    Outputs

    Data Sources Exercise

    Data Integration Exercise

    Data Persistence Decision Making Tool

    4 Plan a Big Data Architecture Implementation

    The Purpose

    Identification of common service needs and how they differ for big data.

    Performance of an architectural walkthrough to test decisions made.

    Group gaps to form initiatives to develop an Initiative Roadmap.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Common service needs identified.

    Architectural walkthrough completed.

    Initiative Roadmap completed.

    Activities

    4.1 Identify common service needs.

    4.2 Conduct an architectural walkthrough.

    4.3 Group gaps together into initiatives.

    4.4 Document initiatives on an initiative roadmap.

    Outputs

    Architectural Walkthrough

    Initiative Roadmap

    Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics

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    • Parent Category Name: Data Management
    • Parent Category Link: /data-management
    • Continuous and disruptive database design updates while trying to have one design pattern to fit all use cases.
    • Sub-par performance while loading, retrieving, and querying data.
    • You want to shorten time-to-market of the projects aimed at data delivery and consumption.
    • Unnecessarily complicated database design limits usability of the data and requires knowledge of specific data structures for their effective use.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Evolve your data architecture. Data pipeline is an evolutionary break away from the enterprise data warehouse methodology.
    • Avoid endless data projects. Building centralized all-in-one enterprise data warehouses takes forever to deliver a positive ROI.
    • Facilitate data self-service. Use-case optimized data delivery repositories facilitate data self-service.

    Impact and Result

    • Understand your high-level business capabilities and interactions across them – your data repositories and flows should be just a digital reflection thereof.
    • Divide your data world in logical verticals overlaid with various speed data progression lanes, i.e. build your data pipeline – and conquer it one segment at a time.
    • Use the most appropriate database design pattern for a given phase/component in your data pipeline progression.

    Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Build your data pipeline using the most appropriate data design patterns.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Understand data progression

    Identify major business capabilities, business processes running inside and across them, and datasets produced or used by these business processes and activities performed thereupon.

    • Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics – Phase 1: Understand Data Progression

    2. Identify data pipeline components

    Identify data pipeline vertical zones: data creation, accumulation, augmentation, and consumption, as well as horizontal lanes: fast, medium, and slow speed.

    • Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics – Phase 2: Identify Data Pipeline Components

    3. Select data design patterns

    Select the right data design patterns for the data pipeline components, as well as an applicable data model industry standard (if available).

    • Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics – Phase 3: Select Data Design Patterns
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Build a Data Pipeline for Reporting and Analytics

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Understand Data Progression

    The Purpose

    Identify major business capabilities, business processes running inside and across them, and datasets produced or used by these business processes and activities performed thereupon.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Indicates the ownership of datasets and the high-level data flows across the organization.

    Activities

    1.1 Review & discuss typical pitfalls (and their causes) of major data management initiatives.

    1.2 Discuss the main business capabilities of the organization and how they interact.

    1.3 Discuss the business processes running inside and across business capabilities and the datasets involved.

    1.4 Create the Enterprise Business Process Model (EBPM).

    Outputs

    Understanding typical pitfalls (and their causes) of major data management initiatives.

    Business capabilities map

    Business processes map

    Enterprise Business Process Model (EBPM)

    2 Identify Data Pipeline Components

    The Purpose

    Identify data pipeline vertical zones: data creation, accumulation, augmentation, and consumption, as well as horizontal lanes: fast, medium, and slow speed.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Design the high-level data progression pipeline.

    Activities

    2.1 Review and discuss the concept of a data pipeline in general, as well as the vertical zones: data creation, accumulation, augmentation, and consumption.

    2.2 Identify these zones in the enterprise business model.

    2.3 Review and discuss multi-lane data progression.

    2.4 Identify different speed lanes in the enterprise business model.

    Outputs

    Understanding of a data pipeline design, including its zones.

    EBPM mapping to Data Pipeline Zones

    Understanding of multi-lane data progression

    EBPM mapping to Multi-Speed Data Progression Lanes

    3 Develop the Roadmap

    The Purpose

    Select the right data design patterns for the data pipeline components, as well as an applicable data model industry standard (if available).

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Use of appropriate data design pattern for each zone with calibration on the data progression speed.

    Activities

    3.1 Review and discuss various data design patterns.

    3.2 Discuss and select the data design pattern selection for data pipeline components.

    3.3 Discuss applicability of data model industry standards (if available).

    Outputs

    Understanding of various data design patterns.

    Data Design Patterns mapping to the data pipeline.

    Selection of an applicable data model from available industry standards.

    Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software

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    • PPM suite deployments are complicated and challenging. Vendors and consultants can provide much needed expertise and assistance to organizations deploying new PPM suites.
    • While functional requirements are often defined during the procurement stage (for example, in an RFP), the level of detail during this stage is likely insufficient for actually configuring the solution to your specific PPM needs. Too many organizations fail to further develop these functional requirements between signing their contracts and the official start of their professional implementation engagement.
    • Many organizations fail to organize and record the PPM data they will need to populate the new PPM suite. In almost all cases, customers have the expertise and are in the best position to collect and organize their own data. Leaving this until the vendor or consultant arrives to help with the deployment can result in using your professional services in a suboptimal way.
    • Vendors and consultants want you to prepare for their implementation engagements so that you can make the best use of their expertise and assistance. They want you to deploy a PPM suite that can be sustainably adopted in the long term. All too often, however, they arrive onsite to find customers that are disorganized and underprepared.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Preparing for a professional implementation engagement allows you to make the best use of your professional services, as well as helping to ensure that the PPM suite is deployed according to your specific PPM needs.
    • Involving your internal resources in the preparation of data and in fully defining functional requirements for the PPM suite helps to establish stakeholder buy-in early on, helping to build internal ownership of the solution from the beginning. This avoids the solution being perceived as something the vendor/consultant “forced upon us.”
    • Vendors and consultants are happy when organizations are organized and prepared for their professional implementation engagements. Preparation ensures these engagements are positive experiences for everyone involved.

    Impact and Result

    • Ensure that the data necessary to deploy the new PPM suite is recorded and organized.
    • Make your functional requirements detailed enough to ensure that the new PPM suite can be configured/customized during the deployment engagement in a way that best fits the organization’s actual PPM needs.
    • Through carefully preparing data and fully defining functional requirements, you help the solution become sustainably adopted in the long term.

    Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read this Executive Brief to understand why preparing for PPM deployment will ensure that organizations get the most value out of the implementation professional services they purchased and will help drive long-term sustainable adoption of the new PPM suite.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Create a preparation team and plan

    Engage in purposeful and effective PPM deployment planning by clearly defining what to prepare and when exactly it is time to move from planning to execution.

    • Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software – Phase 1: Create a Preparation Team and Plan
    • Prepare to Deploy PPM Suite Project Charter Template
    • PPM Suite Functional Requirements Document Template
    • PPM Suite Deployment Timeline Template (Excel)
    • PPM Suite Deployment Timeline Template (Project)
    • PPM Suite Deployment Communication Plan Template

    2. Prepare project-related requirements and deliverables

    Provide clearer definition to specific project-related functional requirements and collect the appropriate PPM data needed for an effective PPM suite deployment facilitated by vendors/consultants.

    • Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software – Phase 2: Prepare Project-Related Requirements and Deliverables
    • PPM Deployment Data Workbook
    • PPM Deployment Dashboard and Report Requirements Workbook

    3. Prepare PPM resource requirements and deliverables

    Provide clearer definition to specific resource management functional requirements and data and create a communication and training plan.

    • Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software – Phase 3: Prepare PPM Resource Requirements and Deliverables
    • PPM Suite Transition Plan Template
    • PPM Suite Training Plan Template
    • PPM Suite Training Management Tool

    4. Provide preparation materials to the vendor and implementation professionals

    Plan how to engage vendors/consultants by communicating functional requirements to them and evaluating changes to those requirements proposed by them.

    • Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software – Phase 4: Provide Preparation Materials to the Vendor and Implementation Professionals
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Prepare to Successfully Deploy PPM Software

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Plan the Preparation Project

    The Purpose

    Select a preparation team and establish clear assignments and accountabilities.

    Establish clear deliverables, milestones, and metrics to ensure it is clear when the preparation phase is complete.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Preparation activities will be organized and purposeful, ensuring that you do not threaten deployment success by being underprepared or waste resources by overpreparing.

    Activities

    1.1 Overview: Determine appropriate functional requirements to define and data to record in preparation for the deployment.

    1.2 Create a timeline.

    1.3 Create a charter for the PPM deployment preparation project: record lessons learned, establish metrics, etc.

    Outputs

    PPM Suite Deployment Timeline

    Charter for the PPM Suite Preparation Project Team

    2 Prepare Project-Related Requirements and Deliverables

    The Purpose

    Collect and organize relevant project-related data so that you are ready to populate the new PPM suite when the vendor/consultant begins their professional implementation engagement with you.

    Clearly define project-related functional requirements to aid in the configuration/customization of the tool.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An up-to-date and complete record of all relevant PPM data.

    Avoidance of scrambling to find data at the last minute, risking importing out-of-date or irrelevant information into the new software.

    Clearly defined functional requirements that will ensure the suite is configured in a way that can be adoption in the long term.

    Activities

    2.1 Define project phases and categories.

    2.2 Create a list of all projects in progress.

    2.3 Record functional requirements for project requests, project charters, and business cases.

    2.4 Create a list of all existing project requests.

    2.5 Record the current project intake processes.

    2.6 Define PPM dashboard and reporting requirements.

    Outputs

    Project List (basic)

    Project Request Form Requirements (basic)

    Scoring/Requirements (basic)

    Business Case Requirements (advanced)

    Project Request List (basic)

    Project Intake Workflows (advanced)

    PPM Reporting Requirements (basic)

    3 Prepare PPM Resource Requirements and Deliverables

    The Purpose

    Collect and organize relevant resource-related data.

    Clearly define resource-related functional requirements.

    Create a purposeful transition, communication, and training plan for the deployment period.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An up-to-date and complete record of all relevant PPM data that allows your vendor/consultant to get right to work at the start of the implementation engagement.

    Improved buy-in and adoption through transition, training, and communication activities that are tailored to the actual needs of your specific organization and users.

    Activities

    3.1 Create a portfolio-wide roster of project resources (and record their competencies and skills, if appropriate).

    3.2 Record resource management processes and workflows.

    3.3 Create a transition plan from existing PPM tools and processes to the new PPM suite.

    3.4 Identify training needs and resources to be leveraged during the deployment.

    3.5 Define training requirements.

    3.6 Create a PPM deployment training plan.

    Outputs

    Resource Roster and Competency Profile (basic)

    User Roles and Permissions (basic)

    Resource Management Workflows (advanced)

    Transition Approach and Plan (basic)

    Data Archiving Requirements (advanced)

    List of Training Modules and Attendees (basic)

    Internal Training Capabilities (advanced)

    Training Milestones and Deadlines (basic)

    4 Provide Preparation Materials to the Vendor and Implementation Professionals

    The Purpose

    Compile the data collected and the functional requirements defined so that they can be provided to the vendor and/or consultant before the implementation engagement.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Deliverables that record the outputs of your preparation and can be provided to vendors/consultants before the implementation engagement.

    Ensures that the customer is an active and equal partner during the deployment by having the customer prepare their material and initiate communication.

    Vendors and/or consultants have a clear understanding of the customer’s needs and expectations from the beginning.

    Activities

    4.1 Collect, review, and finalize the functional requirements.

    4.2 Compile a functional requirements and data package to provide to the vendor and/or consultants.

    4.3 Discuss how proposed changes to the functional requirements will be reviewed and decided.

    Outputs

    PPM Suite Functional Requirements Documents

    PPM Deployment Data Workbook

    Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively

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    • Parent Category Name: Development
    • Parent Category Link: /development
    • Your organization wants to implement (or revamp existing) software delivery metrics to monitor performance as well as achieve its goals.
    • You know that metrics can be a powerful tool for managing team behavior.
    • You also know that all metrics are prone to misuse and mismanagement, which can lead to unintended consequences that will harm your organization.
    • You need an approach for selecting and using effective software development lifecycle (SDLC) metrics that will help your organization to achieve its goals while minimizing the risk of unintended consequences.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Metrics are powerful, dangerous, and often mismanaged, particularly when they are tied to reward or punishment. To use SDLC metrics effectively, know the dangers, understand good practices, and then follow Info-Tech‘s TAG (team-oriented, adaptive, and goal-focused) approach to minimize risk and maximize impact.

    Impact and Result

    • Begin by understanding the risks of metrics.
    • Then understand good practices associated with metrics use.
    • Lastly, follow Info-Tech’s TAG approach to select and use SDLC metrics effectively.

    Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Understand both the dangers and good practices related to metrics, along with Info-Tech’s TAG approach to the selection and use of SDLC metrics.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Understand the dangers of metrics

    Explore the significant risks associated with metrics selection so that you can avoid them.

    • Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively – Phase 1: Understand the Risks of Metrics

    2. Know good practices related to metrics

    Learn about good practices related to metrics and how to apply them in your organization, then identify your team’s business-aligned goals to be used in SDLC metric selection.

    • Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively – Phase 2: Know Good Practices Related to Metrics
    • SDLC Metrics Evaluation and Selection Tool

    3. Rank and select effective SDLC metrics for your team

    Follow Info-Tech’s TAG approach to selecting effective SDLC metrics for your team, create a communication deck to inform your organization about your selected SDLC metrics, and plan to review and revise these metrics over time.

    • Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively – Phase 3: Rank and Select Effective SDLC Metrics for Your Team
    • SDLC Metrics Rollout and Communication Deck
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Understand the Dangers of Metrics

    The Purpose

    Learn that metrics are often misused and mismanaged.

    Understand the four risk areas associated with metrics: Productivity loss Gaming behavior Ambivalence Unintended consequences

    Productivity loss

    Gaming behavior

    Ambivalence

    Unintended consequences

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An appreciation of the dangers associated with metrics.

    An understanding of the need to select and manage SDLC metrics carefully to avoid the associated risks.

    Development of critical thinking skills related to metric selection and use.

    Activities

    1.1 Examine the dangers associated with metric use.

    1.2 Share real-life examples of poor metrics and their impact.

    1.3 Practice identifying and mitigating metrics-related risk.

    Outputs

    Establish understanding and appreciation of metrics-related risks.

    Solidify understanding of metrics-related risks and their impact on an organization.

    Develop the skills needed to critically analyze a potential metric and reduce associated risk.

    2 Understand Good Practices Related to Metrics

    The Purpose

    Develop an understanding of good practices related to metric selection and use.

    Introduce Info-Tech’s TAG approach to metric selection and use.

    Identify your team’s business-aligned goals for SDLC metrics.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Understanding of good practices for metric selection and use.

    Document your team’s prioritized business-aligned goals.

    Activities

    2.1 Examine good practices and introduce Info-Tech’s TAG approach.

    2.2 Identify and prioritize your team’s business-aligned goals.

    Outputs

    Understanding of Info-Tech’s TAG approach.

    Prioritized team goals (aligned to the business) that will inform your SDLC metric selection.

    3 Rank and Select Your SDLC Metrics

    The Purpose

    Apply Info-Tech’s TAG approach to rank and select your team’s SDLC metrics.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Identification of potential SDLC metrics for use by your team.

    Collaborative scoring/ranking of potential SDLC metrics based on their specific pros and cons.

    Finalize list of SDLC metrics that will support goals and minimize risk while maximizing impact.

    Activities

    3.1 Select your list of potential SDLC metrics.

    3.2 Score each potential metric’s pros and cons against objectives using a five-point scale.

    3.3 Collaboratively select your team’s first set of SDLC metrics.

    Outputs

    A list of potential SDLC metrics to be scored.

    A ranked list of potential SDLC metrics.

    Your team’s first set of goal-aligned SDLC metrics.

    4 Create a Communication and Rollout Plan

    The Purpose

    Develop a rollout plan for your SDLC metrics.

    Develop a communication plan.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    SDLC metrics.

    A plan to review and adjust your SDLC metrics periodically in the future.

    Communication material to be shared with the organization.

    Activities

    4.1 Identify rollout dates and responsible individuals for each SDLC metric.

    4.2 Identify your next SDLC metric review cycle.

    4.3 Create a communication deck.

    Outputs

    SDLC metrics rollout plan

    SDLC metrics review plan

    SDLC metrics communication deck

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

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    • Parent Category Name: Operations Management
    • Parent Category Link: /i-and-o-process-management
    • Your team’s time is burned up by incident response.
    • Manual repetitive work uses up expensive resources.
    • You don’t have the visibility to ensure the availability the business demands.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Sell the project to the business.
    • Leverage the Operations Center to improve IT Operations.

    Impact and Result

    • Clarify lines of accountability and metrics for success.
    • Implement targeted initiatives and track key metrics for continual improvement.

    Optimize the IT Operations Center Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should Optimize the IT Operations Center, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Lightning Phase: Pluck Low-Hanging Fruit for Quick Wins

    Get quick wins to demonstrate early value for investments in IT Operations.

    • Optimize the IT Operations Center – Lightning Phase: Pluck Low-Hanging Fruit for Quick Wins

    2. Get buy-in

    Get buy-in from business stakeholders by speaking their language.

    • Optimize the IT Operations Center – Phase 1: Get Buy-In
    • IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool
    • IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation
    • IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker

    3. Define accountability and metrics

    Formalize process and task accountability and develop targeted metrics.

    • Optimize the IT Operations Center – Phase 2: Define Accountability and Metrics
    • IT Operations Center RACI Charts Template

    4. Assess gaps and prioritize initiatives

    Identify pain points and determine the top solutions.

    • Optimize the IT Operations Center – Phase 3: Assess Gaps and Prioritize Initiatives
    • IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker
    • IT Operations Center Initiative Prioritization Tool

    5. Launch initiatives and track metrics

    Lay the foundation for implementation and continual improvement.

    • Optimize the IT Operations Center – Phase 4: Launch Initiatives and Track Metrics
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Check Foundation

    The Purpose

    Ensure base maturity in IT Operations processes.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Verify that foundation is in place to proceed with Operations Center project.

    Activities

    1.1 Evaluate base maturity.

    Outputs

    IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool

    2 Define Accountabilities

    The Purpose

    Define accountabilities for Operations processes and tasks.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Documented accountabilities.

    Activities

    2.1 Pluck low-hanging fruit for quick wins.

    2.2 Complete process RACI.

    2.3 Complete task RACI.

    Outputs

    Project plan

    Process RACI

    Task RACI

    3 Map the Challenge

    The Purpose

    Define metrics and identify accountabilities and gaps.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    List of initiatives to address pain points.

    Activities

    3.1 Define metrics.

    3.2 Define accountabilities.

    3.3 Identify gaps.

    Outputs

    IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker

    4 Build Action Plan

    The Purpose

    Develop an action plan to boost KPIs.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Action plan and success criteria.

    Activities

    4.1 Prioritize initiatives.

    Outputs

    IT Operations Center Initiative Prioritization Tool

    5 Map Out Implementation

    The Purpose

    Build an implementation plan for continual improvement.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Continual improvement against identified metrics and KPIs.

    Activities

    5.1 Build implementation plan.

    Outputs

    IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker

    Further reading

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Stop burning budget on non-value-adding activities.

    ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

    The Network Operations Center is not in Kansas anymore.

    "The old-school Network Operations Center of the telecom world was heavily peopled and reactionary. Now, the IT Operations Center is about more than network monitoring. An effective Operations Center provides visibility across the entire stack, generates actionable alerts, resolves a host of different incidents, and drives continual improvement in the delivery of high-quality services.
    IT’s traditional siloed approach cannot provide the value the business demands. The modern Operations Center breaks down these silos for the end-to-end view required for a service-focused approach."
    Derek Shank,
    Research Analyst, Infrastructure & Operations
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Our understanding of the problem

    This Research Is Designed For:

    • IT Operations Managers
    • IT Infrastructure Managers
    • CIOs

    This Research Will Help You:

    • Improve reliability of services.
    • Reduce the cost of incident response.
    • Reduce the cost of manual repetitive work (MRW).

    This Research Will Also Assist

    • Business Analysts
    • Project Managers
    • Business Relationship Managers

    This Research Will Help Them

    • Develop appropriate non-functional requirements.
    • Integrate non-functional requirements into solution design and project implementation.

    Executive Summary

    Situation

    • Your team’s time is burned up by incident response.
    • MRW burns up expensive resources.
    • You don’t have the visibility to ensure the availability the business demands.

    Complication

    • The increasing complexity of technology has resulted in siloed teams of specialists.
    • The business views IT Operations as a cost center and doesn’t want to provide resources to support improvement initiatives.

    Resolution

    • Pluck low-hanging fruit for quick wins.
    • Obtain buy-in from business stakeholders by speaking their language.
    • Clarify lines of accountability and metrics for success.
    • Implement targeted initiatives and track key metrics for continual improvement.

    Info-Tech Insight

    1. Sell the project to the business. Your first job is a sales job because executive sponsorship is key to project success.
    2. Worship the holy trinity of metrics: impact of downtime, cost of incident response, and time spent on manual repetitive work (MRW).
    3. Invest in order to profit. Improving the Operations Center takes time and money. Expect short-term pain to realize long-term gain.

    The role of the Network Operations Center has changed

    • The old approach was technology siloed and the Network Operations Center (NOC) only cared about the network.
    • The modern Operations Center is about ensuring high availability of end-user services, and requires cross-functional expertise and visibility across all the layers of the technology stack.
    A pie chart is depicted. The data displayed on the chart, in decreasing order of size, include: Applications; Servers; LAN; WAN; Security; Storage. Source: Metzler, n.d.

    Most organizations lack adequate visibility

    • The rise of hybrid cloud has made environments more complex, not less.
    • The increasing complexity makes monitoring and incident response more difficult than ever.
    • Only 31% of organizations use advanced monitoring beyond what is offered by cloud providers.
    • 69% perform no monitoring, basic monitoring, or rely entirely on the cloud provider’s monitoring tools.
    A Pie chart is depicted. Two data are represented on the chart. The first, representing 69% of the chart, is: Using no monitoring, basic monitoring, or relying only on the cloud vendor's monitoring. the second, representing 31% of the chart, is Using advanced monitoring beyond what cloud vendors provide. Source: InterOp ITX, 2018

    Siloed service level agreements cannot ensure availability

    You can meet high service level agreements (SLAs) for functional silos, but still miss the mark for service availability. The business just wants things to work!

    this image contains Info-Tech's SLA-compliance rating chart, which displays the categories: Available, behaving as expected; Slow/degraded; and Unavailable, for each of: Webserver; Database; Storage; Network; Application; and, Business Service

    The cost of downtime is massive

    Increasing reliance on IT makes downtime hurt more than ever.
    98% of enterprises lose $100,000+.
    81% of enterprises lose $300,000+ per hour of downtime.

    This is a bar graph, showing the cost per hour of downtime, against the percentage of enterprises.

    Source: ITIC, 2016

    IT is asked to do more with less

    Most IT budgets are staying flat or shrinking.

    57% of IT departments expect their budget to stay flat or to shrink from 2018 to 2019.

    This image contains a pie chart with two data, one is labeled: Increase; representing 43% of the chart. The other datum is labeled: Shrink or stay flat, and represents 57% of the chart.

    Unify and streamline IT Operations

    A well-run Operations Center ensures high availability at reasonable cost. Improving your Operations Center results in:

    • Higher availability
    • Increased reliability
    • Improved project capacity
    • Higher business satisfaction

    Measure success with the holy trinity of metrics

    Focus on reducing downtime, cost of incident response, and MRW.

    This image contains a Funnel Chart showing the inputs: Downtime; Cost of Incident Response; MRW; and the output: Reduce for continual improvement

    Start from the top and employ a targeted approach

    Analyze data to get buy-in from stakeholders, and use our tools and templates to follow the process for continual improvement in IT Operations.

    This image depicts a cycle, which includes: Data analysis; Executive Sponsorship; Success Criteria; Gap Assessment; Initiatives; Tracking & Measurement

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

    Guided Implementation

    “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

    Workshop

    "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

    Consulting

    "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Optimize the IT Operations Center – project overview

    Launch the Project

    Identify Enterprise Services

    Identify Line of Business Services

    Complete Service Definitions

    Best-Practice Toolkit

    🗲 Pluck Low-Hanging Fruit for Quick Wins

    1.1 Ensure Base Maturity Is in Place

    1.2 Make the Case

    2.1 Define Accountabilities

    2.2 Define Metrics

    3.1 Assess Gaps

    3.2 Plan Initiatives

    4.1 Lay Foundation

    4.2 Launch and Measure

    Guided Implementations

    Discuss current state.

    Review stakeholder presentation.

    Review RACIs.

    Review metrics.

    Discuss gaps.

    Discuss initiatives.

    Review plan and metric schedule.

    Onsite Workshop Module 1:

    Clear understanding of project objectives and support obtained from the business.

    		Module 2:

    Enterprise services defined and categorized.

    		Module 3:

    LOB services defined based on user perspective.

    		Module 4:

    Service record designed according to how IT wishes to communicate to the business.

    Phase 1 Results:

    Stakeholder presentation

    		Phase 2 Results:
    • RACIs
    • Metrics
    		Phase 3 Results:
    • Gaps list
    • Prioritized list of initiatives
    		 Phase 4 Results:
    • Implementation plan
    • Continual improvement tracker

    Workshop overview

    Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Pre-Workshop Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4
    Activities

    Check Foundation

    Define Accountabilities

    Map the Challenge

    Build Action Plan

    Map Out Implementation

    1.1 Ensure base maturity.

    🗲 Pluck low-hanging fruit for quick wins.

    2.1 Complete process RACI.

    2.2 Complete task RACI.

    3.1 Define metrics.

    3.2 Define accountabilities.

    3.2 Identify gaps.

    4.1 Prioritize initiatives.

    5.1 Build implementation plan.

    Deliverables
    1. IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool
    1. IT Operations Center RACI Charts Template
    1. IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker
    1. IT Operations Center Initiative Prioritization Tool
    1. IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker

    PHASE 🗲

    Pluck Low-Hanging Fruit for Quick Wins

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Conduct a ticket-trend analysis

    Generate reports on tickets from your IT service management (ITSM) tool. Look for areas that consume the most resources, such as:

    • Recurring tickets.
    • Tickets that have taken a long time to resolve.
    • Tickets that could have been resolved at a lower tier.
    • Tickets that were unnecessarily or improperly escalated.

    Identify issues

    Analyze the tickets:

    • Look for recurring tickets that may indicate underlying problems.
    • Ask tier 2 and 3 technicians to flag tickets that could have been resolved at a lower tier.
    • Identify painful and/or time consuming service requests.
    • Flag any manual repetitive work.

    Write the issues on a whiteboard.

    Oil & Gas IT reduces manual repetitive maintenance work

    CASE STUDY
    Industry Oil & Gas
    Source Interview

    Challenge

    The company used a webserver to collect data from field stations for analytics. The server’s version did not clear its cache – it filled up its own memory and would not overwrite, so it would just lock up and have to be rebooted manually.

    Solution

    The team found out that the volumes and units of data would cause the memory to fill at a certain time of the month. They wrote a script to reboot the machine and set up a planned outage during the appropriate weekend each month.

    Results

    The team never had to do manual reboots again – though they did have to tweak their reboot script not to rely on their calendar, after a shift in production broke the pattern between memory consumption and the calendar.

    Rank the issues

    🗲.1.1 10 minutes

    1. Assign each participant five sticky dots to use for voting.
    2. Have each participant place any number of dots beside the issue(s) of their choice.
    3. Count the dots and rank the top three most important issues.

    INPUT

    • List of issues

    OUTPUT

    • Top three issues

    Materials

    • Whiteboard
    • Markers
    • Sticky dots

    Participants

    • Operations Manager
    • Infrastructure Manager
    • I&O team members

    Brainstorm solutions

    🗲.1.2 10 minutes

    1. Write the three issues at the top of a whiteboard, each at the head of its own column.
    2. Focusing on one issue at a time, brainstorm potential solutions for each issue. Have one person write all the proposed solutions on the board beneath the issue.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Do not censor or evaluate the proposed solutions at this time. During brainstorming, focus on coming up with as many potential solutions as possible, no matter how infeasible or outlandish.

    INPUT

    • Top three issues

    OUTPUT

    • Potential solutions

    Materials

    • Whiteboard
    • Markers

    Participants

    • Operations Manager
    • Infrastructure Manager
    • I&O team members

    Evaluate and rank potential solutions

    🗲.1.3 30 minutes

    1. Score the solutions from 1-5 on each of the two dimensions:
    • Attainability
    • Probable efficacy
  • Identify the top scoring solution for each issue. In the event of a tie, vote to determine the winner.

    • Info-Tech Insight

    Quick wins are the best of both worlds. To get a quick win, pick a solution that is both readily attainable and likely to have high impact.

    INPUT

    • Potential solutions

    OUTPUT

    • Ranked list of solutions

    Materials

    • Whiteboard
    • Markers

    Participants

    • Operations Manager
    • Infrastructure Manager
    • I&O team members

    Develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of solutions

    You should now have a top potential solution for each pain point.

    For each pain point and proposed solution, identify the metric that would indicate whether the solution had been effective or not. For example:

    • Pain point: Too many unnecessary escalations for SharePoint issues.
    • Solution: Train tier 1 staff to resolve SharePoint tickets.
    • Metric: % of SharePoint tickets resolved at tier 1.

    Design solutions

    • Some solutions explain themselves. E.g., hire an extra service desk person.
    • Others require more planning and design, as they involve a bespoke solution. E.g., improve asset management process or automate onboarding of new users.
    • For the solutions that require planning, take the time to design each solution fully before rushing to implement it.

    Build solutions

    • Build any of the solutions that require building. For example, any scripting for automations requires the writing of those scripts, and any automated ticket routing requires configuration of your ITSM tool.
    • Part of the build phase for many solutions should also involve designing the tests of those solutions.

    Test solutions – refine and iterate

    • Think about the expected outcome and results of the solutions that require testing.
    • Test each solution under production-like circumstances to see if the results and behavior are as expected.
    • Refine and iterate upon the solutions as necessary, and test again.

    Implement solutions and measure results

    • Before implementing each solution, take a baseline measurement of the metric that will measure success.
    • Implement the solutions using your change management process.
    • After implementation, measure the success of the solution using the appropriate metric.
    • Document the results and judge whether the solution has been effective.

    Use the top result as a case study to obtain buy-in

    Your most effective solution will make a great case study.

    Write up the results and input the case study into the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation.

    This image contains a screenshot of info-tech's default format for presenting case studies.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

    this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
    🗲.1.2 This image contains a screenshot from section 🗲.1.2 of this blueprint.

    Identify issues

    Look for areas that aren’t working optimally.

    🗲.1.3 this image contains a screenshot from section 🗲.1.3 of this blueprint.

    Evaluate and rank potential solutions

    Sort the wheat from the chaff and plan for quick wins.

    PHASE 1

    Get Buy-In

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Step 1.1: Ensure Base Maturity Is in Place

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assess maturity of base IT Operations processes.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Completed IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool

    Base processes underpin the Operations Center

    • Before you optimize your Operations Center, you should have foundational ITSM processes in place: service desk, and incident, problem, and change management.
    • Attempting to optimize Operations before it rests on a solid foundation can only lead to frustration.

    IT Operations Center

    • Service Desk
    • Incident Management
    • Problem Management
    • Change Management

    Info-Tech Insight

    ITIL isn’t dead. New technology such as cloud solutions and advanced monitoring tools have transformed how ITSM processes are implemented, but have not obviated them.

    Assess maturity of prerequisite processes

    1.1.1 IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool

    • Don’t try to prematurely optimize your Operations Center.
    • Before undertaking this project, you should already have a base level of maturity in the four foundational IT Operations processes.
    • Complete the IT Operations Center Prerequisites Assessment Tool to assess your current level in service desk, incident management, problem management, and change management.
    this image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's IT Operations Center Prerequisite Assessment

    Make targeted improvements on prerequisite processes if necessary

    If there are deficiencies in any of your foundational processes, take the time to remedy those first before proceeding with Optimize the IT Operations Center. See Info-Tech’s other blueprints:

    Standardize the Service Desk

    Strengthen your service desk to build a strong ITSM foundation.

    Incident and Problem Management

    Don’t let persistent problems govern your department.

    Optimize Change Management

    Turn and face the change with a right-sized change management process.

    Step 1.2: Make the Case

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Estimate the impact of downtime for top five applications.
    • Estimate the cost of incident response.
    • Estimate the cost of MRW.
    • Set success metrics and estimate the ROI of the Operations Center project.
    • IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation

    Obtaining buy-in is critical

    Buy-in from top-level stakeholders is critical to the success of the project.

    Before jumping into your initiatives, take the time to make the case and bring the business on board.

    Factors that “prevent us from improving the NOC”

    This image contains a graph of factors that prevent us from improving the NOC. In decreasing order, they include: Lack of strategic guidance from our vendors; The unwillingness of our management to accept new risk; Lack of adequate software tools; Our internal processes; Lack of management vision; Lack of funding; and Lack of personnel resources. There is a red circle drawn around the last three entries, with the words: Getting Buy-in Removes the Top Three Roadblocks to Improvement!. Source: Metzier, n.d

    List your top five applications

    List your top five applications for business criticality.

    Don’t agonize over decisions at this point.

    Generally, the top applications will be customer facing, end-user facing for the most critical business units, or critical for health and safety.

    Estimate impact of downtime

    • Come up with a rough, back-of-the-napkin estimate of the hourly cost of downtime for each application.
    • Complete page two of the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation.
    • Estimate loss of revenue per hour, loss of productivity per hour, and IT cost per incident resolution hour.
    • Pull a report on incident hours/outages in the past year from your ITSM tool. Multiply the total cost per incident hour by the incident hours per year to determine the current cost per year of service disruptions for each service.
    • Add up the cost for each of the top five services.
    • Now you can show the business a hard value number that quantifies your availability issues.

    Estimate salary cost of non-value-adding work

    Complete page three of the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation.

    • Estimate annual wage cost of incident response: multiply incident response hours per year (take from your ITSM tool) by the average hourly wage of incident responders.
    • Estimate annual cost of MRW: multiply MRW hours per year (take from ITSM tool or from time-keeping tool, or use best guess based on talking to staff members) by the average hourly wage of IT staff performing MRW.
    • Add the two numbers together to calculate the non-value-adding IT salary cost per year.
    • Express the previous number as a percentage of total IT salary. Everything that is not incident response or MRW is value-adding work.

    Now you have the holy trinity of metrics: set some targets

    The holy trinity of metrics:

    • Cost of downtime
    • % of salary on incident response
    • % of salary on MRW

    You want to reduce the above numbers. Set some back-of-the-napkin targets for percentage reductions for each of these areas. These are high-level metrics that business stakeholders will care about.

    Take your best guess at targets. Higher maturity organizations will have less potential for reduction from a percentage point of view (eventually you hit diminishing returns), while organizations just beginning to optimize their Operations Center have the potential for huge gains.

    Calculate the potential gains of targets

    Complete page five of the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation.

    • Multiply the targeted/estimated % reductions of the costs by your current costs to determine the potential savings/benefits.
    • Do a back-of-the napkin estimate of the cost of the Operations Center improvement project. Use reasonable numbers for cost of personnel time and cost of tools, and be sure to include ongoing personnel time costs – your time isn’t free and continual improvement takes work and effort.
    • Calculate the ROI.

    Fill out the case study

    • Complete page six of the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation. If you completed the lightning phase, use the results of your own quick win project(s) as an example of feasibility.
    • If you did not complete the lightning phase, delete this slide, or use an example of what other organizations have achieved to demonstrate feasibility.
    This image contains a screenshot of info-tech's default format for presenting case studies.

    Present to stakeholders

    • Deliver the presentation to key stakeholders.
    • Focus on the high-level story that the current state is costing real dollars and wages, and that these losses can be minimized through process improvements.
    • Be up front that many of the numbers are based on estimates, but be prepared to defend the reasonableness of the estimates.

    Gain buy-in and identify project sponsor

    • If the business is on board with the project, determine one person to be the executive sponsor for the project. This person should have a strong desire to see the project succeed, and should have some skin in the game.

    Formalize communication with the project sponsor

    • Establish how you will communicate with the sponsor throughout the project (e.g. weekly or monthly e-mail updates, bi-weekly meetings).
    • Set up a regular/recurring cadence and stick to it, so it can be put on auto-pilot. Be clear about who is responsible for initiating communication and sticking to the reporting schedule.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Tailor communication to the sponsor. The project sponsor is not the project manager. The sponsor’s role is to drive the project forward by allocating appropriate resources and demonstrating highly visible support to the broader organization. The sponsor should be kept in the loop, but not bothered with minutiae.

    Note the starting numbers for the holy trinity

    Use the IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker:

    • Enter your starting numbers for the holy trinity of metrics.
    • After planning and implementing initiatives, this tracker will be used to update against the holy trinity to assess the success of the project on an ongoing basis and to drive continual improvement.

    PHASE 2

    Define Accountability and Metrics

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Step 2.1: Define Accountabilities

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Formalize RACI for key processes.
    • Formalize RACI for key tasks.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Completed RACIs

    List key Operations Center processes

    Compile a list of processes that are key for the Operations Center.

    These processes should include the four foundational processes:

    • Service Desk
    • Incident Management
    • Problem Management
    • Change Management

    You may also want to include processes such as the following:

    • Event Management
    • Configuration Management

    Avoid listing processes you have yet to develop – stick with those already playing a role in your current state.

    Formalize RACI for key processes

    Use the IT Operations Center RACI Charts Template. Complete a RACI for each of the key processes involved in the IT Operations Center.

    RACI:

    • Responsible (does the work on a day-to-day basis)
    • Accountable (reviews, signs off, and is held accountable for outcomes)
    • Consulted (input is sought to feed into decision making)
    • Informed (is given notification of outcomes)

    As a best practice, no more than one person should be responsible or accountable for any given process. The same person can be both responsible and accountable for a given process, or it could be two different people.

    Avoid making someone accountable for a process if they do not have full visibility into the process for appropriate oversight, or do not have time to give the process sufficient attention.

    Formalize RACI for IT tasks

    Now think about the actual tasks or work that goes on in IT. Which roles and individuals are accountable for which tasks or pieces of work?

    In this case, more than one role/person can be listed as responsible or accountable in the RACI because we’re talking about types or categories of work. No conflict will occur because these individuals will be responsible or accountable for different pieces of work or individual tasks of the same type. (e.g. all service desk staff are responsible for answering phones and inputting tickets into the ITSM tool, but no more than one staff member is responsible for the input of any given ticket from a specific phone call).

    Step 2.2: Define Metrics

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Cascade operational metrics from the holy trinity.
    • Evaluate metrics and identify key performance indicators (KPIs).
    • Cascade performance assessment (PA) metrics to support KPIs.
    • Build feedback loop for PA metrics.

    Outcomes of this step

    • KPIs
    • PA metrics

    Metrics must span across silos for shared accountability

    To adequately support the business goals of the organization, IT metrics should span across functional silos.

    Metrics that span across silos foster shared accountability across the IT organization.

    Metrics supported by all groups

    three grain silos are depicted. below, are the words IT Groups, with arrows pointing from the words to each of the three silos.

    Cascade operational metrics from the holy trinity

    Focus on the holy trinity of metrics.

    From these, cascade down to operational metrics that contribute to the holy trinity. It is possible that an operational metric may support more than one trinity metric. For example:

    a flow chart is depicted. two input circles point toward a central circle, and two output circles point away. the input circles include: Cost of Downtime; Cost of Incident Response. The central circle reads: Mean time to restore service. the output circles include the words: Tier 1 Resolution Rate; %% of Known Errors Captured in ITSM Tool.

    Evaluate metrics and identify KPIs

      • Evaluate your operational metrics and determine which ones are likely to have the largest impact on the holy trinity of metrics.
      • Identify the ten metrics likely to have the most impact: these will be your KPIs moving forward.
      • Enter these KPIs into the IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker.
      		 this image depicts a cycle around the term KPI. The cycle includes: Objective; Measurement; optimization; strategy; performance; evaluation

    Beware how changing variables/context can affect metrics

    • Changes in context can affect metrics drastically. It’s important to keep the overall context in mind to avoid being led astray by certain numbers taken in isolation.
    • For example, a huge hiring spree might exhaust the stock of end-user devices, requiring time to procure hardware before the onboarding tickets can be completely fulfilled. You may have improved your onboarding process through automation, but see a large increase in average time to onboard a new user. Keep an eye out for such anomalies or fluctuations, and avoid putting too much stock in any single operational KPI.
    • Remember, operational KPIs are just a heuristic tool to support the holy trinity of metrics.

    Determine accountability for KPIs

    • For each operational KPI, assign one person to be accountable for that KPI.
    • Be sure the person in charge has the necessary authority and oversight over the processes and personnel that most affect that KPI – otherwise it makes little sense to hold the individual accountable.
    • Consulting your process RACIs is a good place to start.
    • Record the accountable person for each KPI in the IT Operations Center Continual Improvement Tracker.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Match accountability with authority. The person accountable for each KPI should be the one who has the closet and most direct control over the work and processes that most heavily impact that KPI.

    Cascade PA metrics to support KPIs

    KPIs are ultimately driven by how IT does its work, and how individuals work is driven by how their performance is assessed and evaluated.

    For the top KPIs, be sure there are individual PA metrics in place that support the KPI, and if not, develop the appropriate PA metrics.

    For example:

    • KPI: Mean time to resolve incidents
    • PA metric: % of escalations that followed SOP (e.g. not holding onto a ticket longer than supposed to)
    • KPI: Number of knowledge base articles written
    • PA metric: Number of knowledge base articles written/contributed to

    Communicate key changes in PA metrics

    Any changes from the previous step will take time and effort to implement and make stick.

    Changing people’s way of working is extremely difficult.

    Build a communication and implementation plan about rolling out these changes, emphasize the benefits for everyone involved, and get buy-in from the affected staff members.

    Build feedback loops for PA metrics

    Now that PA metrics support your Operations Center’s KPIs, you should create frequent feedback loops to drive and boost those PA metrics.

    Once per year or once per quarter is not frequent enough. Managers should meet with their direct reports at least monthly and review their reports’ performance against PA metrics.

    Use a “set it and forget it” implementation, such as a recurring task or meeting in your calendar.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

    this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
    2.2.1 This image contains a screenshot from section 2.2.1 of this blueprint.

    Cascade operational metrics from the holy trinity

    Rank goals based on business impact and stakeholder pecking order.

    2.2.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 2.2.2 of this blueprint.

    Determine accountability for KPIs

    Craft a concise and compelling elevator pitch that will drive the project forward.

    PHASE 3

    Assess Gaps and Prioritize Initiatives

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Step 3.1: Assess Gaps

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assess visibility provided by monitoring.
    • Assess process workflows and identify areas for automation.
    • Assess requests and identify potential for automation.
    • Assess Operations Center staff capabilities.
    • Conduct a root cause analysis on the gaps/pain points.

    Outcomes of this step

    • List of gaps
    • List of root causes

    Measure current state of KPIs and identify lagging ones

    Take a baseline measurement of each operational KPI.

    If historical data is available, compare the present state measurement to data points collected over the last year or so.

    Review the measured KPIs.

    Identify any KPIs that seem lagging or low, or that may be particularly important to influence.

    Record lagging KPIs in the IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Assess visibility provided by monitoring

    List the top five most critical business services supported by IT.
    Assess the current state of your monitoring tools.

    For each business service, rate the level of visibility your monitoring tools allow from the following options:

    1. We have no visibility into the service, or lack visibility into crucial elements.
    2. We have basic visibility (up/down) into all the IT components that support the service.
    3. We have basic visibility (up/down) into the end service itself, in addition to all the IT components that make it up.
    4. We have some advanced visibility into some aspects of the service and/or its IT components.
    5. We have a full, end-to-end view of performance across all the layers of the stack, as well as the end business service itself.

    Identify where more visibility may be necessary

    For most organizations it isn’t practical to have complete visibility into everything. For the areas in which visibility is lacking into key services, think about whether more visibility is actually required or not. Consider some of the following questions:

    • How great is the impact of this service being unavailable?
    • Would greater visibility into the service significantly reduce the mean time to restore the service in the event of incidents?

    Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations CenterGap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Assess alerting

    Assess alerting for your most critical services.

    Consider whether any of the following problems occur:

    • Often receive no alert(s) in the event of critical outages of key services (we find out about critical outages from the service desk).
    • We are regularly overwhelmed with too many alerts to investigate properly.
    • Our alerts are rarely actionable.
    • We often receive many false alerts.

    Identify areas for potential improvement in the managing of alerts. Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Assess process workflows and identify areas for automation

    Review your process flows for base processes such as Service Desk, Incident Management, Problem Management, and Change Management.

    Identify areas in the workflows where there may be defects, inefficiencies, or potential for improvement or automation.

    Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    See the blueprint Prepare for Cognitive Service Management for process workflows and areas to look for automation possibilities.

    Prepare for Cognitive Service Management

    Make ready for AI-assisted IT operations.

    Assess requests and identify potential for automation

    • Assess the most common work orders or requests handled by the Operations Center group (i.e. this does not include requests fulfilled by the help desk).
    • Which work orders are the most painful? That is, what common work orders involve the greatest effort or the most manual work to fulfill?
    • Fulfillment of common, recurring work orders is MRW, and should be reduced or removed if possible.
    • Consider automation of certain work orders, or self-service delivery.
    • Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Assess Operations Center staff capabilities

    • Assess the skills and expertise of your team members.
    • Consider some of the following:
      • Are there team members who could perform their job more effectively by picking up certain skills or proficiencies?
      • Are there team members who have the potential to shift into more valuable or useful roles, given the appropriate training?
      • Are there individual team members whose knowledge is crucial for operations, and whose function cannot be taken up by others?

    Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations Center Gap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Train to avoid pain. All too often organizations expose themselves to significant key person risk by relying on the specialized skills and knowledge of one team member. Use cross training to remedy such single points of failure before the risk materializes.

    Brainstorm pain points

    Brainstorm any pain points not discussed in the previous areas.

    Pain points can be specific operational issues that have not yet been considered. For example:

    • Tom is overwhelmed with tickets.
    • Our MSP often breaches SLA.
    • We don’t have a training budget.

    Record any deficiencies in the IT Operations CenterGap and Initiative Tracker tool.

    Conduct a root cause analysis on the gaps/pain points

    • Pain points can often be symptoms of other deficiencies, or somewhat removed from the actual problem.
    • Using the 5 Whys, conduct a root cause analysis on the pain points for which the causes are not obvious.
    • For each pain point, ask “why” for a sequence of five times, attempting to proceed to the root cause of the issue. This root cause is the true gap that needs to be remedied to resolve the pain point.
    • For example:
      • The Wi-Fi network often goes down in the afternoon.
        • Why?: Its bandwidth gets overloaded.
        • Why?: Many people are streaming video.
        • Why?: There’s a live broadcast of a football game at that time.
      • Possible solutions:
        • Block access to the streaming services.
        • Project the game on a screen in a large conference room and encourage everyone to watch it there.

    Step 3.2: Plan Initiatives

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Brainstorm initiatives to boost KPIs and address gaps.
    • Prioritize potential initiatives.
    • Decide which initiatives to include on the roadmap.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Targeted improvement roadmap

    Brainstorm initiatives to boost KPIs and address gaps

    Prioritize potential initiatives

    3.2.1 IT Operations Center Initiative Prioritization Tool

    • Use the IT Operations Center Initiative Prioritization Tool.
    • Enter the initiatives into the tool.
    • For each initiative, input the following ranking criteria:
      • The metric/KPI’s estimated degree of impact on the holy trinity.
      • The gap or pain point’s estimated degree of impact on the metric/KPI.
      • The initiative’s estimated degree of positive impact on the gap or pain point
      • The initiative’s attainability.
    • Estimate the resourcing capacity required for each initiative.
    • For accurate capacity assessment, input as “force include” all current in-flight projects handled by the Operations Center group (including those unrelated to the Operations Center project).

    Decide which initiatives to include on the roadmap

    • Not all initiatives will be worth pursuing – and especially not all at once.
    • Consider the results displayed on the final tab of the IT Operations CenterInitiative Prioritization Tool.
    • Based on the prioritization and taking capacity into account, decide which initiatives to include on your roadmap.
    • Sometimes, for operational or logistical reasons, it may make sense to schedule an initiative at a time other than its priority might dictate. Make such exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

    Assign an owner to each initiative, and provide resourcing

    • For each initiative, assign one person to be the owner of that initiative.
    • Be sure that person has the authority and the bandwidth necessary to drive the initiative forward.
    • Secure additional resourcing for any initiatives you want to include on your roadmap that are lacking capacity.

    Info-Tech Insight

    You must invest resources in order to reduce the time spent on non-value-adding work.

    "The SRE model of working – and all of the benefits that come with it – depends on teams having ample capacity for engineering work. If toil eats up that capacity, the SRE model can’t be launched or sustained. An SRE perpetually buried under toil isn’t an SRE, they are just a traditional long-suffering SysAdmin with a new title."– David N. Blank-Edelman

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

    this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
    3.1.1 This image contains a screenshot from section 3.1.1 of this blueprint.

    Conduct a root cause analysis on the gaps/pain points

    Find out the cause, so you can come up with solutions.

    3.2.1 this image contains a screenshot from section 3.2.1 of this blueprint.

    Prioritize potential initiatives

    Don’t try to boil the ocean. Target what’s manageable and what will have the most impact.

    PHASE 4

    Launch Initiatives and Track Metrics

    Optimize the IT Operations Center

    Step 4.1: Lay Foundation

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Build initiative communication plan.
    • Develop a testing plan for each technical initiative.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Communication plan
    • Testing plan(s)

    Expect resistance to change

    • It’s not as simple as rolling out what you’ve designed.
    • Anything that affects people’s way of working will inevitably be met with suspicion and pushback.
    • Be prepared to fight the battle.

      • "The hardest part is culture. You must get people to see the value of automation. Their first response is ‘We've been doing it this way for 10 years, why do we need to do it another way?’ It's hard to get someone out of their comfort zone to learn something new, especially when they've been at an organization for 20 years. You need to give them incentives."– Cyrus Kalatbari, Senior IT Architect, Infrastructure/Cloud

    Communicate changes in advance, along with their benefits!

    • Communicate changes well in advance of the date(s) of implementation.
    • Emphasize the benefits of the changes – not just for the organization, but for employees and staff members.
    • Advance communication of changes helps make them more palatable, and builds trust in employees by making them feel informed of what’s going on.

    Involve IT staff in design and implementation of changes

    • As you communicate the coming changes, take the opportunity to involve any affected staff members who have not yet participated in the project.
    • Solicit their feedback and get them to help design and implement the initiatives that involve significant changes to their roles.

    Develop a testing plan for each technical initiative

    • Some initiatives, such as appointing a new change manager or hiring a new staff member, do not make sense to test.
    • On the other hand, technical initiatives such as automation scripts, new monitoring tools or dashboards, and changed alert thresholds should be tested thoroughly before implementation.
    • For each technical initiative, think about the expected results and performance if it were to run in production, and build a test plan to ensure it behaves as expected and there are no corner cases.

    Test technology initiatives and iterate if necessary

    • Test each technical initiative under a variety of circumstances, with as close an environment to production as possible.
    • Try to develop corner cases or unusual or unexpected situations, and see if any of these will break the functionality or produce unintended or unexpected results.
    • Document the results of the testing, and iterate on the initiative and test again if necessary.

    "The most important things – and the things that people miss – are prerequisites and expected results. People jump out and build scripts, then the scripts go into the ditch, and they end up debugging in production." – Darin Stahl, Research Director, Infrastructure & Operations

    Step 4.2: Launch and Measure

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Launch initiatives and track adoption and effectiveness.
    • Investigate initiatives that appear ineffective.
    • Measure success with the holy trinity.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Continual improvement roadmap

    Establish a review cycle for each metric

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Don’t measure what doesn’t matter. If a metric is not going to be reviewed or reported on for informational or decision-making purposes, it should not be tracked.

    Launch initiatives and track adoption and effectiveness

    • Launch the initiatives.
    • Some initiatives will need to proceed through your change management process in order to roll out, but others will not.
    • Track the adoption of initiatives that require it.
      • Some initiatives will require tracking of adoption, whereas others will not.
      • For example, hiring a new service desk staff member does not require tracking of adoption, but implementing a new process for ticket handling does.
      • The implementation plan should include a way to measure the adoption of such initiatives, and regularly review the numbers to see if the implementation has been successful.
    • For all initiatives, measure their effectiveness by continuing to track the KPI/metric that the initiative is intended to influence.

    Assess metrics according to review cycle for continual improvement

    • Assess metrics according to the review cycle.
    • Note whether metrics are improving in the right direction or not.
    • Correlate changes in the metrics with measures of the adoption of the initiatives – see whether initiatives that have been adopted are moving the needle on the KPIs they are intended to.

    Investigate initiatives that appear ineffective

    • If the adoption of an initiative has succeeded, but the expected impact of that initiative on the KPI has not taken place, investigate further and conduct a root causes analysis to determine why this is the case.
    • Sometimes, anomalies or fluctuations will occur that cause the KPI not to move in accordance with the success of the initiative. In this case, it’s just a fluke and the initiative can still be successful in influencing the KPI over the long term.
    • Other times, the initiative may prove mostly or entirely ineffective, either due to misdesign of the initiative itself, a change of circumstances, or other compounding factors or complexities. If the initiative proves ineffective, consider iterating modifications of the initiative and continuing to measure the effect on KPIs – or perhaps killing the initiative altogether.
    • Remember that experimentation is not a bad thing – it’s okay that not every initiative will always prove worthwhile.

    Measure success with the holy trinity

    • Report to business stakeholders on the effect on the holy trinity of metrics at least annually.
    • Calculate the ROI of the project after two years and compare the results to the targeted ROI you initially presented in the IT Operations Center Stakeholder Buy-In Presentation.
    This image contains a Funnel Chart showing the inputs: Downtime; Cost of Incident Response; MRW; and the output: Reduce for continual improvement

    Iterate on the Operations Center process for continual improvement

    This image depicts a cycle, which includes: Data analysis; Executive Sponsorship; Success Criteria; Gap Assessment; Initiatives; Tracking & Measurement

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

    this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
    4.1.1This image contains a screenshot from section 3.1.1 of this blueprint.

    Communicate changes in advance, along with their benefits!

    Rank goals based on business impact and stakeholder pecking order.

    4.1.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 3.2.1 of this blueprint.

    Develop a testing plan for each technical initiative

    Craft a concise and compelling elevator pitch that will drive the project forward.

    Research contributors and experts
    This is a picture of Cyrus Kalatbari, IT infrastructure/cloud architect

    Cyrus Kalatbari, IT Infrastructure/Cloud Architect

    Cyrus’ in-depth knowledge cutting across I&O and service delivery has enhanced the IT operations of multiple enterprise-class clients.

    This is a picture of Derek Cullen, Chief Technology Officer

    Derek Cullen, Chief Technology Officer

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    Phil Webb, Senior Manager – Unified Messaging and Mobility

    Phil specializes in service delivery for cloud-based and hybrid technology solutions, spanning requirements gathering, solution design, new technology introduction, development, integration, deployment, production support, change/release delivery, maintenance, and continuous improvement.

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    Richie Mendoza, IT Services Delivery Consultant

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    Rob Thomson, Solutions Architect

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    Bibliography

    Baker, Dan, and Hal Baylor. “How Benchmarking & Streamlining NOC Operations Can Lower Costs & Boost Effectiveness.” Top Operator, Mar. 2017. Web.

    Blank-Edelman, David. Seeking SRE: Conversations About Running Production Systems at Scale. O'Reilly, 2018. Web.

    CA Technologies. “IT Transformation to Next-Generation Operations Centers: Assure Business Service Reliability by Optimizing IT Operations.” CA Technologies, 2014. Web.

    Ditmore, Jim. “Improving Availability: Where to Start.” Recipes for IT, n.d. Web.

    Ennis, Shawn. “A Phased Approach for Building a Next-Generation Network Operations Center.” Monolith Software, 2009. Web.

    Faraclas, Matt. “Why Does Infrastructure Operations Still Suck?” Ideni, 25 Feb. 2016. Web.

    InterOp ITX. “2018 State of the Cloud.” InterOp ITX, Feb. 2018. Web.

    ITIC. “Cost of Hourly Downtime Soars: 81% of Enterprises Say it Exceeds $300K On Average.” ITIC, 2 Aug. 2016. Web.

    Joe the IT Guy. “Availability Management Is Harder Than it Looks.” Joe the IT Guy, 10 Feb. 2016. Web.

    ---. “Do Quick Wins Exist for Availability Management?” Joe the IT Guy, 15 May 2014. Web.

    Lawless, Steve. “11 Top Tips for Availability Management.” Purple Griffon, 4 Jan. 2019. Web.

    Metzler, Jim. “The Next Generation Network Operations Center: How the Focus on Application Delivery is Redefining the NOC.” Ashton, Metzler & Associates, n.d. Web.

    Nilekar, Shirish. “Beyond Redundancy: Improving IT Availability.” Network Computing, 28 Aug. 2015. Web.

    Slocum, Mac. “Site Reliability Engineering (SRE): A Simple Overview.” O’Reilly, 16 Aug. 2018. Web.

    Spiceworks. “The 2019 State of IT.” Spiceworks, 2019. Web

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

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    • Parent Category Name: Project Management Office
    • Parent Category Link: /project-management-office
    • As an IT leader, you oversee a project environment in which the organizational demand for new products, services, and enhancements far outweighs IT’s resource capacity to adequately deliver on everything.
    • As a result, project throughput suffers. IT starts a lot of projects, but has constant difficulties delivering the bulk of them on time, on budget, in scope, and of high quality. What’s more, many of the projects that consume IT’s time are of questionable value to the business.
    • You need a project portfolio management (PPM) strategy to help bring order to IT’s project activity. With the right PPM strategy, you can ensure that you’re driving the throughput of the best projects and maximizing stakeholder satisfaction with IT.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • IT leaders commonly conflate PPM and project management, falsely believing that they already have a PPM strategy via their project management playbook. While the tactical focus of project management can help ensure that individual projects are effectively planned, executed, and closed, it is no supplement for the insight into “the big picture” that a PPM strategy can provide.
    • Many organizations falter at PPM by mistaking a set of processes for a strategy. While processes are no doubt important, without an end in mind – such as that provided by a deliberate strategy – they inevitably devolve into inertia or confusion.
    • Executive layer buy-in is a critical prerequisite for the success of a PPM strategy. Without it, any efforts to reconcile supply and demand, and improve the strategic value of IT’s project activity, could be quashed by irresponsible, non-compliant stakeholders.

    Impact and Result

    • Manage the portfolio as more than just the sum of its parts. Create a coherent strategy to maximize the sum of values that projects deliver as a whole – as a project portfolio, rather than a collection of individual projects.
    • Get to value early. Info-Tech’s methodology tackles one of PPM’s most pressing challenges upfront by helping you to articulate a strategy and get executive buy-in for it before you define your process goals. When senior management understands why a PPM strategy is necessary and of value to them, the path to implementation is much more stable.
    • Create PPM processes you can sustain. Translate your PPM strategy into specific, tangible near-term and long-term goals, which are realized through a suite of project portfolio management processes tailored to your organization and its culture.

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop a project portfolio management strategy, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy – Executive Brief
    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy – Phases 1-3

    1. Get executive buy-in for your PPM strategy

    Choose the right PPM strategy for your organization and get executive buy-in before you start to set PPM process goals.

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy – Phase 1: Get Executive Buy-In for Your PPM Strategy
    • PPM High-Level Supply-Demand Calculator
    • PPM Strategic Plan Template
    • PPM Strategy-Process Goals Translation Matrix Template

    2. Align PPM processes to your strategic goals

    Use the advice and tools in this phase to align the PPM processes that make up the infrastructure around projects with your new PPM strategy.

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy – Phase 2: Align PPM Processes to Your Strategic Goals
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool

    3. Complete your PPM strategic plan

    Refine your PPM strategic plan with inputs from the previous phases by adding a cost-benefit analysis and PPM tool recommendation.

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy – Phase 3: Complete Your PPM Strategic Plan
    • Project Portfolio Analyst / PMO Analyst
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Get Executive Buy-In for Your PPM Strategy

    The Purpose

    Choose the right PPM strategy for your organization and ensure executive buy-in.

    Set process goals to address PPM strategic expectations and steer the PPM strategic plan.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A right-sized PPM strategy complete with executive buy-in for it.

    A prioritized list of PPM process goals.

    Activities

    1.1 Assess leadership mandate.

    1.2 Determine potential resource capacity.

    1.3 Create a project inventory.

    1.4 Prepare to communicate your PPM strategy to key stakeholders.

    1.5 Translate each strategic goal into process goals.

    1.6 Set metrics and preliminary targets for PPM process goals.

    Outputs

    Choice of PPM strategy and the leadership mandate

    Analysis of current project capacity

    Analysis of current project demand

    PPM Strategic Plan – Executive Brief

    PPM strategy-aligned process goals

    Metrics and long-term targets for PPM process goals

    2 Align PPM Processes to Your Strategic Goals

    The Purpose

    Examine your current-state PPM processes and create a high-level description of the target-state process for each of the five PPM processes within Info-Tech’s PPM framework.

    Build a sound business case for implementing the new PPM strategy by documenting roles and responsibilities for key PPM activities as well as the time costs associated with them.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Near-term and long-term goals as well as an organizationally specific wireframe for your PPM processes.

    Time cost assumptions for your proposed processes to ensure sustainability.

    Activities

    2.1 Develop and refine the project intake, prioritization, and approval process.

    2.2 Develop and refine the resource management process.

    2.3 Develop and refine the portfolio reporting process.

    2.4 Develop and refine the project closure process

    2.5 Develop and refine the benefits realization process.

    Outputs

    Process capability level

    Current-state PPM process description

    Retrospective examination of the current-state PPM process

    Action items to achieve the target states

    Time cost of the process at current and target states

    3 Complete Your PPM Strategic Plan

    The Purpose

    Perform a PPM tool analysis in order to determine the right tool to support your processes.

    Estimate the total cost-in-use of managing the project portfolio, as well as the estimated benefits of an optimized PPM strategy.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A right-sized tool selection to help support your PPM strategy.

    A PPM strategy cost-benefit analysis.

    Activities

    3.1 Right-size the PPM tools for your processes.

    3.2 Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of implementing the new PPM strategy.

    3.3 Define roles and responsibilities for the new processes.

    3.4 Refine and consolidate the near-term action items into a cohesive plan.

    Outputs

    Recommendation for a PPM tool

    Cost-benefit analysis

    Roles and responsibilities matrix for each PPM process

    An implementation timeline for your PPM strategy

    Further reading

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

    Drive IT project throughput by throttling resource capacity.

    Analyst Perspective

    “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzŭ

    "Organizations typically come to project portfolio management (PPM) with at least one of two misconceptions: (1) that PPM is synonymous with project management and (2) that a collection of PPM processes constitutes a PPM strategy.

    Both foundations are faulty: project management and PPM are separate disciplines with distinct goals and processes, and a set of processes do not comprise a strategy – they should flow from a strategy, not precede one. When built upon these foundations, the benefits of PPM go unrealized, as the means (i.e. project and portfolio processes) commonly eclipse the ends of a PPM strategy – e.g. a portfolio better aligned with business goals, improved project throughput, increased stakeholder satisfaction, and so on.

    Start with the end in mind: articulate a PPM strategy that is truly project portfolio in nature, i.e. focused on the whole portfolio and not just the individual parts. Then, let your PPM strategy guide your process goals and help to drive successful outcomes, project after project." (Barry Cousins, Senior Director of Research, PMO Practice, Info-Tech Research Group)

    Our understanding of the problem

    This Research Is Designed For:

    • CIOs who want to maximize IT’s fulfillment of both business strategic goals and operational needs.
    • CIOs who want to better manage the business and project sponsors’ expectations and satisfaction.
    • CIOs, PMO directors, and portfolio managers who want a strategy to set the best projects for the highest chance of success.

    This Research Will Help You:

    • Get C-level buy-in on a strategy for managing the project portfolio and clarify their expectations on how it should be managed.
    • Draft strategy-aligned, high-level project portfolio management process description.
    • Put together a strategic plan for improving PPM processes to reclaim wasted project capacity and increase business satisfaction of IT.

    This Research Will Also Assist:

    • Steering committee and C-suite management who want to maximize IT’s value to business.
    • Project sponsors who seek clarity and fairness on pushing their projects through a myriad of priorities and objectives.
    • CIOs, PMO directors, and portfolio managers who want to enable data-driven decisions from the portfolio owners.

    This Research Will Help Them:

    • Optimize IT’s added value to the business through project delivery.
    • Provide clarity on how IT’s project portfolio should be managed and the expectations for its management.
    • Improve project portfolio visibility by making trustworthy project portfolio data available, with which to steer the portfolio.

    Executive Summary

    Situation

    • As CIO, there are too many projects and not enough resource capacity to deliver projects on time, on budget, and in scope with high quality.
    • Prioritizing projects against one another is difficult in the face of conflicting priorities and agenda; therefore, projects with dubious value/benefits consume resource capacity.

    Complication

    • Not all IT projects carry a direct value to business; IT is accountable for keeping the lights on and it consumes a significant amount of resources.
    • Business and project sponsors approve projects without considering the scarcity of resource capacity and are frustrated when the projects fail to deliver or linger in the backlog.

    Resolution

    • Create a coherent strategy to maximize the total value that projects deliver as a whole portfolio, rather than a collection of individual projects.
    • Ensure that the steering committee or senior executive layer buys into the strategy by helping them understand why the said strategy is necessary, and more importantly, why the strategy is valuable to them.
    • Translate the strategic expectations to specific, tangible goals, which are realized through a suite of project portfolio management processes tailored to your organization and its culture.
    • Putting into place people, processes, and tools that are sustainable and manageable, plus a communication strategy to maintain the stakeholder buy-in.

    Info-Tech Insight

    1. Time is money; therefore, the portfolio manager is an accountant of time. It is the portfolio manager’s responsibility to provide the project portfolio owners with reliable data and close the loop on portfolio decisions.
    2. Business satisfaction is driven by delivering projects that align to and maximize business value. Use Info-Tech’s method for developing a PPM strategy and synchronize its definition of “best projects” with yours.

    Projects that deliver on strategic goals of the business is the #1 driver of business satisfaction for IT

    Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Survey (N=21,367) has identified a direct correlation between IT project success and overall business satisfaction with IT.

    Comparative rankings of IT services in two columns 'Reported Importance' and 'Actual Importance' with arrows showing where each service moved to in the 'Actual Importance' ranking. The highlighted move is 'Projects' from number 10 in 'Reported' to number 1 in 'Actual'. 'Reported' rankings from 1 to 12 are 'Network Infrastructure', 'Service Desk', 'Business Applications', 'Data Quality', Devices', 'Analytical Capability', 'Client-Facing Technology', 'Work Orders', 'Innovation Leadership', 'Projects', 'IT Policies', and 'Requirements Gathering'. 'Actual' rankings from 1 to 12 are 'Projects', 'Work Orders', 'Innovation Leadership', 'Business Applications', 'Requirements Gathering', 'Service Desk', 'Client-Facing Technology', 'Network Infrastructure', 'Analytical Capability', 'Data Quality', 'IT Policies', and 'Devices'.

    Reported Importance: Initially, when CIOs were asked to rank the importance of IT services, respondents ranked “projects” low on the list – 10 out of a possible 12.

    Actual Importance: Despite this low “reported importance,” of those organizations that were “satisfied” to “fully satisfied” with IT, the service that had the strongest correlation to high business satisfaction was “projects,” i.e. IT’s ability to help plan, support, and execute projects and initiatives that help the business achieve its strategic goals.

    On average, executives perceive IT as being poorly aligned with business strategy

    Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Survey data highlights the importance of IT projects in supporting the business achieve its strategic goals. However, Info-Tech’s CEO-CIO Alignment Survey (N=124) data indicates that CEOs perceive IT to be poorly aligned to business’ strategic goals:

    • 43% of CEOs believe that business goals are going unsupported by IT.
    • 60% of CEOs believe that improvement is required around IT’s understanding of business goals.
    • 80% of CIOs/CEOs are misaligned on the target role for IT.
    • 30% of business stakeholders* are supporters of their IT departments.
      • (Source: Info-Tech CIO/CEO Alignment Diagnostics, * N=32,536)

    Efforts to deliver on projects are largely hampered by causes of project failure outside a project manager’s control

    The most recent data from the Project Management Institute (PMI) shows that more projects are meeting their original goals and business intent and less projects are being deemed failures. However, at the same time, more projects are experiencing scope creep. Scope creeps result in schedule and cost overrun, which result in dissatisfied project sponsors, stakeholders, and project workers.

    Graph of data from Project Management Institute comparing projects from 2015 to 2017 that 'Met original goals/business intent', 'Experienced scope creep', and were 'Deemed failures'. Projects from the first two categories went up in 2017, while projects that were deemed failures went down.

    Meanwhile, the primary causes of project failures remain largely unchanged. Interestingly, most of these primary causes can be traced to sources outside of a project manager’s control, either entirely or in part. As a result, project management tactics and processes are limited in adequately addressing them.

    Relative rank

    Primary cause of project failure

    2015

    2016

    2017

    Trend
    Change in organization's priorities 1st 1st 1st Stable
    Inaccurate requirements gathering 2nd 3rd 2nd Stable
    Change in project objectives 3rd 2nd 3rd Stable
    Inadequate vision/goal for project 6th 5th 4th Rising
    Inadequate/poor communication 5th 7th 5th Stable
    Poor change management 11th 9th 6th Rising
    (Source: Project Management Institute, Pulse of the Profession, 2015-2017)

    Project portfolio management (PPM) can improve business alignment of projects and reduce chance of project failure

    PPM is about “doing the right things.”

    The PMI describes PPM as:

    Interrelated organizational processes by which an organization evaluates, selects, prioritizes, and allocates its limited internal resources to best accomplish organizational strategies consistent with its vision, mission, and values. (PMI, Standard for Portfolio Management, 3rd ed.)

    Selecting and prioritizing projects with the strongest alignment to business strategy goals and ensuring that resources are properly allocated to deliver them, enable IT to:

    1. Improve business satisfaction and their perception of IT’s alignment with the business.
    2. Better engage the business and the project customers.
    3. Minimize the risk of project failure due to changing organizational/ project vision, goals, and objectives.

    "In today’s competitive business environment, a portfolio management process improves the linkage between corporate strategy and the selection of the ‘right’ projects for investment. It also provides focus, helping to ensure the most efficient and effective use of available resources." (Lou Pack, PMP, Senior VP, ICF International (PMI, 2015))

    PPM is a common area of shortcomings for IT, with much room for improvement

    Info-Tech’s IT Management & Governance Survey (N=879) shows that PPM tends to be regarded as neither an effective nor an important process amongst IT organizations.

    Two deviation from median charts highlighting Portfolio Management's ranking compared to other IT processes in 'Effectiveness scores' and 'Importance scores'. PPM ranks 37th out of 45 in Effectiveness and 33rd out of 45 in Importance.

    55% ... of IT organizations believe that their PPM processes are neither effective nor important.

    21% ... of IT organizations reported having no one responsible or accountable for PPM.

    62% ... of projects in organizations effective in PPM met/exceeded the expected ROI (PMI, 2015).

    In addition to PPM’s benefits, improving PPM processes presents an opportunity for getting ahead of the curve in the industry.

    Info-Tech’s methodology for developing a PPM strategy delivers extraordinary value, fast

    Our methodology is designed to tackle your hardest challenge first to deliver the highest-value part of the deliverable. For developing a PPM strategy, the biggest challenge is to get the buy-in of the executive layer.

    "Without senior management participation, PPM doesn’t work, and the organization is likely to end up with, or return to, a squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease mindset for all those involved." (Mark Price Perry, Business Driven Project Portfolio Management)

    In the first step of the blueprint, you will be guided through the following steps:

    1. Choose the right PPM strategy: driven by the executives, supported by management.
    2. Objectively assess your current project portfolio with minimal effort to build a case for the PPM strategy.
    3. Engage the executive layer to get the critical prerequisite of a PPM strategy: their buy-in.

    A PPM strategic plan is the end deliverable of this blueprint. In the first step, download the pre-filled template with content that represents the most common case. Then, throughout the blueprint, customize with your data.

    Use this blueprint to develop, or refine, a PPM strategy that works for your organization

    Get buy-in for PPM strategy from decision makers.

    Buy-in from the owners of project portfolio (Steering Committee, C-suite management, etc.) is a critical prerequisite for any PPM strategy. This blueprint will give you the tools and templates to help you make your case and win the buy-in of portfolio owners.

    Connect strategic expectations to PPM process goals.

    This blueprint offers a methodology to translate the broad aim of PPM to practical, tactical goals of the five core PPM processes, as well as how to measure the results. Our methodology is supported with industry-leading frameworks, best practices, and our insider research.

    Develop your PPM processes.

    This blueprint takes you through a series of steps to translate the process goals into a high-level process description, as well as a business case and a roadmap for implementing the new PPM processes.

    Refine your PPM processes.

    Our methodology is also equally as applicable for making your existing PPM processes better, and help you draft a roadmap for improvement with well-defined goals, roles, and responsibilities.

    Info-Tech’s PPM model consists of five core processes

    There are five core processes in Info-Tech’s thought model for PPM.

    Info-Tech's Process Model detailing the steps and their importance in project portfolio management. Step 3: 'Status and Progress Reporting' sits above the others as a process of importance throughout the model. In the 'Intake' phase of the model are Step 1: 'Intake, Approval, and Prioritization' and Step 2: 'Resource Management'. In the 'Execution' phase is 'Project Management', the main highlighted section, and a part of Step 3, the overarching 'Status and Progress Reporting'. In the 'Closure' phase of the model are Step 4: 'Project Closure' and Step 5: 'Benefits Tracking'.

    These processes create an infrastructure around projects, which aims to enable:

    1. Initiation of the “best” projects with the right resources and project information.
    2. Timely and trustworthy reporting to facilitate the flow of information for better decision making.
    3. Proper closure of projects, releasing resources, and managing benefits realization.

    PPM has many moving pieces. To ensure that all of these processes work in harmony, you need a PPM strategy.

    De-couple project management from PPM to break down complexity and create flexibility

    Tailor project management (PM) processes to fit your projects.

    Info-Tech’s PPM thought model enables you to manage your project portfolio independent of your PM methodology or capability. Projects interact with PPM via:

    • A project charter that authorizes the use of resources and defines project benefits.
    • Status reports that feed up-to-date, trustworthy data to your project portfolio.
    • Acceptance of deliverables that enable proper project closure and benefits reporting.

    Info-Tech’s PPM strategy is applicable whether you use Agile, waterfall, or anything in between for PM.

    The process model from the previous page but with project management processes overlaid. The 'Intake' phase is covered by 'Project Charter'. The 'Execution' phase, or 'Project Management' is covered by 'Status report'. The 'Closure' phase is covered by 'Deliverable Acceptance'.

    Learn about project management approach for small projects in Info-Tech’s Tailor PM Processes to Fit Your Projects blueprint.

    Sample of the Info-Tech blueprint 'Tailor PM Processes to Fit Your Projects'.

    Info-Tech’s approach to PPM is informed by industry best practices and rooted in practical insider research

    Info-Tech uses PMI and ISACA frameworks for areas of this research.

    Logo for 'Project Management Institute (PMI)'.' Logo for 'COBIT 5 an ISACA Framework'.
    PMI’s Standard for Portfolio Management, 3rd ed. is the leading industry framework, proving project portfolio management best practices and process guidelines. COBIT 5 is the leading framework for the governance and management of enterprise IT.

    In addition to industry-leading frameworks, our best-practice approach is enhanced by the insights and guidance from our analysts, industry experts, and our clients.

    Logo for 'Info-Tech Research Group'.

    33,000+ Our peer network of over 33,000 happy clients proves the effectiveness of our research.

    1000+ Our team conducts 1,000+ hours of primary and secondary research to ensure that our approach is enhanced by best practices.

    Re-position IT as the “facilitator of business projects” for PPM success

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Construction
    Source: Info-Tech Client

    Chaos in the project portfolio

    At first, there were no less than 14 teams of developers, each with their own methodologies and processes. Changes to projects were not managed. Only 35% of the projects were completed on time.

    Business drives, IT facilitates

    Anyone had the right to ask for something; however, converting ideas to a formal project demand required senior leadership within a business division getting on board with the idea.

    The CIO and senior leadership decided that projects, previously assigned to IT, were to be owned and driven by the business, as the projects are undertaken to serve its needs and rarely IT’s own. The rest of the organization understood that the business, not IT, was accountable for prioritizing project work: IT was re-positioned as a facilitator of business projects. While it was a long process, the result speaks for itself: 75% of projects were now being completed on time.

    Balancing the target mix of the project portfolio

    What about maintaining and feeding the IT infrastructure? The CIO reserved 40% of IT project capacity for “keeping the lights on,” and 20% for reactive, unplanned activities, with an aim to lower this percentage. With the rest of the time, IT facilitated business projects

    Three key drivers of project priority

    1. Does the project meet the overall company goals and objectives?
      “If they don't, we must ask why we are bothering with it.”
    2. Does the project address a regulatory or compliance need?
      “Half of our business is heavily regulated. We must focus on it.”
    3. Are there significant savings to be had?
      “Not soft; hard savings. Can we demonstrate that, after implementing this, can we see good hard results? And, can we measure it?”

    "Projects are dumped on IT, and the business abdicates responsibility. Flip that over, and say ‘that's your project’ and ‘how can we help you?’"

    Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

    Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

    A small monochrome icon of a wrench and screwdriver creating an X.

    This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.

    A small monochrome icon depicting a person in front of a blank slide.

    This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    Guided Implementation

    Workshop

    Consulting
    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Develop a PPM strategy – project overview

    1. Get executive buy-in for your PPM strategy

    2. Align PPM processes to your strategic goals

    3. Complete your PPM strategic plan
    Supporting Tool icon

    Best-Practice Toolkit

    1.1 Choose the right PPM strategy for your organization

    1.2 Translate PPM strategy expectations to specific process goals

    2.1 Develop and refine project intake, prioritization, and resource management processes

    2.2 Develop and refine portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization processes

    3.1 Select a right-sized PPM solution for supporting your new processes

    3.2 Finalize customizing your PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Guided Implementations
    • Scoping call: discuss current state of PPM and review strategy options.
    • How to wireframe realistic process goals, rooted in your PPM strategic expectations, that will be sustained by the organization.
    • Examine your current-state PPM process and create a high-level description of the target-state process for each of the five PPM processes (1-2 calls per each process).
    • Assess your PPM tool requirements to help support your processes.
    • Determine the costs and potential benefits of your PPM practice.
    Associated Activity icon

    Onsite Workshop

    		 Module 1:
    Set strategic expectations and realistic goals for the PPM strategy    		 Module 2:
    Develop and refine strategy-aligned PPM processes    		 Module 3:
    Compose your PPM strategic plan
    Phase 1 Outcome:
    • Analysis of the current state of PPM
    • Strategy-aligned goals and metrics for PPM processes
    		 Phase 2 Outcome:
    • PPM capability levels
    • High-level descriptions of near- and long-term target state
    		 Phase 3 Outcome:
    • PPM tool recommendations
    • Cost-benefit analysis
    • Customized PPM strategic plan

    Workshop overview

    Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Workshop Day 1

    Workshop Day 2

    Workshop Day 3

    Workshop Day 4

    Workshop Day 5
    Get leadership buy-in for PPM strategy Set PPM process goals and metrics with strategic expectations Develop and Refine PPM processes Develop and Refine PPM processes Complete the PPM strategic plan

    Activities
    • 1.1 Assess leadership mandate.
    • 1.2 Determine potential resource capacity.
    • 1.3 Create a project inventory.
    • 1.4 Communicate your PPM strategy to key stakeholders.
    • 2.1 Translate each strategic goal into process goals.
    • 2.2 Set metrics and preliminary targets for PPM process goals.
    • 3.1 Develop and refine the project intake, prioritization, and approval process.
    • 3.2 Develop and refine the resource management process.
    • 4.1 Develop and refine the portfolio reporting process.
    • 4.2 Develop and refine the project closure process.
    • 4.3 Develop and refine the benefits realization process.
    • 5.1 Right-size the PPM tools for your processes.
    • 5.2 Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of implementing the new PPM strategy.
    • 5.3 Define roles and responsibilities for the new processes.

    Deliverables
    1. Choice of PPM strategy and the leadership mandate
    2. Analysis of current project capacity
    3. Analysis of current project demand
    4. PPM Strategic Plan – Executive Brief
    1. PPM strategy-aligned process goals
    2. Metrics and long-term targets for PPM process goals
      For each of the five PPM processes:
    1. Process capability level
    2. Current-state PPM process description
    3. Retrospective examination of the current-state PPM process
    4. Action items to achieve the target states
    5. Time cost of the process at current and target states
    1. Recommendation for a PPM tool
    2. Cost-benefit analysis
    3. Roles and responsibilities matrix for each PPM process

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

    PHASE 1

    Get Executive Buy-In for Your PPM Strategy

    Phase 1 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 1: Get executive buy-in for your PPM strategy

    Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks
    Step 1.1: Choose the right PPM strategy Step 1.2: Translate strategic expectations to process goals
    Start with an analyst kick-off call:
    • Scoping call to discuss the current state of PPM and review strategy options.
    		 Work with an analyst to:
    • Discuss how to wireframe realistic process goals, rooted in your PPM strategic expectations, that will be sustained by the organization.
    Then complete these activities…
    • Execute a leadership mandate survey.
    • Perform a high-level supply/demand analysis.
    • Prepare an executive presentation to get strategy buy-in.
    		 Then complete these activities…
    • Develop realistic process goals based in your PPM strategic expectations.
    • Set metrics and preliminary targets for your high-priority PPM process goals.
    With these tools & templates:
    • PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator
    • PPM Strategic Plan Template
    		 With these tools & templates:
    • PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix

    Phase 1 Results & Insights

    • Executive layer buy-in is a critical prerequisite for the success of a top-down PPM strategy. Ensure your executives are onboard before proceeding to implement your PPM strategy.

    Prepare to get to value early with step 1.1 of this blueprint

    The first step of this blueprint will help you define your PPM strategy and get executive buy-in for it using section one of Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Where traditional models of consulting can take considerable amounts of time before delivering value to clients, Info-Tech’s methodology for developing a PPM strategy gets you to value fast.

    In the first step of this blueprint, you will define your PPM strategy and prepare an executive presentation to get buy-in for the strategy. The presentation can be prepared in just a few hours.

    • The activities in step 1.1 of this blueprint will help you customize the slides in section 1 of Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.
    • Section one of the Template will then serve as your presentation document.

    Once you have received buy-in for your PPM strategy, the remainder of this blueprint will help you customize section 2 of the Template.

    • Section 2 of the Template will communicate:
      • Your processes and process goals.
      • Your near-term and long-term action items for implementing the strategy.
      • Your PPM tool requirements.
      • The costs and benefits of your PPM strategy.

    Download Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Sample of Info-Tech's 'PPM Strategic Plan Template.'

    Step 1.1: Choose the right PPM strategy for your organization

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3
    1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2
    Choose the right PPM strategy Translate strategy into process goals Define intake & resource mgmt. processes Define reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processes Select a right-sized PPM solution Finalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Perform a leadership mandate survey.
    • Choose your PPM strategy.
    • Calculate your resource capacity for projects.
    • Determine overall organizational demand for projects.
    • Prepare an executive presentation of the PPM strategy.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • CIO
    • PMO Director/Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • IT Managers

    Outcomes of this step

    • A PPM strategy
    • A resource supply/project demand analysis
    • An executive brief presentation
    • Executive buy-in for the PPM strategy

    “Too many projects, not enough resources” is the reality of most IT environments

    In today’s organizations, the desires of business units for new products and enhancements, and the appetites of senior leadership to approve more and more projects for those products and services, far outstrips IT’s ability to realistically deliver on everything.

    The vast majority of IT departments lack the resourcing to meet project demand – especially given the fact that day-to-day operational demands frequently trump project work.

    As a result, project throughput suffers – and with it, IT's reputation within the organization.

    A visualization of 'Project Demand' versus 'Resource supply' utilizing courtroom scales with numerous project titles weighing down the 'Project Demand' side and silhouettes of three little people raised aloft on the 'Resource supply' side.

    In these environments, a PPM strategy is required.

    A PPM strategy should enable executive decision makers to make sense of the excess of demand and give IT the ability to prioritize those projects that are of the most strategic value to the business.

    With the right PPM strategy, IT can improve project outcomes across its portfolio and drive business value – all while improving the workloads of IT project staff.

    Info-Tech has two PPM strategy options that you can start to deploy today

    This step will help you choose the most suitable option, depending on your project pain points and current level of executive engagement in actively steering the portfolio.

    Option A:
    Top-Down, Executive Driven Strategy

    Option B:
    Bottom-Up, Project Manager Driven Strategy
    Goals of this approach:
    • This approach is intended to assist decision makers in their job: choosing the right projects, committing to timelines for those projects, and monitoring/directing their progress.
    		 Goals of this approach:
    • This approach is primarily intended to ensure that projects are well managed in a standardized manner in order to provide project managers with clear direction.
    Who this approach is for:
    • IT departments looking to improve alignment of project demand and resource capacity.
    • IT departments wanting to prioritize strategically valuable work.
    • IT departments with sufficient executive backing and engagement with the portfolio.
    		 Who this approach is for:
    • IT departments that would not the get support for a top-down approach due to a disengaged executive layer.
    • IT departments that already have a top-down PPM strategy and feel they are sufficiently resourced to confront project demand.

    Each of these strategy options is driven by a set of specific strategic expectations to help communicate your PPM goals. See the following slides for an articulation of each strategy option.

    A top-down, executive driven strategy is the optimal route, putting leadership in a position to best conduct the portfolio

    Option A: Top-Down, Executive Driven Strategy

    Strategic Expectations:

    • Project Throughput: Maximize throughput of the best projects.
    • Portfolio Visibility: Ensure visibility of current and pending projects.
    • Portfolio Responsiveness: Make the portfolio responsive to executive steering when new projects and changing priorities need rapid action.
    • Resource Utilization: Minimize resource waste and optimize the alignment of skills to assignments.
    • Benefits Realization: Clarify accountability for post-project benefits attainment for each project, and facilitate the process of tracking/reporting those benefits.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Serve the executive with insight before you impede the projects with governance. This strategy option is where Info-Tech sees the most PPM success. A strategy focused at improving decision making at the executive layer will both improve project outcomes and help alleviate project workloads.

    A bottom-up strategy can help project managers and teams succeed where insight into the big picture is lacking

    Option B: Bottom-Up, Project Manager Driven Strategy

    Strategic Expectations:

    • Project Management Governance: All projects consuming IT resources will be continually validated in terms of best-practice process compliance.
    • Project Risk Management: Identify risks and related mitigation approaches for all high-risk areas.
    • Stakeholder Management: Ensure that project stakeholders are identified and involved.
    • Project Manager Resourcing: Provide project managers as needed.
    • Project-Level Visibility: Provide access to the details of project management processes (planning and progress) as needed.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Right-size governance to maximize success. Project management and governance success don’t necessarily equal project success. Project management processes should be a means to an end (i.e. successful project outcomes), and not an end in themselves. Ensure the ends justify the means.

    Most recurring project challenges require a top-down portfolio management approach

    While project management is a key ingredient to project success, tying to solve endemic project problems with project management alone won’t improve results over the long term.

    Why Top-Down is a better starting point than Bottom-Up.

    The most common IT project problems – schedule and budget overruns, scope creep, and poor quality – can ultimately, in the vast majority of cases, be traced back to bad decisions made at the portfolio level:

    • The wrong projects get greenlighted.
    • Shifting leadership priorities and operational demands make project plans and estimated delivery dates obsolete from the start.
    • Too many projects get approved when there are not enough resources to effectively work on them all.

    No amount of project management rigor can help alleviate these common root causes of project failure.

    With a top-down PPM strategy, however, you can make sure that leadership is informed and engaged in making the right project decisions and that project managers and teams are situated for success.

    "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." (Peter Drucker (quoted in Lessing))

    Info-Tech Insight

    Get Strategic About Project Success.

    The difference between project management and project portfolio management comes down to doing things right vs. doing the right things. Both are important, no doubt; but doing the wrong things well doesn’t provide much value to the business in the long run.

    Get insight into the big picture with a top-down strategy before imposing more administrative overhead on project managers and leads.

    Perform a leadership mandate assessment to gauge executive needs and expectations

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.1 – 15 to 30 minutes (prep time) 10 to 20 minutes (execution time)

    INPUT: Leadership expectations for portfolio and project management.

    OUTPUT: Leadership mandate bar chart

    Materials: Tab 6 of Info-Tech’s PPM High-Level Supply-Demand Calculator

    Participants: Portfolio manager (or equivalent), PPM strategy sponsor(s), CIO and other members of senior management

    Before choosing your strategy option, survey the organization’s leadership to assess what they’re expecting from the PPM strategy.

    Use the “Leadership Mandate Survey” (located on tab 6 of Info-Tech’s PPM High-Level Supply-Demand Calculator) to assess the degree to which your leadership expects the PPM strategy to provide outcomes across the following capabilities: portfolio reporting, project governance, and project management.

    • Deploy the 12-question survey via individual one-on-one meetings or group working sessions with your boss (the PPM strategy sponsor) as well as with the CIO and other senior managers from within IT and the business.
      • If you cannot connect with the executive layer for this survey, do your best to estimate their responses to complete the survey.
    • The survey should help distinguish if executives are looking for portfolio management or project management. It should be one input that informs your choice of strategy option A or B.
      • If leadership is looking primarily for project management, you should proceed to Info-Tech’s Tailor Project Management Processes that Fit Your Projects blueprint.

    Refer to the next slide for assistance analyzing the outputs in tab 6 and using them to inform your choice of strategy.

    How to make use of the results of the leadership survey

    Two possible result scenarios of the leadership survey. There are two bar graphs titled 'Leadership Mandate', each with an explanation of the scenario they belong to. In Scenario 1, the 'Leadership Mandate' graph has a descending trend with 'Portfolio Reporting' at the highest level, 'Project Governance' in the middle, and 'Project Management' at the lowest level. 'A result like this, with a higher portfolio reporting score, shows a higher need for a top-down approach and demonstrates well-balanced expectations for a PPM strategy from the leadership. There is greater emphasis put on the portfolio than there is project governance or project management.' In Scenario 2, the 'Leadership Mandate' graph has an ascending trend with 'Portfolio Reporting' at the lowest level, 'Project Governance' in the middle, and 'Project Management' at the highest level. 'If your graph looks like this, your executive leadership has placed greater importance on project governance and management. Completing a top-down PPM strategy may not meet their expectations at this time. In this situation, a bottom-up approach may be more applicable.'

    Customize Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template. Insert screenshots of the survey and the bar graph from tab 6 of the PPM High-Level Supply-Demand Calculator onto slides 7 and 8, “PPM Strategy Leadership Mandate,” of the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Proceed with the right PPM strategy for your organization

    Based upon the results of the “Leadership Mandate Survey,” and your assessment of each strategy option as described in the previous slides, choose the strategy option that is right for your IT department/PMO at this time.

    "Without a strategic methodology, project portfolio planning is frustrating and has little chance of achieving exceptional business success." (G Wahl (quoted in Merkhofer))

    Option A:

    Those proceeding with Option A should continue with remainder of this blueprint. Update your strategy statement on slide 3 of your PPM Strategic Plan Template to reflect your choice

    Option B:

    Those proceeding with Option B should exit this blueprint and refer to Info-Tech’s Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects blueprint to help define a project management standard operating procedure.

    Customize Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template. If you’re proceeding with Option A, update slide 4, “Project Portfolio Management Strategy,” of your PPM Strategic Plan Template to reflect your choice of PPM strategy. If you’re proceeding with Option B, you may want to include your strategy statement in your Project Management SOP Template.

    The success of your top-down strategy will hinge on the quality of your capacity awareness and resource utilization

    A PPM strategy should facilitate alignment between project demand with resource supply. Use Info-Tech’s PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator as a step towards this alignment.

    Info-Tech’s research shows that the ability to provide a centralized view of IT’s capacity for projects is one of the top PPM capabilities that contributes to overall project success.

    Accurate and reliable forecasts into IT’s capacity, coupled with an engaged executive layer making project approval and prioritization decisions based upon that capacity data, is the hallmark of an effective top-down PPM strategy.

    • Use Info-Tech’s PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator to help improve visibility (and with it, organizational understanding) into project demand and IT resource supply.
    • The Calculator will help you determine IT’s actual capacity for projects and analyze organizational demand by taking an inventory of active and backlog projects.

    Download Info-Tech’s PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator.

    Sample of Into-Tech's PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Where does the time go? The portfolio manager (or equivalent) should function as the accounting department for time, showing what’s available in IT’s human resources budget for projects and providing ongoing visibility into how that budget of time is being spent.

    Establish the total resource capacity of your portfolio

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.2 – 30 to 60 minutes

    INPUT: Staff resource types, Average work week, Estimated allocations

    OUTPUT: Breakdown of annual portfolio HR spend, Capacity pie chart

    Materials: PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator, tab 3

    Participants: Portfolio manager (or equivalent), Resource and/or project managers

    Use tab 3 of the calculator to determine your actual HR portfolio budget for projects, relative to the organization’s non-project demands.

    • Tab 3 analyzes your resource supply asks you to consider how your staff spend their time weekly across four categories: out of office time, administrative time (e.g. meetings, training, checking email), keep-the-lights-on time (i.e. support and maintenance), and project time.
    • The screenshot below walks you through columns B to E of tab 3, which help calculate your potential capacity. This activity will continue on the next slide, where we will determine your realized capacity for project work from this potential capacity.
    Screenshot of tab 3 in the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator. It has 4 columns, 'Resource Type', '# People', 'Hours / Week', and 'Hours / Year', which are referred to in notes as columns B through E respectively. The note on 'Resource Type' reads '1. Compile a list of each of the roles within your department in column B'. The note on '# People' reads '2. In column C, provide the number of staff currently performing each role'. The note on 'Hours / Week' reads '3. In column D, provide a baseline for the number of hours in a typical work week for each role'. The note on 'Hours / Year' reads '4. Column E will auto-populate based on E and D. The total at the bottom of column E (row 26) constitutes your department’s total capacity'.

    Determine the project/non-project ratio for each role

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.2 (continued)

    The previous slide walked you through columns B to E of tab 3. This slide walks you through columns F to J, which ask you to consider how your potential capacity is spent.

    Screenshot of tab 3 in the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator. It has 6 columns, 'Hours / Year', 'Absence', 'Working Time / Year', 'Admin', 'KTLO', and 'Project Work', which, starting at 'Absence', are referred to in notes as columns F through J respectively. The note on 'Absence' reads '5. Enter the percentage of your total time across each role that is unavailable due to foreseeable out-of-office time (vacation, sick time, etc.) in column F. Industry standard runs anywhere from 12% to 16%, depending on your industry and geographical region'. The note on 'Working Time / Year' reads '6. Column G will auto-calculate to show your overall net capacity after out-of-office percentages have been taken off the top. These totals constitute your working time for the year'. The note on 'Admin' and 'KTLO' reads '6. Column G will auto-calculate to show your overall net capacity after out-of-office percentages have been taken off the top. These totals constitute your working time for the year'. The note on 'Project Work' reads '8. The project percentage in column J will auto-calculate based upon what’s leftover after your non-project working time allocations in columns H and I have been subtracted'.

    Review your annual portfolio capacity for projects

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.2 (continued)

    The previous slides walked you through the inputs for tab “3. Project Capacity.” This slide walks you through the outputs of the tab.

    Based upon the inputs from columns B to J, the rest of tab 3 analyzes how IT available time is spent across the time categories, highlighting how much of IT’s capacity is actually available for projects after admin work, support and maintenance work, and absences have been taken into account.

    A table and pie chart of output data from Tab 3 of the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator. Pie segments are labelled 'Admin', 'Absence', 'Project Capacity', and 'Keep The Lights On'.

    Customize Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template. Update slide 10, “Current Project Capacity,” of your PPM Strategic Plan Template to include the outputs from tab 3 of the Calculator.

    Create an inventory of active and backlog projects to help gauge overall project demand

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.3 – 15 to 30 minutes

    INPUT: Number of active and backlog projects across different sizes

    OUTPUT: Total project demand in estimated hours of work effort

    Materials: PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator, tab 4

    Participants: Portfolio manager (or equivalent), Project managers

    Where tab 3 of the Calculator gave you visibility into your overall resource supply for projects, tab 4 will help you establish insight into the demand side.

    • Before starting on tab 4, be sure to enter the required project size data on the set-up tab.
    • Using a list of current active projects, categorize the items on the list by size: small, medium, large, and extra large. Enter the number of projects in each category of project in column C of tab 4.
    • Using a list of on-hold projects, or projects that have been approved but not started, categorize the list by size and enter the number of projects in each category in column D.
    • In column E, estimate the number of new requests and projects across each size that you anticipate being added to the portfolio/backlog in the next 12 months. Use historical data from the past 12 to 24 months to inform your estimates.
    • In column F, estimate the number of projects that you anticipate being completed in each size category in the next 12 months. Take the current state of active projects into account as you make your estimates, as well as throughput data from the previous 12 to 24 months.
    Screenshot of tab 4 in the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator. It has 5 columns labelled 'Project Types' with values Small to Extra-Large, 'Number of active projects currently in the portfolio', 'Number of projects currently in the portfolio backlog', 'Number of new requests anticipated to be added to the portfolio/backlog in the next 12 months', and 'Number of projects expected to be delivered within the next 12 months'.

    Make supply and demand part of the conversation as you get buy-in for your top-down strategy

    Tab 5 of the Calculator is an output tab, visualizing the alignment (or lack thereof) of project demand and resource supply.

    Once tabs 3 and 4 are complete, use tab 5 to analyze the supply/demand data to help build your case for a top-down PPM strategy and get buy-in for it.

    Screenshots of Tab 5 in the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator. A bar chart obscures a table with the note 'The bar chart shows your estimated total project demand in person hours (in black) relative to your estimated total resource capacity for projects (in green)'. Notes on the table are 'The table below the bar chart shows your estimated annual project throughput rate (based upon the number of projects you estimated you would complete this year) as well as the rate at which portfolio demand will grow (based upon the number of new requests and projects you estimated for the next 12 months)' and 'If the “Total Estimated Project Demand (in hours) in 12 Months Time” number is more than your current demand levels, then you have a supply-demand problem that your PPM strategy will need to address'.

    Customize Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template. Update slides 11 and 12, “Current Project Demand,” of your PPM Strategic Plan Template to include the outputs from tabs 4 and 5 of the Calculator.

    Recommended: Complete Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard to measure your resource utilization

    Associated Activity icon Contact your rep or call 1-888-670-8889

    This step is highly recommended but not required. Call 1-888-670-8889 to inquire about or request the PPM Diagnostics.

    Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard diagnostic provides a comprehensive view of your portfolio management strengths and weaknesses, including project portfolio management, project management, customer management, and resource utilization.

    Screenshots of Info-Tech's PPM Current State Scorecard diagnostic with a pie chart obscuring a table/key. The attached note reads 'In particular, the analysis of resource utilization in the PPM Current State Scorecard report, will help to complement the supply/demand analysis in the previous slides. The diagnostic will help you to analyze how, within that percentage of your overall capacity that is available for project work, your staff productively utilizes this time to successfully complete project tasks and how much of this time is lost within Info-Tech’s categories of resource waste.'

    Customize Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template. Update slides 14 and 15, “Current State Resource Utilization” of your PPM Strategic Plan Template to include the resource utilization outputs from your PPM Current State Scorecard.

    Finalize section one of the PPM Strategic Plan Template and prepare to communicate your strategy

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.4 – 10 to 30 minutes

    INPUT: The previous activities from this step

    OUTPUT: An presentation communication your PPM strategy

    Materials: PPM Strategic Plan Template, section 1

    Participants: Portfolio manager (or equivalent)

    By now, you should be ready to complete section one of the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    The purpose of this section of the Template is to capture the outputs of this step and use them to communicate the value of a top-down PPM strategy and to get buy-in for this strategy from senior management before you move forward to develop your PPM processes in the subsequent phases of this blueprint.

    • Within section one, update any of the text that is (in grey) to reflect the specifics of your organization – i.e. the name of your organization and department – and the specific outcomes of step 1.2 activities. In addition, replace the placeholders for a company logo with the logo of your company.
    • Replace the tool screenshots with the outputs from your version of the PPM High-Level Supply/Demand Calculator.
    • Proofread all of the text to ensure the content accurately reflects your outcomes. Edit the content as needed to more accurately reflect your outcomes.
    • Determine the audience for the presentation of your PPM strategy and make a logistical arrangement. Include PPM strategy sponsors, senior management from within IT and the business, and other important stakeholders.

    Get executive buy-in for your top-down PPM strategy

    Executive layer buy-in is a critical prerequisite for the success of a top-down PPM strategy. Ensure your executives are on board before preceding.

    You’re now ready to communicate your PPM strategy to your leadership team and other stakeholders.

    It is essential that you get preliminary buy-in for this strategy from the executive layer before you move forward to develop your PPM processes in the subsequent phases of this blueprint. Lack of executive engagement is one of the top barriers to PPM strategy success.

    • If you have gone through the preceding activities in this step, section one of your PPM Strategic Plan Template should now be ready to present.
    • As explained in 1.1.4, you should present this section to an audience of PPM strategy sponsors, C-suite executives, and other members of the senior management team.
    • Allow at least 60 minutes for the presentation – around 20 minutes to deliver the slide presentation and 40 minutes for discussion.
    • If you get sufficient buy-in by the end of the presentation, proceed to the next step of this blueprint. If buy-in is lacking, now might not be the right time for a top-down PPM strategy. Think about adopting a bottom-up approach until leadership is more engaged in the portfolio.

    "Gaining executive sponsorship early is key…It is important for the executives in your organization to understand that the PPM initiatives and the PMO organization are there to support (but never hinder) executive decision making." (KeyedIn Projects)

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Engage(d) sponsorship. According to Prosci, the top factor in contributing to the success of a change initiative is active and visible executive sponsorship. Use this meeting to communicate to your sponsor(s) the importance of their involvement in championing the PPM strategy.

    A PPM strategic plan elevates PMO’s status to a business strategic partner

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Public Administration
    Source: IAG / Info-Tech Interview

    Challenge

    The PMO operated in a way that is, in their self-assessment, reactive; project requests and capacity were not effectively managed. Perhaps due to this, the leadership team was not always visible, or regularly available, to PM leaders. This, in turn, complicated efforts to effectively manage their projects.

    Solution

    Establishing a simple prioritization methodology enabled the senior leadership to engage and effectively steer the project portfolio by strategic importance. The criteria and tool also gave the business units a clear understanding to promote the strategic value of each of their project requests.

    Results

    PM leaders now have the support and confidence of the senior leadership team to both proactively manage and deliver on strategic projects. This new prioritization model brought the PM Leader and senior leadership team in direct access with each other.

    "By implementing this new project intake and prioritization framework, we drastically improved our ability to predict, meet, and manage project requests and unit workload. We adopted a client-focused and client-centric approach that enabled all project participants to see their role and value in successful project delivery. We created methodologies that were easy to follow from the client participation perspective, but also as PM leaders, provided us with the metrics, planning, and proactive tools to meet and anticipate client project demand. The response from our clients was extremely positive, encouraging, and appreciative."

    Step 1.2: Translate PPM strategic expectations to process goals

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3

    1.11.22.12.23.13.2
    Choose the right PPM strategyTranslate strategy into process goalsDefine intake & resource mgmt. processesDefine reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processesSelect a right-sized PPM solutionFinalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Determine process goals based upon your PPM strategy.
    • Set metrics and preliminary targets for your PPM processes.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • CIO
    • Steering Committee
    • Business Unit Leaders
    • PMO Director/Portfolio Manager

    Outcomes of this step

    • Stakeholder-prioritized PPM process goals
    • Metrics and targets for high-priority process goals

    Use the PPM strategy to set the direction for PPM processes that make up the infrastructure around projects

    PPM strategy enables you to answer any and all of these questions in a way that is consistent, cohesive, and aligned with one another.

    Info-Tech's PPM Process Model from earlier with notes overlaid asking a series of questions. The questions for '1. Intake, Approval, and Prioritization' are 'Who can request a project? How do you request a project? Who decides what to fund? What is the target investment mix? How will they decide?' The questions for '2. Resource Management' are 'Who assigns the resources? Who feeds the data on resources? How do we make sure it’s valid? How do we handle contingencies when projects are late, or if availability changes?' The questions for '3. Status and Progress Reporting' are 'What project information that should be reported? Who reports on project status? When? How?' The questions between 'Project Management' and '4. Project Closure' are 'Who declares that a project is done? Who validates it? Who is this reported to? Who terminates low-value projects? How will they decide?' The questions for '5. Benefits Tracking' are 'How do we validate the project benefits from the original business case? How do we track the benefits? Who reports it? When?'

    Set process goals to address PPM strategic expectations and steer the PPM strategic plan

    Associated Activity icon 1.2.1 – 2 hours

    INPUT: PPM strategy & expectations, Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Prioritized list of strategy-aligned PPM process goals

    Materials: PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix

    Participants: CIO, Steering Committee, Business Unit Leaders, PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    This activity is designed for key departmental stakeholders to articulate how PPM processes should be developed or refined to meet the PPM strategic expectations.

    Participation of the key departmental stakeholders in this exercise is critical, e.g. CIO, Steering Committee, business unit leaders.

    Strategic Expectations x Processes = Process goals aligned to strategy
    Throughput Project Intake, Approval, & Prioritization
    Visibility Resource Management
    Responsiveness Status & Progress Reporting
    Resource Utilization Project Closure
    Benefits Benefits Realization

    Download Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy-Process Goals Translation Matrix Template.

    Use Info-Tech’s Translation Matrix to systematically articulate strategy-aligned PPM process goals

    Supporting Tool icon 1.2.1 – PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix, tab 2

    Formula: To answer “[question]” in a way that we can [strategic expectation], it will be important to [process goal].

    Example 1:
    To answer the question “who can request a project, and how?” in a way that we can maximize the throughput of the best projects, it will be important to standardize the project request process.

    Example 2:
    To answer the question “how will they decide what to fund?” in a way that we can maximize the throughput of the best projects, it will be important to reach a consensus on project prioritization criteria.

    Example 3:
    To answer the question “how will we track the projected benefits?” in a way that we can maximize the throughput of the best projects, it will be important to double-check the validity of benefits before projects are approved.

    Screenshot of Tab 2 in Info-Tech's PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix tool. There is a table with notes overlaid 'Enter the process goals in the appropriate question–strategic expectation slot' and 'Assign a priority, from the most important (1) to the least important (5)'.

    Set metrics and preliminary targets for your high-priority PPM process goals

    Associated Activity icon 1.2.2 – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Prioritized list of strategy-aligned PPM process goals, Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Metrics and targets for high-priority PPM process goals

    Materials: PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix

    Participants: CIO, Steering Committee, Business Unit Leaders, PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Your highest-priority process goals and their corresponding strategy expectations are displayed in tab 3 of the PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix template (example below).

    Through a group discussion, document what will be measured to decide the achievement of each process goal, as well as your current estimate and the long-term target. If necessary, adjust the approximate target duration.

    Screenshot of Tab 3 in Info-Tech's PPM Strategy-Process Translation Matrix tool. There is a table with 6 columns 'PPM Process', 'High-priority Process Goals', 'Strategy Expectation', 'How will you measure success?', 'Current Estimate', and 'Long-Term Target'; they are referred to in notes as columns B through G respectively. Overlaid notes are 'Columns C and D will auto-populate based upon your inputs from tab 2. The five PPM process areas are arranged vertically in column B and your top-five process goals from each area appear in column C.' 'Use column E to brainstorm how you might measure the success of each process goal at your organization. These can be tentative for now and refined over time.' 'Determine current metrics for each process goals and long-term target metrics in columns F and G.'

    Project-client-centered approach to PPM process design improves client satisfaction and team confidence

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Public Administration
    Source: IAG / Info-Tech Interview

    Challenge

    Reactive instead of proactive

    "We had no effective means of tracking project intake requests vs. capacity. We struggled using ad hoc processes and methods which worked to meet immediate needs, but we quickly realized that they were ineffective in tracking critical project metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), or performance measures...In short, we were being reactive, instead of proactive."

    The result was a disorganized portfolio that led to low client satisfaction and team morale.

    Solution

    Examine processes “through the eyes of the client”

    With the guiding principle of “through the eyes of the client,” PPM processes and tools were developed to formalize project intake, prioritization, and capacity planning. All touchpoints between client and PPM processes were identified, and practices for managing client expectations were put in place. A client satisfaction survey was formulated as part of the post-project assessment and review.

    Results

    Client-centered processes improved client satisfaction and team confidence

    People, processes, and tools are now aligned to support client demand, manage client expectations, measure project KPIs, and perform post-project analysis. A standard for client satisfaction metrics was put in place. The overwhelmingly positive feedback has increased team confidence in their ability to deliver quality efforts.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of Barry Cousins.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    Sample of activity 1.1.2 'Determine your actual resource capacity for projects'. Determine your actual resource capacity for projects

    Work with Info-Tech analysts to define your project vs. non-project ratio to help define how much of your overall resource capacity is actual available for projects.
    Sample of activity 1.2.1 'Set realistic PPM process goals'. Set realistic PPM process goals

    Leverage Info-Tech facilitators to help walk you through our PPM framework and define achievable process goals that are rooted in your current PPM maturity levels and organizational culture.

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

    PHASE 2

    Align PPM Processes to Your Strategic Goals

    Phase 2 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 2: Align PPM processes to your strategic goals

    Proposed Time to Completion: 2-4 weeks
    Step 2.1: Develop intake & resource mgmt. processes Step 2.2: Define reporting, closure, & benefits processes
    Work with an analyst to:
    • Assess your current intake, prioritization, and resource management processes and wireframe a sustainable target state for each capability.
    		 Work with an analyst to:
    • Analyze your current portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization processes and wireframe a sustainable target state for each capability.
    Then complete these activities…
    • Set near-term and long-term goals.
    • Draft high-level steps within your target-state processes.
    • Document your process steps and roles and responsibilities.
    		 Then complete these activities…
    • Set near-term and long-term goals.
    • Draft high-level steps within your target-state processes.
    • Document your process steps and roles and responsibilities.
    With these tools & templates:
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool
    • PPM Strategic Plan Template
    		 With these tools & templates:
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool
    • PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Phase 2 Results & Insights

    • The means of project and portfolio management (i.e. processes) shouldn’t eclipse the ends – strategic goals. Root your process in your PPM strategic goals to realize PPM benefits (e.g. optimized portfolio value, improved project throughput, increased stakeholder satisfaction).

    Read first: Overview of the methodology for articulating new strategy-aligned PPM processes

    In the previous step of the blueprint, key department stakeholders established the PPM process goals, metrics, and targets in a way that aligns with the overall PPM strategy. In this phase, we draft a high-level description of the five PPM processes that reflect those goals using the following methodology:

    Methodology at a glance

    1. Articulate the current state of the process.
    2. Examine the process against the strategy-aligned goals.
    3. Create short- and long-term action items to refine the current process and meet the strategy-aligned targets.
    4. Develop a high-level target-state description of the PPM process.
    5. Estimate costs-in-use of the target-state process.

    Out-of-scope topics

    • Draft a detailed target-state description of the PPM process. Avoid falling into the “analysis paralysis” trap and keep the discussion focused on the overall PPM strategy.
    • PPM tools to support the process. This discussion will take place in the next phase of the blueprint.

    INPUT

    		 –›

    PROCESS

    		 –›

    OUTPUT
    • Strategy-aligned process goals, metrics, and targets (Activity 1.2.1)
    • Knowledge of current process
    • Knowledge of organizational culture and structure
    • Capability level assessment
    • Table-top design planning activity
    • Start-stop-continue retrospective
    • High-level description of the target state
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool
    • High-level descriptions of current and target states
    • Short- and long-term action items for improving the process
    • Cost-in-use of the current- and target-state processes

    Download Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Build a sound business case for implementing the new PPM strategy with realistic costs and benefits of managing your project portfolio.

    Time spent on managing the project portfolio is an investment. Like any other business endeavors, the benefits must outweigh the costs to be worth doing.

    As you draft a high-level description of the PPM processes in this phase of the blueprint, use Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy Development Tool to track the estimate the cost-in-use of the process. In the next phase, this information will be inform a cost-benefit analysis, which will be used to support your plan to implement the PPM strategy.

    Download Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Screenshots of Info-Tech's PPM Strategy Development Tool including a Cost-Benefit Analysis with tables and graphs.

    Step 2.1: Develop and refine project intake, prioritization, and resource management processes

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3

    1.11.22.12.23.13.2
    Choose the right PPM strategyTranslate strategy into process goalsDefine intake & resource mgmt. processesDefine reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processesSelect a right-sized PPM solutionFinalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Determine your process maturity.
    • Benchmark current processes against strategy-aligned goals.
    • Set near- and long-term action items.
    • Draft a high-level description of your target state.
    • Document your new processes.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • PMO Director/Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • Resource Managers
    • Business Analysts

    Outcomes of this step

    • A definition of current and target state maturity levels for intake, prioritization, and resource management
    • Near-term and long-term process goals for intake, prioritization, and resource management
    • A high-level wireframe for your intake, prioritization, and resource management process steps

    Project intake, prioritization, and approval: Get projects with the highest value done first

    Give your organization the voice to say “no” (or “not yet”) to new projects.

    Questions

    • Who can request a project?
    • How do you request a project?
    • Who decides what to fund?
    • What is the target investment mix?
    • How will they decide?

    Benefits

    • Maximize value of time spent on project work by aligning projects with priorities and stakeholder needs.
    • Finish the projects you start by improving alignment of intake and prioritization with resource capacity.
    • Improve stakeholder satisfaction by managing expectations with consistent, streamlined processes.

    Challenges

    • Stakeholders who benefit from political or ad hoc prioritization processes will resist or circumvent formal intake processes.
    • Many organizations lack sufficient awareness of resource capacity necessary to align intake with availability.

    A graph highlighting the sweet spot of project intake decision making. The vertical axis is 'Rigor and Effort' increasing upward, and the horizontal axis is 'Quality and Effectiveness of Decisions' increasing to the right. The trend line starts at 'Gut Feel' with low 'Rigor and Effort', and gradually curves upward to 'Analysis Paralysis' at the top. A note with an arrow pointing to a midway point in the line reads 'The sweet spot changes between situations and types of decisions'.

    Info-Tech Insight

    This process aims to control the project demand. A balance between rigor and flexibility is critical in order to avoid the “analysis paralysis” as much as the “gut feel” approach.

    Funnel project requests into a triage system for project intake

    Info-Tech recommends following a four-step process for managing project intake.

    1. Requestor fills out form and submits the request into the funnel.
    2. Requests are triaged into the proper queue.
      1. Divert non-project request.
      2. Quickly assess value and urgency.
      3. Assign specialist to follow up on request.
      4. Inform the requestor.
    3. Business analyst starts to gather preliminary requirements.
      1. Follow up with sponsors to validate and define scope.
      2. Estimate size and determine project management rigor required.
      3. Start to develop an initial business case.
    4. Requestor is given realistic expectations for approval process.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    An excess number of intake channels is the tell-tale sign of a project portfolio in distress. The PMO needs to exercise and enforce discipline on stakeholders. PMO should demand proper documentation and diligence from stakeholders before proceeding with requests.

    Maintain reliable resourcing data with a recurrent project intake, prioritization, and approval practice

    Info-Tech recommends following a five-step process for managing project intake, prioritization, and approval.

    A diagram of Info-Tech's five-step process for managing project intake. There are four groups that may be involved in any one step, they are laid out on the side as row headers that each step's columns may fall into, 'Resources', 'Business Analysts', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer'. The first step is 'Collect project requests' which involves 'Resources'. Step 2 is 'Screen project requests' which involves 'Business Analysts' and 'PMO'. A part of the step that may be applicable to some organizations is 'Concept approval' involving 'Governance Layer'. Step 3 is 'Develop business case' which involves 'Business Analysts' and 'PMO'. A part of the step that may be applicable to some organizations is 'Get a project sponsor' involving 'Governance Layer'. Step 4 is 'Prioritize project' which involves 'Business Analysts' and 'PMO'. Step 5 is 'Approve (greenlight) project' which involves 'Business Analysts', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer', with an attached note that reads 'Ensure that up-to-date project portfolio information is available (project status, resource forecast, etc.)'. All of these steps lead to 'Initiate project, commit resources, etc.'

    Info-Tech Insight

    “Approval” can be a dangerous word in project and portfolio management. Use it carefully. Clarify precisely what is being “approved” at each step in the process, what is required to pass each gate, and how long the process will take.

    Determine your project intake, prioritization, and approval process maturity

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.1a – 10 minutes

    INPUT: Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Project intake, prioritization, and approval capability level

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Kick-off the discussion about the project intake, prioritization, and approval process by reading the capability level descriptions below and discussing which level currently applies to you the most.

    Capability Level Descriptions
    Capability Level 5: Optimized We have effective intake processes with right-sized administrative overhead. Work is continuously prioritized to keep up with emerging challenges and opportunities.
    Capability Level 4: Aligned We have very strong intake processes. Project approvals are based on business cases and aligned with future resource capacity.
    Capability Level 3: Engaged Processes are in place to track project requests and follow up on them. Priorities are periodically re-evaluated, based largely on the best judgment of one or several executives.
    Capability Level 2: Defined Some processes are in place, but there is no capacity to say no to new projects. There is a backlog, but little or no method for grooming it.
    Capability Level 1: Unmanaged Our organization has no formal intake processes in place. Most work is done reactively, with little ability to prioritize project work proactively.

    Benchmark the current project intake, prioritization, and approval process against strategy-aligned goals

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.1b – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Documentation describing the current process (e.g. standard operating procedures), Process goals from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Retrospective review of current process

    Materials: 4x6” recipe cards, Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Conduct a table-top planning exercise to map out the process currently in place.

    1. Use white 4”x6” recipe cards to write unique steps of a process. Use the intake, prioritization, and approval process from the previous slides as a guide.
    2. Use green cards to write artifacts or deliverables that result from a step.
    3. Use pink cards to write issues, problems, or risks.
    4. Discuss how the process could better achieve the strategy-aligned goals from activity 1.2.1. Keep a list of possible changes in the form of a start-stop-continue retrospective (example below) on a whiteboard.
    Start Stop Continue
    • Simplify business cases
    • Send emails to requestor to manage expectations
    • Accept verbal project requests
    • Approve “pet projects”
    • Monthly prioritization meetings
    • Evaluate prioritization criteria

    Set near- and long-term action items for the project intake, prioritization, and approval process

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.1c – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: Outcome of the retrospective review, Process goals and metrics from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    Materials: Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Analyze each item in the start-stop-continue retrospective to compile a set of near-term and long-term action items.

    The near-term plan should include steps that are within the authority of the PMO and do not require approval or investment outside of that authority. The long-term plan should include steps that may require a longer approval process, buy-in of external stakeholders, and the investment of time and money.
    Near-Term Action Items Long-Term Action Items
    For example:
    • Limit the number of channels available to request new projects.
    • Revise the intake form.
    • Establish a regular triage process.
    		 For example:
    • Establish a comprehensive scorecard and business case scoring process at the steering committee level.
    • Limit the rate of approval to be aligned with resource capacity.

    Review and customize slide 23, “Project intake, prioritization, and approval: action items,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Draft a high-level description of the intake, prioritization, and approval process at a target state

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.1d – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    OUTPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    1. Break down the process into several tasks at a high level. Avoid getting into too much detail by limiting the number of steps.
      2. An example of high-level breakdown: project intake, prioritization, and approval
      Collect project requests –› Screen requests –› Develop business case –› Prioritize project –› Approve project

    2. Describe each task by answering the following questions. Document your response in the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

      3. Question

      Description
      Input What information do you need to perform the work?
      Output What artifacts/deliverables are produced as a result?
      Frequency/Timing How often, and when, will the work be performed?
      Responsibility Who will perform the work?
      Accountability Who will approve the work and assume the ownership of any decisions?

    3. Record the time cost of each process using the PPM Strategy Development Tool; see next slide for instructions.

    Use the PPM Strategy Development Tool to track the time cost of the process

    Supporting Tool icon 2.1.1 – PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 3: Costing Assumptions

    Record the time cost of each high-level process task from Activity 2.1.1d.

    Screenshot of tab 3 from Info-Tech's PPM Strategy Development Tool with notes overlaid. Columns are 'ID', 'Task Description', 'Who does the task?', a super-column titled 'Current State' which includes 'How many times per year?', 'How many people?', and 'For how long?', a super-column titled 'Near-Term Target State' with the same three sub columns, and a super-column titled 'Long-Term Target State' with the same three sub columns. Notes for 'Who does the task?' read 'Choose executive, management or resource' and 'If task is done by more than one party, duplicate the task'. Notes for the 3 recurring sub columns are 'Estimate how many times in a year the task is performed (e.g. 120 project requests per year)', 'Indicate the number of people needed to perform the task each time', 'Estimate the average work-hours for the task… either in minutes or in hours', 'If a task is not applicable to a state (e.g. currently PMO does not screen project requests), leave the row blank', and 'For meetings, remember to indicate the number of people'.

    Document the high-level description for the new intake, prioritization, and approval process

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.1e – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    OUTPUT: Updated PPM strategic plan

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Update your PPM strategic plan with the new high-level description for the new project intake, prioritization, and approval process. Depending on your current process capability level, you may wish to include additional information on your strategic document, for example:

    • Updated prioritization scorecard.
    • Roles and responsibility matrix, identifying consulted and informed parties.

    Info-Tech has a dedicated blueprint to help you develop the high-level process description into a fully operationalized process. Upon completion of this PPM strategy blueprint, speak to an Info-Tech account manager or analyst to get started.

    Read Info-Tech’s Optimize Project Intake, Prioritization, and Approval blueprint.

    Review and customize slide 24, “Project intake, prioritization, and approval: target state,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Clarity in project prioritization process leads to enterprise-wide buy-in

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Public Administration
    Source: IAG / Info-Tech Interview

    Challenge

    "Our challenge from the start was to better understand the strategic perspective and priorities of our client departments.

    In addition, much of the work requested was not aligned to corporate goals and efforts, and seemed to be contradictory, redundant, and lacking strategic focus."

    Complicating this challenge was the fact that work requests were being received via all means of communication, which made the monitoring and controlling of requests more difficult.

    Solution

    Client departments were consulted to improve the understanding of their strategic goals and priorities. Based on the consultation:

    • A new, enterprise-wide project prioritization criteria was developed.
    • Priority of project requests from all business areas are evaluated on a quarterly basis.
    • A prioritized list of projects are made available to the senior leadership team.

    Results

    "By creating and implementing a tool for departments to prioritize strategic efforts, we helped them consider the important overall project criteria and measure them uniformly, across all anticipated projects. This set a standard of assessment, prioritization, and ranking, which helped departments clearly see which efforts were supportive and matched their strategic goals."

    Resource management process ensures that projects get the resources they need

    Reclaim project capacity: properly allocate project work and establish more stable project timelines.

    Questions

    • Who assigns the resources?
    • Who feeds the data on resources?
    • How do we make sure it’s valid?
    • How do we handle contingencies when projects are late, or if availability changes?

    Benefits

    • Ensure that approved projects can be completed by aligning intake with real project capacity.
    • Reduce over-allocation of resources by allocating based on their proportion of project vs. non-project work.
    • Forecast future resource requirements by maintaining accurate resource capacity data.

    Challenges

    • Time tracking can be difficult when project workers balance project work with “keep the lights on” activities and other administrative work.
    • Continuous partial attention, interruptions, and distractions are a part of today’s reality that makes it very difficult to maximize productivity.
    A see-saw balancing 'Resource availability' on one side and 'Ongoing projects, Operational work, Administrative work, and Resource absence' on the other side.

    Maintain reliable resourcing data with a recurrent resource management practice

    Info-Tech recommends following a five-step process for resource management.

    A diagram of Info-Tech's five-step process for resource management. There are five groups that may be involved in any one step, they are laid out on the side as row headers that each step's columns may fall into, 'Resources', 'Resource Managers', 'Project Managers', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer'. The first step is 'Collect resource availability' which involves 'Resources' and 'Resource Managers'. Step 2 is 'Collect resource demand' which involves 'Resource Managers', 'Project Managers' and 'PMO'. Step 3 is 'Identify need for reconciliation' which involves 'PMO'. Step 4 is 'Resolve conflicts and smoothen resource allocations' which involves 'Resource Managers', 'Project Managers' and 'PMO'. Step 5 is 'Report resource allocations and forecast' which involves all groups, with an attached note that reads 'Ensure that up-to-date information is available for project approval, portfolio reporting, closure, etc.'

    Info-Tech Insight

    This process aims to control the resource supply to meet the demand – project and non-project alike. Coordinate this process with the intake, approval, and prioritization process.

    Determine your resource management process capability level

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.2a – 10 minutes

    INPUT: Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Resource management capability level

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Kick-off the discussion about the resource management process by reading the capability level descriptions below and discussing which level currently applies to you the most.

    Capability Level Descriptions

    Capability Level 5: OptimizedOur organization has an accurate picture of project versus non-project work loads and allocates resources accordingly. We periodically reclaim lost capacity through organizational and behavioral change.
    Capability Level 4: AlignedWe have an accurate picture of how much time is spent on project versus non-project work. We allocate resources to these projects accordingly. We are checking in on project progress bi-weekly.
    Capability Level 3: PixelatedWe are allocating resources to projects and tracking progress monthly. We have a rough estimate of how much time is spent on project versus non-project work.
    Capability Level 2: OpaqueWe match resources teams to projects and check in annually, but we do not forecast future resource needs or track project versus non-project work.
    Capability Level 1: UnmanagedOur organization expects projects to be finished, but there is no process in place for allocating resources or tracking project progress.

    Benchmark the current resource management process against strategy-aligned goals

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.2b – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Documentation describing the current process (e.g. standard operating procedures), Process goals from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Retrospective review of current process

    Materials: 4x6” recipe cards, Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Conduct a table-top planning exercise to map out the process currently in place.

    1. Use white 4”x6” recipe cards to write unique steps of a process. Use the resource management process from the previous slides as a guide.
    2. Use green cards to write artifacts or deliverables that result from a step.
    3. Use pink cards to write issues, problems, or risks.
    4. Discuss how the process could better achieve the strategy-aligned goals from activity 1.2.1. Keep a list of possible changes in the form of a start-stop-continue retrospective (example below) on a whiteboard.
    Start Stop Continue
    • Collect project actuals
    • Make enhancements to the PPM tool in use
    • Over allocating resources
    • “Around the room” reporting at monthly meeting
    • Send project updates before resource management meetings

    Set near- and long-term action items for the resource management process

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.2c – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: Outcome of the retrospective review, Process goals and metrics from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    Materials: Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Analyze each item in the start-stop-continue retrospective to compile a set of near-term and long-term action items.

    The near-term plan should include steps that are within the authority of the PMO and do not require approval or investment outside of that authority. The long-term plan should include steps that may require a longer approval process, buy-in of external stakeholders, and the investment of time and money.
    Near-Term Action Items Long-Term Action Items
    For example:
    • Determine the percentage of project vs. non-project work through implementation of a weekly survey.
    		 For example:
    • Reduce resource waste to 6%.
    • Forecast resource requirements monthly.
    • Implement a mid-market PPM tool.

    Review and customize slide 26, “Resource management: action items,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Draft a high-level description of the resource management process at a target state

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.2d – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    OUTPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    1. Break down the process into several tasks at a high level. Avoid getting into too much detail by limiting the number of steps.
      2. An example of high-level breakdown: resource management
      Collect resource availability –› Collect resource demand –› Identify need for reconciliation –› Resolve conflicts and over-allocation –› Update resource forecast


    2. Describe each task by answering the following questions. Document your response in the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

      3. Question

      Description
      Input What information do you need to perform the work?
      Output What artifacts/deliverables are produced as a result?
      Frequency/Timing How often, and when, will the work be performed?
      Responsibility Who will perform the work?
      Accountability Who will approve the work and assume the ownership of any decisions?


    3. Record the time cost of each process using the PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Document the high-level description for the new resource management process

    Associated Activity icon 2.1.2e – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    OUTPUT: Updated PPM strategic plan

    Materials: PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Update your PPM strategic plan with the new high-level description for the new resource management process. Depending on your current process capability level, you may wish to include additional information on your strategic plan, for example:

    • Resource management meeting agenda template
    • Roles and responsibility matrix, identifying consulted and informed parties

    Info-Tech has a dedicated blueprint to help you develop the high-level process description into a fully operationalized process. Upon completion of this PPM strategy blueprint, speak to an Info-Tech account manager or analyst to get started.

    Read Info-Tech’s Develop a Resource Management for the New Reality blueprint.

    Review and customize slide 27, “Resource management: target state,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Step 2.2: Develop and refine portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization processes

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3

    1.11.22.12.23.13.2
    Choose the right PPM strategyTranslate strategy into process goalsDefine intake & resource mgmt. processesDefine reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processesSelect a right-sized PPM solutionFinalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Determine your process maturity.
    • Benchmark current processes against strategy-aligned goals.
    • Set near- and long-term action items.
    • Draft a high-level description of your target state.
    • Document your new processes.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • PMO Director/Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • Business Analysts

    Outcomes of this step

    • A definition of current and target state maturity levels for portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization
    • Near-term and long-term process goals for portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization
    • A high-level wireframe for your portfolio reporting, project closure, and benefits realization process steps

    Portfolio reporting process makes trustworthy data accessible for informing decisions

    Giving stakeholders the ability to make informed decisions is the most important function of managing the project portfolio.

    Questions

    • What project information should be reported?
    • Who reports on project status?
    • When and how do we report on the status of the project portfolio?

    Benefits

    • Reporting is the linchpin of any successful PPM strategy.
    • Timely and accurate status reports enable decision makers to address issues risks and issues before they create bigger problems.
    • Executive visibility can be achieved with or without a commercial tool using spreadsheets, a content management system such as SharePoint, or a combination of tools you already have.

    Challenges

    • Trying to increase detailed visibility too fast leads to difficulty gathering and maintaining data. As a result, reporting is rarely accurate and people quickly lose trust in the portfolio.
    • If you are planning to adopt a commercial tool, Info-Tech strongly recommends validating your organization’s ability to maintain a consistent reporting process using simple tools before investing in a more sophisticated system.

    Info-Tech Insight

    If you can only do one thing, establish frequently current reporting on project status. Reporting doesn’t have to be detailed or precise, as long as it’s accurate.

    Maintain reliable portfolio status data with a recurrent status and progress reporting practice

    Info-Tech recommends following a four-step process for portfolio status and progress reporting.

    A diagram of Info-Tech's four-step process for portfolio status and progress reporting. There are four groups that may be involved in any one step, they are laid out on the side as row headers that each step's columns may fall into, 'Resources', 'Project Managers', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer'. The first step is 'Create project status reports' which involves 'Resources' and 'Project Managers'. Step 2 is 'Create a project portfolio status report' which involves 'Project Managers' and 'PMO', with a note that reads 'Ensure that up-to-date information is available for project approval, resource management, closure, etc.' Step 3 is 'Report on project portfolio status' which involves 'PMO' and 'Governance layer'. Step 4 is 'Act on portfolio steering decisions' which involves 'Resources', 'Project Managers' and 'PMO'.

    Start by establishing a regular reporting cadence with lightweight project status KPIs:

    Red Issue or risk that requires intervention For projects that are red or yellow, high-level status reports should be elaborated on with additional comments on budget, estimated hours/days until completion, etc.
    Yellow Issue or risk that stakeholders should be aware of
    Green No significant risks or issues

    Determine your resource management process capability level

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.1a – 10 minutes

    INPUT: Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Portfolio reporting capability level

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers

    Kick-off the discussion about the portfolio reporting process by reading the capability level descriptions below and discussing which level currently applies to you the most.

    Capability Level Descriptions

    Capability Level 5: OptimizedWith the right tools, we can ensure that all projects are planned and maintained at a detailed task level with high-quality estimates, and that actual task progress is updated at least weekly.
    Capability Level 4: AlignedWe have the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to prepare a detailed cost-benefit analysis for all proposed projects. We track the progress throughout project execution.
    Capability Level 3: InterventionWith the right tools, we can ensure that project issues and risks are identified and addressed on a regular basis (e.g. at least monthly) for all projects.
    Capability Level 2: OversightWith the right tools, we can ensure that project status updates are revised on a regular basis (e.g. at least monthly) for all ongoing projects.
    Capability Level 1: ReactiveProject managers escalate issues directly with their direct supervisor or project sponsor because there is no formal PPM practice.

    Benchmark the current portfolio reporting process against strategy-aligned goals

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.1b – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Documentation describing the current process (e.g. standard operating procedures), Process goals from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Retrospective review of current process

    Materials: 4x6” recipe cards, Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers

    Conduct a table-top planning exercise to map out the process currently in place.

    1. Use white 4”x6” recipe cards to write unique steps of a process. Use the portfolio reporting process from the previous slides as a guide.
    2. Use green cards to write artifacts or deliverables that result from a step.
    3. Use pink cards to write issues, problems, or risks.
    4. Discuss how the process could better achieve the strategy-aligned goals from activity 1.2.1. Keep a list of possible changes in the form of a start-stop-continue retrospective (example below) on a whiteboard.
    Start Stop Continue
    • Report on lightweight KPIs
    • Standardize the status reports
    • Project managers waiting too long before declaring a red status
    • Produce weekly project portfolio-wide report for senior leadership

    Set near- and long-term action items for the portfolio reporting process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.1c – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: Outcome of the retrospective review, Process goals and metrics from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    Materials: Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers

    Analyze each item in the start-stop-continue retrospective to compile a set of near-term and long-term action items.

    The near-term plan should include steps that are within the authority of the PMO and do not require approval or investment outside of that authority. The long-term plan should include steps that may require a longer approval process, buy-in of external stakeholders, and the investment of time and money.
    Near-Term Action Items Long-Term Action Items
    For example:
    • Establish a reporting process that can be consistently maintained using lightweight KPIs.
    • Provide a simple dashboard that stakeholders can use to see their project status reports at a high level.
    		 For example:
    • Adopt a commercial tool for maintaining consistent status reports.
    • Support the tool with training and a mandate of adoption among all users.

    Review and customize slide 29, “Portfolio reporting: action items,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Draft a high-level description of the portfolio reporting process at a target state

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.1d – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    OUTPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers

    1. Break down the process into several tasks at a high level. Avoid getting into too much detail by limiting the number of steps.
      2. An example of high-level breakdown: portfolio reporting
      Create project status reports –› Create a project portfolio status report –› Report on project portfolio status –› Act on portfolio steering decisions


    2. Describe each task by answering the following questions. Document your response in the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

      3. Question

      Description

      InputWhat information do you need to perform the work?
      OutputWhat artifacts/deliverables are produced as a result?
      Frequency/TimingHow often, and when, will the work be performed?
      ResponsibilityWho will perform the work?
      AccountabilityWho will approve the work and assume the ownership of any decisions?

    3. Record the time cost of each process using the PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Document the high-level description for the new portfolio reporting process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.1e – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    OUTPUT: Updated PPM strategic plan

    Materials: PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Update your PPM strategic plan with the new high-level description for the new portfolio reporting process. Depending on your current process capability level, you may wish to include additional information on your strategic plan, for example:

    • Updated project status report template with new KPIs.
    • Documentation of requirements for improved PPM dashboards and reports.

    Info-Tech has a dedicated blueprint to help you develop the high-level process description into a fully operationalized process. Upon completion of this PPM strategy blueprint, speak to an Info-Tech account manager or analyst to get started.

    Read Info-Tech’s Enhance PPM Dashboards and Reports blueprint.

    Review and customize slide 30, “Portfolio reporting: target state,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Streamlined status reporting improves portfolio visibility for executives, enabling data-driven steering of the portfolio

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Public Administration
    Source: IAG / Info-Tech Interview

    Challenge

    The client had no effective real-time reporting in place to summarize their work efforts. In addition, the client struggled with managing existing resources against the ability to deliver on the requested project workload.

    Existing project reporting processes were manually intensive and lacked mature reporting capabilities.

    Solution

    Through a short and effective engagement, IAG conducted surveys and facilitated interviews to identify the information needed by each stakeholder. From this analysis and industry best practices, IAG developed scorecards, dashboards, and project summary reports tailored to the needs of each stakeholder group. This integrated reporting tool was then made available on a central portal for PPM stakeholders.

    Results

    Stakeholders can access project scorecard and dashboard reports that are available at any given time.

    Resource reporting enabled the PMO to better balance client demand with available project capacity and forecast any upcoming deficiencies in resourcing that affect project delivery.

    Project closure at the portfolio level controls throughput and responsiveness of the portfolio

    Take control over projects that linger on, projects that don’t provide value, and projects that do not align with changing organizational priority.

    Questions

    • Who declares that a project is done?
    • Who validates it?
    • Who is this reported to?
    • Who terminates low-value projects?
    • How will they decide that a project is too low value to continue?

    Benefits

    • Minimize post-implementation problems by ensuring clean handoffs, with clear responsibilities for ongoing support and maintenance.
    • Drive continuous improvement by capturing and applying lessons learned.
    • Increase the project portfolio’s responsiveness to change by responding to emerging opportunities and challenges.

    Challenges

    • Completion criteria and “definition of done” need to be well defined and done so at project initiation.
    • Scope changes need to be managed and documented throughout the project.
    • Portfolio responsiveness requires deep cultural changes that will be met with confusion and resistance from some stakeholders.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Although “change in organizational priority” is the most frequently cited cause of project failure (PMI Pulse of Profession, 2017), closing projects that don’t align with organizational priority ought to be a key PPM goal. Therefore, don’t think of it as project failure; instead, think of it as PPM success.

    Maintain the health of the project portfolio with a repeatable project closure process

    Info-Tech recommends following a four-step process for project closure.

    A diagram of Info-Tech's four-step process for project closure. There are five groups that may be involved in any one step, they are laid out on the side as row headers that each step's columns may fall into, 'Resources', 'Resource Managers', 'Project Managers', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer'. The first steps are 'Complete project' which involves 'Project Managers', and 'Terminate low value projects' which involves 'PMO' and 'Governance layer'. Step 2 is 'Validate project closure' which involves 'Project Managers' and 'PMO', with a note that reads 'This includes facilitating the project sponsor sign-off, accepting and archiving lessons learned documents, etc.' The third steps are 'Conduct post-project work' which involves 'Project Managers' and 'PMO', and 'Update resource availability' which includes 'Resource Managers'. Step 4 is 'Conduct post-implementation review' which involves all groups.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Post-implementation review checks which benefits (including those set out in the business case) have been achieved and identifies opportunities for further improvement. Without it, it can be difficult to demonstrate that investment in a project was worthwhile.

    Determine your project closure process capability level

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.2a – 10 minutes

    INPUT: Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: Project closure capability level

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Business Analysts

    Kick-off the discussion about the project closure process by reading the capability level descriptions below and discussing which level currently applies to you the most.

    Capability Level Descriptions

    Capability Level 5: OptimizedProject closure is centrally managed and supports post-project benefits tracking.
    Capability Level 4: AlignedProject closure is centrally managed at the portfolio level to ensure completion/acceptance criteria are satisfied.
    Capability Level 3: EngagedProject closure is confirmed at the portfolio level, but with minimal enforcement of satisfaction of completion/acceptance criteria.
    Capability Level 2: EncouragedProject managers often follow handoff and closure procedures, but project closure is not confirmed or governed at the portfolio level.
    Capability Level 1: UnmanagedProject closure is not governed at either the project or portfolio level.

    Benchmark the current project closure process against strategy-aligned goals

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.2b – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Documentation describing the current process (e.g. standard operating procedures), Process goals from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Retrospective review of current process

    Materials: 4x6” recipe cards, Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Business Analysts

    Conduct a table-top planning exercise to map out the process currently in place.

    1. Use white 4”x6” recipe cards to write unique steps of a process. Use the project closure process from the previous slides as a guide.
    2. Use green cards to write artifacts or deliverables that result from a step.
    3. Use pink cards to write issues, problems, or risks.
    4. Discuss how the process could better achieve the strategy-aligned goals from activity 1.2.1. Keep a list of possible changes in the form of a start-stop-continue retrospective (example below) on a whiteboard.
    Start Stop Continue
    • Conduct reprioritization of projects at a regular cadence
    • Prune projects every year
    • Waive post-implementation review for time-constrained projects
    • Collect project post-mortem reports and curate in PMO SharePoint

    Set near- and long-term action items for the project closure process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.2c – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: Outcome of the retrospective review, Process goals and metrics from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    Materials: Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Analyze each item in the start-stop-continue retrospective to compile a set of near-term and long-term action items.

    The near-term plan should include steps that are within the authority of the PMO and do not require approval or investment outside of that authority. The long-term plan should include steps that may require a longer approval process, buy-in of external stakeholders, and the investment of time and money.
    Near-Term Action Items Long-Term Action Items
    For example:
    • Begin establishing project closure criteria in the project initiation process.
    • Manage and document scope changes throughout the project.
    		 For example:
    • Institute a formal process to ensure that all projects are closed at the portfolio level and properly handed off to support and maintenance teams.

    Review and customize slide 32, “Project closure: action items,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Draft a high-level description of the project closure process at a target state

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.2d – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    OUTPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    1. Break down the process into several tasks at a high level. Avoid getting into too much detail by limiting the number of steps.
      2. An example of high-level breakdown: project closure
      Complete or terminate projects –› Validate project closure –› Conduct post-project work –› Conduct post-implementation review


    2. Describe each task by answering the following questions. Document your response in the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

      3. Question

      Description
      Input What information do you need to perform the work?
      Output What artifacts/deliverables are produced as a result?
      Frequency/Timing How often, and when, will the work be performed?
      Responsibility Who will perform the work?
      Accountability Who will approve the work and assume the ownership of any decisions?


    3. Record the time cost of each process using the PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Document the high-level description for the new project closure process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.2e – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    OUTPUT: Updated PPM strategic plan

    Materials: PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Update your PPM strategic plan with the new high-level description for the new project closure process. Depending on your current process capability level, you may wish to include additional information on your strategic plan, for example:

    • Updated project closure checklist.
    • Project value review meeting process document.
    • Post-implementation review process document.

    Info-Tech has several research notes that elaborate on aspects of project closure. Upon completion of this PPM strategy blueprint, speak to an Info-Tech account manager or analyst to get started.

    Read Info-Tech’s research notes on project closure:

    • The Importance of Conducting a Post Implementation Review
    • Five Key Steps to Mastering Project Closure
    • ‘Governance’ Will Kill Your Projects

    Review and customize slide 33, “Project closure: target state,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Validate the time and effort spent on projects with a benefits realization process

    Maximizing benefits from projects is the primary goal of PPM. Tracking and reporting on benefits post-project closes the loop on benefits.

    Questions

    • How do validate the project benefits from the original business case?
    • How do we track the benefits?
    • Who reports it? When?

    Benefits

    • Maximize benefits realization by identifying and addressing unforeseen issues or limitations to success.
    • Improve project approval and prioritization by improving validity of the business case definition process.

    Challenges

    • Project sponsors need to be willing to invest time – months and years post-project completion – to validate benefits realization.
    • Portfolio management needs to proactively work with sponsors to facilitate benefits tracking.
    • Business cases need to be well developed and documented to reflect real anticipated benefits.

    Too many projects fail to achieve the originally proposed benefits, and too few organizations are able to identify and address the root causes of those shortfalls.

    Info-Tech Insight

    In reality, benefits realization process extends across the entire project life cycle: during intake, during the execution of the project, and after project completion. Be mindful of this extended scope when you discuss benefits realization in the following activity.

    Keep project benefits front and center with a repeatable benefits realization process

    Info-Tech recommends following a four-step process for benefits realization.

    A diagram of Info-Tech's four-step process for benefits realization. There are four groups that may be involved in any one step, they are laid out on the side as row headers that each step's columns may fall into, 'Business Analysts', 'Project Managers', 'PMO', and 'Governance Layer'. The first step is 'Quantify and validate benefits in business case' which happens 'Before Project' and involves 'Business Analysts' and 'Project Managers'. Step 2 is 'Update projected project benefits' which happens 'During Project' and involves 'Project Managers' and 'PMO'. Step 3 is 'Hand-off benefits realization ownership' which happens at the end of project and involves 'Project Managers', 'PMO' and 'Governance layer'. Step 4 is 'Monitor and report on benefits' which happens 'After Project' and involves 'PMO' and 'Governance layer'.

    Info-Tech Insight

    At the heart of benefits realization is accountability: who is held accountable for projects that don’t realize the benefits and how? Without the buy-in from the entire executive layer team, addressing this issue is very difficult.

    Determine your benefits realization process capability level

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.3a – 10 minutes

    INPUT: Organizational strategy and culture

    OUTPUT: benefits realization capability level

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Kick-off the discussion about the benefits realization process by reading the capability level descriptions below and discussing which level currently applies to you the most.

    Capability Level Descriptions

    Capability Level 5: OptimizedProject sponsors and key stakeholders are accountable for stated project benefits before, during and after the project. There is a process to maximize the realization of project benefits.
    Capability Level 4: AlignedProject benefits are forecasted and taken into account for approval, updated when changes are made to the project, and monitored/reported after projects are completed.
    Capability Level 3: EngagedProject benefits are forecasted and taken into account for approval, and there is a loosely defined process to report on benefits realization.
    Capability Level 2: DefinedProject benefits are forecasted and taken into account for approval, but there is no process to monitor whether the said benefits are realized.
    Capability Level 1: UnmanagedProjects are approved and initiated without discussing benefits.

    Benchmark the current benefits realization process against strategy-aligned goals

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.3b – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Documentation describing the current process (e.g. standard operating procedures), Process goals from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Retrospective review of current process

    Materials: 4x6” recipe cards, Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Conduct a table-top planning exercise to map out the process currently in place.

    1. Use white 4”x6” recipe cards to write unique steps of a process. Use the benefits realization process from the previous slides as a guide.
    2. Use green cards to write artifacts or deliverables that result from a step.
    3. Use pink cards to write issues, problems, or risks.
    4. Discuss how the process could better achieve the strategy-aligned goals from activity 1.2.1. Keep a list of possible changes in the form of a start-stop-continue retrospective (example below) on a whiteboard.
    StartStopContinue
    • Require “hard monetary value” in business benefits
    • Send project updates before resource management meetings

    Set near- and long-term action items for the benefits realization process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.3c – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: Outcome of the retrospective review, Process goals and metrics from activity 1.2.1

    OUTPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    Materials: Whiteboard

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Analyze each item in the start-stop-continue retrospective to compile a set of near-term and long-term action items.

    The near-term plan should include steps that are within the authority of the PMO and do not require approval or investment outside of that authority. The long-term plan should include steps that may require a longer approval process, buy-in of external stakeholders, and the investment of time and money.
    Near-Term Action Items Long-Term Action Items
    For example:
    • Create an “orientation for project sponsors” document.
    • Encourage project managers to re-validate project benefits on an ongoing basis and report any deviation.
    		 For example:
    • Recruit the finance department’s help in benefits tracking.
    • Require Finance’s sign-off on project benefits in business cases during intake.

    Review and customize slide 35, “Benefits realization: action items,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Draft a high-level description of the benefits realization process at a target state

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.3d – 1-2 hours

    INPUT: Action items for evolving the process to a target state

    OUTPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    Materials: Whiteboard, PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    1. Break down the process into several tasks at a high level. Avoid getting into too much detail by limiting the number of steps.
      2. An example of high-level breakdown: benefits realization
      Validate benefits in business case –› Update project benefits during execution –› Hand-off benefits ownership –› Monitor and report on benefits


    2. Describe each task by answering the following questions. Document your response in the PPM Strategic Plan Template.

      3. Question

      Description

      InputWhat information do you need to perform the work?
      OutputWhat artifacts/deliverables are produced as a result?
      Frequency/TimingHow often, and when, will the work be performed?
      ResponsibilityWho will perform the work?
      AccountabilityWho will approve the work and assume the ownership of any decisions?

    3. Record the time cost of each process using the PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Document the high-level description for the new benefits realization process

    Associated Activity icon 2.2.3e – 30 minutes - 1 hour

    INPUT: High-level description of the process at the target state

    OUTPUT: Updated PPM strategic plan

    Materials: PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager

    Update your PPM strategic plan with the new high-level description for the new benefits realization process. Depending on your current process capability level, you may wish to include additional information on your strategic plan, for example:

    • Updated business plan templates.
    • Communication plan for project sponsors.

    Info-Tech has a dedicated blueprint to help you develop the high-level process description into a fully operationalized process. Upon completion of this PPM strategy blueprint, speak to an Info-Tech account manager or analyst to get started.

    Read Info-Tech’s Establish the Benefits Realization Process blueprint.

    Review and customize slide 36, “Benefits realization: target state,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of Barry Cousins.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    Sample of activity 2.1.1 'Align your project intake, prioritization, and approval process to the PPM strategy'. Align your project intake, prioritization, and approval process to the PPM strategy

    Examine the process at the current state and develop an action plan to improve it, with a high-level description of the process at a target state and its overhead costs. The outcome of this activity feeds into the overall PPM strategic plan.
    Sample of activity 2.1.2 'Align your resource management process to the PPM strategy'. Align your resource management process to the PPM strategy

    Examine the process at the current state and develop an action plan to improve it, with a high-level description of the process at a target state and its overhead costs. The outcome of this activity feeds into the overall PPM strategic plan.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Sample of activity 2.2.1 'Align your portfolio reporting process to the PPM strategy'.Align your portfolio reporting process to the PPM strategy

    Examine the process at the current state and develop an action plan to improve it, with a high-level description of the process at a target state and its overhead costs. The outcome of this activity feeds into the overall PPM strategic plan.

    Sample of activity 2.2.2 'Align your project closure process to the PPM strategy'.Align your project closure process to the PPM strategy

    Examine the process at the current state and develop an action plan to improve it, with a high-level description of the process at a target state and its overhead costs. The outcome of this activity feeds into the overall PPM strategic plan.

    Sample of activity 2.2.3 'Align your benefits realization process to the PPM strategy'.Align your benefits realization process to the PPM strategy

    Examine the process at the current state and develop an action plan to improve it, with a high-level description of the process at a target state and its overhead costs. The outcome of this activity feeds into the overall PPM strategic plan.

    Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy

    PHASE 3

    Complete Your PPM Strategic Plan

    Phase 2 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 3: Complete your PPM strategic plan

    Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks
    Step 3.1: Select a right-sized PPM solutionStep 3.2: Finalize your PPM Strategic Plan Template
    Work with an analyst to:
    • Assess your PPM tool requirements to help support your processes.
    		Review findings with analyst:
    • Determine the costs and potential benefits of your PPM strategy.
    Then complete these activities…
    • Determine the functionality requirements of the PPM solution.
    • Estimate your PPM tool budget.
    • Review the tool assessment.
    		Then complete these activities…
    • Estimate the total cost-in-use of managing the project portfolio.
    • Estimate the benefits of the PPM strategy.
    • Refine and consolidate the near-term action items into a cohesive implementation plan.
    With these tools & templates:
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool
    		With these tools & templates:
    • PPM Strategy Development Tool
    • PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Phase 3 Insight:

    • Approach PPM as an evolving discipline that requires adaptability and long-term organizational change. Near-term process improvements should create stakeholder desire for better portfolio visibility and agility over the long term.

    Step 3.1: Select a right-sized PPM solution for supporting your new processes

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3

    1.11.22.12.23.13.2
    Choose the right PPM strategyTranslate strategy into process goalsDefine intake & resource mgmt. processesDefine reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processesSelect a right-sized PPM solutionFinalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Determine the functionality requirements of a PPM solution in the near and long terms.
    • Estimate your PPM tool budget.
    • Review tool assessment.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • CIO
    • PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • IT Managers

    Outcomes of this step

    • List of functional requirements for a PPM solution
    • An estimate budget and cost for supporting a PPM tool in the near and long terms
    • PPM tool requirements for the near and long terms

    Right-size your PPM solution/tool to fit your PPM processes

    Avoid a common pitfall: the disconnect between PPM processes and PPM tools.

    PPM tools act as both a receptacle for portfolio data generated by your processes and a source of portfolio data to drive your processes forward. Therefore, choosing a suitable PPM tool is critical to the success of your PPM strategy:

    • PPM tool inputs must match the type, level of detail, and amount of portfolio data generated by your PPM processes.
    • PPM tool outputs must be useful, insightful, easy to access, and easy to understand for people who engage in your PPM processes.

    User adoption is an often cited cause of failed PPM tool implementation:

    "The biggest problem is getting the team to work with the tool. We need to make sure that we’re not wasting time delving too far down into the tool, yet putting enough information to get useful information back." (IT Director, Financial Services)

    This final step of the blueprint will discuss the choice of PPM tools to ensure the success of PPM strategy by avoiding the process-tool disconnect.

    Common pitfalls for PPM tools

    • Purchasing and implementing a PPM tool before the process is defined and accepted.
    • Poor expectation setting: inability of tools to perform the necessary analysis.
    • Underleveraged: low user/process adoption.
    • Poor integration with the corporate finance function.
      • (WGroup, 2017)

    Leverage PPM tools to get the information you need

    An optimized PPM solution is the vehicle that provides decision makers with four key pieces of information they require when making decisions for your project portfolio:

    • Historical Insight – inform decision makers about how much time and resources have been spent to date, and benchmark the accuracy of prior project estimates and resource allocations.
    • Forecasting – provide a trustworthy estimate of demand on resources and current projects.
    • Portfolio Analytics – analyze portfolio data and generate easy-to-consume reports that provide answers to questions such as:
      • How big is our overall portfolio?
      • How much money/resource time is available?
      • How efficiently are we using our resources?
    • Project Visibility – provide a trustworthy report on the status of current projects and the resources working on them.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Without the proper information, decision makers are driving blind and are forced to make gut feel decisions as opposed to data-informed decisions. Implement a PPM solution to allocate projects properly and ensure time and money don’t vanish without being accounted for.

    Commercial PPM tools have more functionality but are more costly, complex, and difficult to adopt

    • Granular timesheet management
    • Workflow and team collaboration
    • Robust data and application integration
    • Advanced what-if planning
    • Mobile usability
    		 A map comparing commercial PPM tools by 'Functionality', 'Cost', and 'Difficulty to implement/adopt'. 'Functionality' and 'Difficulty to implement/adopt' share an axis and can be assumed to have a linear relationship. 'Spreadsheets' are low functionality and low cost. 'Google Sites' are low to middling functionality and low cost. 'SharePoint' is middling functionality with a slightly higher cost. The next three start at middling cost and above-average functionality and trend higher in both categories: 'Commercial Entry-Level PPM', 'Commercial Mid-Market PPM', and 'Commercial Enterprise PPM'.
    • Business case scoring and prioritization
    • Multi-user reporting and request portal
    • High-level resource management
    • Project status, cost, and risk tracking

    "Price tags [for PPM tools] vary considerably. Expensive products don't always provide more capability. Inexpensive products are generally low cost for good reason." (Merkhofer)

    Your PPM tool options are not limited to commercial offerings

    Despite the rapid growth in the commercial PPM tool market today, homegrown approaches like spreadsheets and intranet sites continue to be used as PPM tools.

    Kinds of PPM solutions used by Info-Tech clients

    A pie chart visualizing the kinds of PPM solutions that are used by Info-Tech clients. There are three sections, the largest of which is 'Spreadsheet-based, 46%', then 'Commercial, 33%', then 'No solution, 21%'. (Source: Info-Tech Research Group (2016), N=433)

    Category

    Characteristics

    PPM maturity
    Enterprise tool
    • Higher professional services requirements for enterprise deployment
    • Larger reference customers
    		 High
    Mid-market tool
    • Lower expectation of professional services engaged in initial deployment contract
    • Fewer globally recognizable reference clients
    • Faster deployments
    		 High
    Entry-level tool
    • Lower cost than mid-market & enterprise PPM tools
    • Limited configurability, reporting, and resource management functionalities
    • Compelling solutions to the organizations that wants to get a fast start to a trial deployment
    		 Intermediate
    Spreadsheet based
    • Little/no up-front cost, highly customizable to suit your organization’s needs
    • Varying degrees of sophistication
    • Few people in the organization may understand the logic behind the tool; knowledge may not be easily transferrable
    		 Intermediate Low

    Determine the functional requirements of the PPM solution

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.1 – 20 minutes

    INPUT: PPM strategic plan

    OUTPUT: Modified PPM strategic plan with a proposed choice of PPM tool

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, IT Managers

    Use the Tool Assessment tab (tab 4) of Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy Development Tool to rate and analyze functional requirements of your PPM solution.

    • Review the list of PPM features provided on column B of tab 4. You can add any desired features not listed.
    • Rate your near-term and long-term feature requirements using the drop-down menus in columns C and D. Your selections here will inform the tool selection bubble chart to the right of the features list.

    Screenshot showing the features list on tab 4 of the PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    Estimate your PPM tool budget

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.2 – 20 minutes

    INPUT: PPM strategic plan

    OUTPUT: Modified PPM strategic plan with a proposed choice of PPM tool

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: CIO, PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, IT Managers

    Enter the PPM tool budget information on the Tool Assessment tab of Info-Tech’s PPM Strategy Development Tool.

    • As a starting point, it can help to know that low-priced PPM tools cost around $1,000 per user per year. High-priced PPM tools cost around $3,000 per user per year.
    • Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based pricing for PPM solutions is increasingly popular. If you plan to purchase perpetual licensing, divide the total implementation and licensing cost by three years to be comparable with a three-year SaaS total cost of ownership analysis.

    Screenshot showing the tool assessment from the PPM Strategy Development Tool with 'Near-Term' and 'Long-Term' budget columns. Notes include 'Enter the number of fully licensed PPM users you expect to provision for and your estimated annual budget for a PPM tool', 'The tool assessment automatically calculates your annual budget per user, which is reflected in the bubble chart analysis (see next slide)'.

    Review the tool assessment graphic

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.3 – 20 minutes

    The map comparing commercial PPM tools from before, this time overlaid with 'Near-Term' and 'Long-Term' budgets as coloured circles. The vertical axis is 'Functionality Rating' and the horizontal axis is now 'Annual Cost/Budget per User'. 'Spreadsheets' are low functionality and low cost. 'Google Sites' are low to middling functionality and low cost. 'SharePoint' is middling functionality with a slightly higher cost. The 'Near-Term' budget circle covers those three tools. The next three start at middling cost and above-average functionality and trend higher in both categories: 'Commercial Entry-Level PPM', 'Commercial Mid-Market PPM', and 'Commercial Enterprise PPM'. The 'Long-Term' budget circle covers 'Commercial Mid-Market PPM'.

    If you are in one of the non-covered areas, consider revisiting your functional requirements and PPM strategy. You may need to lessen your expectations to be able to stay within your budget, or find a way to get more money.

    Keep in mind that the long-term goal can be to work towards a commercial tool, while the short-term goal would be to be able to maintain your portfolio in a simple spreadsheet first.

    Info-Tech Insight

    If you choose a commercial solution, you will need to gain executive buy-in in order to implement the tool; proceed to near-term and long-term plans to get the ball rolling on this decision.

    Review and customize slide 37, “Tools for PPM: proposed near- and long-term solutions,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Grow your own, or select and implement, a PPM solution with Info-Tech

    Whether you choose spreadsheet-based or commercially available PPM solutions, use Info-Tech’s research for scoping, designing, and implementing them.

    Info-Tech’s Grow Your Own PPM Solution blueprint will help you implement a highly evolved spreadsheet-based PPM solution. It features the Portfolio Manager 2017, a Microsoft Excel-based workbook that leverages its business intelligence features to provide a basis for implementing a scalable, highly customizable PPM tool with useful and easy-to-manipulate analytics.

    Read Info-Tech’s Grow Your Own PPM Solution blueprint.

    Info-Tech’s Select and Implement a PPM Solution blueprint is part of our Vendor Landscape research. Make sense of the diversity of PPM solutions available in today’s market, and choose the most appropriate solutions for your organization’s size and level of PPM maturity.

    Read Info-Tech’s Select and Implement a PPM Solution blueprint.

    A right-sized PPM strategy leads to a right-sized portfolio management tool based on Info-Tech’s template

    CASE STUDY

    Industry: Energy
    Source: Info-Tech Client

    “The approach makes it easy to run the portfolio without taking time away from the project themselves.” (IT Manager, Energy Resources Firm)

    Situation

    • A small IT department struggled with balancing project work with ongoing operational management and support work.
    • The department includes experienced and successful project managers and a mature, skilled team.
    • However, the nature of the department’s role has evolved to the point where the project and operational work demands have exceeded the available time.
    • Prioritization needed to become more centralized and formalized while management control of the work assignments became increasingly decentralized.

    Complication

    • Agile projects offer clear advantages by lightening the requirement for proactive planning. However, getting the staff to adapt would be challenging because of the overall workload and competing priorities.
    • Some of the team’s time needed to be carefully tracked and reported for time & materials-based billing, but the time sheet system was unsuited to their portfolio management needs.
    • Commercial PPM systems were ruled out because strict task management seemed unlikely to gain adoption.

    Resolution

    • The team deployed Info-Tech’s Project Portfolio Workbook, based on a Microsoft Excel template, and the Grow Your Own PPM Solution blueprint.
    • For the first time, executive leadership was given a 12-month forecast of resource capacity based on existing and pending project commitments. The data behind the capacity forecast was based on allocating people to projects with a percentage of their time for each calendar month.
    • The data behind the forecast is high level but easily maintainable.

    Step 3.2: Finalize customizing your PPM Strategic Plan Template

    PHASE 1

    PHASE 2

    PHASE 3

    1.11.22.12.23.13.2
    Choose the right PPM strategyTranslate strategy into process goalsDefine intake & resource mgmt. processesDefine reporting, closure, & benefits mgmt. processesSelect a right-sized PPM solutionFinalize your PPM strategic plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Determine the costs of support your PPM strategic plan.
    • Estimate some of the benefits of your PPM strategic plan.
    • Perform a cost-benefit analysis.
    • Refine and consolidate the near-term action items into a cohesive plan.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • CIO
    • PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • IT Managers

    Outcomes of this step

    • A cost/benefit analyst
    • An implementation action plan
    • A finalized PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Estimate the total cost-in-use of managing the project portfolio

    Supporting Tool icon 3.2.1 – PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 5: Costing Summary

    The time cost of PPM processes (tab 3) and PPM tool costs (tab 4) are summarized in this tab. Enter additional data to estimate the total PPM cost-in-use: the setup information and the current cost of PPM software tools.

    Screenshot of the PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 5: Costing Summary. Notes include 'If unknown, the overall HR budget of your project portfolio can be estimated as: (# FTEs) * (fully-loaded FTE cost per hour) * 1800', 'This is your total PPM cost-in-use'.

    Estimate the benefits of managing the project portfolio

    Supporting Tool icon 3.2.2 – PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 6: Benefits Assumptions

    The benefits of PPM processes are estimated by projecting the sources of waste on your resource capacity.

    1. Estimate the current extent of waste on your resource capacity. If you have completed Info-Tech’s PPM Current Score Scorecard, enter the data from the report.
      2. Screenshot of a Waste Assessment pie chart from the PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 6: Benefits Assumptions.
    2. Given your near- and long-term action items for improving PPM processes, estimate how each source of waste on your resource capacity will change.
      3. Screenshot of a Waste Assessment table titled 'These inputs represent the percentage of your overall portfolio budget that is wasted in each scenario' from the PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 6: Benefits Assumptions.

    Review the cost-benefit analysis results and update the PPM Strategic Plan Template

    Supporting Tool icon 3.2.3 – PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 7: Conclusion Screenshot of a 'PPM Strategy Cost-Benefit Analysis' from the PPM Strategy Development Tool, Tab 7: Conclusion. It has tables on top and bar charts underneath.

    This tab summarizes the costs and benefits of your PPM strategic plan.

    • Costs are estimated from wasted project capacity and time spent on PPM process work.
    • Benefits are estimated from the project capacity to be reclaimed as a result of improvements in PPM.
    • Return on investment is calculated by dividing the value of project capacity to be reclaimed by investment in PPM in addition to the current-state cost.

    Capture this summary in your PPM strategic plan.

    Customize slides 40 and 41, “Return on PPM investment,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Determine who will be responsible for coordinating the flow, collection, and reporting of portfolio data

    Supporting Tool icon 3.2.3 – Project Portfolio/PMO Analyst Job Description

    You will need to determine responsibilities and accountabilities for portfolio management functions within your team.

    If you do not have a clearly identifiable portfolio manager at this time, you will need to clarify who will wear which hats in terms of facilitating intake and prioritization, high-level capacity awareness, and portfolio reporting.

    • Use Info-Tech’s Project Portfolio Analyst Job Description Template to help clarify some of the required responsibilities to support your PPM strategy.
      • If you need to bring in an additional staff member to help support the strategy, you can customize the job description template to help advertise the position. Simply edit the text in grey within the template.
    • If you have other PPM tasks that you need to define responsibilities for, you can use the RASCI chart on the final tab of the PPM Strategy Develop Tool.

    Download Info-Tech’s Project Portfolio Analyst Job Description Template.

    Sample of Info-Tech's Project Portfolio Analyst Job Description Template.

    Refine and consolidate the near-term action items into a cohesive plan

    Associated Activity icon 3.2.4 – 30 minutes

    INPUT: Near-term action items

    OUTPUT: Near-term action plan

    Materials: PPM Strategy Development Tool

    Participants: PMO Director/ Portfolio Manager, Project Managers, Resource Managers, Business Analysts

    Collect the near-term action items for each of the five PPM processes and arrange them into a table that outlines the near-term action plan. Once it is compiled, adjust the timeline and responsibility so that the plan is coherent and realistic as a whole.

    Example:

    Outcome

    Action required

    Timeline

    Responsibility
    Determine the percentage distribution of project vs. non-project work Run a time audit survey with all project resources 2 weeks Resource managers
    Test a simple dashboard for project status Pilot Info-Tech’s Portfolio Manager 2017 workbook 2 weeks PMO Director

    "There is a huge risk of taking on too much too soon, especially with the introduction of specific tools and tool sets. There is also an element of risk involved that can lead to failure and disappointment with PPM if these tools are not properly introduced and supported." (Jim Carse, Director of the Portfolio Office, Queen’s University)

    Review and customize slide 43, “Summary of near-term action plan,” in Info-Tech’s PPM Strategic Plan Template.

    Finalize and publish your PPM strategic plan

    Table of Contents

    Read over the document to ensure its completeness and consistency.

    At this point, you have a PPM strategic plan that is actionable and realistic, which addresses the goals set by the senior leadership.

    The executive brief establishes the need for PPM strategy, the goals and metrics are set by members of the senior leadership that gave the initial buy-in, and the target states of PPM processes that meet those goals are described. Finally, the costs and benefits of the improved PPM practice are laid out in a way that can be validated.

    The next step for your PPM strategy is to use this document as a foundation for implementing and operationalizing the target-state PPM processes.

    Review and publish the document for your executive layer and key project stakeholders. Solicit their feedback.

    Info-Tech has a library of blueprints that will guide you through each of the five processes. Contact your Info-Tech account manager or Info-Tech analyst to get started.
    • Project Portfolio Management Strategy
      • Strategic Expectations
      • Overview
    • Leadership Mandate
    • Project Demand and Resource Supply
    • The Current State of Resource Utilization
    • PPM Processes
      • Project intake, prioritization, and approval
      • Resource management
      • Portfolio reporting
      • Project closure
      • Benefits realization
      • Tools for PPM
    • The Economic Impact of PPM
    • PPM Strategy Next Steps

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of Barry Cousins.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    Sample of activity 3.1 'Scope the right-sized PPM solution for your PPM strategy'. Scope the right-sized PPM solution for your PPM strategy

    Use the PPM Strategy Development Tool to quickly determine our near- and long-term recommendation for your PPM solution.
    Sample of activity 3.2 'Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of your PPM strategic plan'. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of your PPM strategic plan

    Using the time cost estimates of each process and the requirement for a PPM tool, Info-Tech helps you quantify the overhead costs of PPM and estimate the monetary benefits of reclaimed project capacity for your project portfolio.

    Insight breakdown

    Insight 1

    • Executive layer buy-in is a critical prerequisite for the success of a top-down PPM strategy. Ensure your executives are on board before preceding to implement your PPM strategy.

    Insight 2

    • The means of project and portfolio management (i.e. processes) shouldn’t eclipse the ends – strategic goals. Root your process in your PPM strategic goals to realize PPM benefits (e.g. optimized portfolio value, improved project throughput, increased stakeholder satisfaction).

    Insight 3

    • Without the proper information, decision makers are driving blind and are forced to make gut-feel decisions as opposed to data-informed decisions. Implement a PPM solution to allocate projects properly and ensure time and money don’t vanish without being accounted for.

    Summary of accomplishment

    Knowledge Gained

    • Info-Tech’s thought model on PPM processes that create an infrastructure around projects
    • Your current state of project portfolio: project capacity vs. project demand
    • Importance of gaining executive buy-in for installing the PPM practice

    Processes Optimized

    • Project intake, prioritization, and approval process
    • Resource management process
    • Portfolio reporting process
    • Project closure process
    • Benefits realization process

    Deliverables Completed

    • Choice of PPM strategy and the leadership mandate
    • Analysis of current project capacity and demand
    • PPM process goals and metrics, aligned to meet PPM strategic expectations
    • PPM process capability levels
    • Retrospective examination of current state, near/long-term action items for improvement, and high-level descriptions of the five PPM processes
    • Recommendation of PPM tools to support the processes
    • Estimate of PPM overhead costs
    • Cost-benefit analysis of PPM practice
    • PPM strategic plan

    Related Info-Tech Research

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy
    • Grow Your Own PPM Solution
    • Optimize Project Intake, Approval, and Prioritization
    • Develop a Resource Management Strategy for the New Reality
    • Manage a Minimum-Viable PMO
    • Establish the Benefits Realization Process
    • Manage an Agile Portfolio
    • Establish the Benefits Realization Process
    • Project Portfolio Management Diagnostic Program
      The Project Portfolio Management Diagnostic Program is a low-effort, high-impact program designed to help project owners assess and improve their PPM practices. Gather and report on all aspects of your PPM environment in order to understand where you stand and how you can improve.

    Research contributors and experts

    Photo of Kiron D. Bondale PMP, PMI-RMP, CDAP, CDAI, Senior Project Portfolio Management Professional Kiron D. Bondale PMP, PMI-RMP, CDAP, CDAI
    Senior Project Portfolio Management Professional

    Kiron has worked in the project management domain for more than fifteen years managing multiple projects, leading Project Management Offices (PMO) and providing project portfolio management consulting services to over a hundred clients across multiple industries. He has been an active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) since 1999 and served as a volunteer director on the Board of the PMI Lakeshore Chapter for six years. Kiron has published articles on project and project portfolio management in multiple journals and has delivered over a hundred webinar presentations on a variety of PPM and PM topics and has presented at multiple industry conferences. Since 2009, Kiron has been blogging on a weekly basis on project management topics and responds to questions daily in the LinkedIn PMI Project, Program and Portfolio Management discussion group.
    Photo of Shaun Cahill, Project Manager, Queen’s University Shaun Cahill, Project Manager &
    Jim Carse, Director of the Project Portfolio Office
    Queen’s University

    Research contributors and experts

    Photo of Amy Fowler Stadler, Managing Partner, Lewis Fowler Amy Fowler Stadler, Managing Partner
    Lewis Fowler

    Amy has more than 20 years of experience in business and technology, most recently owning her own management consulting firm since 2002, focused on business transformation, technology enablement, and operational improvement. Prior to that, she was at CenturyLink (formerly Qwest) as an IT Director, Perot Systems in various roles, and Information Handling Services, Inc. as a Software Development Product Manager.

    Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Business Communications and is also a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee to Illinois State University College of Applied Science and Technology.
    Photo of Rick Morris, President, R2 Consulting LLC Rick Morris, President
    R2 Consulting LLC

    Rick A. Morris, PMP, is a certified Scrum Agile Master, Human Behavior Consultant, best-selling author, mentor, and evangelist for project management. Rick is an accomplished project manager and public speaker. His appetite for knowledge and passion for the profession makes him an internationally sought after speaker delivering keynote presentations for large conferences and PMI events around the world. He holds the PMP (Project Management Professional), MPM (Masters of Project Management), Scrum Agile Master, OPM3, Six Sigma Green Belt, MCITP, MCTS, MCSE, TQM, ATM-S, ITIL, and ISO certifications, and is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Mentor, and Coach. Rick is the Owner of R2 Consulting, LLC and has worked for organizations such as GE, Xerox, and CA, and has consulted with numerous clients in a wide variety of industries including financial services, entertainment, construction, non-profit, hospitality, pharmaceutical, retail, and manufacturing.

    Research contributors and experts

    Photo of Terry Lee Ricci PgMP, PfMP, PMP, PPM Practice Lead, IAG Consulting Terry Lee Ricci PgMP, PfMP, PMP, PPM Practice Lead
    IAG Consulting

    Terry is passionate and highly skilled at PMO transformation, developing high-performing teams that sustain long-term business results. Terry has a reputation built upon integrity, resourcefulness, and respect. She has the vision to implement long and short-term strategies, meeting both current and evolving business needs.

    Change Management/Business transformation: Terry has extensive background in PMO strategy development aligned to corporate goals. Many years in the PMO organization integration/transformation building or overhauling programs and processes.

    Governance: Terry loves to monitor and measure performance and outcomes and uses her collaborative style to successfully bring simplicity to complexity (technology – people – process). Performance optimization results are easy to use and clearly define who is doing what across functions. End results consistently align to business strategy while mitigating risks effectively.

    Comprehensive: A “through the ranks” executive with a comprehensive understanding of PMO operations, high-performance teams, and the respective business units they support.
    Photo of Alana Ruckstuhl MSc, IT Project Officer, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Alana Ruckstuhl MSc, IT Project Officer
    Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

    Research contributors and experts

    Photo of Jay Wardle, Director of the PMO, Red Wing Shoes Co. Jay Wardle, Director of the PMO
    Red Wing Shoes Co.
    Photo of Bob White, Vice President/Chief Information Officer, ALM Holding Company Bob White, Vice President/Chief Information Officer
    ALM Holding Company

    As vice president and chief information officer for ALM Holding Company, Bob White directs all technology activity and support for three main verticals: road construction, energy management, and delivery and transportation. He has been with ALM Holding Company for one and a half years, focusing on PPM process improvement, cybersecurity initiatives, and IT service management.

    Prior to joining ALM, Bob was executive vice president/chief information officer at Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. where he led the strategic direction, implementation, and management of information technology throughout the company’s global operations. Bob has also held VP/CIO positions at the Stride Rite Corporation and Timex Corporation.

    Bob holds a Master’s degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Southern Illinois University.

    Bibliography

    Bersin, Josh. “Time to Scrap Performance Appraisals?” Forbes Magazine, 5 June 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013.

    Cheese, Peter et al. “Creating an Agile Organization.” Accenture, Oct. 2009. Web. Nov. 2013.

    Croxon, Bruce et al. “Dinner Series: Performance Management with Bruce Croxon from CBC's 'Dragon's Den'” HRPA Toronto Chapter. Sheraton Hotel, Toronto, ON. 12 Nov. 2013. Panel discussion.

    Culbert, Samuel. “10 Reasons to Get Rid of Performance Reviews.” Huffington Post Business, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

    Denning, Steve. “The Case Against Agile: Ten Perennial Management Objections.” Forbes Magazine, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. Nov. 2013.

    Estis, Ryan. “Blowing up the Performance Review: Interview with Adobe’s Donna Morris.” Ryan Estis & Associates, 17 June 2013. Web. Oct. 2013.

    Gallup, Inc. “Gallup Study: Engaged Employees Inspire Company Innovation.” Gallup Management Journal, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 12 Jan 2012.

    Gartside, David et al. “Trends Reshaping the Future of HR.” Accenture, 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

    KeyedIn Solutions. “Why PPM and PMOs Fail.” KeyedIn Projects, 2013. Ebook.

    Lessing, Lawrence. Free Culture. Lulu Press Inc.: 30 July 2016.

    Merkhofer, Lee. “Keys to Implementing Project Portfolio Management.” Lee Merkhofer Consulting, 2017.

    Perry, Mark Price. Business Driven Project Portfolio Management. J Ross Pub: 17 May 2011.

    Project Management Institute. “Pulse of the Profession 2015: Capturing the Value of Project Management.” PMI, Feb. 2015. Web.

    Project Management Institute. “Pulse of the Profession 2016: The High Cost of Low Performance.” PMI, 2016. Web.

    Project Management Institute. “Pulse of the Profession 2017: Success Rates Rise.” PMI, 2017. Web.

    Project Management Institute. The Standard for Portfolio Management – Third Edition. PMI: 1 Dec. 2012.

    WGroup. “Common Pitfalls in Project Portfolio Management – Part 2.” WGroup, 24 Jan. 2017. Web.

    2020 CIO Priorities Report

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}97|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: N/A
    • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
    • member rating average days saved: N/A
    • Parent Category Name: Innovation
    • Parent Category Link: /innovation
    • The velocity and magnitude of technology changes today has increased dramatically compared to anything that has come before.
    • The velocity and magnitude of advancements in technology has always seemed unprecedented in every wave of technology change we have experienced over the past 40 years. With each new wave of innovation, “unprecedented” is redefined to a new level, and so it remains true that today’s CIO is faced with unprecedented levels of change as a direct result of emerging technologies.
    • What is different today is that we are at the point where the emerging technology itself is now capable of accelerating the pace of change even more through artificial intelligence capabilities.
    • If we are to realize the business value through the adoption of emerging technologies, CIOs must address significant challenges. We believe addressing these challenges lies in the CIO priorities for 2020.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • First there was IT/business alignment, then there was IT/business integration – both states characterized as IT “getting on the same page” as the business. In the context of emerging technologies, the CIO should no longer be focused on getting on the same page as the CEO.
    • Today it is about the CEO and the CIO collaborating to write a new book about convergence of all things: technology (infrastructure and applications), people (including vendors), process, and data.
    • Digital transformation and adoption of emerging technologies is not a goal, it is a journey – a means to the end, not the end unto itself.

    Impact and Result

    • Use Info-Tech's 2020 CIO Priorities Report to ascertain, based on our research, what areas of focus for 2020 are critical for success in adopting emerging technologies.
    • Adopting these technologies requires careful planning and consideration for what is critical to your business customers.
    • This report provides focus on the business benefits of the technology and not just the capabilities themselves. It puts the CIO in a position to better understand the true value proposition of any of today’s technology advancements.

    2020 CIO Priorities Report Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to understand the top five priorities for CIOs in 2020 and why these are so critical to success.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Refine and adapt processes

    Learn about how processes can make or break your adoption of emerging technologies.

    • 2020 CIO Priorities Report – Priority 1: Refine and Adapt Processes

    2. Re-invent IT as collaboration engine

    Learn about how IT can transform its role within the organization to optimize business value.

    • 2020 CIO Priorities Report – Priority 2: Re-Invent IT as Collaboration Engine

    3. Acquire and retain talent for roles in emerging technologies

    Learn about how IT can attract and keep employees with the skills and knowledge needed to adopt these technologies for the business.

    • 2020 CIO Priorities Report – Priority 3: Acquire and Retain Talent for Roles in Emerging Technologies

    4. Define and manage cybersecurity and cyber resilience requirements related to emerging technologies

    Understand how the adoption of emerging technologies has created new levels of risk and how cybersecurity and resilience can keep pace.

    • 2020 CIO Priorities Report – Priority 4: Define and Manage Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Requirements Related to Emerging Technologies

    5. Leverage emerging technology to create Wow! customer experiences

    Learn how IT can leverage emerging technology for its own customers and those of its business partners.

    • 2020 CIO Priorities Report – Priority 5: Leverage Emerging Technology to Create Wow! Customer Experiences
    [infographic]

    Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}104|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: 10.0/10 Overall Impact
    • member rating average dollars saved: $100,000 Average $ Saved
    • member rating average days saved: 10 Average Days Saved
    • Parent Category Name: Innovation
    • Parent Category Link: /innovation
    • You don’t know where to start when it comes to building an innovation program for your organization.
    • You need to create a culture of innovation in your business, department, or team.
    • Past innovation efforts have been met with resistance and cynicism.
    • You don’t know what processes you need to support business-led innovation.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    Innovation is about people, not ideas or processes. Innovation does not require a formal process, a dedicated innovation team, or a large budget; the most important success factor for innovation is culture. Companies that facilitate innovative behaviors like growth mindset, collaboration, and taking smart risks are most likely to see the benefits of innovation.

    Impact and Result

    • Outperform your peers by 30% by adopting an innovative approach to your business.
    • Move quickly to launch your innovation practice and beat the competition.
    • Develop the skills and capabilities you need to sustain innovation over the long term.

    Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program Storyboard – A step-by-step process to create the innovation culture, processes, and tools you need for business-led innovation.

    This storyboard includes three phases and nine activities that will help you define your purpose, align your people, and build your practice.

    • Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program – Phases 1-3

    2. Innovation Program Template – An executive communication deck summarizing the outputs from this research.

    Use this template in conjunction with the activities in the main storyboard to create and communicate your innovation program. This template uses sample data from a fictional retailer, Acme Corp, to illustrate an ideal innovation program summary.

    • Innovation Program Template

    3. Job Description – Chief Innovation Officer

    This job description can be used to hire your Chief Innovation Officer. There are many other job descriptions available on the Info-Tech website and referenced within the storyboard.

    • Chief Innovation Officer

    4. Innovation Ideation Session Template – Use this template to facilitate innovation sessions with the business.

    Use this framework to facilitate an ideation session with members of the business. Instructions for how to customize the information and facilitate each section is included within the deck.

    • Innovation Ideation Session Template

    5. Initiative Prioritization Workbook – Use this spreadsheet template to easily and transparently prioritize initiatives for pilot.

    This spreadsheet provides an analytical and transparent method to prioritize initiatives based on weighted criteria relevant to your business.

    • Initiative Prioritization Workbook

    Infographic

    Workshop: Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Define Your Ambitions

    The Purpose

    Define your innovation ambitions.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Gain a better understanding of why you are innovating and what your organization will gain from an innovation program.

    Activities

    1.1 Understand your innovation mandate.

    1.2 Define your innovation ambitions.

    1.3 Determine value proposition & metrics.

    Outputs

    Complete the "Our purpose" section of the Innovation Program Template

    Complete "Vision and guiding principles" section

    Complete "Scope and value proposition" section

    Success metrics

    2 Align Your People

    The Purpose

    Build a culture, operating model, and team that support innovation.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Develop a plan to address culture gaps and identify and implement your operating model.

    Activities

    2.1 Foster a culture of innovation.

    2.2 Define your operating model.

    Outputs

    Complete "Building an innovative culture" section

    Complete "Operating model" section

    3 Develop Your Capabilities

    The Purpose

    Create the capability to facilitate innovation.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Create a resourcing plan and prioritization templates to make your innovation program successful.

    Activities

    3.1 Build core innovation capabilities.

    3.2 Develop prioritization criteria.

    Outputs

    Team structure and resourcing requirements

    Prioritization spreadsheet template

    4 Build Your Program

    The Purpose

    Finalize your program and complete the final deliverable.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Walk away with a complete plan for your innovation program.

    Activities

    4.1 Define your methodology to pilot projects.

    4.2 Conduct a program retrospective.

    Outputs

    Complete "Operating model" section in the template

    Notable wins and goals

    Further reading

    Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program

    Transform your business by adopting the culture and practices that drive innovation.

    Analyst Perspective

    Innovation is not about ideas, it's about people.

    Many organizations stumble when implementing innovation programs. Innovation is challenging to get right, and even more challenging to sustain over the long term.

    One of the common stumbling blocks we see comes from organizations focusing more on the ideas and the process than on the culture and the people needed to make innovation a way of life. However, the most successful innovators are the ones which have adopted a culture of innovation and reinforce innovative behaviors across their organization. Organizational cultures which promote growth mindset, trust, collaboration, learning, and a willingness to fail are much more likely to produce successful innovators.

    This research is not just about culture, but culture is the starting point for innovation. My hope is that organizations will go beyond the processes and methodologies laid out here and use this research to dramatically improve their organization's performance.

    Kim Rodriguez

    Kim Osborne Rodriguez
    Research Director, CIO Advisory
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    As a leader in your organization, you need to:

    • Understand your organization's innovation goals.
    • Create an innovation program or structure.
    • Develop a culture of innovation across your team or organization.
    • Demonstrate an ability to innovate and grow the business.

    Common Obstacles

    In the past, you might have experienced one or more of the following:

    • Innovation initiatives lose momentum.
    • Cynicism and distrust hamper innovation.
    • Innovation efforts are unfocused or don't provide the anticipated value.
    • Bureaucracy has created a bottleneck that stifles innovation.

    Info-Tech's Approach

    This blueprint will help you:

    • Understand the different types of innovation.
    • Develop a clear vision, scope, and focus.
    • Create organizational culture and behaviors aligned with your innovation ambitions.
    • Adopt an operational model and methodologies best suited for your culture, goals, and budget.
    • Successfully run a pilot program.

    Info-Tech Insight

    There is no single right way to approach innovation. Begin with an understanding of your innovation ambitions, your existing culture, and the resources available to you, then adopt the innovation operating model that is best suited to your situation.

    Note: This research is written for the individual who is leading the development of the innovation. This role is referred to as the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) throughout this research but could be the CIO, CTO, IT director, or another business leader.

    Why is innovation so challenging?

    Most organizations want to be innovative, but very few succeed.

    • Bureaucracy slows innovation: Innovation requires speed – it is important to fail fast and early so you can iterate to improve the final solution. Small, agile organizations like startups tend to be more risk tolerant and can move more quickly to iterate on new ideas compared to larger organizations.
    • Change is uncomfortable: Most people are profoundly uncomfortable with failure, risk, and unknowns – three critical components of innovation. Humans are wired to think efficiently rather than innovatively, which leads to confirmation bias and lack of ingenuity.
    • You will likely fail: Innovation initiatives rarely succeed on the first try – Harvard Business Review estimates between 70% and 90% of innovation efforts fail. Organizations which are more tolerant of failure tend to be significantly more innovative than those which are not (Review of Financial Studies, 2014).

    Based on a survey of global innovation trends and practices:

    75%

    Three-quarters of companies say innovation is a top-three priority.
    Source: BCG, 2021

    30%

    But only 30% of executives say their organizations are doing it well.
    Source: BCG, 2019

    The biggest obstacles to innovation are cultural

    The biggest obstacles to innovation in large companies

    Based on a survey of 270 business leaders.
    Source: Harvard Business Review, 2018

    A bar graph from the Harvard Business Review

    The most common challenges business leaders experience relate to people and culture. Success is based on people, not ideas.

    Politics, turf wars, and a lack of alignment: territorial departments, competition for resources, and unclear roles are holding back the innovation efforts of 55% of respondents.

    FIX IT
    Senior leadership needs to be clear on the innovation goals and how business units are expected to contribute to them.

    Cultural issues: many large companies have a culture that rewards operational excellence and disincentivizes risk. A history of failed innovation attempts may result in significant resistance to new change efforts.

    FIX IT
    Cultural change takes time. Ensure you are rewarding collaboration and risk-taking, and hire people with fresh new perspectives.

    Inability to act on signals crucial to the future of the business: only 18% of respondents indicated their organization was unaware of disruptions, but 42% said they struggled with acting on leading indicators of change.

    FIX IT
    Build the ability to quickly run pilots or partner with startups and incubators to test out new ideas without lengthy review and approval processes.
    Source: Harvard Business Review, 2018

    Build Your Enterprise Innovation Program

    Define your purpose, assess your culture, and build a practice that delivers true innovation.

    An image summarizing how to define your purpose, align your people, and Build your Practice.
    1 Source: Boston Consulting Group, 2021
    2 Source: Boston Consulting Group, 2019
    3 Source: Harvard Business Review, 2018

    Use this research to outperform your peers

    A seven-year review showed that the most innovative companies outperformed the market by upwards of 30%.

    A line graph showing the Normalized Market Capitalization for 2020.

    Innovators are defined as companies that were listed on Fast Company World's 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2+ years.

    Innovation is critical to business success.

    A 25-year study by Business Development Canada and Statistics Canada showed that innovation was more important to business success than management, human resources, marketing, or finance.

    Executive brief case study

    INDUSTRY: Healthcare
    SOURCE: Interview

    Culture is critical

    This Info-Tech member is a nonprofit, community-based mental health organization located in the US. It serves about 25,000 patients per year in community, school, and clinic settings.

    This organization takes its innovation culture very seriously and has developed methodologies to assess individual and team innovation readiness as well as innovation types, which it uses to determine everyone's role in the innovation process. These assessments look at knowledge of and trust in the organization, its innovation profile, and its openness to change. Innovation enthusiasts are involved early in the process when it's important to dream big, while more pragmatic perspectives are incorporated later to improve the final solution.

    Results

    The organization has developed many innovative approaches to delivering healthcare. Notably, they have reimagined patient scheduling and reduced wait times to the extent that some patients can be seen the same day. They are also working to improve access to mental health care despite a shortage of professionals.

    Developing an Innovative Culture

    • Innovation Readiness Assessment
    • Coaching Specific to Innovation Profile
    • Innovation Enthusiasts Involved Early
    • Innovation Pragmatists Involved Later
    • High Success Rate of Innovation

    Define innovation roles and responsibilities

    A table showing key innovation roles and responsibilities.

    Info-Tech's methodology for building your enterprise innovation program

    1. Define Your Purpose

    2. Align Your People

    3. Build Your Practice

    Phase Steps

    1. Understand your mandate
    2. Define your innovation ambitions
    3. Determine value proposition and metrics
    1. Foster a culture of innovation
    2. Define your operating model
    3. Build core innovation capabilities
    1. Build your ideation and prioritization methodologies
    2. Define your pilot project methodology
    3. Conduct a program retrospective

    Phase Outcomes

    Understand where the mandate for innovation comes from, and what the drivers are for pursuing innovation. Define what innovation means to your organization, and set the vision, mission, and guiding principles. Articulate the value proposition and key metrics for measuring success.

    Understand what it takes to build an innovative culture, and what types of innovation structure are most suited to your innovation goals. Define an innovation methodology and build your core innovation capabilities and team.

    Gather ideas and understand how to assess and prioritize initiatives based on standardized metrics. Develop criteria for tracking and measuring the success of pilot projects and conduct a program retrospective.

    Innovation program taxonomy

    This research uses the following common terms:

    Innovation Operating Model
    The operating model describes how the innovation program delivers value to the organization, including how the program is structured, the steps from idea generation to enterprise launch, and the methodologies used.
    Examples: Innovation Hub, Grassroots Innovation.

    Innovation Methodology
    Methodologies describe the ways the operating model is carried out, and the approaches used in the innovation practice.
    Examples: Design Thinking, Weighted Criteria Scoring

    Chief Innovation Officer
    This research is written for the person or team leading the innovation program – this might be a CINO, CIO, or other leader in the organization.

    Innovation Team
    The innovation team may vary depending on the operating model, but generally consists of the individuals involved in facilitating innovation across the organization. This may be, but does not have to be, a dedicated innovation department.

    Innovation Program
    The program for generating ideas, running pilot projects, and building a business case to implement across the enterprise.

    Pilot Project
    A way of testing and validating a specific concept in the real world through a minimum viable product or small-scale implementation. The pilot projects are part of the overall pilot program.

    Insight summary

    Innovation is about people, not ideas or processes
    Innovation does not require a formal process, a dedicated innovation team, or a large budget; the most important success factor for innovation is culture. Companies that facilitate innovative behaviors like growth mindset, collaboration, and the ability to take smart risk are most likely to see the benefits of innovation.

    Very few are doing innovation well
    Only 30% of companies consider themselves innovative, and there's a good reason: innovation involves unknowns, risk, and failure – three situations that people and organizations typically do their best to avoid. Counter this by removing the barriers to innovation.

    Culture is the greatest barrier to innovation
    In a survey of 270 business leaders, the top three most common obstacles were politics, turf wars, and alignment; culture issues; and inability to act on signals crucial to the business (Harvard Business Review, 2018). If you don't have a supportive culture, your ability to innovate will be significantly reduced.

    Innovation is a means to an end
    It is not the end itself. Don't get caught up in innovation for the sake of innovation – make sure you are getting the benefits from your investments. Measurable success factors are critical for maintaining the long-term success of your innovation engine.

    Tackle wicked problems
    Innovative approaches are better at solving complex problems than traditional practices. Organizations that prioritize innovation during a crisis tend to outperform their peers by over 30% and improve their market position (McKinsey, 2020).

    Innovate or die
    Innovation is critical to business growth. A 25-year study showed that innovation was more important to business success than management, human resources, marketing, or finance (Statistics Canada, 2006).

    Blueprint deliverables

    Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

    Sample Job Descriptions and Organization Charts

    Determine the skills, knowledge, and structure you need to make innovation happen.

    Sample Job Descriptions and Organization Charts

    Ideation Session Template

    Facilitate an ideation session with your staff to identify areas for innovation.

    Ideation Session Template

    Initiative Prioritization Workbook

    Evaluate ideas to identify those which are most likely to provide value.

    Prioritization Workbook

    Key deliverable:

    Enterprise Innovation Program Summary

    Communicate how you plan to innovate with a report summarizing the outputs from this research.

    Enterprise Innovation Program Summary

    Measure the value of this research

    US businesses spend over half a trillion dollars on innovation annually. What are they getting for it?

    • The top innovators(1) typically spend 5-15% of their budgets on innovation (including R&D).
    • This research helps organizations develop a successful innovation program, which delivers value to the organization in the form of new products, services, and methods.
    • Leverage this research to:
      • Get your innovation program off the ground quickly.
      • Increase internal knowledge and expertise.
      • Generate buy-in and excitement about innovation.
      • Develop the skills and capabilities you need to drive innovation over the long term.
      • Validate your innovation concept.
      • Streamline and integrate innovation across the organization.

    (1) based on BCG's 50 Most Innovative Companies 2022

    30%

    The most innovative companies outperform the market by 30%.
    Source: McKinsey & Company, 2020

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

    Guided Implementation

    “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

    Workshop

    “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

    Consulting

    “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Guided implementation

    What does a typical guided implementation (GI) on this topic look like?

    Phase 0 Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Finish

    Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

    Call #2: Understand your mandate.
    (Activity 1.1)

    Call #3: Innovation vision, guiding principles, value proposition, and scope.
    (Activities 1.2 and 1.3)

    Call #4: Foster a culture of innovation. (Activity 2.1)

    Call #5: Define your methodology. (Activity 2.2)

    Call #6: Build core innovation capabilities. (Activity 2.3)

    Call #7: Build your ideation and pilot programs. (Activities 3.1 and 3.2)

    Call #8: Identify success metrics and notable wins. (Activity 3.3)

    Call #9: Summarize results and plan next steps.

    A GI is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

    A typical GI is 8 to 12 calls over the course of three to six months.

    Workshop overview

    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4

    Wrap Up

    Activities

    Define Your Ambitions

    Align Your People

    Develop Your Capabilities

    Build Your Program

    Next Steps and
    Wrap Up (offsite)

    1. Understand your innovation mandate (complete activity prior to workshop)
    2. Define your innovation ambitions
    3. Determine value proposition and metrics
    1. Foster a culture of innovation
    2. Define your operating model
    1. Build core innovation capabilities
    2. Develop prioritization criteria
    1. Define your methodology to pilot projects
    2. Conduct a program retrospective
    1. Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days
    2. Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps

    Deliverables

    1. Our purpose
    2. Message from the CEO
    3. Vision and guiding principles
    4. Scope and value proposition
    5. Success metrics
    1. Building an innovative culture
    2. Operating model
    1. Core capabilities and structure
    2. Idea evaluation prioritization criteria
    1. Program retrospective
    2. Notable wins
    3. Executive summary
    4. Next steps
    1. Completed enterprise innovation program
    2. An engaged and inspired team

    Phase 1: Define Your Purpose

    Develop a better understanding of the drivers for innovation and what success looks like.

    Purpose

    People

    Practice
    1. Understand your mandate
    2. Define your innovation ambitions
    3. Determine value proposition and metrics
    1. Foster a culture of innovation
    2. Define your operating model
    3. Build core innovation capabilities
    1. Build your ideation and prioritization methodologies
    2. Define your pilot project methodology
    3. Conduct a program retrospective

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Understand your innovation mandate, including its drivers, scope, and focus.
    • Define what innovation means to your organization.
    • Develop an innovation vision and guiding principles.
    • Articulate the value proposition and proposed metrics for evaluating program success.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • CINO
    • Business executives

    Case study

    INDUSTRY: Transportation
    SOURCE: Interview

    ArcBest
    ArcBest is a multibillion-dollar shipping and logistics company which leverages innovative technologies to provide reliable and integrated services to its customers.

    An Innovative Culture Starts at the Top
    ArcBest's innovative culture has buy-in and support from the highest level of the company. Michael Newcity, ArcBest's CEO, is dedicated to finding better ways of serving their customers and supports innovation across the company by dedicating funding and resources toward piloting and scaling new initiatives.
    Having a clear purpose and mandate for innovation at all levels of the organization has resulted in extensive grassroots innovation and the development of a formalized innovation program.

    Results
    ArcBest has a legacy of innovation, going back to its early days when it developed a business intelligence solution before anything else existed on the market. It continues to innovate today and is now partnering with start-ups to further expand its innovation capabilities.

    "We don't micromanage or process-manage incremental innovation. We hire really smart people who are inspired to create new things and we let them run – let them create – and we celebrate it.
    Our dedication to innovation comes from the top – I am both the President and the Chief Innovation Officer, and innovation is one of my top priorities."

    Michael Newcity

    Michael Newcity
    President and Chief Innovation Officer ArcBest

    1.1 Understand your innovation mandate

    Before you can act, you need to understand the following:

    • Where is the drive for innovation coming from?
      The source of your mandate dictates the scope of your innovation practice – in general, innovating outside the scope of your mandate (i.e. trying to innovate on products when you don't have buy-in from the product team) will not be successful.
    • What is meant by "innovation"?
      There are many different definitions for innovation. Before pursuing innovation at your organization, you need to understand how it is defined. Use the definition in this section as a starting point, and craft your own definition of innovation.
    • What kind of innovation are you targeting?
      Innovation can be internal or external, emergent or deliberate, and incremental or radically transformative. Understanding what kind of innovation you want is the starting point for your innovation practice.

    The source of your mandate dictates the scope of your influence

    You can only influence what you can control.

    Unless your mandate comes from the CEO or Board of Directors, driving enterprise-wide innovation is very difficult. If you do not have buy-in from senior business leaders, use lighthouse projects and a smaller innovation practice to prove the value of innovation before taking on enterprise innovation.

    In order to execute on a mandate to build innovation, you don't just need buy-in. You need support in the form of resources and funding, as well as strong leadership who can influence culture and the authority to change policies and practices that inhibit innovation.

    For more resources on building relationships in your organization, refer to Info-Tech's Become a Transformational CIO blueprint.

    What is "innovation"?

    Innovation is often easier to recognize than define.

    Align on a useful definition of innovation for your organization before you embark on a journey of becoming more innovative.

    Innovation is the practice of developing new methods, products or services which provide value to an organization.

    Practice
    This does not have to be a formal process – innovation is a means to an end, not the end itself.

    New
    What does "new" mean to you?

    • New application of an existing method
    • Developing a completely original product
    • Adopting a service from another industry

    Value
    What does value mean to you? Look to your business strategy to understand what goals the organization is trying to achieve, then determine how "value" will be measured.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Some innovations are incremental, while some are radically transformative. Decide what kind of innovation you want to cultivate before developing your strategy.

    We can categorize innovation in three ways

    Evaluate your goals with respect to innovation: focus, strategy, and potential to transform.

    Focus: Where will you innovate?

    Focus

    Strategy: To what extent will you guide innovation efforts?

    Strategy

    Potential: How radical will your innovations be?

    Potential

    What are your ambitions?

    1. Develop a better understanding of what type of innovation you are trying to achieve by plotting out your goals on the categories on the left.
    2. All categories are independent of one another, so your goals may fall anywhere on the scales for each category.
    3. Understanding your innovation ambitions helps establish the operating model best suited for your innovation practice.
    4. In general, innovation which is more external, deliberate, and radical tends to be more centralized.

    Activity 1.1 Understand your innovation mandate

    1 hour

    1. Schedule a 30-minute discussion with the person (i.e. CEO) or group (i.e. Board of Directors) ultimately requesting the shift toward innovation. If there is no external party, then conduct this assessment yourself.
    2. Facilitate a discussion that addresses the following questions:
    • What is meant by "innovation"?
    • What are they hoping to achieve through innovation?
    • What is the innovation scope? Are any areas off-limits (i.e. org structure, new products, certain markets)?
    • What is the budget (i.e. people, money) they are willing to commit to innovation?
    • What type of innovation are they pursuing?
    1. Record this information and complete the "Our Purpose" section of the Innovation Program Template.

    Download the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Knowledge of the key decision maker/sponsor for innovation

    Output

    • Understanding of the mandate for innovation, including definition, value, scope, budget, and type of innovation

    Materials

    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO
    • CEO, CTO, or Board of Directors (whoever is requesting/sponsoring the pursuit of innovation)

    1.2 Define your innovation ambitions

    Articulate your future state through a vision and guiding principles.

    • Vision and purpose make up the foundation on which all other design aspects will be based. These aspects should not be taken lightly, but rather they should be the force that aligns everyone to work toward a common outcome. It is incumbent on leaders to make them part of the DNA of the organization – to drive organization, structure, culture, and talent strategy.
    • Your vision statement is a future-focused statement that summarizes what you hope to achieve. It should be inspirational, ambitious, and concise.
    • Your guiding principles outline the guardrails for your innovation practice. What will your focus be? How will you approach innovation? What is off-limits?
    • Define the scope and focus for your innovation efforts. This includes what you can innovate on and what is off limits.

    Your vision statement is your North Star

    Articulate an ambitious, inspirational, and concise vision statement for your innovation efforts.

    A strong vision statement:

    • Is future-focused and outlines what you want to become and what you want to achieve.
    • Provides focus and direction.
    • Is ambitious, focused, and concise.
    • Answers: What problems are we solving? Who and what are we changing?

    Examples:

    • "We create radical new technologies to solve some of the world's hardest problems." – Google X, the Moonshot Factory
    • "To be the most innovative enterprise in the world." – 3M
    • "To use our imagination to bring happiness to millions of people." – Disney

    "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." – Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of GE

    Your guiding principles are the guardrails for creativity

    Strong guiding principles give your team the freedom and direction to innovate.

    Strong guiding principles:

    • Focus on the approach, i.e. how things are done, as opposed to what needs to be done.
    • Are specific to the organization.
    • Inform and direct decision making with actionable statements. Avoid truisms, general statements, and observations.
    • Are long-lasting and based on values, not solutions.
    • Are succinct and easily digestible.
    • Can be measured and verified.
    • Answers: How do we approach innovation? What are our core values

    Craft your guiding principles using these examples

    Encourage experimentation and risk-taking
    Innovation often requires trying new things, even if they might fail. We encourage experimentation and learn from failure, so that new ideas can be tested and refined.

    Foster collaboration and cross-functional teams
    Innovation often comes from the intersection of different perspectives and skill sets.

    Customer-centric
    Focus on creating value for the end user. This means understanding their needs and pain points, and using that knowledge to develop new methods, products, or services.

    Embrace diversity and inclusivity
    Innovation comes from a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We actively seek out and encourage diversity and inclusivity among our team members.

    Foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement
    Innovation requires continuous learning, development, and growth. We facilitate a culture that encourages learning and development, and that seeks feedback and uses it to improve.

    Flexible and adaptable
    We adapt to changes in the market, customer needs, and new technologies, so that it can continue to innovate and create value over time.

    Data-driven
    We use performance metrics and data to guide our innovation efforts.

    Transparency
    We are open and transparent in our processes and let the business needs guide our innovation efforts. We do not lead innovation, we facilitate it.

    Activity 1.2 Craft your vision statement and guiding principles

    1-2 hours

    1. Gather your innovation team and key program sponsors. Review the guidelines for creating vision statements and guiding principles, as well as your mandate and focus for innovation.
    2. As a group, discuss what you hope to achieve through your innovation efforts.
    3. Separately, have each person write down their ideas for a vision statement. Bring the group back together and share ideas. Group the concepts together and construct a single statement which outlines your aspirational vision.
    4. As a group, review the example guiding principles.
    5. Separately, have each person write down three to five guiding principles. Bring the group back together and share ideas. Group similar concepts together and consolidate duplicate ideas. From this list, construct six to eight guiding principles.
    6. Document your vision and guiding principles in the appropriate sections of the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Understanding of your innovation mandate
    • Business vision, mission, and values
    • Sample vision statements and guiding principles

    Output

    • Vision statement
    • Guiding principles

    Materials

    • In person: Whiteboard/flip charts, sticky notes, pens, and notepads
    • Virtual: Consider using a shared document, virtual whiteboard, or online facilitation tool like MURAL
    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO
    • Innovation sponsors
    • Business leaders
    • Innovation team

    1.3 Determine your value proposition and metrics

    Justify the existence of the innovation program with a strong value proposition.

    • The value proposition for developing an innovation program will be different for each organization, depending on what the organization hopes to achieve. Consider your mandate for innovation as well as the type of innovation you are pursuing when crafting the value proposition.
    • Some of the reasons organizations may pursue innovation:
      • Business growth: Respond to market disruption; create new customers; take advantage of opportunities.
      • Branding: Create market differentiation; increase customer satisfaction and retention; adapt to customer needs.
      • Profitability: Improve products, services, or operations to increase competitiveness and profitability; develop more efficient processes.
      • Culture: Foster a culture of creativity and experimentation within the organization, encouraging employees to think outside the box.
      • Positive impact: Address social challenges such as poverty and climate change.

    Develop a strong value proposition for your innovation program

    Demonstrate the value to the business.

    A strong value proposition not only articulates the value that the business will derive from the innovation program but also provides a clear focus, helps to communicate the innovation goals, and ultimately drives the success of the program.

    Focus
    Prioritize and focus innovation efforts to create solutions that provide real value to the organization

    Communicate
    Communicate the mandate and benefits of innovation in a clear and compelling way and inspire people to think differently

    Measure Success
    Measure the success of your program by evaluating outcomes based on the value proposition

    Track appropriate success metrics for your innovation program

    Your success metrics should link back to your organizational goals and your innovation program's value proposition.

    Revenue Growth: Increase in revenue generated by new products or services.

    Market Share: Percentage of total market that the business captures as a result of innovation.

    Customer Satisfaction: Reviews, customer surveys, or willingness to recommend the company.

    Employee Engagement: Engagement surveys, performance, employee retention, or turnover.

    Innovation Output: The number of new products, services, or processes that have been developed.

    Return on Investment: Financial return on the resources invested in the innovation process.

    Social Impact: Number of people positively impacted, net reduction in emissions, etc.

    Time to Launch: The time it takes for a new product or service to go from idea to launch.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The total impact of innovation is often intangible and extremely difficult to capture in performance metrics. Focus on developing a few key metrics rather than trying to capture the full value of innovation.

    How much does innovation cost?

    Company Industry Revenue(2)
    (USD billions)     		R&D Spend
    (USD billions)     		R&D Spend
    (% of revenue)
    Apple Technology $394.30 $26.25 6.70%
    Microsoft Technology $203.10 $25.54 12.50%
    Amazon.com Retail $502.20 $67.71 13.40%
    Alphabet Technology $282.10 $37.94 13.40%
    Tesla Manufacturing $74.90 $3.01 4.00%
    Samsung Technology $244.39 (2021)(3) $19.0 (2021) 7.90%
    Moderna Pharmaceuticals $23.39 $2.73 11.70%
    Huawei Technology $99.9 (2021)4 Not reported -
    Sony Technology $83.80 Not reported -
    IBM Technology $60.50 $1.61 2.70%
    Meta Software $118.10 $32.61 27.60%
    Nike Commercial goods $49.10 Not reported -
    Walmart Retail $600.10 Not reported -
    Dell Technology $105.30 $2.60 2.50%
    Nvidia Technology $28.60 $6.85 23.90%


    The top innovators(1) in the world spend 5% to 15% of their revenue on innovation.

    Innovation requires a dedicated investment of time, money, and resources in order to be successful. The most innovative companies, based on Boston Consulting Group's ranking of the 50 most innovative companies in the world, spend significant portions of their revenue on research and development.

    Note: This data uses research and development as a proxy for innovation spending, which may overestimate the total spend on what this research considers true innovation.

    (1) Based on Boston Consulting Group's ranking of the 50 most innovative companies in the world, 2022
    (2) Macrotrends, based on the 12 months ending Sept 30, 2022
    (3) Statista
    (4) CNBC, 2022

    Activity 1.3 Develop your value proposition and performance metrics

    1 hour

    1. Review your mandate and vision statement. Write down your innovation goals and desired outcomes from pursuing innovation, prioritize the desired outcomes, and select the top five.
    2. For each desired outcome, develop one to two metrics which could be used to track its success. Some outcomes are difficult to track, so get creative when it comes to developing metrics. If you get stuck, think about what would differentiate a great outcome from an unsuccessful one.
    3. Once you have developed a list of three to five key metrics, read over the list and ensure that the metrics you have developed don't negatively influence your innovation. For example, a metric of the number of successful launches may drive people toward launching before a product is ready.
    4. For each metric, develop a goal. For example, you may target 1% revenue growth over the next fiscal year or 20% energy use reduction.
    5. Document your value proposition and key performance metrics in the appropriate sections of the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Understanding of your innovation mandate
    • Vision statement

    Output

    • Value proposition
    • Performance metrics

    Materials

    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO

    Phase 2: Align Your People

    Create a culture that fosters innovative behaviors and puts processes in place to support them.

    Purpose

    People

    Practice

    1. Understand your mandate
    2. Define your innovation ambitions
    3. Determine value proposition and metrics
    1. Foster a culture of innovation
    2. Define your operating model
    3. Build core innovation capabilities
    1. Build your ideation and prioritization methodologies
    2. Define your pilot project methodology
    3. Conduct a program retrospective

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Understand the key aspects of innovative cultures, and the behaviors associated with innovation.
    • Assess your culture and identify gaps.
    • Define your innovation operating model based on your organizational culture and the focus for innovation.
    • Build your core innovation capabilities, including an innovation core team (if required based on your operating model).

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • CINO
    • Innovation team

    2.1 Foster a culture of innovation

    Culture is the most important driver of innovation – and the most challenging to get right.

    • Fostering a culture of innovation requires a broad approach which considers the perspectives of individuals, teams, leadership, and the overall organization.
    • If you do not have support from leadership, it is very difficult to change organizational culture. It may be more effective to start with an innovation pilot or lighthouse project in order to gain support before addressing your culture.
    • Rather than looking to change outcomes, focus on the behaviors which lead to innovation – such as growth mindset and willingness to fail. If these aren't in place, your ability to innovate will be limited.
    • This section focuses on the specific behaviors associated with increased innovation. For additional resources on implementing these changes, refer to Info-Tech's other research:

    Info-Tech's Fix Your IT Culture can help you promote innovative behaviors

    Refer to Improve IT Team Effectiveness to address team challenges

    Build a culture of innovation

    Focus on behaviors, not outcomes.

    The following behaviors and key indicators either stifle or foster innovation.

    Stifles Innovation Key Indicators Fosters Innovation Key Indicators
    Fixed mindset "It is what it is" Growth mindset "I wonder if there's a better way"
    Performance focused "It's working fine" Learning focused "What can we learn from this?"
    Fear of reprisal "I'll get in trouble" Psychological safety "I can disagree"
    Apathy "We've always done it this way" Curiosity "I wonder what would happen if…"
    Cynicism "It will never work" Trust "You have good judgement"
    Punishing failure "Who did this?" Willingness to fail "It's okay to make mistakes"
    Individualism "How does this benefit me?" Collaboration "How does this benefit us?"
    Homogeneity "We never disagree" Diversity and inclusion "We appreciate different views"
    Excessive bureaucracy "We need approval" Autonomy "I can do this"
    Risk avoidance "We can't try that" Appropriate risk-taking "How can we do this safely?"

    Ensure you are not inadvertently stifling innovation.
    Review the following to ensure that the desired behaviors are promoted:

    • Hiring practices
    • Performance evaluation metrics
    • Rewards and incentives
    • Corporate policies
    • Governance structures
    • Leadership behavior

    Case study

    INDUSTRY: Commercial Real Estate and Retail
    SOURCE: Interview

    How not to approach innovation.

    This anonymous national organization owned commercial properties across the country and had the goal of becoming the most innovative real estate and retail company in the market.

    The organization pursued innovation in the digital solutions space across its commercial and retail properties. Within this space, there were significant differences in risk tolerance across teams, which resulted in the more risk-tolerant teams excluding the risk-averse members from discussions in order to circumvent corporate policies on risk tolerance. This resulted in an adversarial and siloed culture where each group believed they knew better than the other, and the more risk-averse teams felt like they were policing the actions of the risk-tolerant group.

    Results

    Morale plummeted, and many of the organization's top people left. Unfortunately, one of the solutions did not meet regulatory requirements, and the company faced negative media coverage and legal action. There was significant reputational damage as a result.

    Lessons Learned

    Considering differences in risk tolerance and risk appetite is critical when pursuing innovation. While everyone doesn't have to agree, leadership needs to understand the different perspectives and ensure that no one party is dominating the conversation over the others. An understanding of corporate risk tolerance and risk appetite is necessary to drive innovation.

    All perspectives have a place in innovation. More risk tolerant perspectives should be involved early in the ideas-generation phase, and risk-averse perspectives should be considered later when ideas are being refined.

    Speed should not override safety or circumvent corporate policies.

    Understand your risk tolerance and risk appetite

    Evaluate and align the appetite for risk.

    • It is important to understand the organization's risk tolerance as well as the desire for risk. Consider the following risk categories when investigating the organization's views on risk:
      • Financial risk: the potential for financial or property loss.
      • Operational risk: the potential for disruptions to operations.
      • Reputational risk: the potential for negative impact to brand or reputation.
      • Compliance risk: the potential for loss due to non-compliance with laws and regulations.
    • Greater risk tolerance typically enables greater innovation. Understand the varying levels of risk tolerance across your organization, and how these differences might impact innovation efforts.

    An arrow showing the directions of risk tolerance.

    It is more important to match the level of risk tolerance to the degree of innovation required. Not all innovation needs to be (or can feasibly be) disruptive.
    Many factors impact risk tolerance including:

    • Regulation
    • Organization size
    • Country
    • Industry
    • Personal experience
    • Type of risk

    Use Info-Tech's Security Risk Management research to better understand risk tolerance

    Activity 2.1 Assess your innovation culture

    1-3 hours

    1. Review the behaviors which support and stifle innovation and give each behavior a score from 1 (stifling innovation) to 5 (fostering innovation). Any behaviors which fall below a 4 on this scale should be prioritized in your efforts to create an innovative culture.
    2. Review the following policies and practices to determine how they may be contributing to the behaviors you see in your organization:
      1. Hiring practices
      2. Performance evaluation metrics
      3. Rewards, recognition, and incentives
      4. Corporate policies
      5. Governance structures
      6. Leadership behavior
    3. Identify three concrete actions you can take to correct any behaviors which are stifling innovation. Examples might be revising a policy which punishes failure or changing performance incentives to reward appropriate risk taking.
    4. Summarize your findings in the appropriate section of the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Innovation behaviors

    Output

    • Understanding of your organization's culture
    • Concrete actions you can take to promote innovation

    Materials

    • List of innovative behaviors
    • Relevant policies and documents to review
    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO

    2.2 Define your innovation model

    Set up your innovation practice for success using proven models and methodologies.

    • There are many ways to approach innovation, from highly distributed forms where it's just part of everyone's job to very centralized and arm's-length innovation hubs or even outsourced innovation via startups. You can combine different approaches to create your own approach.
    • You may or may not have a formal innovation team, but if you do, their role is to facilitate innovation – not lead it. Innovation is most effective when it is led by the business.
    • There are many tools and methodologies you can use to facilitate innovation. Choose the one (or combination) that best suits your needs.

    Select the right model

    There is no one right way to pursue innovation, but some methods are better than others for specific situations and goals. Consider your existing culture, your innovation goals, and your budget when selecting the right methodology for your innovation.

    Model Description Advantages Disadvantages Good when…
    Grassroots Innovation Innovation is the responsibility of everyone, and there is no centralized innovation team. Ideas are piloted and scaled by the person/team which produces it.
    • Can be used in any organization or team
    • Can support low or high degree of structure
    • Low funding requirement
    • Requires a strong innovation culture
    • Often does not produce results since people don't have time to focus on innovation
    • Innovation culture is strong
    • Funding is limited
    • Goal is internal, incremental innovation
    Community of Practice Innovation is led by a cross-divisional Community of Practice (CoP) which includes representation from across the business. Champions consult with their practice areas and bring ideas forward.
    • Bringing people together can help stimulate and share ideas
    • Low funding requirement
    • Able to support many types of innovation
    • Some people may feel left out if they can't be involved
    • May not produce results if people are too busy to dedicate time to innovate
    • Innovation culture is present
    • Funding is limited
    • Goal is incremental or disruptive innovation
    Innovation Enablement
    *Most often recommended*     		A dedicated innovation team with funding set aside to support pilots with a high degree of autonomy, with the role of facilitating business-led innovation.
    • Most flexible of all options
    • Supports business-led innovation
    • Can deliver results quickly
    • Can enable a higher degree of innovation
    • Requires dedicated staff and funding
    • Innovation culture is present
    • Funding is available
    • Goal is internal or external, incremental or radical innovation
    Center of Excellence Dedicated team responsible for leading innovation on behalf of the organization. Generally, has business relationship managers who gather ideas and liaise with the business.
    • Can deliver results quickly
    • Can offer a fresh perspective
    • Can enable a higher degree of innovation
    • Requires dedicated staff and funding
    • Is typically separate from the business
    • Results may not align with the business needs or have adequate input
    • Innovation culture is weak
    • Funding is significant
    • Goal is external, disruptive innovation
    Innovation Hub An arm's length innovation team is responsible for all or much of the innovation and may not interact much with the core business.
    • Can deliver results quickly
    • Can be extremely innovative
    • Expensive
    • Results may not align with the business needs or have adequate/any input
    • Innovation culture is weak
    • Funding is very significant
    • Goal is external, radical innovation
    Outsourced Innovation Innovation is outsourced to an external organization which is not linked to the primary organization. This can take the form of working with or investing in startups.
    • Can lead to more innovative ideas than internal innovation
    • Investments can become a diverse revenue stream if startups are successful
    • Innovation does not rely on culture
    • Higher risk of failure
    • Less control over goals or focus
    • Results may not align with the business needs or have any input from users
    • Innovation does not rely on culture
    • Funding is significant
    • Goal is external or internal, radical innovation

    Use the right methodologies to support different stages of your innovation process

    A chart showing methodologies to support different stages of the integration process.

    Adapted from Niklaus Gerber via Medium, 2022

    Methodologies are most useful when they are aligned with the goals of the innovation organization.

    For example, design thinking tends to be excellent for earlier innovation planning, while Agile can allow for faster implementation and launch of initiatives later in the process.

    Consider combining two or more methodologies to create a custom approach that best suits your organization's capabilities and goals.

    Sample methodologies

    A robust innovation methodology ensures that the process for developing, prioritizing, selecting, implementing, and measuring initiatives is aligned with the results you are hoping to achieve.

    Different types of problems (drivers for innovation) may necessitate different methodologies, or a combination of methodologies.

    Hackathon: An event which brings people together to solve a well-defined problem.

    Design Thinking: Creative approach that focuses on understanding the needs of users.

    Lean Startup: Emphasizes rapid experimentation in order to validate business hypotheses.

    Design Sprint: Five-day process for answering business questions via design, prototyping, and testing.

    Agile: Iterative design process that emphasizes project management and retrospectives.

    Three Horizons: Framework that looks at opportunities on three different time horizons.

    Innovation Ambition Matrix: Helps organizations categorize projects as part of the core offering, an adjacent offering, or completely new.

    Global Innovation Management: A process of identifying, developing and implementing new ideas, products, services, or processes using alternative thinking.

    Blue Ocean Strategy: A methodology that helps organizations identify untapped market space and create new markets via unique value propositions.

    Activity 2.2 Design your innovation model

    1-2 hours

    1. Think about the following factors which influence the design of your innovation practice:
      1. Existing organizational culture
      2. Available funding to support innovation
      3. Type of innovation you are targeting
    2. Review the innovation approaches, and identify which approach is most suitable for your situation. Note why this approach was selected.
    3. Review the innovation methodologies and research those of interest. Select two to five methodologies to use for your innovation practice.
    4. Document your decisions in the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Understanding of your mandate and existing culture

    Output

    • Innovation approach
    • Selected methodologies

    Materials

    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO
    • Innovation team

    2.3 Build your core innovation capabilities

    Develop the skills, knowledge, and experience to facilitate successful innovation.

    • Depending on the approach you selected in step 2.2, you may or may not require a dedicated innovation team. If you do, use the job descriptions and sample organization charts to build it. If not, focus on developing key capabilities which are needed to facilitate innovation.
    • Diversity is key for successful innovation – ensure your team (formal or otherwise) includes diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
    • Use your guiding principles when hiring and training your team.
    • Focus on three core roles: evangelists, enablers, and experts.

    Focus on three key roles when building your innovation team

    Types of roles will depend on the purpose and size of the innovation team.

    You don't need to grow them all internally. Consider partnering with vendors and other organizations to build capabilities.

    Evangelists

    Visionaries who inspire, support, and facilitate innovation across the business. Their responsibilities are to drive the culture of innovation.

    Key skills and knowledge:

    • Strong communication skills
    • Relationship-building
    • Consensus-building
    • Collaboration
    • Growth mindset

    Sample titles:

    • CINO
    • Chief Transformation Officer
    • Chief Digital Officer
    • Innovation Lead
    • Business Relationship Manager

    Enablers

    Translate ideas into tangible business initiatives, including assisting with business cases and developing performance metrics.

    Key skills and knowledge:

    • Critical thinking skills
    • Business knowledge
    • Facilitation skills
    • Consensus-building
    • Relationship-building

    Sample titles:

    • Product Owner
    • Design Thinking Lead
    • Data Scientist
    • Business Analyst
    • Human Factors Engineer
    • Digital Marketing Specialist

    Experts

    Provide expertise in product design, delivery and management, and responsible for supporting and executing on pilot projects.

    Key skills and knowledge:

    • Project management skills
    • Technical expertise
    • Familiarity with emerging technologies
    • Analytical skills
    • Problem-solving skills

    Sample titles:

    • Product Manager
    • Scrum Master/Agile Coach
    • Product Engineer/DevOps
    • Product Designer
    • Emerging tech experts

    Sample innovation team structure (large enterprise)

    Visualize the whole value delivery process end-to-end to help identify the types of roles, resources, and capabilities required. These capabilities can be sourced internally (i.e. grow and hire internally) or through collaboration with centers of excellence, commercial partners, etc.

    A flow chart of a sample innovation team structure.

    Streamline your process by downloading Info-Tech's job description templates:

    Activity 2.3 Build your innovation team

    2-3 hours

    1. Review your work from the previous activities as well as the organizational structure and the job description templates.
    2. Start a list with two columns: currently have and needed. Start listing some of the key roles and capabilities from earlier in this step, categorizing them appropriately.
    3. If you are using an organizational structure for your innovation process, start to frame out the structure and roles for your team.
    4. Develop a list of roles you need to hire, and the key capabilities you need from candidates. Using the job descriptions, write job postings for each role.
    5. Record your work in the appropriate section of the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Previous work
    • Info-Tech job description templates

    Output

    • List of capabilities required
    • Org chart
    • Job postings for required roles

    Materials

    • Note-taking capability
    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • CINO

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Fix Your IT Culture

    • Promote psychological safety and growth mindset within your organization.
    • Develop the organizational behaviors that lead to innovation.

    Improve IT Team Effectiveness

    • Address behaviors, processes, and cultural factors which impact team effectiveness.
    • Grow the team's ability to address challenges and navigate volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments.

    Master Organizational Change Management Practices

    • Transformation and change are increasingly becoming the new normal. While this normality may help make people more open to change in general, specific changes still need to be planned, communicated, and managed. Agility and continuous improvement are good but can degenerate into volatility if change isn't managed properly.

    Phase 3: Build Your Practice

    Define your innovation process, streamline pilot projects, and scale for success.

    Purpose

    People

    Practice

    1. Understand your mandate
    2. Define your innovation ambitions
    3. Determine value proposition and metrics
    1. Foster a culture of innovation
    2. Define your operating model
    3. Build core innovation capabilities
    1. Build your ideation and prioritization methodologies
    2. Define your pilot project methodology
    3. Conduct a program retrospective

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Build the methodologies needed to elicit ideas from the business.
    • Develop criteria to evaluate and prioritize ideas for piloting.
    • Define your pilot program methodologies and processes, including criteria to assess and compare the success of pilot projects.
    • Conduct an end-of-year program retrospective to evaluate the success of your innovation program.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • CINO
    • Innovation team

    Case study

    INDUSTRY: Government
    SOURCE: Interview

    Confidential US government agency

    The business applications group at this government agency strongly believes that innovation is key to progress and has instituted a formal innovation program as part of their agile operations. The group uses a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) with 2-week sprints and a 12-week program cycle.

    To support innovation across the business unit, the last sprint of each cycle is dedicated toward innovation and teams do not commit to any other during these two weeks. At the end of each innovation sprint, ideas are presented to leadership and the valuable ones were either implemented initially or were given time in the next cycle of sprints for further development. This has resulted in a more innovative culture across the practice.

    Results

    There have been several successful innovations since this process began. Notably, the agency had previously purchased a robotic process automation platform which was only being used for a few specific applications. One team used their innovation sprint to expand the use cases for this solution and save nearly 10,000 hours of effort.

    Standard 12-week Program Cycle
    An image of a standard 12-week program

    Design your innovation operating model to maximize value and learning opportunities

    Pilots are an iterative process which brings together innovators and business teams to test and evaluate ideas.

    Your operating model should include several steps including ideation, validation, evaluation and prioritization, piloting, and a retrospective which follows the pilot. Use the example on this slide when designing your own innovation operating model.

    An image of the design process for innovation operation model.

    3.1 Build your ideation and prioritization methodologies

    Engage the business to generate ideas, then prioritize based on value to the business.

    • There are many ways of generating ideas, from informal discussion to formal ideation sessions or submission forms. Whatever you decide to use, make sure that you're getting the right information to evaluate ideas for prioritization.
    • Use quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate ideas generated during the ideation process.
      • Quantitative metrics might include potential return on investment (ROI) or effort and resources required to implement.
      • Qualitative metrics might include alignment with the organizational strategy or the level of risk associated with the idea.

    Engage the business to generate ideas

    There are many ways of generating innovative ideas. Pick the methods that best suit your organization and goals.

    Design Thinking
    A structured approach that encourages participants to think creatively about the needs of the end user.

    An image including the following words: Empathize, Define; Ideate; Test.

    Ideation Workshop
    A formal session that is used to understand a problem then generate potential solutions. Workshops can incorporate the other methodologies (such as brainstorming, design thinking, or mind mapping) to generate ideas.

    • Define the problem
    • Generate ideas
    • Capture ideas
    • Evaluate and prioritize
    • Assign next steps

    Crowdsourcing
    An informal method of gathering ideas from a large group of people. This can be a great way to generate many ideas but may lack focus.

    Value Proposition Canvas
    A visual tool which helps to identify customer (or user) needs and design products and services that meet those needs.

    an image of the Value Proposition Canvas

    Evaluate ideas and focus on those with the greatest value

    Evaluation should be transparent and use both quantitative and qualitative metrics. The exact metrics used will depend on your organization and goals.

    It is important to include qualitative metrics as these dimensions are better suited to evaluating highly innovative ideas and can capture important criteria like alignment with overall strategy and feasibility.

    Develop 5 to 10 criteria that you can use to evaluate and prioritize ideas. Some criteria may be a pass/fail (for example, minimum ROI) and some may be comparative.

    Evaluate
    The first step is to evaluate ideas to determine if they meet the minimum criteria. This might include quantitative criteria like ROI as well as qualitative criteria like strategic alignment and feasibility.

    Prioritize
    Ideas that pass the initial evaluation should be prioritized based on additional criteria which might include quantitative criteria such as potential market size and cost to implement, and qualitative criteria such as risk, impact, and creativity.

    Quantitative Metrics

    Quantitative metrics are objective and easily comparable between initiatives, providing a transparent and data-driven process for evaluation and prioritization.
    Examples:

    • Potential market size
    • ROI
    • Net present value
    • Payback period
    • Number of users impacted
    • Customer acquisition cost
    • Customer lifetime value
    • Breakeven analysis
    • Effort required to implement
    • Cost to implement

    Qualitative Metrics

    Qualitative metrics are less easily comparable but are equally important when it comes to evaluating ideas. These should be developed based on your organization strategy and innovation goals.
    Examples:

    • Strategy alignment
    • Impact on users
    • Uncertainty and risk
    • Innovation potential
    • Culture impact
    • Feasibility
    • Creativity and originality
    • Type of innovation

    Activity 3.1 Develop prioritization metrics

    1-3 hours

    1. Review your mandate, purpose, innovation goals and the sample prioritization and evaluation metrics.
    2. Write down a list of your goals and their associated metrics, then prioritize which are the most important.
    3. Determine which metrics will be used to evaluate ideas before they move on to the prioritization stage, and which metrics will be used to compare initiatives in order to determine which will receive further investment.
    4. For each evaluation metric, determine the minimum threshold required for an idea to move forward. For each prioritization metric identify the definition and how it will be evaluated. Qualitative metrics may require more precise definitions than quantitative metrics.
    5. Enter your metrics into the Initiative Prioritization Template.

    Input

    • Innovation mandate
    • Innovation goals
    • Sample metrics

    Output

    • Evaluation and prioritization metrics for ideas

    Materials

    • Whiteboard/Flip charts
    • Innovation Program Template

    Participants

    • Innovation leader

    Download the Initiative Prioritization Template

    3.2 Build your program to pilot initiatives

    Test and refine ideas through real-world pilot projects.

    • The purpose of your pilot is to test and refine ideas in the real world. In order to compare pilot projects, it's important to track key performance indicators throughout the pilot. Measurements should be useful and comparable.
    • Innovation facilitators are responsible for supporting pilot projects, including designing the pilot, setting up metrics, tracking outcomes, and facilitating retrospectives.
    • Pilots generally follow an Agile methodology where ideas may be refined as the pilot proceeds, and the process iterates until either the idea is discarded or it has been refined into an initiative which can be scaled.
    • Expect that most pilots will fail the first time, and many will fail completely. This is not a loss; lessons learned from the retrospective can be used to improve the process and later pilots.

    Use pilot projects to test and refine initiatives before scaling to the rest of the organization

    "Learning is as powerful as the outcome." – Brett Trelfa, CIO, Arkansas Blue Cross

    1. Clearly define the goals and objectives of the pilot project. Goals and objectives ensure that the pilot stays on track and can be measured.
    2. Your pilot group should include a variety of participants with diverse perspectives and skill sets, in order to gather unique insights.
    3. Continuously track the progress of the pilot project. Regularly identify areas of improvement and implement changes as necessary to refine ideas.
    4. Regularly elicit feedback from participants and iterate in order to improve the final innovation. Not all pilots will be successful, but every failure can help refine future solutions.
    5. Consider scalability. If the pilot project is successful, it should be scalable and the lessons learned should be implemented in the larger organization.

    Sample pilot metrics

    Metrics are used to validate and test pilot projects to ensure they deliver value. This is an important step before scaling to the rest of the organization.

    Adoption: How many end users have adopted the pilot solution?

    Utilization: Is the solution getting utilized?

    Support Requests: How many support requests have there been since the pilot was initiated?

    Value: Is the pilot delivering on the value that it proposed? For example, time savings.

    Feasibility: Has the feasibility of the solution changed since it was first proposed?

    Satisfaction: Focus groups or surveys can provide feedback on user/customer satisfaction.

    A/B Testing: Compare different methods, products or services.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Ensure standard core metrics are used across all pilot projects so that outcomes can be compared. Additional metrics may be used to refine and test hypotheses through the pilot process.

    Activity 3.2 Build your program to pilot initiatives

    1-2 hours

    1. Gather the innovation team and review your mandate, purpose, goals, and the sample innovation operating model and metrics.
    2. As a group, brainstorm the steps needed from idea generation to business case. Use sticky notes if in person, or a collaboration tool if remote.
    3. Determine the metrics that will be used to evaluate ideas at each decision step (for example, prior to piloting). Outline what the different decisions might be (for example, proceed, refine or discard) and what happens as a result of each decision.
    4. Document your final steps and metrics in the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Innovation mandate
    • Innovation goals
    • Sample metrics

    Output

    • Pilot project methodology
    • Pilot project metrics

    Materials

    • Innovation Program Template
    • Sticky notes (in person) or digital collaboration tool (if remote)

    Participants

    • Innovation leader
    • Innovation team

    3.3 Conduct a program retrospective

    Generate value from your successful pilots by scaling ideas across the organization.

    • The final step in the innovation process is to scale ideas to the enterprise in order to realize the full potential.
    • Keeping track of notable wins is important for showing the value of the innovation program. Track performance of initiatives that come out of the innovation program, including their financial, cultural, market, and brand impacts.
    • Track the success of the innovation program itself by evaluating the number of ideas generated, the number of pilots run and the success of the pilots. Keep in mind that many failed pilots is not a failure of the program if the lessons learned were valuable.
    • Complete an innovation program retrospective every 6 to 12 months in order to adjust and make any changes if necessary to improve your process.

    Retrospectives should be objective, constructive, and action-oriented

    A retrospective is a review of your innovation program with the aim of identifying lessons learned, areas for improvement, and opportunities for growth.

    During a retrospective, the team will reflect on past experiences and use that information to inform future decision making and improve outcomes.

    The goal of a retrospective is to learn from the past and use that knowledge to improve in the future.

    Objective

    Ensure that the retrospective is based on facts and objective data, rather than personal opinions or biases.

    Constructive

    Ensure that the retrospective is a positive and constructive experience, with a focus on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

    Action-Oriented

    The retrospective should result in a clear action plan with specific steps to improve future initiatives.

    Activity 3.3 Conduct a program retrospective

    1-2 hours

    1. Post a large piece of paper on the wall with a timeline from the last year. Include dates and a few key events, but not much more. Have participants place sticky notes in the spots to describe notable wins or milestones that they were proud of. This can be done as part of a formal meeting or asynchronously outside of meetings.
    2. Bring the innovation team together and review the poster with notable wins. Do any themes emerge? How does the team feel the program is doing? Are there any changes needed?
    3. Consider the metrics you use to track your innovation program success. Did the scaled projects meet their targets? Is there anything that could be refined about the innovation process?
    4. Evaluate the outcomes of your innovation program. Did it meet the targets set for it? Did the goals and innovation ambitions come to fruition?
    5. Complete this step every 6 to 12 months to assess the success of your program.
    6. Complete the "Notable Wins" section of the Innovation Program Template.

    Input

    • Innovation mandate
    • Innovation goals
    • Sample metrics

    Output

    • Notable wins
    • Action items for refining the innovation process

    Materials

    • Innovation Program Template
    • Sticky notes (in person) or digital collaboration tool (if remote)

    Participants

    • CIO
    • Innovation team
    • Others who have participated in the innovation process

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Adopt Design Thinking in Your Organization

    • A user's perspective while interacting with the products and services is very different from the organization's internal perspective while implementing and provisioning those. A design-based organization balances the two perspectives to drive user-satisfaction over end-to-end journeys.

    Prototype With an Innovation Design Sprint

    • Build and test a prototype in four days using Info-Tech's Innovation Design Sprint Methodology.
    • Create an environment for co-creation between IT and the business.

    Fund Innovation With a Minimum Viable Business Case

    • Our approach guides you through effectively designing a solution, de-risking a project through impact reduction techniques, building and pitching the case for your project, and applying the business case as a mechanism to ensure that benefits are realized.

    Summary of Accomplishment

    Congratulations on launching your innovation program!

    You have now completed your innovation strategy, covering the following topics:

    • Executive Summary
    • Our Purpose
    • Scope and Value Proposition
    • Guiding Principles
    • Building an Innovative Culture
    • Program Structure
    • Success Metrics
    • Notable Wins

    If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through an Info-Tech workshop or Guided Implementation.

    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Accelerate Digital Transformation With a Digital Factory

    • Understand the foundations of good design: purpose, organizational support, and leadership.
    • Understand the design of the operating model: structure and organization, management practices, culture, environment, teams, technology platforms, and meaningful metrics and KPIs.

    Sustain and Grow the Maturity of Innovation in Your Enterprise

    • Unlock your innovation potential by looking at your innovation projects on both a macro and micro level.
    • Innovation capacity is directly linked with creativity; allow your employees' creativity to flourish using Info-Tech's positive innovation techniques.

    Define Your Digital Business Strategy

    • Design a strategy that applies innovation to your business model, streamline and transform processes, and make use of technologies to enhance interactions with customers and employees.
    • Create a balanced roadmap that improves digital maturity and prepares you for long-term success in a digital economy.

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Kim Osborne Rodriguez

    Kim Osborne Rodriguez
    Research Director, CIO Advisory
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Kim is a professional engineer and Registered Communications Distribution Designer with over a decade of experience in management and engineering consulting spanning healthcare, higher education, and commercial sectors. She has worked on some of the largest hospital construction projects in Canada, from early visioning and IT strategy through to design, specifications, and construction administration. She brings a practical and evidence-based approach, with a track record of supporting successful projects.
    Kim holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering from University of Waterloo.

    Joanne Lee

    Joanne Lee
    Principal Research Director, CIO Advisory
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Joanne is an executive with over 25 years of experience in digital technology and management consulting across both public and private entities from solution delivery to organizational redesign across Canada and globally.
    Prior to joining Info-Tech Research Group, Joanne was a management consultant within KPMG's CIO management consulting services and the Western Canadas Digital Health Practice lead. She has held several executive roles in the industry with the most recent position as Chief Program Officer for a large $450M EHR implementation. Her expertise spans cloud strategy, organizational design, data and analytics, governance, process redesign, transformation, and PPM. She is passionate about connecting people, concepts, and capital.
    Joanne holds a Master's in Business and Health Policy from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) from the University of British Columbia.

    Jack Hakimian

    Jack Hakimian
    Senior Vice President
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Jack has more than 25 years of technology and management consulting experience. He has served multi-billion-dollar organizations in multiple industries including Financial Services and Telecommunications. Jack also served a number of large public sector institutions.
    He is a frequent speaker and panelist at technology and innovation conferences and events and holds a Master's degree in Computer Engineering as well as an MBA from the ESCP-EAP European School of Management.

    Michael Tweedie

    Michael Tweedie
    Practice Lead, CIO Strategy
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Mike Tweedie brings over 25 years as a technology executive. He's led several large transformation projects across core infrastructure, application, and IT services as the head of Technology at ADP Canada. He was also the Head of Engineering and Service Offerings for a large French IT services firm, focused on cloud adoption and complex ERP deployment and management.
    Mike holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from Ryerson University.

    Mike Schembri

    Mike Schembri
    Senior Executive Advisor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Mike is the former CIO of Fuji Xerox Australia and has 20+ years' experience serving IT and wider business leadership roles. Mike has led technical and broader business service operations teams to value and growth successfully in organizations ranging from small tech startups through global IT vendors, professional service firms, and manufacturers.
    Mike has passion for strategy and leadership and loves working with individuals/teams and seeing them grow.

    John Leidl

    John Leidl
    Senior Director, Member Services
    Info-Tech Research Group

    With over 35 years of IT experience, including senior-level VP Technology and CTO leadership positions, John has a breadth of knowledge in technology innovation, business alignment, IT operations, and business transformation. John's experience extends from start-ups to corporate enterprise and spans higher education, financial services, digital marketing, and arts/entertainment.

    Joe Riley

    Joe Riley
    Senior Workshop Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Joe ensures our members get the most value out of their Info-Tech memberships by scoping client needs, current state and desired business outcomes, and then drawing upon his extensive experience, certifications, and degrees (MBA, MS Ops/Org Mgt, BS Eng/Sci, ITIL, PMP, Security+, etc.) to facilitate our client's achievement of desired and aspirational business outcomes. A true advocate of ITSM, Joe approaches technology and technology practices as a tool and enabler of people, core business, and competitive advantage activities.

    Denis Goulet

    Denis Goulet
    Senior Workshop Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Denis is a transformational leader and experienced strategist who has worked with 100+ organizations to develop their digital, technology, and governance strategies.
    He has held positions as CIO, Chief Administrative Office (City Manager), General Manager, Vice President of Engineering, and Management Consultant, specializing in enterprise and technology strategy.

    Cole Cioran

    Cole Cioran
    Managing Partner
    Info-Tech Research Group

    I knew I wanted to build great applications that would delight their users. I did that over and over. Along the way I also discovered that it takes great teams to deliver great applications. Technology only solves problems when people, processes, and organizations change as well. This helped me go from writing software to advising some of the largest organizations in the world on how to how to build a digital delivery umbrella of Product, Agile, and DevOps and create exceptional products and services powered by technology.

    Carlene McCubbin

    Carlene McCubbin
    Research Lead, CIO Practice
    Info-Tech Research Group

    During her tenure at Info-Tech, Carlene has led the development of Info-Tech's Organization and Leadership practice and worked with multiple clients to leverage the methodologies by creating custom programs to fit each organization's needs.
    Before joining Info-Tech, Carlene received her Master of Communications Management from McGill University, where she studied development of internal and external communications, government relations, and change management.

    Isabelle Hertanto

    Isabelle Hertanto
    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Isabelle Hertanto has over 15 years of experience delivering specialized IT services to the security and intelligence community. As a former federal officer for Public Safety Canada, Isabelle trained and led teams on data exploitation and digital surveillance operations in support of Canadian national security investigations. Since transitioning into the private sector, Isabelle has held senior management and consulting roles across a variety of industry sectors, including retail, construction, energy, healthcare, and the broader Canadian public sector.

    Hans Eckman

    Hans Eckman
    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Hans Eckman is a business transformation leader helping organizations connect business strategy and innovation to operational excellence. He supports Info-Tech members in SDLC optimization, Agile and DevOps implementation, CoE/CoP creation, innovation program development, application delivery, and leadership development. Hans is based out of Atlanta, Georgia.

    Valence Howden

    Valence Howden
    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    With 30 years of IT experience in the public and private sector, Valence has developed experience in many Information Management and Technology domains, with a particular focus in the areas of Service Management, Enterprise and IT Governance, Development and Execution of Strategy, Risk Management, Metrics Design and Process Design, and Implementation and Improvement. Prior to joining Info-Tech, he served in technical and client-facing roles at Bell Canada and CGI Group Inc., as well as managing the design, integration, and implementation of services and processes in the Ontario Public Sector.

    Clayton Gillett

    Clayton Gillett
    Managing Partner
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Clayton Gillett is a Managing Partner for Info-Tech, providing technology management advisory services to healthcare clients. Clayton joined Info-Tech with more than 28 years of experience in health care information technology. He has held senior IT leadership roles at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound and OCHIN, as well as advisory or consulting roles at ECG Management Consultants and Gartner.

    Donna Bales

    Donna Bales
    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Donna Bales is a Principal Research Director in the CIO Practice at Info-Tech Research Group specializing in research and advisory services in IT risk, governance, and compliance. She brings over 25 years of experience in strategic consulting and product development and has a history of success in leading complex, multi-stakeholder industry initiatives.

    Igor Ikonnikov

    Igor Ikonnikov
    Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Igor Ikonnikov is a Research and Advisory Director in the Data and Analytics practice. Igor has extensive experience in strategy formation and execution in the information management domain, including master data management, data governance, knowledge management, enterprise content management, big data, and analytics.
    Igor has an MBA from the Ted Rogers School of Management (Toronto, Canada) with a specialization in Management of Technology and Innovation.

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Michael Newcity

    Michael Newcity
    Chief Innovation Officer
    ArcBest

    Kevin Yoder

    Kevin Yoder
    Vice President, Innovation
    ArcBest

    Gary Boyd

    Gary Boyd
    Vice President, Information Systems & Digital Transformation
    Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

    Brett Trelfa

    Brett Trelfa
    Chief Information Officer
    Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

    Kristen Wilson-Jones

    Kristen Wilson-Jones
    Chief Technology & Product Officer
    Medcurio

    Note: additional contributors did not wish to be identified

    Bibliography

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    Arpajian, Scott. "Five Reasons Why Innovation Fails" Forbes Magazine. 4 June 2019. Accessed 31 Jan. 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/06/04/five-reasons-why-innovation-fails/?sh=234e618914c6
    Baldwin, John & Gellatly, Guy. "Innovation Capabilities: The Knowledge Capital Behind the Survival and Growth of Firms" Statistics Canada. Sept. 2006. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023. https://www.bdc.ca/fr/documents/other/innovation_capabilities_en.pdf
    Bar Am, Jordan et al. "Innovation in a Crisis: Why it is More Critical Than Ever" McKinsey & Company, 17 June 2020. Accessed 12 Jan. 2023. <https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/innovation-in-a-crisis-why-it-is-more-critical-than-ever >
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    Boston Consulting Group, "Most Innovative Companies 2022" BGC, 15 Sept. 2022. Accessed 6 Feb. 2023. https://www.bcg.com/en-ca/publications/2022/innovation-in-climate-and-sustainability-will-lead-to-green-growth
    Christensen, Clayton M. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business Review Press, 2016.
    Gerber, Niklaus. "What is innovation? A beginner's guide into different models, terminologies and methodologies" Medium. 20 Sept 2022. Accessed 7 Feb. 2023. https://world.hey.com/niklaus/what-is-innovation-a-beginner-s-guide-into-different-models-terminologies-and-methodologies-dd4a3147
    Google X, Homepage. Accessed 6 Feb. 2023. https://x.company/
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    Jaruzelski, Barry et al. "Global Innovation 1000 Study" Pricewaterhouse Cooper, 30 Oct. 2018. Accessed 13 Jan. 2023. <https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/innovation1000.html>
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    Weick, Karl and Kathleen Sutcliffe. Managing the Unexpected: Sustained Performance in a Complex World, Third Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
    Xuan Tian, Tracy Yue Wang, Tolerance for Failure and Corporate Innovation, The Review of Financial Studies, Volume 27, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 211–255, Accessed https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhr130

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}554|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: N/A
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    • Parent Category Name: Marketing Solutions
    • Parent Category Link: /marketing-solutions
    • The proliferation of social media networks, customer data, and use cases has made ad hoc social media management challenging.
    • Many organizations struggle with shadow IT when it comes to technology enablement for social media; SMMP fragmentation leads to increased costs and no uniformity in enterprise social media management capabilities.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • SMMP selection must be driven by your overall customer experience management strategy; link your SMMP selection to your organization’s CXM framework.
    • Shadow IT will dominate if IT does not step in. Even more so than other areas, SMMP selection is rife with shadow IT.
    • Ensure strong points of integration between SMMP and other software such as CRM. SMMPs can contribute to a unified, 360-degree customer view.

    Impact and Result

    • The value proposition of SMMPs revolves around enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of social media. Using an SMMP to manage social media is considerably more cost effective than ad hoc (manual) management.
    • IT must partner with other departments (e.g. Marketing) to successfully evaluate, select, and implement an SMMP. Before selecting an SMMP, the organization must have a solid overall strategy for leveraging social media in place. If IT does not work as a trusted advisor to the business, shadow IT in social media management will be rampant.

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should implement an SMMP, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Develop a technology enablement approach

    Conduct a maturity assessment to determine whether a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization.

    • Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform – Phase 1: Develop a Technology Enablement Approach for Social Media
    • Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool
    • SMMP Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool

    2. Select an SMMP

    Use the Vendor Landscape findings and project guidance to develop requirements for your SMMP RFP, and evaluate and shortlist vendors based on your expressed requirements.

    • Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform – Phase 2: Select an SMMP
    • SMMP Vendor Shortlist & Detailed Feature Analysis Tool
    • SMMP Vendor Demo Script
    • SMMP RFP Template
    • SMMP RFP Evaluation and Scoring Tool
    • Vendor Response Template

    3. Review implementation considerations

    Even a solution that is a perfect fit for an organization will fail to generate value if it is not properly implemented or measured. Conduct the necessary planning before implementing your SMMP.

    • Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform – Phase 3: Review Implementation Considerations
    • Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Launch Your SMMP Selection Project

    The Purpose

    Discuss the general project overview for the SMMP selection.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Determine your organization’s readiness for SMMP.

    Activities

    1.1 Identify organizational fit for the technology.

    1.2 Evaluate social media opportunities within your organization.

    1.3 Determine the best use-case scenario for your organization.

    Outputs

    Organizational maturity assessment

    SMMP use-case fit assessment

    2 Plan Your Procurement and Implementation Process

    The Purpose

    Plan the procurement and implementation of the SMMP.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Select an SMMP.

    Review implementation considerations.

    Activities

    2.1 Review use-case scenario results, identify use-case alignment

    2.2 Review the SMMP Vendor Landscape vendor profiles and performance.

    2.3 Create a custom vendor shortlist and investigate additional vendors for exploration in the marketplace.

    2.4 Meet with the project manager to discuss results and action items.

    Outputs

    Vendor shortlist

    SMMP RFP

    Vendor evaluations

    Selection of an SMMP

    Framework for SMMP deployment and integration

    Further reading

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    Rein in social media by choosing a management platform that’s right for you.

    ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

    Enterprise use of social media for customer interaction has exploded. Select the right management platform to maximize the value of your social initiatives.

    “Social media has rapidly become a ubiquitous channel for customer interaction. Organizations are using social media for use cases from targeted advertising, to sales prospecting, to proactive customer service. However, the growing footprint of social media initiatives – and the constant proliferation of new social networks – has created significant complexity in effectively capturing the value of social.

    Organizations that are serious about social manage this complexity by leveraging dedicated social media management platforms. These platforms provide comprehensive capabilities for managing multiple social media networks, creating engagement and response workflows, and providing robust social analytics. Selecting a best-fit SMMP allows for standardized, enterprise-wide capabilities for managing all aspects of social media.

    This report will help you define your requirements for social media management and select a vendor that is best fit for your needs, as well as review critical implementation considerations such as CRM integration and security.”

    Ben Dickie
    Research Director, Enterprise Applications
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive summary

    Situation

    • Social media has reached maturity as a proven, effective channel for customer interaction across multiple use cases, from customer analytics to proactive customer service.
    • Organizations are looking to IT to provide leadership with social media technology enablement and integration with other enterprise systems.

    Complication

    • The proliferation of social media networks, customer data, and use cases has made ad hoc social media management challenging.
    • Many organizations struggle with shadow IT when it comes to technology enablement for social media; SMMP fragmentation leads to increased costs and no uniformity in enterprise social media management capabilities.

    Resolution

    • Social media management platforms (SMMPs) reduce complexity and increase the results of enterprise social media initiatives. SMMPs integrate with a variety of different social media services, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. The platforms offer a variety of tools for managing social media, including account management, in-band response and engagement, and social monitoring and analytics.
    • The value proposition of SMMPs revolves around enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of social media. Using an SMMP to manage social media is considerably more cost effective than ad hoc (manual) management.
    • IT must partner with other departments (e.g. Marketing) to successfully evaluate, select, and implement an SMMP. Before selecting an SMMP, the organization must have a solid overall strategy for leveraging social media in place. If IT does not work as a trusted advisor to the business, shadow IT in social media management will be rampant.

    Info-Tech Insight

    1. SMMP selection must be driven by your overall customer experience management strategy: link your SMMP selection to your organization’s CXM framework.
    2. Shadow IT will dominate if IT does not step in: even more so than other areas, SMMP selection is rife with shadow IT.
    3. Ensure strong points of integration between SMMP and other software such as customer relationship management (CRM). SMMPs can contribute to a unified, 360-degree customer view.

    Framing the SMMP selection and implementation project

    This Research Is Designed For:
    • IT directors advising the business on how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of social media campaigns through technology.
    • IT professionals involved in evaluating, selecting, and deploying an SMMP.
    • Business analysts tasked with collection and analysis of SMMP business requirements.
    		 This Research Will Help You:
    • Clearly link your business requirements to SMMP selection criteria.
    • Select an SMMP vendor that meets your organization’s needs across marketing, sales, and customer service use cases.
    • Adopt standard operating procedures for SMMP deployment that address issues such as platform security and CRM integration.
    This Research Will Also Assist:
    • Executive-level stakeholders in the following roles:
      • Vice-president of Sales, Marketing, or Customer Service.
      • Business unit managers tasked with ensuring strong end-user adoption of an SMMP.
    		 This Research Will Help Them
    • Understand what’s new in the SMMP market.
    • Evaluate SMMP vendors and products for your enterprise needs.
    • Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

    Social media management platforms augment social capabilities within a broader customer experience ecosystem

    Customer Experience Management (CXM)

    'Customer Relationship Management Platform' surrounded by supporting capabilities, one of which is highlighted, 'Social Media Management Platform'.

    		 Social Media Management Platforms are one piece of the overall customer experience management ecosystem, alongside tools such as CRM platforms and adjacent point solutions for sales, marketing, and customer service. Review Info-Tech’s CXM blueprint to build a complete, end-to-end customer interaction solution portfolio that encompasses SMMP alongside other critical components. The CXM blueprint also allows you to develop strategic requirements for SMMP based on customer personas and external market analysis.

    SMMPs reduce complexity and increase the effectiveness of enterprise social media programs

    • SMMPs are solutions (typically cloud based) that offer a host of features for effectively monitoring the social cloud and managing your organization’s presence in the social cloud. SMMPs give businesses the tools they need to run social campaigns in a timely and cost-effective manner.
    • The typical SMMP integrates with two or more social media services (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) via the services’ API or a dedicated connector. SMMPs are not simply a revised “interface layer” for a single social media service. They provide layers for advanced management and analytics across multiple services.
    • The unique value of SMMPs comes from their ability to manage and track multiple social media services. Aggregating and managing data from multiple services gives businesses a much more holistic view of their organization’s social initiatives and reputation in the social cloud.
    		 Diagram with 'End Users (e.g. marketing managers)' at the top and social platforms like Facebook and Twitter at the bottom; in between them are 'SMMPs’: 'Account & Campaign Management', 'Social Engagement', and 'Social Monitoring/Analytics'.
    SMMPs mediate interactions between end users and the social cloud.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    The increasing complexity of social media, coupled with the rising importance of social channels, has led to a market for formal management platforms. Organizations with an active presence in social media (i.e. multiple services or pages) should strongly consider selecting and deploying an SMMP.

    Failing to rein in social media initiatives leads to more work, uninformed decisions, and diminishing returns

    • The growth of social media services has made manually updating pages and feeds an ineffective and time-consuming process. The challenge is magnified when multiple brands, product lines, or geographic subsidiaries are involved.
      • Use the advanced account management features of an SMMP to reduce the amount of time spent updating social media services.
    • Engaging customers through social channels can be a delicate task – high volumes of social content can easily overwhelm marketing and service representatives, leading to missed selling opportunities and unacceptable service windows.
      • Use the in-band engagement capabilities of an SMMP to create an orderly queue for social interactions.
    • Consumer activity in the social cloud has been increasing exponentially. As the volume of content grows, separating the signal from the noise becomes increasingly difficult.
      • Use the advanced social analytics of an SMMP to ensure critical consumer insights are not overlooked.
    		 Ad Hoc Management vs. SMMPs:
    What’s the difference?

    Ad Hoc Social Media Management

    Social media initiatives are managed directly through the services themselves. For example, a marketing professional would log in to multiple corporate Twitter accounts to post the same content for a promotional campaign.

    Social Media Management Platform

    Social media initiatives are managed through a third-party software platform. For example, a marketing professional would update all social account simultaneously with just a couple clicks. SMMPs also provide cross-service social analytics – highly valuable for decision makers!

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Effectively managing a social media campaign is not a straightforward exercise. If you have (or plan to have) a large social media footprint, now is the time to procure formal software tools for social media management. Continuing to manage social media in an ad hoc manner is sapping time and money.

    Review the critical success factors for SMMP across the project lifecycle, from planning to post-implementation

    Info-Tech Insight

    Executive management support is crucial. The number one overall critical success factor for an SMMP strategy is top management support. This emphasizes the importance of sales, service, and marketing and prudent corporate strategic alignment. A strategic objective in SMMP projects is to position top management as an enabler rather than a barrier.

    Planning Implementation Post-Implementation Overall
    1 Appropriate Selection Project Management Top Management Support Top Management Support
    2 Clear Project Goals Top Management Support Project Management Appropriate Selection
    3 Top Management Support Training Training Project Management
    4 Business Mission and Vision Effective Communication Effective Communication Training
    5 Project Management Supplier Supports Appropriate Selection Clear Project Goals

    (Source: Information Systems Frontiers)

    Dell uses a dedicated social media management platform to power a comprehensive social command center

    CASE STUDY
    Industry: High-Tech | Source: Dell
    With a truly global customer base, Dell gets about 22,000 mentions on the social web daily, and does not sit idly by. Having established a physical Social Media Command Center powered by Salesforce’s Social Studio, Dell was one of the companies that pioneered the command center concept for social response.

    The SMMP carries out the following activities:

    • Tracking mentions of Dell in the social cloud
    • Sentiment analysis
    • Connecting customers who need assistance with experts who can help them
    • Social media training
    • Maintenance of standards for social media interactions
    • Spreading best social media practices across the organization

    Today the company claims impressive results, including:

    • “Resolution rate” of 99% customer satisfaction
    • Boosting its customer reach with the same number of employees
    • One third of Dell’s former critics are now fans

    Logo for Dell.

    Tools:
    • Salesforce Social Studio
    • Three rows of monitors offering instant insights into customer sentiment, share of voice, and geography.
    Staff:
    • The center started with five people; today it is staffed by a team of 15 interacting with customers in 11 languages.
    • Dell values human interaction; the center is not running on autopilot, and any ambiguous activity is analyzed (and dealt with) manually on an individual basis.

    Follow Info-Tech’s methodology for selection and implementation of enterprise applications

    Prior to embarking on the vendor selection stage, ensure you have set the right building blocks and completed the necessary prerequisites.

    Diagram with 'Enterprise Applications' at the center surrounded by a cycle of 'conceptual', 'consensus', 'concrete', and 'continuous'. The outer circle has three categories with three actions each, 'Governance and Optimization: Process Optimization, Support/ Maintenance, Transition to Operations', 'Strategy and Alignment: Foundation, Assessment, Strategy/ Business Case', and 'Implementation: System Implementation, Business Process Management, Select and Implement'. Follow Info-Tech’s enterprise applications program that covers the application lifecycle from the strategy stage, through selection and implementation, and up to governance and optimization.

    The implementation and execution stage entails the following steps:

    1. Define the business case.
    2. Gather and analyze requirements.
    3. Build the RFP.
    4. Conduct detailed vendor evaluations.
    5. Finalize vendor selection.
    6. Review implementation considerations.

    Info-Tech Insight

    A critical preceding task to selecting a social media management platform is ensuring a strategy is in place for enterprise social media usage. Use our social media strategy blueprint to ensure the foundational elements are in place prior to proceeding with platform selection.

    Use this blueprint to support your SMMP selection and implementation

    Launch the SMMP Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1

    Benefits — Use the project steps and activity instructions outlined in this blueprint to streamline your selection process and implementation planning. Save time and money, and improve the impact of your SMMP selection by leveraging Info-Tech’s research and project steps.

    Select Your SMMP Solution — Phase 2

    Use Info-Tech’s SMMP Vendor Landscape contained in Phase 2 of this project to support your vendor reviews and selection. Refer to the use-case performance results to identify vendors that align with the requirements and solution needs identified by your earlier project findings.

    Get Ready for Your SMMP Implementation — Phase 3

    Info-Tech Insight — Not everyone’s connection and integration needs are the same. Understand your own business’s integration environment and the unique technical and functional requirements that accompany them to create criteria and select a best-fit SMMP solution.

    Use Info-Tech’s use-case scenario approach to select a best-fit solution for your business needs

    Readiness

    Determine where you are right now and where your organization needs to go with a social media strategy.

    Three stages eventually leading to shapes in a house, 'Distributed Stage', 'Loosely Coupled Stage', and 'Command Center Stage'.    		 Use-Case Assessment

    Identify the best-fit use-case scenario to determine requirements that best align with your strategy.

    Three blocks labelled 'Social Listening & Analytics', 'Social Customer Care', and 'Social Publishing & Campaign Management'.    		 Selection

    Approach vendor selection through a use-case centric lens to balance the need for different social capabilities.

    Logos for vendors including Adobe, Hootsuite, CISION, and more.

    Info-Tech walks you through the following steps to help you to successfully select and implement your SMMP

    Steps of this blueprint represented by circles of varying colors and sizes, labelled by text of different sizes.

    Locate your starting point in the research based on the current stage of your project.

    Legend for the diagram above: lines represent Major Milestones, size of circles represent Low or High effort, size of text represents Average or Greater importance, and color of the circles represents the phase.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    Guided Implementation

    Workshop

    Consulting
    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform – project overview

    1. Develop a Technology Enablement Approach 2. Select an SMMP 3. Review Implementation Considerations
    Supporting Tool icon

    Best-Practice Toolkit

    1.1 Determine if a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization

    • Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool

    1.2 Use an SMMP to enable marketing, sales, and service use cases

    • SMMP Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool

    2.1 SMMP Vendor Landscape

    • CRM Suite Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool

    2.2 Select your SMMP

    • SMMP Vendor Demo Script Template
    • SMMP RFP Template

    3.1 Establish best practices for SMMP implementation

    • Social Media Steering Committee

    3.2 Assess the measured value from the project

    Guided Implementations
    • Identify organizational fit for the technology.
    • Evaluate social media opportunities within your organization.
    • Evaluate which SMMP use-case scenario is best fit for your organization
    • Discuss the use-case fit assessment results and the Vendor Landscape.
    • Review contract.
    • Determine what is the right governance structure to overlook the SMMP implementation.
    • Identify the right deployment model for your organization.
    • Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP.
    Associated Activity icon

    Onsite Workshop

    		 Module 1:
    Launch Your SMMP Selection Project    		 Module 2:
    Plan Your Procurement and Implementation Process
    Phase 1 Outcome:
    • Social Media Maturity Assessment
    • SMMP Use-Case Assessment
    		 Phase 2 Outcome:
    • Selection of an SMMP
    		 Phase 3 Outcome:
    • A plan for implementing the selected SMMP

    SMMP selection and implementation workshop overview

    Associated Activity icon Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Day 1

    Preparation

    		 Day 2

    Workshop Day

    		 Day 3

    Workshop Day

    		 Day 4

    Workshop Day

    		 Day 5

    Working Session
    Workshop Preparation
    • Facilitator meets with the project manager and reviews the current project plans and IT landscape of the organization.
    • A review of scheduled meetings and engaged IT and business staff is performed.
    		 Morning Itinerary
    • Conduct activities from Develop a technology enablement approach for social media phase, including social media maturity and readiness assessment.
    • Conduct overview of the market landscape, trends, and vendors.
    Afternoon Itinerary
    • Interview business stakeholders.
    • Prioritize SMMP requirements.
    		 Morning Itinerary
    • Perform a use-case scenario assessment.
    Afternoon Itinerary
    • Review use-case scenario results; identify use-case alignment.
    • Review the SMMP Vendor Landscape vendor profiles and performance.
    		 Morning Itinerary
    • Continue review of SMMP Vendor Landscape results and use-case performance results.
    Afternoon Itinerary
    • Create a custom vendor shortlist.
    • Investigate additional vendors for exploration in the market.
    		 Workshop Debrief
    • Meet with project manager to discuss results and action items.
    • Wrap up outstanding items from workshop.
    (Post-Engagement): Procurement Support
    • The facilitator will support the project team to outline the RFP contents and evaluation framework.
    • Planning of vendor demo script. Input: solution requirements and use-case results.
    Example of a light blue slide. The light blue slides at the end of each section highlight the key activities and exercises that will be completed during the engagement with our analyst team.

    Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

    Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

    A small monochrome icon of a wrench and screwdriver creating an X.

    This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.
    A small monochrome icon depicting a person in front of a blank slide.

    This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.
    A small monochrome icon depicting a descending bar graph.

    This icon denotes a slide that pertains directly to the Info-Tech vendor profiles on marketing management technology. Use these slides to support and guide your evaluation of the MMS vendors included in the research.

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    PHASE 1

    Develop a Technology Enablement Approach for Social Media

    Phase 1: Develop a technology enablement approach for social media

    Steps of this blueprint represented by circles of varying colors and sizes, labelled by text of different sizes. Only Phase 1 is highlighted.
    Estimated Timeline: 1-3 Months

    Info-Tech Insight

    Before an SMMP can be selected, the organization must have a strategy in place for enterprise social media. Implementing an SMMP before developing a social media strategy would be akin to buying a mattress without knowing the size of the bed frame.

    		Major Milestones Reached
    • Project launch
    • Completion of requirements gathering and documentation

    Key Activities Completed

    • Readiness assessment
    • Project plan / timeline
    • Stakeholder buy-in
    • Technical assessment
    • Functional assessment

    Outcomes from This Phase

    Social Media Maturity Assessment

    Phase 1 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 1: Develop a technology enablement approach for social media

    Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks
    Step 1.1: Determine if a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization Step 1.2: Use an SMMP to enable marketing, sales, and service use cases
    Start with an analyst kick-off call:
    • Assess your readiness for the SMMP project.
    • Evaluate social media opportunities within your organization.
    		 Review findings with analyst:
    • Discuss how an SMMP can assist with marketing, sales, and customer service.
    • Evaluate which SMMP use case scenario is best fit for your organization.
    Then complete these activities…
    • Assess your social media maturity.
    • Inventory social media networks to be supported by the SMMP.
    		 Then complete these activities…
    • Assess best-fit use-case scenario.
    • Build the metrics inventory.
    With these tools & templates:
    • Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool
    		 With these tools & templates:
    • SMMP Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool
    Phase 1 Results & Insights:
    • Social Media Maturity Assessment
    • SMMP Use-Case Assessment

    Phase 1, Step 1: Determine if a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization

    1.1

    1.2
    Determine if a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization Use an SMMP to enable marketing, sales, and service use cases

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assess where your organization sits on the social media maturity curve.
    • Inventory the current social media networks that must be supported by the SMMP.
    • Go/no-go assessment on SMMP.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Digital Marketing Executive
    • Digital Strategy Executive
    • Business stakeholders

    Outcomes of this step

    • Social media maturity assessment
    • Inventory of enterprise social media
    • SMMP Go/no-go decision

    Before selecting an SMMP, start with the fundamentals: build a comprehensive strategy for enterprise social media

    Why build a social media strategy?

    • Social media is neither a fad nor a phenomenon; it is simply another tool in the business process. Social channels do not necessitate a radical departure from the organization’s existing customer interaction strategy. Rather, social media should be added to your channel mix and integrated within the existing CRM strategy.
    • Social media allows organizations to form direct and indirect connections through the Friend-of-a-Friend (FOAF) model, which increases the credibility of the information in the eyes of the consumer.
    • Social media enables organizations to share, connect, and engage consumers in an environment where they are comfortable. Having a social media presence is rapidly becoming a pre-requisite for successful business-to-consumer enterprises.

    Important considerations for an enterprise social media strategy:

    • Determine how social media will complement existing customer interaction goals.
    • Assess which social media opportunities exist for your organization.
    • Consider the specific goals you want to achieve using social channels and pick your services accordingly.
    • Not all social media services (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) are equal. Consider which services will be most effective for goal achievement.
    For more information on developing a strategy for enterprise social media, please refer to Info-Tech’s research on Social Media.

    Implement a social media strategy by determining where you are right now and where your organization needs to go

    Organizations pass through three main stages of social media maturity: distributed, loosely coupled, and command center. As you move along the maturity scale, the business significance of the social media program increases. Refer to Info-Tech’s Implement a Social Media Program for guidance on how to execute an ongoing social media program.
    The y-axis 'Business Significance'.

    Distributed Stage

    Shapes labelled 'Sales', 'Customer Service', and 'Marketing'.

    • Open-source or low-cost solutions are implemented informally by individual depts. for specific projects.
    • Solutions are deployed to fulfill a particular function without an organizational vision. The danger of this stage is lack of consistent customer experience and wasted resources.

    Loosely Coupled Stage

    Same shapes with the addition of 'PR' and surrounded by a dotted-line house.

    • More point solutions are implemented across the organization. There is a formal cross-departmental effort to integrate some point solutions.
    • Risks include failing to put together an effective steering committee and not including IT in the decision-making process.

    Command Center Stage

    Same shapes with a solid line house.

    • There’s enterprise-level steering committee with representation from all areas: execution of social programs is handled by a fully resourced physical (or virtual) center.
    • Risks include improper resource allocation and lack of end-user training.
    The x-axis 'Maturity Stages'.
    Optimal stages for SMMP purchase

    Assess where your organization sits on the social media maturity curve

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.1 30 Minutes

    INPUT: Social media initiatives, Current status

    OUTPUT: Current State Maturity Assessment

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers, Sticky notes

    PARTICIPANTS: Digital Strategy Executive, Business stakeholders

    Before you can move to an objective assessment of your social media program’s maturity, take an inventory of your current efforts across different departments (e.g. Marketing, PR, Sales, and Customer Service). Document the results in the Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool to determine your social media readiness score.

    Department Social Media Initiative(s) Current Status
    Marketing Branded Facebook page with updates and promotions Stalled: insufficient resources
    Sales LinkedIn prospecting campaign for lead generation, qualification, and warm open Active: however, new reps are poorly trained on LinkedIn prospect best practices
    Customer Service Twitter support initiative: mentions of our brand are paired with sentiment analysis to determine who is having problems and to reach out and offer support Active: program has been highly successful to date
    HR Recruitment campaign through LinkedIn and Branch Out Stalled: insufficient technology support for identifying leading candidates
    Product Development Defect tracking for future product iterations using social media Partially active: Tracked, but no feedback loop present
    Social Media Maturity Level Distributed

    Determine your organization’s social media maturity with Info-Tech’s Maturity Assessment Tool

    Supporting Tool icon 1.1 Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool

    Assessing where you fit on the social media maturity continuum is critical for setting the future direction of your social media program. We’ll work through a short tool that assesses the current state of your social media program, then discuss the results.

    Info-Tech’s Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool will help you determine your company’s level of maturity and recommend steps to move to the next level or optimize the status quo of your current efforts.

    		 INFO-TECH TOOL Sample of the Social Media Current State Assessment.

    The social cloud is a dominant point of interaction: integrate social channels with existing customer interaction channels

    • Instead of thinking of customers as an island, think of them interacting with each other and with organizations in the social cloud. As a result, the social cloud itself becomes a point of interaction, not just individual customers.
    • The social cloud is accessible with services like social networks (e.g. Facebook) and micro-blogs (Twitter).
    • Previous lessons learned from the integration of Web 1.0 e-channels should be leveraged as organizations add the social media channel into their overall customer interaction framework:
      • Do not design exclusively around a single channel. Design hybrid-channel solutions that include social channels.
      • Balance customer segment goals and attributes, product and service goals and attributes, and channel capabilities.
    		 The 'Web 2.0 Customer Interaction Framework' with 'Social Cloud' above, connected to the below through 'Conversations & Information'. Below are two categories with their components interconnected, 'Communication Channels: Face to Face, Phone, E-mail, Web, and Social Media' and 'Customer Experience Management: Marketing, Sales, and Service'.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Don’t believe that social channel integration will require an entire rebuild of your CXM strategy. Social channels are just new interaction channels that need to be integrated – as you’ve done in the past with Web 1.0 e-channels.

    Understand the different types of social media services and how they link to social media strategy and SMMP selection

    Before adopting an SMMP, it’s important to understand the underlying services they manage. Social media services facilitate the creation and dissemination of user-generated content, and can be grouped according to their purpose and functionality:
    • Social Networking: Social networking services use the Friend-of-a-Friend model to allow users to communicate with their personal networks. Users can share a wide variety of information and media with one another. Social networking sites include Facebook and LinkedIn.
    • Blogging: Blogs are websites that allow users to upload text and media entries, typically displayed in reverse-chronological order. Prominent blogging services include Blogger and WordPress.
    • Micro-Blogging: Micro-blogging is similar to blogging, with the exception that written content is limited to a set number of characters. Twitter, the most popular service, allows users to post messages up to 140 characters.
    • Social Multimedia: Social multimedia sites provide an easy way for users to upload and share multimedia content (e.g. pictures, video) with both their personal contacts as well as the wider community. YouTube is extremely popular for video sharing, while Instagram is a popular option for sharing photos and short videos.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    In many cases, services do not fit discretely within each category. With minor exceptions, creating an account on a social media service is free, making use of these services extremely cost effective. If your organization makes extensive use of a particular service, ensure it is supported by your SMMP vendor.

    		Four categories of social media company logos: 'Social multimedia', 'Micro-blogging', 'Blogging', and 'Social Networking'.

    Inventory the current social media networks that must be supported by the SMMP

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.2

    INPUT: Social media services

    OUTPUT: Inventory of enterprise social media

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project team

    1. List all existing social media networks used by your organization.
    2. For each network, enumerate all the accounts that are being used for organizational objectives.
    3. Identify the line of business that administers and manages each service.
    Network Use Case Account Ownership
    Facebook
    • Branding
    • Marketing
    • Social Monitoring
    • Facebook recruitment
    • Corporate Communications
    • Marketing
    Twitter
    • Social monitoring
    • Customer response
    • Corporate
    • Customer Service
    ... ... ...

    An explosion of social media services and functionality has made effectively managing social interactions a complex task

    • Effectively managing social channels is an increasingly complicated task. Proliferation of social media services and rapid end-user uptake has made launching social interactions a challenge for small and large organizations.
    • Using multiple social media services can be a nightmare for account management (particularly when each brand or product line has its own set of social accounts).
    • The volume of data generated by the social cloud has also created barriers for successfully responding in-band to social stakeholders (social engagement), and for carrying out social analytics.
    • There are two methods for managing social media: ad hoc management and platform-based management.
      • Ad hoc social media management is accomplished using the built-in functionality and administrative controls of each social media service. It is appropriate for small organizations with a very limited scope for social media interaction, but poses difficulties once “critical mass” has been reached.
    		 Comparison of 'Ad Hoc Management' with each social media platform managed directly by the user and 'Platform-Based Management' with social platforms managed by a 'SMMP' which is managed by the user.
    Ad hoc management results in a number of social media touch points. SMMPs serve as a single go-to point for all social media initiatives

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Managing social media is becoming increasingly difficult to do through ad hoc methods, particularly for larger organizations and those with multiple brand portfolios. Ad hoc management is best suited for small organizations with an institutional client base who only need a bare bones social media presence.

    Select social media services that will achieve your specific objectives – and look for SMMPs that integrate with them

    What areas are different social media services helpful in?
    Domain Opportunity Consumer Social Networks (Facebook) Micro-Blogging (Twitter) Professional Social Networks (LinkedIn) Consumer Video Sharing Networks (YouTube)
    Marketing Building Positive Brand Image Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Increase Mind Share Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Gaining Customer Insights Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Sales Gaining Sales Insights Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Increase Revenue Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Customer Acquisition Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'.
    Service Customer Satisfaction Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'.
    Increase Customer Retention Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'.
    Reducing Cost of Service Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Green circle 'Proven Useful'.

    Green circle 'Proven Useful'. Proven Useful*

    Dark Blue circle 'Potentially Useful'. Potentially Useful

    *Proven useful by Info-Tech statistical analysis carried out on a cross-section of real-world implementations.

    Social media is invaluable for marketing, sales, and customer service. Some social media services have a higher degree of efficacy than others for certain functions. Be sure to take this into account when developing a social media strategy.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Different social media services are more effective than others for different goals. For example, YouTube is useful as an avenue for marketing campaigns, but it’s of substantially less use for sales functions like lead generation. The services you select while planning your social media strategy must reflect concrete goals.

    Ad hoc social media management results in manual, resource-intensive processes that are challenging to measure

    • Most organizations that have pursued social media initiatives have done so in an ad hoc fashion rather than outlining a formal strategy and deploying software solutions (e.g. SMMP).
    • Social media is often a component of Customer Experience Management (CXM); Info-Tech’s research shows many organizations are handling CRM without a strategy in place, too.
    • Social media management platforms reduce the resource-intensive processes required for ongoing social media involvement and keep projects on track by providing reporting metrics.
    Social media and CRM are often being done without a defined strategy in place.

    Four-square matrix titled 'Strategy' presenting percentages with y-axis 'CRM', x-axis 'Social Media', both having two sections 'Ad hoc' and 'Defined'.
    Source: Info-Tech Survey, N=64

    		 Many processes related to social media are being done manually, despite the existence of SMMPs.

    Four-square matrix titled 'technology' presenting percentages with y-axis 'CRM', x-axis 'Social Media', both having two sections 'Ad hoc' and 'Defined'.
    “When we started our social media campaign, it took 34 man-hours a week. An SMMP that streamlines these efforts is absolutely an asset.” (Edie May, Johnson & Johnson Insurance Company)

    SMMPs provide functionality for robust account management, in-band customer response, and social monitoring/analytics

    • Features such as unified account management and social engagement capabilities boost the efficiency of social campaigns. These features reduce duplication of effort (e.g. manually posting the same content to multiple services). Leverage account management functionality and in-band response to “do more with less.”
    • Features such as comprehensive monitoring of the social cloud and advanced social analytics (i.e. sentiment analysis, trends and follower demographics) allow organizations to more effectively use social media. These features empower organizations with the information they need to make informed decisions around messaging and brand positioning. Use social analytics to zero in on your most important brand advocates.

    The value proposition of SMMPs revolves around enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of social media initiatives.

    		 Three primary use cases for social media management:

    Social Listening & Analytics — Monitor and analyze a variety of social media services: provide demographic analysis, frequency analysis, sentiment analysis, and content-centric analysis.

    Social Publishing & Campaign Management — Executing marketing campaigns through social channels (e.g. Facebook pages).

    Social Customer Care — Track customer conversations and provide the ability to respond in-platform to social interactions.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    SMMPs are a technology platform, but this alone is insufficient to execute a social media program. Organization and process must be integrated as well. See Info-Tech’s research on developing a social media strategy for a step-by-step guide on how to optimize your internal organization and processes.

    Social analytics vary: balance requirements among monitoring goals and social presence/property management

    Segment your requirements around common SMMP vendor product design points. Current market capabilities vary between two primary feature categories: social cloud monitoring and social presence and property management.

    Cloud-Centric

    Social Monitoring

    Content-Centric
    Social cloud monitoring enables:
    • Brand and product monitoring
    • Reputation monitoring
    • Proactive identification of service opportunities
    • Competitive intelligence
    		 Social presence and property management enables:
    • Monitor and manage discussions on your social properties (e.g. Twitter feeds, Facebook Pages, YouTube channels)
    • Execute marketing campaigns within your social properties

    Social Analytics

    Social analytics provide insights to both dimensions of social media monitoring.

    Some firms only need social cloud monitoring, some need to monitor their own social media properties, and others will need to do both. Some vendors do both while other vendors excel in only one feature dimension. If you are NOT prepared to act on results from social cloud monitoring, then don’t expand your reach into the social cloud for no reason. You can always add cloud monitoring services later. Likewise, if you only need to monitor the cloud and have no or few of your own social properties, don’t buy advanced management and engagement features.

    Use social analytics to gain the most value from your SMMP

    Research indicates successful organizations employ both social cloud monitoring and management of their own properties with analytical tools to enhance both or do one or the other well. Few vendors excel at both larger feature categories. But the market is segmented into vendors that organizations should be prepared to buy more than one product from to satisfy all requirements. However, we expect feature convergence over the next 1–3 years, resulting in more comprehensive vendor offerings.

    Most sought social media analytics capabilities

    Bar Chart of SM analytics capabilities, the most sought after being 'Demographic analysis', 'Geographic analysis', 'Semantic analysis', 'Automated identification of subject and content', and 'Predictive modeling'.
    (Source: The State of Social Media Analytics (2016))

    		 Value driven from social analytics comes in the form of:
    • Improved customer service
    • Increased revenue
    • Uncovered insights for better targeted marketing
    • A more personalized customer experience offered
    Social analytics is integral to the success of the SMMP – take advantage of this functionality!

    Cost/Benefit Scenario: A mid-sized consumer products company wins big by adopting an SMMP

    The following example shows how an SMMP at a mid-sized consumer products firm brought in $36 000 a year.

    Before: Manual Social Media Management

    • Account management: a senior marketing manager was responsible for updating all twenty of the firm’s social media pages and feeds. This activity consumed approximately 20% of her time. Her annual salary was $80,000. Allocated cost: $16,000 per year.
    • In-band response: Customer service representatives manually tracked service requests originating from social channels. Due to the use of multiple Twitter feeds, several customers were inadvertently ignored and subsequently defected to competitors. Lost annual revenue due to customer defections: $10,000.
    • Social analytics: Analytics were conducted in a crude, ad hoc fashion using scant data available from the services themselves. No useful insights were discovered. Gains from social insights: $0.

    Ad hoc management is costing this organization $26,000 a year.

    After: Social Media Management Platform

    • Account management: Centralized account controls for rapidly managing several social media services meant the amount of time spent updating social media was cut 75%. Allocated cost savings: $12,000 per year.
    • In-band response: Using an SMMP provided customer service representatives with a console for quickly and effectively responding to customer service issues. Service window times were significantly reduced, resulting in increased customer retention. Revenue no longer lost due to defections: $10,000.
    • Social analytics: The product development group used keyword-based monitoring to assist with designing a successful new product. Social feedback noticeably boosted sales. Gains from social insights: $20,000
    • Cost of SMMP: $6,000 per year.

    The net annual benefit of adopting an SMMP is $36,000.

    Go with an SMMP if your organization needs a heavy social presence; stick with ad hoc management if it doesn’t

    The value proposition of acquiring an SMMP does not resonate the same for all organizations: in some cases, it is more cost effective to forego an SMMP and stick with ad hoc social media management.

    Follow these guidelines for determining if an SMMP is a natural fit for your organization.

    Go with an SMMP if…

    • Your organization already has a large social footprint: you manage multiple feeds/pages on three or more social media services.
    • Your organization’s primary activity is B2C marketing; your target consumers are social media savvy. Example: consumer packaged goods.
    • The volume of marketing, sales and service inquiries received over social channels has seen a sharp increase in the last 12 months.
    • Your firm or industry is the topic of widespread discussion in the social cloud.

    Stick with ad hoc management if…

    • Regulatory compliance prohibits the extensive use of social media in your organization.
    • Your organization is focused on a small number of institutional clients with well-defined organizational buying behaviors.
    • Your target market is antipathetic towards using social channels to interact with your organization.
    • Your organization is in a market space where only a bare-bones social media presence is seen as a necessity (for example, only a basic informational Facebook page is maintained).

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Using an SMMP is definitively superior to ad hoc social media management for those organizations with multiple brands and product portfolios (e.g. consumer packaged goods). Ad hoc management is best for small organizations with an institutional client base who only need a bare bones social media presence.

    Assess which social media opportunities exist for your organization with Info-Tech’s tool

    Supporting Tool icon 1.2 Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool

    Use Info-Tech’s Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool to determine, based on your unique criteria, where social media opportunities exist for your organization in marketing, sales, and service.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    1. Remember that departmental goals will overlap; gaining customer insight is valuable to marketing, sales, and customer service.
    2. The social media benefits you can expect to achieve will evolve as your processes mature.
    3. Often, organizations jump into social media because they feel they have to. Use this assessment to identify early on what your drivers should be.
    		Sample of the Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool.

    Go/no-go assessment on SMMP

    Associated Activity icon 1.1.3

    INPUT: Social Media Opportunity Questionnaire

    OUTPUT: SMMP go/no-go decision

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Opportunity Assessment Tool

    PARTICIPANTS: Digital Strategy Executive, Business stakeholders

    Identify whether an SMMP will help you achieve your goals in sales, marketing, and customer service.

    1. Complete the questionnaire in the Social Media Opportunity Assessment Tool. Ensure all relevant stakeholders are present to answer questions pertaining to their business area.
    2. Evaluate the results to better understand whether your organization has the opportunity to achieve each established goal in marketing, sales, and customer service with an SMMP or you are not likely to benefit from investing in a social media management solution.

    Phase 1, Step 2: Use an SMMP to enable marketing, sales, and service use cases

    1.1

    1.2
    Determine if a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization Use an SMMP to enable marketing, sales, and service use cases

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Profile and rank your top use cases for social media management
    • Build the metrics inventory

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Project Manager
    • Project Team

    Outcomes of this step

    • Use case suitability
    • SMMP metrics inventory

    SMMPs equip front-line sales staff with the tools they need for effective social lead generation

    • Content-centric social analytics allow sales staff to see click-through details for content posted on social networks. In many cases, these leads are warm and ready for immediate follow-up.
    • A software development firm uses an SMMP to post a whitepaper promoting its product to multiple social networks.
      • The whitepaper is subsequently downloaded by a number of potential prospects.
      • Content-centric analytics within the SMMP link the otherwise-anonymous downloads to named social media accounts.
      • Leads assigned to specific account managers, who use existing CRM software to pinpoint contact information and follow-up in a timely manner.
    • Organizations that intend to use their SMMP for sales purposes should ensure their vendor of choice offers integration with LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the business formal of social networks, and is the network with the greatest proven efficacy from a sales perspective.

    Using an SMMP to assist the sales process can…

    • Increase the number of leads generated through social channels as a result of social sharing.
    • Increase the quality of leads generated through social channels by examining influence scores.
    • Increase prospecting efficiency by finding social leads faster.
    • Keep account managers in touch with prospects and clients through social media.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Social media is on the rise in sales organizations. Savvy companies are using social channels at all points in the sales process, from prospecting to account management. Organizations using social channels for sales will want an SMMP to manage the volume of information and provide content-centric analytics.

    Incorporate social media into marketing workflows to gain customer insights, promote your brand, and address concerns

    While most marketing departments have used social media to some extent, few are using it to its full potential. Identify marketing workflows that can be enhanced through the use of social channel integration.
    • Large organizations must define separate workflows for each stakeholder organization if marketing’s duties are divided by company division, brand, or product lines.
    • Inquiries stemming from marketing campaigns and advertising must be handled by social media teams. For example, if a recent campaign sparks customer questions on the company’s Facebook page, be ready to respond!
    • Social media can be used to detect issues that may indicate product defects, provided defect tracking is not already incorporated into customer service workflows. If defect tracking is part of customer service processes, then such issues should be routed to the customer service organization.
    • If social listening is employed, in addition to monitoring the company's own social properties, marketing teams may elect to receive notices of major trends concerning the company's products or those of competitors.
    		 Word jumble of different sized buzz words around 'Brand Building'.

    “I’m typically using my social media team as a proactive marketing team in the social space, whereas I’m using my consumer relations team as a reactive marketing and a reactive consumer relations taskforce. So a little bit different perspective.” (Greg Brickl, IT Director, Organic Valley)

    SMMPs allow marketers to satisfy all of their needs with one solution

    • Have a marketing manager jointly responsible for the selection of an SMMP to realize higher overall success. This will significantly improve customer acquisition approval and competitive intelligence, as well as the overall SMMP success.
    • The marketing manager should be involved in fleshing out the business requirements of the SMMP in order to select the most appropriate solution.
    • Once selected, the SMMP has multiple benefits for marketing professionals. One pivotal benefit of SMMPs for marketing is the capability for centralized account management. Multiple social pages and feeds can be rapidly managed at pre-determined times, through an easy-to-use dashboard delivered from one source.
    • Centralized account management is especially pertinent for organizations with a wide geographic client base, as they can manage wide social media campaigns within multiple time zones, delivering their messaging appropriately. (e.g. contests, product launches, etc.)
    		 Bar Chart comparing 'Average Success Scores' of different goals based on whether the 'Marketing Manager [was] Responsible' or not. Scores are always higher when they were.
    (Source: Info-Tech Research Group N = 37)

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Managing multiple social media accounts on an ad hoc basis is time consuming and costs money. Lower costs and get the best results out of your social media campaigns by involving the marketing team in the SMMP selection process and knowing their functional requirements.

    Leverage SMMPs to proactively identify and respond to customer service issues occurring in the social cloud

    • SMMPs are an invaluable tool in customer service organizations. In-band response capabilities allow customer service representatives to quickly and effectively address customer service issues – either reactively or proactively.
    • Reactive customer service can be provided through SMMPs by providing response capabilities for private messages or public mentions (e.g. “@AcmeCo” on Twitter). Many SMMPs provide a queue of social media messages directed at the organization, and also give the ability to assign specific messages to an individual service representative or product expert. Responding to a high-volume of reactive social media requests can be time consuming without an SMMP.
    • Proactive customer service uses the ability of SMMPs to monitor the social cloud for specific keywords in order to identify customers having issues. Forward-thinking companies actively monitor the social cloud for customer service opportunities, to protect and improve their image.
    		 Illustration of reactive service where the customer initiates the process and then receives service.
    Reactive service is customer-initiated.

    Illustration of proactive service with a complaint through Twitter monitored by an SMMP allowing an associate to provide a 'Proactive Resolution'.
    SMMPs enable organizations to monitor the social cloud for service opportunities and provide proactive service in-band.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Historically, customer service has been “reactive” (i.e. customer initiated) and solely between the customer and supplier. Social media forces proactive service interactions between customer, supplier, and the entire social cloud. Using an SMMP significantly improves reactive and proactive service. The ability to integrate with customer service applications is essential.

    Customer service is a vital department to realize value from leveraging an SMMP

    Info-Tech’s research shows that the more departments get involved with social media implementation, the higher the success score (calculated based on respondents’ report of the positive impact of social media on business objectives). On average, each additional department involved in social media programs increases the overall social media success score by 5%. For example, organizations that leveraged social media within the customer service department, achieved a higher success score than those that did not.

    The message is clear: encourage broad participation in coordinated social media efforts to realize business goals.

    Line graph comparing 'Social Media Success Score' with the 'Number of Departments Involved'. The line trends upward on both axes.
    (Source: Info-Tech Research Group N=65)    		 Bar chart comparing 'Social Media Success Scores' if 'Customer Service Involvement' was Yes or No. 'Yes' has a higher score.

    Our research indicates that the most important stakeholder to ensure steering committee success is Customer Service. This has a major impact on CRM integration requirements – more on this later.

    SMMPs are indispensable for allowing PR managers to keep tabs on the firm and its brands

    • Public relations is devoted to relationship management; as such, it is critical for savvy PR departments to have a social media presence.
    • SMMPs empower PR professionals with the ability to track the sentiment of what is said about their organization. Leverage keyword searches and heuristic analysis to proactively mitigate threats and capitalize on positive opportunities. For example, sentiment analysis can be used to identify detractors making false claims over social channels. These claims can then be countered by the Public Relations team.
    • Sentiment analysis can be especially important to the PR professional through change and crisis management situations. These tools allow an organization to track the flow of information, as well as the balance of positive and negative postings and their influence on others in the social cloud.
    • Social analytics provided by SMMPs also serve as a goldmine for competitive intelligence about rival firms and their products.

    Benefits of Sentiment Analysis for PR

    • Take the pulse of public perception of your brands (and competitors).
    • Mitigate negative comments being made and respond immediately.
    • Identify industry and consumer thought leaders to follow on social networks.

    Illustration of sentiment analysis.
    Use sentiment analysis to monitor the social cloud.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Leaving negative statements unaddressed can cause harm to an organization’s reputation. Use an SMMP to track what is being said about your organization; take advantage of response capabilities to quickly respond and mitigate PR risk.

    SMMPs for recruiting is an emerging talent recruitment technique and will lead to stronger candidates

    • Social media provides more direct connections between employer and applicant. It’s faster and more flexible than traditional e-channels.
    • SMMPs should be deployed to the HR silo to aid with recruiting top-quality candidates. Account management functionality can dramatically reduce the amount of time HR managers spend synchronizing content between various social media services.
    • In-band response capabilities flag relevant social conversations and allow HR managers to rapidly respond to prospective employee inquiries. Rapid response over social channels gives candidates a positive impression of the organization.
    • Analytics give HR managers insight into hiring trends and the job market at large – sentiment analysis is useful for gauging not just candidate interests, but also anonymous employee engagement.

    A social media campaign managed via SMMP can…

    • Increase the size of the applicant pool by “fishing where the fish are.”
    • Increase the quality of applicants by using monitoring to create targeted recruitment materials.
    • Increase recruiting efficiency by having a well-managed, standing presence on popular social media sites – new recruiting campaigns require less “awareness generation” time.
    • Allow HR/recruiters to be more in-touch with hiring trends via social analytics.
    Horizontal bar chart of social media platforms that recruiters use. LinkedIn is at the top with 87%. Only 4% of recruiters are NOT using social media for recruitment, while 50% of recruiters plan to increase their investment in SMR in the coming year. (Source: Jobvite, 2015)

    Collapse your drivers for SMMP and link them to Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape use cases

    Vendor Profiles icon

    USE CASES

    Social Listening and Analytics

    What It Looks Like
    Functionality for capturing, aggregating, and analyzing social media content in order to create actionable customer or competitive insights.

    How It Works
    Social listening and analytics includes features such as sentiment and contextual analysis, workflow moderation, and data visualization.

    		Social Publishing and Campaign Management

    What It Looks Like
    Functionality for publishing content to multiple networks or accounts simultaneously, and managing social media campaigns in-depth (e.g. social property management and post scheduling).

    How It Works
    Social publishing and campaign management include features such as campaign execution, social post integration, social asset management, and post time optimization.

    		 Social Customer Care

    What It Looks Like
    Functionality for management of the social customer service queue as well as tools for expedient resolution of customer issues.

    How It Works
    Social customer care use case primarily relies on strong social moderation and workflow management.

    Identify the organizational drivers for social media management – whether it is recruiting, public relations, customer service, marketing, or sales – and align them with the most applicable use case.

    Profile and rank your top use cases for social media management using the Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool

    Associated Activity icon 1.2.1 1 Hour

    INPUT: Project Manager, Core project team

    OUTPUT: Use-case suitability

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Download your own version of the tool and complete the questionnaire on tab 2, Assessment.
      • Use the information gathered from your assessments and initial project scoping to respond to the prompts to identify the business and IT requirements for the tool.
      • Answer the prompts for each statement from a range of strongly disagree to strongly agree.
    2. Review the outcomes on tab 3, Results.
      • This tab provides a qualitative measure assessing the strength of your fit against the industry use-case scenarios.
    3. If not completed as a team, debrief the results and implications to your core project team.

    Use the SMMP Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool to identify which areas you should focus on

    Supporting Tool icon 1.3 Use Case Fit Assessment Tool
    Use the Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool to understand how your unique requirements map into a specific SMMP use case.

    This tool will assess your answers and determine your relative fit against the use-case scenarios.

    Fit will be assessed as “Weak,” “Moderate,” or “Strong.”

    Consider the common pitfalls, which were mentioned earlier, that can cause IT projects to fail. Plan and take clear steps to avoid or mitigate these concerns.

    Note: These use-case scenarios are not mutually exclusive. Your organization can align with one or more scenarios based on your answers. If your organization shows close alignment to multiple scenarios, consider focusing on finding a more robust solution and concentrate your review on vendors that performed strongly in those scenarios or meet the critical requirements for each.

    INFO-TECH DELIVERABLE

    Sample of the SMMP Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool.

    Identify the marketing, sales, and customer service metrics that you will target for improvement using an SMMP

    Create measurable S.M.A.R.T. goals for the project.

    Consider the following questions when building your SMMP metrics:
    1. What are the top marketing objectives for your company? For example, is building initial awareness or driving repeat customers more important?
    2. What are the corresponding social media goals for this business objective?
    3. What are some of the metrics that could be used to determine if business and social media objectives are being attained?
    Use Case Sample Metric Descriptions Target Metric
    Social Listening and Analytics Use a listening tool to flag all mentions of our brands or company on social Increase in mentions with neutral or positive sentiment, decrease in mentions with negative sentiment
    Social Publishing and Campaign Management Launch a viral video campaign showcasing product attributes to drive increased YT traffic Net increase in unaided customer recall
    Social Customer Care Create brand-specific social media pages to increase customer sentiment for individual brand extensions Net increase in positive customer sentiment (i.e. as tracked by an SMMP)

    Build the metrics inventory

    Associated Activity icon 1.2.2 45 Minutes

    INPUT: Marketing, sales, and customer service objectives

    OUTPUT: Metrics inventory

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Identify the top marketing, sales, and customer service objectives for your company? For example, is building initial awareness or driving repeat customers more important?
    2. What are the corresponding social media goals for each business objective?
    3. What are some of the metrics that could be used to determine if business and social media objectives are being attained?
    Marketing/PR Objectives Social Media Goals Goal Attainment Metrics
    E.g. build a positive brand image
    • Create brand-specific social media pages to increase customer sentiment for individual brand extensions
    		 Net increase in positive customer sentiment (i.e. as tracked by an SMMP)
    E.g. increase customer mind share
    • Launch a viral video campaign showcasing product attributes to drive increased YT traffic
    		 Net increase in unaided customer recall
    E.g. monitor public mentions
    • Use a listening tool to flag all mentions of our brands or company on social
    		 Increase in mentions with neutral or positive sentiment, decrease in mentions with negative sentiment

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    1.1.1

    		 Sample of activity 1.1.1 'Assess where your organization sits on the social media maturity curve'. Assess your organization’s social media maturity

    An Info-Tech analyst will facilitate a discussion to assess the maturity of your organization’s social media program and take an inventory of your current efforts across different departments (e.g. Marketing, PR, Sales, and Customer Service).

    1.1.2

    		 Sample of activity 1.1.2 'Inventory the current social media networks that must be supported by SMMP'. Inventory your current social media networks

    The analyst will facilitate an exercise to catalog all social media networks used in the organization.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    1.1.3

    		 Sample of activity 1.1.3 'Go/no-go assessment on SMMP'. Go/no go assessment on SMMP

    Based on the maturity assessment, the analyst will help identify whether an SMMP will help you achieve your goals in sales, marketing, and customer service.

    1.2.1

    		 Sample of activity 1.2.1 'Profile and rank your top use cases for social media management using the Use Case Fit Assessment Tool'. Rank your top use cases for social media management

    An analyst will facilitate the exercise to answer a series of questions in order to determine best-fit scenario for social media management for your organization.

    1.2.2

    		 Sample of activity 1.2.2 'Build the metrics inventory'. Build the metrics inventory

    An analyst will lead a whiteboarding exercise to brainstorm and generate metrics for your organization’s social media goals.

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    PHASE 2

    Select an SMMP

    This phase also includes Info-Tech’s SMMP Vendor Landscape Title icon for vendor slides.

    Phase 2: Select an SMMP

    Steps of this blueprint represented by circles of varying colors and sizes, labelled by text of different sizes. Only Phase 2 is highlighted.
    Estimated Timeline: 1-3 Months

    Info-Tech Insight

    Taking a use-case-centric approach to vendor selection allows you to balance the need for different social capabilities between analytics, campaign management and execution, and customer service.

    		Major Milestones Reached
    • Vendor Selection
    • Finalized and Approved Contract

    Key Activities Completed

    • RFP Process
    • Vendor Evaluations
    • Vendor Selection
    • Contract Negotiation

    Outcomes from This Phase

    The completed procurement of an SMMP solution.

    • Selected SMMP solution
    • Negotiated and finalized contract

    Phase 2 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 2: Select an SMMP

    Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks
    Step 2.1: Analyze and shortlist SMMP vendors Step 2.2: Evaluate vendor responses
    Start with an analyst kick-off call:
    • Evaluate the SMMP marketspace.
    • Re-evaluate best-fit use case.
    		 Review findings with analyst:
    • Determine your SMMP procurement strategy.
    • Reach out to SMMP vendors.
    Then complete these activities…
    • Review vendor profiles and analysis.
    • Create your own evaluation framework and shortlisting criteria.
    		 Then complete these activities…
    • Prioritize your requirements.
    • Create an RFP for SMMP procurement.
    • Evaluate vendor responses.
    • Set up product demonstrations.
    With these tools & templates:
    • SMMP Vendor Landscape (included here)
    • SMMP Vendor Shortlist Tool
    		 With these tools & templates:
    • SMMP RFP Template
    • SMMP Vendor Demo Script Template
    • SMMP Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool
    Phase 1 Results & Insights:
    • Finalize vendor and product selection

    Phase 2, Step 1: Analyze and shortlist vendors in the space

    2.1

    2.2
    Analyze and shortlist vendors in the space Select your SMMP solution

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Review vendor landscape methodology
    • Shortlist SMMP vendors

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Core team
    • Representative stakeholders from Digital Marketing, Sales, and IT

    The SMMP Vendor Landscape includes the following sections:

    VENDOR LANDSCAPE

    Info-Tech's Methodology

    		 Vendor title icon.

    Vendor Landscape use-case scenarios are evaluated based on weightings of features and vendor/product considerations

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Use cases were scored around the features from the general scoring identified as being relevant to the functional considerations and drivers for each scenario.

    Calculation Overview
    Advanced Features Score X Vendor Multiplier = Vendor Performance for Each Scenario
    Pie Chart of Product and Vendor Weightings.
    Product and Vendor Weightings    		 Pie Chart of Advanced Features Weightings.
    Advanced Features Weightings

    Please note that both advanced feature scores and vendor multipliers are based on the specific weightings calibrated for each scenario.

    Vendor performance for each use-case scenario is documented in a weighted bar graph

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Sample of the 'Vendor performance for the use-case scenario' slide. Vendor Performance

    Vendors qualify and rank in each use-case scenario based on their relative placement and scoring for the scenario.

    Vendor Ranking

    Champion: The top vendor scored in the scenario

    Leaders: The vendors who placed second and third in the scenario

    Players: Additional vendors who qualified for the scenarios based on their scoring
    Sample of the 'Value Index for the use case scenario' slide. Value ScoreTM

    Each use-case scenario also includes a Value Index that identifies the Value Score for a vendor relative to their price point. This additional framework is meant to help price-conscious organizations identify vendors who provide the best “bang for the buck.”

    VENDOR LANDSCAPE

    Review the SMMP Vendor Evaluation

    		Vendor title icon.

    SMMP market overview

    Vendor Profiles icon

    How It Got Here

    • The SMMP market was created in response to the exploding popularity of social media and the realization that it can be harnessed for a wide variety of enterprise purposes (from consumer intelligence to marketing campaigns and customer service).
    • As the number of social media services has expanded, and as the volume of content generated via social networks has ballooned, it became increasingly difficult to mine insights and manage social campaigns. A number of vendors (mostly start-ups) began offering platforms that attempted to streamline and harness social media processes.
    • As usage of social media expanded beyond just the marketing and PR function, being able to successfully scale a social strategy to a large number of customer care and sales interactions became paramount: SMMPs filled a niche by offering large-scale response and workflow management capabilities.

    Where It’s Going

    • The market is segmented into two broad camps: SMMPs focused on social listening and analytics, and SMMPs focused on social engagement. Although the two have begun to converge, there continues to be a clear junction in the market between the two, with a surprising lack of vendors that are equally adept at both sides.
    • With the rise of SMMPs, the expectation was that CRM vendors would offer feature sets similar to those of standalone SMMPS. However, CRM vendors have been slow in incorporating the functionality directly into their products. While some major vendors have made ground in this direction in the last year, organizations that are serious about social will still need a best-of-breed SMMP.
    • Other major trends include using application integration to build a 360-degree view of the customer, workflow automation, and competitive benchmarking.

    Info-Tech Insight

    As the market evolves, capabilities that were once cutting edge become default and new functionality becomes differentiating. Supporting multiple social media services and accounts has become a Table Stakes capability and should no longer be used to differentiate solutions. Instead focus on an SMMP’s social listening, campaign management, and customer care to help you find a solution that best fits your requirements.

    Review Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape of the SMMP market to identify vendors that meet your requirements

    Vendors Evaluated

    Various logos of the vendors who were evaluated.

    Each vendor in this landscape was evaluated based on their features, product considerations, and vendor considerations. Each vendor was profiled using these evaluations and, based on their performance, qualified and placed in specific use-case scenarios.

    These vendors were included due to consideration of their market share, mind share, and platform coverage

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Vendors included in this report provide a comprehensive, innovative, and functional solution for integrating applications and automating their messaging.

    Included in this Vendor Landscape:

    Adobe: Adobe Social is a key pillar of Adobe’s ecosystem that is heavily focused on social analytics and engagement.

    Hootsuite: A freemium player with strong engagement and collaboration tools, particularly well suited for SMBs.

    Salesforce: Social Studio is a leading social media management solution and is a key channel of Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

    Sendible: A fairly new entrant to the social media management space, Sendible offers robust campaign management capability that is well suited for agencies and SMBs.

    Sprinklr: A leading solution that focuses on social customer care, offering strong ability to prioritize, route, and categorize high-volume social messaging.

    Sprout Social: A great choice for mid-sized companies looking to provide robust social engagement and customer care.

    Sysomos: Their MAP and Heartbeat products offer customers in-depth analysis of a wide array of social channels.

    Viralheat (Cision): Now a Cision product, Viralheat is an excellent option for analytics, social response workflow management, and in-band social engagement.

    Table Stakes represent the minimum standard; without these, a product doesn’t even get reviewed

    Vendor Profiles icon

    The Table Stakes

    Feature: What it is:
    Multiple Services Supported The ability to mange or analyze at least two or more social media services.
    Multiple Accounts Supported The ability to manage or analyze content from at least two or more social media accounts.
    Basic Engagement The ability to post status updates to multiple social media sites.
    Basic Analytics The ability to display inbound feeds and summary info from multiple social media sites.

    What does this mean?

    The products assessed in this Vendor Landscape meet, at the very least, the requirements outlined as Table Stakes.

    Many of the vendors go above and beyond the outlined Table Stakes, some even do so in multiple categories. This section aims to highlight the products’ capabilities in excess of the criteria listed here.

    Info-Tech Insight

    If Table Stakes are all you need from your SMMP solution, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs.

    Advanced Features are the capabilities that allow for granular differentiation of market players and use-case performance

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Scoring Methodology

    Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features on a cumulative four-point scale. Zero points are awarded to features that are deemed absent or unsatisfactory, one point is assigned to features that are partially present, two points are assigned to features that require an extra purchase in the vendor’s product portfolio or through a third party, three points are assigned to features that are fully present and native to the solution, and four points are assigned to the best-of-breed native feature.

    For an explanation of how Advanced Features are determined, see Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights) in the Appendix.
    Feature: What we looked for:
    Social Media Channel Integration - Inbound Ability to monitor social media services, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more.
    Social Media Channel Integration - Outbound Ability to publish to social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more.
    Social Response Management Ability to respond in-band to social media posts.
    Social Moderation and Workflow Management Ability to create end-to-end routing and escalation workflows from social content.
    Campaign Execution Ability to manage social and media assets: tools for social campaign execution, reporting, and analytics.
    Social Post Archival Ability to archive social posts and platform activity to create an audit trail.
    Trend Analysis Ability to monitor trends and traffic on multiple social media sites.
    Sentiment Analysis Ability to analyze and uncover insights from attitudes and opinions expressed on social media.
    Contextual Analysis Ability to use NLP, deep learning and semantic analysis to extract meaning from social posts.
    Social Asset Management Ability to access visual asset library with access permissions and expiry dates to be used on social media.
    Post Time Optimization Ability to optimize social media posts by maximizing the level of interaction and awareness around the posts.
    Dashboards and Visualization Ability to visualize data and create analytics dashboards.

    Vendor scoring focused on overall product attributes and vendor performance in the market

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Scoring Methodology

    Info-Tech Research Group scored each vendor’s overall product attributes, capabilities, and market performance.

    Features are scored individually as mentioned in the previous slide. The scores are then modified by the individual scores of the vendor across the product and vendor performance features.

    Usability, overall affordability of the product, and the technical features of the product are considered, and scored on a five-point scale. The score for each vendor will fall between worst and best in class.

    The vendor’s performance in the market is evaluated across four dimensions on a five-point scale. Where the vendor places on the scale is determined by factual information, industry position, and information provided by customer references and/or available from public sources.

    Product Evaluation Features

    Usability The end-user and administrative interfaces are intuitive and offer streamlined workflow.
    Affordability Implementing and operating the solution is affordable given the technology.
    Architecture Multiple deployment options, platform support, and integration capabilities are available.

    Vendor Evaluation Features

    Viability Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long term.
    Focus Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.
    Reach Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support.
    Sales Vendor channel partnering, sales strategies, and process allow for flexible product acquisition.

    Balance individual strengths to find the best fit for your enterprise

    Vendor Profiles icon

    A list of vendors with ratings for their 'Product: Overall, Usability, Affordability, and Architecture' and their 'Vendor: Overall, Viability, Focus, Reach, and Sales'. It uses a quarters rating system where 4 quarters of a circle is Exemplary and 0 quarters is Poor.

    For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, see Information Presentation – Criteria Scores (Harvey Balls) in the Appendix.

    Balance individual strengths to find the best fit for your enterprise

    Vendor Profiles icon

    A list of vendors with ratings for their 'Evaluated Features'. Rating system uses Color coding with green being 'Feature is fully present...' and red being 'Feature is absent', and if a star is in the green then 'Feature is best in its class'.

    For an explanation of how Advanced Features are determined, see Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights) in the Appendix.

    Vendor title icon.

    USE CASE 1

    Social Listening and Analytics

    Seeking functionality for capturing, aggregating, and analyzing social media content in order to create actionable customer or competitive insights.

    Feature weightings for the social listening and analytics use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Core Features

    Sentiment Analysis Uncovering attitudes and opinions expressed on social media is important for generating actionable customer insights.
    Dashboards and Visualization Capturing and aggregating social media insights is ineffective without proper data visualization and analysis.
    Trend Analysis The ability to monitor trends across multiple social media services is integral for effective social listening.
    Contextual Analysis Understanding and analyzing language and visual content on social media is important for generating actionable customer insights.

    Additional Features

    Social Media Channel Integration – Inbound

    Social Moderation and Workflow Management

    Social Post Archival

    Feature Weightings

    Pie chart of feature weightings.

    Vendor considerations for the social listening and analytics use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Product Evaluation Features

    Usability A clean and intuitive user interface is important for users to fully leverage the benefits of an SMMP.
    Affordability Affordability is an important consideration as the price of SMMPs can vary significantly depending on the breadth and depth of capability offered.
    Architecture SMMP is more valuable to organizations when it can integrate well with their applications, such as CRM and marketing automation software.

    Vendor Evaluation Features

    Viability Vendor viability is critical for long-term stability of an application portfolio.
    Focus The vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.
    Reach Companies with processes that cross organizational and geographic boundaries require effective and available support.
    Sales Vendors need to demonstrate flexibility in terms of industry and technology partnerships to meet evolving customer needs.

    Pie chart for Product and Vendor Evaluation Features.

    Vendor performance for the social listening and analytics use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Champion badge.

    Champions for this use case:
    Salesforce: Salesforce Social Studio offers excellent trend and in-depth contextual analysis and is among the best vendors in presenting visually appealing and interactive dashboards.
    Leader badge.

    Leaders for this use case:
    Sysomos: Sysomos MAP and Heartbeat are great offerings for conducting social media health checks using in-depth contextual analytics.

    Adobe: Adobe Social is a great choice for digital marketers that need in-depth sentiment and longitudinal analysis of social data – particularly when managing social alongside other digital channels.
    Best Overall Value badge.

    Best Overall Value Award
    Sysomos: A strong analytics capability offered in Sysomos MAP and Heartbeat at a relatively low cost places Sysomos as the best bang for your buck in this use case.

    Players in the social listening and analytics scenario

    • Sprinklr
    • Hootsuite
    • Sprout Social

    Vendor performance for the social listening and analytics use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Stacked bar chart comparing vendors' use-case performance in multiple areas of 'Social Listening and Analytics'.

    Value Index for the social listening and analytics scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon
    What is a Value Score?

    The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to its price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.

    Vendors that score high offer more bang-for-the-buck (e.g. features, usability, stability) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower.

    Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes.

    		 On a relative basis, Sysomos maintained the highest Info-Tech Value ScoreTM of the vendor group for this use-case scenario. Vendors were indexed against Sysomos’ performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings.

    Bar chart of vendors' Value Scores in social listening and analytics. Sysomos has the highest and the Average Score is 66.8.
    For an explanation of how price is determined, see Information Presentation – Price Evaluation in the Appendix.

    For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Value Index is calculated, see Information Presentation – Value Index in the Appendix.

    Vendor title icon.

    USE CASE 2

    Social Publishing and Campaign Management

    Seeking functionality for publishing content to multiple networks or accounts simultaneously, and managing social media campaigns in-depth (e.g. social property management and post scheduling).

    Feature weightings for the social publishing and campaign management use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Core Features

    Campaign Execution The ability to manage multiple social media services simultaneously is integral for carrying out social media campaigns.
    Social Response Management Creating response workflows is equally important to publishing capability for managing social campaigns.

    Additional Features

    Social Media Channel Integration – Outbound

    Social Moderation and Workflow Management

    Social Post Archival

    Social Asset Management

    Post Time Optimization

    Social Media Channel Integration – Inbound

    Trend Analysis

    Sentiment Analysis

    Dashboards and Visualization

    Feature Weightings

    Pie chart of feature weightings.

    Vendor considerations for the social publishing and campaign management use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Product Evaluation Features

    Usability A clean and intuitive user interface is important for users to fully leverage the benefits of an SMMP.
    Affordability Affordability is an important consideration as the price of SMMPs can vary significantly depending on the breadth and depth of capability offered.
    Architecture SMMP is more valuable to organizations when it can integrate well with their applications, such as CRM and marketing automation software.

    Vendor Evaluation Features

    Viability Vendor viability is critical for long-term stability of an application portfolio.
    Focus The vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.
    Reach Companies with processes that cross organizational and geographic boundaries require effective and available support.
    Sales Vendors need to demonstrate flexibility in terms of industry and technology partnerships to meet evolving customer needs.

    Pie chart of Product and Vendor Evaluation Features.

    Vendor performance for the social publishing and campaign management use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Champion badge.

    Champions for this use case:

    Adobe: Adobe has the best social campaign execution capability in the market, enabling marketers to manage and auto-track multiple campaigns. It also offers a strong asset management feature that allows users to leverage Marketing Cloud content.
    Leader badge.

    Leaders for this use case:

    Salesforce: SFDC has built a social marketing juggernaut, offering top-notch response workflows and campaign execution capability.

    Hootsuite: Hootsuite has good response capabilities backed up by a strong team collaboration feature set. It offers simplified cross-platform posting and post-time optimization capabilities.

    Best Overall Value badge.

    Best Overall Value Award

    Sendible: Sendible offers the best value for your money in this use case with good response workflows and publishing capability.

    Players in the social publishing and campaign management scenario

    • Sprout Social
    • Sprinklr
    • Sendible

    Vendor performance for the social publishing and campaign management use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Stacked bar chart comparing vendors' use-case performance in multiple areas of 'Social publishing and campaign management'.

    Value Index for the social publishing and campaign management scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    What is a Value Score?

    The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to its price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.

    Vendors that score high offer more bang-for-the-buck (e.g. features, usability, stability) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower.

    Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes.

    		On a relative basis, Sendible maintained the highest Info-Tech Value ScoreTM of the vendor group for this use-case scenario. Vendors were indexed against Sendible’s performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings.

    Bar chart of vendors' Value Scores in social publishing and campaign management. Sendible has the highest and the Average Score is 72.9.

    For an explanation of how Price is determined, see Information Presentation – Price Evaluation in the Appendix.

    For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Value Index is calculated, see Information Presentation – Value Index in the Appendix.

    Vendor title icon.

    USE CASE 3

    Social Customer Care

    Seeking functionality for management of the social customer service queue as well as tools for expedient resolution of customer issues.

    Feature weightings for the social customer care use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Core Features

    Social Moderation and Workflow Management Creating escalation workflows is important for triaging customer service, managing the social customer service queue and offering expedient resolution to customer complaints.

    Additional Features

    Social Media Channel Integration – Outbound

    Social Moderation and Workflow Management

    Social Response Management

    Social Post Archival

    Sentiment Analysis

    Dashboards and Visualization

    Campaign Execution

    Trend Analysis

    Post Time Optimization

    Feature Weightings

    Pie chart with Feature Weightings.

    Vendor considerations for the social customer case use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Product Evaluation Features

    Usability A clean and intuitive user interface is important for users to fully leverage the benefits of an SMMP.
    Affordability Affordability is an important consideration as the price of SMMPs can vary significantly depending on the breadth and depth of capability offered.
    Architecture SMMP is more valuable to organizations when it can integrate well with their applications, such as CRM and marketing automation software.

    Vendor Evaluation Features

    Viability Vendor viability is critical for long-term stability of an application portfolio.
    Focus The vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.
    Reach Companies with processes that cross organizational and geographic boundaries require effective and available support.
    Sales Vendors need to demonstrate flexibility in terms of industry and technology partnerships to meet evolving customer needs.

    Pie chart with Product and Vendor Evaluation Features.

    Vendor performance for the social customer care use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Champion badge.

    Champions for this use case:

    Salesforce: Salesforce offers exceptional end-to-end social customer care capability with strong response escalation workflows.
    Leader badge.

    Leaders for this use case:

    Sprinklr: Sprinklr’s offering gives users high flexibility to configure escalation workflows and role-based permissions for managing the social customer service queue.

    Hootsuite: Hootsuite’s strength lies in the breadth of social networks that the platform supports in offering expedient resolution to customer complaints.

    Best Overall Value badge.

    Best Overall Value Award

    Sysomos: Sysomos is the best bang for your buck in this use case, offering essential response and workflow capabilities.

    Players in the social listening and analytics scenario

    • Sendible
    • Sysomos
    • Viralheat (Cision)

    Vendor performance for the social customer care use-case scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Stacked bar chart comparing vendors' use-case performance in multiple areas of 'Social customer care'.

    Value Index for the social customer care scenario

    Vendor Profiles icon

    What is a Value Score?

    The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to its price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.

    Vendors that score high offer more bang-for-the-buck (e.g. features, usability, stability) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower.

    Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes.

    		On a relative basis, Sendible maintained the highest Info-Tech Value ScoreTM of the vendor group for this use-case scenario. Vendors were indexed against Sendible’s performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings.

    Bar chart of vendors' Value Scores in social customer care. Sysomos has the highest and the Average Score is 79.6.

    For an explanation of how Price is determined, see Information Presentation – Price Evaluation in the Appendix.

    For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Value Index is calculated, see Information Presentation – Value Index in the Appendix.

    VENDOR LANDSCAPE

    Vendor Profiles and Scoring

    		Vendor title icon.

    Use the information in the SMMP Vendor Landscape analysis to streamline your own vendor analysis process

    Vendor Profiles icon

    This section of the Vendor Landscape includes the profiles and scoring for each vendor against the evaluation framework previously outlined.

    Sample of the SMMP Vendor Landscape analysis. Vendor Profiles
    • Include an overview for each company.
    • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the product and vendor.
    • Identify the three-year TCO of the vendor’s solution (based on a ten-tiered model).
    		Sample of the Vendor Landscape profiles slide.
    Vendor Scoring

    Use the Harvey Ball scoring of vendor and product considerations to assess alignment with your own requirements.

    Review the use-case scenarios relevant to your organization’s Use-Case Fit Assessment results to identify a vendor’s fit to your organization's SMMP needs. (See the following slide for further clarification on the use-case assessment scoring process.)

    Review the stoplight scoring of advanced features to identify the functional capabilities of vendors.

    		 Sample of the Vendor Scoring slide.

    Adobe Social is a powerhouse for digital marketers, with extremely well-developed analytics capabilities

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Adobe Social
    Employees 15,000+
    Headquarters San Jose, CA
    Website Adobe.com
    Founded 1982
    Presence NASDAQ: ADBE

    Logo for Adobe.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 8 between $500,000 and $1,000,000.

    Pricing tier for Adobe, tier 8.
    Pricing provided by vendor

    		 OVERVIEW
    • Adobe Social is a strong offering included within the broader Adobe Marketing Cloud. The product is tightly focused on social analytics and social campaign execution. It’s particularly well-suited to dedicated digital marketers or social specialists.
    STRENGTHS
    • Adobe Social provides broad capabilities across social analytics and social campaign management; its integration with Adobe Analytics is a strong selling point for organizations that need a complete, end-to-end solution.
    • It boasts great archiving capabilities (up to 7 years for outbound posts), meeting the needs of compliance-centric organizations and providing for strong longitudinal analysis capabilities.
    CHALLENGES
    • The product plays well with the rest of the Adobe Marketing Cloud, but the list of third-party CRM and CSM integrations is shorter than some other players in the market.
    • While the product is unsurprisingly geared towards marketers, organizations that want a scalable platform for customer service use cases will need to augment the product due to its focus on campaigns and analytics – service-related workflow and automation capabilities are not a core focus for the company.

    Adobe Social

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Adobe. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 4/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Adobe earned 'Leader' in Social Listening & Analytics and 'Champion' in Social Publishing & Campaign Management.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Adobe Social provides impressive features, especially for companies that position social media within a larger digital marketing strategy. Organizations that need powerful social analytics or social campaign execution capability should have Adobe on their shortlist, though the product may be an overbuy for social customer care use cases.
    Scores for Adobe's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Hootsuite is a capable vendor that offers a flexible solution for monitoring many different social media services

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Hootsuite
    Employees 800
    Headquarters Vancouver, BC
    Website Hootsuite.com
    Founded 2007
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Hootsuite.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 6, between $100,000 and $250,000.

    Pricing tier for Hootsuite, tier 6.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		 OVERVIEW
    • In the past, Hootsuite worked on the freemium model by providing basic social account management features. The company has since expanded its offering and put a strong focus on enterprise feature sets, such as collaboration and workflow management.
    STRENGTHS
    • Hootsuite is extremely easy to use, having one of the most straightforward interfaces of vendors evaluated.
    • It has extensive monitoring capabilities for a wide variety of social networks as well as related services, which are supported through an app store built into the Hootsuite platform.
    • The product provides a comprehensive model for team-based collaboration and workflow management, demonstrated through nice cross-posting and post-time optimization capabilities.
    CHALLENGES
    • Hootsuite’s reporting and analytics capabilities are relatively basic, particularly when contrasted with more analytics-focused vendors in the market.
    • Running cross-channel campaigns is challenging without integration with third-party applications.

    Hootsuite

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Hootsuite. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 4/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Hootsuite earned 5th out of 6 in Social Listening & Analytics, 'Leader' in Social Publishing & Campaign Management, and 'Leader' in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    The free version of Hootsuite is useful for getting your feet wet with social management. The paid version is a great SMMP for monitoring and engaging your own social properties with good account and team management at an affordable price. This makes it ideal for SMBs. However, organizations that need deep social analytics may want to look elsewhere.
    Scores for Hootsuite's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud continues to be a Cadillac solution; it’s a robust platform with a host of features

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Salesforce Social Studio
    Employees 24,000+
    Headquarters San Francisco, CA
    Website Salesforce.com
    Founded 1999
    Presence NASDAQ: CRM

    Logo for Salesforce.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 7, between $250,000 and $500,000

    Pricing tier for Salesforce, tier 7.
    Pricing provided by vendor

    		 OVERVIEW
    • Social Studio is a powerful solution fueled by Salesforce’s savvy acquisitions in the marketing automation and social media management marketspace. The product has rapidly matured and is adept at both marketing and customer service use cases.
    STRENGTHS
    • Salesforce continues to excel as one of the best SMMP vendors in terms of balancing inbound analytics and outbound engagement. The recent addition of Salesforce Einstein to the platform bolsters deep learning capabilities and enhances the product’s value proposition to those that want a tool for robust customer intelligence.
    • Salesforce’s integration of Marketing Cloud, with its Sales and Service Clouds, also creates a good 360-degree customer view.
    CHALLENGES
    • Salesforce’s broad and deep feature set comes at a premium: the solution is priced materially higher than many other vendors. Before you consider Marketing Cloud, it’s important to evaluate which social media capabilities you want to develop: if you only need basic response workflows or dashboard-level analytics, purchasing Marketing Cloud runs the risk of overbuying.
    • In part due to its price point and market focus, Marketing Cloud is more suited to enterprise use cases than SMB use cases.

    Salesforce

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for . Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 4/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Salesforce earned 'Champion' in Social Listening & Analytics, 'Leader' in Social Publishing & Campaign Management, and 'Champion' in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Social Studio in Salesforce Marketing Cloud remains a leading solution. Organizations that need to blend processes across the enterprise that rely on social listening, deep analytics, and customer engagement should have the product on their shortlist. However, companies with more basic needs may be off-put by the solution’s price point.
    Scores for 's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Sendible offers multiple social media management capabilities for SMBs and agencies

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Sendible
    Employees 27
    Headquarters London, UK
    Website Sendible.com
    Founded 2009
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Sendible.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 4, between $25,000 and $50,000

    Pricing tier for Sendible, tier 4.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		 OVERVIEW
    • Founded in 2009, Sendible is a rising player in the SMMP market. Sendible is primarily focused on the SMB space. A growing segment of its client base is digital marketing agencies and franchise companies.
    STRENGTHS
    • Sendible’s user interface is very intuitive and user friendly.
    • The product offers the ability to manage multiple social accounts simultaneously as well as schedule posts to multiple groups on different social networks, making Sendible a strong choice for social engagement and customer care.
    • Its affordability is strong given its feature set, making it an attractive option for organizations that are budget conscious.
    CHALLENGES
    • Sendible remains a smaller vendor in the market – its list of channel partners lags behind larger incumbents.
    • Sendible’s contextual and visual content analytics are lacking vis-à-vis more analytics-centric vendors.

    Sendible

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Sendible. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 4/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Sendible earned 6th out of 6 and 'Best Overall Value' in Social Publishing & Campaign Management and 4th out of 6 in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Sendible offers a viable solution for small and mid-market companies, as well as social agencies with a focus on customer engagement for marketing and customer service use cases. However, organizations that need deep social analytics may want to look elsewhere.
    Scores for Sendible's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Sprinklr

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Sprinklr
    Employees 1,100
    Headquarters New York, NY
    Website Sprinklr.com
    Founded 2009
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Sprinklr.

    Pricing tier for Sprinklr, tier 6.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		 OVERVIEW
    • Sprinklr has risen rapidly as a best-of-breed player in the social media management market. It markets a solution geared towards multiple use cases, from customer intelligence and analytics to service-centric response management.
    STRENGTHS
    • Sprinklr’s breadth of capabilities are impressive: the vendor has maintained a strong focus on social-specific functionality. As a result of this market focus, they have invested prudently in advanced social analytics and moderation workflow capabilities.
    • Sprinklr’s user experience design and data visualization capabilities are top-notch, making it a solution that’s easy for end users and decision makers to get up and running with quickly.
    CHALLENGES
    • Relative to other players in the market, the breadth and scope of Sprinklr’s integrations with other customer experience management solutions is limited.
    • Based on its feature set and price point, Sprinklr is best suited for mid-to-large organizations. SMBs run the risk of an overbuy situation.

    Sprinklr

    Vendor Profiles icon

    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Sprinklr. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 3/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Sprinklr earned 4th out of 6 in Social Listening & Analytics, 5th out of 6 in Social Publishing & Campaign Management, and 'Leader' in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Sprinklr is a strong choice for small and mid-market organizations offering breadth of social media management capabilities that covers social analytics, engagement, and customer service.
    Scores for Sprinklr's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Sprout Social provides small-to-medium enterprises with robust social response capabilities at a reasonable price

    Vendor Profiles icon
    Product Sprout Social
    Employees 200+
    Headquarters Chicago, IL
    Website Sproutsocial.com
    Founded 2010
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Sprout Social.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 6, between $100,000 and $250,000

    Pricing tier for Sprout Social, tier 6.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		 OVERVIEW
    • Sprout Social has built out its enterprise capabilities over the last several years. It offers strong feature sets for account management, social monitoring and analytics, and customer care – it particularly excels at the latter.
    STRENGTHS
    • Sprout’s unified inbox and response management features are some of the most intuitive we’ve seen. This makes it a natural option for providing customer service via social channels.
    • Sprout Social is priced competitively in relation to other vendors.
    • The product provides strong social asset management capabilities where users can set content permissions and expiration dates, and limit access.
    CHALLENGES
    • Deep contextual analysis is lacking: the solution clearly falls more to the engagement side of the spectrum, and is particularly suited for social customer service.
    • Sprout Social has a limited number of technology partners for integrations with applications such as CRM and marketing automation software.
    • It still has a predominantly North American market focus.

    Sprout Social

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Sprout Social. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 3/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Sprout Social earned 6th out of 6 in Social Listening & Analytics and 4th out of 6 in Social Publishing & Campaign Management.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Sprout Social’s easy-to-understand benchmarking and dashboards, paired with strong response management, make it a great choice for mid-sized enterprises concerned with social engagement. However, organizations that want to do deep social analytics will need to augment the solution.
    Scores for Sprout Social's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Sysomos’ prime feature is its hardy analytics built atop a plethora of inbound social channels

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Product Sysomos MAP and Heartbeat
    Employees 200+
    Headquarters Toronto, ON
    Website Sysomos.com
    Founded 2007
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Sysomos.

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 4, between $25,000 and $50,000

    Pricing tier for Sysomos, tier 4.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		OVERVIEW
    • Sysomos began life as a project at the University of Toronto prior to its acquisition by Marketwire in 2010.
    • It split from Marketwire in 2015 and redesigned its product to focus on social monitoring, analysis, and engagement.

    STRENGTHS

    • MAP and Heartbeat offer extensive contextual and sentiment analytics, consolidating findings through a spam-filtering process that parses out a lot of the “noise” inherent in social media data.
    • The solution provides an unlimited number of profiles, enabling more opportunities for collaboration.
    • It provides workflow summaries, documenting the actions of staff and providing an audit trail through the entire process.

    CHALLENGES

    • Sysomos has introduced a publishing tool for social campaigns. However, its outbound capabilities continue to lag, and there are currently no tools for asset management.
    • Sysomos’ application integration stack is limited relative to other vendors.

    Sysomos

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Sysomos. Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 3/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Sysomos earned 'Leader' and 'Best Overall Value' in Social Listening & Analytics and 5th out of 6 as well as 'Best Overall Value' in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Sysomos’ broad array of good features has made it a frequent challenger to Marketing Cloud on analytics-centric SMMP evaluation shortlists. Enterprise-scale customers specifically interested in social listening and analytics, rather than customer engagement and campaign execution, will definitely want to take a look.
    Scores for Sysomos's individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Viralheat offers a clean analysis of an organization’s social media activity and has beefed up response workflows

    Vendor Profiles icon

    Product Viralheat
    Employees 1,200
    Headquarters Chicago, IL
    Website Cision.com
    Founded 2015
    Presence Privately held

    Logo for Cision (Viralheat).

    3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 6, between $100,000 and $250,000

    Pricing tier for Cision (Viralheat), tier 6.
    Pricing derived from public information

    		OVERVIEW
    • Viralheat has been in the social media market since 2009. It provides tools for analytics and in-band social engagement.
    • The company was acquired by Cision in 2015, a Chicago-based public relations technology company.

    STRENGTHS

    • Viralheat offers robust workflow management capabilities for social response and is particularly useful for customer service.
    • The product has strong post time optimization capability through its ViralPost scheduling feature.
    • Cision’s acquisition of Viralheat makes the product a great choice for third-party social media management, namely public relations and digital marketing agencies.

    CHALLENGES

    • Viralheat remains a smaller vendor in the market – its list of channel partners lags behind larger incumbents.
    • Contextual and sentiment analysis are lacking relative to other vendors.

    Cision (Viralheat)

    Vendor Profiles icon
    'Product' and 'Vendor' scores for Cision (Viralheat). Overall product is 3/4; overall vendor is 2/4.
    'Scenario Performance' awards and 'Value Index' in the three previous scenarios. Cision (Viralheat) earned in Social Listening & Analytics, in Social Publishing & Campaign Management, and in Social Customer Care.    		 Info-Tech Recommends

    Cision has upped its game in terms of social workflow and response management and it monitors an above-average number of services. It is a steadfast tool for brands that are primarily interested in outbound customer engagement for marketing and customer service use cases.
    Scores for Cision (Viralheat)'s individual features, color-coded as they were previously.

    Use the SMMP Vendor Shortlist Tool to customize the vendor analysis for your organization

    Vendor Profiles icon SMMP Vendor Shortlist & Detailed Feature Analysis Tool

    Instructions

    1. Eliminate misaligned vendors with knock-out criteria
      Use the SMMP Vendor Shortlist &am; Detailed Feature Analysis Tool to eliminate vendors based on specific knock-out criteria on tab 2, Knock-Out Criteria.
    2. Create your own evaluation framework
      Tailor the vendor evaluation to include your own product and vendor considerations on tab 3, Weightings. Identify the significance of advanced features for your own procurement on a scale of Mandatory, Optional, and Not Required on tab 4, Detailed Feature Analysis.
    3. Review the results of your customized evaluation
      Review your custom vendor shortlist on tab 5, Results.
    		 This evaluation uses both functional and architectural considerations to eliminate vendors.

    Knock-Out Criteria

    COTS vs. Open Source
    Deployment Models

    Sample of the SMMP Vender Shortlist & Detailed Feature Analysis Tool tab 5, Results.
    Sample Vendor Shortlist from tab 5, Results

    Interpreting the Results
    Your custom shortlist will rank vendors that passed the initial knock-out criteria based on their overall score.
    The shortlist will provide broken-down scoring, as well as a custom value index based on the framework set in the tool.

    Phase 2, Step 2: Select your SMMP solution

    2.1

    2.2
    Analyze and shortlist vendors in the space Select your SMMP solution

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Prioritize your solution requirements.
    • Create an RFP to submit to vendors.
    • Solicit and review vendor proposals.
    • Conduct onsite vendor demonstrations.
    • Select the right solution.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Core Project Team
    • Procurement Manager
    • Representative Stakeholders from Digital Marketing, Sales, and IT

    Outcomes of this step:

    • SMMP Selection Strategy

    Determine your SMMP procurement strategy

    Critical Points and Checks in Your Procurement
    • Follow your own organization’s procurement procedures to ensure that you adhere to your organization’s policies.
    • Based on your organization’s policies, identify if you are going to conduct a private or public RFP process.
      • If your RFP will contain sensitive information, use a private RFP process that is directed to specific vendors in order to protect the proprietary practices of your business.

    Info-Tech Insight

    If you are still not sure of a vendor’s capabilities, we recommend sending an RFI before proceeding with an RFP.

    INFO-TECH OPPORTUNITY

    If your organization lacks a clear procurement process, refer to Info-Tech's Optimize IT Procurement research to help construct a formal process for selecting application technology.

    Info-Tech’s 15-Step Procurement Process

    Use Info-Tech's procurement process to ensure that your SMMP selection is properly planned and executed.

    1. Initiate procurement.
    2. Select procurement manager.
    3. Prepare for procurement; check that prerequisites are met.
    4. Select appropriate procurement vehicle.
    5. Assemble procurement teams.
    6. Create procurement project plan.
    7. Identify and notify vendors about procurement.
    8. Configure procurement process.
    9. Gather requirements.
    10. Prioritize requirements.
    11. Build the procurement documentation package.
    12. Issue the procurement.
    13. Evaluate proposals.
    14. Recommend a vendor.
    15. Present to management.
      16.

    Much of your procurement process should already be outlined from your charter and initial project structuring.
    In this stage of the process, focus on the successful completion of steps 7-15.

    Prioritize your solution requirements based on your business, architecture, and performance needs

    Associated Activity icon

    INPUT: Requirements Workbook and requirements gathering findings

    OUTPUT: Full documentation of requirements for the RFP and solution evaluation process

    Completed in Section 3

    1. Identify Your Requirements
      Use the findings being collected in the Requirements Workbook and related materials to define clear requirements around your organization’s desired SMMP.
    2. Prioritize Your Requirements
      • Identify the significance of each requirement for your solution evaluation.
      • Identify features and requirements as mandatory, important, or optional.
      • Control the number of mandatory requirements you document. Too many mandatory requirements could create an unrealistic framework for evaluating solutions.
    3. Create a Requirements Package
      • Consolidate your identified requirements into one list, removing redundancies and conflicts.
      • Categorize the requirements based on their priority and nature.
        • Use this requirements package as you evaluate vendors and create your RFP for shortlisted vendors.

    Info-Tech Insight

    No solution will meet 100% of your requirements. Control the number of mandatory requirements you place in your procurement process to ensure that vendors that are the best fit for your organization are not eliminated unnecessarily.

    Create an RFP to submit to vendors

    Supporting Tool icon Request for Proposal Template
    Associated Activity icon Activity: Interpreting the Results

    INPUT: Requirements package, Organization’s procurement procedures

    OUTPUT: RFP

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard and markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project manager, Core project team

    Leverage Info-Tech’s SMMP RFP Template to convey your desired suite requirements to vendors and outline the proposal and procurement steps set by your organization.

    Build Your RFP
    1. Outline the organization's procurement instructions for vendors (Sections 1, 3, and 5).
    2. Input the requirements package created in Activity 5.2 into your RFP (Section 4).
    3. Create a scenario overview to provide vendors an opportunity to give an estimated price.

    Approval Process

    Each organization has a unique procurement process; follow your own organization’s process as you submit your RFPs to vendors.

    1. Ensure compliance with your organization's standards and gain approval for submitting your RFP.

    Info-Tech RFP
    Table of Contents

    1. Statement of Work
    2. General Information
    3. Proposal Preparation Instructions
    4. Scope of Work, Specifications, and Requirements
    5. Vendor Qualifications and References
    6. Budget and Estimated Pricing
    7. Vendor Certification

    Standardize the potential responses from vendors and streamline your evaluation with a response template

    Supporting Tool icon Vendor Response Template
    Sample of the Vendor Response Template. Adjust the scope and content of the Vendor Response Template to fit your SMMP procurement process and vendor requirements.

    Section

    Why is this section important?
    About the Vendor This is where the vendor will describe itself and prove its organizational viability.
    Understanding of the Challenge Demonstrates that understanding of the problem is the first step in being able to provide a solution.
    Methodology Shows that there is a proven methodology to approach and solve the challenge.
    Proposed Solution Describes how the vendor will address the challenge. This is a very important section as it articulates what you will receive from the vendor as a solution.
    Project Management, Plan, and Timeline Provides an overview of the project management methodology, phases of the project, what will be delivered, and when.
    Vendor Qualifications Provides evidence of prior experience with delivering similar projects for similar clients.
    References Provides contact information for individuals/organizations for which the vendor has worked and who can vouch for the experience and success of working with this vendor.
    Value Added Services Remember, this could lead to a long-term relationship. It’s not only about what you need now, but also what you may need in the future.
    Requirements Confirmation from the vendor as to which requirements it can meet and how it will meet them.

    Evaluate the RFPs you receive within a clear scoring process

    Supporting Tool icon SMMP RFP Evaluation and Scoring Tool
    Steps to follow: 'Review, Evaluate, Shortlist, Brief, Select' with the first 3 highlighted.

    Associated Activity icon Activity

    Build a fair evaluation framework that evaluates vendor solutions against a set criteria rather than relative comparisons.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Have members of the SMMP evaluation team review the RFP responses given by vendors.
    2. Input vendor solution information into the SMMP RFP Evaluation and Scoring Tool.
    3. Analyze the vendors against your identified evaluation framework.
    4. Identify vendors with whom you wish to arrange vendor briefings.
    5. Contact vendors and arranging briefings.
    		 How to use this tool
    • Review the feature list and select where each feature is mandatory, desirable, or not applicable.
    • Select if each feature has been met by the vendor RFP response.
    • Enter the costing information provided by each vendor.
    • Determine the relative importance of the features, architecture, and support.
    Tool Output
    • Costing
    • Overall score
    • Evaluation notes and comments

    Vendor product demonstration

    Vendor Profiles icon Demo Script Template

    Demo

    		 Invite vendors to come onsite to demonstrate the product and to answer questions. Use a demo script to help identify how a vendor’s solution will fit your organization’s particular business capability needs.
    Make sure the solution will work for your business

    Provide the vendor with some usage patterns for the SMMP tool in preparation for the vendor demo.

    Provide the following information to vendors in your script:

    • Usage for different groups.
    • SMMP usage and [business analytics] usage.
    • The requirements for administration.
    		 How to challenge the vendors in the demo
    • Change visualization/presentation.
    • Change the underlying data.
    • Add additional datasets to the artifacts.
    • Collaboration capabilities.
    • Perform an investigation in terms of finding BI objects and identifying previous changes, and examine the audit trail.
    		 Sample of the SMMP Demo Script Template
    SMMP Demo Script Template

    INFO-TECH ACTIVITY

    INPUT: Requirements package, Use-case results

    OUTPUT: Onsite demo

    1. Create a demo script that will be sent to vendors that outlines SMMP usage patterns from your organization.
    2. Construct the demo script with your SMMP evaluation team, providing both prompts for the vendor to display the capabilities and some sample data for the vendor to model.

    Use vendor RFPs and demos to select the SMMP that best fits your organization’s needs

    Supporting Tool icon Suite Evaluation and Scoring Tool: Tab 5, Overall Score

    Don’t just choose the vendor who gave the best presentation. Instead, select the vendor who meets your functional requirements and organizational needs.

    Category Weight Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Vendor 3 Vendor 4
    SMMP Features 60% 75% 80% 80% 90%
    Architecture 25% 55% 60% 90% 90%
    Support 15% 10% 70% 60% 95%
    Total Score 100% 60% 74% 80% 91%
    Use your objective evaluation to select a vendor to recommend to management for procurement. Arrow from 'Vendor 4' to post script.

    Don’t automatically decide to go with the highest score; validate that the vendor is someone you can envision working with for the long term.

    • Select a vendor based not only on their evaluation performance, but also on your belief that you could form a lasting and supportive relationship with them.
    • Integration needs are dynamic, not static. Find an SMMP tool and vendor that have strong capabilities and will fit with the application and integration plans of the business.
    • In many cases, you will require professional services together with your SMMP purchase to make sure you have some guidance in the initial development and your own staff are trained properly.

    Following the identification of your selected suite, submit your recommendation to the organization’s management or evaluation team for final approval.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    Sample of 'Create an RFP to submit to vendors' slide with 'Request for Proposal Template'. Create an RFP for SMMP procurement

    Our Info-Tech analyst will walk you through the RFP preparation to ensure the SMMP requirements are articulated clearly to vendors in this space.
    Sample of 'Vendor product demonstration' slide with 'Demo Script Template'. Create SMMP demo scripts

    An analyst will walk you through the demo script preparation to guide the SMMP product demonstrations and briefings offered by vendors. The analyst will ensure the demo script addresses key requirements documented earlier in the process.

    Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

    PHASE 3

    Review Implementation Considerations

    Phase 3: Review implementation considerations

    Steps of this blueprint represented by circles of varying colors and sizes, labelled by text of different sizes. Only Phase 3 is highlighted.
    Estimated Timeline:

    Info-Tech Insight

    Even a solution that is a perfect fit for an organization will fail to generate value if it is not properly implemented or measured. Conduct the necessary planning before implementing your SMMP.

    		Major Milestones Reached
    • Plan for implementation and expected go-live date

    Key Activities Completed

    • SMMP Implementation Plan
    • Governance Plan
    • Change Control Methods

    Outcomes from This Phase

    Plans for implementing the selected SMMP tool.

    Phase 3 outline

    Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 3: Review Implementation Considerations

    Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks
    Step 3.1: Establish best practices for SMMP implementation Step 3.2: Assess the measured value from the project
    Start with an analyst kick-off call:
    • Determine the right governance structure to overlook the SMMP implementation.
    • Identify integrations with other applications.
    • Establish an ongoing maintenance plan.
    • Assess the different deployment models.
    		 Review findings with analyst:
    • Determine the key performance indicators for each department using the SMMP
    • Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP
    Then complete these activities…
    • Establish a governance structure for social media.
    • Specify data linkages with CRM.
    • Identify risks and mitigation strategies
    • Determine the right deployment model for your organization.
    		 Then complete these activities…
    • Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP
    With these tools & templates:
    • Social Media Steering Committee
    Phase 3 Results & Insights:
    • Implementation Plan
    • SMMP KPIs

    Phase 3, Step 1: Establish best practices for SMMP implementation

    3.1

    3.2
    Establish best practices for SMMP implementation Assess the measured value from the project

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Establish a governance structure for social media management.
    • Specify the data linkages you will need between your CRM platform and SMMP.

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Core Project Team

    Outcomes of this step

    • Social Media Steering Committee Charter
    • SMMP data migration Inventory
    • Determination of the deployment model that works best for your organization
    • Deployment Model

    Follow these steps for effective SMMP implementation

    What to Consider

    • Creating an overall social media strategy is the critical first step in implementing an SMMP.
    • Selecting an SMMP involves gathering business requirements, then translating those requirements into specific selection criteria. Know exactly what your business needs are to ensure the right SMMP is selected.
    • Implement the platform with an eye toward creating business value: establish points of integration with the existing CRM solution, establish ongoing maintenance policies, select the right deployment model, and train end users around role-based objectives.
    Arrow pointing down.

    Plan
    • Develop a strategy for customer interaction
    • Develop a formal strategy for social media
    • Determine business requirements
    Arrow pointing down.

    Create RFP
    • Translate into functional requirements
    • Determine evaluation criteria
    Arrow pointing down.

    Evaluate
    • Evaluate vendors against criteria
    • Shortlist vendors
    • Perform in-depth vendor review

    Implement
    • Integrate with existing CRM ecosystem (if applicable)
    • Establish ongoing maintenance policies
    • Map deployment to organizational models
    • Train end-users and establish acceptable use policies
    • Designate an SMMP subject matter expert

    Before deploying the SMMP, ensure the right social media governance structures are in place to oversee implementation

    An SMMP is a tool, not a substitute, for adequate cross-departmental social media oversight. You must coordinate efforts across constituent stakeholders.

    • Successful organizations have permanent governance structures in place for managing social media. For example, mature companies leverage Social Media Steering Committees (SMSCs) to coordinate the social media initiatives of different business units and departments. Large organizations with highly complex needs may even make use of a physical command center.
    • Compared to traditional apps projects (like CRM or ERP), social media programs tend to start as grassroots initiatives. Marketing and Public Relations departments are the most likely to spearhead the initial push, often selecting their own tools without IT involvement or oversight. This causes application fragmentation and a proliferation of shadow IT.
    • This organic adoption contrasts with the top-down approach many IT leaders are accustomed to. Bottom-up growth can ensure rapid response to social media opportunities, but it also leads to insufficient coordination. A conscious effort should be made to mature your social media strategy beyond this disorganized initial state.
    • IT can help be a “cat herder” to shepherd departments into shared initiatives.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Before implementing the SMMP, go through the appropriate organizational governance structures to ensure they have input into the deployment. If a social media steering committee is not already in place, rolling out an SMMP is a great opportunity to get one going. See our research on social media program execution for more details.

    Establish a governance structure for social media management

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.1 60 minutes

    INPUT: Project stakeholders, SMMP mandate

    OUTPUT: Social Media Governance Structure

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Describe the unique role that the governance team will play in social media management.
    2. Describe the overall purpose statement of the governance team.
    3. Define the roles and responsibilities of the governance team.
    4. Document the outcome in the Social Media Steering Committee Charter.

    EXAMPLE

    Executive Sponsorship
    Social Media Steering Committee
    VP Marketing VP Sales VP Customer Service VP Public Relations CIO/ IT Director
    Marketing Dept. Sales Dept. Customer Service Dept. Public Relations Dept. IT Dept.

    Use Info-Tech’s Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template to define roles and ensure value delivery

    Supporting Tool icon 3.1

    Leaders must ensure that the SMSC has a formal mandate with clear objectives, strong executive participation, and a commitment to meeting regularly. Create an SMSC Charter to formalize the committee governance capabilities.

    Developing a Social Media Steering Committee Charter:
    • Outline the committee’s structure, composition, and responsibilities using the Info-Tech Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template.
    • This template also outlines the key tasks and responsibilities for the committee:
      • Providing strategic leadership for social media
      • Leading SMMP procurement efforts
      • Providing process integration
      • Governing social media initiatives
      • Ensuring open communications between departments with ownership of social media processes
    • Keep the completed charter on file and available to all committee members. Remember to periodically update the document as organizational priorities shift to ensure the charter remains relevant.

    INFO-TECH DELIVERABLE

    Sample of the Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template.

    Integrate your social media management platform with CRM to strengthen the realization of social media goals

    • Linking social media to existing customer relationship management solutions can improve information accuracy, reduce manual effort and provide more in-depth customer insights.
      • Organizations Info-Tech surveyed, and who integrated their solutions, achieved more goals as a result.
    • Several major CRM vendors are now offering products that integrate with popular social networking services (either natively or by providing support for third-party add-ons).
      • For example, Salesforce.com now allows for native integration with Twitter, while an add-on available for Oracle gathers real-time information about prospects by pulling their extended information from publicly available LinkedIn profiles.
    • Some CRM vendors are acquiring established SMMPs outright.
      • For example, Salesforce.com acquired Radian6 for their clients that have advanced social media requirements.
    		 Bar chart comparing the social media goal realization of organizations that integrated their SMMP and CRM technology and those that didn't.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    CRM vendors still lag in out-of-the-box social features, making a separate SMMP purchase a given. For companies that have not formally integrated social media with CRM, IT should develop the business case in conjunction with the applicable business-side partner (e.g. Marketing, Sales, Service, PR, etc.).

    Establish points of integration between SMMPs and CRM suites to gain a 360 degree view of the customer

    • Social media is a valuable tool from a standalone perspective, but its power is considerably magnified when it’s paired with the CRM suite.
    • Many SMMPs offer native integration with CRM platforms. IT should identify and enable these connectors to strengthen the business value of the platform.
      • An illustrated example of how an SMMP linked via CRM can provide proactive service while contributing to sales and marketing.
      An example of how an SMMP linked via CRM can provide proactive service while contributing to sales and marketing.
    • New channels do not mean they stand alone and do not need to be integrated into the rest of the customer interaction architecture.
    • Challenge SMMP vendors to demonstrate integration experience with CRM vendors and multimedia queue vendors.
    • Manual integration – adding resolved social inquiries yourself to a CRM system after closure – cannot scale given the rapid increase in customer inquiries originating in the social cloud. Integration with interaction management workflows is most desirable.

    “These tools are enabling sales, and they help us serve our customers better. And anything that does that, is a good investment on our part.” Chip Meyers, (Sales Operation Manager, Insource)

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    SMMPs are a necessary single-channel evolutionary step, just like there used to be email-only and web chat-only customer service options in the late 1990s. But they are temporary. SMMPs will eventually be subsumed into the larger marketing automation ecosystem. Only a few best of breed will survive in 10 years.

    Specify the data linkages you will need between your CRM platform and SMMP

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.2 1 hour

    INPUT: SMMP data sources

    OUTPUT: SMMP data migration inventory

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Build a list of sources of information that you’ll need to integrate with your CRM tool.
    2. Identify:
      1. Data Source
      2. Integration Direction
      3. Data Type and Use Case
    Data Source Migration/Integration Direction Data Type/Use Case
    Social Platform Bidirectional Recent Social Posts
    Customer Data Warehouse Bidirectional Contact Information, Cases, Tasks, Opportunities

    Establish a plan for ongoing platform maintenance

    • Like other enterprise applications, the SMMP will require periodic upkeep. IT must develop and codify policies around ongoing platform maintenance.
    • Platform maintenance should touch on the following areas:
      • Account access and controls – periodically, access privileges for employees no longer with the organization should be purged.
      • Platform security – cloud-based platforms will be automatically updated by the vendor to plug security holes, but on-premises solutions must be periodically updated to ensure that there are no gaps in security.
      • Pruning of old or outdated material – pages (e.g. Facebook Groups, Events, and Twitter feeds) that are no longer in use should be pruned. For example, a management console for an event that was held two years ago is unnecessary. Remove it from the platform (and the relevant service) to cut down on clutter (and reduce costs for “per-topic” priced platforms.)
    		 SMMP being fixed by a wrench.

    IT: SMMP Maintenance Checklist

    • Account upkeep and pruning
    • Security, privacy, and access
    • Content upkeep and pruning

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Even cloud-based platforms like SMMPs require a certain degree of maintenance around account controls, security, and content pruning. IT should assist the business units in carrying out periodic maintenance.

    Social media is a powerful medium, but organizations must develop a prudent strategy for minimizing associated risks

    Using an SMMP can help mitigate many of the risks associated with social media. Review the risk categories on the next several slides to determine which ones can be mitigated by effective utilization of a dedicated SMMP.

    Risk Category Likelihood Risk(s) Suggested Mitigation Strategy
    Privacy and Confidentiality High
    • Risk of inappropriate exchange of information between personal and business social networks (e.g. a personal account used for company business).
    • Abuse of privacy and confidentiality laws.
    • Whenever possible, implement separate social network accounts for business, and train your employees to avoid using personal accounts at work.
    • Have a policy in place for how to treat pre-existing accounts versus newly created ones for enterprise use.
    • Use the “unified sign-on” capabilities of an SMMP to prevent employees from directly accessing the underlying social media services.

    Good governance means being proactive in mitigating the legal and compliance risks of your social media program

    Risk Category Likelihood Risk(s) Suggested Mitigation Strategy
    Trademark and Intellectual Property Medium
    • Copyrighted information could inappropriately be used for promotional and other business purposes (e.g. using a private user’s images in collateral).
    • Legal should conduct training to make sure the organization’s social media representatives only use information in the public domain, nothing privileged or confidential. This is particularly sensitive for Marketing and PR.
    Control over Brand Image and Inappropriate Content Medium
    • Employees on social media channels may post something inappropriate to the nature of your business.
    • Employees can post something that compromises industry and/or ethical standards.
    • Use SMMP outbound filtering/post approval workflows to censor certain inappropriate keywords.
    • Select the team carefully and ensure they are fully trained on both official company policy and social media etiquette.
    • Ensure strong enforcement of Social Media AUPs: take a zero tolerance approach to flagrant abuses.

    Security is a top-of-mind risk, though bandwidth is a low priority issue for most organizations

    Risk Category Likelihood Risk(s) Suggested Mitigation Strategy
    IT Security Medium Risk of employees downloading or being sent malware through social media services. Your clients are also exposed to this risk; this may undermine their trust of your brand.
    • Implement policies that outline appropriate precautions by employees, such as using effective passwords and not downloading unauthorized software.
    • Use web-filtering and anti-malware software that incorporates social media as a threat vector.
    Bandwidth Low Increase in bandwidth needs to support social media efforts, particularly when using video social media such as YouTube.
    • Plan for any bandwidth requirements with IT network staff.
    • Most social media strategies shouldn’t have a material impact on bandwidth.

    Poaching of client lists and increased costs are unlikely to occur, but address as a worst case scenario

    Risk Category Likelihood Risk(s) Suggested Mitigation Strategy
    Competitors Poaching Client Lists Low The ability for a competitor to view lists of clients that have joined your organization’s social media groups.
    • In a public social network, you cannot prevent this. Monitor your own brand as well as competitors’. If client secrecy must be maintained, then you should use a private social network (e.g. Jive, Lithium, private SharePoint site), not a public network.
    Increased Cost of Servicing Customers Low Additional resources may be allocated to social media without seeing immediate ROI.
    • Augment existing customer service responsibilities with social media requests.
    • If a dedicated resource is not available, dedicate a specific amount of time per employee to be spent addressing customer concerns via social media.

    Determine your top social media risks and develop an appropriate mitigation strategy that incorporates an SMMP

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.3 20 minutes

    INPUT: Risk assessment inventory

    OUTPUT: Top social media risks and mitigation plan

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Based on your unique business variables, which social media risk categories are most applicable to your organization? In what order?
    2. Summarize the top risks below and identify mitigation steps (which often involve effective use of a dedicated SMMP).
    Rank Risk Category Mitigation Steps
    High Confidentiality We have strong records retention requirements, so using a rules-based SMMP like SocialVolt is a must.
    Medium Brand Image Ensure that only personnel who have undergone mandatory training can touch our social accounts via an SMMP.
    Low Competitors’ Poaching Lists Migrate our Business Services division contacts onto LinkedIn – maintain no Facebook presence for these clients.

    Determine the workflows that will be supported using your social media management platform

    Determine when, where, and how social media services should be used to augment existing workflows across (and between) the business process domains. Establish escalation rules and decide whether workflows will be reactive or proactively.

    • Fine tune your efforts in each business process domain by matching social technologies to specific business workflows. This will clearly delineate where value is created by leveraging social media.
    • Common business process domains that should be targeted include marketing, sales, and customer service. Public relations, human resources, and analyst relations are other areas to consider for social process support.
    • For each business process domain, IT should assist with technology enablement and execution.
    		 Target domains: 'Marketing', 'Sales', 'Customer Service', 'Public Relations', 'Human Resources'.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    The social media governance team should have high-level supervision of process workflows. Ask to see reports from line managers on what steps they have taken to put process in place for reactive and proactive customer interactions, as well as escalations and channel switching. IT helps orchestrate these processes through knowledge and expertise with SMMP workflow capability.

    There are three primary models for SMMP deployment: the agency model uses the SMMP as a third-party offering

    There are three models for deploying an SMMP: agency, centralized, and distributed.

    Agency Model
    Visual of the Agency Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to the 'SMMP' attached to the 'Agency (e.g. marketing or public relations agency)' attached to the 'Client Organization (Marketing, Sales, Service)'
    • In the agency model of SMMP deployment, the platform is managed on behalf of the organization by a third party – typically a marketing or public relations agency.
    • The agency serves as the primary touch point for the client organization: the client requests the types of market research it wants done, or the campaigns it wants managed. The agency uses its own SMMP(s) to execute the requests. Often, the SMMP’s results or dashboards will be rebranded by the agency.
    • Pros: The agency model is useful when large portions of marketing, service, or public relations are already being outsourced to a third-party provider. Going with an agency also splits the cost of more expensive SMMPs over multiple clients, and limits deployment costs.
    • Cons: The client organization has no direct control over the platform; going with an agency is not cost effective for firms with in-house marketing or PR capabilities.
    • Advice: Go with an agency-managed SMMP if you already use an agency for marketing or PR.

    Select the centralized deployment model when SMMP functionality rests in the hands of a single department

    Centralized Model
    Visual of the Centralized Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to the 'SMMP' attached to 'Marketing' attached to the 'Sales' and 'Service'
    In this example, marketing owns and manages a single SMMP
    • In the centralized model, a single SMMP workspace is owned and operated predominantly by a single business unit or department. Unlike the agency model, the SMMP functionality is utilized in-house.
    • Information from the SMMP may occasionally be shared with other departments, but normally the platform is used almost exclusively by a single group in the company. Marketing or public relations are usually the groups that maintain ownership of the SMMP in the centralized model (with selection and deployment assistance from the IT department).
    • Pros: The centralized model provides small organizations with an in-house, dedicated SMMP without having to go through an agency. Having a single group own and manage the SMMP is considerably more cost effective than having SMMPs licensed to multiple business units in a small company.
    • Cons: If more and more departments start clamoring for control of SMMP resources, the centralized model will fail to meet the overall needs of the organization.
    • Advice: Small-to-medium enterprises with mid-sized topic or brand portfolios should use the centralized model.

    Go with a distributed deployment if multiple business units require advanced SMMP functionality

    Distributed Model
    Visual of the Distributed Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to two 'SMMPs', one attached to 'Marketing' and 'Sales', the other to 'Customer Service' and 'Public Relations'.
    • In the distributed model, multiple SMMPs (sometimes from different vendors) or multiple SMMP workspaces (from a single vendor) are deployed to several groups (e.g. multiple departments or brand portfolios) in the organization.
    • Pros: The distributed model is highly effective in large organizations with multiple departments or brands that each are interested in SMMP functionality. Having separate workspaces for each business group enables customizing workspaces to satisfy different goals of the different business groups.
    • Cons: The cost of deploying multiple SMMP workspaces can be prohibitive.
    • Advice: Go with the distributed model if your organization is large and has multiple relevant departments or product marketing groups, with differing social media goals.

    Determine which deployment model works best for your organization

    Associated Activity icon 3.1.4 1 Hour

    INPUT: Deployment models

    OUTPUT: Best fit deployment model

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Project Manager, Core project team

    1. Assess and understand the three models of SMMP deployments: agency, centralized and distributed. Consider the pros and cons of each model.
    2. Understand how your organization manages enterprise social media. Consider the follow questions:
      • What is the size of your organization?
      • Who owns the management of social media in your organization?
      • Is social media managed in-house or outsourced to an agency?
      • What are the number of departments that use and rely on social media?
    3. Select the best deployment model for your organization.
    Agency Model Centralized Model Distributed Model
    Visual of the Agency Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to the 'SMMP' attached to the 'Agency (e.g. marketing or public relations agency)' attached to the 'Client Organization (Marketing, Sales, Service)' Visual of the Centralized Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to the 'SMMP' attached to 'Marketing' attached to the 'Sales' and 'Service' Visual of the Distributed Model with the 'Social Cloud' attached to two 'SMMPs', one attached to 'Marketing' and 'Sales', the other to 'Customer Service' and 'Public Relations'.

    Create an SMMP training matrix based on social media roles

    IT must assist the business by creating and executing a role-based training program. An SMMP expert in IT should lead training sessions for targeted groups of end users, training them only on the functions they require to perform their jobs.

    Use the table below to help identify which roles should be trained on which SMMP features.

    PR Professionals Marketing Brand, Product, and Channel Managers Customer Service Reps and Manager Product Development and Market Research IT Application Support
    Account Management Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field.
    Response and Engagement Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field.
    Social Analytics and Data Mining Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field.
    Marketing Campaign Execution Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field.
    Mobile Access Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field. Circle indicating a positive field.
    Archiving Circle indicating a positive field.
    CRM Integration Circle indicating a positive field.

    Phase 3, Step 2: Track your metrics

    3.1

    3.2
    Establish best practices for SMMP implementation Assess the measured value from the project

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Identify metrics and KPIs for business units using a dedicated SMMP

    This step involves the following participants:

    • Core Project Team
    • Representative Stakeholders from Digital Marketing, Sales, and IT

    Outcomes of this step

    • Key Performance Indicators

    Know key performance indicators (KPIs) for each department that employs a dedicated social media management platform

    Share of Voice
    How often a brand is mentioned, relative to other brands competing in a defined market.

    User Engagement
    Quantity and quality of customer interactions with a brand or with each other, either on- or offline.

    Campaign Success
    Tracking reception of campaigns and leads brought in as a result.    		 Marketing KPIs Reach
    Measurement of the size of market your brand advertisements and communications reach.

    Impressions
    The number of exposures your content, ad, or social post has to people in your target audience.

    Cost per Point (CPP)
    Cost to reach one percent of your organization’s audience.

    Product Innovation
    The quantity and quality of improvements, updates, and changes to existing products.

    Time-to-Market
    Time that passes between idea generation and the product being available to consumers.

    		 Product Development KPIs

    New Product Launches
    A ratio of completely new product types released to brand extensions and improvements.

    Cancelled Projects
    Measure of quality of ideas generated and quality of idea assessment method.

    Use social media metrics to complement your existing departmental KPIs – not usurp them

    Cost per Lead
    The average amount an organization spends to find leads.

    Conversion Rate
    How many sales are made in relation to the number of leads.

    Quantity of Leads
    How many sales leads are in the funnel at a given time.    		 Sales KPIs Average Cycle Time
    Average length of time it takes leads to progress through the sales cycle.

    Revenue by Lead
    Total revenue divided by total number of leads.

    Avg. Revenue per Rep
    Total revenue divided by number of sales reps.

    Time to Resolution
    Average amount of time it takes for customers to get a response they are satisfied with.

    First Contact Resolution
    How often customer issues are resolved on the first contact.

    		 Customer Service KPIs

    Contact Frequency
    The number of repeated interactions from the same customers.

    Satisfaction Scores
    Determined from customer feedback – either through surveys or gathered sporadically.

    Social analytics don’t operate alone; merge social data with traditional data to gain the deepest insights

    Employee Retention
    The level of effort an organization exerts to maintain its current staff.

    Employee Engagement
    Rating of employee satisfaction overall or with a given aspect of the workplace.

    Preferred Employer
    A company where candidates would rather work over other companies.    		 Marketing KPIs Recruitment Cycle Time
    Average length of time required to recruit a new employee.

    Employee Productivity
    A comparison of employee inputs (time, effort, etc.) and outputs (work).

    Employee Referrals
    The ratio of employee referrals that complete the recruitment process.

    “There are conversations going on behind your back, and if you're not participating in them, then you're either not perpetuating the positive conversation or not diffusing the negative. And that's irresponsible in today's business world.” (Lon Safko, Social Media Bible)

    Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP

    Associated Activity icon 3.2.1 30 minutes

    INPUT: Social media goals

    OUTPUT: SMMP KPIs

    MATERIALS: Whiteboard, Markers

    PARTICIPANTS: Representative stakeholders from different business units

    For each listed department, identify the social media goals and departmental key performance indicators to measure the impact of the SMMP.

    DepartmentSocial Media GoalsKPI
    Marketing
    • E.g. build a positive brand image
    • Net increase in brand recognition
    Product Development
    • Launch a viral video campaign showcasing product attributes to drive increased YT traffic
    • Net increase in unaided customer recall
    Sales
    • Enhance sales lead generation through social channels
    • Net increase in sales lead generation in the social media sales funnel
    Customer Service
    • Produce more timely responses to customer enquiries and complaints
    • Reduced time to resolution
    HR
    • Enhance social media recruitment channels
    • Number of LinkedIn recruitment

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
    • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
    • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
    • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    3.1.1

    		 Sample of activity 3.1.1 'Establish a governance structure for social media management'. Establish a governance structure for social media management

    Our Info-Tech analyst will walk you through the exercise of developing roles and responsibilities to govern your social media program.

    3.1.2

    		 Sample of activity 3.1.2 'Specify the data linkages you will need between your CRM platform and SMMP'. Specify the data linkages you will need between your CRM and SMMP

    The analyst will help you identify the points of integration between the SMMP and your CRM platform.

    If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

    Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

    3.1.3

    		 Sample of activity 3.1.3 'Determine your top social media risks and develop an appropriate mitigation strategy that incorporates an SMMP'. Determine your top social media risks

    Our Info-Tech analyst will facilitate the discussion to identify the top risks associated with the SMMP and determine mitigation strategies for each risk.

    3.1.4

    		 Sample of activity 3.1.4 'Determine which deployment model works best for your organization'. Determine the best-fit deployment model

    An analyst will demonstrate the different SMMP deployment models and assist in determining the most suitable model for your organization.

    3.2.1

    		 Sample of activity 3.2.1 'Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP'. Identify departmental KPIs

    An analyst will work with different stakeholders to determine the top social media goals for each department.

    Appendices

    Works Cited

    Ashja, Mojtaba, Akram Hadizadeh, and Hamid Bidram. “Comparative Study of Large Information Systems’ CSFs During Their Life Cycle.” Information Systems Frontiers. September 8, 2013.

    UBM. “The State of Social Media Analytics.” January, 2016.

    Jobvite. “2015 Recruiter Nation Survey.” September, 2015.

    Vendor Landscape Analysis Appendices

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Overview

    Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are research materials that review a particular IT market space, evaluating the strengths and abilities of both the products available in that space, as well as the vendors of those products. These materials are created by a team of dedicated analysts operating under the direction of a senior subject matter expert over a period of several weeks.

    Evaluations weigh selected vendors and their products (collectively “solutions”) on the following eight criteria to determine overall standing:

    • Features: The presence of advanced and market-differentiating capabilities.
    • User Interface: The intuitiveness, power, and integrated nature of administrative consoles and client software components.
    • Affordability: The three-year total cost of ownership of the solution; flexibility of the pricing and discounting structure.
    • Architecture: The degree of integration with the vendor’s other tools, flexibility of deployment, and breadth of platform applicability.
    • Viability: The stability of the company as measured by its history in the market, the size of its client base, and its percentage of growth.
    • Focus: The commitment to both the market space, as well as to the various sized clients (small, mid-sized, and enterprise clients).
    • Reach: The ability of the vendor to support its products on a global scale.
    • Sales: The structure of the sales process and the measure of the size of the vendor’s channel and industry partners.

    Evaluated solutions within scenarios are visually represented by a Pathway to Success, based off a linear graph using above scoring methods:

    • Use-case scenarios are decided upon based on analyst expertise and experience with Info-Tech clients.
    • Use-case scenarios are defined through feature requirements, predetermined by analyst expertise.
    • Placement within scenario rankings consists of features being evaluated against the other scoring criteria.

    Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are researched and produced according to a strictly adhered to process that includes the following steps:

    • Vendor/product selection
    • Information gathering
    • Vendor/product scoring
    • Information presentation
    • Fact checking
    • Publication

    This document outlines how each of these steps is conducted.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Vendor/Product Selection & Information Gathering

    Info-Tech works closely with its client base to solicit guidance in terms of understanding the vendors with whom clients wish to work and the products that they wish evaluated; this demand pool forms the basis of the vendor selection process for Vendor Landscapes. Balancing this demand, Info-Tech also relies upon the deep subject matter expertise and market awareness of its Senior Analysts to ensure that appropriate solutions are included in the evaluation. As an aspect of that expertise and awareness, Info-Tech’s analysts may, at their discretion, determine the specific capabilities that are required of the products under evaluation, and include in the Vendor Landscape only those solutions that meet all specified requirements.

    Information on vendors and products is gathered in a number of ways via a number of channels.

    Initially, a request package is submitted to vendors to solicit information on a broad range of topics. The request package includes:

    • A detailed survey.
    • A pricing scenario (see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Price Evaluation and Pricing Scenario, below).
    • A request for reference clients.
    • A request for a briefing and, where applicable, guided product demonstration.

    These request packages are distributed approximately eight weeks prior to the initiation of the actual research project to allow vendors ample time to consolidate the required information and schedule appropriate resources.

    During the course of the research project, briefings and demonstrations are scheduled (generally for one hour each session, though more time is scheduled as required) to allow the analyst team to discuss the information provided in the survey, validate vendor claims, and gain direct exposure to the evaluated products. Additionally, an end-user survey is circulated to Info-Tech’s client base and vendor-supplied reference accounts are interviewed to solicit their feedback on their experiences with the evaluated solutions and with the vendors of those solutions.

    These materials are supplemented by a thorough review of all product briefs, technical manuals, and publicly available marketing materials about the product, as well as about the vendor itself.

    Refusal by a vendor to supply completed surveys or submit to participation in briefings and demonstrations does not eliminate a vendor from inclusion in the evaluation. Where analyst and client input has determined that a vendor belongs in a particular evaluation, it will be evaluated as best as possible based on publicly available materials only. As these materials are not as comprehensive as a survey, briefing, and demonstration, the possibility exists that the evaluation may not be as thorough or accurate. Since Info-Tech includes vendors regardless of vendor participation, it is always in the vendor’s best interest to participate fully.

    All information is recorded and catalogued, as required, to facilitate scoring and for future reference.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Scoring

    Once all information has been gathered and evaluated for all vendors and products, the analyst team moves to scoring. All scoring is performed at the same time so as to ensure as much consistency as possible. Each criterion is scored on a ten-point scale, though the manner of scoring for criteria differs slightly:

    • Features is scored via Cumulative Scoring.
    • Affordability is scored via Scalar Scoring.
    • All other criteria are scored via Base5 Scoring.

    Cumulative Scoring is on a four-point scale. Zero points are awarded to features that are deemed absent or unsatisfactory, one point is assigned to features that are partially present, two points are assigned to features that require an extra purchase in the vendor’s product portfolio or through a third party, three points are assigned to features that are fully present and native to the solution, and four points are assigned to the best-of-breed native feature. The assigned points are summed and normalized to a value out of ten. For example, if a particular Vendor Landscape evaluates eight specific features in the Feature Criteria, the summed score out of eight for each evaluated product would be multiplied by 1.25 to yield a value out of ten to represent in a Harvey Ball format.

    In Scalar Scoring, a score of ten is assigned to the lowest cost solution, and a score of one is assigned to the highest cost solution. All other solutions are assigned a mathematically-determined score based on their proximity to / distance from these two endpoints. For example, in an evaluation of three solutions, where the middle cost solution is closer to the low end of the pricing scale it will receive a higher score, and where it is closer to the high end of the pricing scale it will receive a lower score; depending on proximity to the high or low price it is entirely possible that it could receive either ten points (if it is very close to the lowest price) or one point (if it is very close to the highest price). Where pricing cannot be determined (vendor does not supply price and public sources do not exist), a score of 0 is automatically assigned.

    In Base5 scoring a number of sub-criteria are specified for each criterion (for example, Longevity, Market Presence, and Financials are sub-criteria of the Viability criterion), and each one is scored on the following scale:

    • 5 - The product/vendor is exemplary in this area (nothing could be done to improve the status).
    • 4 - The product/vendor is good in this area (small changes could be made that would move things to the next level).
    • 3 - The product/vendor is adequate in this area (small changes would make it good, more significant changes required to be exemplary).
    • 2 - The product/vendor is poor in this area (this is a notable weakness and significant work is required).
    • 1 - The product/vendor fails in this area (this is a glaring oversight and a serious impediment to adoption).

    The assigned points are summed and normalized to a value out of ten as explained in Cumulative Scoring above.

    Scores out of ten, known as Raw scores, are transposed as is into Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape Shortlist Tool, which automatically determines Vendor Landscape positioning (see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation – Vendor Landscape, below), Criteria Score (see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation – Criteria Score, below), and Value Index (see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation – Value Index, below).

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Information Presentation – Criteria Scores (Harvey Balls)

    Info-Tech’s criteria scores are visual representations of the absolute score assigned to each individual criterion, as well as of the calculated overall vendor and product scores. The visual representation used is Harvey Balls.

    Harvey Balls are calculated as follows:

    1. Raw scores are transposed into the Info-Tech Vendor Landscape Shortlist Tool (for information on how raw scores are determined, see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Scoring, above).
    2. Each individual criterion raw score is multiplied by a pre-assigned weighting factor for the Vendor Landscape in question. Weighting factors are determined prior to the evaluation process, based on the expertise of the Senior or Lead Research Analyst, to eliminate any possibility of bias. Weighting factors are expressed as a percentage, such that the sum of the weighting factors for the vendor criteria (Viability, Strategy, Reach, Channel) is 100%, and the sum of the product criteria (Features, Usability, Affordability, Architecture) is 100%.
    3. A sum-product of the weighted vendor criteria scores and of the weighted product criteria scores is calculated to yield an overall vendor score and an overall product score.
    4. Both overall vendor score / overall product score, as well as individual criterion raw scores are converted from a scale of one to ten to Harvey Ball scores on a scale of zero to four, where exceptional performance results in a score of four and poor performance results in a score of zero.
    5. Harvey Ball scores are converted to Harvey Balls as follows:
      • A score of four becomes a full Harvey Ball.
      • A score of three becomes a three-quarter full Harvey Ball.
      • A score of two becomes a half-full Harvey Ball.
      • A score of one becomes a one-quarter full Harvey Ball.
      • A score of zero becomes an empty Harvey Ball.
    6. Harvey Balls are plotted by solution in a chart where rows represent individual solutions and columns represent overall vendor / overall product, as well as individual criteria. Solutions are ordered in the chart alphabetically by vendor name.
    Harvey Balls
    Overall Harvey Balls represent weighted aggregates. Example of Harvey Balls with 'Overall' balls at the beginning of each category followed by 'Criteria' balls for individual raw scores. Criteria Harvey Balls represent individual raw scores.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Use-Case Scoring

    Within each Vendor Landscape a set of use-case scenarios are created by the analysts by considering the different outcomes and purposes related to the technology being evaluated. To generate the custom use-case vendor performances, the feature and Harvey Ball scoring performed in the Vendor Landscapes are set with custom weighting configurations.

    Calculations

    Each product has a vendor multiplier calculated based on its weighted performance, considering the different criteria scored in the Harvey Ball evaluations.

    To calculate each vendor’s performance, the advanced feature scores are multiplied against the weighting for the feature in the use-case scenario’s configuration.

    The weighted advanced feature score is then multiplied against the vendor multiplier.

    The sum of each vendor’s total weighted advanced features is calculated. This sum is used to identify the vendor’s qualification and relative rank within the use case.

    Example pie charts.

    Each use case’s feature weightings and vendor/product weighting configurations are displayed within the body of slide deck.

    Use-Case Vendor Performance

    Example stacked bar chart of use-case vendor performance.

    Vendors who qualified for each use-case scenario are ranked from first to last in a weighted bar graph based on the features considered.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights)

    Advanced features are determined by analyst expertise, leveraging information gained from conversations with clients. Advanced features chosen as part of the evaluation are representative of what Info-Tech clients have indicated are of importance to their vendor solution. Advanced features are evaluated through a series of partial marks, dedicated to whether the solution performs all aspects of the Info-Tech definition of the feature and whether the feature is provided within the solution. Analysts hold the right to determine individual, unique scoring criteria for each evaluation. If a feature does not meet the criteria, Info-Tech holds the right to score the feature accordingly.

    Use cases use features as a baseline of the inclusion and scoring criteria.

    		 'Stoplight Legend' with green+star 'Feature category is present: best in class', green 'Feature category is present: strong', yellow 'Feature category is present: average', orange 'Feature category is partially present: weak', and red 'Feature category is absent or near-absent'.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Information Presentation – Value Index

    Info-Tech’s Value Index is an indexed ranking of solution value per dollar as determined by the raw scores assigned to each criteria (for information on how raw scores are determined, see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Scoring, above).

    Value scores are calculated as follows:

    1. The TCO Affordability criterion is removed from the Affordability score and the remaining product score criteria (Features, Usability, Architecture). Affordability scoring is adjusted with the TCO weighting distributed in proportion to the use case’s weighting for Affordability. Weighting is adjusted as to retain the same weightings relative to one another, while still summing to 100%.
    2. An adjusted multiplier is determined for each vendor using the recalculated Affordability scoring.
    3. The multiplier vendor score and vendor’s weighted feature score (based on the use-case scenario’s weightings), are summed. This sum is multiplied by the TCO raw score to yield an interim Value Score for each solution.
    4. All interim Value Scores are then indexed to the highest performing solution by dividing each interim Value Score by the highest interim Value Score. This results in a Value Score of 100 for the top solution and an indexed Value Score relative to the 100 for each alternate solution.
    5. Solutions are plotted according to Value Score, with the highest score plotted first, and all remaining scores plotted in descending numerical order.

    Where pricing is not provided by the vendor and public sources of information cannot be found, an Affordability raw score of zero is assigned. Since multiplication by zero results in a product of zero, those solutions for which pricing cannot be determined receive a Value Score of zero. Since Info-Tech assigns a score of zero where pricing is not available, it is always in the vendor’s best interest to provide accurate and up-to-date pricing. In the event that insufficient pricing is available to accurately calculate a Value Index, Info-Tech will omit it from the Vendor Landscape.

    Value Index

    Vendors are arranged in order of Value Score. The Value Score each solution achieved is displayed, and so is the average score.

    Example bar chart indicating the 'Value Score' vs the 'Average Score'.

    Those solutions that are ranked as Champions are differentiated for point of reference.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Information Presentation – Price Evaluation: Mid-Market

    Info-Tech’s Price Evaluation is a tiered representation of the three-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a proposed solution. Info-Tech uses this method of communicating pricing information to provide high-level budgetary guidance to its end-user clients while respecting the privacy of the vendors with whom it works. The solution TCO is calculated and then represented as belonging to one of ten pricing tiers.

    Pricing tiers are as follows:

    1. Between $1 and $2,500
    2. Between $2,500 and $10,000
    3. Between $10,000 and $25,000
    4. Between $25,000 and $50,000
    5. Between $50,000 and $100,000
    6. Between $100,000 and $250,000
    7. Between $250,000 and $500,000
    8. Between $500,000 and $1,000,000
    9. Between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000
    10. Greater than $2,500,000

    Where pricing is not provided, Info-Tech makes use of publicly available sources of information to determine a price. As these sources are not official price lists, the possibility exists that they may be inaccurate or outdated, and so the source of the pricing information is provided. Since Info-Tech publishes pricing information regardless of vendor participation, it is always in the vendor’s best interest to supply accurate and up to date information.

    Info-Tech’s Price Evaluations are based on pre-defined pricing scenarios (see Product Pricing Scenario, below) to ensure a comparison that is as close as possible between evaluated solutions. Pricing scenarios describe a sample business and solicit guidance as to the appropriate product/service mix required to deliver the specified functionality, the list price for those tools/services, as well as three full years of maintenance and support.

    Price Evaluation

    Call-out bubble indicates within which price tier the three-year TCO for the solution falls, provides the brackets of that price tier, and links to the graphical representation.

    Example price evaluation with a '3 year TCO...' statement, a visual gauge of bars, and a statement on the source of the information.

    Scale along the bottom indicates that the graphic as a whole represents a price scale with a range of $1 to $2.5M+, while the notation indicates whether the pricing was supplied by the vendor or derived from public sources.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Information Presentation – Vendor Awards

    At the conclusion of all analyses, Info-Tech presents awards to exceptional solutions in three distinct categories. Award presentation is discretionary; not all awards are extended subsequent to each Vendor Landscape and it is entirely possible, though unlikely, that no awards may be presented.

    Awards categories are as follows:

    • Champion Awards are presented to the top performing solution in a particular use-case scenario. As a result, only one Champion Award is given for each use case, and the entire Vendor Landscape will have the same number of Champion Awards as the number of evaluated use cases.
    • Leader Awards are presented to top performing solutions for each use-case scenario. Depending on the use-case scenario and the number of solutions being evaluated, a variable number of leader awards will be given. This number is at the discretion of the analysts, but is generally placed at two, and given to the solutions ranking second and third respectively for the use case.
    • Best Overall Value Awards are presented to the solution for each use-case scenario that ranked the highest in the Info-Tech Value Index for each evaluated scenario (see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation – Value Index, above). If insufficient pricing information is made available for the evaluated solutions, such that a Value Index cannot be calculated, no Best Overall Value Award will be presented. Only one Best Overall Value Award is available for each use-case scenario.

    Vendor Awards for Use-Case Performance

    Vendor Award: 'Champion'. Info-Tech’s Champion Award is presented to solutions that placed first in an use-case scenario within the Vendor Landscape.
    Vendor Award: 'Leader'. Info-Tech Leader Award is given to solutions who placed in the top segment of a use-case scenario.
    Vendor Award: 'Best Overall Value'. Info-Tech’s Best Overall Value Award is presented to the solution within each use-case scenario with the highest Value Index score.

    Vendor Landscape Methodology:
    Fact Check & Publication

    Info-Tech takes the factual accuracy of its Vendor Landscapes, and indeed of all of its published content, very seriously. To ensure the utmost accuracy in its Vendor Landscapes, we invite all vendors of evaluated solutions (whether the vendor elected to provide a survey and/or participate in a briefing or not) to participate in a process of fact check.

    Once the research project is complete and the materials are deemed to be in a publication ready state, excerpts of the material specific to each vendor’s solution are provided to the vendor. Info-Tech only provides material specific to the individual vendor’s solution for review encompassing the following:

    • All written review materials of the vendor and the vendor’s product that comprise the evaluated solution.
    • Info-Tech’s Criteria Scores / Harvey Balls detailing the individual and overall vendor / product scores assigned.
    • Info-Tech’s Feature Rank / stoplights detailing the individual feature scores of the evaluated product.
    • Info-Tech’s Raw Pricing for the vendor either as received from the vendor or as collected from publicly available sources.
    • Info-Tech’s Scenario ranking for all considered scenarios for the evaluated solution.

    Info-Tech does not provide the following:

    • Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape placement of the evaluated solution.
    • Info-Tech’s Value Score for the evaluated solution.
    • End-user feedback gathered during the research project.
    • Info-Tech’s overall recommendation in regard to the evaluated solution.

    Info-Tech provides a one-week window for each vendor to provide written feedback. Feedback must be corroborated (be provided with supporting evidence), and where it does, feedback that addresses factual errors or omissions is adopted fully, while feedback that addresses opinions is taken under consideration. The assigned analyst team makes all appropriate edits and supplies an edited copy of the materials to the vendor within one week for final review.

    Should a vendor still have concerns or objections at that time, they are invited to a conversation, initially via email, but as required and deemed appropriate by Info-Tech, subsequently via telephone, to ensure common understanding of the concerns. Where concerns relate to ongoing factual errors or omissions, they are corrected under the supervision of Info-Tech’s Vendor Relations personnel. Where concerns relate to ongoing differences of opinion, they are again taken under consideration with neither explicit not implicit indication of adoption.

    Publication of materials is scheduled to occur within the six weeks following the completion of the research project, but does not occur until the fact check process has come to conclusion, and under no circumstances are “pre-publication” copies of any materials made available to any client.

    Pricing Scenario

    Info-Tech Research Group is providing each vendor with a common pricing scenario to enable normalized scoring of Affordability, calculation of Value Index rankings, and identification of the appropriate solution pricing tier as displayed on each vendor scorecard.

    Vendors are asked to provide list costs for SMMP software licensing to address the needs of a reference organization described in the pricing scenario. Please price out the lowest possible 3-year total cost of ownership (TCO) including list prices for software and licensing fees to meet the requirements of the following scenario.

    Three-year total acquisition costs will be normalized to produce the Affordability raw scores and calculate Value Index ratings for each solution.

    The pricing scenario:

    • Enterprise Name: Imperial Products Incorporated
    • Enterprise Size: SMB
    • Enterprise Vertical: Consumer packaged goods
    • Total Number of Sites: Three office locations
    • Total Number of Employees: 500
    • Total Number SMMP End Users: 50
      • 20 dedicated CSRs who are handling all customer service issues routed to them
      • 5 PR managers who need the ability to monitor the social cloud
      • 24 brand portfolio managers – each portfolio has 5 products (25 total)
      • Each product has its own Facebook and Twitter presence
      • 1 HR manager (using social media for recruiting)
    • Total Number of IT Staff: 20
    • Operating System Environment: Windows 7
    • Functional Requirements and Additional Information: Imperial Products Incorporated is a mid-sized consumer packaged goods firm operating in the United States. The organization is currently looking to adopt a platform for social media monitoring and management. Functional requirements include the ability to monitor and publish to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs. The platform must have the ability to display volume trends, show follower demographics, and conduct sentiment analysis. It must also provide tools for interacting in-platform with social contacts, provide workflow management capabilities, and offer the ability to manage specific social properties (e.g. Facebook Pages). Additional features that are desirable are the ability to archive social interactions, and a dedicated mobile application for one of the major smartphone/tablet operating systems (iOS, Android etc.).

    Prepare for Post-Quantum Cryptography

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}268|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: N/A
    • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
    • member rating average days saved: N/A
    • Parent Category Name: Security Processes & Operations
    • Parent Category Link: /security-processes-and-operations
    • Fault-tolerant quantum computers, capable of breaking existing encryption algorithms and cryptographic systems, are widely expected to be available sooner than originally projected.
    • Data considered secure today may already be at risk due to the threat of harvest-now-decrypt-later schemes.
    • Many current security controls will be completely useless, including today's strongest encryption techniques.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    The advent of quantum computing is closer than you think: some nations have already demonstrated capability with the potential to break current asymmetric-key encryption. Traditional encryption methods will no longer provide sufficient protection. You need to act now to begin your transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.

    Impact and Result

    • Developing quantum-resistant cryptography capabilities is crucial to maintaining data security and integrity for critical applications.
    • Organizations need to act now to begin their transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.
    • Data security (especially for sensitive data) should be an organization’s top priority. Organizations with particularly critical information need to be on top of this quantum movement.

    Prepare for Post-Quantum Cryptography Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Prepare for Post-Quantum Cryptography Storyboard – Research to help organizations to prepare and implement quantum-resistance cryptography solutions.

    Developing quantum-resistant cryptography capabilities is crucial to maintaining data security and integrity for critical applications. Organizations need to act now to begin their transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.

    • Prepare for Post-Quantum Cryptography Storyboard
    [infographic]

    Further reading

    Prepare for Post-Quantum Cryptography

    It is closer than you think, and you need to act now.

    Analyst Perspective

    It is closer than you think, and you need to act now.

    The quantum realm presents itself as a peculiar and captivating domain, shedding light on enigmas within our world while pushing the boundaries of computational capabilities. The widespread availability of quantum computers is expected to occur sooner than anticipated. This emerging technology holds the potential to tackle valuable problems that even the most powerful classical supercomputers will never be able to solve. Quantum computers possess the ability to operate millions of times faster than their current counterparts.

    As we venture further into the era of quantum mechanics, organizations relying on encryption must contemplate a future where these methods no longer suffice as effective safeguards. The astounding speed and power of quantum machines have the potential to render many existing security measures utterly ineffective, including the most robust encryption techniques used today. To illustrate, a task that currently takes ten years to crack through a brute force attack could be accomplished by a quantum computer in under five minutes.

    Amid this transition into a quantum future, the utmost priority for organizations remains data security, particularly safeguarding sensitive information. Organizations must proactively prepare for the development of countermeasures and essential resilience measures to attain a state of being "quantum safe."

    This is a picture of Alan Tang

    Alan Tang
    Principal Research Director, Security and Privacy
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    • Anticipated advancements in fault-tolerant quantum computers, surpassing existing encryption algorithms and cryptographic systems, are expected to materialize sooner than previously projected. The timeframe for their availability is diminishing daily.
    • Data that is presently deemed secure faces potential vulnerability due to the emergence of harvest-now-decrypt-later strategies.
    • Numerous contemporary security controls, including the most robust encryption techniques, have become obsolete and offer little efficacy.

    Common Obstacles

    • The complexity involved makes it challenging for organizations to incorporate quantum-resistant cryptography into their current IT infrastructure.
    • The endeavor of transitioning to quantum-resilient cryptography demands significant effort and time, with the specific requirements varying for each organization.
    • A lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the cryptographic technologies employed in existing IT systems poses difficulties in identifying and prioritizing systems for upgrading to post-quantum cryptography.

    Info-Tech's Approach

    • The development of quantum-resistant cryptography capabilities is essential for safeguarding the security and integrity of critical applications.
    • Organizations must proactively initiate their transition toward quantum-resistant encryption to ensure data protection.
    • Ensuring the security of corporate data assets should be of utmost importance for organizations, with special emphasis on those possessing highly critical information in light of the advancements in quantum technology.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The advent of quantum computing (QC) is closer than you think: some nations have demonstrated capability with the potential to break current asymmetric-key encryption. Traditional encryption methods will no longer be sufficient as a means of protection. You need to act now to begin your transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.

    Evolvement of QC theory and technologies

    1900-1975

    1976-1997

    1998-2018

    2019-Now

    1. 1900: Max Planck – The energy of a particle is proportional to its frequency: E = hv, where h is a relational constant.
    2. 1926: Erwin Schrödinger – Since electrons can affect each other's states, their energies change in both time and space. The total energy of a particle is expressed as a probability function.
    1. 1976: Physicist Roman Stanisław Ingarden publishes the paper "Quantum Information Theory."
    2. 1980: Paul Benioff describes the first quantum mechanical model of a computer.
    3. 1994: Peter Shor publishes Shor's algorithm.
    1. 1998: A working 2-qubit NMR quantum computer is used to solve Deutsch's problem by Jonathan A. Jones and Michele Mosca at Oxford University.
    2. 2003: DARPA Quantum Network becomes fully operational.
    3. 2011: D-Wave claims to have developed the first commercially available quantum computer, D-Wave One.
    4. 2018: the National Quantum Initiative Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump.
    1. 2019: A paper by Google's quantum computer research team was briefly available, claiming the project has reached quantum supremacy.
    2. 2020: Chinese researchers claim to have achieved quantum supremacy, using a photonic peak 76-qubit system known as Jiuzhang.
    3. 2021: Chinese researchers reported that they have built the world's largest integrated quantum communication network.
    4. 2022: The Quantinuum System Model H1-2 doubled its performance claiming to be the first commercial quantum computer to pass quantum volume 4096.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The advent of QC will significantly change our perception of computing and have a crucial impact on the way we protect our digital economy using encryption. The technology's applicability is no longer a theory but a reality to be understood, strategized about, and planned for.

    Fundamental physical principles and business use cases

    Unlike conventional computers that rely on bits, quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits. QC technology surpasses the limitations of current processing powers. By leveraging the properties of superposition, interference, and entanglement, quantum computers have the capacity to simultaneously process millions of operations, thereby surpassing the capabilities of today's most advanced supercomputers.

    A 2021 Hyperion Research survey of over 400 key decision makers in North America, Europe, South Korea, and Japan showed nearly 70% of companies have some form of in-house QC program.

    Three fundamental QC physical principles

    1. Superposition
    2. Interference
    3. Entanglement

    This is an image of two headings, Optimization; and Simulation. there are five points under each heading, with an arrow above pointing left to right, labeled Qbit Count.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Organizations need to reap the substantial benefits of QC's power, while simultaneously shielding against the same technologies when used by cyber adversaries.

    Percentage of Surveyed Companies That Have QC Programs

    • 31% Have some form of in-house QC program
    • 69% Have no QC program

    Early adopters and business value

    QC early adopters see the promise of QC for a wide range of computational workloads, including machine learning applications, finance-oriented optimization, and logistics/supply chain management.

    This is an image of the Early Adopters, and the business value drivers.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Experienced attackers are likely to be the early adopters of quantum-enabled cryptographic solutions, harnessing the power of QC to exploit vulnerabilities in today's encryption methods. The risks are particularly high for industries that rely on critical infrastructure.

    The need of quantum-safe solution is immediate

    Critical components of classical cryptography will be at risk, potentially leading to the exposure of confidential and sensitive information to the general public. Business, technology, and security leaders are confronted with an immediate imperative to formulate a quantum-safe strategy and establish a roadmap without delay.

    Case Study – Google, 2019

    In 2019, Google claimed that "Our Sycamore processor takes about 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times—our benchmarks currently indicate that the equivalent task for a state-of-the-art classical supercomputer would take approximately 10,000 years."
    Source: Nature, 2019

    Why You Should Start Preparation Now

    • The complexity with integrating QC technology into existing IT infrastructure.
    • The effort to upgrade to quantum-resilient cryptography will be significant.
    • The amount of time remaining will decrease every day.

    Case Study – Development in China, 2020

    On December 3, 2020, a team of Chinese researchers claim to have achieved quantum supremacy, using a photonic peak 76-qubit system (43 average) known as Jiuzhang, which performed calculations at 100 trillion times the speed of classical supercomputers.
    Source: science.org, 2020

    Info-Tech Insight

    The emergence of QC brings forth cybersecurity threats. It is an opportunity to regroup, reassess, and revamp our approaches to cybersecurity.

    Security threats posed by QC

    Quantum computers have reached a level of advancement where even highly intricate calculations, such as factoring large numbers into their primes, which serve as the foundation for RSA encryption and other algorithms, can be solved within minutes.

    Threat to data confidentiality

    QC could lead to unauthorized decryption of confidential data in the future. Data confidentiality breaches also impact improperly disposed encrypted storage media.

    Threat to authentication protocols and digital governance

    A recovered private key, which is derived from a public key, can be used through remote control to fraudulently authenticate a critical system.

    Threat to data integrity

    Cybercriminals can use QC technology to recover private keys and manipulate digital documents and their digital signatures.

    Example:

    Consider RSA-2048, a widely used public-key cryptosystem that facilitates secure data transmission. In a 2021 survey, a majority of leading authorities believed that RSA-2048 could be cracked by quantum computers within a mere 24 hours.
    Source: Quantum-Readiness Working Group, 2022

    Info-Tech Insight

    The development of quantum-safe cryptography capabilities is of utmost importance in ensuring the security and integrity of critical applications' data.

    US Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act

    The US Congress considers cryptography essential for the national security of the US and the functioning of the US economy. The Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act was introduced on April 18, 2022, and became a public law (No: 117-260) on December 21, 2022.

    Purpose

    The purpose of this Act is to encourage the migration of Federal Government information technology systems to quantum-resistant cryptography, and for other purposes.

    Scope and Exemption

    • Scope: Systems of government agencies.
    • Exemption: This Act shall not apply to any national security system.

    Main Obligations

    Responsibilities

    		Requirements
    Inventory Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of OMB, shall issue guidance on the migration of information technology to post-quantum cryptography.
    Agency Reports "Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, the head of each agency shall provide to the Director of OMB, the Director of CISA, and the National Cyber Director— (1) the inventory described in subsection (a)(1); and (2) any other information required to be reported under subsection (a)(1)(C)."
    Migration and Assessment "Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Director of NIST has issued post-quantum cryptography standards, the Director of OMB shall issue guidance requiring each agency to— (1) prioritize information technology described under subsection (a)(2)(A) for migration to post-quantum cryptography; and (2) develop a plan to migrate information technology of the agency to post-quantum cryptography consistent with the prioritization under paragraph (1)."

    "It is the sense of Congress that (1) a strategy for the migration of information technology of the Federal Government to post-quantum cryptography is needed; and (2) the government wide and industry-wide approach to post- quantum cryptography should prioritize developing applications, hardware intellectual property, and software that can be easily updated to support cryptographic agility." – Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act

    The development of post-quantum encryption

    Since 2016, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been actively engaged in the development of post-quantum encryption standards. The objective is to identify and establish standardized cryptographic algorithms that can withstand attacks from quantum computers.

    NIST QC Initiative Key Milestones

    Date Development
    Dec. 20, 2016 Round 1 call for proposals: Announcing request for nominations for public-key post-quantum cryptographic algorithms
    Nov. 30, 2017 Deadline for submissions – 82 submissions received
    Dec. 21, 2017 Round 1 algorithms announced (69 submissions accepted as "complete and proper")
    Jan. 30, 2019 Second round candidates announced (26 algorithms)

    July 22, 2020

    		Third round candidates announced (7 finalists and 8 alternates)

    July 5, 2022

    		Announcement of candidates to be standardized and fourth round candidates
    2022/2024 (Plan) Draft standards available

    Four Selected Candidates to be Standardized

    CRYSTALS – Kyber

    CRYSTALS – Dilithium

    FALCON

    SPHINCS+

    NIST recommends two primary algorithms to be implemented for most use cases: CRYSTALS-KYBER (key-establishment) and CRYSTALS-Dilithium (digital signatures). In addition, the signature schemes FALCON and SPHINCS+ will also be standardized.

    Info-Tech Insight

    There is no need to wait for formal NIST PQC standards selection to begin your post-quantum mitigation project. It is advisable to undertake the necessary steps and allocate resources in phases that can be accomplished prior to the finalization of the standards.

    Prepare for post-quantum cryptography

    The advent of QC is closer than you think: some nations have demonstrated capability with the potential to break current asymmetric-key encryption. Traditional encryption methods will no longer be sufficient as a means of protection. You need to act now to begin your transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.

    This is an infographic showing the three steps: Threat is Imminent; Risks are Profound; and Take Acton Now.

    Insight summary

    Overarching Insight

    The advent of QC is closer than you think as some nations have demonstrated capability with the potential to break current asymmetric-key encryption. Traditional encryption methods will no longer be sufficient as a means of protection. You need to act now to begin your transformation to quantum-resistant encryption.

    Business Impact Is High

    The advent of QC will significantly change our perception of computing and have a crucial impact on the way we protect our digital economy using encryption. The technology's applicability is no longer a theory but a reality to be understood, strategized about, and planned for.

    It's a Collaborative Effort

    Embedding quantum resistance into systems during the process of modernization requires collaboration beyond the scope of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) alone. It is a strategic endeavor shaped by leaders throughout the organization, as well as external partners. This comprehensive approach involves the collective input and collaboration of stakeholders from various areas of expertise within and outside the organization.

    Leverage Industry Standards

    There is no need to wait for formal NIST PQC standards selection to begin your post-quantum mitigation project. It is advisable to undertake the necessary steps and allocate resources in phases that can be accomplished prior to the finalization of the standards.

    Take a Holistic Approach

    The advent of QC poses threats to cybersecurity. It's a time to regroup, reassess, and revamp.

    Blueprint benefits

    IT Benefits

    Business Benefits

    • This blueprint will help organizations to discover and then prioritize the systems to be upgraded to post-quantum cryptography.
    • This blueprint will enable organizations to integrate quantum-resistant cryptography into existing IT infrastructure.
    • Developing quantum-resistant cryptography capabilities is crucial to maintaining data security and integrity for critical applications.
    • This blueprint will help organizations to save effort and time needed upgrade to quantum-resilient cryptography.
    • Organizations will reap the substantial benefits of QC's power, while simultaneously shielding against the same technologies when used by cyber adversaries.
    • Avoid reputation and brand image by preventing data breach and leakage.
    • This blueprint will empower organizations to protect corporate data assets in the post-quantum era.
    • Be compliant with various security and privacy laws and regulations.

    Info-Tech Project Value

    Time, value, and resources saved to obtain buy-in from senior leadership team using our research material:

    1 FTEs*10 days*$100,000/year = $6,000

    Time, value, and resources saved to implement quantum-resistant cryptography using our research guidance:

    2 FTEs* 30 days*$100,000/year = $24,000

    Estimated cost and time savings from this blueprint:

    $6,000 + $24,000 =$30,000

    Get prepared for a post-quantum world

    The advent of sufficiently powerful quantum computers poses a risk of compromising or weakening traditional forms of asymmetric and symmetric cryptography. To safeguard data security and integrity for critical applications, it is imperative to undertake substantial efforts in migrating an organization's cryptographic systems to post-quantum encryption. The development of quantum-safe cryptography capabilities is crucial in this regard.

    Phase 1 - Prepare

    • Obtain buy-in from leadership team.
    • Educate your workforce about the upcoming transition.
    • Create defined projects to reduce risks and improve crypto-agility.

    Phase 2 - Discover

    • Determine the extent of your exposed data, systems, and applications.
    • Establish an inventory of classical cryptographic use cases.

    Phase 3 - Assess

    • Assess the security and data protection risks posed by QC.
    • Assess the readiness of transforming existing classical cryptography to quantum-resilience solutions.

    Phase 4 - Prioritize

    • Prioritize transformation plan based on criteria such as business impact, near-term technical feasibility, and effort, etc.
    • Establish a roadmap.

    Phase 5 - Mitigate

    • Implement post-quantum mitigations.
    • Decommissioning old technology that will become unsupported upon publication of the new standard.
    • Validating and testing products that incorporate the new standard.

    Phase 1 – Prepare: Protect data assets in the post-quantum era

    The rise of sufficiently powerful quantum computers has the potential to compromise or weaken conventional asymmetric and symmetric cryptography methods. In anticipation of a quantum-safe future, it is essential to prioritize crypto-agility. Consequently, organizations should undertake specific tasks both presently and in the future to adequately prepare for forthcoming quantum threats and the accompanying transformations.

    Quantum-resistance preparations must address two different needs:

    Reinforce digital transformation initiatives

    To thrive in the digital landscape, organizations must strengthen their digital transformation initiatives by embracing emerging technologies and novel business practices. The transition to quantum-safe encryption presents a unique opportunity for transformation, allowing the integration of these capabilities to evolve business transactions and relationships in innovative ways.

    Protect data assets in the post-quantum era

    Organizations should prioritize supporting remediation efforts aimed at ensuring the quantum safety of existing data assets and services. The implementation of crypto-agility enables organizations to respond promptly to cryptographic vulnerabilities and adapt to future changes in cryptographic standards. This proactive approach is crucial, as the need for quantum-safe measures existed even before the complexities posed by QC emerged.

    Preparation for the post-quantum world has been recommended by the US government and other national bodies since 2016.

    In 2016, NIST, the National Security Agency (NSA), and Central Security Service stated in their Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite and QC FAQ: "NSA believes the time is now right [to start preparing for the post-quantum world] — consistent with advances in quantum computing."
    Source: Cloud Security Alliance, 2021

    Phase 1 – Prepare: Key tasks

    Preparing for quantum-resistant cryptography goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge and conducting experiments in QC. It is vital for senior management to receive comprehensive guidance on the challenges, risks, and potential mitigations associated with the post-quantum landscape. Quantum and post-quantum education should be tailored to individuals based on their specific roles and the impact of post-quantum mitigations on their responsibilities. This customized approach ensures that individuals are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills relevant to their respective roles.

    Leadership Buy-In

    • Get senior management commitment to post-quantum project.
    • Determine the extent of exposed data, systems, and applications.
    • Identify near-term, achievable cryptographic maturity goals, creating defined projects to reduce risks and improve crypto-agility.

    Roles and Responsibilities

    • The ownership should be clearly defined regarding the quantum-resistant cryptography program.
    • This should be a cross-functional team within which members represent various business units.

    Awareness and Education

    • Senior management needs to understand the strategic threat to the organization and needs to adequately address the cybersecurity risk in a timely fashion.
    • Educate your workforce about the upcoming transition. All training and education should seek to achieve awareness of the following items with the appropriate stakeholders.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Embedding quantum resistance into systems during the process of modernization requires collaboration beyond the scope of a CISO alone. It is a strategic endeavor shaped by leaders throughout the organization, as well as external partners. This comprehensive approach involves the collective input and collaboration of stakeholders from various areas of expertise within and outside the organization.

    Phase 2 – Discover: Establish a data protection inventory

    During the discovery phase, it is crucial to locate and identify any critical data and devices that may require post-quantum protection. This step enables organizations to understand the algorithms in use and their specific locations. By conducting this thorough assessment, organizations gain valuable insights into their existing infrastructure and cryptographic systems, facilitating the implementation of appropriate post-quantum security measures.

    Inventory Core Components

    1. Description of devices and/or data
    2. Location of all sensitive data and devices
    3. Criticality of the data
    4. How long the data or devices need to be protected
    5. Effective cryptography in use and cryptographic type
    6. Data protection systems currently in place
    7. Current key size and maximum key size
    8. Vendor support timeline
    9. Post-quantum protection readiness

    Key Things to Consider

    • The accuracy and thoroughness of the discovery phase are critical factors that contribute to the success of a post-quantum project.
    • It is advisable to conduct this discovery phase comprehensively across all aspects, not solely limited to public-key algorithms.
    • Performing a data protection inventory can be a time-consuming and challenging phase of the project. Breaking it down into smaller subtasks can help facilitate the process.
    • Identifying all information can be particularly challenging since data is typically scattered throughout an organization. One approach to begin this identification process is by determining the inputs and outputs of data for each department and team within the organization.
    • To ensure accountability and effectiveness, it is recommended to assign a designated individual as the ultimate owner of the data protection inventory task. This person should have the necessary responsibilities and authority to successfully accomplish the task.

    Phase 3 – Assess: The workflow

    Quantum risk assessment entails evaluating the potential consequences of QC on existing security measures and devising strategies to mitigate these risks. This process involves analyzing the susceptibility of current systems to attacks by quantum computers and identifying robust security measures that can withstand QC threats.

    Risk Assessment Workflow

    This is an image of the Risk Assessment Workflow

    By identifying the security gaps that will arise with the advent of QC, organizations can gain insight into the substantial vulnerabilities that core business operations will face when QC becomes a prevalent reality. This proactive understanding enables organizations to prepare and implement appropriate measures to address these vulnerabilities in a timely manner.

    Phase 4 – Prioritize: Balance business value, security risks, and effort

    Organizations need to prioritize the mitigation initiatives based on various factors such as business value, level of security risk, and the effort needed to implement the mitigation controls. In the diagram below, the size of the circle reflects the degree of effort. The bigger the size, the more effort is needed.

    This is an image of a chart where the X axis represents Security Risk level, and the Y axis is Business Value.

    QC Adopters Anticipated Annual Budgets

    This is an image of a bar graph showing the Anticipated Annual Budgets for QC Adopters.
    Source: Hyperion Research, 2022

    Hyperion's survey found that the range of expected budget varies widely.

    • The most selected option, albeit by only 38% of respondents, was US$5 million to US$15 million.
    • About one-third of respondents foresaw annual budgets that exceeded US$15 million, and one-fifth expected budgets to exceed US$25 million.

    Build your risk mitigation roadmap

    2 hours

    1. Review the quantum-resistance initiatives generated in Phase 3 – Assessment.
    2. With input from all stakeholders, prioritize the initiatives based on business value, security risks, and effort using the 2x2 grid.
    3. Review the position of all initiatives and adjust accordingly considering other factors such as dependency, etc.
    4. Place prioritized initiatives to a wave chart.
    5. Assign ownership and target timeline for each initiative.

    This is an image the Security Risk Vs. Business value graph, above an image showing Initiatives Numbered 1-7, divided into Wave 1; Wave 2; and Wave 3.

    Input

    • Data protection inventory created in phase 2
    • Risk assessment produced in phase 3
    • Business unit leaders' and champions' understanding (high-level) of challenges posed by QC

    Output

    • Prioritization of quantum-resistance initiatives

    Materials

    • Whiteboard/flip charts
    • Sticky notes
    • Pen/whiteboard markers

    Participants

    • Quantum-resistance program owner
    • Senior leadership team
    • Business unit heads
    • Chief security officer
    • Chief privacy officer
    • Chief information officer
    • Representatives from legal, risk, and governance

    Phase 5 – Mitigate: Implement quantum-resistant encryption solutions

    To safeguard against cybersecurity risks and threats posed by powerful quantum computers, organizations need to adopt a robust defense-in-depth approach. This entails implementing a combination of well-defined policies, effective technical defenses, and comprehensive education initiatives. Organizations may need to consider implementing new cryptographic algorithms or upgrading existing protocols to incorporate post-quantum encryption methods. The selection and deployment of these measures should be cost-justified and tailored to meet the specific needs and risk profiles of each organization.

    Governance

    Implement solid governance mechanisms to promote visibility and to help ensure consistency

    • Update policies and documents
    • Update existing acceptable cryptography standards
    • Update security and privacy audit programs

    Industry Standards

    • Stay up to date with newly approved standards
    • Leverage industry standards (i.e. NIST's post-quantum cryptography) and test the new quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms

    Technical Mitigations

    Each type of quantum threat can be mitigated using one or more known defenses.

    • Physical isolation
    • Replacing quantum-susceptible cryptography with quantum-resistant cryptography
    • Using QKD
    • Using quantum random number generators
    • Increasing symmetric key sizes
    • Using hybrid solutions
    • Using quantum-enabled defenses

    Vendor Management

    • Work with key vendors on a common approach to quantum-safe governance
    • Assess vendors for possible inclusion in your organization's roadmap
    • Create acquisition policies regarding quantum-safe cryptography

    Research Contributors and Experts

    This is a picture of Adib Ghubril

    Adib Ghubril
    Executive Advisor, Executive Services
    Info-Tech Research Group

    This is a picture of Erik Avakian

    Erik Avakian
    Technical Counselor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    This is a picture of Alaisdar Graham

    Alaisdar Graham
    Executive Counselor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    This is a picture of Carlos Rivera

    Carlos Rivera
    Principal Research Advisor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    This is a picture of Hendra Hendrawan

    Hendra Hendrawan
    Technical Counselor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    This is a picture of Fritz Jean-Louis

    Fritz Jean-Louis
    Principal Cybersecurity Advisor
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Bibliography

    117th Congress (2021-2022). H.R.7535 - Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act. congress.gov, 21 Dec 2022.
    Arute, Frank, et al. Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor. Nature, 23 Oct 2019.
    Bernhardt, Chris. Quantum Computing for Everyone. The MIT Press, 2019.
    Bob Sorensen. Quantum Computing Early Adopters: Strong Prospects For Future QC Use Case Impact. Hyperion Research, Nov 2022.
    Candelon, François, et al. The U.S., China, and Europe are ramping up a quantum computing arms race. Here's what they'll need to do to win. Fortune, 2 Sept 2022.
    Curioni, Alessandro. How quantum-safe cryptography will ensure a secure computing future. World Economic Forum, 6 July 2022.
    Davis, Mel. Toxic Substance Exposure Requires Record Retention for 30 Years. Alert presented by CalChamber, 18 Feb 2022.
    Eddins, Andrew, et al. Doubling the size of quantum simulators by entanglement forging. arXiv, 22 April 2021.
    Gambetta, Jay. Expanding the IBM Quantum roadmap to anticipate the future of quantum-centric supercomputing. IBM Research Blog, 10 May 2022.
    Golden, Deborah, et al. Solutions for navigating uncertainty and achieving resilience in the quantum era. Deloitte, 2023.
    Grimes, Roger, et al. Practical Preparations for the Post-Quantum World. Cloud Security Alliance, 19 Oct 2021.
    Harishankar, Ray, et al. Security in the quantum computing era. IBM Institute for Business Value, 2023.
    Hayat, Zia. Digital trust: How to unleash the trillion-dollar opportunity for our global economy. World Economic Forum, 17 Aug 2022.
    Mateen, Abdul. What is post-quantum cryptography? Educative, 2023.
    Moody, Dustin. Let's Get Ready to Rumble—The NIST PQC 'Competition.' NIST, 11 Oct 2022.
    Mosca, Michele, Dr. and Dr. Marco Piani. 2021 Quantum Threat Timeline Report. Global Risk Institute, 24 Jan 2022.
    Muppidi, Sridhar and Walid Rjaibi. Transitioning to Quantum-Safe Encryption. Security Intelligence, 8 Dec 2022.
    Payraudeau, Jean-Stéphane, et al. Digital acceleration: Top technologies driving growth in a time of crisis. IBM Institute for Business Value, Nov 2020.
    Quantum-Readiness Working Group (QRWG). Canadian National Quantum-Readiness- Best Practices and Guidelines. Canadian Forum for Digital Infrastructure Resilience (CFDIR), 17 June 2022.
    Rotman, David. We're not prepared for the end of Moore's Law. MIT Technology Review, 24 Feb 2020.
    Saidi, Susan. Calculating a computing revolution. Roland Berger, 2018.
    Shorter., Ted. Why Companies Must Act Now To Prepare For Post-Quantum Cryptography. Forbes.com, 11 Feb 2022.
    Sieger, Lucy, et al. The Quantum Decade, Third edition. IBM, 2022.
    Sorensen, Bob. Broad Interest in Quantum Computing as a Driver of Commercial Success. Hyperion Research, 17 Nov 2021.
    Wise, Jason. How Much Data is Created Every Day in 2022? Earthweb, 22 Sept 2022.
    Wright, Lawrence. The Plague Year. The New Yorker, 28 Dec 2020.
    Yan, Bao, et al. Factoring integers with sublinear resources on a superconducting quantum processor. arXiv, 23 Dec 2022.
    Zhong, Han-Sen, et al. Quantum computational advantage using photons. science.org, 3 Dec 2020.

    Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss

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    • Parent Category Name: Lead
    • Parent Category Link: /lead

    Seventy-four percent of organizations do not have a formal process for capturing and retaining knowledge - which, when lost, results in decreased productivity, increased risk, and money out the door.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Seventy-four percent of organizations do not have a formal process for capturing and retaining knowledge – which, when lost, results in decreased productivity, increased risk, and money out the door. It’s estimated that Fortune 500 companies lose approximately $31.5 billion each year by failing to share knowledge.
    • Don’t follow a one-size-fits-all approach to knowledge transfer strategy! Right-size your approach based on your business goals.
    • Prioritize knowledge transfer candidates based on their likelihood of departure and the impact of losing that knowledge.
    • Select knowledge transfer tactics based on the type of knowledge that needs to be captured – explicit or tacit.

    Impact and Result

    Successful completion of the IT knowledge transfer project will result in the following outcomes:

    1. Approval for IT knowledge transfer project obtained.
    2. Knowledge and stakeholder risks identified.
    3. Effective knowledge transfer plans built.
    4. Knowledge transfer roadmap built.
    5. Knowledge transfer roadmap communicated and approval obtained.

    Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss Deck – A step-by-step document that walks you through how to transfer knowledge on your team to mitigate risks from employees leaving the organization.

    Minimize risk and IT costs resulting from attrition through effective knowledge transfer.

    • Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss Storyboard

    2. Project Stakeholder Register Template – A template to help you identify and document project management stakeholders.

    Use this template to document the knowledge transfer stakeholder power map by identifying the stakeholder’s name and role, and identifying their position on the power map.

    • Project Stakeholder Register Template

    3. IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template – Define your project and lay the foundation for subsequent knowledge transfer project planning

    Use this template to communicate the value and rationale for knowledge transfer to key stakeholders.

    • IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template

    4. IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool – Identify the risk profile of knowledge sources and the knowledge they have

    Use this tool to identify and assess the knowledge and individual risk of key knowledge holders.

    • IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    5. IT Knowledge Transfer Plan Template – A template to help you determine the most effective knowledge transfer tactics to be used for each knowledge source by listing knowledge sources and their knowledge, identifying type of knowledge to be transferred and choosing tactics that are appropriate for the knowledge type

    Use this template to track knowledge activities, intended recipients of knowledge, and appropriate transfer tactics for each knowledge source.

    • IT Knowledge Transfer Plan Template

    6. IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide Template – A template that provides a framework to conduct interviews with knowledge sources, including comprehensive questions that cover what type of knowledge a knowledge source has and how unique the knowledge is

    Use this template as a starting point for managers to interview knowledge sources to extract information about the type of knowledge the source has.

    • IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide Template

    7. IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template – A presentation template that provides a vehicle used to communicate IT knowledge transfer recommendations to stakeholders to gain buy-in

    Use this template as a starting point to build your proposed IT knowledge transfer roadmap presentation to management to obtain formal sign-off and initiate the next steps in the process.

    • IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    Further reading

    Mitigate Key IT Employee Knowledge Loss

    Transfer IT knowledge before it’s gone.

    EXECUTIVE BRIEF

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    Common Obstacles

    Info-Tech’s Approach

    Seventy-four percent of organizations do not have a formal process for capturing and retaining knowledge1 which, when lost, results in decreased productivity, increased risk, and money out the door. You need to:

    • Build a strategic roadmap to retain and share knowledge.
    • Build a knowledge transfer strategy based on your organization’s business goals.
    • Increase departmental efficiencies through increased collaboration.
    • Retain key IT knowledge
    • Improve junior employee engagement by creating development opportunities.
    • Don’t follow a one-size fits all approach. Right-size your approach based on your organizational goals.
    • Prioritize knowledge transfer candidates based on their likelihood of departure and the impact of losing that knowledge.
    • What you’re transferring impacts how you should transfer it. Select knowledge transfer tactics based on the type of knowledge that needs to be captured – explicit or tacit.

    Our client-tested methodology and project steps allow you to tailor your knowledge transfer plan to any size of organization, across industries. Successful completion of the IT knowledge transfer project will result in the following outcomes:

    • Approval for IT knowledge transfer project obtained.
    • Knowledge and stakeholder risks identified.
    • Effective knowledge transfer plans built.
    • Knowledge transfer roadmap built.
    • Knowledge transfer roadmap communicated.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Seventy-four percent of organizations do not have a formal process for capturing and retaining knowledge which, when lost, results in decreased productivity, increased risk, and money out the door.1

    1 McLean & Company, 2016, N=120

    Stop your knowledge from walking out the door

    Today, the value of an organization has less to do with its fixed assets and more to do with its intangible assets. Intangible assets include patents, research and development, business processes and software, employee training, and employee knowledge and capability.

    People (and their knowledge and capabilities) are an organization’s competitive advantage and with the baby boomer retirement looming, organizations need to invest in capturing employee knowledge before the employees leave. Losing employees in key roles without adequate preparation for their departure has a direct impact on the bottom line in terms of disrupted productivity, severed relationships, and missed opportunities.

    Knowledge Transfer (KT) is the process and tactics by which intangible assets – expertise, knowledge, and capabilities – are transferred from one stakeholder to another. A well-devised knowledge transfer plan will mitigate the risk of knowledge loss, yet as many as 74%2 of organizations have no formal approach to KT – and it’s costing them money, reputation, and time.

    84%of all enterprise value on the S&P 500 is intangibles.3

    $31.5 billion lost annually by Fortune 500 companies failing to share knowledge. 1

    74% of organizations have no formal process for facilitating knowledge transfer. 2

    1 Shedding Light on Knowledge Management, 2004, p. 46

    2 McLean & Company, 2016, N=120

    3 Visual Capitalists, 2020

    Losing knowledge will undermine your organization’s strategy in four ways

    In a worst-case scenario, key employees leaving will result in the loss of valuable knowledge, core business relationships, and profits.

    1

    Inefficiency due to “reinvention of the wheel.” When older workers leave and don’t effectively transfer their knowledge, younger generations duplicate effort to solve problems and find solutions.

    2

    Loss of competitive advantage. What and who you know is a tremendous source of competitive edge. Losing knowledge and/or established client relationships hurts your asset base and stifles growth, especially in terms of proprietary or unique knowledge.

    3

    Reduced capacity to innovate. Older workers know what works and what doesn’t, as well as what’s new and what’s not. They can identify the status quo faster, to make way for novel thinking.

    4

    Increased vulnerability. One thing that comes with knowledge is a deeper understanding of risk. Losing knowledge can impede your organizational ability to identify, understand, and mitigate risks. You’ll have to learn through experience all over again.

    Are you part of the 74% of organizations with no knowledge transfer planning in place? Can you afford not to have it?

    Consider this:

    55-60

    67%

    78%

    $14k / minute

    the average age of mainframe workers – making close to 50% of workers over 60.2

    of Fortune 100 companies still use mainframes3 requiring. specialized skills and knowledge

    of CIOs report mainframe applications will remain a key asset in the next decade.1

    is the cost of mainframe outages for an average enterprise.1

    A system failure to a mainframe could be disastrous for organizations that haven’t effectively transferred key knowledge. Now think past the mainframe to key processes, customer/vendor relationships, legal requirements, home grown solutions etc. in your organization.

    What would knowledge loss cost you in terms of financial and reputational loss?

    Source: 1 Big Tech Problem as Mainframes Outlast Workforce

    Source: 2 IT's most wanted: Mainframe programmers

    Source: 3The State of the Mainframe, 2022

    Case Study

    Insurance organization fails to mitigate risk of employee departure and incurs costly consequences – in the millions

    INDUSTRY: Insurance

    SOURCE: ITRG Member

    Challenge

    Solution

    Results
    • A rapidly growing organization's key Senior System Architect unexpectedly fell ill and needed to leave the organization.
    • This individual had been with the organization for more than 25 years and was the primary person in IT responsible for several mission-critical systems.
    • Following this individual’s departure, one of the systems unexpectedly went down.
    • As this individual had always been the go-to person for the system, and issues were few and far between, no one had thought to document key system elements and no knowledge transfer had taken place.
    • The failed system cost the organization more than a million dollars in lost revenue.
    • The organization needed to hire a forensic development team to reverse engineer the system.
    • This cost the organization another $200k in consulting fees plus the additional cost of training existing employees on a system which they had originally been hoping to upgrade.

    Forward thinking organizations use knowledge transfer not only to avoid risks, but to drive IT innovation

    IT knowledge transfer is a process that, at its most basic level, ensures that essential IT knowledge and capabilities don’t leave the organization – and at its most sophisticated level, drives innovation and customer service by leveraging knowledge assets.

    Knowledge Transfer Risks:

    Knowledge Transfer Opportunities:

    ✗ Increased training and development costs when key stakeholders leave the organization.

    ✗ Decreased efficiency through long development cycles.

    ✗ Late projects that tie up IT resources longer than planned, and cost overruns that come out of the IT budget.

    ✗ Lost relationships with key stakeholders within and outside the organization.

    ✗ Inconsistent project/task execution, leading to inconsistent outcomes.

    ✗ IT losing its credibility due to system or project failure from lost information.

    ✗ Customer dissatisfaction from inconsistent service.

    ✓ Mitigated risks and costs from talent leaving the organization.

    ✓ Business continuity through redundancies preventing service interruptions and project delays.

    ✓ Operational efficiency through increased productivity by never having to start projects from scratch.

    ✓ Increased engagement from junior staff through development planning.

    ✓ Innovation by capitalizing on collective knowledge.

    ✓ Increased ability to adapt to change and save time-to-market.

    ✓ IT teams that drive process improvement and improved execution.

    Common obstacles

    In building your knowledge transfer roadmap, the size of your organization can present unique challenges

    How you build your knowledge transfer roadmap will not change drastically based on the size of your organization; however, the scope of your initiative, tactics you employ, and your communication plan for knowledge transfer may change.


    How knowledge transfer projects vary by organization size:

    Small Organization

    Medium Organization

    Large Organization

    Project Opportunities

    ✓ Project scope is much more manageable.

    ✓ Communication and planning can be more manageable.

    ✓ Fewer knowledge sources and receivers can clarify prioritization needs.

    ✓ Project scope is more manageable.

    ✓ Moderate budget for knowledge transfer activities.

    ✓ Communication and enforcement is easier.

    ✓ Budget available to knowledge transfer initiatives.

    ✓ In-house expertise may be available.

    Project Risks

    ✗ Limited resources for the project.

    ✗ In-house expertise is unlikely.

    ✗ Knowledge transfer may be informal and not documented.

    ✗ Limited overlap in responsibilities, resulting in fewer redundancies.

    ✗ Limited staff with knowledge transfer experience for the project.

    ✗ Knowledge assets are less likely to be documented.

    ✗ Knowledge transfer may be a lower priority and difficult to generate buy-in.

    ✗ More staff to manage knowledge transfer for, and much larger scope for the project.

    ✗ Impact of poor knowledge transfer can result in much higher costs.

    ✗Geographically dispersed business units make collaboration and communication difficult.

    ✗ Vast amounts of historical knowledge to capture.

    Capture both explicit and tacit knowledge

    Explicit

    Tacit
    • “What knowledge” – knowledge can be articulated, codified, and easily communicated.
    • Easily explained and captured – documents, memos, speeches, books, manuals, process diagrams, facts, etc.
    • Learn through reading or being told.
    • “How knowledge” – intangible knowledge from an individual’s experience that is more from the process of learning, understanding, and applying information (insights, judgments, and intuition).
    • Hard to verbalize, and difficult to capture and quantify.
    • Learn through observation, imitation, and practice.

    Types of explicit knowledge

    Types of tacit knowledge

    Information

    • Specialized technical knowledge.
    • Unique design capabilities/ methods/ models.
    • Legacy systems, details, passwords.
    • Special formulas/algorithms/ techniques/contacts.

    Process

    • Specialized research and development processes.
    • Proprietary production processes.
    • Decision-making processes.
    • Legacy systems.
    • Variations from documented processes.

    Skills

    • Techniques for executing on processes.
    • Relationship management.
    • Competencies built through deliberate practice enabling someone to act effectively.

    Expertise

    • Company history and values.
    • Relationships with key stakeholders.
    • Tips and tricks.
    • Competitor history and differentiators.

    Examples: reading music, building a bike, knowing the alphabet, watching a YouTube video on karate.

    Examples: playing the piano, riding a bike, reading or speaking a language, earning a black belt in karate.

    Knowledge transfer is not a one-size-fits-all project

    The image contains a picture of Info-Tech's Knowledge Transfer Maturity Model. Level 0: Accidental, goal is not prioritized. Level 1: Stabilize, goal is risk mitigation. Level 2: Proactive, goal is operational efficiency. Level 3: Knowledge Culture, goal is innovation & customer service.

    No formal knowledge transfer program exists; knowledge transfer is ad hoc, or may be conducted through an exit interview only.

    74% of organizations are at level 0.1

    At level one, knowledge transfer is focused around ensuring that high risk, explicit knowledge is covered for all high-risk stakeholders.

    Organizations have knowledge transfer plans for all high-risk knowledge to ensure redundancies exist and leverage this to drive process improvements, effectiveness, and employee engagement.

    Increase end-user satisfaction and create a knowledge value center by leveraging the collective knowledge to solve repeat customer issues and drive new product innovation.

    1 Source: McLean & Company, 2016, N=120

    Assess your fit for this blueprint by considering the following statements

    I’m an IT Leader who…

    Stabilize

    …has witnessed that new employees have recently left or are preparing to leave the organization, and worries that we don’t have their knowledge captured anywhere.

    …previously had to cut down our IT department, and as a result there is a lack of redundancy for tasks. If someone leaves, we don’t have the information we need to continue operating effectively.

    …is worried that the IT department has no succession planning in place and that we’re opening ourselves up to risk.

    Proactive

    …feels like we are losing productivity because the same problems are being solved differently multiple times.

    …worries that different employees have unique knowledge which is critical to performance and that they are the only ones who know about it.

    …has noticed that the processes people are using are different from the ones that are written down.

    …feels like the IT department is constantly starting projects from scratch, and employees aren’t leveraging each other’s information, which is causing inefficiencies.

    …feels like new employees take too long to get up to speed.

    …knows that we have undocumented systems and more are being built each day.

    Knowledge Culture

    …feels like we’re losing out on opportunities to innovate because we’re not sharing information, learning from others’ mistakes, or capitalizing on their successes.

    …notices that staff don’t have a platform to share information on a regular basis, and believes if we brought that information together, we would be able to improve customer service and drive product innovation.

    …wants to create a culture where employees are valued for their competencies and motivated to learn.

    …values knowledge and the contributions of my team.

    This blueprint can help you build a roadmap to resolve each of these pain points. However, not all organizations need to have a knowledge culture. In the next section, we will walk you through the steps of selecting your target maturity model based on your knowledge goals.

    Case Study

    Siemens builds a knowledge culture to drive customer service improvements and increases sales by $122 million

    INDUSTRY: Electronics Engineering

    SOURCE: KM Best Practices

    Challenge

    Solution

    Results

    • As a large electronics and engineering global company, Siemens was facing increased global competition.
    • There was an emphasized need for agility and specialized knowledge to remain competitive.
    • The new company strategy to address competitive forces focused on becoming a knowledge enterprise and improving knowledge-sharing processes.
    • New leadership roles were created to develop a knowledge management culture.
    • “Communities of practice” were created with the goal of “connecting people to people” by allowing them to share best practices and information across departments.
    • An internal information-sharing program was launched that combined chat, database, and search engine capabilities for 12,000 employees.
    • Employees were able to better focus on customer needs based on offering services and products with high knowledge content.
    • With the improved customer focus, sales increased by $122 million and there was a return of $10-$20 per dollar spent on investment in the communities of practice.

    Info-Tech’s approach

    Five steps to future-proof your IT team

    The five steps are in a cycle. The five steps are: Obtain approval for IT knowledge transfer project, Identify your knowledge and stakeholder risks, Build knowledge transfer plans, Build your knowledge transfer roadmap, Communicate your knowledge transfer roadmap to stakeholders.

    The Info-Tech difference:

    1. Successfully build a knowledge transfer roadmap based on your goals, no matter what market segment or size of business.
    2. Increase departmental efficiencies through increased collaboration.
    3. Retain key IT knowledge.
    4. Improve junior employee engagement by creating development opportunities.

    Use Info-Tech tools and templates

    Project outcomes

    1. Approval for IT knowledge transfer project obtained

    2. Knowledge and stakeholder risks identified

    3. Tactics for individuals’ knowledge transfer identified

    4. Knowledge transfer roadmap built

    5. Knowledge transfer roadmap approved

    Info-Tech tools and templates to help you complete your project deliverables

    Project Stakeholder Register Template

    IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide Template

    Project Planning and Monitoring Tool

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template

    IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template

    IT Knowledge Transfer Plan Template

    Your completed project deliverables

    IT Knowledge Transfer Plans

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap

    Info-Tech’s methodology to mitigate key IT employee knowledge loss

    1. Initiate

    2. Design

    3. Implement

    Phase Steps
    1. Obtain approval for IT knowledge transfer project.
    2. Identify your knowledge and stakeholder risks.
    1. Build knowledge transfer plans.
    2. Build your knowledge transfer roadmap.
    1. Communicate your knowledge transfer roadmap to stakeholders.

    Phase Outcomes
    • Approval for IT knowledge transfer project obtained.
    • Knowledge and stakeholder risks identified.
    • IT knowledge transfer project charter created.
    • Tactics for individuals’ knowledge transfer identified.
    • Knowledge transfer roadmap built.
    • IT knowledge transfer plans established.
    • IT Knowledge transfer roadmap presented.
    • Knowledge transfer roadmap approved.

    Blueprint deliverables

    Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

    IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter

    Establish a clear project scope, decision rights, and executive sponsorship for the project.

    		 The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter.

    IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    Identify and assess the knowledge and individual risk of key knowledge holders.

    		 The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool.

    IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide

    Extract information about the type of knowledge sources have.

    		 The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide.

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation

    Communicate IT knowledge transfer recommendations to stakeholders to gain buy-in.

    		 The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation.

    Key deliverable:

    IT Knowledge Transfer Plan

    Track knowledge activities, intended recipients, and appropriate transfer tactics for each knowledge source.

    The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer Plan.

    Blueprint benefits

    IT Benefits

    Business Benefits
    • Business continuity through redundancies preventing service interruptions and project delays.
    • Operational efficiency through increased productivity by never having to start projects from scratch.
    • Increased engagement from junior staff through development planning.
    • IT teams that drive process improvement and improved execution.
    • Mitigated risks and costs from talent leaving the organization.
    • Innovation by capitalizing on collective knowledge.
    • Increased ability to adapt to change and save time-to-market.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    “ Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

    Guided Implementation

    “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

    Workshop

    “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

    Consulting

    “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Guided Implementation

    What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

    Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

    Call #1: Structure the project. Discuss transfer maturity goal and metrics.

    Call #2: Build knowledge transfer plans.

    Call #3: Identify priorities & review risk assessment tool.

    Call #4: Build knowledge transfer roadmap. Determine logistics of implementation.

    Call #5: Determine logistics of implementation.

    A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization. A typical GI is five to six calls.

    Workshop Overview

    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    Day 1

    Day 2

    Day 3

    Day 4

    Day 5

    Define the Current and Target State

    Identify Knowledge Priorities

    Build Knowledge Transfer Plans

    Define the Knowledge Transfer Roadmap

    Next Steps and
    Wrap-Up (offsite)

    Activities

    1.1 Have knowledge transfer fireside chat.

    1.2 Identify current and target maturity.

    1.3 Identify knowledge transfer metrics

    1.4 Identify knowledge transfer project stakeholders

    2.1 Identify your knowledge sources.

    2.2 Complete a knowledge risk assessment.

    2.3 Identify knowledge sources’ level of knowledge risk.

    3.1 Build an interview guide.

    3.2 Interview knowledge holders.

    4.1 Prioritize the sequence of initiatives.

    4.2 Complete the project roadmap.

    4.3 Prepare communication presentation.

    5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

    5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

    Deliverables
    1. Organizational benefits and current pain points of knowledge transfer.
    2. Identification of target state of maturity.
    3. Metrics for knowledge transfer.
    4. Project stakeholder register.
    1. List of high risk knowledge sources.
    2. Departure analysis.
    3. Knowledge risk analysis.
    1. Knowledge transfer interview guide.
    2. Itemized knowledge assets.
    1. Prioritized sequence based on target state maturity goals.
    2. Project roadmap.
    3. Communication deck.

    Phase #1

    Initiate your IT knowledge transfer project

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    1.1 Obtain approval for project

    1.2 Identify knowledge and stakeholder risks

    2.1 Build knowledge transfer plans

    2.2 Build knowledge transfer roadmap

    3.1 Communicate your roadmap

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Hold a working session with key stakeholders.
    • Identify your current state of maturity for knowledge transfer.
    • Identify your target state of maturity for knowledge transfer.
    • Define key knowledge transfer metrics.
    • Identify your project team and their responsibilities.
    • Build the project charter and obtain approval.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • IT Leadership
    • Other key stakeholders

    Step 1.1

    Obtain Approval for Your IT Knowledge Transfer Project

    Activities

    1.1.1 Hold a Working Session With Key Stakeholders

    1.1.2 Conduct a Current and Target State Analysis.

    1.1.3 Identify Key Metrics

    1.1.4 Identify Your Project Team

    1.1.5 Populate an RACI

    1.1.6 Build the Project Charter and Obtain Approval

    Initiate Your IT Knowledge Transfer Project

    The primary goal of this section is to gain a thorough understanding of the reasons why your organization should invest in knowledge transfer and to identify the specific challenges to address.

    Outcomes of this step

    Organizational benefits and current pain points of knowledge transfer

    Hold a working session with the key stakeholders to structure the project

    Don’t build your project charter in a vacuum. Involve key stakeholders to determine the desired knowledge transfer goals, target maturity and KPIs, and ultimately build the project charter.

    Building the project charter as a group will help you to clarify your key messages and help secure buy-in from critical stakeholders up-front, which is key.

    In order to execute on the knowledge transfer project, you will need significant involvement from your IT leadership team. The trouble is that knowledge transfer can be inherently stressful for employees as it can cause concerns around job security. Members of your IT leadership team will also be individuals who need to participate in knowledge transfer, so get them involved upfront. The working session will help stakeholders feel more engaged in the project, which is pivotal for success.

    You may feel like a full project charter isn’t necessary, and depending on your organizational size, it might not be. However, the exercise of building the charter is important regardless. No matter your current climate, some level of socializing the value and plans for knowledge transfer will be necessary.

    Meeting Agenda

    1. Short project introduction

      2. Led by: Project Sponsor

    • Why the project was initiated.
  • Make the case for the project

    • Led by: Project Manager

    • Current state: What project does the project address?
    • Future state: What is our target state of maturity?
  • Success criteria

    • Led by: Project Manager

    • How will success be measured?
  • Define the project team

    • Led by: Project Manager

    • Description of planned project approach.
    • Stakeholder assessment.
    • What is required of the sponsor and stakeholders?
  • Determine next steps

    • Led by: Project Manager

    1.1.1 Key Stakeholder Working Session

    Identify the pain points you’re experiencing with knowledge transfer and some of the benefits which you’d like to see from a program to determine the key objectives By doing so, you’ll get a holistic view of what you need to achieve.

    Collect this information by:

    1. Asking the working group participants (as a whole or in smaller groups) to discuss pain points created by ineffective knowledge transfer practices.
    • Challenges related to stakeholders.
    • Challenges created by process issues.
    • Issues achieving the intended outcome due to ineffective knowledge transfer.
    • Difficulties improving knowledge transfer practices.
  • Discussing opportunities to be gained from improving these practices.
  • Having participants write these down on sticky notes and place them on a whiteboard or flip chart.
  • Reviewing all the points as a group and grouping challenges and benefits into themes.
  • Having the group prioritize the risks and benefits in terms of what the solution “must have,” “should have,” “could have,” and “won’t have.”
  • Documenting this in the IT Knowledge Transfer Charter template.
    • Input Output
    • Reasons for the project
    • Stakeholder requirements
    • Pain point and risks
    • Identified next steps
    • Target state
    • Completed IT Knowledge Transfer Charter
    Materials Participants
    • Agenda (see previous slide)
    • Sticky notes (optional)
    • Pens (optional)
    • Whiteboard (optional
    • Markers (optional)
    • IT leadership

    Examples of Possible Pain Points

    • Employees have recently left or are preparing to leave the organization, and we worry that we don’t have their knowledge captured anywhere.
    • We previously had to cut down our IT department, and as a result there is a lack of redundancy for tasks. If someone leaves, we don’t have the information we need to continue operating effectively.
    • We’re worried that the IT department has no succession planning in place and that we’re opening ourselves up to risk.
    • It feels like we are losing productivity because the same problems are being solved multiple times, differently.
    • We’re worried that different employees have unique knowledge which is critical to performance, and that they are the only ones who know about it.
    • We’ve noticed that the processes people are using are different from the ones that are written down.
    • It feels like the IT department is constantly starting projects from scratch and employees aren’t leveraging each other’s information, which is causing inefficiencies.
    • It feels like new employees take too long to get up to speed.
    • We know that we have undocumented systems and more are being built each day.
    • We feel like we’re losing out on opportunities to innovate because we’re not sharing information, learning from others’ mistakes, or capitalizing on their successes.
    • We’ve noticed that staff don’t have a platform to share information on a regular basis. We believe if we brought that information together, we would be better able to improve customer service and drive product innovation.
    • We want to create a culture where employees are valued for their competencies and motivated to learn.
    • We value knowledge and the contributions of our team.

    1.1.2 Conduct a Current and Target State Analysis

    Identify your current and target state of maturity

    How to determine your current and target state of maturity:

    1. Provide the previous two slides with the details of the maturity assessment to the group, to review.
    2. Ask each participant to individually determine what they think is the IT team’s current state of maturity. After a few minutes, discuss as a group and come to an agreement.
    3. Review each of the benefits and timing for each of the maturity levels. Compare the benefits listed to those that you named in the previous exercise and determine which maturity level best describes your target state.
    4. Discuss as a group and agree on one maturity level.
    5. Review the other levels of maturity and determine what is in and out of scope for the project (hint: higher level benefits would be considered out of scope). Document this in the IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter template.
    Input Output
    • Knowledge Transfer Maturity Level charts
    • Target maturity level documented in the IT Knowledge Transfer Charter
    Materials Participants
    • Paper and pens
    • Handouts of maturity levels
    • IT Leadership Team

    IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template

    Info-Tech’s Knowledge Transfer Maturity Model

    Depending on the level of maturity you are trying to achieve, a knowledge transfer project could take weeks, months, or even years. Your maturity level depends on the business goal you would like to achieve, and impacts who and what your roadmap targets.

    The image contains a picture of Info-Tech's Knowledge Transfer Maturity Model. Level 0: Accidental, goal is not prioritized. Level 1: Stabilize, goal is risk mitigation. Level 2: Proactive, goal is operational efficiency. Level 3: Knowledge Culture, goal is innovation & customer service.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The maturity levels build on one another; if you start with a project, it is possible to move from a level 0 to a level 1, and once the project is complete, you can advance to a level 2 or 3. However, it’s important to set clear boundaries upfront to limit scope creep, and it’s important to set appropriate expectations for what the project will deliver.

    Knowledge Transfer Maturity Level: Accidental and Stabilize

    Goal

    Description

    Time to implement

    Benefits

    Level 0: Accidental

    Not Prioritized
    • No knowledge transfer process is present.
    • Knowledge transfer is completed in an ad hoc manner.
    • Some transfer may take place through exit interviews.

    N/A
    • Simple to implement and maintain.

    Level 1: Stabilize

    Risk Mitigation

    At level one, knowledge transfer is focused around ensuring that redundancies exist for explicit knowledge for:

    1. ALL high-risk knowledge.
    2. ALL high-risk stakeholders.

    Your high-risk knowledge is any information which is proprietary, unique, or specialized.

    High risk stakeholders are those individuals who are at a higher likelihood of departing the organization due to retirement or disengagement.

    0 – 6 months
    • Mitigates risks from talent leaving the organization.
    • Ensures business continuity through redundancies.
    • Provides stability to sustain high-performing services, and mitigates risks from service interruptions.

    Knowledge Transfer Maturity Level: Proactive and Knowledge Culture

    Goal

    Description

    Time to implement

    Benefits

    Level 2: Proactive

    Operational Efficiency

    Level 2 extends Level 1.

    Once stabilized, you can work on KT initiatives that allow you to be more proactive and cover high risk knowledge that may not be held by those see as high risk individuals.

    Knowledge transfer plans must exist for ALL high risk knowledge.

    3m – 1yr

    • Enhances productivity by reducing need to start projects from scratch.
    • Increases efficiency by tweaking existing processes with best practices.
    • Sees new employees become productive more quickly through targeted development planning.
    • Increases chance that employees will stay at the organization longer, if they can see growth opportunities.
    • Streamlines efficiencies by eliminating redundant or unnecessary processes.

    Level 3: Knowledge Culture

    Drive Innovation Through Knowledge

    Level 3 extends Level 2.

    • Knowledge Transfer covers explicit and tacit information throughout the IT organization.
    • The program should be integrated with leadership development and talent management.
    • Key metrics should be tied to process improvement, innovation, and customer service.

    1-2 years

    • Increases end-user satisfaction by leveraging the collective knowledge to solve repeat customer issues.
    • Drives product innovation through collaboration.
    • Increases employee engagement by recognizing and rewarding knowledge sharing.
    • Increases your ability to adapt to change and save time-to-market through increased learning.
    • Enables the development of new ideas through iteration.
    • Supports faster access to knowledge.

    Select project-specific KPIs

    Use the selected KPIs to track the value of knowledge transfer

    You need to ensure your knowledge transfer initiatives are having the desired effect and adjust course when necessary. Establishing an upfront list of key performance indicators that will be benchmarked and tracked is a crucial step.

    Many organizations overlook the creation of KPIs for knowledge transfer because the benefits are often one step removed from the knowledge transfer itself. However, there are several metrics you can use to measure success.

    Hint: Metrics will vary based on your knowledge transfer maturity goals.

    Metrics For Knowledge Transfer

    Creating KPIs for knowledge transfer is a crucial step that many organizations overlook because the benefits are often one step removed from the knowledge transfer itself. However, there are several qualitative and quantitative metrics you can use to measure success depending on your maturity level goals.

    Stabilize

    • Number of high departure risk employees identified.
    • Number of high-risk employees without knowledge transfer plans.
    • Number of post-retirement knowledge issues.

    Be Proactive

    • Number of issues arising from lack of redundancy.
    • Percentage of high-risk knowledge items without transfer plans.
    • Time required to get new employees up to speed.

    Promote Knowledge Culture

    • Percentage of returned deliverables for rework.
    • Percentage of errors repeated in reports.
    • Number of employees mentoring their colleagues.
    • Number of issues solved through knowledge sharing.
    • Percentage of employees with knowledge transfer/development plans.

    1.1.3 Identify Key Metrics

    Identify key metrics the organization will use to measure knowledge transfer success

    How to determine knowledge transfer metrics:

    1. Assign each participant 1-4 of the desired knowledge transfer benefits and pain points which you identified as priorities.
    2. Independently have them brainstorm how they would measure the success of each, and after 10 minutes, present their thoughts to the group.
    3. Write each of the metric suggestions on a whiteboard and agree to 3-5 benefits which you will track. The metrics you choose should relate to the key pain points you have identified and match your desired maturity level.
    InputOutput
    • Knowledge transfer pain points and benefits
    • 3-5 key metrics to track
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Whiteboard
    • IT Leadership Team

    Identify knowledge transfer project team

    Determine Project Participants

    Pick a Project Sponsor
    • The project participants are the IT managers and directors whose day-to-day lives will be impacted by the knowledge transfer roadmap and its implementation.
    • These individuals will be your roadmap ream and will help with planning. Most of these individuals should be in the workshop, but ensure you have everyone covered. Some examples of individuals you should consider for your team are:
      • Director/Manager Level:
        • Applications
        • Infrastructure
        • Operations
      • Service Delivery Managers
      • Business Relationship Managers
    • The project sponsor should be a member of your IT department’s senior executive team whose goals and objectives will be impacted by knowledge transfer implementation.
      • This is the person you will get to sign-off on the project charter document.
    The image contains a triangle that has been split into three parts. The top section is labelled: Project Sponsor, middle section: Project Participants, and the bottom is labelled Project Stakeholders.

    The project sponsor is the main catalyst for the creation of the roadmap. They will be the one who signs off on the project roadmap.

    The Project Participants are the key stakeholders in your organization whose input will be pivotal to the creation of the roadmap.

    The project stakeholders are the senior executives who have a vested interest in knowledge transfer. Following completion of this workshop, you will present your roadmap to these individuals for approval.

    1.1.4 Identify Your Project Team

    How to define the knowledge transfer project team:

    1. Through discussion, generate a complete list of key stakeholders, considering each of the roles indicated in the chart on the Key Project Management Stakeholders slide. Write their names on a whiteboard.
    2. Using the quadrant template on the next slide, draw the stakeholder power map.
    3. Evaluate each stakeholder on the list based on their level of influence and support of the project. Write the stakeholder’s name on a sticky note and place it in the appropriate place on the grid.
    4. Create an engagement plan based on the stakeholder’s placement.
    5. Use Info-Tech’s Project Stakeholder Register Template to identify and document your project management stakeholders.

    Project Stakeholder Register Template

    Input Output
    • Initial stakeholder analysis
    • Complete list of project participants.
    • Complete project stakeholder register.
    Materials Participants
    • Whiteboard / Flip chart
    • Markers / Pens
    • Project Stakeholder Register Template
    • IT Leadership Team
    • Other stakeholders

    Have a strategic approach for engaging stakeholders to help secure buy-in

    If your IT leadership team isn’t on board, you’re in serious trouble! IT leaders will not only be highly involved in the knowledge transfer project, but they also may be participants, so it’s essential that you get their buy-in for the project upfront.

    Document the results in the Project Stakeholder Register Template; use this as a guide to help structure your communication with stakeholders based on where they fall on the grid.

    How to Manage:

    Focus on increasing these stakeholders’ level of support!

    1. Have a one-on-one meeting to seek their views on critical issues and address concerns.
    2. Identify key pain points they have experienced and incorporate these in the project goal statements.
    3. Where possible, leverage KT champions to help encourage support.
    		The image contains a small graph to demonstrate the noise makers, the blockers, the changers, and the helpers.

    Capitalize on champions to drive the project/change.

    1. Use them for internal PR of the objectives and benefits.
    2. Ask them what other stakeholders can be leveraged.
    3. Involve them early in creating project documents.

    How to Manage:

    How to Manage:

    Pick your battles – focus on your noise makers first, and then move on to your blockers.

    1. Determine the level of involvement the blockers will have in the project (i.e. what you will need from them in the future) and determine next steps based on this (one-on-one meeting, group meeting, informal communication, or leveraging helpers/ champions to encourage them).

    Leverage this group where possible to help socialize the program and to help encourage dissenters to support.

    1. Mention their support in group settings.
    2. Focus on increasing their understanding via informal communication.

    How to Manage:

    Key Project Management Stakeholders

    Role

    Project Role

    Required

    CIO

    Will often play the role of project sponsor and should be involved in key decision points.

    IT Managers Directors

    Assist in the identification of high-risk stakeholders and knowledge and will be heavily involved in the development of each transfer plan.

    Project Manager

    Should be in charge of leading the development and execution of the project.

    Business Analysts

    Responsible for knowledge transfer elicitation analysis and validation for the knowledge transfer project.

    Situational

    Technical Lead

    Responsible for solution design where required for knowledge transfer tactics.

    HR

    Will aid in the identification of high-risk stakeholders or help with communication and stakeholder management.

    Legal

    Organizations that are subject to knowledge confidentiality, Sarbanes-Oxley, federal rules, etc. may need legal to participate in planning.

    Ensure coverage of all project tasks

    Populate a Project RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart

    Apps MGR

    Dev. MGR

    Infra MGR

    Build the project charter

    R

    R

    		 I

    Identify IT stakeholders

    R

    R

    		 I

    Identify high risk stakeholders

    R

    		 A

    R

    Identify high risk knowledge

    		 I C C

    Validate prioritized stakeholders

    		 I C R

    Interview key stakeholders

    		 R R A

    Identify knowledge transfer tactics for individuals

    		 C C A

    Communicate knowledge transfer goals

    		 C R A

    Build the knowledge transfer roadmap

    		 C R A

    Approve knowledge transfer roadmap

    		 C R C

    1.1.5 Populate an RACI

    Populate a RACI chart to identify who should be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each key activity.

    How to define RACI for the project team:

    1. Write out the list of all stakeholders along the top of a whiteboard. Write out the key project steps along the left-hand side (use this list as a starting point).
    2. For each initiative, identify each team member’s role. Are they:

      3. Responsible: The one responsible for getting the job done.

      Accountable: Only one person can be accountable for each task.

      Consulted: Involvement through input of knowledge and information.

      Informed: Receiving information about process execution and quality.

    3. As you proceed through the project, continue to add tasks and assign responsibility to the RACI chart on the next slide.
    InputOutput
    • Stakeholder list
    • Key project steps
    • Project RACI chart
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Whiteboard
    • IT Leadership Team

    1.1.6 Build the Project Charter and Obtain Sign-off

    Complete the IT knowledge transfer project charter.

    Build the project charter and obtain sign-off from your project sponsor. Use your organization’s project charter if one exists. If not, customize Info-Tech’s IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template to suit your needs.

    The image contains a screenshot of the IT knowledge transfer project charter template.

    IT Knowledge Transfer Project Charter Template

    Step 1.2

    Identify Your Knowledge and Stakeholder Risks

    Activities

    1.2.1 Identify Knowledge Sources

    1.2.2 Complete a Knowledge Risk Assessment

    1.2.3 Review the Prioritized List of Knowledge Sources

    The primary goal of this section is to identify who your primary risk targets are for knowledge transfer.

    Outcomes of this step

    • A list of your high-risk knowledge sources
    • Departure analysis
    • Knowledge risk analysis

    Prioritize your knowledge transfer initiatives

    Throughout this section, we will walk through the following 3 activities in the tool to determine where you need to focus attention for your knowledge transfer roadmap based on knowledge value and likelihood of departure.

    1. Identify Knowledge Sources

    Create a list of knowledge sources for whom you will be conducting the analysis, and identify which sources currently have a transfer plan in place.

    2. Value of Knowledge

    Consider the type of knowledge held by each identified knowledge source and determine the level of risk based on the knowledge:

    1. Criticality
    2. Availability

    3. Likelihood of Departure

    Identify the knowledge source’s risk of leaving the organization based on their:

    1. Age cohort
    2. Engagement level

    This tool contains sensitive information. Do not share this tool with knowledge sources. The BA and Project Manager, and potentially the project sponsor, should be the only ones who see the completed tool.

    The image contains screenshots from the Knowledge Risk Assessment Tool.

    Focus on key roles instead of all roles in IT

    Identify Key Roles

    Hold a meeting with your IT Leadership team, or meet with members individually, and ask these questions to identify key roles:

    • What are the roles that have a significant impact on delivering the business strategy?
    • What are the key differentiating roles for our IT organization?
    • Which roles, if vacant, would leave the organization open to non-compliance with regulatory or legal requirements?
    • Which roles have a direct impact on the customer?
    • Which roles, if vacant, would create system, function, or process failure for the organization?

    Key roles include:

    • Strategic roles: Roles that give the greatest competitive advantage. Often these are roles that involve decision-making responsibility.
    • Core roles: Roles that must provide consistent results to achieve business goals.
    • Proprietary roles: Roles that are tied closely to unique or proprietary internal processes or knowledge that cannot be procured externally. These are often highly technical or specialized.
    • Required roles: Roles that support the department and are required to keep it moving forward day-to-day.
    • Influential roles: Positions filled by employees who are the backbone of the organization, i.e. the go-to people who are the corporate culture.

    Info-Tech Insight

    This step is meant to help speed up and simplify the process for large IT organizations. IT organizations with fewer than 30 people, or organizations looking to build a knowledge culture, can opt to skip this step and include all members of the IT team. This way, everyone is considered and you can prioritize accordingly.

    1.2.1 Identify Key Knowledge Sources

    1. Identify key roles, as shown on the previous slide. This can be done by brainstorming names on sticky notes and placing them on a whiteboard.
    2. Document using IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool Tab 2. Input with first name, last name, department/ IT area, and manager of each identified Knowledge Source.
    3. Also answer the question of whether the Knowledge Source currently has a knowledge transfer plan in place.
    • Not in place
    • Partially in place
    • In place
  • Conduct sanity check: once you have identified key roles, ask – “did we miss anybody?”
    • InputOutput
    • Employee list
    • List of knowledge sources for IT
    MaterialsParticipants
    • IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool.
    • IT Leadership Team

    IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    Document key knowledge sources (example)

    Use information about the current state of knowledge transfer plans in your organization to understand your key risks and focus areas.

    The image contains a screenshot of the knowledge source.

    Legend:

    1. Document knowledge source information (name, department, and manager).

    2. Select the current state of knowledge transfer plans for each knowledge source.

    Once you have identified key roles, conduct a sanity check and ask – “did we miss anybody?” For example:

    • There are three systems administrators. One of them, Joe, has been with the organization for 15 years.
    • Joe’s intimate systems knowledge and long-term relationship with one of the plant systems vendors has made him a go-to person during times of operational systems crisis and has resulted in systems support discounts.
    • While the systems administrator role by itself is not considered key (partly due to role redundancy), Joe is a key person to flag for knowledge transfer activities as losing him would make achieving core business goals more difficult.

    Case Study

    Municipal government learns the importance of thorough knowledge source identification after losing key stakeholder

    INDUSTRY: Government

    Challenge

    Solution

    Results
    • A municipal government was introducing a new integration project that was led by their controller.
    • The controller left abruptly, and while the HR department conducted an exit interview, they didn’t realize until after the individual had left how much information was lost.
    • Nobody knew the information needed to complete the integration, so they had to make do with what they had.
    • The Director of IT at the time was the most familiar with the process.
    • Even though she would not normally do this type of project, at the time she was the only person with knowledge of the process and luckily was able to complete the integration.
    • The Director of IT had to put other key projects on hold, and lost productivity on other prioritized work.
    • The organization realized how much they were at risk and changed how they approached knowledge. They created a new process to identify “single point of failures” and label people as high risk. These processes started with the support organization’s senior level key people to identify their processes and record everything they do and what they know.

    Identify employees who may be nearing retirement and flag them as high risk

    Risk Parameter

    Description

    How to Collect this Data:

    Age Cohort

    • 60+ years of age or older, or anyone who has indicated they will be retiring within five years (highest risk).
    • Employees in their early 50s: are still many years away from retirement but have a sufficient number of years remaining in their career to make a move to a new role outside of your organization.
    • Employees in their late 50s: are likely more than five years away from retirement but are less likely than younger employees to leave your organization for another role because of increasing risk in making such a move, and persistent employer unwillingness to hire older employees.
    • Employees under 50: should never be considered low risk only based on age – which is why the second component of stakeholder risk is engagement.

    For those people on your shortlist, pull some hard demographic data.

    Compile a report that breaks down employees into age-based demographic groups.

    Flag those over the age of 50 – they’re in the “retirement zone” and could decide to leave at any time.

    Check to see which stakeholders identified fall into the “over 50” age demographic.

    Document this information in the IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool.

    Info-Tech Insight

    150% of an employee’s base salary and benefits is the estimated cost of turnover according to The Society of Human Resource Professionals.1

    1McLean & Company, Make the Case for Employee Engagement

    Identify disengaged employees who may be preparing to leave the organization

    Risk Parameter

    Description

    How to Collect this Data:

    Engagement

    An engaged stakeholder is energized and passionate about their work, leading them to exert discretionary effort to drive organizational performance (lowest risk).

    An almost engaged stakeholder is generally passionate about their work. At times they exert discretionary effort to help achieve organizational goals.

    Indifferent employees are satisfied, comfortable, and generally able to meet minimum expectations. They see their work as “just a job,” prioritizing their needs before organizational goals.

    Disengaged employees have little interest in their job and the organization and often display negative attitudes (highest risk).

    Option 1:

    The optimal approach for determining employee engagement is through an engagement survey. See McLean & Company for more details.

    Option 2:

    Ask the identified stakeholder’s manager to provide an assessment of their engagement either independently or via a meeting.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Engaged employees are five times more likely than disengaged employees to agree that they are committed to their organization.1

    1Source: McLean & Company, N = 13683

    The level of risk of the type of information is defined by criticality and availability

    Risk Parameter

    Description

    How to Collect this Data:

    Criticality

    Roles that are critical to the continuation of business and cannot be left vacant without risking business operations. Would the role, if vacant, create system, function, or process failure for the organization?

    Option 1: (preferred)

    Meet with IT managers/directors over the phone or directly and review each of the identified reports to determine the risk.

    Option 2: Send the IT mangers/directors the list of their direct reports, and ask them to evaluate their knowledge type risk independently and return the information to you.

    Option 3: (if necessary) Review individual job descriptions independently, and use your judgment to come up with a rating for each. Send the assessment to the stakeholders’ managers for validation.

    Availability

    Refers to level of redundancy both within and outside of the organization. Information which is highly available is considered lower risk. Key questions to consider include: does this individual have specialized, unique, or proprietary expertise? Are there internal redundancies?

    1.2.2 Complete a Knowledge Risk Assessment

    Complete a Tab 3 assessment for each of your identified Knowledge Sources. The Knowledge Source tab will pre-populate with information from Tab 2 of the tool. For each knowledge source, you will determine their likelihood of departure and degree of knowledge risk.

    Likelihood of departure:

    1. Document the age cohort risk for each knowledge source on Tab 3 of the IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool. Age Cohort: Under 50, 51-55, 56-60, or over 60.
    2. Document the engagement risk for each knowledge source on Tab 3, “Assessment”, of the IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool. Engagement level: Engaged, Almost engaged, Indifferent employees, Disengaged.

      3. Degree of knowledge risk is based on:

    3. Document the knowledge type risk for each stakeholder on Tab 3, “Assessment” in the IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool.
    • Criticality: Would the role, if vacant, create system, function, or process failure for the organization?
    • Availability: Does this individual have specialized, unique, or proprietary expertise? Are there internal redundancies?
    Input Output
    • Knowledge source list (Tab 2)
    • Employee demographics information
    • List of high-risk knowledge sources
    Materials Participants
    • Sticky notes
    • Pens
    • Whiteboard
    • Marker
    • IT Leadership Team
    • HR

    IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    Results matrix

    The image contains a screenshot of risk assessment. The image contains a matrix example from tab 4.

    Determine where to focus your efforts

    The IT Knowledge Transfer Map on Tab 5 helps you to determine where to focus your knowledge transfer efforts

    Knowledge sources have been separated into the three maturity levels (Stabilize, Proactive, and Knowledge Culture) and prioritized within each level.

    Focus first on your stabilize groups, and based on your target maturity goal, move on to your proactive and knowledge culture groups respectively.

    The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer Map on tab 5.

    Sequential Prioritization

    Orange line Level 1: Stabilize

    Blue Line Level 2: Proactive

    Green Line Level 3: Knowledge Culture

    Each pie chart indicates which of the stakeholders in that risk column currently has knowledge transfer plans.

    Each individual also has their own status ball on whether they currently have a knowledge transfer plan.

    1.2.3 Review the Prioritized List

    Review results

    Identify knowledge sources to focus on for the knowledge transfer roadmap. Review the IT Knowledge Transfer Map on Tab 5 to determine where to focus your knowledge transfer efforts

    1. Show the results from the assessment tool.
    2. Discuss matrix and prioritized list.
    • Does it match with maturity goals?
    • Do prioritizations seem correct?
    InputOutput
    • Knowledge source risk profile
    • Risk Assessment (Tab 3)
    • Prioritized list of knowledge sources to focus on for the knowledge transfer roadmap
    MaterialsParticipants
    • n/a
    • IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool
    • IT Leadership Team

    IT Knowledge Transfer Risk Assessment Tool

    Phase #2

    Design your knowledge transfer plans

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    1.1 Obtain approval for project

    1.2 Identify knowledge and stakeholder risks

    2.1 Build knowledge transfer plans

    2.2 Build knowledge transfer roadmap

    3.1 Communicate your roadmap

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Building knowledge transfer plans for all prioritized knowledge sources.
    • Understanding which transfer tactics are best suited for different knowledge types.
    • Identifying opportunities to leverage collaboration tools for knowledge transfer.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • IT Leadership
    • Other key stakeholders
    • Knowledge sources

    Define what knowledge needs to be transferred

    Each knowledge source has unique information which needs to be transferred. Chances are you don’t know what you don’t know. The first step is therefore to interview knowledge sources to find out.

    Identify the knowledge receiver

    Depending on who the information is going to, the knowledge transfer tactic you employ will differ. Before deciding on the knowledge receiver and tactic, consider three key factors:

    • How will this knowledge be used in the future?
    • What is the next career step for the knowledge receiver?
    • Are the receiver and the source going to be in the same location?

    Identify which knowledge transfer tactics you will use for each knowledge asset

    Not all tactics are good in every situation. Always keep the “knowledge type” (information, process, skills, and expertise), knowledge sources’ engagement level, and the knowledge receiver in mind as you select tactics.

    Determine knowledge transfer tactics

    Determine tactics for each stakeholder based on qualities of their specific knowledge.

    This tool is built to accommodate up to 30 knowledge items; Info-Tech recommends focusing on the top 10-15 items.

    1. Send documents to each manager. Include:
    • a copy of this template.
    • interview guide.
    • tactics booklet.
  • Instruct managers to complete the template for each knowledge source and return it to you.

    • These steps should be completed by the BA or IT Manager. The BA is helpful to have around because they can learn about the tactics and answer any questions about the tactics that the managers might have when completing the template.

    The image contains a screenshot of the Knowledge Source's Name.

    IT Knowledge Transfer Plan Template

    Step 2.1

    Build Your Knowledge Transfer Plans

    Activities

    2.1.1 Interview Knowledge Sources to Uncover Key Knowledge Items

    2.1.2 Identify When to use Knowledge Transfer Tactics

    2.1.3 Build Individual Knowledge Transfer Plans

    The primary goal of this section is to build an interview guide and interview knowledge sources to identify key knowledge assets.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Knowledge Transfer Interview Guide
    • Itemized knowledge assets
    • Completed knowledge transfer plans

    2.1.1 Interview Knowledge Sources

    Determine key knowledge items

    The first step is for managers to interview knowledge sources in order to extract information about the type of knowledge the source has.

    Meet with the knowledge sources and work with them to identify essential knowledge. Use the following questions as guidance:

    1. What are you an expert in?
    2. What do others ask you for assistance with?
    3. What are you known for?
    4. What are key responsibilities you have that no one else has or knows how to do?
    5. Are there any key systems, processes, or applications which you’ve taken the lead on?
    6. When you go on vacation, what is waiting for you in your inbox?
    7. If you went on vacation, would there be any systems that, if there was a failure, you would be the only one who knows how to fix?
    8. Would you say that all the key processes you use, or tools, codes etc. are documented?
    Input Output
    • Knowledge type information
    • Prioritized list of key knowledge sources.
    • Knowledge activity information
    • What are examples of good use cases for the technique?
    • Why would you use this technique over others?
    • Is this technique suitable for all projects? When wouldn’t you use it?
    Materials Participants
    • Interview guide
    • Pen
    • Paper
    • IT Leadership Team
    • Knowledge sources

    IT Knowledge Identification Interview Guide Template

    2.1.2 Understand Knowledge Transfer Tactics

    Understand when and how to use different knowledge transfer tactics

    1. Break the workshop participants into teams. Assign each team two to four knowledge transfer tactics and provide them with the associated handout(s) from the following slides. Using the material provided, have each team brainstorm around the following questions:
      1. What types of information can the technique be used to collect?
      2. What are examples of good use cases for the technique?
      3. Why would you use this technique over others?
      4. Is this technique suitable for all projects? When wouldn’t you use it?
    2. Have each group present their findings from the brainstorming to the group.
    3. Once everyone has presented, have the groups select which tactics they would be interested in using and which ones they would not want to use by putting green and red dots on each.
    4. As a group, confirm the list of tactics you would be interested in using and disqualify the others.
    Input Output
    • List of knowledge tactics to utilize.
    Materials Participants
    • Knowledge transfer tactics handouts
    • Flip chart paper
    • Markers
    • Green and red dot stickers
    • IT Leadership Team
    • Project team

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Interviews

    Interviews provide an opportunity to meet one-on-one with key stakeholders to document key knowledge assets. Interviews can be used for explicit and tacit information, and in particular, capture processes, rules, coding information, best practices, etc.

    Benefits:

    • Good bang-for-your-buck interviews are simple to conduct and can be used for all types of knowledge.
    • Interviews can obtain a lot of information in a relatively short period of time.
    • Interviews help make tacit knowledge more explicit through effective questioning.
    • They have highly flexible formatting as interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or by email.

    How to get started:

    1. Have the business analyst (BA) review the employee’s knowledge transfer plan and highlight the areas to be discussed in the interview.
    2. The BA will then create an interview guide detailing key questions which would need to be asked to ascertain the information.
    3. Schedule a 30-60 minute interview. When complete, document the interview and key lessons learned. Send the information back to the interviewee for validation of what was discussed.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Minimal

    Technology Support: N/A

    Process Development: Minimal

    Duration: Annual

    Participants

    Business analysts

    Knowledge source

    Materials

    Interview guide

    Notepad

    Pen

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Process Mapping

    Business process mapping refers to building a flow chart diagram of the sequence of actions which defines what a business does. The flow chart defines exactly what a process does and the specific succession of steps including all inputs, outputs, flows, and linkages. Process maps are a powerful tool to frame requirements in the context of the complete solution.

    Benefits:

    • They are simple to build and analyze; most organizations and users are familiar with flow diagrams, making them highly usable.
    • They provide an end-to-end picture of a process.
    • They’re ideal for gathering full and detailed requirements of a process.
    • They include information around who is responsible, what they do, when, where it occurs, triggers, to what degree, and how often it occurs.
    • They’re great for legacy systems.

    How to get started:

    1. Have the BA prepare beforehand by doing some preliminary research on the purpose of the process, and the beginning and end points.
    2. With the knowledge holder, use a whiteboard and identify the different stakeholders who interact with the process, and draw swim lanes for each.
    3. Together, use sticky notes and/or dry erase markers etc. to draw out the process.
    4. When you believe you’re complete, start again from the beginning and break the process down to more details.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Minimal

    Technology Support: N/A

    Process Development: Minimal

    Duration: Annual

    Participants

    Business analysts

    Knowledge source

    Materials

    Whiteboard / flip-chart paper

    Marker

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Use Cases

    Use case diagrams are a common transfer tactic where the BA maps out step-by-step how an employee completes a project or uses a system. Use cases show what a system or project does rather than how it does it. Use cases are frequently used by product managers and developers.

    Benefits:

    • Easy to draw and understand.
    • Simple way to digest information.
    • Can get very detailed.
    • Should be used for documenting processes, experiences etc.
    • Initiation and brainstorming.
    • Great for legacy systems.

    How to get started:

    1. The BA will schedule a 30-60 minute in-person meeting with the employee, draw a stick figure on the left side of the board, and pose the initial question: “If you need to do X, what is your first step?” Have the stakeholder go step-by-step through the process until the end goal. Draw this process across the whiteboard. Make sure you capture the triggers, causes of events, decision points, outcomes, tools, and interactions.
    2. Starting at the beginning of the diagram, go through each step again and ask the employee if the step can be broken down into more granular steps. If the answer is yes, break down the use case further.
    3. Ask the employee if there are any alternative flows that people could use, or any exceptions. If there are, map these out on the board.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Minimal

    Technology Support: N/A

    Process Development: Minimal

    Duration: Annual

    Participants

    Business analysts

    Knowledge source

    Materials

    Whiteboard / flip-chart paper

    Marker

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Job Shadow

    Job shadowing is a working arrangement where the “knowledge receiver” learns how to do a job by observing an experienced employee complete key tasks throughout their normal workday.

    Benefits:

    • Low cost and minimal effort required.
    • Helps employees understand different elements of the business.
    • Helps build relationships.
    • Good for knowledge holders who are not great communicators.
    • Great for legacy systems.

    How to get started:

    1. Determine goals and objectives for the knowledge transfer, and communicate these to the knowledge source and receiver.
    2. Have the knowledge source identify when they will be performing a particular knowledge activity and select that day for the job shadow. If the information is primarily experience, select any day which is convenient.
    3. Ask the knowledge receiver to shadow the source and ask questions whenever they have them.
    4. Following the job shadow, have the knowledge receiver document what they learned that day and file that information.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Required

    Technology Support: N/A

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    BA

    IT manager

    Knowledge source and receiver

    Materials

    N/A

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Peer Assist

    Meeting or workshop where peers from different teams share their experiences and knowledge with individuals or teams that require help with a specific challenge or problem.

    Benefits:

    • Improves productivity through enhanced problem solving.
    • Encourages collaboration between teams to share insight, and assistance from people outside your team to obtain new possible approaches.
    • Promotes sharing and development of new connections among different staff, and creates opportunities for innovation.
    • Can be combined with Action Reviews.

    How to get started:

    1. Create a registry of key projects that different individuals have solved. Where applicable, leverage the existing work done through action reviews.
    2. Create and communicate a process for knowledge sources and receivers to reach out to one another. Email or social collaboration platforms are the most common.
    3. The source may then reply with documentation or a peer can set up an interview to discuss.
    4. Information should be recorded and saved on a corporate share drive with appropriate metadata to ensure ease of search.
    5. See Appendix for further details.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Minimal

    Technology Support: N/A

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    Knowledge sources

    Knowledge receiver

    BA to build a skill repository

    Materials

    Intranet

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Transition Workshop

    A half- to full-day exercise where an outgoing leader facilitates a knowledge transfer of key insights they have learned along the way and any high-profile knowledge they may have.

    Benefits:

    • Accelerates knowledge transfer following a leadership change.
    • Ensures business continuity.
    • New leader gets a chance to understand the business drivers behind team decisions and skills of each member.
    • The individuals on the team learn about the new leader’s values and communication styles.

    How to get started:

    1. Outgoing leader organizes a one-time session where they share information with the team (focus on tacit knowledge, such as team successes and challenges) and team can ask questions.
    2. Incoming leader and remaining team members share information about norms, priorities, and values.
    3. Document the information.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Required

    Technology Support: Some

    Process Development: Some

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    IT leader

    Incoming IT team

    Key stakeholders

    Materials

    Meeting space

    Video conferencing (as needed)

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Action Review

    Action Review is a team-based discussion at the end of a project or step to review how the activity went and what can be done differently next time. It is ideal for transferring expertise and skills.

    Benefits:

    • Learning is done during and immediately after the project so that knowledge transfer happens quickly.
    • Results can be shared with other teams outside of the immediate members.
    • Makes tacit knowledge explicit.
    • Encourages a culture where making mistakes is OK, but you need to learn from them.

    How to get started:

    1. Hold an initial meeting with IT teams to inform them of the action reviews. Create an action review goals statement by working with IT teams to discuss what they hope to get out of the initiative.
    2. Ask project teams to present their work and answer the following questions:
      1. What was supposed to happen?
      2. What actually happened?
      3. Why were there differences?
      4. What can we learn and do differently next time?
    3. Have each individual or group present, record the meeting minutes, and send the details to the group for future reference. Determine a share storage place on your company intranet or shared drive for future reference.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training:Minimal

    Technology Support: Minimal

    Process Development: Some

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    IT unit/group

    Any related IT stakeholder impacted by or involved in a project.

    Materials

    Meeting space

    Video conferencing (as needed)

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Mentoring

    Mentoring can be a formal program where management sets schedules and expectations. It can also be informal through an environment for open dialogue where staff is encouraged to seek advice and guidance, and to share their knowledge with more novice members of the organization.

    Benefits:

    • Speeds up learning curves and helps staff acclimate to the organizational culture.
    • Communicates organizational values and appropriate behaviors, and is an effective way to augment training efforts.
    • Leads to higher engagement by improving communication among employees, developing leadership, and helping employees work effectively.
    • Improves succession planning by preparing and grooming employees for future roles and ensuring the next wave of managers is qualified.

    How to get started:

    1. Have senior management define the goals for a mentorship program. Depending on your goals, the frequency, duration, and purpose for mentorship will change. Create a mission statement for the program.
    2. Communicate the program with mentors and mentees and define what the scope of their roles will be.
    3. Implement the program and measure success.

    Creating a mentorship program is a full project in itself. For full details on how to set up a mentorship program, see McLean & Company’s Build a Mentoring Program.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Required

    Technology Support: N/a

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    IT unit/group

    Materials

    Meeting space

    Video conferencing (as needed)

    Documentation

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Story Telling

    Knowledge sources use anecdotal examples to highlight a specific point and pass on information, experience, and ideas through narrative.

    Benefits:

    • Provides context and transfers expertise in a simple way between people of different contexts and background.
    • Illustrates a point effectively and makes a lasting impression.
    • Helps others learn from past situations and respond more effectively in future ones.
    • Can be completed in person, through blogs, video or audio recordings, or case studies.

    How to get started:

    1. Select a medium for how your organization will record stories, whether through blogs, video or audio recordings, or case studies. Develop a template for how you’re going to record the information.
    2. Integrate story telling into key activities – project wrap-up, job descriptions, morning meetings, etc.
    3. Determine the medium for retaining and searching stories.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Required

    Technology Support: Some

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    Knowledge source

    Knowledge receiver

    Videographer (where applicable)

    Materials

    Meeting space

    Video conferencing (as needed)

    Documentation

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Job Share

    Job share exists when at least two people share the knowledge and responsibilities of two job roles.

    Benefits:

    • Reduces the risk of concentrating all knowledge in one person and creating a single point of failure.
    • Increases the number of experts who hold key knowledge that can be shared with others, i.e. “two heads are better than one.”
    • Ensures redundancies exist for when an employee leaves or goes on vacation.
    • Great for getting junior employees up to speed on legacy system functionality.
    • Results in more agile teams.
    • Doubles the amount of skills and expertise.

    How to get started:

    1. Determine which elements of two individuals’ job duties could be shared by two people. Before embarking on a job share, ensure that the two individuals will work well together as a team and individually.
    2. Establish a vision, clear values, and well-defined roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships to avoid duplication of effort and confusion.
    3. Start with a pilot group of employees who are in support of the initiative, track the results, and make adjustments where needed.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training: Some

    Technology Support: Minimal

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    IT manager

    HR

    Employees

    Materials

    Job descriptions

    Knowledge Transfer Tactics:

    Communities of Practice

    Communities of practice are working groups of individuals who engage in a process of regularly sharing information with each other across different parts of the organization by focusing on common purpose and working practices. These groups meet on a regular basis to work together on problem solving, to gain information, ask for help and assets, and share opinions and best practices.

    Benefits:

    • Supports a collaborative environment.
    • Creates a sense of community and positive working relationships, which is a key driver for engagement.
    • Encourages creative thinking and support of one another.
    • Facilitates transfer of wide range of knowledge between people from different specialties.
    • Fast access to information.
    • Multiple employees hear the answers to questions and discussions, resulting in wider spread knowledge.
    • Can be done in person or via video conference, and is best when supported by social collaboration tools.

    How to get started:

    1. Determine your medium for these communities and ensure you have the needed technology.
    2. Develop training materials, and a rewards and recognition process for communities.
    3. Have a meeting with staff, ask them to brainstorm a list of different key “communities,” and ask staff to self select into communities.
    4. Have the communities determine the purpose statement for each group, and set up guidelines for functionality and uses.

    Knowledge Types

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Dependencies

    Training:Required

    Technology Support: Required

    Process Development:Required

    Duration:Ongoing

    Participants

    Employees

    BA (to assist in establishing)

    IT managers (rewards and recognition)

    Materials

    TBD

    The effectiveness of each knowledge transfer tactic varies based on the type of knowledge you are trying to transfer

    This table shows the relative strengths and weaknesses of each knowledge transfer tactic compared to four different knowledge types.

    Not all techniques are effective for types of knowledge; it is important to use a healthy mixture of techniques to optimize effectiveness.

    Very strong = Very effective

    Strong = Effective

    Medium = Somewhat effective

    Weak = Minimally effective

    Very weak = Not effective

    Knowledge Type

    Tactic

    Explicit

    Tacit

    Information

    Process

    Skills

    Expertise

    Interviews

    Very strong

    Strong

    Strong

    Strong

    Process mapping

    Medium

    Very strong

    Very weak

    Very weak

    Use cases

    Medium

    Very strong

    Very weak

    Very weak

    Job shadow

    Very weak

    Medium

    Very strong

    Very strong

    Peer assist

    Strong

    Medium

    Very strong

    Very strong

    Action review

    Medium

    Medium

    Strong

    Weak

    Mentoring

    Weak

    Weak

    Strong

    Very strong

    Transition workshop

    Strong

    Strong

    Strong

    Strong

    Story telling

    Weak

    Weak

    Strong

    Very strong

    Job share

    Weak

    Weak

    Very strong

    Very strong

    Communities of practice

    Strong

    Weak

    Very strong

    Very strong

    Consider your stakeholders’ level of engagement prior to selecting a knowledge transfer tactic

    Level of Engagement

    Tactic

    Disengaged/ Indifferent

    Almost Engaged - Engaged

    Interviews

    Yes

    Yes

    Process mapping

    Yes

    Yes

    Use cases

    Yes

    Yes

    Job shadow

    No

    Yes

    Peer assist

    Yes

    Yes

    Action review

    Yes

    Yes

    Mentoring

    No

    Yes

    Transition workshop

    Yes

    Yes

    Story telling

    No

    Yes

    Job share

    Maybe

    Yes

    Communities of practice

    Maybe

    Yes

    When considering which tactics to employ, it’s important to consider the knowledge holder’s level of engagement. Employees whom you would identify as being disengaged may not make good candidates for job shadowing, mentoring, or other tactics where they are required to do additional work or are asked to influence others.

    Knowledge transfer can be controversial for all employees as it can cause feelings of job insecurity. It’s essential that motivations for knowledge transfer are communicated effectively.

    Pay particular attention to your communication style with disengaged and indifferent employees, communicate frequently, and tie communication back to what’s in it for them.

    Putting disengaged employees in a position where they are mentoring others can be a risk. Their negativity could influence others not to participate as well or negate the work you’re doing to create a positive knowledge sharing culture.

    Consider using collaboration tools as a medium for knowledge transfer

    There is a wide variety of different collaboration tools available to enable interpersonal and team connections for work-related purposes. Familiarize yourself with all types of collaboration tools to understand what is available to help facilitate knowledge transfer.

    Collaboration Tools

    Content Management

    Real Time Communication

    Community Collaboration

    Social Collaboration

    Tools for collaborating around documents. They store content and allow for easy sharing and editing, e.g. content repositories and version control.

    Can be used for:

    • Action review
    • Process maps and use cases
    • Storing interview notes
    • Stories: blogs, video, and case studies

    Tools that enable real-time employee interactions. They permit “on-demand” workplace communication, e.g. IM, video and web conferencing.

    Can be used for:

    • Action review
    • Interviews
    • Mentoring
    • Peer assist
    • Story telling
    • Transition workshops

    Tools that allow teams and communities to come together and share ideas or collaborate on projects, e.g. team portals, discussion boards, and ideation tools.

    Can be used for:

    • Action review
    • Communities of practice
    • Peer assist
    • Story Telling

    Social tools borrow concepts from consumer social media and apply them to the employee-centric context, e.g. employee profiles, activity streams, and microblogging.

    Can be used for:

    • Peer assist
    • Story telling
    • Communities of practice

    For more information on Collaboration Tools and how to use them, see Info-Tech’s Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy.

    Identify potential knowledge receivers

    Hold a meeting with your IT leaders to identify who would be the best knowledge receivers for specific knowledge assets

    • Before deciding on a successor, determine how the knowledge asset will be used in the future. This will impact who the receiver will be and your tactic. That is, if you are looking to upgrade a technology in the future, consider who would be taking on that project and what they would need to know.
    • Prior to the meeting, each manager should send a copy of the knowledge assets they have identified to the other managers.
    • Participants should come equipped with names of members of their teams and have an idea of what their career aspirations are.
    • Don’t assume that all employees want a career change. Be sure to have conversations with employees to determine their career aspirations.

    Ask how effectively the potential knowledge receiver would serve in the role today.

    • Review their competencies in terms of:
      • Relationship-building skills
      • Business skills
      • Technical skills
      • Industry-specific skills or knowledge
    • Consider what competencies the knowledge receiver currently has and what must be learned.
    • Finally, determine how difficult it will be for the knowledge receiver to acquire missing skills or knowledge, whether the resources are available to provide the required development, and how long it will take to provide it.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Wherever possible, ask employees about their personal learning styles. It’s likely that a collaborative compromise will have to be struck for knowledge transfer to work well.

    Using the IT knowledge transfer plan tool

    The image contains a screenshot of the IT Knowledge Transfer tool.

    We will use the IT Knowledge Transfer Plans as the foundation for building your knowledge transfer roadmap.

    2.1.3 Complete Knowledge Transfer Plans

    Complete one plan template for each of the knowledge sources

    1. Fill in the top with the knowledge source’s name. Remember that one template should be filled out for each source.
    2. List their key knowledge activities as identified through the interview.
    3. For each knowledge activity, identify and list the most appropriate recipient of this knowledge.
    4. For each knowledge activity, use the drop-down options to identify the type of knowledge that it falls under.
    5. Depending on the type of knowledge, different tactic drop-down options are available. Select which tactic would be most appropriate for this knowledge as well as the people involved in the knowledge transfer.

    The Strength Level column will indicate how well matched the tactic is to the type of knowledge.

    Input Output
    • Results of knowledge source interviews
    • A completed knowledge transfer plan for each identified knowledge source.
    Materials Participants
    • A completed knowledge transfer plan for each identified knowledge source.
    • IT leadership team

    IT Knowledge Transfer Plan Template

    Step 2.2

    Build Your Knowledge Transfer Roadmap

    Activities

    2.2.1 Merge Your Knowledge Transfer Plans

    2.2.2 Define Knowledge Transfer Initiatives’ Timeframes

    The goal of this step is to build the logistics of the knowledge transfer roadmap to prepare to communicate it to key stakeholders.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Prioritized sequence based on target state maturity goals.
    • Project roadmap.

    Plan and monitor the knowledge transfer project

    Depending on the desired state of maturity, the number of initiatives your organization has will vary and there could be a lengthy number of tasks and subtasks required to reach your organization knowledge transfer target state. The best way to plan, organize, and manage all of them is with a project roadmap.

    The image contains a screenshot of the Project Planning and Monitoring tool.

    Project Planning & Monitoring Tool

    Steps to use the project planning and monitoring tool:

    1. Begin by identifying all the project deliverables in scope for your organization. Review the previous content pertaining to specific people, process, and technology deliverables that your organization plans on creating.
    2. Identify all the tasks and subtasks necessary to create each deliverable.
    3. Arrange the tasks in the appropriate sequential order.
    4. Assign each task to a member of the project team.
    5. Estimate the day the task will be started and completed.
    6. Specify any significant dependencies or prerequisites between tasks.
    7. Update the project roadmap throughout the project by accounting for injections and entering the actual starting and ending dates.
    8. Use the project dashboard to monitor the project progress and identify risks early.

    Project Planning & Monitoring Tool

    Prioritize your tactics to build a realistic roadmap

    Initiatives should not and cannot be tackled all at once;

    • At this stage, each of the identified stakeholders should have a knowledge transfer plan for each of their reports with rough estimates for how long initiatives will take.
    • Simply looking at this raw list of transition plans can be daunting. Logically bundle the identified needs into IT initiatives to create the optimal IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap.
    • It’s important not to try to do too much too quickly. Focus on some quick wins and leverage the success of these initiatives to drive the project forward.

    The image contains a screenshot of the prioritize tactics step.

    Populate the task column of the Project Planning and Monitoring Tool. See the following slides for more details on how to do this.

    Some techniques require a higher degree of effort than others

    Effort by Stakeholder

    Tactic

    Business Analyst

    IT Manager

    Knowledge Holder

    Knowledge Receiver
    Interviews

    Medium

    N/A

    Low

    Low

    		These tactics require the least amount of effort, especially for organizations that are already using these tactics for a traditional requirements gathering process.

    Process Mapping

    Medium

    N/A

    Low

    Low

    Use Cases

    Medium

    N/A

    Low

    Low

    Job Shadow

    Medium

    Medium

    Medium

    Medium

    These tactics generally require more involvement from IT management and the BA in tandem for preparation. They will also require ongoing effort for all stakeholders. Stakeholder buy-in is key for success.

    Peer Assist

    Medium

    Medium

    Medium

    Medium

    Action Review

    Low

    Medium

    Medium

    Low

    Mentoring

    Medium

    High

    High

    Medium

    Transition Workshop

    Medium

    Low

    Medium

    Low

    Story Telling

    Medium

    Medium

    Low

    Low

    Job Share

    Medium

    High

    Medium

    Medium

    Communities of Practice

    High

    Medium

    Medium

    Medium

    Consider each tactic’s dependencies as you build your roadmap

    Implementation Dependencies

    Tactic

    Training

    Technology Support

    Process Development

    Duration
    Interviews

    Minimal

    N/A

    Minimal

    Annual

    Start your knowledge transfer project here to get quick wins for explicit knowledge.

    Process Mapping

    Minimal

    N/A

    Minimal

    Annual

    Use Cases

    Minimal

    N/A

    Minimal

    Annual

    Job Shadow

    Required

    N/A

    Required

    Ongoing

    Don’t change too much too quickly or try to introduce all of the tactics at once. Focus on 1-2 key tactics and spend a significant amount of time upfront building an effective process and rolling it out. Leverage the effectiveness of the initial tactics to push these initiatives forward.

    Peer Assist

    Minimal

    N/A

    Required

    Ongoing

    Action Review

    Minimal

    Minimal

    Some

    Ongoing

    Mentoring

    Required

    		N/A

    Required

    Ongoing

    Transition Workshop

    Required

    Some

    Some

    Ongoing

    Story Telling

    Some

    Required

    Required

    Ongoing

    Job Share

    Some

    Minimal

    Required

    Ongoing

    Communities of Practice

    Required

    Required

    Required

    Ongoing

    2.2.1 Merge Your Knowledge Transfer Plans

    Populate the task column of the Project Planning and Monitoring Tool

    1. Take an inventory of all the tactics and techniques which you plan to employ. Eliminate redundancies where possible.
    2. Start your implementation with your highest risk group using explicit knowledge transfer tactics. Interviews, use cases, and process mapping will give you some quick wins and will help gain momentum for the project.
    3. Proactive and knowledge culture should then move forward to other tactics, the majority of which will require training and process design. Pick one to two other key tactics you would like to employ and build those out.
    4. Once you get more advanced, you can continue to grow the number of tactics you employ, but in the beginning, less is more. Keep growing your implementation roadmap one tactic at a time and track key metrics as you go.
    InputOutput
    • A list of project tasks to be completed.
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Project Planning Monitoring Tool.
    • IT Leadership Team

    Project Planning & Monitoring Tool

    2.2.2 Define Initiatives’ Timeframes

    Populate the estimated start and completion date and task owner columns of the Project Planning and Monitoring Tool.

    1. Define the time frame: time frames will depend on several factors. Consider the following while defining timelines for your knowledge transfer tactics:
    • Tactics you choose to employ
    • Availability of resources to implement the initiative
    • Technology requirements
  • Input the Start Date and End Date for each initiative via the drop-down. (Year 1-M1 = year 1, month 1 of implementation.)
  • Define the status of initiative:
    • Planned
    • In progress
    • Completed
  • The initiative owner will ensure each step of the rollout is executed as planned, and will:
    • Engage all required stakeholders at appropriate stages of the project.
    • Engage all required resources to implement the process and make sure that communication channels are open and available between all relevant parties.
    Input Output
    • Timeframes for all project tasks.
    Materials Participants
    • Project Planning and Monitoring Tool.
    • IT Leadership Team

    Project Planning & Monitoring Tool

    Once you start the implementation, leverage the Project Planning and Monitoring Tool for ongoing status updates

    Track your progress

    • Update your project roadmap as you complete the project and keep track of your progress by completing the “Actual Start Date” and “Actual Completion Date” as you go through your project.
    • Use the Progress Report tab in project team meetings to update stakeholders on which tasks have been completed on schedule, for an analysis of tasks to date, and project time management.
    The image contains screenshots from the Project Planning and Monitoring Tool.

    Phase #3

    Implement your knowledge transfer plans and roadmap

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    1.1 Obtain approval for project

    1.2 Identify knowledge and stakeholder risks

    2.1 Build knowledge transfer plans

    2.2 Build knowledge transfer roadmap

    3.1 Communicate your roadmap

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    • Preparing a key stakeholder communication presentation.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • IT Leadership
    • Other key stakeholders

    Step 3.1

    Communicate Your Knowledge Transfer Roadmap to Stakeholders

    Activities

    3.1.1 Prepare IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation

    The goal of this step is to be ready to communicate the roadmap with the project team, project sponsor, and other key stakeholders.

    Outcomes of this step

    • Key stakeholder communication deck.

    Use Info-Tech’s template to communicate with stakeholders

    Obtain approval for the IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap by customizing Info-Tech’s IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template designed to effectively convey your key messages. Tailor the template to suit your needs.

    It includes:

    • Project Context
    • Project Scope and Objectives
    • Knowledge Transfer Roadmap
    • Next Steps

    The image contains screenshots of the IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The support of IT leadership is critical to the success of your roadmap roll-out. Remind them of the project benefits and impact them hard with the risks/pain points.

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template

    3.1.1 Prepare a Presentation for Your Project Team and Sponsor

    Now that you have created your knowledge transfer roadmap, the final step of the process is to get sign-off from the project sponsor to begin the planning process to roll-out your initiatives.

    Know your audience:

    1. Revisit your project charter to determine the knowledge transfer project stakeholders who will be included in your presentation audience.
    2. You want your presentation to be succinct and hard-hitting. Management’s time is tight, and they will lose interest if you drag out the delivery. Impact them hard and fast with the pains and benefits of your roadmap.
    3. The presentation should take no more than an hour. Depending on your audience, the actual presentation delivery could be quite short (12-13 slides). However, you want to ensure adequate time for Q & A.
    Input Output
    • Project charter
    • A completed presentation to communicate your knowledge transfer roadmap.
    Materials Participants
    • IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template
    • IT leadership team
    • Project sponsor
    • Project stakeholders

    IT Knowledge Transfer Roadmap Presentation Template

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Build an IT Succession Plan

    Train Managers to Handle Difficult Conversations

    Lead Staff Through Change

    Bibliography

    Babcock, Pamela. “Shedding Light on Knowledge Management.” HR Magazine, 1 May 2004.

    King, Rachael. "Big Tech Problem as Mainframes Outlast Workforce." Bloomberg, 3 Aug. 2010. Web.

    Krill, Paul. “IT’s Most Wanted: Mainframe Programmers.” IDG Communications, Inc. 1 December 2011.

    McLean & Company. “Mitigate the Risk of Baby Boomer Retirement with Scalable Succession Planning.” 7 March 2016.

    McLean & Company. “Make the Case For Employee Engagement.” McLean and Company. 27 March 2014.

    PwC. “15th Annual Global CEO Survey: Delivering Results Growth and Value in a Volatile World.” PwC, 2012.

    Rocket Software, Inc. “Rocket Software 2022 Survey Report: The State of the Mainframe.” Rocket Software, Inc. January 2022. Accessed 30 April 2022.

    Ross, Jenna. “Intangible Assets: A Hidden but Crucial Driver of Company Value.” Visual Capitalist, 11 February 2020. Accessed 2 May 2022.

    Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}220|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: N/A
    • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
    • member rating average days saved: N/A
    • Parent Category Name: Vendor Management
    • Parent Category Link: /vendor-management

    Access to information about companies is more available to consumers than ever. Organizations must implement mechanisms to monitor and manage how information is perceived to avoid potentially disastrous consequences to their brand reputation.

    A negative event could impact your organization's reputation at any given time. Make sure you understand where such events may come from and have a plan to manage the inevitable consequences.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Identifying and managing a vendor’s potential impact on your organization’s reputation requires efforts from multiple people in the organization across several functions. Those people all need coaching on the potential changes in the market and how social media can affect your brand.
    • Organizational leadership is often caught unaware during crises, and their response plans lack the flexibility to adjust to significant market upheavals.

    Impact and Result

    • Vendor management practices educate organizations on the different potential risks to vendors in your market and suggest creative and alternative ways to avoid and help manage them.
    • Prioritize and classify your vendors with quantifiable, standardized rankings.
    • Prioritize focus on your high-risk vendors.
    • Standardize your processes for identifying and monitoring vendor risks to manage potential impacts on your reputation and brand with our Reputational Risk Impact Tool.

    Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization Deck – Use the research to better understand the negative impacts of vendor actions on your brand reputation.

    Use this research to identify and quantify the potential reputational impacts caused by vendors. Use Info-Tech's approach to look at the reputational impact from various perspectives to better prepare for issues that may arise.

    • Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization Storyboard

    2. Reputational Risk Impact Tool – Use this tool to help identify and quantify the reputational impacts of negative vendor actions.

    By playing the “what if” game and asking probing questions to draw out – or eliminate - possible negative outcomes, everyone involved adds their insight into parts of the organization to gather a comprehensive picture of potential impacts.

    • Reputational Risk Impact Tool
    [infographic]

    Further reading

    Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization

    Brand reputation is the most valuable asset an organization can protect.

    Analyst Perspective

    Organizations must diligently assess and protect their reputations, both in the market and internally.

    Social media, unprecedented access to good and bad information, and consumer reliance on others’ online opinions force organizations to dedicate more resources to protecting their brand reputation than ever before. Perceptions matter, and you should monitor and protect the perception of your organization with as much rigor as possible to ensure your brand remains recognizable and trusted.

    Photo of Frank Sewell, Research Director, Vendor Management, Info-Tech Research Group.

    Frank Sewell
    Research Director, Vendor Management
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    Access to information about companies is more available to consumers than ever. A negative event could impact your organizational reputation at any time. As a result, organizations must implement mechanisms to monitor and manage how information is perceived to avoid potentially disastrous consequences to their brand reputation.

    Make sure you understand where negative events may come from and have a plan to manage the inevitable consequences.

    		 Common Obstacles

    Identifying and managing a vendor’s potential impact on your organization’s reputation requires efforts from multiple people in the organization across several functions. Those people all need coaching on the potential changes in the market and how social media can affect your brand.

    Organizational leadership is often caught unaware during crises, and their response plans lack the flexibility to adjust to significant market upheavals.

    		 Info-Tech’s Approach

    Vendor management practices educate organizations on the different potential risks to vendors in your market and suggest creative and alternative ways to avoid and help manage them.

    Prioritize and classify your vendors with quantifiable, standardized rankings.

    Prioritize focus on your high-risk vendors.

    Standardize your processes for identifying and monitoring vendor risks to manage potential impacts on your reputation and brand with our Reputational Risk Impact Tool.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Organizations must evolve their risk assessments to be more adaptive to respond to rapid changes in online media. Ongoing monitoring of social media and the vendors tied to their company is imperative to achieving success and avoiding reputational disasters.

    Info-Tech’s multi-blueprint series on vendor risk assessment

    There are many individual components of vendor risk beyond cybersecurity.

    Cube with each multiple colors on each face, similar to a Rubix cube, and individual components of vendor risk branching off of it: 'Financial', 'Reputational', 'Operational', 'Strategic', 'Security', and 'Regulatory & Compliance'.

    This series will focus on the individual components of vendor risk and how vendor management practices can facilitate organizations’ understanding of those risks.

    Out of scope:
    This series will not tackle risk governance, determining overall risk tolerance and appetite, or quantifying inherent risk.

    Reputational risk impacts

    Potential losses to the organization due to risks to its reputation and brand

    In this blueprint, we’ll explore reputational risks (risks to the brand reputation of the organization) and their impacts.

    Identify potentially negative events to assess the overall impact on your organization and implement adaptive measures to respond and correct.

    Cube with each multiple colors on each face, similar to a Rubix cube, and the vendor risk component 'Reputational' highlighted.

    Protect your most valuable asset: your brand

    25%

    of a company’s market value is due to reputation (Transmission Private, 2021)

    94%

    of consumers say that a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business (ReviewTrackers, 2022)

    14 hours

    is the average time it takes for a false claim to be corrected on social media (Risk Analysis, 2018)
    Image of an umbrella covering the word 'BRAND' and three arrows approaching from above.

    What is brand recognition?

    And the cost of rebranding

    “Brand recognition is the ability of consumers to recognize an identifying characteristic of one company versus a competitor.” (Investopedia)

    “Most trademark valuation is based directly on its projected future earning power, based on income history. For a new brand with no history, evaluators must apply experience and common sense to predict the brand's earning potential. They can also use feedback from industry experts, market surveys, and other studies.” (UpCounsel)

    The cost of rebranding for small to medium businesses is about 10 to 20% of the recommended overall marketing budget and can take six to eight months (Ignyte).

    		 Stock image of a house with a money sign chimney.

    "All we are at our core is our reputation and our brand, and they are intertwined." (Phil Bode, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group)

    What your vendor associations say about you

    Arrows of multiple colors coalescing in an Earth labelled 'Your Brand', and then a red arrow that reads 'Reputation' points to the terms on the right.

    Bad Customer Reviews

    Breach of Data

    Poor Security Posture

    Negative News Articles

    Public Lawsuits

    Poor Performance

    How a major vendor protects its brand

    An ideal state
    • There is a dedicated brand protection department.
    • All employees are educated annually on brand protection policies and procedures.
    • Brand protection is tied to cybersecurity.
    • The organization actively monitors its brand and reputation through various media formats.
    • The organization has criteria for assessing x-party vendors and holds them accountable through ongoing monitoring and validation of their activities.

    Brand Protection
    Done Right

    Sticker for a '5 Star Rating'.

    Never underestimate the power of local media on your profits

    Info-Tech Insight

    Keep in mind that too much exposure to media can be a negative in that it heightens the awareness of your organization to outside actors. If you do go through a period of increased exposure, make sure to advance your monitoring practices and vigilance.

    Story: Restaurant data breach

    Losing customer faith

    A popular local restaurant’s point of service (POS) machines were breached and the credit card data of their customers over a two-week period was stolen. The restaurant did the right thing: they privately notified the affected people, helped them set up credit monitoring services, and replaced their compromised POS system.

    Unfortunately, the local newspaper got wind of the breach. It published the story, leaving out that the restaurant had already notified affected customers and had replaced their POS machines.

    In response, the restaurant launched a campaign in the local paper and on social media to repair their reputation in the community and reassure people that they could safely transact at their business.

    For at least a month, the restaurant experienced a drastic decrease in revenue as customers either refused to come in to eat or paid only in cash. During this same period the restaurant was spending outside their budget on the advertising.
    Broken trust.

    Story: Monitor your subcontractors

    Trust but verify

    A successful general contractor with a reputation for fairness in their dealings needed a specialist to perform some expert carpentry work for a few of their clients.

    The contractor gave the specialist the clients’ contact information and trusted them to arrange the work.

    Weeks later, the contractor checked in with the clients and received a ton of negative feedback:

    • The specialist called them once and never called back.
    • The specialist refused to do the work as described and wanted to charge extra.
    • The specialist performed work to “fix” the issue but cut corners to lessen their costs.

    As a result, the contractor took extreme measures to regain the clients’ confidence and trust and lost other opportunities in the process.

    		 Stock image of a sad construction site supervisor.

    You work hard for your reputation. Don’t let others ruin it.

    Don’t forget to look within as well as without

    Stock image of a frustrated desk worker.

    Story: Internal reputation is vital

    Trust works both ways

    An organization’s relatively new IT and InfoSec department leadership have been upgrading the organization's systems and policies as fast as resources allow when the organization encounters a major breach of security.

    Trust in the developing IT and InfoSec departments' leadership wanes throughout the organization as people search for the root cause and blame the systems. This degradation of trust limits the effectiveness of the newly implemented process, procedures, and tools of the departments.

    The new leaders' abilities are called into question, and they must now rigorously defend and justify their decisions and positions to the executives and board.

    It will be some time before the two departments gain their prior trust and respect, and the new leaders face some tough times ahead regaining the organization's confidence.

    How could the new leaders approach the situation to mend their reputations in the wake of this (perhaps unfair) reputational hit?

    It is not enough to identify the potential risks; there must also be adequate controls in place to monitor and manage them

    Stock image of a fingerprint on a computer chip under a blacklight.

    Identify, manage, and monitor reputational risks

    Global markets
    • Organizations need to learn how to assess the likelihood of potential risks in the changing global markets and recognize how their partnerships and subcontracts affect their brand.
    • Now more than ever, organizations need to be mindful of the larger global landscape and how their interactions within various regions can impact their reputation.
    Social media
    • Understanding how to monitor social media activity and online content will give you an edge in the current environment.
    • Changes in social media generally happen faster than companies can recognize them. If you are not actively monitoring those risks, the damage could set in before you even have a chance to respond.
    Global shortages
    • Organizations need to accept that shortages will recur periodically and that preparing for them will significantly increase the success potential of long-term plans.
    • Customers don’t always understand what is happening in the global supply chain and may blame you for poor service if you cannot meet demands as you have in the past.

    Which way is your reputation heading?

    • Do you understand and track items that might affect your reputation?
    • Do you understand the impact they may have on your business?

    Visualization of a Newton's Cradle perpetual motion device, aka clacky balls. The lifted ball is colored green with a smiley face and is labelled 'Your Brand Reputation'. The other four balls are red with a frowny face and are labelled 'Data Breach/ Lawsuit', 'Service Disruption', 'Customer Complaint', and 'Poor Delivery'.

    Identifying and understanding potential risks is essential to adapting to the ever-changing online landscape

    Info-Tech Insight

    Few organizations are good at identifying risks. As a result, almost none realistically plan to monitor, manage, and adapt their plans to mitigate those risks.

    Reputational risks

    Not protecting your brand can have disastrous consequences to your organization

    • Data breaches & lawsuits
    • Poor vendor performance
    • Service disruptions
    • Negative reviews

    Stock image of a smiling person on their phone rating something five stars.

    What to look for in vendors

    Identify potential reputational risk impacts
    • Check online reviews from both customers and employees.
    • Check news sites:
      • Has the vendor been affected by a breach?
      • Is the vendor frequently in the news – good or bad? Greater exposure can cause an uptick in hostile attacks, so make sure the vendor has adequate protections in line with its exposure.
    • Review its financials. Is it prime for an acquisition/bankruptcy or other significant change?
    • Review your contractual protections to ensure that you are made whole in the event something goes wrong. Has anything changed with the vendor that requires you to increase your protections?
    • Has anything changed in the vendor’s market? Is a competitor taking its business, or are its resources stretched on multiple projects due to increased demand?
    		 Illustration of business people in a city above various icons.

    Assessing Reputational Risk Impacts

    Zigzagging icons and numbers one through 7 alternating sides downward. Review Organizational Strategy
    Understand the organizational strategy to prepare for the “what if” game exercise.
    Identify & Understand Potential Risks
    Play the “what if” game with the right people at the table.
    Create a Risk Profile Packet for Leadership
    Pull all the information together in a presentation document.
    Validate the Risks
    Work with leadership to ensure that the proposed risks are in line with their thoughts.
    Plan to Manage the Risks
    Lower the overall risk potential by putting mitigations in place.
    Communicate the Plan
    It is important not only to have a plan but also to socialize it in the organization for awareness.
    Enact the Plan
    Once the plan is finalized and socialized put it in place with continued monitoring for success.
    (Adapted from Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance)

    Insight Summary

    Reputational risk impacts are often unanticipated, causing catastrophic downstream effects. Continuously monitoring your vendors’ actions in the market can help organizations head off brand disasters before they occur.
    Insight 1

    Understanding how to monitor social media activity and online content will give you an edge in the current environment.

    Do you have dedicated individuals or teams to monitor your organization's online presence? Most organizations review and approve the online content, but many forget the need to have analysts reviewing what others are saying about them.

    Insight 2

    Organizations need to learn how to assess the likelihood of potential risks in the rapidly changing online environments and recognize how their partnerships and subcontractors’ actions can affect their brand.

    For example, do you understand how a simple news article raises your profile for short-term and long-term adverse events?

    Insight 3

    Socialize the risk management process throughout the organization to heighten awareness and enable employees to help protect the company’s reputation.

    Do you include a social media and brand protection policy in your annual education?

    Identify reputational risk

    Who should be included in the discussion?
    • While it is true that executive-level leadership defines the strategy for an organization, it is vital for those making decisions to make INFORMED decisions.
    • Getting input from your organization's marketing experts will enhance your brand's long-term protection.
    • Involving those who directly manage vendors and understand the market will aid in determining the forward path for relationships with your current vendors and identifying new emerging potential partners.
    • Organizations have a wealth of experience in their marketing departments that can help identify real-world negative scenarios.
    • Include vendor relationship managers to help track what is happening in the media for those vendors.
    		 Keep in mind: (R=L*I)
    Risk = Likelihood x Impact

    Impact tends to remain the same, while likelihood is a very flexible variable.

    Stock image of a flowchart asking 'Risk?', 'Yes', 'No'.

    Manage and monitor reputational risk impacts

    What can we realistically do about the risks?
    • Re-evaluate corporate policies frequently.
    • Ensure proper protections in contracts:
      • Limit the use of your brand name in the publicity and trademark clauses.
      • Make sure to include security protections for your data in the event of a breach; understand that reputation can rarely be made whole again once trust is breached.
    • Introduce continual risk assessment to monitor the relevant vendor markets.
    • Be adaptable and allow for innovations that arise from the current needs.
      • Capture lessons learned from prior incidents to improve over time and adjust your strategy based on the lessons.
    • Monitor your company’s and associated vendors’ online presence.
    • Track similar companies’ brand reputations to see how yours compares in the market.

    Social media is driving the need for perpetual diligence.

    Organizations need to monitor their brand reputation considering the pace of incidents in the modern age.

    Stock image of a person on a phone that is connected to other people.

    The “what if” game

    1-3 hours

    Input: List of identified potential risk scenarios scored by likelihood and financial impact, List of potential management of the scenarios to reduce the risk

    Output: Comprehensive reputational risk profile on the specific vendor solution

    Materials: Whiteboard/flip charts, Reputational Risk Impact Tool to help drive discussion

    Participants: Vendor Management Coordinator, Organizational Leadership, Operations Experts (SMEs), Legal/Compliance/Risk Manager, Marketing

    Vendor management professionals are in an excellent position to help senior leadership identify and pull together resources across the organization to determine potential risks. By playing the "what if" game and asking probing questions to draw out – or eliminate – possible negative outcomes, everyone involved adds their insight into parts of the organization to gather a comprehensive picture of potential impacts.

    1. Break into smaller groups (or if too small, continue as a single group).
    2. Use the Reputational Risk Impact Tool to prompt discussion on potential risks. Keep this discussion flowing organically to explore all potential risk but manage the overall process to keep the discussion on track.
    3. Collect the outputs and ask the subject matter experts for management options for each one in order to present a comprehensive risk strategy. You will use this to educate senior leadership so that they can make an informed decision to accept or reject the solution.

    Download the Reputational Risk Impact Tool

    Example: Low reputational risk

    We can see clearly in this example that the contractor suffered minimal impact from the specialist's behavior. Though they did take a hit to their overall reputation with a few customers, they should be able to course-correct with a minimal outlay of effort and almost no loss of revenue.

    		 Stock image of construction workers.

    Sample table of 'Sample Questions to Ask to Identify Reputational Impacts'. Column headers are 'Score', 'Weight', 'Question', and 'Comments or Notes'. At the bottom the 'Reputational Score' row has a low average score of '1.3' and '%100' total weight in their respective columns.

    Example: High reputational risk

    Note in the example how the tool can represent different weights for each of the criteria depending on your needs.

    		 Stock image of an older person looking out a window.

    Sample table of 'Sample Questions to Ask to Identify Reputational Impacts'. Column headers are 'Score', 'Weight', 'Question', and 'Comments or Notes'. At the bottom the 'Reputational Score' row has a high average score of '3.1' and '%100' total weight in their respective columns.

    Summary

    Be vigilant and adaptable to change
    • Organizations need to learn how to assess the likelihood of potential risks in the changing global markets and recognize how their partnerships and subcontracts affect their brand.
    • Understanding how to monitor social media activity and online content will give you an edge in the current environment.
    • Bring the right people to the table to outline potential risks to your organization’s brand reputation.
    • Socialize the risk management process throughout the organization to heighten awareness and enable employees to help protect the company’s reputation.
    • Incorporate lessons learned from incidents into your risk management process to build better plans for future issues.
    		 Stock image of a person's face overlaid with many different images.

    Organizations must evolve their risk assessments to be more adaptive to respond to global factors in the market.

    Ongoing monitoring of online media and the vendors tied to company visibility is imperative to avoiding disaster.

    Bibliography

    "The CEO Reputation Premium: Gaining Advantage in the Engagement Era." Weber Shandwick, March 2015. Accessed June 2022.

    Glidden, Donna. "Don't Underestimate the Need to Protect Your Brand in Publicity Clauses." Info-Tech Research Group, June 2022.

    Greenaway, Jordan. "Managing Reputation Risk: A start-to-finish guide." Transmission Private, July 2020. Accessed June 2022.

    Jagiello, Robert D., and Thomas T. Hills. “Bad News Has Wings: Dread Risk Mediates Social Amplification in Risk Communication.” Risk Analysis, vol. 38, no. 10, 2018, pp. 2193-2207.

    Kenton, Will. "Brand Recognition.” Investopedia, Aug. 2021. Accessed June 2022.

    Lischer, Brian. "How Much Does it Cost to Rebrand Your Company?" Ignyte, October 2017. Accessed June 2022.

    "Powerful Examples of How to Respond to Negative Reviews." ReviewTrackers, 16 Feb. 2022. Accessed June 2022.

    Tonello, Matteo. “Strategic Risk Management: A Primer for Directors.” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, 23 Aug. 2012. Web.

    "Valuation of Trademarks: Everything You Need to Know." UpCounsel, 2022. Accessed June 2022.

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Sample of 'Assessing Financial Risk Management'. Identify and Manage Financial Risk Impacts on Your Organization
    • Identifying and managing a vendor’s potential financial impact requires multiple people in the organization across several functions – and those people all need educating on the potential risks.
    • Organizational leadership is often unaware of decisions on organizational risk appetite and tolerance, and they assume there are more protections in place against risk impact than there truly are.
    Sample of 'How to Assess Strategic Risk'. Identify and Manage Strategic Risk Impacts on Your Organization
    • Identifying and managing a vendor’s potential strategic impact requires multiple people in the organization across several functions – and those people all need coaching on the potential changes in the market and how these changes affect strategic plans.
    • Organizational leadership is often caught unaware during crises, and their plans lack the flexibility needed to adjust to significant market upheavals.
    Research coming soon. Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    • Vendor management is not “plug and play” – each organization’s vendor management initiative (VMI) needs to fit its culture, environment, and goals. The key is to adapt vendor management principles to fit your needs…not the other way around.
    • All vendors are not of equal importance to an organization. Classifying or segmenting your vendors allows you to focus your efforts on the most important vendors first, allowing your VMI to have the greatest impact possible.

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Frank Sewell

    Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    		 Donna Glidden

    Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group
    Steven Jeffery

    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    		 Mark Roman

    Managing Partner
    Info-Tech Research Group
    Phil Bode

    Principal Research Director
    Info-Tech Research Group

    		 Sarah Pletcher

    Executive Advisor
    Info-Tech Research Group
    Scott Bickley

    Practice Lead
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Project Management

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    • member rating overall impact: 9.7/10
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    • member rating average days saved: 42
    • Parent Category Name: Project Portfolio Management and Projects
    • Parent Category Link: /ppm-and-projects
    • byline: Right-size the project management body of knowledge for all your IT projects.

    The challenge

    • Ill-defined or even lack of upfront project planning will increase the perception that your IT department cannot deliver value because most projects will go over time and budget.
    • The perception is those traditional ways of delivering projects via the PMBOK only increase overhead and do not have value. This is less due to the methodology and more to do with organizations trying to implement best-practices that far exceed their current capabilities.
    • Typical best-practices are too clinical in their approach and place unrealistic burdens on IT departments. They fail to address the daily difficulties faces by staff and are not sized to fit your organization.
    • Take a flexible approach and ensure that your management process is a cultural and capacity fit for your organization. Take what fits from these frameworks and embed them tailored into your company.

    Our advice

    Insight

    • The feather-touch is often the right touch. Ensure that you have a lightweight approach for most of your projects while applying more rigor to the more complex and high-risk developments.
    • Pick the right tools. Your new project management processes need the right tooling to be successful. Pick a tool that is flexible enough o accommodate projects of all sizes without imposing undue governance onto smaller projects.
    • Yes, take what fits within your company from frameworks, but there is no cherry-picking. Ensure your processes stay in context: If you do not inform for effective decision-making, all will be in vain. Develop your methods such that guide the way to big-picture decision taking and support effective portfolio management.

    Impact and results 

    • The right amount of upfront planning is a function of the type of projects you have and your company. The proper levels enable better scope statements, better requirements gathering, and increased business satisfaction.
    • An investment in a formal methodology is critical to projects of all sizes. An effective process results in more successful projects with excellent business value delivery.
    • When you have a repeatable and consistent approach to project planning and execution, you can better communicate between the IT project managers and decision-makers.
    • Better communication improves the visibility of the overall project activity within your company.

    The roadmap

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    Get started.

    Read our executive brief to understand why you should tailor project management practices to the type of projects you do and your company and review our methodology. We show you how we can support you.

    Lay the groundwork for project management success

    Assess your current capabilities to set the right level of governance.

    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects – Phase 1: Lay the Groundwork for PM Success (ppt)
    • Project Management Triage Tool (xls)
    • COBIT BAI01 (Manage Programs and Projects) Alignment Workbook (xls)
    • Project Level Definition Matrix (xls)
    • Project Level Selection Tool (xls)
    • Project Level Assessment Tool (xls)
    • Project Management SOP Template (doc)

    Small project require a lightweight framework

    Increase small project's throughput.

    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects – Phase 2: Build a Lightweight PM Process for Small Initiatives (ppt)
    • Level 1 Project Charter Template (doc)
    • Level 1 Project Status Report Template (doc)
    • Level 1 Project Closure Checklist Template (doc)

    Build the standard process medium and large-scale projects

    The standard process contains fully featured initiation and planning.

    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects – Phase 3: Establish Initiation and Planning Protocols for Medium-to-Large Projects (ppt)
    • Project Stakeholder and Impact Assessment Tool (xls)
    • Level 2 Project Charter Template (doc)
    • Level 3 Project Charter Template (doc)
    • Kick-Off Meeting Agenda Template (doc)
    • Scope Statement Template (doc)
    • Project Staffing Plan(xls)
    • Communications Management Plan Template (doc)
    • Customer/Sponsor Project Status Meeting Template (doc)
    • Level 2 Project Status Report Template (doc)
    • Level 3 Project Status Report Template (doc)
    • Quality Management Workbook (xls)
    • Benefits Management Plan Template (xls)
    • Risk Management Workbook (xls)

    Build a standard process for the execution and closure of medium to large scale projects

    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects – Phase 4: Develop Execution and Closing Procedures for Medium-to-Large Projects (ppt)
    • Project Team Meeting Agenda Template (doc)
    • Light Project Change Request Form Template (doc)
    • Detailed Project Change Request Form Template (doc)
    • Light Recommendation and Decision Tracking Log Template (xls)
    • Detailed Recommendation and Decision Tracking Log Template (xls)
    • Deliverable Acceptance Form Template (doc)
    • Handover to Operations Template (doc)
    • Post-Mortem Review Template (doc)
    • Final Sign-Off and Acceptance Form Template (doc)

    Implement your project management standard operating procedures (SOP)

    Develop roll-out and training plans, implement your new process and track metrics.

    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects – Phase 5: Implement Your PM SOP (ppt)
    • Level 2 Project Management Plan Template (doc)
    • Project Management Process Costing Tool (xls)
    • Project Management Process Training Plan Template (doc)
    • Project Management Training Monitoring Tool (xls)
    • Project Management Process Implementation Timeline Tool (MS Project)
    • Project Management Process Implementation Timeline Tool (xls)

     

     

    Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process

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    • member rating average dollars saved: $5,039 Average $ Saved
    • member rating average days saved: 20 Average Days Saved
    • Parent Category Name: Vendor Management
    • Parent Category Link: /vendor-management
    • Your vendor contracts are unorganized and held in various cabinets and network shares. There is no consolidated list or view of all the agreements, and some are misplaced or lost as coworkers leave.
    • The contract process takes a long time to complete. Coworkers are unsure who should be reviewing and approving them.
    • You are concerned that you are not getting favorable terms with your vendors and not complying with your agreement commitments.
    • You are unsure what risks your organization could be exposed to in your IT vendor contacts. These could be financial, legal, or security risks and/or compliance requirements.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Focus on what’s best for you. There are two phases to CLM. All stages within those phases are important, but choose to improve the phase that can be most beneficial to your organization in the short term. However, be sure to include reviewing risk and monitoring compliance.
    • Educate yourself. Understand the stages of CLM and how each step can rely on the previous one, like a stepping-stone model to success.
    • Consider the overall picture. Contract lifecycle management is the sum of many processes designed to manage contracts end to end while reducing corporate risk, improving financial savings, and managing agreement obligations. It can take time to get CLM organized and working efficiently, but then it will show its ROI and continuously improve.

    Impact and Result

    • Understand how to identify and mitigate risk to save the organization time and money.
    • Gain the knowledge required to implement a CLM that will be beneficial to all business units.
    • Achieve measurable savings in contract time processing, financial risk avoidance, and dollar savings.
    • Effectively review, store, manage, comply with, and renew agreements with a collaborative process

    Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out how a contract management system will save money and time and mitigate contract risk, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Master the operational framework of contract lifecycle management.

    Understand how the basic operational framework of CLM will ensure cost savings, improved collaboration, and constant CLM improvement.

    • Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process – Phase 1: Master the Operational Framework of CLM
    • Existing CLM Process Worksheet
    • Contract Manager

    2. Understand the ten stages of contract lifecycle management.

    Understand the two phases of CLM and the ten stages that make up the entire process.

    • Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process – Phase 2: Understand the Ten Stages of CLM
    • CLM Maturity Assessment Tool
    • CLM RASCI Diagram
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Review Your CLM Process and Learn the Basics

    The Purpose

    Identify current CLM processes.

    Learn the CLM operational framework.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Documented overview of current processes and stakeholders.

    Activities

    1.1 Review and capture your current process.

    1.2 Identify current stakeholders.

    1.3 Learn the operational framework of CLM.

    1.4 Identify current process gaps.

    Outputs

    Existing CLM Process Worksheet

    2 Learn More and Plan

    The Purpose

    Dive into the two phases of CLM and the ten stages of a robust system.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A deep understanding of the required components/stages of a CLM system.

    Activities

    2.1 Understand the two phases of CLM.

    2.2 Learn the ten stages of CLM.

    2.3 Assess your CLM maturity state.

    2.4 Identify and assign stakeholders.

    Outputs

    CLM Maturity Assessment

    CLM RASCI Diagram

    Further reading

    Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process

    Mitigate risk and drive value through robust best practices for contract lifecycle management.

    Our understanding of the problem

    This Research Is Designed For:

    • The CIO who depends on numerous key vendors for services
    • The CIO or Project Manager who wants to maximize the value delivered by vendors
    • The Director or Manager of an existing IT procurement or vendor management team
    • The Contracts Manager or Legal Counsel whose IT department holds responsibility for contracts, negotiation, and administration

    This Research Will Help You:

    • Implement and streamline the contract management process, policies, and procedures
    • Baseline and benchmark existing contract processes
    • Understand the importance and value of contract lifecycle management (CLM)
    • Minimize risk, save time, and maximize savings with vendor contracts

    This Research Will Also Assist

    • IT Service Managers
    • IT Procurement
    • Contract teams
    • Finance and Legal departments
    • Senior IT leadership

    This Research Will Help Them

    • Understand the required components of a CLM
    • Establish the current CLM maturity level
    • Implement a new CLM process
    • Improve on an existing or disparate process

    ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

    "Contract lifecycle management (CLM) is a vital process for small and enterprise organizations alike. Research shows that all organizations can benefit from a contract management process, whether they have as few as 25 contracts or especially if they have contracts numbering in the hundreds.

    A CLM system will:

    • Save valuable time in the entire cycle of contract/agreement processes.
    • Save the organization money, both hard and soft dollars.
    • Mitigate risk to the organization.
    • Avoid loss of revenue.

    If you’re not managing your contracts, you aren’t capitalizing on your investment with your vendors and are potentially exposing your organization to contract and monetary risk."

    - Ted Walker
    Principal Research Advisor, Vendor Management Practice
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Situation

    • Most organizations have vendor overload and even worse, no defined process to manage the associated contracts and agreements. To manage contracts, some vendor management offices (VMOs) use a shared network drive to store the contracts and a spreadsheet to catalog and manage them. Yet other less-mature VMOs may just rely on a file cabinet in Procurement and a reminder in someone’s calendar about renewals. These disparate processes likely cost your organization time spent finding, managing, and renewing contracts, not to mention potential increases in vendor costs and risk and the inability to track contract obligations.

    Complication

    • Contract lifecycle management (CLM) is not an IT buzzword, and it’s rarely on the top-ten list of CIO concerns in most annual surveys. Until a VMO gets to a level of maturity that can fully develop a CLM and afford the time and costs of doing so, there can be several challenges to developing even the basic processes required to store, manage, and renew IT vendor contracts. As is always an issue in IT, budget is one of the biggest obstacles in implementing a standard CLM process. Until senior leadership realizes that a CLM process can save time, money, and risk, getting mindshare and funding commitment will remain a challenge.

    Resolution

    • Understand the immediate benefits of a CLM process – even a basic CLM implementation can provide significant cost savings to the organization; reduce time spent on creating, negotiating, and renewing contracts; and help identify and mitigate risks within your vendor contracts.
    • Budgets don’t always need to be a barrier to a standard CLM process. However, a robust CLM system can provide significant savings to the organization.

    Info-Tech Insight

    • If you aren’t managing your contracts, you aren’t capitalizing on your investments.
    • Even a basic CLM process with efficient procedures will provide savings and benefits.
    • Not having a CLM process may be costing your organization money, time, and exposure to unmitigated risk.

    What you can gain from this blueprint

    Why Create a CLM

    • Improved contract organization
    • Centralized and manageable storage/archives
    • Improved vendor compliance
    • Risk mitigation
    • Reduced potential loss of revenue

    Knowledge Gained

    • Understanding of the value and importance of a CLM
    • How CLM can impact many departments within the organization
    • Who should be involved in the CLM steps and processes
    • Why a CLM is important to your organization
    • How to save time and money by maximizing IT vendor contracts
    • How basic CLM policies and procedures can be implemented without costly software expenditure

    The Outcome

    • A foundation for a CLM with best-practice processes
    • Reduced exposure to potential risks within vendor contracts
    • Maximized savings with primary vendors
    • Vendor compliance and corporate governance
    • Collaboration, transparency, and integration with business units

    Contract management: A case study

    CASE STUDY
    Industry Finance and Banking
    Source Apttus

    FIS Global

    The Challenge

    FIS’ business groups were isolated across the organization and used different agreements, making contract creation a long, difficult, and manual process.

    • Customers frustrated by slow and complicated contracting process
    • Manual contract creation and approval processes
    • Sensitive contract data that lacked secure storage
    • Multiple agreements managed across divisions
    • Lack of central repository for past contracts
    • Inconsistent and inaccessible

    The Solution: Automating and Streamlining the Contract Management Process

    A robust CLM system solved FIS’ various contract management needs while also providing a solution that could expand into full quote-to cash in the future.

    • Contract lifecycle management (CLM)
    • Intelligent workflow approvals (IWA)
    • X-Author for Excel

    Customer Results

    • 75% cycle time reduction
    • $1M saved in admin costs per year
    • 49% increase in sales proposal volume
    • Automation on one standard platform and solution
    • 55% stronger compliance management
    • Easy maintenance for various templates
    • Ability to quickly absorb new contracts and processes via FIS’s ongoing acquisitions

    Track the impact of CLM with these metrics

    Dollars Saved

    Upfront dollars saved

    • Potential dollars saved from avoiding unfavorable terms and conditions
    • Incentives that encourage the vendor to act in the customer’s best interest
    • Secured commitments to provide specified products and services at firm prices
    • Cost savings related to audits, penalties, and back support
    • Savings from discounts found

    Time Saved

    Time saved, which can be done in several areas

    • Defined and automated approval flow process
    • Preapproved contract templates with corporate terms
    • Reduced negotiation times
    • Locate contracts in minutes

    Pitfalls Avoided

    Number of pitfalls found and avoided, such as

    • Auto-renewal
    • Inconsistencies between sections and documents
    • Security and data not being deleted upon termination
    • Improper licensing

    The numbers are compelling

    71%

    of companies can’t locate up to 10% of their contracts.

    Source: TechnologyAdvice, 2019

    9.2%

    of companies’ annual revenue is lost because of poor contract management practices.

    Source: IACCM, 2019

    60%

    still track contracts in shared drives or email folders.

    Source: “State of Contract Management,” SpringCM, 2018

    CLM blueprint objectives

    • To provide a best-practice process for managing IT vendor contract lifecycles through a framework that organizes from the core, analyzes each step in the cycle, has collaboration and governance attached to each step, and integrates with established vendor management practices within your organization.
    • CLM doesn’t have to be an expensive managed database system in the cloud with fancy dashboards. As long as you have a defined process that has the framework steps and is followed by the organization, this will provide basic CLM and save the organization time and money over a short period of time.
    • This blueprint will not delve into the many vendors or providers of CLM solutions and their methodologies. However, we will discuss briefly how to use our framework and contract stages in evaluating a potential solution that you may be considering.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

    Guided Implementation

    “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

    Workshop

    "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

    Consulting

    "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Design and Build an Effective CLM Process – project overview

    1. Master the Operational Framework

    2. Understand the Ten Stages of CLM
    Best-Practice Toolkit

    1.1 Understand the operational framework components.

    1.2 Review your current framework.

    1.3 Create a plan to implement or enhance existing processes.

    2.1 Understand the ten stages of CLM.

    2.2 Review and document your current processes.

    2.3 Review RASCI chart and assign internal ownership.

    2.4 Create an improvement plan.

    2.5 Track changes for measurable ROI.
    Guided Implementations
    • Review existing processes.
    • Understand what CLM is and why the framework is essential.
    • Create an implementation or improvement plan.
    • Review the ten stages of CLM.
    • Complete CLM Maturity Assessment.
    • Create a plan to target improvement.
    • Track progress to measure savings.
    Onsite Workshop

    Module 1: Review and Learn the Basics

    • Review and capture your current processes.
    • Learn the basic operational framework of contract management.

    Module 2 Results:

    • Understand the ten stages of effective CLM.
    • Create an improvement or implementation plan.
    Phase 1 Outcome:
    • A full understanding of what makes a comprehensive contract management system.
    		Phase 2 Outcome:
    • A full understanding of your current CLM processes and where to focus your efforts for improvement or implementation.

    Workshop overview

    Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2
    Activities

    Task – Review and Learn the Basics

    Task – Learn More and Plan

    1.1 Review and capture your current process.

    1.2 Identify current stakeholders.

    1.3 Learn the operational framework of contract lifecycle management.

    1.4 Identify current process gaps.

    2.1 Understand the two phases of CLM.

    2.2 Learn the ten stages of CLM.

    2.3 Assess your CLM maturity.

    2.4 Identify and assign stakeholders.

    2.5 Discuss ROI.

    2.6 Summarize and next steps.
    Deliverables
    1. Internal interviews with business units
    2. Existing CLM Process Worksheet
    1. CLM Maturity Assessment
    2. RASCI Diagram
    3. Improvement Action Plan

    PHASE 1

    Master the Operational Framework of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Design and Build an Effective CLM Process

    Phase 1: Master the Operational Framework of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of
    2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 1: Master the Operational Framework of Contract Lifecycle Management
    Proposed Time to Completion: 1-4 weeks

    Step 1.1: Document your Current CLM Process

    Step 1.2: Read and Understand the Operational Framework

    Step 1.3: Review Solution Options

    Start with an analyst kick-off call:

    • Understand what your current process(es) is for each stage
    • Do a probative review of any current processes
    • Interview stakeholders for input

    Review findings with analyst:

    • Discuss the importance of the framework as the core of your plan
    • Review the gaps in your existing process
    • Understand how to prioritize next steps towards a CLM

    Finalize phase deliverable:

    • Establish ownership of the framework
    • Prioritize improvement areas or map out how your new CLM will look

    Then complete these activities…

    • Document the details of your process for each stage of CLM

    With these tools & templates:

    • Existing CLM Process Worksheet

    Phase 1 Results:

    • A full understanding of what makes a comprehensive contract management system.

    What Is Contract Lifecycle Management?

    • Every contract has a lifecycle, from creation to time and usage to expiration. Organizations using a legacy or manual contract management process usually ask, “What is contract lifecycle management and how will it benefit my business?”
    • Contract lifecycle management (CLM) creates a process that manages each contract or agreement. CLM eases the challenges of managing hundreds or even thousands of important business and IT contracts that affect the day-to-day business and could expose the organization to vendor risk.
    • Managing a few contracts is quite easy, but as the number of contracts grows, managing each step for each contract becomes increasingly difficult. Ultimately, it will get to a point where managing contracts properly becomes very difficult or seemingly impossible.

    That’s where contract lifecycle management (CLM) comes in.

    CLM can save money and improve revenue by:

    • Improving accuracy and decreasing errors through standardized contract templates and approved terms and conditions that will reduce repetitive tasks.
    • Securing contracts and processes through centralized software storage, minimizing risk of lost or misplaced contracts due to changes in physical assets like hard drives, network shares, and file cabinets.
    • Using policies and procedures that standardize, organize, track, and optimize IT contracts, eliminating time spent on creation, approvals, errors, and vendor compliance.
    • Reducing the organization’s exposure to risks and liability.
    • Having contracts renewed on time without penalties and with the most favorable terms for the business.

    The Operational Framework of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Four Components of the Operational Framework

    1. Organization
    2. Analysis
    3. Collaboration and Governance
    4. Integration/Vendor Management
    • By organizing at the core of the process and then analyzing each stage, you will maximize each step of the CLM process and ensure long-term contract management for the organization.
    • Collaboration and governance as overarching policies for the system will provide accountability to stakeholders and business units.
    • Integration and vendor management are encompassing features in a well-developed CLM that add visibility, additional value, and savings to the entire organization.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Putting a contract manager in place to manage the CLM project will accelerate the improvements and provide faster returns to the organizations. Reference Info-Tech’s Contract Manager Job Description template as needed.

    The operational framework is key to the success, return on investment (ROI), cost savings, and customer satisfaction of a CLM process.

    This image depicts Info-Tech's Operational Framework. It consists of a series of five concentric circles, with each circle a different colour. On the outer circle, is the word Integration. The next outermost circle has the words Collaboration and Governance. The next circle has no words, the next circle has the word Analysis, and the very centre circle has the word Organization.

    1. Organization

    • Every enterprise needs to organize its contract documents and data in a central repository so that everyone knows where to find the golden source of contractual truth.
    • This includes:
      • A repository for storing and organizing contract documents.
      • A data dictionary for describing the terms and conditions in a consistent, normalized way.
      • A database for persistent data storage.
      • An object model that tracks changes to the contract and its prevailing terms over time.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Paper is still alive and doing very well at slowing down the many stages of the contract process.

    2. Analysis

    Most organizations analyze their contracts in two ways:

    • First, they use reporting, search, and analytics to reveal risky and toxic terms so that appropriate operational strategies can be implemented to eliminate, mitigate, or transfer the risk.
    • Second, they use process analytics to reveal bottlenecks and points of friction as contracts are created, approved, and negotiated.

    3. Collaboration

    • Throughout the contract lifecycle, teams must collaborate on tasks both pre-execution and post-execution.
    • This includes document collaboration among several different departments across an enterprise.
    • The challenge is to make the collaboration smooth and transparent to avoid costly mistakes.
    • For some contracting tasks, especially in regulated industries, a high degree of control is required.
    • In these scenarios, the organization must implement controlled systems that restrict access to certain types of data and processes backed up with robust audit trails.

    4. Integration

    • For complete visibility into operational responsibilities, relationships, and risk, an organization must integrate its golden contract data with other systems of record.
    • An enterprise contracts platform must therefore provide a rich set of APIs and connectors so that information can be pushed into or pulled from systems for enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supplier relationship management (SRM), document management, etc.

    This is the ultimate goal of a robust contract management system!

    Member Activity: Document Current CLM Processes

    1.1 Completion Time: 1-5 days

    Goal: Document your existing CLM processes (if any) and who owns them, who manages them, etc.

    Instructions

    Interview internal business unit decision makers, stakeholders, Finance, Legal, CIO, VMO, Sales, and/or Procurement to understand what’s currently in place.

    1. Use the Existing CLM Process Worksheet to capture and document current CLM processes.
    2. Establish what processes, procedures, policies, and workflows, if any, are in place for pre-execution (Phase 1) contract stages.
    3. Do the same for post-execution (Phase 2) stages.
    4. Use this worksheet as reference for assessments and as a benchmark for improvement review six to 12 months later.
    This image contains a screenshot of Info-Tech's Existing CLM Process Discovery Worksheet

    INPUT

    • Internal information from all CLM stakeholders

    OUTPUT

    • A summary of processes and owners currently in place

    Materials

    • Existing CLM processes from interviews

    Participants

    • Finance, Legal, CIO, VMO, Sales, Procurement

    PHASE 2

    Understand the Ten Stages of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Design and Build an Effective CLM Process

    Phase 1: Master the Operational Framework of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

    Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of
    2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

    Guided Implementation 2: Understand the Ten Stages of Contract Lifecycle Management

    Proposed Time to Completion: 1-10 weeks

    Step 2.1: Assess CLM Maturity

    Step 2.2: Complete a RASCI Diagram

    Start with an analyst kick-off call:

    • Review the importance of assessing the maturity of your current CLM processes
    • Discuss interview process for internal stakeholders
    • Use data from the Existing CLM Process Worksheet

    Review findings with analyst:

    • Review your maturity results
    • Identify stages that require immediate improvement
    • Prioritize improvement or implementation of process

    Then complete these activities…

    • Work through the maturity assessment process
    • Answer the questions in the assessment tool
    • Review the summary tab to learn where to focus improvement efforts

    Then complete these activities…

    • Using maturity assessment and existing process data, establish ownership for each process stage
    • Fill in the RASCI Chart based on internal review or existing processes

    With these tools & templates:

    • CLM Maturity Assessment Tool

    With these tools & templates:

    • CLM RASCI Diagram

    Phase 2 Results & Insights:

    • A full understanding of your current CLM process and where improvement is required
    • A mapping of stakeholders for each stage of the CLM process

    The Ten Stages of Contract Lifecycle Management

    There are ten key stages of contract lifecycle management.

    The steps are divided into two phases, pre-execution and post-execution.

      Pre-Execution (Phase 1)

    1. Request
    2. Create
    3. Review Risk
    4. Approve
    5. Negotiate
    6. Sign

      7. Post-Execution (Phase 2)

    7. Capture
    8. Manage
    9. Monitor Compliance
    10. Optimize

    Ten Process Stages Within the CLM Framework

    This image contains the CLM framework from earlier in the presentation, with the addition of the following ten steps: 1. Request; 2. Create Contract; 3. Review Risk; 4. Approve; 5. Negotiate; 6. Sign; 7. Capture; 8. Manage; 9. Monitor Compliance; 10. Optimize.

    Stage 1: Request or Initiate

    Contract lifecycle management begins with the contract requesting process, where one party requests for or initiates the contracting process and subsequently uses that information for drafting or authoring the contract document. This is usually the first step in CLM.

    Requests for contracts can come from various sources:

    • Business units within the organization
    • Vendors presenting their contract, including renewal agreements
    • System- or process-generated requests for renewal or extension

    At this stage, you need to validate if a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is currently in place with the other party or is required before moving forward. At times, adequate NDA components could be included within the contract or agreement to satisfy corporate confidentiality requirements.

    Stage 1: Request or Initiate

    Stage Input

    • Information about what the contract needs to contain, such as critical dates, term length, coverage, milestones, etc.
    • Some organizations require that justification and budget approval be provided at this stage.
    • Request could come from a vendor as a pre-created contract.
    • Best practices recommend that a contract request form or template is used to standardize all required information.

    Stage Output

    • Completed request form, stored or posted with all details required to move forward to risk review and contract creation.
    • Possible audit trails.

    Stage 2: Create Contract

    • At the creation or drafting stage, the document is created, generated, or provided by the vendor. The document will contain all clauses, scope, terms and conditions, and pricing as required.
    • In some cases, a vendor-presented contract that is already prepared will go through an internal review or redlining process by the business unit and/or Legal.
    • Both internal and external review and redlining are included in this stage.
    • Also at this stage, the approvers and signing authorities are identified and added to the contract. In addition, some audit trail features may be added.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    For a comprehensive list of terms and conditions, see our Software Terms & Conditions Evaluation Tool within Master Contract Review and Negotiation for Software Agreements.

    Stage 2: Create Contract

    Stage Input

    • Contract request form, risk review/assessment.
    • Vendor- or contractor-provided contract/agreement, either soft copy, electronic form, or more frequently, “clickwrap” web-posted document.
    • Could also include a renewal notification from a vendor or from the CLM system or admin.

    Stage Output

    • Completed draft contract or agreement, typically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format with audit trail or comment tracking.
    • Redlined document for additional revision and or acceptance.
    • Amendment or addendum to existing contract.

    Stage 3: Review Risk 1 of 2

    The importance of risk review can not be understated. The contract or agreement must be reviewed by several stakeholders who can identify risks to the organization within the contract.

    Three important definitions:

    1. Risk is the potential for a negative outcome. A risk is crossing the street while wearing headphones and selecting the next track to play on your smartphone. A negative outcome is getting hit by an oncoming person who, unremarkably, was doing something similar at the same time.
    2. Risk mitigation is about taking the steps necessary to minimize both the likelihood of a risk occurring – look around both before and while crossing the street – and its impact if it does occur – fall if you must, but save the smartphone!
    3. Contract risk is about any number of situations that can cause a contract to fail, from trivially – the supplier delivers needed goods late – to catastrophically – the supplier goes out of business without having delivered your long-delayed orders.

    Stage 3: Review Risk 2 of 2

    • Contracts must be reviewed for business terms and conditions, potential risk situations from a financial or legal perspective, business commitments or obligations, and any operational concerns.
    • Mitigating contract risk requires a good understanding of what contracts are in place, how important they are to the success of the organization, and what data they contain.

    Collectively, this is known as contract visibility.

    • Risk avoidance and mitigation are also a key component in the ROI of a CLM system and should be tracked for analysis.
    • Risk-identifying forms or templates can be used to maintain consistency with corporate standards.

    Stage 3: Review Risk

    Stage Input

    • All details of the proposed contract so that a proper risk analysis can be done as well as appropriate review with stakeholders, including:
      • Finance
      • Legal
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Line-of-business owner
      • IT stakeholders

    Stage Output

    • A list of identified concerns that could expose the business unit or organization.
    • Recommendations to minimize or eliminate identified risks.

    Stage 4: Approve

    The approval stage can be a short process if policies and procedures are already in place. Most organizations will have defined delegation of authority or approval authority depending on risk, value of the contract, and other corporate considerations.

    • Defined approval levels should be known within the organization and can be applied to the approval workflow, expediting the approval of drafted terms, conditions, changes, and cost/spend within the contract internally.
    • Tracking and flexibility needs to considered in the approval process.
    • Gates need to be in place to ensure that a required approver has approved the contract before it moves to the next approver.
    • Flexibility is needed in some situations for ad hoc approval tasks and should include audit trail as required.
    • Approvers can include business units, Finance, Legal, Security, and C-level leaders

    Stage 4: Approve

    Stage Input

    • Complete draft contract with all terms and conditions (T&Cs) and approval trail.
    • Amendment or addendum to existing contract.

    Stage Output

    • Approved draft contract ready to move to the next step of negotiating with the vendor.
    • Approved amendment or addendum to existing or renewal agreement.

    Stage 5: Negotiate

    • At this stage, there should be an approved draft of the contract that can be presented to the other party or vendor for review.
    • Typically organizations will negotiate their larger deals for terms and conditions with the goal of balancing the contractual allocation of risk with the importance of the vendor or agreement and its value to the business.
    • Several people on either side are typically involved and will discuss legal and commercial terms of the contract. Throughout the process, negotiators may leverage a variety of tools, including playbooks with preferred and fallback positions, clause libraries, document redlines and comparisons, and issue lists.
    • Audit trails or tracking of changes and acceptances is an important part of this stage. Tracking will avoid duplication and lost or missed changes and will speed up the entire process.
    • A final, clean document is created at this point and readied for execution.

    Stage 5: Negotiate

    Stage Input

    • Approved draft contract ready to move to the next step of negotiating with the vendor.
    • Approved amendment or addendum to existing or renewal agreement.

    Stage Output

    • A finalized and approved contract or amendment with agreed-upon terms and conditions ready for signatures.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Saving the different versions of a contract during negotiations will save time, provide reassurance of agreed terms as you move through the process, and provide reference for future negotiations with the vendor.

    Stage 6: Sign or Execute

    • At this stage in the process, all the heavy lifting in a contract’s creation is complete. Now it’s signature time.
    • To finalize the agreement, both parties need to the sign the final document. This can be done by an in-person wet ink signature or by what is becoming more prevalent, digital signature through an e-signature process.
    • Once complete, the final executed documents are exchanged or received electronically and then retained by each party.

    Stage 6: Sign or Execute

    Stage Input

    • A finalized and approved contract or amendment with agreed-upon terms and conditions ready for signatures.

    Stage Output

    • An executed contract or amendment ready to move to the next stage of CLM, capturing in the repository.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Process flow provisions should made for potential rejection of the contract by signatories, looping the contract back to the appropriate stage for rework or revision.

    Stage 7: Capture in Database/Repository 1 of 2

    • This is one of the most important stages of a CLM process. Executed agreements need to be stored in a single manageable, searchable, reportable, and centralized repository.
    • All documents should to be captured electronically, reviewed for accuracy, and then posted to the CLM repository.
    • The repository can be in various formats depending on the maturity, robustness, and budget of the CLM program.

    Most repositories are some type of database:

    • An off-the-shelf product
    • A PaaS cloud-based solution
    • A homegrown, internally developed database
    • An add-on module to your ERP system

    Stage 7: Capture in Database/Repository 2 of 2

    Several important features of an electronic repository should be considered:

    • Consistent metadata tagging of clauses, terms, conditions, dates, etc.
    • Centralized summary view of all contracts
    • Controlled access for those who need to review and manage the contracts

    Establishing an effective repository will be key to providing measurable value to the organization and saving large amounts of time for the business unit.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Planning for future needs by investing a little more money into a better, more robust repository could pay bigger dividends to the VMO and organization while providing a higher ROI over time as advanced functionality is deployed.

    Stage 8: Manage

    • Once an agreement is captured in the repository, it needs to be managed from both an operational and a commitment perspective.
    • Through a summary view or master list, contracts need to be operationally managed for end dates and renewals, vendor performance, discounts, and rebates.
    • Managing contracts for commitment and compliance will ensure all contract requirements, rights, service-level agreements (SLAs), and terms are fulfilled. This will eliminate the high costs of missed SLAs, potential breaches, or missed renewals.
    • Managing contracts can be improved by adding metadata to the records that allow for easier search and retrieval of contracts or even proactive notification.
    • The repository management features can and should be available to business stakeholders, or reporting from a CLM admin can also alert stakeholders to renewals, pricing, SLAs, etc.
    • Also important to this stage is reporting. This can be done by an admin or via a self-serve feature for stakeholders, or it could even be automated.

    Stage 9: Monitor Compliance 1 of 2

    • At this stage, the contracts or agreements need to be monitored for the polices within them and the purpose for which they were signed.
    • This is referred to as obligation management and is a key step to providing savings to the organization and mitigating risk.
    • Many contracts contain commitments by each party. These can include but are not limited to SLAs, service uptime targets, user counts, pricing threshold discounts and rebates, renewal notices to vendors, and training requirements.
    • All of these obligations within the contracts should be summarized and monitored to ensure that all commitments are delivered on. Managing obligations will mitigate risks, maximize savings and rebates to the organization, and minimize the potential for a breach within the contract.

    Stage 9: Monitor Compliance 2 of 2

    • Monitoring and measuring vendor commitments and performance will also be a key factor in maximizing the benefits of the contract through vendor accountability.
    • Also included in this stage is renewal and/or disposition of the contract. If renewal is due, it should go back to the business unit for submission to the Stage 1: Request process. If the business unit is not going to renew the contract, the contract must be tagged and archived for future reference.

    Stage 10: Optimize

    • The goal of this stage is to improve the other stages of the process as well as evaluate how each stage is integrating with the core operational framework processes.
    • With more data and improved insight into contractual terms and performance, a business can optimize its portfolio for better value, greater savings, and lower-risk outcomes.
    • For high-performance contract teams, the goal is a continuous feedback loop between the contract portfolio and business performance. If, for example, the data shows that certain negotiation issues consume a large chunk of time but yield no measurable difference in risk or performance, you may tweak the playbook to remedy those issues quickly.

    Additional optimization tactics:

    • Streamlining contract renewals with auto-renew
    • Predefined risk review process or template, continuous review/improvement of negotiation playbook
    • Better automation or flow of approval process
    • Better signature delegation process if required
    • Improving repository search with metadata tagging
    • Automating renewal tracking or notice process
    • Tracking the time a contract spends in each stage

    Establish Your Current CLM Maturity Position

    • Sometimes organizations have a well-defined pre-execution process but have a poor post-signature process.
    • Identifying your current processes or lack thereof will provide you with a starting point in developing a plan for your CLM. It’s possible that most of the stages are there and just need some improvements, or maybe some are missing and need to be implemented.
    • It’s not unusual for organizations to have a manual pre-execution process and an automated backend repository with compliance and renewal notices features.

    Info-Tech Best Practice

    Use the CLM Maturity Assessment Tool to outline where your organization is at each stage of the process.

    Member Activity: Assess Current CLM Maturity

    2.1 Completion Time 1-2 days

    Goal: Identify and measure your existing CLM processes, if any, and provide a maturity value to each stage. The resulting scores will provide a maturity assessment of your CLM.

    Instructions

    1. Use the Existing CLM Process Worksheet to document current CLM processes.
    2. Using the CLM worksheet info, answer the questions in the CLM Maturity Assessment Tool.
    3. Review the results and scores on Tab 3 to see where you need to focus your initial improvements.
    4. Save the initial assessment for future reference and reassess in six to 12 months to measure progress.

    This image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's CLM Maturity Assessment Tool.

    INPUT

    • Internal information from all CLM stakeholders

    OUTPUT

    • A summary of processes and owners currently in place in the organization

    Materials

    • Existing CLM processes from interviews

    Participants

    • Finance, Legal, CIO, VMO, Sales, Procurement

    Member Activity: Complete RASCI Chart

    2.2 Completion Time 2-6 hours

    Goal: Identify who in your organization is primarily accountable and involved in each stage of the CLM process.

    Instructions

    Engage internal business unit decision makers, stakeholders, Finance, Legal, CIO, VMO, Sales, and Procurement as required to validate who should be involved in each stage.

    1. Using the information collected from internal reviews, assign a level in the CLM RASCI Diagram to each team member.
    2. Use the resulting RASCI diagram to guide you through developing or improving your CLM stages.

    This image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's CLM RASCI Diagram.

    INPUT

    • Internal interview information

    OUTPUT

    • Understanding of who is involved in each CLM stage

    Materials

    • Interview data
    • RASCI Diagram

    Participants

    • Finance, Legal, CIO, VMO, Sales, Procurement

    Applying CLM Framework and Stages to Your Organization

    • Understand what CLM process you currently do or do not have in place.
    • Review implementation options: automated, semi-automated, and manual solutions.
    • If you are improving an existing process, focus on one phase at a time, perfect it, and then move to the other phase. This can also be driven by budget and time.
    • Create a plan to start with and then move to automating or semi-automating the stages.
    • Building onto or enhancing an existing system or processes can be a cost-effective method to produce near-term measurable savings
    • Focus on one phase at a time, then move on to the other phase.
    • While reviewing implementation of or improvements to CLM stages, be sure to track or calculate the potential time and cost savings and risk mitigation. This will help in any required business case for a CLM.

    CLM: An ROI Discussion 1 of 2

    • ROI can be easier to quantify and measure in larger organizations with larger CLM, but ROI metrics can be obtained regardless of the company or CLM size.
    • Organizations recognize their ROI through gains in efficiency across the entire business as well as within individual departments involved in the contracting process. They also do so by reducing the risk associated with decentralized and insecure storage of and access to their contracts, failure to comply with terms of their contracts, and missing deadlines associated with contracts.

    Just a few of the factors to consider within your own organization include:

    • The number of people inside and outside your company that touch your contracts.
    • The number of hours spent weekly, monthly, and annually managing contracts.
    • Potential efficiencies gained in better managing those contracts.
    • The total number of contracts that exist at any given time.
    • The average value and total value of those contract types.
    • The potential risk of being in breach of any of those contracts.
    • The number of places contracts are stored.
    • The level of security that exists to prevent unauthorized access.
    • The potential impact of unauthorized access to your sensitive contract data.

    CLM: An ROI Discussion 2 of 2

    Decision-Maker Apprehensions

    Decision-maker concerns arise from a common misunderstanding – that is, a fundamental failure to appreciate the true source of contract management value. This misunderstanding goes back many years to the time when analysts first started to take an interest in contract management and its automation. Their limited experience (primarily in retail and manufacturing sectors) led them to think of contract management as essentially an administrative function, primarily focused on procurement of goods. In such environments, the purpose of automation is focused on internal efficiency, augmented by the possibility of savings from reduced errors (e.g. failing to spot a renewal or expiry date) or compliance (ensuring use of standard terms).

    Today’s CLM systems and processes can provide ROI in several areas in the business.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Research on ROI of CLM software shows significant hard cost savings to an organization. For example, a $10 million company with 300 contracts valued at $3 million could realize savings of $83,400 and avoid up to $460,000 in lost revenues. (Derived from: ACCDocket, 2018)

    Additional Considerations 1 of 2

    Who should own and/or manage the CLM process within an organization? Legal, VMO, business unit, Sales?

    This is an often-discussed question. Research suggests that there is no definitive answer, as there are several variables.

    Organizations needs to review what makes the best business sense for them based on several considerations and then decide where CLM belongs.

    • Business unit budgets and time management
    • Available Administration personnel and time
    • IT resources
    • Security and access concerns
    • Best fit based on organizational structure

    35% of law professionals feel contract management is a legal responsibility, while 45% feel it’s a business responsibility and a final 20% are unsure where it belongs. (Source: “10 Eye-Popping Contract Management Statistics,” Apttus, 2018)

    Additional Considerations 2 of 2

    What type of CLM software or platform should we use?

    This too is a difficult question to answer definitively. Again, there are several variables to consider. As well, several solutions are available, and this is not a one-size-fits-all scenario.

    As with who should own the CLM process, organizations must review the various CLM software solutions available that will meet their current and future needs and then ask, “What do we need the system to do?”

    • Do you build a “homegrown” solution?
    • Should it be an add-on module to the current ERP or CRM system?
    • Is on-premises more suitable?
    • Is an adequate off-the-shelf (OTS) solution available?
    • What about the many cloud offerings?
    • Is there a basic system to start with that can expand as you grow?

    Info-Tech Insight

    When considering what type of solution to choose, prioritize what needs to been done or improved. Sometimes solutions can be deployed in phases as an “add-on” type modules.

    Summary of Accomplishment

    Knowledge Gained

    • Documented current CLM process
    • Core operational framework to build a CLM process on
    • Understanding of best practices required for a sustainable CLM

    Processes Optimized

    • Internal RASCI process identified
    • Existing internal stage improvements
    • Internal review process for risk mitigation

    Deliverables Completed

    • Existing CLM Processes Worksheet
    • CLM Maturity Assessment
    • CLM RASCI Chart
    • CLM improvement plan

    Project Step Summary

    Client Project: CLM Assessment and Improvement Plan

    1. Set your goals – what do you want to achieve in your CLM project?
    2. Assess your organization’s current CLM position in relation to CLM best practices and stages.
    3. Map your organization’s RASCI structure for CLM.
    4. Identify opportunities for stage improvements or target all low stage assessments.
    5. Prioritize improvement processes.
    6. Track ROI metrics.
    7. Develop a CLM implementation or improvement plan.

    Info-Tech Insight

    This project can fit your organization’s schedule:

    • Do-it-yourself with your team.
    • Remote delivery (Info-Tech Guided Implementation).

    CLM Blueprint Summary and Conclusion

    • Contract management is a vital component of a responsible VMO that will benefit all business units in an organization, save time and money, and reduce risk exposure.
    • A basic well-deployed and well-managed CLM will provide ROI in the short term.
    • Setting an improvement plan with concise improvements and potential cost savings based on process improvements will help your business case for CLM get approval and leadership buy-in.
    • Educating and aligning all business units and stakeholders to any changes to CLM processes will ensure that cost savings and ROI are achieved.
    • When evaluating a CLM software solution, use the operational framework and the ten process stages in this blueprint as a reference guide for CLM vendor functionality and selection.

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Master Contract Review and Negotiation

    Optimize spend with significant cost savings and negotiate from a position of strength.

    Manage Your Vendors Before They Manage You

    Maximize the value of vendor relationships.

    Bibliography

    Burla, Daniel. “The Must Know Of Transition to Dynamics 365 on Premise.” Sherweb, 14 April 2017. Web.

    Anand, Vishal, “Strategic Considerations in Implementing an End-to-End Contract Lifecycle Management Solution.” DWF Mindcrest, 20 Aug. 2016. Web.

    Alspaugh, Zach. “10 Eye-Popping Contract Management Statistics from the General Counsel’s Technology Report.” Apttus, 23 Nov. 2018. Web.

    Bishop, Randy. “Contract Management is not just a cost center.” ContractSafe, 9 Sept. 2019. Web.

    Bryce, Ian. “Contract Management KPIs - Measuring What Matters.” Gatekeeper, 2 May 2019. Web.

    Busch, Jason. “Contract Lifecycle Management 101.” Determine. 4 Jan. 2018. Web.

    “Contract Management Software Buyer's Guide.” TechnologyAdvice, 5 Aug. 2019. Web.

    Dunne, Michael. “Analysts Predict that 2019 will be a Big Year for Contract Lifecycle Management.” Apttus, 19 Nov. 2018. Web.

    “FIS Case Study.” Apttus, n.d. Web.

    Gutwein, Katie. “3 Takeaways from the 2018 State of Contract Management Report.” SpringCM, 2018. Web.

    “IACCM 2019 Benchmark Report.” IAACM, 4 Sept. 2019. Web.

    Linsley, Rod. “How Proverbial Wisdom Can Help Improve Contract Risk Mitigation.” Gatekeeper, 2 Aug. 2019. Web.

    Mars, Scott. “Contract Management Data Extraction.” Exari, 20 June 2017. Web.

    Rodriquez, Elizabeth. “Global Contract Life-Cycle Management Market Statistics and Trends 2019.” Business Tech Hub, 17 June 2017. Web.

    “State of Contract Management Report.” SpringCM, 2018. Web.

    Teninbaum, Gabriel, and Arthur Raguette. “Realizing ROI from Contract Management Technology.” ACCDocket.com, 29 Jan. 2018. Web.

    Wagner, Thomas. “Strategic Report on Contract Life cycle Management Software Market with Top Key Players- IBM Emptoris, Icertis, SAP, Apttus, CLM Matrix, Oracle, Infor, Newgen Software, Zycus, Symfact, Contract Logix, Coupa Software.” Market Research, 21 June 2019. Web.

    “What is Your Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Persona?” Spend Matters, 19 Oct. 2017. Web.

    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}295|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: 8.5/10 Overall Impact
    • member rating average dollars saved: $52,211 Average $ Saved
    • member rating average days saved: 31 Average Days Saved
    • Parent Category Name: Asset Management
    • Parent Category Link: /asset-management

    You have a mandate to create an accurate and actionable database of the IT assets in your environment, but:

    • The data you have is often incomplete or wrong.
    • Processes are broken or non-existent.
    • Your tools aren’t up to the task of tracking ever more hardware, software, and relevant metadata.
    • The role of stakeholders outside the core ITAM team isn’t well defined or understood.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    ITAM is a foundational IT service that provides accurate, accessible, actionable data on IT assets. But there’s no value in data for data’s sake. Enable collaboration between IT asset managers, business leaders, and IT leaders to develop an ITAM strategy that maximizes the value they can deliver as service providers.

    Impact and Result

    • Develop an approach and strategy for ITAM that is sustainable and aligned with your business priorities.
    • Clarify the structure for the ITAM program, including scope, responsibility and accountability, centralization vs. decentralization, outsourcing vs. insourcing, and more.
    • Create a practical roadmap to guide improvement.
    • Summarize your strategy and approach using Info-Tech’s templates for review with stakeholders.

    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy – A methodology to create a business-aligned, coherent, and durable approach to ITAM.

    This two-phase, step-by-step methodology will guide you through the activities to build a business-aligned, coherent, and durable approach to ITAM. Review the executive brief at the start of the slide deck for an overview of the methodology and the value it can provide to your organization.

    • Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy – Phases 1-2

    2. ITAM Strategy Template – A presentation-ready repository for the work done as you define your ITAM approach.

    Use this template to document your IT asset management strategy and approach.

    • ITAM Strategy Template

    3. IT Asset Estimations Tracker – A rough-and-ready inventory exercise to help you evaluate the work ahead of you.

    Use this tool to estimate key data points related to your IT asset estate, as well as your confidence in your estimates.

    • IT Asset Estimations Tracker

    Infographic

    Workshop: Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Identify ITAM Priorities & Goals, Maturity, Metrics and KPIs

    The Purpose

    Align key stakeholders to the potential strategic value of the IT asset management practice.

    Ensure the ITAM practice is focused on business-aligned goals.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Define a business-aligned direction and expected outcomes for your ITAM program.

    Activities

    1.1 Brainstorm ITAM opportunities and challenges.

    1.2 Conduct an executive alignment working session.

    1.3 Set ITAM priorities, goals and tactics.

    1.4 Identify target and current state ITAM maturity.

    Outputs

    ITAM opportunities and challenges

    Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities.

    ITAM metrics and KPIs

    ITAM maturity

    2 Identify Your Approach to Support ITAM Priorities and Goals

    The Purpose

    Translate goals into specific and coherent actions to enable your ITAM practice to deliver business value.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A business-aligned approach to ITAM, encompassing scope, structure, tools, audits, budgets, documentation and more.

    A high-level roadmap to achieve your vision for the ITAM practice.

    Activities

    2.1 Define ITAM scope.

    2.2 Acquire ITAM services (outsourcing and contracting).

    2.3 Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities.

    2.4 Create a RACI for the ITAM practice.

    2.5 Align ITAM with other service management practices.

    2.6 Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations.

    2.7 Create a plan for internal and external audits.

    2.8 Improve your budget processes.

    2.9 Establish a documentation framework.

    2.10 Create a roadmap and communication plan.

    Outputs

    Your ITAM approach

    ITAM roadmap and communication plan

    Further reading

    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    Define your business-aligned approach to ITAM.

    Table of Contents

    4 Analyst Perspective

    5 Executive Summary

    17 Phase 1: Establish Business-Aligned ITAM Goals and Priorities

    59 Phase 2: Support ITAM Goals and Priorities

    116 Bibliography

    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    Define your business-aligned approach to ITAM.

    EXECUTIVE BRIEF

    Analyst Perspective

    Track hardware and software. Seems easy, right?

    It’s often taken for granted that IT can easily and accurately provide definitive answers to questions like “how many laptops do we have at Site 1?” or “do we have the right number of SQL licenses?” or “how much do we need to budget for device replacements next year?” After all, don’t we know what we have?

    IT can’t easily provide these answers because to do so you must track hardware and software throughout its lifecycle – which is not easy. And unfortunately, you often need to respond to these questions on very short notice because of an audit or to support a budgeting exercise.

    IT Asset Management (ITAM) is the solution. It’s not a new solution – the discipline has been around for decades. But the key to success is to deploy the practice in a way that is sustainable, right-sized, and maximizes value.

    Use our practical methodology to develop and document your approach to ITAM that is aligned with the goals of your organization.

    Photo of Andrew Sharp, Research Director, Infrastructure & Operations Practice, Info-Tech Research Group.

    Andrew Sharp
    Research Director
    Infrastructure & Operations Practice
    Info-Tech Research Group

    		Realize the value of asset management

    Cost optimization, application rationalization and reduction of technical debt are all considered valuable to right-size spending and improve service outcomes. Without access to accurate data, these activities require significant investments of time and effort, starting with creation of point-in-time inventories, which lengthens the timeline to reaching project value and may still not be accurate.

    Cost optimization and reduction of technical debt should be part of your culture and technical roadmap rather than one-off projects. Why? Access to accurate information enables the organization to quickly make decisions and pivot plans as needed. Through asset management, ongoing harvest and redeployment of assets improves utilization-to-spend ratios. We would never see any organization saying, “We’ve closed our year end books, let’s fire the accountants,” but often see this valuable service relegated to the back burner. Similar to the philosophy that “the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the next best time is now,” the sooner you can start to collect, validate, and analyze data, the sooner you will find value in it.

    Photo of Sandi Conrad, Principal Research Director, Infrastructure & Operations Practice, Info-Tech Research Group.

    Sandi Conrad
    Principal Research Director
    Infrastructure & Operations Practice
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    You have a mandate to create an accurate and actionable database of the IT assets in your environment, but:

    • The data you have is often incomplete or wrong.
    • Processes are broken or non-existent.
    • Your tools aren’t up to the task of tracking ever more hardware, software, and relevant metadata.
    • The role of stakeholders outside the core ITAM team isn’t well defined or understood.
    		 Common Obstacles

    It is challenging to make needed changes because:

    • There’s cultural resistance to asset tracking, it’s seen as busywork that doesn’t clearly create value.
    • Decentralized IT teams aren’t generating the data required to track hardware and licenses.
    • ITAM can’t direct needed tool improvements because the admins don’t report to ITAM.
    • It’s hard to find time to improve processes given the day-to-day demands on your time.
    		 Info-Tech’s Approach
    • Develop an approach and strategy for ITAM that is sustainable and aligned with your business priorities.
    • Clarify the structure for the ITAM program, including scope, responsibility and accountability, centralization vs. decentralization, outsourcing vs. insourcing, and more.
    • Create a practical roadmap to guide improvement.
    • Summarize your strategy and approach using Info-Tech’s templates for review with stakeholders.

    Info-Tech Insight

    ITAM is a foundational IT service that provides accurate, accessible, actionable data on IT assets. But there’s no value in data for data’s sake. Enable collaboration between IT asset managers, business leaders, and IT leaders to develop an ITAM strategy that maximizes the value they can deliver as service providers.

    Unlock business value with IT asset management

    • IT asset management (ITAM) is the practice of maintaining accurate, accessible, and actionable data on the assets within the organization’s IT estate. Each IT asset will have a record that tracks it across its lifecycle from purchase to disposal.
    • ITAM’s value is realized through other processes and practice areas that can leverage ITAM data to manage risk, improve IT services, and control costs.
    • Develop an approach to ITAM that maximizes the value delivered to the business and IT. ITAM succeeds when its partners succeed at delivering business value, and it fails when it doesn’t show value to those partners.

    This blueprint will help you develop your approach for the management of IT hardware and software, including cloud services. Leverage other Info-Tech methodologies to dive directly into developing hardware asset management procedures, software asset management procedures, or to implement configuration management best practices.

    Info-Tech Members report significant savings from implementing our hardware and software asset management frameworks. In order to maximize value from the process-focused methodologies below, develop your ITAM strategy first.

    Implement Hardware Asset Management (Based on Info-Tech Measured Value Surveys results from clients working through these blueprints, as of February 2022.)

    9.6/10

    $23k

    32
    Overall Impact Average $ Saved Average Days Saved
    Implement Software Asset Management (Based on Info-Tech Measured Value Surveys results from clients working through these blueprints, as of February 2022.)

    9.0/10

    $12k

    5
    Overall Impact Average $ Saved Average Days Saved

    ITAM provides both early and ongoing value

    ITAM isn’t one-and-done. Properly supported, your ITAM practice will deliver up-front value that will help demonstrate the value ongoing ITAM can offer through the maintenance of an accurate, accessible, and actionable ITAM database.

    Example: Software Savings from ITAM



    This chart shows the money saved between the first quote and the final price for software and maintenance by a five-person ITAM team. Over a year and a half, they saved their organization a total of $7.5 million from a first quote total of $21 million over that period.

    This is a perfect example of the direct value that ITAM can provide on an ongoing basis to the organization, when properly supported and integrated with IT and the business.

    Examples of up-front value delivered in the first year of the ITAM practice:

    • Save money by reviewing and renegotiating critical, high-spend, and undermanaged software and service contracts.
    • Redeploy or dispose of clearly unused hardware and software.
    • Develop and enforce standards for basic hardware and software.
    • Improve ITAM data quality and build trust in the results.

    Examples of long-term value from ongoing governance, management, and operational ITAM activities:

    • Optimize spend: Reallocate unused hardware and software, end unneeded service agreements, and manage renewals and audits.
    • Reduce risk: Provide comprehensive asset data for security controls development and incident management; manage equipment disposal.
    • Improve IT service: Support incident, problem, request, and change management with ITAM data. Develop new solutions with an understanding of what you have already.

    Common obstacles

    The rulebook is available, but hard to follow
    • ITAM takes a village, but stakeholders aren’t aware of their role. ITAM processes rely on technicians to update asset records, vendors to supply asset data, administrators to manage tools, leadership to provide direction and support, and more.
    • Constant change in the IT and business environment undermines the accuracy of ITAM records (e.g. licensing and contract changes, technology changes that break discovery tools, personnel and organizational changes).
    • Improvement efforts are overwhelmed by day-to-day activities. One study found that 83% of SAM teams’ time is consumed by audit-related activities. (Flexera State of ITAM Report 2022) A lack of improvement becomes a vicious cycle when stakeholders who don’t see the value of ITAM decline to dedicate resources for improvement.
    • Stakeholders expect ITAM tools to be a cure-all, but even at their best, they can’t provide needed answers without some level of configuration, manual input, and supervision.
    • There’s often a struggle to connect ITAM to value. For example, respondents to Info-Tech’s Management & Governance Diagnostic consistently rank ITAM as less important than other processes that ITAM directly supports (e.g. budget management and budget optimization). (Info-Tech MGD Diagnostic (n=972 unique organizations))
    		 ITAM is a mature discipline with well-established standards, certifications, and tools, but we still struggle with it.
    • Only 28% of SAM teams track IaaS and PaaS spend, and only 35% of SAM teams track SaaS usage.
    • Increasing SAM maturity is a challenge for 76% of organizations.
    • 10% of organizations surveyed have spent more than $5 million in the last three years in audit penalties and true-ups.
    • Half of all of organizations lack a viable SAM tool.
    • Seventy percent of SAM teams have a shortfall of qualified resources.
      • (Flexera State of ITAM Report 2022)

    Info-Tech's IT Asset Management Framework (ITAM)

    Adopt, manage, and mature activities to enable business value thorugh actionable, accessible, and accurate ITAM data

    Logo for Info-Tech Research Group. Enable Business Value Logo for #iTRG.
    Business-Aligned Spend
    Optimization and Transparency
    Facilitate IT Services
    and Products
    Actionable, Accessible,
    and Accurate Data
    Context-Aware Risk Management
    and Security Controls

    Plan & Govern

    Business Goals, Risks, and Structure
    • ITAM Goals & Priorities
    • Roles, Accountability, Responsibilities
    • Scope
    Ongoing Management Commitment
    • Resourcing & Funding
    • Policies & Enforcement
    • Continuous Improvement
    Culture
    • ITAM Education, Awareness & Training
    • Organizational Change Management
    		 Section title 'Operate' with a cycle surrounding key components of Operate: 'Data Collection & Validation', 'Tool Administration', 'License Management', and 'Lease Management'. The cycle consists of 'Request', 'Procure', 'Receive', 'Deploy', 'Manage', 'Retire & Dispose', and back to 'Request'.

    Build & Manage

    Tools & Data
    • ITAM Tool Selection & Deployment
    • Configuration Management Synchronization
    • IT Service Management Integration
    Process
    • Process Management
    • Data & Process Audits
    • Document Management
    People, Policies, and Providers
    • Stakeholder Management
    • Technology Standardization
    • Vendor & Contract Management

    Info-Tech Insight

    ITAM is a foundational IT service that provides actionable, accessible, and accurate data on IT assets. But there's no value in data for data's sake. Use this methodology to enable collaboration between ITAM, the business, and IT to develop an approach to ITAM that maximizes the value the ITAM team can deliver as service providers.

    Key deliverable

    IT asset management requires ongoing practice – you can’t just implement it and walk away.

    Our methodology will help you build a business-aligned strategy and approach for your ITAM practice with the following outputs:

    • Business-aligned ITAM priorities, opportunities, and goals.
    • Current and target state ITAM maturity.
    • Metrics and KPIs.
    • Roles, responsibilities, and accountability.
    • Insourcing, outsourcing, and (de)centralization.
    • Tools and technology.
    • A documentation framework.
    • Initiatives, a roadmap, and a communication plan.
    		 Each step of this blueprint is designed to help you create your IT asset management strategy:
    Sample of Info-Tech's key deliverable 'IT Asset Management' blueprint.

    Info-Tech’s methodology to develop an IT asset management strategy

    1. Establish business-aligned ITAM goals and priorities 2. Identify your approach to support ITAM priorities and goals
    Phase Steps
    • 1.1 Define ITAM and brainstorm opportunities and challenges.
      • Executive Alignment Working Session:
    • 1.2 Review organizational priorities, strategy, and key initiatives.
    • 1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities and priorities.
    • 1.4 Identify business-aligned ITAM goals and target maturity.
    • 1.5 Write mission and vision statements.
    • 1.6 Define ITAM metrics and KPIs.
    • 2.1 Define ITAM scope.
    • 2.2 Acquire ITAM services (outsourcing and contracting).
    • 2.3 Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities.
    • 2.4 Create a RACI for the ITAM practice.
    • 2.5 Align ITAM with other service management practices.
    • 2.6 Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations.
    • 2.7 Create a plan for internal and external audits.
    • 2.8 Improve your budget processes.
    • 2.9 Establish a documentation framework.
    • 2.10 Create a roadmap and communication plan.
    Phase Outcomes Defined, business-aligned goals and priorities for ITAM. Establish an approach to achieving ITAM goals and priorities including scope, structure, tools, service management integrations, documentation, and more.
    Project Outcomes Develop an approach and strategy for ITAM that is sustainable and aligned with your business priorities.

    Insight Summary

    There’s no value in data for data’s sake

    ITAM is a foundational IT service that provides accurate, accessible, actionable data on IT assets. Enable collaboration between IT asset managers, business leaders, and IT leaders to develop an approach to ITAM that maximizes the value they can deliver as service providers.

    Service provider to a service provider

    ITAM is often viewed (when it’s viewed at all) as a low-value administrative task that doesn’t directly drive business value. This can make it challenging to build a case for funding and resources.

    Your ITAM strategy is a critical component to help you define how ITAM can best deliver value to your organization, and to stop creating data for the sake of data or just to fight the next fire.

    Collaboration over order-taking

    To align ITAM practices to deliver organizational value, you need a very clear understanding of the organization’s goals – both in the moment and as they change over time.

    Ensure your ITAM team has clear line of sight to business strategy, objectives, and decision-makers, so you can continue to deliver value as priorities change

    Embrace dotted lines

    ITAM teams rely heavily on staff, systems, and data beyond their direct area of control. Identify how you will influence key stakeholders, including technicians, administrators, and business partners.

    Help them understand how ITAM success relies on their support, and highlight how their contributions have created organizational value to encourage ongoing support.

    Project benefits

    Benefits for IT
    • Set a foundation and direction for an ITAM practice that will allow IT to manage risk, optimize spend, and enhance services in line with business requirements.
    • Establish accountability and responsibility for essential ITAM activities. Decide where to centralize or decentralize accountability and authority. Identify where outsourcing could add value.
    • Create a roadmap with concrete, practical next steps to develop an effective, right-sized ITAM practice.
    		 Stock image of a trophy. Benefits for the business
    • Plan and control technology spend with confidence based on trustworthy ITAM data.
    • Enhance IT’s ability to rapidly and effectively support new priorities and launch new projects. Effective ITAM can support more streamlined procurement, deployment, and management of assets.
    • Implement security controls that reflect your total technology footprint. Reduce the risk that a forgotten device or unmanaged software turns your organization into the next Colonial Pipeline.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    Guided Implementation

    Workshop

    Consulting
    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Guided Implementation

    A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

    A typical GI around 12 calls over the course of 6 months.

    What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

    Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

    Call #2: Review business priorities.

    Call #3: Identify ITAM goals & target maturity.

    		Call #4: Identify metrics and KPIs. Call #5: Define ITAM scope.

    Call #6: Acquire ITAM services.

    		Call #7: ITAM structure and RACI.

    Call #8: ITAM and service management.

    Tools and integrations.

    		Call #10: Internal and external audits.

    Call #11: Budgets & documentation

    Call #12: Roadmap, comms plan. Wrap-up.

    Phase 1 Phase 2

    Workshop Overview
    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com1-888-670-8889
    Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
    Identify ITAM priorities & goals, maturity, metrics and KPIs
    Identify your approach to support ITAM priorities and goals
    Next Steps and wrap-Up (offsite)
    Activities

    1.1 Define ITAM.

    1.2 Brainstorm ITAM opportunities and challenges.

    Conduct an executive alignment working session:

    1.3 Review organizational priorities, strategy, and key initiatives.

    1.4 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities.

    1.5 Set ITAM priorities.

    2.1 Translate opportunities into ITAM goals and tactics.

    2.2 Identify target and current state ITAM maturity.

    2.3 Create mission and vision statements.

    2.4 Identify key ITAM metrics and KPIs.

    3.1 Define ITAM scope.

    3.2 Acquire ITAM services (outsourcing and contracting)

    3.3 Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities.

    3.4 Create a RACI for the ITAM practice.

    3.5 Align ITAM with other service management practices.

    3.6 Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations.

    4.1 Create a plan for internal and external audits.

    4.2 Improve your budget processes.

    4.3 Establish a documentation framework and identify documentation gaps.

    4.4 Create a roadmap and communication plan.

    5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

    5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

    Deliverables
    1. ITAM opportunities and challenges.
    2. Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities.
    3. Set ITAM priorities.
    1. ITAM goals and tactics.
    2. Current and target ITAM maturity.
    3. Mission and vision statements.
    4. ITAM metrics and KPIs.
    1. Decisions that will shape your ITAM approach, including:
      1. What’s in scope (hardware, software, and cloud services).
      2. Where to centralize, decentralize, or outsource ITAM activities.
      3. Accountability, responsibility, and structure for ITAM activities.
      4. Service management alignment, tooling gaps, audit plans, budget processes, and required documentation.
    2. A roadmap and communication plan.
    1. Your completed ITAM strategy template.
    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    Phase 1:

    Establish business-aligned ITAM goals and priorities

    Phase 1

    1.1 Define ITAM and brainstorm opportunities and challenges.

    Executive Alignment Working Session:

    1.2 Review organizational priorities, strategy, and key initiatives.

    1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities & priorities.

    1.4 Identify business-aligned ITAM goals and target maturity.

    1.5 Write mission and vision statements.

    1.6 Define ITAM metrics and KPIs.

    Phase 2

    2.1 Define ITAM scope.

    2.2 Acquire ITAM services (outsourcing and contracting).

    2.3 Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities.

    2.4 Create a RACI for the ITAM practice.

    2.5 Align ITAM with other service management practices.

    2.6 Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations.

    2.7 Create a plan for internal and external audits.

    2.8 Improve your budget processes.

    2.9 Establish a documentation framework.

    2.10 Create a roadmap and communication plan.

    Phase Outcomes:

    Defined, business-aligned goals, priorities, and KPIs for ITAM. A concise vision and mission statement. The direction you need to establish a practical, right-sized, effective approach to ITAM for your organization.

    Before you get started

    Set yourself up for success with these three steps:
    • This methodology and the related slides are intended to be executed via intensive, collaborative working sessions using the rest of this slide deck.
    • Ensure the working sessions are a success by working through these steps before you start work on your IT asset management strategy.

    1. Identify participants

    Review recommended roles and identify who should participate in the development of your ITAM strategy.

    2. Estimate assets managed today

    Work through an initial assessment to establish ease of access to ITAM data and your level of trust in the data available to you.

    3. Create a working folder

    Create a repository to house your notes and any work in progress, including your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template.

    0.1 Identify participants

    30 minutes

    Output: List of key roles for the strategy exercises outlined in this methodology

    Participants: Project sponsor, Lead facilitator, ITAM manager and SMEs

    This methodology relies on having the right stakeholders in the room to identify ITAM goals, challenges, roles, structure, and more. On each activity slide in this deck, you’ll see an outline of the recommended participants. Use the table below to translate the recommended roles into specific people in your organization. Note that some people may fill multiple roles.

    Role Expectations People
    Project Sponsor Accountable for the overall success of the methodology. Ideally, participates in all exercises in this methodology. May be the asset manager or whoever they report to. Jake Long
    Lead Facilitator Leads, schedules, and manages all working sessions. Guides discussions and ensures activity outputs are completed. Owns and understands the methodology. Has a working knowledge of ITAM. Robert Loblaw
    Asset Manager(s) SME for the ITAM practice. Provides strategic direction to mature ITAM practices in line with organizational goals. Supports the facilitator. Eve Maldonado
    ITAM Team Hands-on ITAM professionals and SMEs. Includes the asset manager. Provide input on tactical ITAM opportunities and challenges. Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent
    IT Leaders & Managers Leaders of key stakeholder groups from across the IT department – the CIO and direct reports. Provide input on what IT needs from ITAM, and the role their teams should play in ITAM activities. May include delegates, particularly those familiar with day-to-day processes relevant to a particular discussion or exercise. Marcelina Hardy, Edmund Broughton
    ITAM Business Partners Non-IT business stakeholders for ITAM. This could include procurement, vendor management, accounting, and others. Zhang Jin, Effie Lamont
    Business Executives Organizational leaders and executives (CFO, COO, CEO, and others) or their delegates. Will participate in a mini-workshop to identify organizational goals and initiatives that can present opportunities for the ITAM practice. Jermaine Mandar, Miranda Kosuth

    0.2 Estimate asset numbers

    1 hour

    Output: Estimates of quantity and spend related to IT assets, Confidence/margin of error on estimates

    Participants: IT asset manager, ITAM team

    What do you know about your current IT environment, and how confident are you in that knowledge?

    This exercise will help you evaluate the size of the challenge ahead in terms of the raw number of assets in your environment, the spend on those assets, and the level of trust your organization has in the ITAM data.

    It is also a baseline snapshot your ability to relay key ITAM metrics quickly and confidently, so you can measure progress (in terms of greater confidence) over time.

    1. Download the estimation tracker below. Add any additional line items that are particularly important to the organization.
    2. Time-box this exercise to an hour. Use your own knowledge and existing data repositories to identify count/spend for each line item, then add a margin of error to your guess. Larger margins of error on larger counts will typically indicate larger risks.
    3. Track any assumptions, data sources used, or SMEs consulted in the comments.

    Download the IT Asset Estimation Tracker

    “Any time there is doubt about the data and it doesn’t get explained or fixed, then a new spreadsheet is born. Data validation and maintenance is critical to avoid the hidden costs of having bad data”

    Allison Kinnaird,
    Operations Practice Lead,
    Info-Tech Research Group

    0.3 Create a working folder

    15 minutes

    Output: A repository for templates and work in progress

    Participants: Lead facilitator

    Create a central repository for collaboration – it seems like an obvious step, but it’s one that gets forgotten about
    1. Download a copy of the ITAM Strategy Template.
      1. This will be the repository for all the work you do in the activities listed in this blueprint; take a moment to read it through and familiarize yourself with the contents.
    2. House the template in a shared repository that can house other related work in progress. Share this folder with participants so they can check in on your progress.
    3. You’ll see this callout box: Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template as you work through activities in this blueprint. Copy the output to the appropriate slide in the ITAM Strategy Template.
    		 Stock image of a computer screen with a tiny person putting likes on things.

    Collect action items as you go

    Don’t wait until the end to write down your good ideas.
    • The last exercise in this methodology is to gather everything you’ve learned and build a roadmap to improve the ITAM practice.
    • The output of the exercises will inform the roadmap, as they will highlight areas with opportunities for improvement.
    • Write them down as you work through the exercises, or you risk forgetting valuable ideas.
    • Keep an “idea space” – a whiteboard with sticky notes or a shared document – to which any of your participants can post an idea for improvement and that you can review and consolidate later.
    • Encourage participants to add their ideas at any time during the exercises.
    		 Pad of sticky notes, the top of which reads 'Good ideas go here!'

    Step 1.1: Brainstorm ITAM opportunities and challenges

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Rally the working group around a collection of ideas that, when taken together, create a vision for the future ITAM practice.
    • Identify your organization’s current ITAM challenges.

    “ITAM is a cultural shift more than a technology shift.” (Rory Canavan, SAM Charter)

    What is an IT Asset?

    Any piece of technology can be considered an asset, but it doesn’t mean you need to track everything. Image of three people building a computer from the inside.
    Icon of a power button.

    According to the ISO 19770 standard on ITAM, an IT Asset is “[an] item, thing, or entity that can be used to acquire, process, store and distribute digital information and has potential or actual value to an organization.”
    These are all things that IT is expected to support and manage, or that have the potential to directly impact services that IT supports and manages.

    Icon of a half-full battery.

    IT assets are distinct from capital assets. Some IT assets will also be capital assets, but not all will be. And not all capital assets are IT assets, either.

    Icon of a microphone.

    IT assets are typically tracked by IT, not by finance or accounting.
    IT needs more from their IT asset tracking system than the typical finance department can deliver.
    This can include end-user devices, software, IT infrastructure, cloud-based resources, third-party managed IT services, Internet-of-Things devices, embedded electronics, SCADA equipment, “smart” devices, and more.

    Icon of a fingerprint.

    It’s important to track IT assets in a way that enables IT to deliver value to the business – and an important part of this is understanding what not to track. This list should be aligned to the needs of your organization.

    What is IT asset management?

    • IT asset management is the practice of maintaining accurate, accessible, and actionable data on IT hardware, software, and cloud assets from procurement to disposal.
    • Trustworthy data maintained by an IT asset management practice will help your business meet its goals by managing risk, controlling costs, and enabling IT services and products.
    • ITAM tends to focus on the asset itself – its technical, financial, contractual, lifecycle, and ownership attributes – rather than its interactions or connections to other IT assets, which tends to be part of configuration management.

    What IT Asset Management is NOT:

    Configuration Management: Configuration management databases (CMDBs) often draw from the same data pool as ITAM (many configuration items are assets, and vice versa), but they focus on the interaction, interconnection, and interoperation of configuration items within the IT estate.

    In practice, many configuration items will be IT assets (or parts of assets) and vice versa. Configuration and asset teams should work closely together as they develop different but complementary views of the IT environment. Use Info-Tech’s methodology to harness configuration management superpowers.

    Organizational Data Management: Leverage a different Info-Tech methodology to develop a digital and data asset management program within Info-Tech’s DAM framework.

    “Asset management’s job is not to save the organization money, it’s not to push back on software audits.

    It’s to keep the asset database as up-to-date and as trustworthy as possible. That’s it.” (Jeremy Boerger, Consultant & Author)

    “You can’t make any real decisions on CMDB data that’s only 60% accurate.

    You start extrapolating that out, you’re going to get into big problems.” (Mike Austin, Founder & CEO, MetrixData 360)

    What is an ITAM strategy?

    Our strategy document will outline a coherent, sustainable, business-aligned approach to ITAM.

    No single approach to ITAM fits all organizations. Nor will the same approach fit the same organization at different times. A world-leading research university, a state government, and a global manufacturer all have very different goals and priorities that will be best supported by different approaches to ITAM.

    This methodology will walk you through these critical decisions that will define your approach to ITAM:

    • Business-aligned priorities, opportunities, and goals: What pressing opportunities and challenges do we face as an organization? What opportunities does this create that ITAM can seize?
    • Current and future state maturity, challenges: What is the state of the practice today? Where do we need to improve to meet our goals? What challenges stand in the way of improvement?
    • Responsibility, accountability, sourcing and (de)centralization: Who does what? Who is accountable? Where is there value to outsourcing? What authority will be centralized or decentralized?
    • Tools, policies, and procedures: What technology do we need? What’s our documentation framework?
    • Initiatives, KPIs, communication plan, and roadmap: What do we need to do, in what order, to build the ITAM practice to where we need it to be? How long do we expect this to take? How will we measure success?

    “A good strategy has coherence, coordinating actions, policies, and resources so as to accomplish an important end. Most organizations, most of the time, don’t have this.

    Instead, they have multiple goals and initiatives that symbolize progress, but no coherent approach to accomplish that progress other than ‘spend more and try harder.’” (Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt)

    Enable business value with IT asset management

    If you’ve never experienced a mature ITAM program before, it is almost certainly more rewarding than you’d expect once it’s functioning as intended.

    Each of the below activities can benefit from accessible, actionable, and accurate ITAM data.

    • Which of the activities, practices, and initiatives below have value to your organization?
    • Which could benefit most from ITAM data?
    Manage Risk: Effective ITAM practices provide data and processes that help mitigate the likelihood and impact of potentially damaging IT risks.

    ITAM supports the following practices that help manage organizational risk:

    • Security Controls Development
    • Security Incident Response
    • Security Audit Reports
    • Regulatory Compliance Reports
    • IT Risk Management
    • Technical Debt Management
    • M&A Due Diligence
    		 Optimize Spend: Asset data is essential to maintaining oversight of IT spend, ensuring that scarce resources are allocated where they can have the most impact.

    ITAM supports these activities that help optimize spend:

    • Vendor Management & Negotiations
    • IT Budget Management & Variance Analysis
    • Asset Utilization Analysis
    • FinOps & Cloud Spend Optimization
    • Showback & Chargeback
    • Software Audit Defense
    • Application Rationalization
    • Contract Consolidation
    • License and Device Reallocation
    		 Improve IT Services: Asset data can help inform solutions development and can be used by service teams to enhance and improve IT service practices.

    Use ITAM to facilitate these IT services and initiatives:

    • Solution and Enterprise Architecture
    • Service Level Management
    • Technology Procurement
    • Technology Refresh Projects
    • Incident & Problem Management
    • Request Management
    • Change Management
    • Green IT

    1.1 Brainstorm ideas to create a vision for the ITAM practice

    30 minutes

    Input: Stakeholders with a vision of what ITAM could provide, if resourced and funded adequately

    Output: A collection of ideas that, when taken together, create a vision for the future ITAM practice

    Materials: ITAM strategy template, Whiteboard or virtual whiteboard

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    It can be easy to lose sight of long-term goals when you’re stuck in firefighting mode. Let’s get the working group into a forward-looking mindset with this exercise.

    Think about what ITAM could deliver with unlimited time, money, and technology.

    1. Provide three sticky notes to each participant.
    2. Add the headings to a whiteboard, or use a blank slide as a digital whiteboard
    3. On each sticky note, ask participants to outline a single idea as follows:
      1. We could: [idea]
      2. Which would help: [stakeholder]
      3. Because: [outcome]
    4. Ask participants to present their sticky notes and post them to the whiteboard. Ask later participants to group similar ideas together.

    As you hear your peers describe what they hope and expect to achieve with ITAM, a shared vision of what ITAM could be will start to emerge.

    1.1 Identify structural ITAM challenges

    30 minutes

    Input: The list of common challenges on the next slide, Your estimated visibility into IT assets from the previous exercise, The experience and knowledge of your participants

    Output: Identify current ITAM challenges

    Materials: Your working copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    What’s standing in the way today of delivering the ITAM practices you want to achieve?

    Review the list of common challenges on the next slide as a group.

    1. Delete any challenges that don’t apply to your organization.
    2. Modify any challenges as required to reflect your organization.
    3. Add further challenges that aren’t on the list, as required.
    4. Highlight challenges that are particularly painful.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    “The problem – the reason why asset management initiatives keep falling on their face – is that people attack asset management as a problem to solve, instead of a practice and epistemological construct.” (Jeremy Boerger, Consultant & Author)

    1.1 Identify structural ITAM challenges

    Review and update the list of common challenges below to reflect your own organization.

    • Leadership and executives don’t understand the value of asset management and don’t fund or resource it.
    • Tools aren’t fit for purpose, don’t scale, or are broken.
    • There’s a cultural tendency to focus on tools over processes.
    • ITAM data is fragmented across multiple repositories.
    • ITAM data is widely viewed as untrustworthy.
    • Stakeholders respond to vendor audits before consulting ITAM, which leads to confusion and risks penalties.
    • No time for improvement; we’re always fighting fires.
    • We don’t audit our own ITAM data for accuracy.
    • End-user equipment is shared, re-assigned, or disposed without notifying or involving IT.
    • No dedicated resources.
    • Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities.
    • Technicians don’t track assets consistently; ITAM is seen as administrative busywork.
    • Many ITAM tasks are manual and prone to error.
    • Inconsistent organizational policies and procedures.
    • We try to manage too many hardware types/software titles.
    • IT is not involved in the procurement process.
    • Request and procurement is seen as slow and excessively bureaucratic.
    • Hardware/software standards don’t exist or aren’t enforced.
    • Extensive rogue purchases/shadow IT are challenging to manage via ITAM tools and processes.
    What Else?

    Copy results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 1.2: Review organizational priorities, strategy, initiatives

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • Business executives or their delegates

    Outcomes

    • Review organizational priorities and strategy.
    • Identify key initiatives.

    Enter the executives

    Deliver on leadership priorities

    • Your business’ major transformative projects and executive priorities might seem far removed from hardware and software tracking. Why would we start with business strategy and executive priorities as we’re setting goals for the ITAM program?
    • While business executives have (likely) no interest in how software and hardware is tracked, they are accountable for the outcomes ITAM can enable. They are the most likely to understand why and how ITAM can deliver value to the organization.
    • ITAM succeeds by enabling its stakeholders to achieve business outcomes. The next three activities are designed to help you identify how you can enable your stakeholders, and what outcomes are most important from their point of view. Specifically:
      • What are the business’ planned transformational initiatives?
      • What are your highest priority goals?
      • What should the priorities of the ITAM practice be?
    • The answers to these questions will shape your approach to ITAM. Direct input from your leadership and executives – or their delegates – will help ensure you’re setting a solid foundation for your ITAM practice.

    “What outcomes does the organization want from IT asset management? Often, senior managers have a clear vision for the organization and where IT needs to go, and the struggle is to communicate that down.” (Kylie Fowler, ITAM Intelligence)

    Stock image of many hands with different puzzle pieces.

    Executive Alignment Session Overview

    ITAM Strategy Working Sessions

    • Discover & Brainstorm
    • Executive Alignment Working Session
      • 1.2 Review organizational strategy, priorities, and key initiatives
      • 1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities, set ITAM priorities
    • ITAM Practice Maturity, Vision & Mission, Metrics & KPIs
    • Scope, Outsourcing, (De)Centralization, RACI
    • Service Management Integration
    • ITAM Tools
    • Audits, Budgets, Documents
    • Roadmap & Comms Plan

    A note to the lead facilitator and project sponsor:
    Consider working through these exercises by yourself ahead of time. As you do so, you’ll develop your own ideas about where these discussions may go, which will help you guide the discussion and provide examples to participants.

    1.2 Review organizational strategy and priorities

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The diagram in the next slide, and/or a whiteboard, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: Asset manager, IT leadership, Business executives or delegates

    Welcome your group to the working session and outline the next few exercises using the previous slide.

    Ask the most senior leader present to provide a summary of the following:

    1. What is the vision for the organization?
    2. What are our priorities and what must we absolutely get right?
    3. What do we expect the organization to look like in three years?

    The facilitator or a dedicated note-taker should record key points on a whiteboard or flipchart paper.

    1.2 Identify transformational initiatives

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The diagram in the next slide, and/or a whiteboard, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: Asset manager, IT leadership, Business executives or delegates

    Ask the most senior leader present to provide a summary of the following: What transformative business and IT initiatives are planned? When will they begin and end?

    Using one box per initiative, draw the initiatives in a timeline like the one below.

    Sample timeline for ITAM initiatives.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 1.3: Set business-aligned ITAM priorities

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • Business executives

    Outcomes

    • Connect executive priorities to ITAM opportunities.
    • Set business-aligned priorities for the ITAM practice.

    1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities

    45 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The diagram in the next slide, and/or a whiteboard, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: Asset manager, IT leaders and managers, Business executives or delegates

    In this exercise, we’ll use the table on the next slide to identify the top priorities of key business and IT stakeholders and connect them to opportunities for the ITAM practice.

    1. Ask your leadership or executive delegates – what are their goals? What are they trying to accomplish? List roles and related goals in the table.
    2. Brainstorm opportunities for IT asset management to support listed goals:
      1. Can ITAM provide an enhanced level of service, access, or insight?
      2. Can ITAM address an existing issue or mitigate an existing risk?

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities (example)

    ITAM is for the… Who wants to… Which presents these ITAM opportunities
    CEO Deliver transformative business initiatives Acquire the right tech at the right time to support transformational initiatives.
    Establish a data-driven culture of stewardship Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    COO Improve organizational efficiency Increase asset use.
    Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts.
    CFO Accurately forecast spending Track and anticipate IT asset spending.
    Control spending Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts.
    CIO Demonstrate IT value Use data to tell a story about value delivered by IT assets.
    Govern IT use Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    CISO Manage IT security and compliance risks Identify abandoned or out-of-spec IT assets.
    Provide IT asset data to support controls development.
    Respond to security incidents Support security incident teams with IT asset data.
    Apps Leader Build, integrate, and support applications Identify opportunities to retire applications with redundant functionality.
    Connect applications to relevant licensing and support agreements.
    IT Infra Leader Build and support IT infrastructure. Provide input on opportunities to standardize hardware and software.
    Provide IT asset data to technicians supporting end users.

    1.3 Categorize ITAM opportunities

    10-15 minutes

    Input: The outputs from the previous exercise

    Output: Executive priorities, sorted into the three categories at the right

    Materials: The table in this slide, The outputs from the previous exercise

    Participants: Lead facilitator

    Give your participants a quick break. Quickly sort the identified ITAM opportunities into the three main categories below as best you can.

    We’ll use this table as context for the next exercise.

    Example: Optimize Spend Enhance IT Services Manage Risk
    ITAM Opportunities
    • Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    • Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts.
    • Increase asset utilization.
    • Identify opportunities to retire applications with redundant functionality
    • Acquire the right tech at the right time to support transformational initiatives.
    • Provide IT asset data to technicians supporting end users.
    • Identify abandoned or out-of-spec IT assets.
    • Provide IT asset data to support controls development.
    • Support security incident teams with IT asset data.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    1.3 Set ITAM priorities

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: Whiteboard, The template on the next slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: Asset manager, IT leaders and managers, Business executives or delegates

    The objective of this exercise is to prioritize the outcomes your organization wants to achieve from its ITAM practice, given the context from the previous exercises.

    Review the image below. The three points of the triangle are the three core goals of ITAM: Enhance IT Service, Manage Risk, and Optimize Spend. This exercise was first developed by Kylie Fowler of ITAM Intelligence. It is an essential exercise to understand ITAM priorities and the tradeoffs associated with those priorities. These priorities aren’t set in stone and should be revisited periodically as technology and business priorities change.

    Draw the diagram on the next slide on a whiteboard. Have the most senior leader in the room place the dot on the triangle – the closer it is to any one of the goals, the more important that goal is to the organization. Note: The center of the triangle is off limits! It’s very rarely possible to deliver on all three at once.
    Track notes on what’s being prioritized – and why – in the template on the next slide.     		Triangle with the points labelled 'Enhance IT Service', 'Manage Risk', and 'Optimize Spend'.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    1.3 Set ITAM Priorities

    The priorities of the ITAM practice are to:
    • Optimize Spend
    • Manage Risk
    Why?
    • We believe there is significant opportunity right now to rationalize spend by consolidating key software contracts.
    • Major acquisitions are anticipated in the near future. Effective ITAM processes are expected to mitigate acquisition risk by supporting due diligence and streamlined integration of acquired organizations.
    • Ransomware and supply chain security threats have increased demands for a comprehensive accounting of IT assets to support security controls development and security incident response.
    (Update this section with notes from your discussion.)     		Triangle with the points labelled 'Enhance IT Service', 'Manage Risk', and 'Optimize Spend'. There is a dot close to the 'Optimize Spend' corner, a legend labelling the dot as 'Our Target', and a note reading 'Move this dot to reflect your priorities'.

    Step 1.4: Identify ITAM goals, target maturity

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • Connect executive priorities to ITAM opportunities.
    • Set business-aligned priorities for the ITAM practice.

    “ITAM is really no different from the other ITIL practices: to succeed, you’ll need some ratio of time, treasure, and talent… and you can make up for less of one with more of the other two.” (Jeremy Boerger, Consultant and Author)

    1.4 Identify near- and medium-term goals

    15-30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Narrow down the list of opportunities to identify specific goals for the ITAM practice.

    1. Use one color to highlight opportunities you will seize in the next year.
    2. Use a second color to highlight opportunities you plan to address in the next three years.
    3. Leave blank anything you don’t intend to address in this timeframe.

    The highlighted opportunities are your near- and medium-term objectives.

    Optimize Spend Enhance IT Services Manage Risk
    Priority Critical Normal High
    ITAM Opportunities
    • Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    • Increase asset utilization.
    • Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts.
    • Identify opportunities to retire applications with redundant functionality
    • Acquire the right tech at the right time to support transformational initiatives.
    • Provide IT asset data to technicians supporting end users.
    • Identify abandoned or out-of-spec IT assets.
    • Provide IT asset data to support controls development.
    • Support security incident teams with IT asset data.

    1.4 Connect ITAM goals to tactics

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Let’s dig down a little deeper. Connect the list of opportunities from earlier to specific ITAM tactics that allow the team to seize those opportunities.

    Add another row to the earlier table for ITAM tactics. Brainstorm tactics with your participants (e.g. sticky notes on a whiteboard) and align them with the priorities they’ll support.

    Optimize SpendEnhance IT ServicesManage Risk
    PriorityCriticalNormalHigh
    ITAM Opportunities
    • Improve data to increase IT spend transparency.
    • Increase asset utilization.
    • Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts.
    • Identify opportunities to retire applications with redundant functionality
    • Acquire the right tech at the right time to support transformational initiatives.
    • Provide IT asset data to technicians supporting end users.
    • Identify abandoned or out-of-spec IT assets.
    • Provide IT asset data to support controls development.
    • Support security incident teams with IT asset data.
    ITAM Tactics to Seize Opportunities
    • Review and improve hardware budgeting exercises.
    • Reallocate unused licenses, hardware.
    • Ensure ELP reports are up to date.
    • Validate software usage.
    • Data to support software renewal negotiations.
    • Use info from ITAM for more efficient adds, moves, changes.
    • Integrate asset records with the ticket intake system, so that when someone calls the service desk, the list of their assigned equipment is immediately available.
    • Find and retire abandoned devices or services with access to the organization’s network.
    • Report on lost/stolen devices.
    • Develop reliable disposal processes.
    • Report on unpatched devices/software.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    1.4 Identify current and target state

    20 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    We’ll use this exercise to identify the current and one-year target state of ITAM using Info-Tech’s ITAM maturity framework.

    1. Review the maturity framework on the next slide as a group.
    2. In one color, highlight statements that reflect your organization today. Summarize your current state. Are you in firefighter mode? Between “firefighter” and “trusted operator”?
    3. In a second color, highlight statements that reflect where you want to be one year from today, taking into consideration the goals and tactics identified in the last exercise.
    4. During a break, copy the highlighted statements to the table on the slide after next, then add this final slide to your working copy of the ITAM Strategy Template.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Establish current and target ITAM maturity

    IT maturity ladder with five color-coded levels. Innovator – Optimized Asset Management
    • All items from Business & Technology Partner, plus:
    • Business and IT stakeholders collaborate regularly with the ITAM team to identify new opportunities to leverage or deploy ITAM practices and data to mitigate risks, optimize spend, and improve service. The ITAM program scales with the business.
    Business & Technology Partner – Proactive Asset Management
    • All items from Trusted Operator, plus:
    • The ITAM data is integral to decisions related to budget, project planning, IT architecture, contract renewal, and vendor management. Software and cloud assets are reviewed as frequently as required to manage costs. ITAM data consumers have self-serve access to ITAM data.
    • Continuous improvement practices strengthen ITAM efficiency and effectiveness.
    • ITAM processes, standards, and related policies are regularly reviewed and updated. ITAM teams work closely with SMEs for key tools/systems integrated with ITAM (e.g. AD, ITSM, monitoring tools) to maximize the value and reliability of integrations.
    Trusted Operator – Controls Assets
    • ITAM data for deployed hardware and software is regularly audited for accuracy.
    • Sufficient staff and skills to support asset tracking, including a dedicated IT asset management role. Teams responsible for ITAM data collection cooperate effectively. Policies and procedures are documented and enforced. Key licenses and contracts are available to the ITAM team. Discovery, tracking, and analysis tools support most important use cases.
    Firefighter – Reactive Asset Tracking
    • Data is often untrustworthy, may be fragmented across multiple repositories, and typically requires significant effort to translate or validate before use.
    • Insufficient staff, fragmented or incomplete policies or documentation. Data tracking processes are extremely highly manual. Effective cooperation for ITAM data collection is challenging.
    • ITAM tools are in place, but additional configuration or tooling is needed.
    Unreliable - Struggles to Support
    • No data, or data is typically unusable.
    • No allocated staff, no cooperation between parties responsible for ITAM data collection.
    • No related policies or documentation.
    • Tools are non-existent or not fit-for-purpose.

    Current and target ITAM maturity

    Today:
    Firefighter
    • Data is often untrustworthy, is fragmented across multiple repositories, and typically requires significant effort to translate or validate before use.
    • Insufficient staff, fragmented or incomplete policies or documentation.
    • Tools are non-existent.
    In One Year:
    Trusted Operator
    • ITAM data for deployed hardware and software is regularly audited for accuracy.
    • Sufficient staff and skills to support asset tracking, including a dedicated IT asset management role.
    • Teams responsible for ITAM data collection cooperate effectively.
    • Discovery, tracking, and analysis tools support most important use cases.
    		IT maturity ladder with five color-coded levels.

    Innovator – Optimized Asset Management

    Business & Technology Partner – Proactive Asset Management

    Trusted Operator – Controls Assets

    Firefighter – Reactive Asset Tracking

    Unreliable - Struggles to Support

    Step 1.5: Write mission and vision statements

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • Write a mission statement that encapsulates the purpose and intentions of the ITAM practice today.
    • Write a vision statement that describes what the ITAM practice aspires to become and achieve.

    Write vision and mission statements

    Create two statements to summarize the role of the ITAM practice today – and where you want it to be in the future.

    Create two short, compelling statements that encapsulate:
    • The vision for what we want the ITAM practice to be in the future; and
    • The mission – the purpose and intentions – of the ITAM practice today.

    Why bother creating mission and vision statements? After all, isn’t it just rehashing or re-writing all the work we’ve just done? Isn’t that (at best) a waste of time?

    There are a few very important reasons to create mission and vision statements:

    • Create a compass that can guide work today and your roadmap for the future.
    • Focus on the few things you must do, rather than the many things you could do.
    • Concisely communicate a compelling vision for the ITAM practice to a larger audience who (let’s face it) probably won’t read the entire ITAM Strategy deck.

    “Brevity is the soul of wit.” (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2)

    “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” (Mark Twain)

    1.5 Write an ITAM vision statement

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: A whiteboard, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT Leaders and managers

    Your vision statement describes the ITAM practice as it will be in the far future. It is a target to aspire to, beyond your ability to achieve in the near or medium term.

    Examples of ITAM vision statements:

    Develop the single accurate view of IT assets, available to anyone who needs it.

    Indispensable data brokers that support strategic decisions on the IT environment.

    Provide sticky notes to participants. Write out the three questions below on a whiteboard side by side. Have participants write their answers to the questions and post them below the appropriate question. Give everyone 10 minutes to write and post their ideas.

    1. What’s the desired future state of the ITAM practice?
    2. What needs to be done to achieved this desired state?
    3. How do we want ITAM to be perceived in this desired state?

    Review the answers and combine them into one focused vision statement. Use the 20x20 rule: take no more than 20 minutes and use no more than 20 words. If you’re not finished after 20 minutes, the ITAM manager should make any final edits offline.

    Document your vision statement in your ITAM Strategy Template.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    1.5 Write an ITAM mission statement

    30 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Your ITAM mission statement is an expression of what your IT asset management function brings to your organization today. It should be presented in straightforward language that is compelling, easy to understand, and sharply focused.

    Examples of ITAM mission statements:

    Maintain accurate, actionable, accessible on data on all IT assets.

    Support IT and the business with centralized and integrated asset data.

    Provide sticky notes to participants. Write out the questions below on a whiteboard side by side. Have participants write their answers to the questions and post them below the appropriate question. Give everyone 10 minutes to write and post their ideas.

    1. What is our role as the asset management team?
    2. How do we support the IT and business strategies?
    3. What does our asset management function offer that no one else can?

    Review the answers and combine them into one focused vision statement. Use the 20x20 rule: take no more than 20 minutes and use no more than 20 words. If you’re not finished after 20 minutes, the ITAM manager should make any final edits offline.

    Document your vision statement in your ITAM Strategy Template.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 1.6: Define ITAM metrics and KPIs

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • Identify metrics, data, or reports that may be of interest to different consumers of ITAM data.
    • Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the ITAM practice, based on the goals and priorities established earlier.

    Navigate a universe of ITAM metrics

    When you have the data, how will you use it?

    • There’s a dizzying array of potential metrics you can develop and track across your ITAM environment.
    • Different stakeholders will need different data feeds, metrics, reports, and dashboards.
    • Different measures will be useful at different times. You will often need to filter or slice the data in different ways (by department, timeframe, equipment type, etc.)
    • We’ll use the next few exercises to identify the types of metrics that may be useful to different stakeholders and the KPIs to measure progress towards ITAM goals and priorities.

    ITAM Metrics

    • Quantity
      e.g. # of devices or licenses
    • Cost
      e.g. average laptop cost
    • Compliance
      e.g. effective license position reports
    • Progress
      e.g. ITAM roadmap items completed
    • Quality
      e.g. ITAM data accuracy rate
    • Time
      e.g. time to procure/ deploy

    Drill down by:

    • Vendor
    • Date
    • Dept.
    • Product
    • Location
    • Cost Center
    • …

    Develop different metrics for different teams

    A few examples:

    • CIOs — CIOs need asset data to govern technology use, align to business needs, and demonstrate IT value. What do we need to budget for hardware and software in the next year? Where can we find money to support urgent new initiatives? How many devices and software titles do we manage compared to last year? How has IT helped the business achieve key goals?
    • Asset Managers — Asset managers require data to help them oversee ITAM processes, technology, and staff, and to manage the fleet of IT assets they’re expected to track. What’s the accuracy rate of ITAM data? What’s the state of integrations between ITAM and other systems and processes? How many renewals are coming up in the next 90 days? How many laptops are in stock?
    • IT Leaders — IT managers need data that can support their teams and help them manage the technology within their mandate. What technology needs to be reviewed or retired? What do we actually manage?
    • Technicians — Service desk technicians need real-time access to data on IT assets to support service requests and incident management – for example, easy access to the list of equipment assigned to a particular user or installed in a particular location.
    • Business Managers and Executives — Business managers and executives need concise, readable dashboards to support business decisions about business use of IT assets. What’s our overall asset spend? What’s our forecasted spend? Where could we reallocate spend?

    1.6 Identify useful ITAM metrics and reports

    60 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Use this exercise to identify as many potentially useful ITAM metrics and reports as possible, and narrow them down to a few high-priority metrics. Leverage the list of example metrics on the next slide for your own exercise. If you have more than six participants, consider splitting into two or more groups, and divide the table between groups to minimize overlap.

    1. List potential consumers of ITAM data in the column on the left.
    2. What type of information do we think this role needs? What questions about IT assets do we get on a regular basis from this role or team?
    3. Review and consolidate the list as a group. Discuss and highlight any metrics the group thinks are a particularly high priority for tracking.
    Role Compliance Quality Quantity Cost Time Progress
    IT Asset Manager Owned devices not discovered in last 60 days Discrepancies between discovery data and ITAM DB records # of corporate-owned devices Spend on hardware (recent and future/ planned) Average time, maximum time to deploy end-user devices Number of ITAM roadmap items in progress
    Service Desk …

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Examples of ITAM metrics

    Compliance Quality Quantity Cost Time/Duration/Age Progress
    Owned devices not discovered in last 60 days Discrepancies between discovery data and ITAM DB records # of corporate-owned devices Spend on hardware (recent and future/planned) Average time, maximum time to deploy end-user devices Number of ITAM roadmap items in progress or completed
    Disposed devices without certificate of destruction Breakage rates (in and out of warranty) by vendor # of devices running software title X, # of licenses for software title X Spend on software (recent and future/planned) Average time, maximum time to deploy end user software Number of integrations between ITAM DB and other sources
    Discrepancies between licenses and install count, by software title RMAs by vendor, model, equipment type Number of requests by equipment model or software title Spend on cloud (recent and future/planned) Average & total time spent on software audit responses Number of records in ITAM database
    Compliance reports (e.g. tied to regulatory compliance or grant funding) Tickets by equipment type or software title Licenses issued from license pool in the last 30 days Value of licenses issued from license pool in the last 30 days (cost avoidance) Devices by age Software titles with an up-to-date ELP report
    Reports on lost and stolen devices, including last assigned, date reported stolen, actions taken User device satisfaction scores, CSAT scores Number of devices retired or donated in last year Number of IT-managed capital assets Number of hardware/software request tickets beyond time-to-fulfil targets Number of devices audited (by ITAM team via self-audit)
    Number of OS versions, unpatched systems Number of devices due for refresh in the next year Spend saved by harvesting unused software Number of software titles, software vendors managed by ITAM team
    Audit accuracy rate Equipment in stock Cost savings from negotiations
    # of users assigned more than one device Number of non-standard devices or requests Dollars charged during audit or true-up

    Differentiate between metrics and KPIs

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics with targets aligned to goals.

    Targets could include one or more of:

    • Target state (e.g. completed)
    • Target magnitude (e.g. number, percent, rate, dollar amount)
    • Target direction (e.g. trending up or down)

    You may track many metrics, but you should have only a few KPIs (typically 2-3 per objective).

    A breached KPI should be a trigger to investigate and remediate the root cause of the problem, to ensure progress towards goals and priorities can continue.

    Which KPIs you track will change over the life of the practice, as ITAM goals and priorities shift. For example, KPIs may initially track progress towards maturing ITAM practices. Once you’ve reached target maturity, KPIs may shift to track whether the key service targets are being met.

    1.6 Identify ITAM KPIs

    20 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Good KPIs are a more objective measure of whether you’re succeeding in meeting the identified priorities for the ITAM practice.

    Identify metrics that can measure progress or success against the priorities and goals set earlier. Aim for around three metrics per goal. Identify targets for the metric you think are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound). Track your work using the example table below.

    Goal Metric Target
    Consolidate major software contracts to drive discounts Amount spent on top 10 software contracts Decrease by 10% by next year
    Customer satisfaction scores with enterprise software Satisfaction is equal to or better than last year
    Value of licenses issued from license pool 30% greater than last year
    Identify abandoned or out-of-spec IT assets # of security incidents involving undiscovered assets Zero
    % devices with “Deployed” status in ITAM DB but not discovered for 30+ days ‹1% of all records in ITAM DB
    Provide IT asset data to technicians for service calls Customer satisfaction scores Satisfaction is equal to or better than last year
    % of end-user devices meeting minimum standards 97%

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy

    Phase 2:

    Identify your approach to support ITAM priorities and goals

    Phase 1

    1.1 Define ITAM and brainstorm opportunities and challenges.

    Executive Alignment Working Session:

    1.2 Review organizational priorities, strategy, and key initiatives.

    1.3 Align executive priorities with ITAM opportunities & priorities.

    1.4 Identify business-aligned ITAM goals and target maturity.

    1.5 Write mission and vision statements.

    1.6 Define ITAM metrics and KPIs.

    Phase 2

    2.1 Define ITAM scope.

    2.2 Acquire ITAM services (outsourcing and contracting).

    2.3 Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities.

    2.4 Create a RACI for the ITAM practice.

    2.5 Align ITAM with other service management practices.

    2.6 Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations.

    2.7 Create a plan for internal and external audits.

    2.8 Improve your budget processes.

    2.9 Establish a documentation framework.

    2.10 Create a roadmap and communication plan.

    Phase Outcomes:

    Establish an approach to achieving ITAM goals and priorities, including scope, structure, tools, service management integrations, documentation, and more.

    Create a roadmap that enables you to realize your approach.

    Step 2.1: Define ITAM Scope

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Establish what types of equipment and software you’ll track through the ITAM practice.
    • Establish which areas of the business will be in scope of the ITAM practice.

    Determine ITAM Scope

    Focus on what’s most important and then document it so everyone understands where they can provide the most value.

    Not all categories of assets require the same level of tracking, and some equipment and software should be excluded from the ITAM practice entirely.

    In some organizations, portions of the environment won’t be tracked by the asset management team at all. For example, some organizations will choose to delegate tracking multi-function printers (MFPs) or proprietary IoT devices to the department or vendor that manages them.

    Due to resourcing or technical limitations, you may decide that certain equipment or software is out of scope for the moment.

    What do other organizations typically track in detail?
    • Installs and entitlements for major software contracts that represent significant spend and/or are highly critical to business goals.
    • Equipment managed directly by IT that needs to be refreshed on a regular cycle:
      • End-user devices such as laptops, desktops, and tablets.
      • Server, network, and telecoms devices.
    • High value equipment that is not regularly refreshed may also be tracked, but in less detail – for example, you may not refresh large screen TVs, but you may need to track date of purchase, deployed location, vendor, and model for insurance or warranty purposes.

    2.1 Establish scope for ITAM

    45 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: ITAM scope, in terms of types of assets tracked and not tracked

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    Establish the hardware and software that are within the scope of the ITAM program by updating the tables below to reflect your own environment. The “out of scope” category will include asset types that may be of value to track in the future but for which the capability or need don’t exist today.

    Hardware Software Out of Scope
    • End-user devices housing data or with a dollar value of more than $300, which will be replaced through lifecycle refresh.
    • Infrastructure devices, including network, telecom, video conferencing, servers and more
    • End-user software purchased under contract
    • Best efforts on single license purchases
    • Infrastructure software, including solutions used by IT to manage the infrastructure
    • Enterprise applications
    • Cloud (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS)
    • Departmental applications
    • Open-source applications
    • In-house developed applications
    • Freeware & shareware
    • IoT devices

    The following locations will be included in the ITAM program: All North and South America offices and retail locations.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.2: Acquire ITAM Services

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Define the type of work that may be more effectively or efficiently delivered by an outsourcer or contractor.

    “We would like our clients to come to us with an idea of where they want to get to. Why are you doing this? Is it for savings? Because you want to manage your security attack surface? Are there digital initiatives you want to move forward? What is the end goal?” (Mike Austin, MetrixData 360)

    Effectively acquire ITAM services

    Allow your team to focus on strategic, value-add activities by acquiring services that free them from commodity tasks.
    • When determining which asset capabilities and activities are best kept in-house and which ones are better handled by a supplier, it is imperative to keep the value to the business in mind.
    • Activities/capabilities that are challenging to standardize and are critical to enabling business goals are better kept in-house.
    • Activities/capabilities that are (or should be) standardized and automated are ideal candidates for outsourcing.
    • Outsourcing can be effective and successful with a narrow scope of engagement and an alignment to business outcomes.
    • Organizations that heavily weigh cost reduction as a significant driver for outsourcing are far less likely to realize the value they expected to receive.
    		 Business Enablement
    • Supports business-aligned ITAM opportunities & priorities
    • Highly specialized
    • Offers competitive advantages
    		 Map with axes 'Business Enablement' and 'Vendor's Performance Advantage' for determining whether or not to outsource.
    Vendor’s Performance Advantage
    • Talent or access to skills
    • Economies of scale
    • Access to technology
    • Does not require deep knowledge of your business

    Decide what to outsource

    It’s rarely all or nothing.

    Ask yourself:
    • How important is this activity or capability to ITAM, IT, and business priorities and goals?
    • Is it a non-commodity IT service that can improve customer satisfaction?
    • Is it a critical service to the business and the specialized knowledge must remain in-house?
    • Does the function require access to talent or skills not currently available in-house, and is cost-prohibitive to obtain?
    • Are there economies of scale that can help us meet growing demand?
    • Does the vendor provide access to best-of-breed tools and solutions that can handle the integration, management, maintenance and support of the complete system?

    You may ultimately choose to engage a single vendor or a combination of multiple vendors who can best meet your ITAM needs.

    Establishing effective vendor management processes, where you can maximize the amount of service you receive while relying on the vendor’s expertise and ability to scale, can help you make your asset management practice a net cost-saver.

    		ITAM activities and capabilities
    • Contract review
    • Software audit management
    • Asset tagging
    • Asset disposal and recycling
    • Initial ITAM record creation
    • End-user device imaging
    • End-user device deployment
    • End-user software provisioning
    • End-user image management
    • ITAM database administration
    • ELP report creation
    • ITAM process management
    • ITAM report generation
    		 ITAM-adjacent activities and capabilities
    • Tier 1 support/service desk
    • Deskside/field support
    • Tier 3 support
    • IT Procurement
    • Device management/managed IT services
    • Budget development
    • Applications development, maintenance
    • Infrastructure hosting (e.g. cloud or colocation)
    • Infrastructure management and support
    • Discovery/monitoring tools management and support

    2.2 Identify outsourcing opportunities

    1-2 hours

    Input: Understanding of current ITAM processes and challenges

    Output: Understanding of potential outsourcing opportunities

    Materials: The table in this slide, and insight in previous slides, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    At a high level, discuss which functions of ITAM are good candidates for outsourcing.

    Start with the previous slide for examples of outsourcing activities or capabilities directly related to or adjacent to the ITAM practice. Categorize these activities as follows:

    Outsource Potentially Outsource Insource
    • Asset disposal/recycling
    • ELP report creation
    • ITAM process management

    Go through the list of activities to potentially or definitely outsource and confirm:

    1. Will outsourcing solve a resourcing need for an existing process, or can you deliver this adequately in-house?
    2. Will outsourcing improve the effectiveness and efficiency of current processes? Will it deliver more effective service channels or improved levels of reliability and performance consistency?
    3. Will outsourcing provide or enable enhanced service capabilities that your IT customers could use, and which you cannot deliver in-house due to lack of scale or capacity?

    Answering “no” to more than one of these questions suggests a need to further review options to ensure the goals are aligned with the potential value of the service offerings available.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.3: Centralize or decentralize ITAM capabilities

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Outline where the team(s) responsible for ITAM sit across the organization, who they report to, and who they need to work with across IT and the business.

    Align ITAM with IT’s structure

    ITAM’s structure will typically align with the larger business and IT structure. The wrong structure will undermine your ability to meet ITAM goals and lead to frustration, missed work, inefficiency, and loss of value.

    Which of the four archetypes below reflects the structure you need?

    1. Centralized — ITAM is entirely centralized in a single function, which reports into a central IT department.
    2. Decentralized — Local IT groups are responsible and accountable for ITAM. They may coordinate informally but do not report to any central team.
    3. Hybrid-Shared Services — Local IT can opt in to shared services but must follow centrally set ITAM practices to do so, usually with support from a shared ITAM function.
    4. Hybrid-Federated — Local IT departments are free to develop their own approach to ITAM outside of core, centrally set requirements.

    Centralized ITAM

    Total coordination, control, and oversight

    • ITAM accountability, policies, tools, standards, and expertise – in this model, they’re all concentrated in a single, specialized IT asset management practice. Accountability, authority, and oversight are concentrated in the central function as well.
    • A central ITAM team will benefit from knowledge sharing and task specialization opportunities. They are a visible single point of contact for ITAM-related questions
    • The central ITAM team will coordinate ITAM activities across the organization to optimize spend, manage risk, and enhance service. Any local IT teams are supported by and directly answerable to the central ITAM team for ITAM activities.
    • There is a single, centrally managed ITAM database. Wherever possible, this database should be integrated with other tools to support cross-solution automation (e.g. integrate AD to automatically reflect user identity changes in the ITAM database).
    • This model drives cross-organization coordination and oversight, but it may not be responsive to specific and nuanced local requirements.
    		 Example: Centralized
    Example of a Centralized ITAM.

    Solid line. Direct reporting relationship

    Dotted line. Dotted line working or reporting relationship

    Decentralized ITAM

    Maximize choice

    • ITAM accountability and oversight are entirely devolved to local or regional IT and/or ITAM organizations, which are free to set their own priorities, goals, policies, and standards. This model maximizes the authority of local groups to build practices that meet local requirements.
    • It may be challenging to resource and mature local practices. ITAM maturity will vary from one local organization to the next.
    • It is more likely that ITAM managers are a part-time role, and sometimes even a non-IT role. Local ITAM teams or coordinators may coordinate and share knowledge informally, but specialization can be challenging to build or leverage effectively across the organization.
    • There is likely no central ITAM tool. Local tools may be acquired, implemented, and integrated by local IT departments to suit their own needs, which can make it very difficult to report on assets organization-wide – for example, to establish compliance on an enterprise software contract.
    		Example: Decentralized


    Example of a Decentralized ITAM.

    Solid line. Direct reporting relationship

    Dotted line. Dotted line working or reporting relationship

    Blue dotted line. Informal working relationships, knowledge sharing

    Hybrid: Federation

    Centralization with a light touch

    • A middle ground between centralized and decentralized ITAM, this model balances centralized decision making, specialization, and governance with local autonomy.
    • A central team will define organization-wide ITAM goals, develop capabilities, policies, and standards, and monitor compliance by local and central teams. All local teams must comply with centrally defined requirements, but they can also develop further capabilities to meet local goals.
    • For example, there will typically be a central ITAM database that must be used for at least a subset of assets, but other teams may build their own databases for day-to-day operations and export data to the central database as required.
    • There are often overlapping responsibilities in this model. A strong collaborative relationship between central and local ITAM teams is especially important here, particularly after major changes to requirements, processes, tools, or staffing when issues and breakdowns are more likely.
    		Example: Federation


    Example of a Federation ITAM.

    Solid line. Direct reporting relationship

    Purple solid line. Oversight/governance

    Dotted line. Dotted line working or reporting relationship

    Hybrid: Shared Services

    Optional centralization

    • A special case of federated ITAM that balances central control and local autonomy, but with more power given to local IT to opt out of centralized shared services that come with centralized ITAM requirements.
    • ITAM requirements set by the shared services team will support management, allocation, and may have showback or chargeback implications. Following the ITAM requirements is a condition of service. If a local organization chooses to stop using shared services, they are (naturally) no longer required to adhere to the shared services ITAM requirements.
    • As with the federated model, local teams may develop further capabilities to meet local goals.
    		Example: Shared Services


    Example of a Shared Services ITAM.

    Solid line. Direct reporting relationship

    Dotted line. Dotted line working relationship

    Blue dotted line. Informal working relationships, knowledge sharing

    Structure data collection & analysis

    Consider the implications of structure on data.

    Why centralize?
    • There is a need to build reports that aggregate data on assets organization-wide, rather than just assets within a local environment.
    • Decentralized ITAM tracking isn’t producing accurate or usable data, even for local purposes.
    • Tracking tools have overlapping functionality. There’s an opportunity to rationalize spend, management and support for ITAM tools.
    • Contract centralization can optimize spend and manage risks, but only with the data required to manage those contracts.
    		 Why decentralize?
    • Tracking and reporting on local assets is sufficient to meet ITAM goals; there is limited or no need to track assets organization-wide.
    • Local teams have the skills to track and maintain asset data; subsidiaries have appropriate budgets and tools to support ITAM tracking.
    • Decentralized ITSM/ITAM tools are in place, populated, and accurate.
    • The effort to consolidate tools and processes may outweigh the benefits to data centralization.
    • Lots of variability in types of assets and the environment is stable.
    Requirements for success:
    • A centralized IT asset management solution is implemented and managed.
    • Local teams must understand the why and how of centralized data tracking and be held accountable for assigned responsibilities.
    • The asset tool should offer both centralized and localized views of the data.
    		 Requirements for success:
    • Guidelines and expectations for reporting to centralized asset management team will be well defined and supported.
    • Local asset managers will have opportunity to collaborate with others in the role for knowledge transfer and asset trading, where appropriate.

    Structure budget and contract management

    Contract consolidation creates economies of scale for vendor management and license pooling that strengthen your negotiating position with vendors and optimize spend.

    Why centralize?
    • Budgeting, governance, and accountability are already centralized. Centralized ITAM practices can support the existing governance practices.
    • Centralizing contract management and negotiation can optimize spend and/or deliver access to better service.
    • Centralize management for contracts that cover most of the organization, are highly complex, involve large spend and/or higher risk, and will benefit from specialization of asset staff.
    		 Why decentralize?
    • Budgeting, governance, and accountability rest with local organizations.
    • There may be increased need for high levels of customer responsiveness and support.
    • Decentralize contract management for contracts used only by local groups (e.g. a few divisions, a few specialized functions), and that are smaller, low risk, and come with standard terms and conditions.
    Requirements for success:
    • A centralized IT asset management solution is implemented and managed.
    • Contract terms must be harmonized across the organization.
    • Centralized fulfillment is as streamlined as possible. For example, software contracts should include the right to install at any time and pay through a true-up process.
    		 Requirements for success:
    • Any expectations for harmonization with the centralized asset management team will be well defined and supported.
    • Local asset managers can collaborate with other local ITAM leads to support knowledge transfer, asset swapping, etc.

    Structure technology management

    Are there opportunities to centralize or decentralize support functions?

    Why centralize?
    • Standard technologies are deployed organization-wide.
    • There are opportunities to improve service and optimize costs by consolidating knowledge, service contracts, and support functions.
    • Centralizing data on product supply allows for easier harvest and redeployment of assets by a central support team.
    • A stable, central support function can better support localized needs during seasonal staffing changes, mergers and acquisitions.
    		 Why decentralize?
    • Technology is unique to a local subset of users or customers.
    • Minimal opportunity for savings or better support by consolidating knowledge, service contracts, or support functions.
    • Refresh standards are set at a local level; new tech adoption may be impeded by a reliance on older technologies, local budget shortfalls, or other constraints.
    • Hardware may need to be managed locally if shipping costs and times can’t reasonably be met by a distant central support team.
    Requirements for success:
    • Ensure required processes, technologies, skills, and knowledge are in place to enable centralized support.
    • Keep a central calendar of contract renewals, including reminders to start work on the renewal no less than 90 days prior. Prioritize contracts with high dollar value or high risk.
    • The central asset management solution should be configured to provide data that can enable the central support team.
    		 Requirements for success:
    • Ensure required processes, technologies, skills, and knowledge are in place to enable decentralized support.
    • Decentralized support teams must understand and adhere to ITAM activities that are part of support work (e.g. data entry, data audits).
    • The central asset management solution should be configured to provide data that can enable the central support team, or decentralized asset solutions must be funded, and teams trained on their use.

    2.3 Review ITAM Structure

    1-2 hours

    Input: Understanding of current organizational structure, Understanding of challenges and opportunities related to the current structure

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    Outline the current model for your organization and identify opportunities to centralize or decentralize ITAM-related activities.

    1. What model best describes how ITAM should be structured in your organization? Modify the slide outlining structure as a group to outline your own organization, as required.
    2. In the table below, outline opportunities to centralize or decentralize data tracking, budget and contract management, and technology management activities.
    Centralize Decentralize
    Data collection & analysis
    • Make better use of central ITAM database.
    • Support local IT departments building runbooks for data tracking during lifecycle activities (create templates, examples)
    Budget and contract management
    • Centralize Microsoft contracts.
    • Create a runbook to onboard new companies to MSFT contracts.
    • Create tools and data views to support local department budget exercises.
    Technology management
    • Ensure all end-user devices are visible to centrally managed InTune, ConfigMgr.
    • Enable direct shipping from vendor to local sites.
    • Establish disposal/pickup at local sites.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.4: Create a RACI

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Review the role of the IT asset manager.
    • Identify who’s responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for key ITAM activities.

    Empower your asset manager

    The asset manager is the critical ITAM role. Ensure they’re positioned to succeed.

    There’s too much change in the technology and business environment to expect ITAM to be “a problem to solve.” It is a practice that requires care and feeding through regular iteration to achieve success. At the helm of this practice is your asset manager, whose approach and past experience will have a significant impact on how you approach ITAM.

    The asset manager role requires a variety of skills, knowledge, and abilities including:

    • Operations, process, and practice management.
    • An ability to communicate, influence, negotiate, and facilitate.
    • Organizational knowledge and relationship management.
    • Contract and license agreement analysis, attention to detail.
    • Natural curiosity and a willingness to learn.
    • A strong understanding of technologies in use by the organization, and how they fit into the asset management program.
    Where the asset manager sits in the organization will also have an impact on their focus and priorities. When the asset manager reports into a service team, their focus will often reflect their team’s focus: end-user devices and software, customer satisfaction, request fulfillment. Asset teams that report into a leadership or governance function will be more likely to focus on organization-wide assets, governance, budget management, and compliance.

    “Where your asset manager sits, and what past experience they have, is going to influence how they do asset management.” (Jeremy Boerger, Consultant & Author)

    “It can be annoying at times, but a good IT asset manager will poke their nose into activities that do not obviously concern them, such as programme and project approval boards and technical design committees. Their aim is to identify and mitigate ITAM risks BEFORE the technology is deployed as well as to ensure that projects and solutions ‘bake in’ the necessary processes and tools that ensure IT assets can be managed effectively throughout their lifecycle.” (Kylie Fowler, ITAM by Design, 2017)

    IT asset managers must have a range of skills and knowledge

    • ITAM Operations, Process, and Practice Management
      The asset manager is typically responsible for managing and improving the ITAM practice and related processes and tools. The asset manager may administer the ITAM tool, develop reports and dashboards, evaluate and implement new technologies or services to improve ITAM maturity, and more.
    • Organizational Knowledge
      An effective IT asset manager has a good understanding of your organization and its strategy, products, stakeholders, and culture.
    • Technology & Product Awareness
      An IT asset manager must learn about new and changing technologies and products adopted by the organization (e.g. IoT, cloud) and develop recommendations on how to track and manage them via the ITAM practice.
    		 A book surrounded by icons corresponding to the bullet points.
    • People Management
      Asset managers often manage a team directly and have dotted-line reports across IT and the business.
    • Communication
      Important in any role, but particularly critical where learning, listening, negotiation, and persuasion are so critical.
    • Finance & Budgeting
      A foundational knowledge of financial planning and budgeting practices is often helpful, where the asset manager is asked to contribute to these activities.
    • Contract Review & Analysis
      Analyze new and existing contracts to evaluate changes, identify compliance requirements, and optimize spend.

    Assign ITAM responsibilities and accountabilities

    Align authority and accountability.
    • A RACI exercise will help you discuss and document accountability and responsibility for critical ITAM activities.
    • When responsibility and accountability are not currently well documented, it’s often useful to invite a representative of the roles identified to participate in this alignment exercise. The discussion can uncover contrasting views on responsibility and governance, which can help you build a stronger management and governance model.
    • The RACI chart can help you identify who should be involved when making changes to a given activity. Clarify the variety of responsibilities assigned to each key role.
    • In the future, you may need to define roles in more detail as you change your hardware and software asset management procedures.

    R

    		 Responsible: The person who actually gets the job done.

    Different roles may be responsible for different aspects of the activity relevant to their role.

    A

    		 Accountable: The one role accountable for the activity (in terms completion, quality, cost, etc.)

    Must have sufficient authority to be held accountable; responsible roles are often accountable to this role.

    C

    		 Consulted: Must have the opportunity to provide meaningful input at certain points in the activity.

    Typically, subject matter experts or stakeholders. The more people you must consult, the more overhead and time you’ll add to a process.

    I

    		 Informed: Receives information regarding the task, but has no requirement to provide feedback.

    Information might relate to process execution, changes, or quality.

    2.4 Conduct a RACI Exercise

    1-2 hours

    Input: An understanding of key roles and activities in ITAM practices, An understanding of your organization, High-level structure of your ITAM program

    Output: A RACI diagram for IT asset management

    Materials: The table in the next slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    Let’s face it – RACI exercises can be dry. We’ve found that the approach below is more collaborative, engaging, and effective compared to filling out the table as a large group.

    1. Create a shared working copy of the RACI charts on the following slides (e.g. write it out on a whiteboard or provide a link to this document and work directly in it).
    2. Review the list of template roles and activities as a group. Add, change, or remove roles and activities from the table as needed.
    3. Divide into small groups. Assign each group a set of roles, and have them define whether that role is accountable, responsible, consulted, or informed for each activity in the chart. Refer to the previous slide for context on RACI. Give everyone 15 minutes to update their section of the chart.
    4. Come back together as a large group to review the chart. First, check for accountability – there should generally be just one role accountable for each activity. Then, have each small group walk through their section, and encourage participants to ask questions. Is there at least one role responsible for each task, and what are they responsible for? Does everyone listed as consulted or informed really need to be? Make any necessary adjustments.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Define ITAM governance activities

    RACI Chart for ITAM governance activities. In the first column is a list of governance activities, and the row headers are positions within a company. Fields are marked with an R, A, C, or I.

    Document asset management responsibilities and accountabilities

    RACI Chart for ITAM asset management responsibilities and accountabilities. In the first column is a list of responsibilities and accountabilities, and the row headers are positions within a company. Fields are marked with an R, A, C, or I.

    Step 2.5: Align ITAM with other Service Management Practices

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • Establish shared and separate responsibilities for asset and configuration management.
    • Identify how ITAM can support other practices, and how other practices can support ITAM.

    Asset vs. Configuration

    Asset and configuration management look at the same world through different lenses.
    • IT asset management tends to focus on each IT asset in its own right: assignment or ownership, its lifecycle, and related financial obligations and entitlements.
    • Configuration management is focused on configuration items (CIs) that must be managed to deliver a service and the relationships and integrations to other CIs.
    • ITAM and configuration management teams and practices should work closely together. Though asset and configuration management focus on different outcomes, they tend use overlapping tools and data sets. Each practice, when working effectively, can strengthen the other.
    • Many objects will exist in both the CMDB and AMDB, and the data on those shared objects will need to be kept in sync.
    Asset and Configuration Management: An Example

    Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

    A database of uniquely identified configuration items (CIs). Each CI record may include information on:
    Service Attributes

    Supported Service(s)
    Service Description, Criticality, SLAs
    Service Owners
    Data Criticality/Sensitivity

    CI Relationships

    Physical Connections
    Logical Connections
    Dependencies

    		Arrow connector.

    Discovery, Normalization, Dependency Mapping, Business Rules*

    Manual Data Entry
    Arrow connector.
    This shared information could be attached to asset records, CI records, or both, and it should be synchronized between the two databases where it’s tracked in both.
    Hardware Information

    Serial, Model and Specs
    Network Address
    Physical Location

    Software Installations

    Hypervisor & OS
    Middleware & Software
    Software Configurations

    		Arrow connector.

    Asset Management Database (AMDB)

    A database of uniquely identified IT assets. Each asset record may include information on:
    Procurement/Purchasing

    Purchase Request/Purchase Order
    Invoice and Cost
    Cost Center
    Vendor
    Contracts and MSAs
    Support/Maintenance/Warranties

    Asset Attributes

    Model, Title, Product Info, License Key
    Assigned User
    Lifecycle Status
    Last ITAM Audit Date
    Certificate of Disposal

    Arrows connecting multiple fields.

    IT Security Systems

    Vulnerability Management
    Threat Management
    SIEM
    Endpoint Protection

    IT Service Management (ITSM) System

    Change Tickets
    Request Tickets
    Incident Tickets
    Problem Tickets
    Project Tickets
    Knowledgebase

    Financial System/ERP

    General Ledger
    Accounts Payable
    Accounts Receivable
    Enterprise Assets
    Enterprise Contract Database

    (*Discovery, dependency mapping, and data normalization are often features or modules of configuration management, asset management, or IT service management tools.)

    2.5 Integrate ITAM and configuration practices

    45 minutes

    Input: Knowledge of the organization’s configuration management processes

    Output: Define how ITAM and configuration management will support one another

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, Configuration manager

    Work through the table below to identify how you will collaborate and synchronize data across ITAM and configuration management practices and tools.

    What are the goals (if any currently exist) for the configuration management practice? Connect configuration items to services to support service management.
    How will configuration and asset management teams collaborate? Weekly status updates. As-needed working sessions.
    Shared visibility on each others’ Kanban tracker.
    Create tickets to raise and track issues that require collaboration or attention from the other team.
    How can config leverage ITAM? Connect CIs to financial, contractual, and ownership data.
    How can ITAM leverage config? Connect assets to services, changes, incidents.
    What key fields will be primarily tracked/managed by ITAM? Serial number, unique ID, user, location, PO number, …
    What key fields will be primarily tracked/managed by configuration management? Supported service(s), dependencies, service description, service criticality, network address…

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    ITAM supports service management

    Decoupling asset management from other service management practices can result in lost value. Establish how asset management can support other service management practices – and how those practices can support ITAM.

    Incident Management

    What broke?
    Was it under warranty?
    Is there a service contract?
    Was it licensed?
    Who was it assigned to?
    Is it end-of-life?

    ITAM
    Practice

    		 Request Management

    What can this user request or purchase?
    What are standard hardware and software offerings?
    What does the requester already have?
    Are there items in inventory to fulfil the request?
    Did we save money by reissuing equipment?
    Is this a standard request?
    What assets are being requested regularly?

    What IT assets are related to the known issue?
    What models and vendors are related to the issue?
    Are the assets covered by a service contract?
    Are other tickets related to this asset?
    What end-of-life assets have been tied to incidents recently?

    Problem Management

    What assets are related to the change?
    Is the software properly licensed?
    Has old equipment been properly retired and disposed?
    Have software licenses been returned to the pool?
    Is the vendor support on the change part of a service contract?

    Change Enablement

    2.5. Connect with other IT service practices

    45 minutes

    Input: Knowledge of existing organizational IT service management processes

    Output: Define how ITAM will help other service management processes, and how other service management processes will help ITAM

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, Service leads

    Complete the table below to establish what ITAM can provide to other service management practices, and what other practices can provide to ITAM.

    Practice ITAM will help Will help ITAM
    Incident Management Provide context on assets involved in an incident (e.g. ownership, service contracts). Track when assets are involved in incidents (via incident tickets).
    Request Management Oversee request & procurement processes. Help develop asset standards. Enter new assets in ITAM database.
    Problem Management Collect information on assets related to known issues. Report back on models/titles that are generating known issues.
    Change Enablement Provide context on assets for change review. Ensure EOL assets are retired and licenses are returned during changes.
    Capacity Management Identify ownership, location for assets at capacity. Identify upcoming refreshes or purchases.
    Availability Management Connect uptime and reliability to assets. Identify assets that are causing availability issues.
    Monitoring and Event Management Provide context to events with asset data. Notify asset of unrecognized software and hardware.
    Financial Management Establish current and predict future spending. Identify upcoming purchases, renewals.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.6: Evaluate ITAM tools and integrations

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • Create a list of the ITAM tools currently in use, how they’re used, and their current limitations.
    • Identify new tools that could provide value to the ITAM practice, and what needs to be done to acquire and implement them.

    “Everything is connected. Nothing is also connected.” (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency)

    Establish current strengths and gaps in your ITAM toolset

    ITAM data quality relies on tools and integrations that are managed by individuals or teams who don’t report directly to the ITAM function.

    Without direct line of sight into tools management, the ITAM team must influence rather than direct improvement initiatives that are in some cases critical to the performance of the ITAM function. To more effectively influence improvement efforts, you must explicitly identify what you need, why you need it, from which tools, and from which stakeholders.

    Data Sources
    Procurement Tools
    Discovery Tools
    Active Directory
    Purchase Documents
    Spreadsheets     		Input To Asset System(s) of Record
    ITAM Database
    ITSM Tool
    CMDB     		Output To Asset Data Consumption
    ITFM Tools
    Security Tools
    TEM Tools
    Accounting Tools
    Spreadsheets
    		“Active Directory plays a huge role in audit defense and self-assessment, but no-one really goes out there and looks at Active Directory.

    I was talking to one organization that has 1,600,000 AD records for 100,000 employees.” (Mike Austin, Founder, MetrixData 360)

    2.6 Evaluate ITAM existing technologies

    30 minutes

    Input: Knowledge of existing ITAM tools

    Output: A list of prioritized organizational goals, An initial assessment of how ITAM can support these goals

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Identify the use, limitations, and next steps for existing ITAM tools, including those not directly managed by the ITAM team.

    1. What tools do we have today?
    2. What are they used for? What are their limitations?
    3. Who manages them?
    4. What actions could we take to maximize the value of the tools?
    Existing Tool Use Constraints Owner Proposed Action?
    ITAM Module
    • Track HW/SW
    • Connect assets to incident, request
    • Currently used for end-user devices only
    • Not all divisions have access
    • SAM capabilities are limited
    		 ITAM Team/Service Management
    • Add license for additional read/write access
    • Start tracking infra in this tool
    Active Directory
    • Store user IDs, organizational data
    		 Major data quality issues IT Operations
    • Work with AD team to identify issues creating data issues

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    2.6 Identify potential new tools

    30 minutes

    Input: Knowledge of tooling gaps, An understanding of available tools that could remediate gaps

    Output: New tools that can improve ITAM capabilities, including expected value and proposed next steps

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers

    Identify tools that are required to support the identified goals of the ITAM practice.

    1. What types of tools do we need that we don’t have?
    2. What could these tools help us do?
    3. What needs to be done next to investigate or acquire the appropriate tool?
    New Tool Expected Value Proposed Next Steps
    SAM tool
    • Automatically calculate licensing entitlements from contract data.
    • Automatically calculate licensing requirements from discovery data.
    • Support gap analyses.
    • Further develop software requirements.
    • Identify vendors in the space and create a shortlist.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.7: Create a plan for internal and external audits

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Establish your approach to internal data audits.
    • Create a high-level response plan for external audits.

    Validate ITAM data via internal audits

    Data audits provide assurance that the records in the ITAM database are as accurate as possible. Consider these three approaches:

    Compare Tool Records

    Audit your data by comparing records in the ITAM system to other discovery sources.

    • Ideally, use three separate data sources (e.g. ITAM database, discovery tool, security tool). Use a common field, such as the host name, to compare across fields. (To learn more about discovery tool analysis, see Jeremy Boerger’s book, Rethinking IT Asset Management.)
    • Run reports to compare records and identify discrepancies. This could include assets missing from one system or metadata differences such as different users or installed software.
    • Over time, discrepancies between tools should be well understood and accepted; otherwise, they should be addressed and remediated.
    		 IT-led Audit

    Conduct a hands-on investigation led by ITAM staff and IT technicians.

    • In-person audits require significant effort and resources. Each audit should be scoped and planned ahead of time to focus on known problem areas.
    • Provide the audit team with exact instructions on what needs to be verified and recorded. Depending on the experience and attention to detail of the audit team, you may need to conduct spot checks to ensure you’re catching any issues in the audit process itself.
    • Automation should be used wherever possible (e.g. through barcodes, scanners, and tables for quick access to ITAM records).
    		 User-led audit

    Have users validate the IT assets assigned to them.

    • Even more than IT-led audits: don’t use this approach too frequently; keep the scope as narrow as possible and the process as simple as possible.
    • Ensure users have all the information and tools they’ll need readily available to complete this task, or the result will be ineffective and will only frustrate your users.
    • Consider a process integrated with your ITSM tool: once a year, when a user logs in to the portal, they will be asked to enter the asset code for their laptop (and provided with instructions on where to find that code). Investigate discrepancies between assignments and ITAM records.

    2.7 Set an approach to internal data audits

    30 minutes

    Input: An understanding of current data audit capabilities and needs

    Output: An outline of how you’ll approach data audits, including frequency, scope, required resources

    Materials: Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team

    Review the three internal data audit approaches outlined on the previous slide, and identify which of the three approaches you’ll use. For each approach, complete the fields in the table below.

    Audit Approach How often? What scope? Who’s involved? Comments
    Compare tool records Monthly Compare ITAM DB, Intune/ConfigMgr, and Vulnerability Scanner Data; focus on end-user devices to start Asset manager will lead at first.
    Work with tool admins to pull data and generate reports.
    IT-led audit Annual End-user devices at a subset of locations Asset manager will work with ITSM admins to generate reports. In-person audit to be conducted by local techs.
    User-led audit Annual Assigned personal devices (start with a pilot group) Asset coordinator to develop procedure with ITSM admin. Run pilot with power users first.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Prepare for and respond to external audits and true-ups

    Are you ready when software vendors come knocking?

    • Vendor audits are expensive.
    • If you’re out of compliance, you will at minimum be required to pay the missing license fees. At their discretion, vendors may choose to add punitive fees and require you to cover the hourly cost of their audit teams. If you choose not to pay, the vendor could secure an injunction to cut off your service, which in many cases will be far more costly than the fines. And this is aside from the intangible costs of the disruption to your business and damaged relationships between IT, ITAM, your business, and other partners.
    • Having a plan to respond to an audit is critical to reducing audit risk. Preparation will help you coordinate your audit response, ensure the audit happens on the most favorable possible terms, and even prevent some audits from happening in the first place.
    • The best defense, as they say, is a good offense. Good ITAM and SAM processes will allow you to track acquisition, allocation, and disposal of software licenses; understand your licensing position; and ensure you remain compliant whenever possible. The vendor has no reason to audit you when there’s nothing to find.
    • Know when and where your audit risk is greatest, so you can focus your resources where they can deliver the most value.
    		“If software audits are a big part of your asset operations, you have problems. You can reduce the time spent on audits and eliminate some audits by having a proactive ITAM practice.” (Sandi Conrad, Principal Research Director)

    Info-Tech Insight

    Audit defense starts long before you get audited. For an in-depth review of your audit approach, see Info-Tech’s Prepare and Defend Against a Software Audit.

    Identify areas of higher audit risk

    Watch for these warning signs
    • Your organization is visibly fighting fires. Signs of disorder may signal to vendors that there are opportunities to exploit via an audit. Past audit failures make future audits more likely.
    • You are looking for ways to decrease spend. Vendors may counter attempts to true-down licensing by launching an audit to try to find unlicensed software that provides them leverage to negotiate maintained or even increased spending.
    • Your license/contract terms with the vendor are particularly complex or highly customized. Very complex terms may make it harder to validate your own compliance, which may present opportunities to the vendor in an audit.
    • The vendor has earned a reputation for being particularly aggressive with audits. Some vendors include audits as a standard component of their business model to drive revenue. This may include acquiring smaller vendors or software titles that may not have been audit-driven in the past, and running audits on their new customer base.

    “The reality is, software vendors prey on confusion and complication. Where there’s confusion, there’s opportunity.” (Mike Austin, Founder, MetrixData 360)

    Develop an audit response plan

    You will be on the clock once the vendor sends you an audit request. Have a plan ready to go.
    • Don’t panic: Resist knee-jerk reactions. Follow the plan.
    • Form an audit response team and centralize your response: This team should be led by a member of the ITAM group, and it should include IT leadership, software SMEs, representatives from affected business areas, vendor management, contract management, and legal. You may also need to bring on a contractor with deep expertise with the vendor in question to supplement your internal capabilities. Establish clearly who will be the point of contact with the vendor during the audit.
    • Clarify the scope of the audit: Clearly establish what the audit will cover – what products, subsidiaries, contracts, time periods, geographic regions, etc. Manage the auditors to prevent scope creep.
    • Establish who covers audit costs: Vendors may demand the auditee cover the hourly cost of their audit team if you’re significantly out of compliance. Consider asking the vendor to pay for your team’s time if you’re found to be compliant.
    • Know your contract: Vendors’ contracts change over time, and it’s no guarantee that even your vendor’s licensing experts will be aware of the rights you have in your contract. You must know your entitlements to negotiate effectively.
    1. Bring the audit request received to the attention of ITAM and IT leadership. Assemble the response team.
    2. Acknowledge receipt of audit notice.
    3. Negotiate timing and scope of the audit.
    4. Direct staff not to remove or acquire licenses for software under audit without directly involving the ITAM team first.
    5. Gather installation data and documentation to establish current entitlements, including original contract, current contract, addendums, receipts, invoices.
    6. Compare entitlements to installed software.
    7. Investigate any anomalies (e.g. unexpected or non-compliant software).
    8. Review results with the audit response team.

    2.7 Clarify your vendor audit response plan

    1 hour

    Input: Organizational knowledge on your current audit response procedures

    Output: Audit response team membership, High-level audit checklist, A list of things to start, stop, and continue doing as part of the audit response

    Materials: Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    1. Who’s on the audit response team, and what’s their role? Who will lead the team? Who will be the point of contact with the auditor?
    2. What are the high-level steps in our audit response workflow? Use the example checklist below as a starting point.
    3. What do we need to start, stop, and continue doing in response to audit requests?

    Example Audit Checklist

    • Bring the audit request received to the attention of ITAM and IT leadership. Assemble the response team.
    • Acknowledge receipt of audit notice.
    • Negotiate timing and scope of the audit.
    • Direct staff not to remove or acquire licenses for software under audit without directly involving the ITAM team first.
    • Gather installation data and documentation to establish current entitlements, including original contract, current contract, addendums, receipts, invoices.
    • Compare entitlements to installed software.
    • Investigate any anomalies (e.g. unexpected or non-compliant software).
    • Review results with the audit response team.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.8: Improve budget processes

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers
    • ITAM business partners

    Outcomes

    • Identify what you need to start, stop, and continue to do to support budgeting processes.

    Improve budgeting and forecasting

    Insert ITAM into budgeting processes to deliver significant value.

    Some examples of what ITAM can bring to the budgeting table:
    • Trustworthy data on deployed assets and spending obligations tied to those assets.
    • Projections of hardware due for replacement in terms of quantity and spend.
    • Knowledge of IT hardware and software contract terms and pricing.
    • Lists of unused or underused hardware and software that could be redeployed to avoid spend.
    • Comparisons of spend year-over-year.

    Being part of the budgeting process positions ITAM for success in other ways:

    • Helps demonstrate the strategic value of the ITAM practice.
    • Provides insight into business and IT strategic projects and priorities for the year.
    • Strengthens relationships with key stakeholders, and positions the ITAM team as trusted partners.

    “Knowing what you have [IT assets] is foundational to budgeting, managing, and optimizing IT spend.” (Dave Kish, Info-Tech, Practice Lead, IT Financial Management)

    Stock image of a calculator.

    2.8 Build better budgets

    20 minutes

    Input: Context on IT budgeting processes

    Output: A list of things to start, stop, and continue doing as part of budgeting exercises

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, ITAM business partners

    What should we start, stop, and continue doing to support organizational budgeting exercises?

    Start Stop Continue
    • Creating buckets of spend and allocating assets to those buckets.
    • Zero-based review on IaaS instances quarterly.
    • Develop dashboards plugged into asset data for department heads to view allocated assets and spend.
    • Create value reports to demonstrate hard savings as well as cost avoidance.
    • Waiting for business leaders to come to us for help (start reaching out with reports proactively, three months before budget cycle).
    • % increases on IT budgets without further review.
    • Monthly variance budget analysis.
    • What-if analysis for asset spend based on expected headcount increases.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.9: Establish a documentation framework

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team

    Outcomes

    • Identify key documentation and gaps in your documentation.
    • Establish where documentation should be stored, who should own it, who should have access, and what should trigger a review.

    Create ITAM documentation

    ITAM documentation will typically support governance or operations.

    Long-term planning and governance
    • ITAM policy and/or related policies (procurement policy, security awareness policy, acceptable use policy, etc.)
    • ITAM strategy document
    • ITAM roadmap or burndown list
    • Job descriptions
    • Functional requirements documents for ITAM tools

    Operational documentation

    • ITAM SOPs (hardware, software) and workflows
    • Detailed work instructions/knowledgebase articles
    • ITAM data/records
    • Contracts, purchase orders, invoices, MSAs, SOWs, etc.
    • Effective Licensing Position (ELP) reports
    • Training and communication materials
    • Tool and integration documentation
    • Asset management governance, operations, and tools typically generate a lot of documentation.
    • Don’t create documentation for the sake of documentation. Prioritize building and maintaining documentation that addresses major risks or presents opportunities to improve the consistency and reliability of key processes.
    • Maximize the value of ITAM documentation by ensuring it is as current, accessible, and usable as it needs to be.
    • Clearly identify where documentation is stored and who should have access to it.
    • Identify who is accountable for the creation and maintenance of key documentation, and establish triggers for reviews, updates, and changes.

    Consider ITAM policies

    Create policies that can and will be monitored and enforced.
    • Certain requirements of the ITAM practice may need to be backed up by corporate policies: formal statements of organizational expectations that must be recognized by staff, and which will lead to sanctions/penalties if breached.
    • Some organizations will choose to create one or more ITAM-specific policies. Others will include ITAM-related statements in other existing policies, such as acceptable use policies, security training and awareness policies, procurement policies, configuration policies, e-waste policies, and more.
    • Ensure that you are prepared to monitor compliance with policies and evenly enforce breaches of policy. Failing to consistently enforce your policies exposes you and your organization to claims of negligence or discriminatory conduct.
    • For a template for ITAM-specific policies, see Info-Tech’s policy templates for Hardware Asset Management and Software Asset Management.

    2.9 Establish documentation gaps

    15-30 minutes

    Input: An understanding of existing documentation gaps and risks

    Output: Documentation gaps, Identified owners, repositories, access rights, and review/update protocols

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, Optional: IT managers, ITAM business partners

    Discuss and record the following:

    • What planning/governance, operational, and tooling documentation do we still need to create? Who is accountable for the creation and maintenance of these documents?
    • Where will the documentation be stored? Who can access these documents?
    • What will trigger reviews or changes to the documents?
    Need to Create Owner Stored in Accessible by Trigger for review
    Hardware asset management SOP ITAM manager ITAM SharePoint site › Operating procedures folder
    • All IT staff
    • Annual review
    • As-needed for major tooling changes that require a documentation update

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Step 2.10: Create a roadmap and communication plan

    Participants

    • Project sponsor and lead facilitator
    • ITAM team
    • IT leaders and managers

    Outcomes

    • A timeline of key ITAM initiatives.
    • Improvement ideas aligned to key initiatives.
    • A communication plan tailored to key stakeholders.
    • Your ITAM Strategy document.

    “Understand that this is a journey. This is not a 90-day project. And in some organizations, these journeys could be three or five years long.” (Mike Austin, MetrixData 360)

    2.10 Identify key ITAM initiatives

    30-45 minutes

    Input: Organizational strategy documents

    Output: A roadmap that outlines next steps

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, Project sponsor

    1. Identify key initiatives that are critical to improving practice maturity and meeting business goals.
    2. There should only be a handful of really key initiatives. This is the work that will have the greatest impact on your ability to deliver value. Too many initiatives muddy the narrative and can distract from what really matters.
    3. Plot the target start and end dates for each initiative in the business and IT transformation timeline you created in Phase 1.
    4. Review the chart and consider – what new capabilities should the ITAM practice have once the identified initiatives are complete? What transformational initiatives will you be better positioned to support?

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Transformation Timeline

    Example transformation timeline with row headers 'Business Inititiaves', 'IT Initiatives', and 'ITAM Initiatives'. Each initiative is laid out along the timeline appropriately.

    2.10 Align improvement ideas to initiatives

    45 minutes

    Input: Key initiatives, Ideas for ITAM improvement collected over the course of previous exercises

    Output: Concrete action items to support each initiative

    Materials: The table in the next slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: ITAM team, IT leaders and managers, Project sponsor

    As you’ve been working through the previous exercises, you have been tracking ideas for improvement – now we’ll align them to your roadmap.

    1. Review the list of ideas for improvement you’ve produced over the working sessions. Consolidate the list – are there any ideas that overlap or complement each other? Record any new ideas. Frame each idea as an action item – something you can actually do.
    2. Connect the action items to initiatives. It may be that not every action item becomes part of a key initiative. (Don’t lose ideas that aren’t part of key initiatives – track them in a separate burndown list or backlog.)
    3. Identify a target completion date and owner for each action item that’s part of an initiative.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Example ITAM initiatives

    Initiative 1: Develop hardware/software standards
    Task Target Completion Owner
    Laptop standards Q1-2023 ITAM manager
    Identify/eliminate contracts for unused software using scan tool Q2-2023 ITAM manager
    Review O365 license levels and standard service Q3-2023 ITAM manager

    Initiative 2: Improve ITAM data quality
    Task Target Completion Owner
    Implement scan agent on all field laptops Q3-2023 Desktop engineer
    Conduct in person audit on identified data discrepancies Q1-2024 ITAM team
    Develop and run user-led audit Q1-2024 Asset manager

    Initiative 3: Acquire & implement a new ITAM tool
    Task Target Completion Owner
    Select an ITAM tool Q3-2023 ITAM manager
    Implement ITAM tool, incl. existing data migration Q1-2024 ITAM manager
    Training on new tool Q1-2024 ITAM manager
    Build KPIs, executive dashboards in new tool Q2-2024 Data analyst
    Develop user-led audit functionality in new tool Q3-2024 ITAM coordinator

    2.10 Create a communication plan

    45 minutes

    Input: Proposed ITAM initiatives, Stakeholder priorities and goals, and an understanding of how ITAM can help them meet those goals

    Output: A high-level communication plan to communicate the benefits and impact of proposed changes to the ITAM program

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: IT asset manager, Project sponsor

    Develop clear, consistent, and targeted messages to key ITAM stakeholders.

    1. Modify the list of stakeholders in the first column.
    2. What benefits should those stakeholders realize from ITAM? What impact may the proposed improvements have on them? Refer back to exercises from Phase 1, where you identified key stakeholders, their priorities, and how ITAM could help them.
    3. Identify communication channels (in-person, email, all-hands meeting, etc.) and timing – when you’ll distribute the message. You may choose to use more than one channel, and you may need to convey the message more than once.
    Group ITAM Benefits Impact Channel(s) Timing
    CFO
    • More accurate IT spend predictions
    • Better equipment utilization and value for money
    • Sponsor integration project between ITAM DB and financial system
    • Support procurement procedures review
    		 Face-to-face – based on their availability Within the next month
    CIO
    • Better oversight into IT spend
    • Data to help demonstrate IT value
    • Resources required to support tool and ITAM process improvements
    		 Standing bi-monthly 1:1 meetings Review strategy at next meeting
    IT Managers
    Field Techs

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    2.10 Put the final touches on your ITAM Strategy

    30 minutes

    Input: Proposed ITAM initiatives, Stakeholder priorities and goals, and an understanding of how ITAM can help them meet those goals

    Output: A high-level communication plan to communicate the benefits and impact of proposed changes to the ITAM program

    Materials: The table in this slide, Your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Participants: IT asset manager, Project sponsor

    You’re almost done! Do a final check of your work before you send a copy to your participants.

    1. Summarize in three points the key findings from the activities you’ve worked through. What have you learned? What are your priorities? What key message do you need to get across? Add these to the appropriate slide near the start of the ITAM Strategy Template.
    2. What are your immediate next steps? Summarize no more than five and add them to the appropriate slide near the start of the ITAM Strategy Template.
      1. Are you asking for something? Approval for ITAM initiatives? Funding? Resources? Clearly identify the ask as part of your next steps.
    3. Are the KPIs identified in Phase 1 still valid? Will they help you monitor for success in the initiatives you’ve identified in Phase 2? Make any adjustments you think are required to the KPIs to reflect the additional completed work.

    Add your results to your copy of the ITAM Strategy Template

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Kylie Fowler
    Principal Consultant
    ITAM Intelligence

    Kylie is an experienced ITAM/FinOps consultant with a track record of creating superior IT asset management frameworks that enable large companies to optimize IT costs while maintaining governance and control.

    She has operated as an independent consultant since 2009, enabling organizations including Sainsbury's and DirectLine Insurance to leverage the benefits of IT asset management and FinOps to achieve critical business objectives. Recent key projects include defining an end-to-end SAM strategy, target operating model, policies and processes which when implemented provided a 300% ROI.

    She is passionate about supporting businesses of all sizes to drive continuous improvement, reduce risk, and achieve return on investment through the development of creative asset management and FinOps solutions.

    		Rory Canavan
    Owner and Principal Consultant
    SAM Charter

    Rory is the founder, owner, and principal consultant of SAM Charter, an internationally recognized consultancy in enterprise-wide Software & IT Asset Management. As an industry leader, SAM Charter is uniquely poised to ensure your IT & SAM systems are aligned to your business requirements.

    With a technical background in business and systems analysis, Rory has a wide range of first-hand experience advising numerous companies and organizations on the best practices and principles pertaining to software asset management. This experience has been gained in both military and civil organizations, including the Royal Navy, Compaq, HP, the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), and several software vendors.

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Jeremy Boerger
    Founder, Boerger Consulting
    Author of Rethinking IT Asset Management

    Jeremy started his career in ITAM fighting the Y2K bug at the turn of the 21st century. Since then, he has helped companies in manufacturing, healthcare, banking, and service industries build and rehabilitate hardware and software asset management practices.

    These experiences prompted him to create the Pragmatic ITAM method, which directly addresses and permanently resolves the fundamental flaws in current ITAM and SAM implementations.

    In 2016, he founded Boerger Consulting, LLC to help business leaders and decision makers fully realize the promises a properly functioning ITAM can deliver. In his off time, you will find him in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and family.

    		Mike Austin
    Founder and CEO
    MetrixData 360

    Mike Austin leads the delivery team at MetrixData 360. Mike brings more than 15 years of Microsoft licensing experience to his clients’ projects. He assists companies, from Fortune 500 to organizations with as few as 500 employees, with negotiations of Microsoft Enterprise Agreements (EA), Premier Support Contracts, and Select Agreements. In addition to helping negotiate contracts, he helps clients build and implement software asset management processes.

    Previously, Mike was employed by Microsoft for more than 8 years as a member of the global sales team. With Microsoft, Mike successfully negotiated more than a billion dollars in new and renewal EAs. Mike has also negotiated legal terms and conditions for all software agreements, developed Microsoft’s best practices for global account management, and was awarded Microsoft’s Gold Star Award in 2003 and Circle of Excellence in 2008 for his contributions.

    Bibliography

    “Asset Management.” SFIA v8. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Boerger, Jeremy. Rethinking IT Asset Management. Business Expert Press, 2021.

    Canavan, Rory. “C-Suite Cheat Sheet.” SAM Charter, 2021. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Fisher, Matt. “Metrics to Measure SAM Success.” Snow Software, 26 May 2015. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Flexera (2021). “State of ITAM Report.” Flexera, 2021. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Fowler, Kylie. “ITAM by design.” BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, 2017. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Fowler, Kylie. “Ch-ch-ch-changes… Is It Time for an ITAM Transformation?” ITAM Intelligence, 2021. Web. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Fowler, Kylie. “Do you really need an ITAM policy?” ITAM Accelerate, 15 Oct. 2021. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Hayes, Chris. “How to establish a successful, long-term ITAM program.” Anglepoint, Sept. 2021. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    ISO/IEC 19770-1-2017. IT Asset Management Systems – Requirements. Third edition. ISO, Dec 2017.

    Joret, Stephane. “IT Asset Management: ITIL® 4 Practice Guide”. Axelos, 2020.

    Jouravlev, Roman. “IT Service Financial Management: ITIL® 4 Practice Guide”. Axelos, 2020.

    Pagnozzi, Maurice, Edwin Davis, Sam Raco. “ITAM Vs. ITSM: Why They Should Be Separate.” KPMG, 2020. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Rumelt, Richard. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy. Profile Books, 2013.

    Stone, Michael et al. “NIST SP 1800-5 IT Asset Management.” Sept, 2018. Accessed 17 March 2022.

    Understand the Data and Analytics Landscape

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}131|cart{/j2store}
    • member rating overall impact: 9.8/10 Overall Impact
    • member rating average dollars saved: $2,000 Average $ Saved
    • member rating average days saved: 14 Average Days Saved
    • Parent Category Name: Data Management
    • Parent Category Link: /data-management
    • The data and analytics landscape comprises many disciplines and components; organizations may find themselves unsure of where to start or what data topic or area they should be addressing.
    • Organizations want to better understand the components of the data and analytics landscape and how they are connected.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • This deck will provide a base understanding of the core data disciplines and will point to the various Info-Tech blueprints that dive deeper into each of the areas.

    Impact and Result

    • This deck will provide a base understanding of the core disciplines of the data and analytics landscape and will point to the various Info-Tech blueprints that dive deeper into each of the areas.

    Understand the Data and Analytics Landscape Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Understand the data and analytics landscape

    Get an overview of the core disciplines of the data and analytics landscape.

    • Understand the Data and Analytics Landscape Storyboard

    Infographic

    Manage Third-Party Service Security Outsourcing

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    • member rating overall impact: N/A
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    • member rating average days saved: N/A
    • Parent Category Name: Security Processes & Operations
    • Parent Category Link: /security-processes-and-operations
    • A lack of high-skill labor increases the cost of internal security, making outsourcing more appealing.
    • It is unclear what processes could or should be outsourced versus what functions should remain in-house.
    • It is not feasible to have 24/7/365 monitoring in-house for most firms.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • You are outsourcing support, not accountability, unless you preface that with your customer.
    • For most of you, you won’t have a choice – you’ll have to outsource high-end security skills to meet future needs.
    • Third-party service providers may be able to more effectively remediate threats because of their large, disparate customer base and wider scope.

    Impact and Result

    • Documented obligations and processes. This will allow you to determine which solution (outsourcing vs. insourcing) allows for the best use of resources, and maintains your brand reputation.
    • A list of variables and features to rank potential third-party providers vs. internal delivery to find which solution provides the best fit for your organization.
    • Current limitations of your environment and the limitations of third parties identified for the environments you are looking to mature.
    • Security responsibilities determined that can be outsourced, and which should be outsourced in order to gain resource allocation and effectiveness, and to improve your overall security posture.
    • The limitations or restrictions for third-party usage understood.

    Manage Third-Party Service Security Outsourcing Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to understand how to avoid common mistakes when it comes to outsourcing security, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. What to outsource

    Identify different responsibilities/functions in your organization and determine which ones can be outsourced. Complete a cost analysis.

    • Manage Third-Party Service Security Outsourcing – Phase 1: What to Outsource
    • Insourcing vs. Outsourcing Costing Tool

    2. How to outsource

    Identify a list of features for your third-party provider and analyze.

    • Manage Third-Party Service Security Outsourcing – Phase 2: How to Outsource
    • MSSP Selection Tool
    • Checklist for Third-Party Providers

    3. Manage your third-party provider

    Understand how to align third-party providers to your organization.

    • Manage Third-Party Service Security Outsourcing – Phase 3: Manage Your Third-Party Provider
    • Security Operations Policy for Third-Party Outsourcing
    • Third-Party Security Policy Charter Template
    [infographic]

    Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative

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    • Parent Category Name: Vendor Management
    • Parent Category Link: /vendor-management
    • As cloud vendors, managed service providers, and other IT vendors continue to play a larger role in IT operations, the VMI must evolve to meet new challenges. Maximizing the VMI's impact requires it to keep pace with the IT landscape and transforming from tactical to strategic.
    • Increased spend with and reliance on vendors leads to less control and more risk for IT organizations. The VMI must mature on multiple fronts to continue adding value; staying stagnant is not an option.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • An organization’s vendor management initiative must continue to evolve and mature to reach its full strategic value. In the early stages, the vendor management initiative may be seen as transactional, focusing on the day-to-day functions associated with vendor management. The real value of a VMI comes from becoming strategic partner to other functional groups (departments) within your organization.
    • Developing vendor management personnel is critical to the vendor management initiative’s evolution and maturation. For the VMI to mature, its personnel must mature as well. Their professional skills, competencies, and knowledge must increase over time. Failure to accentuate personal growth within the team limits what the team is able to achieve and how the team is perceived.
    • Vendor management is not about imposing your will on vendors; it is about understanding the multi-faceted dynamics between your organization and your vendors and charting the appropriate path forward. Resource allocation and relationship expectations flow from these dynamics. Each critical vendor requires an individual plan to build the best possible relationship and to leverage that relationship. What works with one vendor may not work or even be possible with another vendor…even if both vendors are critical to your success.

    Impact and Result

    • Evolve the VMI from tactical to strategic
    • Improve the VMI’s brand and brand awareness
    • Develop the VMI’s team members to increase the VMI’s impact
    • Take relationships to the next level with your critical vendors
    • Understand how your vendors view your organization as a customer
    • Create and implement plans to improve relationships with critical vendors
    • Create and implement plans to improve underperforming vendors

    Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should continue to evolve and mature your vendor management initiative and to understand the additional elements of Info-Tech’s four-step cycle to running your vendor management initiative.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    • Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative – Executive Brief
    • Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative – Phases 1-4

    1. Plan

    This phase helps the VMI stay focused and aligned by reviewing existing materials, updating the existing maturity assessment, and ensuring that the foundational elements of the VMI are up to date. The main outcomes from this phase are a current maturity assessment and updated or revised Plan documents.

    • Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative – Phase 1

    2. Build

    This phase helps you configure, create, and understand the tools and templates used to elevate the VMI. The main outcomes from this phase are a clear understanding of the tools that identify which vendors are important to you, tools and concepts to help you take key vendor relationships to the next level, and tools to help you evaluate and improve the VMI and its personnel.

    • Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative – Phase 2
    • Elevate – COST Model Vendor Classification Tool
    • Elevate – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool
    • Elevate – OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool
    • Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Tool
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    3. Run

    This phase helps you begin integrating the new tools and templates into the VMI’s operations. The main outcomes from this phase are guidance and the steps required to continue your VMI’s maturation and evolution.

    • Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative – Phase 3

    4. Review

    This phase helps the VMI stay aligned with the overall organization, stay current, and improve its strategic value as it evolves. The main outcomes from this phase are ways to advance the VMI’s strategic impact.

    • Elevate your Vendor Management Initiative – Phase 4

    Infographic

    Workshop: Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Plan and Build

    The Purpose

    Review existing tools and templates and configure new tools and templates.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Updated Maturity Assessment and configured tools and templates.

    Activities

    1.1 Existing Plan document review and new maturity assessment.

    1.2 Optional classification models.

    1.3 Customer positioning model.

    1.4 Two-way scorecards.

    Outputs

    Updated Plan documents.

    New maturity assessment.

    Configured classification model.

    Customer positioning for top five vendors.

    Configured scorecard and feedback form.

    2 Build and Run

    The Purpose

    Configure VMI Tools and Templates.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Configured Tools and Templates for the VMI.

    Activities

    2.1 Performance improvement plans (PIPs).

    2.2 Relationship improvement plans (RIPs).

    2.3 Vendor-at-a-Glance reports.

    2.4 VMI Personnel Competency Evaluation Tool.

    Outputs

    Configured Performance Improvement Plan.

    Configured Relationship Assessment and Relationship Improvement Plan.

    Configured 60-Second Report and completed Vendor Calendar for one vendor.

    Configured VMI Personnel Competency Evaluation Tool.

    3 Build and Run

    The Purpose

    Continue configuring VMI Tools and Templates and enhancing VM competencies.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Configured Tools and Templates for the VMI and market intelligence to gather.

    Activities

    3.1 Internal feedback tool.

    3.2 VMI ROI calculation.

    3.3 Vendor recognition program.

    3.4 Assess the Relationship Landscape.

    3.5 Gather market intelligence.

    3.6 Improve professional skills.

    Outputs

    Configured Internal Feedback Tool.

    General framework for a vendor recognition program.

    Completed Relationship Landscape Assessment (representative sample).

    List of market intelligence to gather for top five vendors.

    4 Run and Review

    The Purpose

    Improve the VMI’s brand awareness and impact on the organization; continue to maintain alignment with the overall organization.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Raising the organization’s awareness of the VMI, and ensuring the VMI Is becoming more strategic.

    Activities

    4.1 Expand professional knowledge.

    4.2 Create brand awareness.

    4.3 Investigate potential alliances.

    4.4 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value.

    4.5 Review and update (governances, policies and procedures, lessons learned, internal alignment, and leading practices).

    Outputs

    Branding plan for the VMI.

    Branding plan for individual VMI team members.

    Further reading

    Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative

    Transform Your VMI From Tactical to Strategic to Maximize Its Impact and Value

    EXECUTIVE BRIEF

    Analyst Perspective

    Transform your VMI into a strategic contributor to ensure its longevity.

    The image contains a picture of Phil Bode.

    By the time you start using this blueprint, you should have established a solid foundation for your vendor management initiative (VMI) and implemented many or all of the principles outlined in Info-Tech’s blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management (the Jump Start blueprint). This blueprint (the Elevate blueprint) is meant to continue the evolutionary or maturation process of your VMI. Many of the items presented here will build on and refer to the elements from the Jump Start blueprint. The goal of the Elevate blueprint is to assist in the migration of your VMI from transactional to strategic. Why? Simply put, the more strategic the VMI, the more value it adds and the more impact it has on the organization as a whole.

    While the day-to-day, transactional aspect of running a VMI will never go away, getting stuck in transactional mode is a horrible place for the VMI and its team members:

    • The VMI will never live up to its potential.
    • The work won’t be enjoyable or rewarding for most people.
    • The VMI will be seen paper pushers, gatekeepers, and other things that don’t add value or should be avoided.
    • Being reactive (i.e. putting out fires all day) is exhausting and provides little or no control over the work and workflow.
    • Lastly, the VMI’s return on investment will be low, and unless it was established due to regulatory, audit, or other influences, the VMI could be disbanded. Minimal resources will be available to the VMI…just enough to keep it alive and obtain whatever checkmark needs to be earned to satisfy the original need for its creation.

    To prevent these tragic things from happening, transform the VMI into a strategic contributor and partner internally. This Elevate blueprint provides a roadmap and guidance to get your journey started. Focus on expanding your understanding of customer/vendor dynamics, improving the skills, competencies, and knowledge of the VMI’s team members, contributing value beyond the savings aspect, and building a solid brand internally and with your vendors. This requires a conscious effort and a proactive approach to vendor management…not to mention treating your internal “clients” with respect and providing great customer service.

    At the end of the day, ask yourself one question: If your internal clients had to pay for your services, would they? If you can answer yes, you are well on your way to being strategic. If not, you still have some work to do. Long live the strategic VMI!

    Phil Bode
    Principal Research Director, Vendor Management
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    Common Obstacles

    Info-Tech’s Approach

    Each year, IT organizations “outsource” tasks, activities, functions, and other items. During 2021:

    • Spend on as-a-service providers increased 38% over 2020.*
    • Spend on managed service providers increased 16% over 2020.*
    • IT service providers increased their merger and acquisition numbers by 47% over 2020.*

    This leads to more spend, less control, and more risk for IT organizations. Managing this becomes a higher priority for IT, but many IT organizations are ill-equipped to do this proactively.

    As new contracts are negotiated and existing contracts are renegotiated or renewed, there is a perception that the contracts will yield certain results, output, performance, solutions, or outcomes. The hope is that these will provide a measurable expected value to IT and the organization. Often, much of the expected value is never realized. Many organizations don’t have a VMI to help:

    • Ensure at least the expected value is achieved.
    • Improve on the expected value through performance management.
    • Significantly increase the expected value through a proactive VMI.

    Vendor Management is a proactive, cross-functional lifecycle. It can be broken down into four phases:

    • Plan
    • Build
    • Run
    • Review

    The Info-Tech process addresses all four phases and provides a step-by-step approach to configure and operate your VMI. The content in this blueprint helps you and the VMI evolve to add value and impact to the organization that was started with the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your VMI.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The VMI must continue to mature and evolve, or it will languish, atrophy, and possibly be disbanded.

    • A transactional approach to vendor management ignores the multi-faceted dynamics in play and limits the VMI’s potential value.
    • Improving the VMI’s impact starts with the VMI’s personnel – their skills, knowledge, competencies, and relationships.
    • Adding value to the organization requires time to build trust and understand the landscape (internal and external).
    *Source: Information Services Group, Inc., 2022.

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    Spend on managed service providers and as-a-service providers continues to increase. In addition, IT services vendors continue to be active in the mergers and acquisitions arena. This increases the need for a VMI to help with the changing IT vendor landscape.

    38%

    2021

    16%

    2021

    47%

    2021

    Spend on

    As-a-Service Providers

    Spend on

    Managed Services

    Providers

    IT Services

    Merger & Acquisition

    Growth

    (Transactions)

    Source: Information Services Group, Inc., 2022.

    Executive Summary

    Common Obstacles

    When organizations execute, renew, or renegotiate a contract, there is an “expected value” associated with that contract. Without a robust VMI, most of the expected value will never be realized. With a robust VMI, the realized value significantly exceeds the expected value during the contract term.

    The image contains a screenshot of a diagram that demonstrates the expected value of a contract with and without a vmi.

    Source: Based on findings from Geller & Company, 2003.

    Executive Summary

    Info-Tech’s Approach

    A sound, cyclical approach to vendor management will help ensure your VMI meets your needs and stays in alignment with your organization as they both change (i.e. mature and evolve).

    Vendor Management Process

    1. Plan
    • Review and Update Existing Plan Materials
  • Build
    • Vendor Classification Models
    • Customer Positioning Model
    • 2-Way Scorecards
    • Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
    • Relationship Improvement Plan (RIP)
    • Vendor-at-a-Glance Reports
    • VMI Personnel Competency Evaluation Tool
    • Internal Feedback Tool
    • VMI ROI Calculation Tools
    • Vendor Recognition Program
  • Run
    • Classify Vendors and Identify Customer Position
    • Assess the Relationship Landscape
    • Leverage 2-Way Scorecards
    • Implement PIPs and RIPS
    • Gather Market Intelligence
    • Generate Vendor-at-a-Glance Reports
    • Evaluate VMI Personnel
    • Improve Professional Skills
    • Expand Professional Knowledge
    • Create Brand Awareness
    • Survey Internal Clients
    • Calculate VMI ROI
    • Implement Vendor Recognition Program
  • Review
    • Investigate Potential Alliances
    • Continue Increasing the VMI's Strategic Value
    • Review and Update Governances
    • Outcomes
      • Better Allocation of VMI Resources
      • Measurable Impact of the VMI
      • Increased Awareness of the VMI
      • Improved Vendor Performance
      • Improved Vendor Relationships
      • VMI Team Member Development
      • Strategic Relationships Internally

    Info-Tech’s Methodology for Elevating Your VMI

    Phase 1 - Plan

    Phase 2 - Build

    Phase 3 - Run

    Phase 4 – Review

    Phase Steps

    1.1 Review and Update Existing Plan Materials

    2.1 Vendor Classification Models

    2.2 Customer Positioning Model

    2.3 Two-Way Scorecards

    2.4 Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

    2.5 Relationship Improvement Plan (RIP)

    2.6 Vendor-at-a-Glance Reports

    2.7 VMI Personnel Competency Evaluation Tool

    2.8 Internal Feedback Tool

    2.9 VMI ROI Calculation

    2.10 Vendor Recognition Program

    3.1 Classify Vendors & Identify Customer Position

    3.2 Assess the Relationship Landscape

    3.3 Leverage Two-Way Scorecards

    3.4 Implement PIPs and RIPs

    3.5 Gather Market Intelligence

    3.6 Generate Vendor-at-a-Glance Reports

    3.7 Evaluate VMI Personnel

    3.8 Improve Professional Skills

    3.9 Expand Professional Knowledge

    3.10 Create Brand Awareness

    3.11 Survey Internal Clients

    3.12 Calculate VMI ROI

    3.13 Implement Vendor Recognition Program

    4.1 Investigate Potential Alliances

    4.2 Continue Increasing the VMI’s Strategic Value

    4.3 Review and Update

    Phase Outcomes

    This phase helps the VMI stay focused and aligned by reviewing existing materials, updating the existing maturity assessment, and ensuring that the foundational elements of the VMI are up-to-date.

    This phase helps you configure, create, and understand the tools and templates used to elevate the VMI.

    This phase helps you begin integrating the new tools and templates into the VMI’s operations.

    This phase helps the VMI stay aligned with the overall organization, stay current, and improve its strategic value as it evolves.

    Insight Summary

    Insight 1

    An organization’s vendor management initiative must continue to evolve and mature to reach its full strategic value. In the early stages, the vendor management initiative may be seen as transactional, focusing on the day-to-day functions associated with vendor management. The real value of a VMI comes from becoming strategic partner to other functional groups (departments) within your organization.

    Insight 2

    Developing vendor management personnel is critical to the vendor management initiative’s evolution and maturation. For the VMI to mature, its personnel must mature as well. Their professional skills, competencies, and knowledge must increase over time. Failure to accentuate personal growth within the team limits what the team can achieve and how the team is perceived.

    Insight 3

    Vendor management is not about imposing your will on vendors; it is about understanding the multifaceted dynamics between your organization and your vendors and charting the appropriate path forward. Resource allocation and relationship expectations flow from these dynamics. Each critical vendor requires an individual plan to build the best possible relationship and to leverage that relationship. What works with one vendor may not work or even be possible with another vendor – even if both vendors are critical to your success.

    Blueprint Deliverables

    The four phases of maturing and evolving your vendor management initiative are supported with configurable tools, templates, and checklists to help you stay aligned internally and achieve your goals.

    VMI Tools and Templates

    Continue building your foundation for your VMI and configure tools and templates to help you manage your vendor relationships.

    The image contains screenshots of the VMI Tools and Templates.

    Key Deliverables:

    Info-Tech’s

    1. Elevate – COST Model Vendor Classification Tool
    2. Elevate – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool
    3. Elevate – OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool
    4. Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan Tool
    5. Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    A suite of tools and templates to help you upgrade and evolve your vendor management initiative.

    Blueprint benefits

    IT Benefits

    Business Benefits

    • Improve VMI performance and value.
    • Improve VMI team member performance.
    • Build better relationships with critical vendors.
    • Measure the impact and contributions provided by the VMI.
    • Establish realistic and appropriate expectations for vendor interactions.
    • Understand customer positioning to allocate vendor management resources more effectively and more efficiently.
    • Improve vendor accountability.
    • Increase collaboration between departments.
    • Improve working relationships with your vendors.
    • Create a feedback loop to address vendor/customer issues before they get out of hand or are more costly to resolve.
    • Increase access to meaningful data and information regarding important vendors.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    Guided Implementation

    Workshop

    Consulting

    “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.” “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.” “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.” “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Guided Implementation

    What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

    Phase 1 Phases 2 and 3 Phase 4

    Call #1: Review status of existing plan materials.

    Call #2: Conduct a new maturity assessment.

    Call #3: Review optional classification models.

    Call #4: Determine customer positioning for top vendors.

    Call #5: Configure vendor Scorecards and vendor feedback forms.

    Call #6: Discuss PIPs, RIPs, and vendor-at-a-glance reports.

    Call #7: VMI personnel competency evaluation tool.

    Call #8: Create internal feedback tool and discuss ROI.

    Call #9: Identify vendor recognition program attributes and assess the relationship landscape.

    Call #10: Gather market intelligence and create brand awareness.

    Call #11: Identify potential vendor alliances, review the components of a strategic VMI, and discuss the continuous improvement loop.

    A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

    A typical GI is between 6 to 12 calls over the course of 3 to 6 months.

    Workshop Overview

    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    Day 1

    Day 2

    Day 3

    Day 4

    Plan/Build Run

    Build/Run

    Build/Run

    Run/Review

    Activities

    1.1 Existing Plan document review and new maturity assessment.

    1.2 Optional classification models.

    1.3 Customer positioning model.

    1.4 Two-way scorecards.

    2.1 Performance improvement plans (PIPs).

    2.2 Relationship improvement plans (RIPs).

    2.3 Vendor-at-a-glance reports.

    2.4 VMI personnel competency evaluation tool.

    3.1 Internal feedback tool.

    3.2 VMI ROI calculation.

    3.3 Vendor recognition program.

    3.4 Assess the relationship landscape.

    3.5 Gather market intelligence.

    3.6 Improve professional skills.

    4.1 Expand professional knowledge.

    4.2 Create brand awareness.

    4.3 Investigate potential alliances.

    4.4 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value.

    4.5 Review and update (governances, policies and procedures, lessons learned, internal alignment, and leading practices).

    Deliverables

    1. Updated plan documents.
    2. New maturity assessment.
    3. Configured classification model.
    4. Customer positioning for top 5 vendors.
    5. Configured scorecard and feedback form.
    1. Configured performance improvement plan.
    2. Configured relationship assessment and relationship improvement plan.
    3. Configured 60-second report and completed vendor calendar for one vendor.
    4. Configured VMI personnel competency evaluation tool.
    1. Configured internal feedback tool.
    2. General framework for a vendor recognition program.
    3. Completed relationship landscape assessment (representative sample).
    4. List of market intelligence to gather for top 5 vendors.
    1. Roadmap/plan for improving skills and knowledge for VMI personnel.
    2. Action plan for creating brand awareness for the VMI.
    3. Action plan for creating brand awareness for each VMI team member.

    Using complementary vendor management blueprints

    Jump Start Your VMI and Elevate Your VMI

    The image contains a screenshot to demonstrate using complementary vendor management blueprints.

    Phase 1 – Plan

    Look to the Future and Update Existing Materials

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    Phase 4

    1.1 Review and update existing Plan materials

    2.1 Vendor classification models

    2.2 Customer positioning model

    2.3 Two-way scorecards

    2.4 Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    2.5 Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    2.6 Vendor-at-a-glance reports

    2.7 VMI personnel competency evaluation tool

    2.8 Internal feedback tool

    2.9 VMI ROI calculation

    2.10 Vendor recognition program

    3.1 Classify vendors and identify customer position

    3.2 Assess the relationship landscape

    3.3 Leverage two-way scorecards

    3.4 Implement PIPs and RIPs

    3.5 Gather market intelligence

    3.6 Generate vendor-at-a-glance reports

    3.7 Evaluate VMI personnel

    3.8 Improve professional skills

    3.9 Expand professional knowledge

    3.10 Create brand awareness

    3.11 Survey internal clients

    3.12 Calculate VMI ROI

    3.13 Implement vendor recognition program

    4.1 Investigate potential alliances

    4.2 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    4.3 Review and update

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    This phase helps the VMI stay focused and aligned by reviewing existing materials, updating the existing maturity assessment, and ensuring that the foundational elements of the VMI are up-to-date. The main outcomes from this phase are a current maturity assessment and updated or revised Plan documents.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • VMI team
    • Applicable stakeholders and executives
    • Procurement/Sourcing
    • IT
    • Others as needed

    Phase 1 – Plan

    Phase 1 – Plan revisits the foundational elements from the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative. As the VMI continues to operate and mature, looking backward periodically provides a new perspective and helps the VMI move forward:

    • Has anything changed (mission statement, goals, scope, strengths and obstacles, roles and responsibilities, and process mapping)?
    • What progress was made against the maturity assessment?
    • What is next in the maturity process for the VMI?
    • Were some foundational elements overlooked or not done thoroughly due to time constraints, a lack of knowledge, or other factors?

    Keep an eye on the past as you begin looking toward the future.

    Step 1.1 – Review and update existing Plan materials

    Ensure existing materials are current

    At this point, the basic framework for your VMI should be in place. However, now is a good time to correct any oversights in your foundational elements. Have you:

    • Drafted a mission statement for the VMI and listed its goals, answering the questions “why does the VMI exist” and “what will it achieve”?
    • Determined the VMI’s scope, establishing what is in and outside the purview of the VMI?
    • Listed the VMI’s strengths and obstacles, identifying what you can leverage and what needs to be managed to ensure smooth sailing?
    • Established roles and responsibilities (OIC Chart) for the vendor management lifecycle, defining each internal party’s place in the process?
    • Documented process maps, delineating (at a minimum) what the VMI is doing for each step of the vendor management lifecycle?
    • Created a charter, establishing an operational structure for the VMI?
    • Completed a vendor inventory, identifying the major vendors included in the VMI?
    • Conducted a VMI maturity assessment, establishing a baseline and desired future state to work toward?
    • Defined the VMI’s structure, documenting the VMI’s place in the organization, its services, and its clients?

    If any of these elements is missing, revisit the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative to complete these components. If they exist, review them and make any required modifications.

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative

    1.1.1 – Review and update existing Plan materials

    1 – 6 Hours

    1. Meet with the participants and review existing documents and tools created or configured during Phase 1 of the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative: mission statement and goals, scope, strengths and obstacles, OIC chart, process maps, charter, vendor inventory, maturity assessment, and structure.
    2. Update the documents as needed.
    3. Redo the maturity assessment if more than 12 months have passed since the initial assessment was conducted.
    Input Output
    • Documents and tools from Phase 1 of the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    • Updated documents and tools from Phase 1 of the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    Materials Participants
    • Documents and tools from Phase 1 of the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    • Whiteboard or flip charts (as needed)
    • VMI team
    • Applicable stakeholders and executives (as needed)

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative

    Download the Jump - Phase 1 Tools and Templates Compendium

    Phase 2 – Build

    Create New Tools and Consider Alternatives to Existing Tools

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    Phase 4

    1.1 Review and update existing Plan materials

    2.1 Vendor classification models

    2.2 Customer positioning model

    2.3 Two-way scorecards

    2.4 Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    2.5 Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    2.6 Vendor-at-a-glance reports

    2.7 VMI personnel competency evaluation tool

    2.8 Internal feedback tool

    2.9 VMI ROI calculation

    2.10 Vendor recognition program

    3.1 Classify vendors and identify customer position

    3.2 Assess the relationship landscape

    3.3 Leverage two-way scorecards

    3.4 Implement PIPs and RIPs

    3.5 Gather market intelligence

    3.6 Generate vendor-at-a-glance reports

    3.7 Evaluate VMI personnel

    3.8 Improve professional skills

    3.9 Expand professional knowledge

    3.10 Create brand awareness

    3.11 Survey internal clients

    3.12 Calculate VMI ROI

    3.13 Implement vendor recognition program

    4.1 Investigate potential alliances

    4.2 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    4.3 Review and update

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    This phase helps you configure, create, and understand the tools and templates used to elevate the VMI. The main outcomes from this phase are a clear understanding of the tools that identify which vendors are important to you, tools and concepts to help you take key vendor relationships to the next level, and tools to help you evaluate and improve the VMI and its personnel.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • VMI team
    • Applicable stakeholders and executives
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Others as needed

    Phase 2 – Build

    Create and configure tools, templates, and processes

    Phase 2 – Build is similar to its counterpart in the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative; this phase focuses on tools, templates, and concepts that help the VMI increase its strategic value and impact. The items referenced in this phase will require your customization or configuration to integrate them within your organization and culture for maximum effect.

    One goal of this phase is to provide new ways of looking at things and alternate approaches. (For example, two methods of classifying your vendors are presented for your consideration.) You don’t live in a one-size-fits-all world, and options allow you (or force you) to evaluate what’s possible rather than running with the herd. As you review this phase, keep in mind that some of the concepts presented may not be applicable in your environment…or it may be that they just aren’t applicable right now. Timing, evolution, and maturity will always be factors in how the VMI operates.

    Another goal of this phase is to get you thinking about the value the VMI brings to the organization, and just as important, how to capture and report it. Money alone may be at the forefront of most people’s minds when return on investment is brought up, but there are many ways to measure a VMI’s value and impact. This Phase will help you in your pursuit.

    Lastly, a VMI must focus on its internal clients, and that starts with the VMI’s personnel. The VMI is a reflection of its team members – what they do, say, and know will determine how the VMI is perceived…and used.

    Step 2.1 – Vendor classification model

    Determine which classification model works best for your VMI

    The classification model in the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative is simple and easy to use. It provides satisfactory results for the first one or two years of the VMI’s life. After that, a more sophisticated model should be used, one with more parameters or flexibility to accommodate the VMI’s new maturity.

    Two models are presented on the following pages. The first is a variation of the COST model used in the Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative blueprint. The second is the MVP model, which segments vendors into three categories instead of four and eliminates the 50/50 allocation constraint inherent in a 2x2 model.

    Step 2.1 – Vendor classification model

    Configure the COST Vendor Classification Tool

    The image contains a screenshot of the COST classification model.

    If you used the COST classification model in the Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative blueprint, you are familiar with its framework: vendors are plotted into a 2x2 matrix based on their spend and switching costs and their value to your operation. The simple variation of this model uses three variables to assess the vendor’s value to your operation and two variables to determine the vendor’s spend and switching cost implications.

    The COST classification model presented here sticks to the same basic tenets but adds to the number of variables used to plot a vendor’s position within the matrix. Six variables are used to define a vendor’s value and three variables are used to set the spend and switching cost. This provides greater latitude in identifying what makes a vendor important to you.

    Step 2.1 – Vendor classification model

    Configure the MVP Vendor Classification Tool

    The image contains a screenshot example of the MVP clsssification tool.

    Another option for classifying vendors is the MVP classification model. In this model, vendors fall into one of three categories: minor, valued, or principal. Similar to the COST vendor classification model, the MVP classification model requires a user to evaluate statements or questions to assess a vendor’s importance to the organization. In the MVP approach, each question/statement is weighted, and the potential responses to each question/statement are assigned points (100, 33, or 10) based on their impact. Multiplying the weight (expressed as a percentage) for each question/statement by the response points for each question/statement yields a line-item score. The total number of points obtained by a vendor determines its classification category. A vendor receiving a score of 75 or greater would be a principal vendor (similar to a strategic vendor under the COST model); 55 to 74 points would be a valued vendor (similar to operational or tactical vendor); less than 55 points would be a minor vendor (similar to a commodity vendor).

    Step 2.1 – Vendor classification model

    Which classification model is best?

    By now, you may be asking yourself, “Which model should I use? What is the advantage of the MVP model?” Great questions! Both models work well, but the COST model has a limitation inherent in any basic 2x2 model. Since two axes are used in a 2x2 approach, the effective weighting for each axis is 50%. As a result, the weights assigned to an individual element are reduced by 50%. A simple but extreme example will help clarify this issue (hopefully).

    Suppose you wanted to use an element such as How integrated with our business processes are the vendor's products/services? and weighted it 100%. Under the 2x2 matrix approach, this element only moves the X-axis score; it has no impact on the Y-axis score. The vendor in this hypothetical could max out the X-axis under the COST model, but additional elements would be needed for the vendor to rise from the tactical quadrant to the strategic quadrant. In the MVP model, if the vendor maxed out the score on that one element (at 100%), the vendor would be at the top of the pyramid and would be a principal vendor.

    One model is not necessarily better than the other. Both provide an objective way for you to determine the importance of your vendors. However, if you are using elements that don’t fit neatly into the two axes of the COST model, consider using the MVP model. Play with each and see which one works best in your environment, knowing you can always switch at a later point.

    2.1.1 – COST Model Vendor Classification Tool

    15 – 45 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to decide whether you want to use this model or the MVP model (see next page); if you choose this model, configure it for your environment by reviewing Elevate – COST Model Vendor Classification Tool – Tab 2. Set Parameters.
      1. Review the questions in column C for each axis (items 1-9), the weights in column D, and the answers/descriptors for each question (columns E, F, G, and H). Make any adjustments necessary to fit your culture, environment, and goals.
      2. Using the Jump Start Your Vendor Management blueprint tool Jump - Phase 1 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 1.7 Vendor Inventory, sort your vendors by spend; if you used multiple line items for a vendor in the Vendor Inventory Tool, aggregate the spend data for this activity.
      3. Adjust the descriptors and values in row 16 (Item 7) to match your actual data. General guidance for establishing the spend ranges is provided in the tool itself.
    2. No other modifications should be made to the parameters.
    Input Output
    • Jump - Phase 1 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 1.7 Vendor Inventory from the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    • Configured COST Model Vendor Classification Tool
    Materials Participants
    • Elevate – Cost Model Vendor Classification Tool – Tab 2. Set Parameters
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate - COST Model Vendor Classification Tool

    2.1.2 – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool

    15 – 45 Minutes

    1. Meet with the Participants to decide whether you want to use this model or the COST Model (see previous page); if you choose this model, configure it for your environment by reviewing Elevate – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool – Tab 2. Set Parameters.
    2. Review the questions in column C (Items 1 - 7 ), the answers/descriptors for each question (columns D, E, and F), and the weights in column G. Make any adjustments necessary to fit your culture, environment, and goals.
    3. For the answers/descriptors use words and phrases that resonate with your audience and are as intuitive as possible.
    4. If you use annualized spend as an element, general guidance for establishing the spend ranges is provided in the tool itself.
    5. When assigning a weight value to a question, refrain from going below 5%; weights below this threshold will have minimal to no impact on a vendor's score.
    InputOutput
    • Jump - Phase 1 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 1.7 Vendor Inventory from the Info-Tech blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
    • Configured MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool – Tab 2. Set Parameters
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – MVP Model Vendor Classification Tool

    Step 2.2 – Customer positioning model

    Identify how the vendors view your organization

    The image contains a screenshot of the customer positioning model.

    Now that you have configured your choice of vendor classification model (or decided to stick with your original model), it’s time to think about the other side of the coin: How do your vendors view your organization. Why is this important? Because the VMI will have only limited success if you are trying to impose your will on your vendors without regard for how they view the relationship from their perspective. For example, if the vendor is one of your strategic (COST Model) or principal (MVP Model) vendors, but you don’t spend much money with them, you are difficult to work with, and there is no opportunity for future growth, you may have a difficult time getting the vendor to show up for BAMs (business alignment meetings), caring about scorecards, or caring about the relationship period.

    Our experience at Info-Tech interacting with our members through vendor management workshops, guided implementations, and advisory calls has led us to a significant conclusion on this topic: Most customers tend to overvalue their importance to their vendors. To open your eyes about how your vendors actually view your account, use Info-Tech’s OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool. (It is based on the supplier preferencing model pioneered by Steele & Court in 1996 in which the standard 2x2 matrix tool for procurement [and eventually vendor management] was repurposed to provide insights from the vendor’s perspective.) For our purposes, think of the OPEN model for customer positioning as a mirror’s reflection of the COST model for vendor classification. The OPEN model provides a more objective way to determine your importance to your vendors. Ultimately, your relationship with each vendor will be plotted into the 2x2 grid, and it will indicate whether your account is viewed as an opportunity, preferred, exploitable, or negligible.

    *Adapted from Profitable Purchasing Strategies by Paul T. Steele and Brian H. Court

    Step 2.3 – Two-way scorecards

    Design a two-way feedback loop with your vendors

    The image contains a screenshot example of the otwo-way feedback loop with vendors.

    As with the vendor classification models discussed in Step 2.1, the two-way scorecards presented here are an extension of the scorecard and feedback material from the Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative blueprint.

    The vendor scorecard in this blueprint provides additional flexibility and sophistication for your scorecarding approach by allowing the individual variables (or evidence indicators) within each measurement category to be evaluated and weighted. (The prior version only allowed the evaluation and weighting at the category level.)

    On the vendor feedback side, the next evolution is to formalize the feedback and document it in its own scorecard format rather than continuing to list questions in the BAM agenda. The vendor feedback template included with this blueprint provides a sample approach to quantifying the vendor’s feedback and tracking the information.

    The fundamentals of scorecarding remain the same:

    • Keep your eye on what is important to you.
    • Limit the number of measurement categories and evidence indicators to a reasonable and manageable number.
    • Simple is almost always better than complicated.

    2.3.1 – Two-way scorecards (vendor scorecard)

    15 – 60 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to configure the scorecard from Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.1 Vendor Scorecard to meet your needs:
      1. Review the measurement categories and criteria and modify as needed.
      2. Weight the measurement categories (Column E) according to their relative importance to each other; make sure the total adds up to 100%.
      3. Weight the measurement criteria (Column D) within each measurement category according to their relative importance to each other; make sure the total adds up to 100%.
    2. As a reminder, the vendor scorecard is for the vendor overall, not for a specific contract.
    3. You can create variations of the scorecard based on vendor categories (e.g. hardware, software, cloud, security, telecom), but avoid the temptation of creating vendor-specific scorecards unless the vendor is unique; conversely, you may want to create two or more scorecards for a vendor that crosses categories (one for each category).
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.1 Vendor Scorecard
    • Brainstorming
    • Configured vendor scorecards
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.1 Vendor Scorecard
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    2.3.2 – Two-way scorecards (vendor feedback form)

    15 – 60 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to configure the feedback form from Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.2 Vendor Feedback Form to meet your needs:
      1. Review the measurement categories and criteria and modify as needed.
      2. Weight the measurement categories (Column E) according to their relative importance to each other; make sure the total adds up to 100%.
      3. Weight the measurement criteria (Column D) within each measurement category according to their relative importance to each other; make sure the total adds up to 100%.
    2. As a reminder, the vendor feedback form is for the relationship overall and not for a specific contract.
    3. You can create variations of the feedback form based on vendor categories (e.g. hardware, software, cloud, security, telecom), but avoid the temptation of creating vendor-specific feedback forms unless the vendor is unique; conversely, you may want to create two or more feedback forms for a vendor that crosses categories and you work with different account management teams (one for each team).
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.2 Vendor Feedback Form
    • Brainstorming
    • Configured vendor feedback forms
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.3.2 Vendor Feedback Form
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 2.4 – Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    Design your template to help underperforming vendors

    It is not uncommon to see performance dips from even the best vendors. However, when poor performance becomes a trend, the vendor manager can work with the vendor to create and implement a performance improvement plan (PIP).

    Performance issues can come from a variety of sources:

    • Contractual obligations.
    • Scorecard items.
    • Compliance issues not specified in the contract.
    • Other areas/expectations not covered by the scorecard or contract (e.g. vendor personnel showing up late for meetings, vendor personnel not being adequately trained, vendor personnel not being responsive).

    PIPs should focus on at least a few key areas:

    • The stated performance in the contract or the expected performance.
    • The actual performance provided by the vendor.
    • The impact of the vendor’s poor performance on the customer.
    • A corrective action plan, including steps to be taken by the vendor and due dates and/or review dates.
    • The consequences for not improving the performance level.

    Info-Tech Insight

    PIPs are most effective when the vendor is an operational, strategic, or tactical vendor (COST model) or a principal or valued vendor (MVP model) and when you are an opportunity or preferred customer (OPEN model).

    2.4.1 – Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    15 – 30 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to review the two options for PIPs: Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tabs 2.4.1 and 2.4.2. Decide whether you want to use one or both options.
    2. Modify, add, or delete elements from either or both options to meet your needs.
    3. If you want to add signature lines for acknowledgement by the parties or other elements that may have legal implications, check with your legal advisors.
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium - Tabs 2.4.1 and 2.4.2
    • Brainstorming
    • Configured performance improvement plan templates
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium - Tabs 2.4.1 and 2.4.2
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 2.5 – Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    Identify key relationship indicators for your vendors

    Relationships are often taken for granted, and many faulty assumptions are made by both parties in the relationship: good relationships will stay good, bad relationships will stay bad, and relationships don’t require any work. In the vendor management space, these assumptions can derail the entire VMI and diminish the value added to your organization by vendors.

    To complicate matters, relationships are multi-faceted. They can occur:

    • On an organization-to-organization, working level.
      • Do your roadmaps align with the vendors?
      • Do the parties meet their contractual obligations?
      • Do the parties meet their day-to-day requirements (meetings, invoices, responses to inquiries)?
    • On an individual, personnel-to-personnel basis.
      • Do you have a good relationship with the account manager?
      • Does your project manager work well with the vendor’s project manager?
      • Do your executives have good relationships with their counterparts at the vendor?

    Improving or maintaining a relationship will not happen by accident. There must be a concerted effort to achieve the desired results (or get as close as possible). A relationship improvement plan can be used to improve or maintain a relationship with the vendor and the individuals who make up the vendor’s organization.

    Step 2.5 – Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    Identify key relationship indicators for your vendors (continued)

    Improving relationships (or even maintaining them) requires a plan. The first step is to understand the current situation: Is the relationship good, bad, or somewhere in between? While the analysis will be somewhat subjective, it can be made more objective than merely thinking about relationships emotionally or intuitively. Relationships can be assessed based on the presence and quality of certain traits, factors, and elements. For example, you may think communication is important in a relationship. However, that is too abstract and subjective; to be more objective, you would need to identify the indicators or qualities of good communication. For a vendor relationship, they might include (but wouldn’t necessarily be limited to):

    • Vendor communication is accurate and complete.
    • Vendor personnel respond to inquiries on a timely basis.
    • Vendor personnel communications are easy to understand.
    • Vendor personnel communicate with you in your preferred manner (text, email, phone).
    • Vendor personnel discuss the pros and cons of vendor products/services being presented.

    Evaluating these statements on a predefined and consistent scale establishes the baseline necessary to conduct a gap analysis. The second half of the equation is the future state. Using the same criteria, what would or should the communication component look like a year from now? After that is determined, a plan can be created to improve the deficient areas and maintain the acceptable areas.

    Although this example focused on one category, the same methodology can be used for additional categories. It all starts with the simple question that requires a complex answer, “What traits are important to you and are indicators of a good relationship?”

    2.5.1 – Relationship Improvement Plan (RIP)

    15 – 60 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to configure the relationship indicators in Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan tool – Tab 2. Set Parameters.
    2. Review the 60 relationship indicators in column E of Tab 2. Set Parameters.
    3. Identify any relationship indicators that are important to you but that are missing from the prepopulated list.
    4. Add the relationship indicators you identified in step 3 above in the space provided at the end of column E of Tab 2. Set Parameters. There is space for up to 15 additional relationship indicators.
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan Tool
    • Brainstorming
    • Configured Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan tool
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan tool
    • Whiteboard of flip chart
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan tool

    Step 2.6 – Vendor-at-a-glance reports

    Configure executive and stakeholder reports

    Executives and stakeholders (“E&S”) discuss vendors during internal meetings and often meet directly with vendors as well. Having a solid working knowledge of all the critical vendors used by an organization is nearly impossible for E&S. Without situational awareness, though, E&S can appear uninformed, can be at the mercy of others with better information, and can be led astray by misinformation. To prevent these and other issues from derailing the E&S, two essential vendor-at-a-glance reports can be used.

    The first report is the 60-Second Report. As the name implies, the report can be reviewed and digested in roughly a minute. The report provides a lot of information on one page in a combination of graphics, icons, charts, and words.

    The second report is a vendor calendar. Although it is a simple document, the Vendor Calendar is a powerful communication tool to keep E&S informed of upcoming events with a vendor. The purpose is not to replace the automated calendaring systems (e.g. Outlook), but to supplement them.

    Combined, the 60-Second Report and the Vendor Calendar provide E&S with an overview of the information required for any high-level meeting with a vendor or to discuss a vendor.

    2.6.1 – Vendor-at-a-glance reports (60-Second Report)

    30 – 90 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to review the sample 60-Second Report and the Checklist of Potential Topics in Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.1 V-at-a-G 60-Second Report.
    2. Identify topics of interest and ways to convey the data/information. (Make sure the data sources are valid and the data are easy to obtain.)
    3. Create a framework for the report and populate the fields with sample data. Use one printed page as a guideline for the framework; if it doesn’t fit on one page, adjust the amount of content until it does. If you adjust the margins, font, size of the graphic content, and other items, make sure you don’t reduce the size too much. The brain needs white space to more easily absorb the content, and people shouldn’t have to squint to read the content!
    4. Share the mockup with the intended audience and get their feedback. Use an iterative approach until you are satisfied that no further changes are necessary (or reasonable). Keep in mind that you will not be able to please everyone!
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.1 V-at-a-G 60-Second Report
    • Design elements and framework for 60-Second Reports
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.1. V-at-a-G 60-Second Report
    • Whiteboard or flip chart
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    2.6.2 – Vendor-at-a-glance reports (vendor calendar)

    15 – 30 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to review the sample Vendor Calendar format in Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.2 V-at-a-G Vendor Calendar.
    2. Brainstorm as a team to identify items to include in the calendar (e.g. business alignment meeting dates, conference dates, contract renewals).
    3. Determine whether you want the Vendor Calendar to be:
      1. A calendar year or a fiscal year (if they are different in your organization)
      2. A rolling twelve-month calendar or a fixed calendar.
    4. Decide whether the fill color for each month should change based on your answers in 3, above. For example, you might want a color scheme by quarter or by year (if you choose a rolling twelve-month calendar).
    5. Share the mockup with the intended audience to get their feedback. Use an iterative approach until you are satisfied that no further changes are necessary (or reasonable). Keep in mind you will not be able to please everyone!
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.2 V-at-a-G Vendor Calendar
    • Brainstorming
    • Framework and topics for Vendor Calendar Reports
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.6.2 V-at-a-G Vendor Calendar
    • Whiteboard or flip chart
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 2.7 – VMI personnel competency evaluation tool

    Identify skills, competencies, and knowledge required for success

    The image contains a screenshot of the VMI personnel competency evaluation tool.

    By now, you have built and begun managing the VMI’s 3-year roadmap and 90-day plans to help you navigate the VMI’s day-to-day operational path. To complement these plans, it is time to build a roadmap for the VMI’s personnel as well. It doesn’t matter whether VMI is just you, you and some part-time personnel, a robust and fully staffed vendor management office, or some other point on the vendor management spectrum. The VMI is a reflection of its personnel, and they must improve their skills, competencies, and knowledge (“S/C/K”) over time for the VMI to reach its potential. As the adage says, “What got you here won’t get you there.”

    To get there requires a plan that starts with creating an inventory of the VMI’s team members’ S/C/K. Initially, focus on two items:

    • What S/C/K does the VMI currently have across its personnel?
    • What S/C/K does the VMI need to get to the next level?

    Conducting an assessment of and developing an improvement plan for each team member will be addressed later in this blueprint. (See steps 3.7 – Evaluate VMI Personnel, 3.8 – Improve Professional Skills, and 3.9 - Expand Professional Knowledge.)

    2.7.1 – VMI Personnel Competency Evaluation Tool

    15 – 60 Minutes

    1. Review the two options of the competency matrix found in Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium tabs 2.7.1 and 2.7.2 and decide which format you want to use.
    2. Review and modify as needed the prepopulated list of skills, competencies, knowledge, and other intellectual assets found in section 1 of the template option you selected in step 1. The list you use should reflect items that are important to your VMI's mission, goals, scope, charter, and operations.
    3. No changes are required to Sections 2 and 3. They are dashboards and will be updated automatically based on any changes you make to the skills, competencies, knowledge, and other intellectual assets elements in section 1.
    Input Output
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tabs 2.7.1 and 2.7.2
    • Current job descriptions
    • A list of competencies, skills, and knowledge VMI personnel
      • Should have
      • Do have

    An assessment and inventory of competencies, skills, knowledge, and other intellectual assets by VMI team member

    Materials Participants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tabs 2.7.1 and 2.7.2
    • VMI team lead
    • VMI team members as needed

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium.

    Step 2.8 – Internal feedback tool

    Create a user-friendly survey to learn about the VMI’s impact on the organization

    The image contains a screenshot of the internal feedback tool.

    *Adapted from “Best Practices for Every Step of Survey Creation” from surveymonkey.com and “The 9 Most Important Survey Design Tips & Best Practices” by Swetha Amaresan.

    As part of the vendor management lifecycle, the VMI conducts an annual review to assesses compliance with policies and procedures, to incorporate changes in leading practices, to ensure that lessons learned are captured and leveraged, to validate that internal alignment is maintained, and to update governances as needed. As the VMI matures, the annual review process should incorporate feedback from those the VMI serves and those directly impacted by the VMI’s efforts. Your internal clients and others will be able to provide insights on what the VMI does well, what needs improvement, what challenges arise when using the VMI’s services, and other issues.

    A few best practices for creating surveys are set out below:*

    1. Start by establishing a clearly defined, attainable, and high-level goal by filling in the blank: "I want to better understand [blank] (e.g. how the VMI impacts our clients and the executives/stakeholders)." From there, you can begin to derive questions that will help you meet your stated goal.
    2. Use mostly “closed-ended” questions in the survey – responses selected from a list provided. Do ask some “open-ended” questions at the end of the survey to obtain specific examples, anecdotes, or compliments by providing space for the respondent to provide a narrative.
    3. Avoid using biased and leading questions, for example, “Would you say the VMI was great or merely fabulous?” The goal is to get real feedback that helps the VMI improve. Don’t ask the respondents to tell you what you want to hear…listen to what they have to say.

    Step 2.8 – Internal feedback tool

    Create a user-friendly survey to learn about the VMI’s impact on the organization (continued)

    The image contains a screenshot of the internal feedback tool.

    4. Pay attention to your vocabulary and phrasing; use simple words. The goal is to communicate effectively and solicit feedback, and that all starts with the respondents being able to understand what you are asking or seeking.

    5. Use response scales and keep the answer choices balanced. You want the respondents to find an answer that matches their feedback. For example, potential answers such as “strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree” are better than “strongly agree, agree, other.”

    6. To improve your response rate, keep your survey short. Most people don’t like surveys, but they really hate long surveys. Make every question count, and keep the average response time to a maximum of a couple of minutes.

    7. Watch out for “absolutes;” they can hurt the quality of your responses. Avoid using language such as always, never, all, and every in your questions or statements. They tend to polarize the evaluation and make it feel like an all-or-nothing situation.

    8. Ask one question at a time or request evaluation of one statement at a time. Combining two topics into the same question or statement (double-barreled questions or statements) makes it difficult for the respondent to determine how to answer if both parts require different answers, for example, “During your last interaction with the VMI, how would you rate our assistance and friendliness?”

    2.8.1 – Internal Feedback Tool

    15 – 60 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants and review the information in Elevate – Phase 2 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.8.
    2. Two types of surveys are referenced in tab 2.8: a general awareness survey and a specific interaction survey. Decide whether you want to create one or both for your VMI.
      1. For a general awareness survey, review the questions in part 1 of tab 2.8 and make any changes required to meet your needs. Try to keep the number of questions to seven or less. Determine who will receive the survey and how often it will be used.
      2. For a specific interaction survey, review the questions in Part 2 of Tab 2.8. Select up to 7 questions you want to use, making changes to existing questions or creating your own. The goal of this survey is to solicit feedback immediately after one of your internal clients has used the VMI’s services. You may need multiple variations of the survey based on the types of interactions or services the VMI provides.
    3. Balance the length of the surveys against the information you are seeking and the time required for the respondents to complete the survey.
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Phase 2 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.8
    • Brainstorming
    • Configured internal surveys
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Phase 2 Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.8
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate –Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 2.9 – VMI ROI calculation

    Identify ROI variables to track

    After the VMI has been operating for a year or two, questions may begin to surface about the value the VMI provides. “We’re making an investment in the VMI. What are we getting in return?” “Does the VMI provide us with any tangible benefits, or is it another mandatory area like Internal Audit?” To keep the naysayers at bay, start tracking the value the VMI adds to the organization or the return on investment (ROI) provided.

    The easy thing to focus on is money: hard-dollar savings, soft-dollar savings, and cost avoidance. However, the VMI often plays a critical role in vendor-facing activities that lead to saving time, improving performance, and managing risk. All of these are quantifiable and trackable. In addition, internal customer satisfaction (step 2.8 and step 3.11) can provide examples of the VMI’s impact beyond the four pillars of money, time, performance, and risk.

    VMI ROI is a multifaceted and complex topic that is beyond the scope of this blueprint. However, you can do a deep (or shallow) dive on this topic by downloading and reading Info-Tech’s blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO to plot your path for tracking and reporting the VMI’s ROI or value.

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO

    2.9.1 – VMI ROI calculation

    2 – 4 Hours

    1. Meet with the participants to review the Info-Tech blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO.
    2. Identify your ROI maturity level using the tools from that blueprint.
    3. Develop a game plan for measuring and reporting your ROI.
    4. Configure the tools to meet your needs.
    5. Gain approval from applicable stakeholders or executives.
    Input Output
    • The tools and materials from the Info-Tech blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO
    • Brainstorming
    • Game plan for measuring and reporting ROI
    Materials Participants
    • The Info-Tech blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO and its tools
    • VMI team
    • Executives and stakeholders as needed

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO

    Step 2.10 – Vendor recognition program

    Address the foundational elements of your program

    A vendor recognition program can provide many benefits to your organization. Obtaining those benefits requires a solid plan and the following foundational elements:

    • Internal alignment: The program must align with your organization’s principles and culture. A vendor recognition program that accentuates value and collaboration will not succeed in a customer environment that operates with a “lowest cost wins/price is the only thing we care about” mentality.
    • Funding: Not every program requires extensive funding (or any funding), but more formal vendor recognition programs do require some investment. Underfunding will make your program look cheap and unimpressive. For example, a certificate of appreciation printed on plain paper using a Word template doesn’t send the same message as a nice plaque engraved with the winner’s name.
    • Support: Executive buy-in and support are essential. Without this, only the most informal vendor recognition programs stand a chance of surviving. Executives and stakeholders are often directly involved in formal programs, and this broadens the appeal of the program from the vendor’s perspective.
    • Designated leader: Someone needs to be in charge of the vendor recognition program. This doesn’t mean only one person is doing all the work, but it does require one person to lead the effort and drive the program forward. Much like the VMI itself, there are things the leader will be able to do themselves and things that will require the input, assistance, and participation from others throughout the organization.

    Step 2.10 – Vendor recognition program

    Leverage the advantages of recognizing vendors

    As with any project, there are advantages and disadvantages with implementing and operating a vendor recognition program.

    Advantages:

    • The Pygmalion effect may come into play; the vendors’ performance can be influenced by your expectations as conveyed through the program.
    • There may be some prestige for the vendor associated with winning one of your awards or receiving recognition.
    • Vendor recognition programs can be viewed as a competition, and this can improve vendor performance as it relates to the program and program categories.
    • The program can provide additional feedback to the vendor on what's important to you and help the vendor focus on those items.
    • The vendors’ executives may have an increased awareness of your organization, which can help build relationships.
    • Performance gains can be maintained or increased. Vendors are competitive by nature. Once a vendor wins an award or receives the recognition, it will strive to win again the following year (or measurement period).

    Step 2.10 – Vendor recognition program

    Manage the disadvantages of recognizing vendors

    Just as a coin has two sides, there are two sides to a vendor recognition program. Advantages must be weighed against disadvantages, or at the very least, you must be aware of the potential disadvantages.

    Disadvantages:

    • The program may require funding, depending upon the scope and type of awards, rewards, and recognition being provided.
    • Some vendors who don’t qualify for the program or who fail to win may get hurt feelings. This may alienate them.
    • In addition to hurt feelings from being excluded or finishing outside of the winner’s circle, some vendors may believe the program shows favoritism to certain vendors or is too subjective.
    • Some vendors may not “participate” in the program; they may not understand the WIIFM (what’s in it for me). You may have to “sell” the benefits and advantages of participation to the vendors.
    • Participation may vary by size of vendor. The award, reward, or recognition may mean more to small and mid-sized companies than large companies.

    Step 2.10 – Vendor recognition program

    Create your program’s framework

    There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a vendor recognition program. Your program should align with your goals. For example, do you want to drive performance and collaboration, or do you want to recognize vendors that exceed your expectations? While these are not mutually exclusive, the first step is to identify your goals. Next, focus on whether you want a formal or informal program. An informal program could consist of sending thank-you emails or notes to vendor personnel who go above and beyond; a formal program could consist of objective criteria announced and measured annually, with the winners receiving plaques, publicity, and/or recognition at a formal award ceremony with your executives. Once you have determined the type of program you want, you can begin building the framework.

    Take a “crawl, walk, run” approach to designing, implementing, and running your vendor recognition program. Start small and build on your successes. If you try something and it doesn’t work the way you intended, regroup and try again.

    The vendor recognition program may or may not end up residing in the VMI. Regardless, the VMI can be instrumental in creating the program and reinforcing it with the vendors. Even if the program is run and operated by the VMI, other departments will need to be involved. Seek input from the legal and marketing departments to build a durable program that works for your environment and maximizes its impact.

    Lastly, don’t overlook the simple gestures…they go a long way to making people feel appreciated in today’s impersonal world. A simple (but specific) thank-you can have a lasting impact, and not everything needs to be about the vendor’s organization. People make the organization “go,” not the other way around.

    2.10.1 – Vendor recognition program

    30 – 90 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to review the checklist in Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium, Tab 2.10 Vendor Recognition.
      1. Decide whether you want to create a program that recognizes individual vendor personnel. If so, review part 1 of tab 2.10 and select the elements you are interested in using to build your program.
      2. Decide whether you want to create a program that recognizes vendors at the company level. If so, review part 2 of tab 2.10.
        1. The first section lists elements of an informal and a formal approach. Decide which approach you want to take.
        2. The second section focuses on creating a formal recognition program. Review the checklist and identify elements that you want to include or issues that must be addressed in creating your program.
    2. Create a draft framework of your programs and work with other areas to finalize the program elements, timeline, marketing, budget, and other considerations.
    Input Output
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.10 Vendor Recognition
    • Brainstorming
    • A framework for a vendor recognition program
    Materials Participants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 2.10. Vendor Recognition
    • Whiteboard or flip chart
    • VMI team
    • Executives and stakeholders as needed
    • Marketing and legal as needed

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    Phase 3 – Run

    Use New and Updated Tools and Increase the VMI’s Impact

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    Phase 4

    1.1 Review and update existing Plan materials

    2.1 Vendor classification models

    2.2 Customer positioning model

    2.3 Two-way scorecards

    2.4 Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    2.5 Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    2.6 Vendor-at-a-glance reports

    2.7 VMI personnel competency evaluation tool

    2.8 Internal feedback tool

    2.9 VMI ROI calculation

    2.10 Vendor recognition program

    3.1 Classify vendors and identify customer position

    3.2 Assess the relationship landscape

    3.3 Leverage two-way scorecards

    3.4 Implement PIPs and RIPs

    3.5 Gather market intelligence

    3.6 Generate vendor-at-a-glance reports

    3.7 Evaluate VMI personnel

    3.8 Improve professional skills

    3.9 Expand professional knowledge

    3.10 Create brand awareness

    3.11 Survey internal clients

    3.12 Calculate VMI ROI

    3.13 Implement vendor recognition program

    4.1 Investigate potential alliances

    4.2 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    4.3 Review and update

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    This phase helps you begin integrating the new tools and templates into the VMI’s operations. The main outcomes from this phase are guidance and the steps required to continue your VMI’s maturation and evolution.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • VMI team
    • IT
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Human resources
    • Applicable stakeholders and executives
    • Others as needed

    Phase 3 – Run

    Implement new processes, tools, and templates and leverage new concepts

    The review and assessment conducted in Phase 1 – Plan and the tools and templates created and configured during Phase 2 – Build are ready for use and incorporation into your operations. As you trek through Phase 3 – Run, a couple of familiar concepts will be reviewed (vendor classification and scorecarding), and additional details on previously introduced concepts will be provided (customer positioning, surveying internal clients); in addition, new ideas will be presented for your consideration:

    • Assessing the relationship landscape
    • Gathering market intelligence
    • Improving professional skills
    • Expanding professional knowledge
    • Creating brand awareness

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors & identify customer position

    Classify your top 25 vendors by spend

    The methodology used to classify your vendors in the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative applies here as well, regardless of whether you use the COST model or the MVP model. Info-Tech recommends using an iterative approach initially to validate the results from the model you configured in step 2.1.

    1. Start with your top 25 vendors by spend. From this pool, select 10 vendors: choose your top three vendors by spend, three from the middle of the pack (e.g. numbers 14, 15, and 16 by spend), and the bottom four by spend. Run all 10 vendors through the classification model and review the results.
    2. If the results are what you expected and do not contain any significant surprises, run the rest of the top 25 vendors through the model.
    3. If the results are not what you expected or do contain significant surprises, look at the configuration page of the tool (tab 2) and adjust the weights slightly. Be cautious in your evaluation of the results before modifying the configuration page – some legitimate results are unexpected or surprises based on biases or subjective expectations. Proceed to point 1 above and repeat this process as needed.

    Remember to share the results with executives and stakeholders. Switching from one classification model to another may lead to concerns or questions. As always, obtain their buy-in on the final results.

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Translate terminology and processes if you use the MVP vendor classification model

    If you use the MVP model, the same features will be applicable and the same processes will be followed after classifying your vendors, despite the change in nomenclature. (Strategic vendors are the equivalent of principal vendors; high operational and high tactical vendors are the equivalent of valued vendors; and all other vendors are the equivalent of minor vendors.)

    • Roughly 5% (max) of your total vendor population will be classified as principal.
    • Approximately 10% (max) of your total vendor population will be classified as valued.
    • About 80% of your total vendor population will be classified as minor.
    • Business alignment meetings should be conducted and scorecards should be compiled quarterly for your principal vendors and at least every six months for your valued vendors; business alignment meetings are not necessary for your minor vendors.
    • All other activities will be based on the criteria you used in your MVP model. For example, risk measuring, monitoring, and reporting might be done quarterly for principal and valued vendors if risk is a significant component in your MVP model; if risk is a lesser component, measuring, monitoring, and reporting might be done less frequently (every six or 12 months).

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Determine your customer position for your top 25 vendors using the OPEN model

    The image contains a screenshot of the customer positioning model.

    After classifying your vendors, run your top 25 vendors through the OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool. The information you need can come from multiple sources, including:

    • Talking to internal personnel to determine responses to the OPEN model assessment statements.
    • Compiling spend information.
    • Looking at the vendors’ financial statements.
    • Talking with the vendors to glean additional information.

    At first blush, the results can run the emotional and logical gamut: shocking, demeaning, degrading, comforting, insightful, accurate, off-kilter, or a combination of these and other reactions. To a certain extent, that is the point of the activity. As previously stated, customers often overestimate their importance to a vendor. To be helpful, your perspective must be as objective as possible rather than the subjective view painted by the account team and others within the vendor (e.g. “You’re my favorite client,” “We love working with you,” “You’re one of our key accounts,” or “You’re one of our best clients.”) The vendor often puts customers on a pedestal that is nothing more than sales puffery. How a vendor treats you is more important than them telling you how great you are.

    Use the OPEN model results and the material on the following pages to develop a game plan as you move forward with your vendor-facing VMI activities. The outcomes of the OPEN model will impact your business alignment meetings, scorecards, relationships, expectations, and many other facets of the VMI.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool can be adapted for use at the account manager level to determine how important your account is to the account manager.

    *Adapted from Profitable Purchasing Strategies by Paul T. Steele and Brian H. Court

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Learn how each quadrant of the open model impacts your organization (continued)

    Opportunity

    Low value and high attractiveness

    Characteristics and potential actions by the vendor

    • Higher level of service provided.
    • Higher level of attention.
    • Nurture the customer.1
    • Expand the business and relationship.1
    • Seek new opportunities.2
    • Provide proactive service.
    • Demonstrate added value.

    Customer strategies

    • Leverage the position – the vendor may be willing (at least in the short term) to meet your requirements in order to win more business.3
    • Look for ways to improve your value to the vendor and to grow the relationship and business if it works to your advantage.
    1. Procurement Cube, 2020. 2. Accuity Consultants, 2012. 3. New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2021.

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Learn how each quadrant of the OPEN model impacts your organization (continued)

    Preferred

    High value and high attractiveness

    Characteristics and potential actions by the vendor

    • High level of service provided.
    • High level of attention, service, and response.1
    • The supplier actively seeks longer-term commitments.2
    • Retain and expand the business and relationship.3
    • Look after and pamper the customer.4
    • Fight to keep the account.
    • There is a dedicated account manager2 (you are the account manager’s only account).

    Customer strategies

    • Establish a rewarding business relationship in which both parties continually seek to add value.3
    • Leverage the relationship to gain better access to innovation, collaborate to eliminate waste, and work together to maintain or increase your competitive advantages.1
      1. Procurement Cube, 2020. 2. Comprara, 2015. 3. New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2021. 4. Accuity Consultants, 2012.

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Learn how each quadrant of the OPEN model impacts your organization (continued)

    Exploitable

    High value and low attractiveness

    Characteristics and potential actions by the vendor

    • Lower level of service provided.
    • Lower level of attention.
    • Strive for best price from the customer (i.e. premium pricing).1
    • Seek short-term advantage and consistent price increases.
    • Accept risk of losing the customer.
    • Focus on maximizing profits.2
    • Provide reactive service.

    Customer strategies

    • Look for alternative vendors or try to make the relationship more attractive by considering more efficient ways to do business2 or focusing on issues other than pricing.
    • Identify ways to improve your organization’s attractiveness to the vendor or the account manager.
    1. Accuity Consultants, 2012. 2. New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2021.

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Learn how each quadrant of the open model impacts your organization

    Negligible

    Low value and low attractiveness

    Characteristics and potential actions by the vendor

    • Lower level of service provided.
    • Lower level of attention.1
    • Loss of interest and enthusiasm for customer’s business.
    • Loss of customer will not cause any pain.1
    • Terminate the relationship.2
    • Terms and conditions are the “standard” terms and are non-negotiable.3
    • There is a standard price list and discounts are in line with industry norms.3

    Customer strategies

    • You may wish to consider sourcing from other suppliers who value your business more highly.2
    • Identify the root cause of your position and determine whether it is worthwhile (or possible) to improve your position.
    1. Procurement Cube, 2020. 2. New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2021. 3 Comprara, 2015.

    Step 3.1 – Classify vendors and identify customer position

    Think like a vendor to increase situational awareness

    In summary, vendor actions are understandable and predictable. Learning about how they think and act is invaluable. As some food for thought, consider this snippet from an article aimed at vendors:

    “The [customer positioning] grid or matrix is, in itself, a valuable snapshot of the portfolio of customers. However, it is what we do with this information that governs how effective the tool is. It can be used in many ways:

    • It helps in the allocation of resources to specific customers, and whether the right resources are being allocated to the right customers.
    • It can determine the style of relationship that is appropriate to have with this client – and whether the real relationship truly reflects this.
    • It can influence the amount of time spent with these clients. Interestingly, we often find that a disproportionate amount of management time is spent on [Negligible] Customers (at the expense of spending more time with [Preferred] Accounts)!
    • It should significantly influence the price and profitability targets for specific customers.
    • And, last but by no means least, it should determine our negotiation style for different customers.”1
    1 “Rule No. 5: All Customers/Suppliers Have a Different Value to You,” New Dawn Partners.

    Step 3.2 – Assess the relationship landscape

    Identify key relationships and relationship risks

    After classifying your vendors (COST or MVP model) and identifying your positioning for the top vendors via the OPEN Model Customer Positioning Tool, the next step is to assess the relationship landscape. For key vendors (strategic, high operational, and high tactical under the COST model and principal and valued under the MVP model), look closer at the relationships that currently exist:

    • What peer-to-peer relationships exist between your organization and the vendor (e.g. your project manager works closely with the vendor’s project manager)? Look across executives, mid-level management, and frontline employees.
    • What politically charged relationships exist between employees of the two organizations and the organizations themselves? Examples include:
      • Friendships, neighbors, and relationships fostered by children on the same sports team or engaged in other activities.
      • Serving on third-party boards of directors or working with the same charities in an active capacity.
      • Reciprocity relationships where each organization is a customer and vendor to the other (e.g. a bank buys hardware from the vendor and the vendor uses the customer for its banking needs).
    • How long has the contract relationship been in place?

    This information will provide a more holistic view of the dynamics at work (or just beneath the surface) beyond the contract and operational relationships. It will also help you understand any relationship leverage that may be in play…now or in the future…from each party’s perspective.

    3.2.1 – Assess the relationship landscape

    10 - 30 Minutes per vendor

    1. Decide whether to meet with the participants in small groups or as a large group.
    2. Using Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 3.2 Relationship Landscape, for each important vendor (strategic, tactical, and operational under the COST model or principal and valued under the MVP model), identify and evaluate the relationships that exist for the following categories:
      1. Professional: relationships your personnel have with the vendor’s executives, mid-level management, and frontline employees.
      2. Political: personal relationships between customer and vendor personnel, any professional connections, and any reciprocity between your organization and the vendor.
    Input Output
    • Relationship information
    • Vendor classification categories for each vendor being assessed
    • A list of customer-vendor relationships
    • Potential reciprocity issues to manage
    Materials Participants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 3.2 Relationship Landscape
    • VMI team
    • Stakeholders
    • Others with knowledge of customer/vendor relationships

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 3.3 – Leverage two-way scorecards

    Roll out your new vendor scorecards and feedback forms

    As you roll out your new, enhanced scorecards, the same principles apply. Only a couple of modifications need to be made to your processes.

    For the vendor scorecards, the VMI will still be driving the process, and internal personnel will still be completing the scorecards. An email or short orientation meeting for those involved will ease the transition from the old format to the new format. Consider creating a FAQ (frequently asked questions) for the new template, format, and content; you’ll be able to leverage it via the email or meeting to answer questions such as: What changed? Why did it change? Why are we doing this? In addition, making a change to the format and content may generate a need for new or additional internal personnel to be part of the scorecarding process. A scorecarding kick-off meeting or orientation meeting will ensure that the new participants buy into the process and acclimate to the process quickly.

    For the vendor feedback, the look and feel is completely new. The feedback questions that were part of the BAM agenda have been replaced by a more in-depth approach that mirrors the vendor scorecards. Consider conducting a kick-off meeting with each participating vendor to ensure they understand the importance of the feedback form and the process for completing it. Remember to update your process to remind the vendors to submit the feedback forms three to five business days prior to the BAM (and update your BAM agenda). You will want time to review the feedback and identify any questions or items that need to be clarified. Lastly, set aside some extra time to review the feedback form in the first BAM after you shift to the formal format.

    Step 3.4 – Implement PIPs and RIPs

    Improve vendor performance

    Underperforming vendors are similar to underperforming employees. There can be many reasons for the lackluster performance, and broaching the subject of a PIP may put the vendor on the defensive. Consider working with the human resources department (or whatever it is called in your organization) to learn some of the subtle nuances and best practices from the employee PIP realm that can be used in the vendor PIP realm.

    When developing the PIP, make sure you:

    • Work with legal to ensure compliance with the contract and applicable laws.
    • Adequately convey the expected performance to the vendor; it is unfair to hold a vendor accountable for unreasonable and unconveyed expectations.
    • Work with the vendor on the PIP rather than imposing the PIP on the vendor.
    • Remain objective and be realistic about timelines and improvement.

    Not all performance issues require a PIP; some can be addressed one-on-one with the vendor’s account manager, project manager, or other personnel. The key is to identify meaningful problems and use a PIP to resolve them when other measures have failed or when more formality is required.

    A PIP is a communication tool, not a punishment tool. When used properly, PIPs can improve relationships, help avoid lawsuits, and prevent performance issues from having a significant impact on your organization.

    Step 3.4 – Implement PIPs and RIPs

    Improve vendor relationships

    After assessing the relationship landscape in step 3.2 and configuring the Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan Tool in step 2.5, the next step is to leverage that information: 1) establish a relationship baseline for each critical vendor; and 2) develop and implement a plan for each to maintain or improve those relationships.

    The Relationship Assessment and Improvement Plan Tool provides insights into the actual status of your relationships. It allows you to quantify and qualify those relationships rather than relying on intuition or instinct. It also pinpoints areas that are strong and areas that need improvement. Identify your top seven relationship priorities and build your improvement/maintenance plan around those to start. (This number can be expanded if some of your priorities are low effort or if you have several people who can assist with the implementation of the plan.) Decide which relationship indicators need a formal plan, which ones require only an informal plan, and which ones involve a hybrid approach. Remember to factor in the maintenance aspect of the relationship – if something is going well, it can still be a top priority to ensure that the relationship component remains strong.

    Similar to a PIP, your RIP can be very formal with action items and deadlines. Unlike a PIP, the RIP is typically not shared with the vendor. (It can be awkward to say, “Here are the things we’re going to do to improve our relationship, vendor.”)

    The level of formality for your plan will vary. Customize your plan for each vendor. Relationships are not formulaic, although they can share traits. Keep in mind what works with one person or one vendor may not work for another. It’s okay to revisit the plan if it is not working and make adjustments.

    Step 3.5 – Gather market intelligence

    Determine the nature and scope of your market intelligence

    What is market intelligence?

    Market intelligence is a broad umbrella that covers a lot of topics, and the breadth and depth of those topics depend on whether you sit on the vendor or customer side of the equation. Even on the customer side, the scope and meaning of market intelligence are defined by the role served by those gathering market intelligence. As a result, the first step for the VMI is to set the boundaries and expectations for its role in the process. There can be some overlap between IT, procurement/sourcing, and the VMI, for example. Coordinating with other functional areas is a good idea to avoid stepping on each other’s toes or expending duplicate resources unnecessarily.

    For purposes of this blueprint, market intelligence is defined as gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing data and information about your critical vendors (high operational, high tactical, and strategic under the COST model or valued and principal under the MVP model), their competitors, and the industry. Market intelligence can be broken into two basic categories: individual vendors and the industry as a whole. For vendors, it generally encompasses data and information about products and services available, each vendor’s capabilities, reputation, costs, pricing, advantages, disadvantages, finances, location, risks, quality ratings, standard service level agreements (SLAs) and other metrics, supply chain risk, total cost of ownership, background information, and other points of interest. For the industry, it can include the market drivers, pressures, and competitive forces; each vendor’s position in the industry; whether the industry is growing, stable, or declining; whether the industry is competitive or led by one or two dominant players; and the potential for disruption, trends, volatility, and risk for the industry. This represents some of the components of market intelligence; it is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

    Market intelligence is an essential component of a VMI as it matures and strives to be strategic and to provide significant value to the organization.

    Step 3.5 – Gather market intelligence

    Determine the nature and scope of your market intelligence

    What are the benefits of gathering market intelligence?

    Depending on the scope of your research, there are many potential uses, goals, and benefits that flow from gathering market intelligence:

    • Identify potential alternate vendors.
    • Learn more about the vendors and market in general.
    • Identify trends, innovations, and what’s available in the industry.
    • Improve contract protections and mitigate contract/performance risk.
    • Identify more comprehensive requirements for RFPs and negotiations.
    • Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for vendors.
    • Assist with minority/women/veteran-owned business or small business use initiatives.
    • Improve the pool of potential vendors for future RFPs, which can improve competition for your business.
    • Leverage information gained when negotiating or renegotiating at renewal (better terms and conditions).
    • Ensure ongoing alignment or identify gaps/risks between your current vendor’s capabilities and your needs.

    Step 3.5 – Gather market research and intelligence

    Begin collecting data and information

    What are some potential sources of information for market intelligence?

    For general information, there are many places to obtain market intelligence. Here are some common resources:

    • User groups
    • The internet
    • Vendor demos
    • Vendor marketing materials and websites
    • Internal personnel interviews and meetings
    • Industry publications and general periodicals
    • Trade shows and conferences (hosted or attended by vendors)
    • Requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposal (RFPs)
    • Vendor financial filings for publicly held companies (e.g. annual reports, 10-K, 10-Q)

    Keep in mind the source of the information may be skewed in favor of the vendor. For example, vendor marketing materials may paint a rosier picture of the vendor than reality. Using multiple sources to validate the data and information is a leading practice (and common sense).

    For specific information, many VMIs use a third-party service. Third-party services can dedicate more resources to research since that is their core function. However, the information obtained from any third party should be used as guidance and not as an absolute. No third-party service has access to every deal, and market conditions can change often and quickly.

    Step 3.5 – Gather market research and intelligence

    Resolve storage and access issues

    Some additional thoughts on market intelligence

    • Market intelligence is another tool in the VMI’s toolbox. How you use it and what you do with the results of your efforts is critical. Collecting information and passing it on without analysis or insights is close to being a capital offense.
    • As previously mentioned, defining the scope and nature of market intelligence is the first step. In conjunction with that, remember to identify where the information will be stored. Set up a system that allows for searching by relevance and easy retrieval. You can become overwhelmed with information.
    • Periodically update the scope and reach of your market intelligence efforts. Do you need to expand, contract, or maintain the breadth and depth of your research? Do new vendors and industries need to be added to the mix?
    • Information can grow stale. Review your market intelligence repository at least annually and purge unneeded or outdated information. Be careful though – some historical information is helpful to show trends and evolution. Decide whether old information should be deleted completely or moved to an archive.
    • Determine who should have access to your repository and what level of access they should have. Do you want to share outside of the VMI? Do you want others to contribute to or modify/edit the material in the repository or only be able to read from the repository?

    Step 3.6 – Generate vendor-at-a-glance reports

    Keep executives and stakeholders informed about critical vendors

    Much of the guidance provided on reports in the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative holds true for the 60-Second Report and the Vendor Calendar.

    • Determine who will be responsible for updating the reports, knowing that the VMI will be mainly coordinating the process and assembling the data/information rather than obtaining the data firsthand.
    • Determine the frequency. Most likely it will be periodic and ad hoc; for example, you may decide to update the 60-Second Report in whole or in part each quarter, but you may need to update it in the middle of the quarter if an executive has a meeting with one of your critical vendors at that time.
    • Even though you obtained feedback and “approval” from executives and stakeholders during step 2.6, you will still want to seek their input periodically. Their needs may change from time to time with respect to data, information, and formatting. Avoid the temptation to constantly make changes to the format, though. After the initial review cycle, try to make changes only annually as part of your ongoing review process.
    • Unfortunately, these reports require a manual approach; some parts may be automated, but that will depend on your format and systems.

    These reports should be kept confidential. Consider using a “confidential” stamp, header, watermark, or other indicator to highlight that the materials are sensitive and should not be disclosed outside of your organization without approval.

    Step 3.7 – Evaluate VMI personnel

    Compare skills, competencies, and knowledge needed to current levels

    Using the configured VMI personnel assessment tool (Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium tab 2.7.1 or 2.7.2), evaluate each VMI employee’s skills, competencies, and knowledge (S/C/K) against the established minimum level required/desired field for each. Use this tool for full-time and part-time team members to obtain a complete inventory of the VMI’s S/C/K.

    After completing the assessment, you will be able to identify areas where personnel exceed, meet, or fail to meet the minimum level required/desired using the included dashboards. This information can be used to create a development plan for areas of deficiency or areas where improvement is desired for career growth.

    As an alternative, you can assess VMI personnel using their job descriptions. Tab 2.7.3 of the Tools and Templates Compendium is set up to perform this type of analysis and create a plan for improvement when needed. Unlike Tabs 2.7.1 and 2.7.2, however, the assessment does not provide a dashboard for all employee evaluations. Tab 2.7.3 is intended to focus on the different roles and responsibilities for each employee versus the VMI as a whole.

    Lastly, you can use Tab 2.7.4 to evaluate potential VMI personnel during the interview process. Load the roles and responsibilities into the template, and evaluate all the candidates on the same criteria. A dashboard at the bottom of the template quantifies the number of instances each candidate exceeds, meets, and fails to meet the criteria. Used together, the evaluation matrix and dashboard will make it easier to identify each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses (and ultimately select the best new VMI team member).

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Increase proficiency in a few key areas

    The image contains an a screenshot example to demonstrate how to increase proficiency in a few key areas.

    To be an effective member of the VMI requires proficiency in many areas. Some basic skills like computer skills, writing, and time management are straightforward. Others are more nebulous. The focus of this step is on a few of the often-overlooked skills lurking in the shadows:

    • Communication
    • Running a meeting
    • Diplomacy
    • Emotional intelligence quotient (EQ)
    • Influence and persuasion
    • Building and maintaining relationships

    For the VMI to be viewed as a strategic and integral part of the organization, these skills (and others) are essential. Although this blueprint cannot cover all of them, some leading practices, tips, and techniques for each of the skills listed above will be shared over the next several pages.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Communicate more effectively

    Communication is the foundational element for the other professional skills covered in this Step 3.8. By focusing on seven key areas, you can improve your relationships, influence, emotional intelligence quotient, diplomacy, and impact when interacting with others. The concepts for the seven focal points presented here are the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Continue learning about these areas, and recognize that mastering each will require time and practice.

    1. Writing.
      1. Stick with simple words;1 you’re trying to communicate, not impress people with your vocabulary.
      2. Keep your sentences simple;1 use short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs.2
      3. Read your writing aloud;1 If you have to take a breath while reading a sentence out loud, the sentence is too long.
      4. Use a tool like Grammarly or the built-in functionality of Word to determine readability; aim for a score of 60 to 70 or a seventh- or eighth-grade level.3
      5. When reviewing your writing: consider your word choice and the implications of your words; look for unintended interpretations, ambiguities, and implied-tone issues.
    1 Grammarly, 2017. 2 Elna Cain, 2018. 3 Forbes, 2016.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Communicate more effectively (continued)

    2. Speaking

    1. Similar to writing, focus on short words and sentences. Avoid run-on sentences.
    2. Think before speaking and work on eliminating “ums,” “uhs,” and “you knows.” These detract from your message.
    3. Choose words that are “comfortable” for the other person/people. Rule number one in public speaking is to know your audience, and that rule applies beyond public speaking and to groups of all sizes (1 to 1,000+).
    4. Don’t confuse the words with the message.
    5. Pay attention to your tone, pace, and volume. Try to match your counterpart in one-on-one settings.

    3. Body Language.

    1. Understand body language’s limitations; it is part art and part science…not an absolute.
    2. Individual movements and movement clusters can provide information regarding the spoken message – look for consistencies and inconsistencies. A baseline for the person is needed to interpret the body language “accurately.”
    3. Pay attention to your own body language. Does it match the message being conveyed by your words or those of your teammates (in group settings)?

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Communicate more effectively (continued)

    4. Personality.

    1. Identify your counterpart’s personality: Are they extroverted or introverted? Are they effusive or reserved? Are they diplomatic or offensive? Are they collaborative or looking to blame someone?
    2. Appeal to their personality type when possible, but avoid the blame game. For example, don’t be loud and “over the top” with someone who is reserved and quiet.

    5. Style.

    1. Determine your counterpart’s style for both written and spoken communications: Are they direct or indirect? Are they bottom-line or do they prefer descriptions and build-ups? Are they into empirical data or anecdotal examples?
    2. To maximize the connection and communication effectiveness, match their style…even if it means getting out of your comfort zone a little. For example, if you have an indirect style, you will have to be more direct when dealing with someone who is direct; otherwise, you run the risk of alienating your counterpart (i.e. they will get frustrated or bored, or their mind will wander).

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Communicate more effectively (continued)

    6. Learning

    1. People absorb information in three ways:
      1. Visually: These learners need to see things for them to make sense and be retained.
      2. Auditory: These learners need to hear things for them to make sense and be retained.
      3. Kinesthetic/experiential: These learners need to do something or experience it to understand and retain it.
    2. While some people are dominant in one area, most are a combination of one or more methods.
    3. If you can identify a person’s preferred method of learning, you can enhance your ability to communicate. For example, talking (exclusively) with a visual learner will be minimally effective; showing that person a picture or graph while talking will increase your effectiveness.

    7. Actions and inactions.

    1. Communication goes beyond words, messages, body language, and other issues. Your actions or inactions following a communication can undo your hard work to communicate effectively.
    2. Follow through on promises, action items, or requests.
    3. Meet any deadlines or due dates that result from communications. This helps build trust.
    4. Make sure your follow-through items are complete and thorough. Half-way is no way!
    5. Communicate any delays in meeting the deadlines or due dates to avoid

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Tap into your inner diplomat

    Diplomacy can be defined many ways, but this one seems to fit best for the purposes of vendor management: The ability to assert your ideas or opinions, knowing what to say and how to say it without damaging the relationship by causing offense.1 At work, diplomacy can be about getting internal or external parties to work together, influencing another party, and conveying a message tactfully. As a vendor manager, diplomacy is a necessary skill for working with your team, your organization, and vendors.

    To be diplomatic, you must be in tune with others and understand many things about them such as their feelings, opinions, ideas, beliefs, values, positions, preferences, and styles. To achieve this, consider the following guidance:2

    • Modify your communication style: Communication is about getting someone to understand and evaluate your message so they can respond. Approach people the way they want to be approached. For example, sending an email to a person who prefers phone calls may create a communication issue.
    • Choose your words carefully: Use words as an artist uses a brush, paint, and a canvas. Paint a picture through word selection. Similar words can portray different scenes (e.g. the child ran to the store quickly vs. the child raced to the store). Make sure your image is relatable for your counterpart.
    1 “The Art of Tact and Diplomacy,” SkillsYouNeed 2 Communiqué PR, 2020.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Tap into your inner diplomat (continued)

    • Slow down a speak concisely: Say what you have to say…and stop. No one likes a communicator who rambles on and on. Once your message has been conveyed, go into silent mode. Get comfortable with silence; there is no need to fill the void with more meaningless words. Let your counterpart contemplate in peace.
    • Listen to understand: Be an active listener rather than biding your time until you can talk again. Avoid interrupting the other party (whenever possible, but sometimes it is needed!). Show interest in what the other person is saying and ask clarifying questions. Make eye contact, nod your head periodically, and summarize what you hear from time to time. Use your ears and mouth in proportion: listen twice as much as you talk.
    • Consider nonverbals: Read the facial expressions of the speaker and be aware of your own. Faces tend to be expressive; sometimes we are aware of it…and sometimes we aren’t. Try relaxing your face and body to minimize the involuntary expressions that may betray you. Adopt a diplomatic facial expression and practice using it; find the right mix of interest and neutrality.

    Whenever things get tense, take a deep breath, take a break, or stop the communication (based on the situation and what is appropriate). Being diplomatic can be taxing, and it is better to step back than to continue down a wrong path due to stress, emotion, being caught off guard, etc.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Build and maintain relationships

    Relationship building and networking cannot be overvalued. VMI personnel interact with many areas and people throughout the organization, and good relationships are essential. Building and maintaining relationships requires hard work and focusing on the right items. Although there isn’t a scientific formula or a mathematical equation to follow, key elements are present in all durable relationships.

    Focus on building relationships at all levels within your organization. People at every level may have data or information you need, and your relationship with them may be the deciding factor in whether you get the information or not. At other times, you will have data and information to give, and the relationship may determine how receptive others are to your message. Some relationship fundamentals are provided below and continue on the next page.1,2

    • Trust: be honest and ethical and follow through on your commitments.
    • Diversity: build relationships with people who aren’t just like you to expand your mindset.
    • Interrelatedness: understand how what you do impacts others you have relationships with.
    • Varied interaction: a good relationship will incorporate work-related interactions with personal interactions.
    • Effective communication: combine methods of communication but focus on the other person’s preferred method.
    1 ”Seven Characteristics of Successful Work Relationships,” 2006. 2 Success.com, 2022.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Build and maintain relationships (continued)

    • Empathy – understand where the other person is coming from through active listening.
    • Vulnerability – create a judgment-free zone.
    • Respect – this must be given and earned.
    • Real face time – meeting in the offline world signals to the person that they are important (but this is not always possible today).
    • A giving-first mentality – provide something of value before asking for something in return.
    • Unique perspective – tap into what the other person believes and values.
    • Intent – start with genuine interest in the other person and the relationship.
    • Hard work – active engagement and a commitment to the relationship are required.
    • Honesty – be honest in your communications.
    • Challenge – be open to thinking differently and trying new things.
    • Value – identify what you add to the relationship.
    • Conscientiousness – be aware of the relationship’s status and react accordingly.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Run meetings more efficiently and effectively

    Most people don’t get excited about meetings, but they are an important tool in the toolbox. Unfortunately, many meetings are unnecessary and unproductive. As a result, meeting invites often elicit an audible groan from invitees. Eliminating meetings completely is not a practical solution, which leaves one other option: improving them.

    You may not be in charge of every meeting, but when you are, you can improve their productivity and effectiveness by making a few modifications to your approach. Listed below are ten ideas for getting the most out of your meetings:*

    1. Begin with the mindset that you are a steward or protector of the meeting attendees’ time, and you never want attendees to feel that you wasted their time.
    2. Keep the attendee list to essential personnel only. Everyone attending the meeting should be able to justify their attendance (or you should be able to justify it).
    3. Set an appropriate time limit for the meeting. Don’t default to the 60-minute meeting; right-size the meeting time (e.g. 15, 30, or 45 minutes or some other number). Shorter meeting times force participants to focus.
    4. Create and use an agenda. To help you stay focused and to determine who to invite, set up the agenda as a list of questions rather than a list of topics.
    *Adapted from “The Surprising Science Behind Successful Remote Meetings” by Steven G. Rogelberg

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Run meetings more efficiently and effectively (continued)

    5. Use video when anyone is attending virtually. This helps prevent anonymity and increases engagement.

    6. Start and end meetings on time. Running over impacts other meetings and commitments; it also makes you look ineffective and increases stress levels for attendees.

    7. If longer meetings are necessary, build in a short break or time for people to stand up and stretch. Don’t say, “If you need a break or to stand up during the meeting, feel free.” Make it a planned activity.

    8. Keep others engaged by facilitating and drawing specific people into the conversation; however, don’t ask people to contribute on topics that they know nothing about or ask generally if anyone has any comments.

    9. Leverage technology to help with the meeting; have someone monitor the chat for questions and concerns. However, the chat should not be for side conversations, memes, and other distractions.

    10. End the meeting with a short recap, and make sure everyone knows what was decided/accomplished, what next steps are, and which action items belong to which people.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Increase emotional intelligence

    Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional intelligence quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.1 This is an important set of skills for working with vendors and internal personnel. Increasing your EQ will help you build better relationships and be seen as a valuable teammate…at all levels within your organization.

    Improving this skill dovetails with other skills discussed in this step 3.8, such as communication and diplomacy. Being well versed in the concepts of EQ won’t be enough. To improve requires a willingness to be open – open to feedback from others and open to new ideas. It also requires practice and patience. Change won’t happen overnight, but with some hard work and perseverance, your EQ can improve.

    There are many resources that can help you on your journey, and here are some tips to improve your EQ:2

    • Practice observing how you feel.
    • Pay attention to how you behave.
    • Learn to look at yourself objectively.
    • Understand what motivates you.
    • Acknowledge your emotional triggers.
    • Be interested in the subject matter.
    1 HelpGuide, 2022. 2 RocheMartin, 2022.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Increase emotional intelligence (continued)

    Tips to improve your EQ (continued from previous page):

    • It’s your choice how you react to a situation.
    • Listen without interruption, preconceptions, or skepticism; absorb their situation and consider how they are feeling before you react.
    • Try to be approachable and accessible.
    • Think about what’s happening from their perspective.
    • Cultivate a curiosity about strangers to understand different opinions, views, and values.
    • Acknowledge what people are saying to show you are actively listening.
    • Think about how you’re physically coming across with your body language, tone of voice, eye contact, and facial expressions.

    Things to avoid:1

    • Drama – don’t let others’ emotions affect or rule yours.
    • Complaining – don’t be a victim; do look for solutions.
    • Dwelling on the past – learn from the past and live in the present.
    • Selfishness – consider others’ needs, not just your own.
    • Being overly critical – understand the other person, then communicate the change you want to see.
    1 RocheMartin, 2022.

    Step 3.8 – Improve Professional Skills

    Use Influence and Persuasion to Benefit the VMI

    Skills such as influence and persuasion are important (even necessary) for vendor managers. (Don’t confuse this with the dark arts version – manipulation.) A good working definition is provided by the Center for Creative Leadership: Influence is the ability to affect the behavior of others in a particular direction, leveraging key tactics that involve, connect, and inspire them.* Influence and persuasion are not about strongarming or blackmailing someone to get your way. Influence and persuasion are about presenting issues, facts, examples, and other items in a way that moves people to align with your position. Sometimes you will be attempting to change a person’s mind, and other times you will be moving them from a neutral stance to agreeing to support your position.

    Building upon the basic communication skills discussed at the start of this step, there are some ways to improve your ability to influence and persuade others. Here are some suggestions to get you started:*

    1. Develop organizational intelligence – learn how your organization truly operates; identify the power brokers and their spheres of control and influence. Many failures to persuade and influence stem from not understanding who can help and how they can help (or hinder) your efforts. The most influential person in your organization may not be the person with the fancy title.
    2. Promote yourself and the team – don’t be afraid to step into the spotlight and demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. To be able to persuade and influence as and individual or a team, credibility must be established.
    * Center for Creative Leadership, 2020.

    Step 3.8 – Improve professional skills

    Use influence and persuasion to benefit the VMI (continued)

    3. Build and maintain trust – trust has two main components: competency and character. In item 2 on the previous page, competency trust was discussed from the perspective of knowledge and expertise. For character trust, you need to be viewed as being above reproach. You are honest and ethical; you follow through and honor your commitments. Once both types of trust are in place, eyes and ears will be open and more receptive to your messages. Bottom line: You can’t influence or persuade people if they don’t trust you.

    4. Grow and leverage networks – the workplace is a dynamic atmosphere, and it requires almost constant networking to ensure adequate contacts throughout the organization are maintained. Leveraging your network is an artform, and it must be used wisely. You don’t want to wear out your welcome by asking for assistance too often.

    As you prepare your plan to influence or persuade someone, ask yourself the following questions:*

    • Who am I attempting to influence?
    • What is the situation and how much support do I need?
    • Why do I need this person’s support for my idea?
    • What tactics can I use, and how can I establish rapport?
    • What responses do I anticipate?
    • What mutual points of agreement can I use?
    • How can I end on a positive note no matter what the outcome is?
    * Center for Creative Leadership, 2020.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Learn more about departments and functions tangential to the VMI

    To function in their roles, VMI personnel must be well versed in the concepts and terminology associated with vendor management. To be strategic and to develop relationships with other departments, divisions, agencies, and functional groups, VMI personnel must also be familiar with the concepts and terminology for functions outside the VMI. Although a deep dive is beyond the scope of this blueprint, understanding basic concepts within each of the topics below is critical:

    • Finance and accounting
    • Project management
    • Contracts and contract management
    • Procurement/sourcing
    • Change management
    • Conflict management
    • Account team dynamics

    It isn’t necessary to be an expert in these subjects, but VMI personnel must be able to talk with their peers intelligently. For example, a vendor manager needs to have a general background in contract terms and conditions to be able to discuss issues with legal, finance, procurement, and project management groups. A well-rounded and well-versed VMI team member can rise to the level of trusted advisor and internal strategic partner rather than wallowing in the operational or transactional world.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand finance and accounting basics

    Finance and accounting terms and concepts are commonplace in every organization. They are the main language of business – they are the way for-profit businesses keep score. Regardless of whether your organization is a for-profit, non-profit, governmental, or other entity, finance and accounting run through the veins of your organization as well. In addition to the customer side of the equation, there is the vendor side of the equation: Every vendor you deal with will be impacted financially by working with you.

    Having a good grasp of finance and accounting terms and concepts will improve your ability to negotiate, talk to finance and accounting personnel (internal and external), conduct ongoing due diligence on your critical vendors, review contracts, and evaluate vendor options, to name just a few of the benefits.

    The concepts listed on the following pages are some of the common terms applicable to finance and accounting. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Continue to learn about these concepts and identify others that allow you to grow professionally.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand finance and accounting basics (continued)

    Finance and accounting terms and concepts

    • Cash accounting vs. accrual accounting.
    • Fiscal year vs. calendar year.
    • Profit vs. cash flow.
    • Fixed expenses vs. variable expenses.
    • Capital expense (CapEx) vs. operating expense (OpEx).
    • Depreciation vs. amortization.
    • Payment upfront vs. payment in arrears.
    • Favorable (positive) variance vs. unfavorable (negative) variance.
    • Discretionary expense (cost/expenditure) vs. non-discretionary expense (cost/expenditure).
    • Income statement and its components.
    • Balance sheet and its components.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand finance and accounting basics (continued)

    Finance and accounting terms and concepts (cont’d)

    • Operating profit margin.
    • Net profit margin.
    • Return on assets.
    • Current ratio.
    • Quick ratio.
    • Debt-to-asset ratio.
    • Interest coverage.
    • Total asset turnover.
    • Receivables turnover.
    • Average collection period.
    • Inventory turnover.
    • Time value of money concept.
    • Future value (FV).
    • Present value (PV).
    • Net present value (NPV).
    • Cost of capital.
    • Internal rate of return (IRR).
    • Return on investment (ROI).
    • Payback (payback period or break even).

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand project management basics

    The image contains a screenshot example of expanding professional knowledge.

    Whether your organization has a formal project management office (PMO) or not, project management practices are being used by those tasked with making sure software and software as a service implementations go smoothly, technology refreshes are rolled out without a hitch, and other major activities are successful. Listed below are some common competencies/skills used by project managers to make sure the job gets done right.

    1. Requirements – define the project’s goals, objectives, and requirements.
    2. Scope – develop, monitor, and manage the project’s scope.
    3. Time – develop and manage the timeline and determine the order (parallel and sequential) for the tasks and activities.
    4. Budget – create and manage the project budget and report on any variances.
    5. Resources – manage space, people, software, equipment, services, etc.
    6. Risk – identify, evaluate, monitor, and manage project risk.
    7. Change – manage updated requirements, changes to the scope, and modifications to the contract.
    8. Documentation – work with the project charter, open issue logs, meeting minutes, and various reports.
    9. Communication – communicate with vendor personnel and internal personnel, including stakeholders and executives as needed.
    10. Quality – ensure the deliverables and other work are acceptable and coordinate/conduct acceptance tests.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand project management basics (continued)

    The image contains a screenshot of understanding project management basics.

    		The concepts listed below are common project management terms and concepts.1, 2 This list is not intended to be exhaustive. Look internally at your project management processes and operations to identify the concepts applicable in your environment and any that are missing from this list.
    • Project plan
    • Work breakdown structure (WBS)
    • Critical path
    • Project manager
    • Project stakeholder
    • Agile project
    • Waterfall project
    • Milestone
    • Deliverable
    • Dependency
    • Phase
    • Kickoff meeting
    • Project budget
    • Project timeline
    • Resource allocation
    • Project risk
    • Risk management
    • Risk owner
    • Issue log
    • Gantt chart
    1 nTask, 2019. 2 Whiz Labs, 2018.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand contracts and contract lifecycle management basics

    Contracts and contract lifecycle management (CLM) are two separate but related topics. It is possible to have contracts without a formal CLM process, but you can’t have CLM without contracts. This portion of step 3.9 provides some general background on each topic and points you to blueprints that cover each subject in more detail.

    IT contracts tend to be more complicated than other types of contracts due to intellectual property (IP) rights being associated with most IT contracts. As a result, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of IP and common IT contract provisions.

    There are four main areas of IP: copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Each has its own nuances, and people who don’t work with IP often mistake one for another or use the terms interchangeably. They are not interchangeable, and each affords a different type of protection when available (e.g. something may not be capable of being patented, but it can be copyrighted).

    For contract terms and conditions, vendor managers are best served by understanding both the business side and the legal side of the provisions. In addition, a good contract checklist will act as a memory jogger whether you are reviewing a contract or discussing one with legal or a vendor. For more information on contract provisions, checklists, and playbooks, download the Info-Tech blueprints identified to the left.

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Understand Common IT Contract Provisions to Negotiate More Effectively

    Download the Info-Tech blueprint Improve Your Statements of Work to Hold Your Vendors Accountable

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand contracts and contract lifecycle management basics (continued)

    CLM is a process that helps you manage your agreements from cradle to grave. A robust CLM process eases the challenges of managing hundreds or even thousands of contracts that affect the day-to-day business and could expose your organization to various types of vendor-related risk.

    Managing a few contracts through the contracting process is easy, but as the number of contracts grows, managing each step of the process for each contract becomes increasingly difficult and time consuming. That’s where CLM and CLM tools can help. Here is a high-level overview of the CLM process:

    1. Request – a request for a contract is initiated.
    2. Create contract – the contract is drafted by the customer or provided by the vendor.
    3. Review risk – areas of risk in the contract are identified.
    4. Approve – base agreement and attachments are approved and readied for negotiations.
    5. Negotiate – the agreement is negotiated and finalized.
    6. Sign – the agreement is signed or executed by the parties.
    7. Capture – the agreement is stored in a centralized repository.
    8. Manage – actively manage the operational and commitment aspects of the agreement.
    9. Monitor compliance – ensure that each party is honoring and complying with its obligations.
    10. Optimize – review the process and the contracts for potential improvements.

    For more information on CLM, download the Info-Tech blueprint identified to the left.

    Download the Info-Tech Blueprint Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand procurement/sourcing basics

    Almost every organization has a procurement or sourcing department. Procurement/sourcing is often the gatekeeper of the processes used to buy equipment and services, lease equipment, license software, and acquire other items. There are many different types of procurement/sourcing departments and several points of maturity within each type. As a result, the general terms listed on the next page may or may not be applicable within your organization. (Or your organization may not have a procurement/sourcing department at all!)

    Identifying your organization’s procurement/sourcing structure is the best place to start. From there, you can determine which terms are applicable in your environment and dive deeper on the appropriate concepts as needed.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand procurement/sourcing basics (continued)

    Procurement sourcing terms and concepts

    • Hard dollar savings
    • Soft dollar savings
    • Cost avoidance
    • Value creation
    • Value created
    • Addressable spend
    • Spend addressed
    • Revenue creation
    • Category management
    • Category manager
    • Targeted negotiations
    • Indirect procurement/sourcing
    • Direct procurement/sourcing
    • Sourcing/procurement processes
    • Sourcing/procurement drivers and metrics
    • RFX (RFP, RFI, RFQ) processes
    • Forecasting value creation
    • Percentage of value creation to spend addressed
    • Category opportunity
    • Category plans
    • Center-led procurement/sourcing
    • Centralized procurement/sourcing
    • Decentralized procurement/sourcing

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand conflict management basics

    Whether you consider conflict management a skill, knowledge, or something in between, there is no denying that vendor managers are often engaged to resolve conflicts and disputes. At times, the VMI will be a “disinterested third party,” sitting somewhere between the vendor and an internal department, line of business, agency, or other functional designation. The VMI also may be one of the parties involved in the dispute or conflict. As a result, a little knowledge and a push in the right direction will help you learn more about how to handle situations where two parties don’t agree.

    To begin with, there are four levels of “formal” dispute resolution. You may be intimately aware of all of them or only have cursory knowledge of how they work and the purpose they serve:

    • Negotiation
    • Mediation
    • Arbitration
    • Litigation

    Their use often can be controlled or limited either contractually or by your organization’s preferences. They may be exclusive or used in combination with one another (e.g. negotiation first, and if things aren’t resolved, arbitration). Look at your contracts and legal department for guidance. It’s important to understand when and how these tools are used and what is expected (if anything) from the VMI.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand conflict management basics (continued)

    The image contains a screenshot of The Thomas-Kilman Conflict Resolution Model.

    Another factor in the conflict management and informal dispute resolution process is the people component. Perhaps the most famous or well-known model on this topic is the Thomas-Kilmann conflict resolution model. It attempts to bring clarity to the five different personality types you may encounter when resolving differences. As the graphic indicates, it is not purely a black-and-white endeavor; it is comprised of various shades of grey.

    The framework presented by Mr. Thomas and Mr. Kilmann provides insights into how people behave and how to engage them based on personality characteristics and attributes. The model sorts people into one of five categories:

    • Avoiders.
    • Competitors.
    • Collaborators.
    • Accommodators.
    • Compromisers.

    Although it is not an absolute science since people are unpredictable at times, the Thomas-Kilmann model provides great insights into human behavior and ways to work with the personality types listed.

    *Kilmann Diagnostics, 2018.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand conflict management basics (continued)

    Although the topic is vastly greater than being presented here, the last consideration is a sound process to follow when the conflict or dispute will be handled informally (at least to start). The simple process presented below works with vendors, but it can be adapted to work with internal disputes as well. The following process assumes that the VMI is attempting to facilitate a dispute between an internal party and a vendor.

    Step 1. Validate the person and the issue being brought to you; don’t discount the person, their belief, or their issue. Show genuine interest and concern.

    Step 2. Gather and verify data; not all issues brought forward can be pursued or pursued as presented. For example, “The vendor is always late with its reports” may or may not be 100% accurate as presented.

    Step 3. Convert data gathered into useful and relatable information. To continue the prior example, you may find that the vendor was late with the reports on specified dates, and this can be converted into “the vendor was late with its reports 50% of the time during the last three months.”

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand conflict management basics (continued)

    Step 4. Escalate findings internally to the appropriate stakeholders and executives as necessary so they are not blindsided if a vendor complains or goes around you and the process. In addition, they may want to get involved if it is a big issue, or they may tell you to get rid of it if it is a small issue.

    Step 5. Engage the vendor once you have your facts and present the issues without judgment. Ask the vendor to do its own fact gathering.

    Step 6. Schedule a meeting to review of the situation and hear the vendor’s version of the facts…they may align, or they may not.

    Step 7. Resolve any differences between your facts/information and the vendor’s. There may be extenuating circumstances, oversights, different data, or other items that come to light.

    Step 8. Attempt to resolve the problem and prevent further occurrences through root cause analysis and collaborative problem-solving techniques.

    Develop your own process and make sure it stays neutral. The process should not put the vendor (or any party) on the defensive. The process is to help the parties reach resolution…not to assign blame.

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand account team management basics

    Working with the account or sales team from your critical vendors can be challenging. A basic understanding of account team operations and customer/vendor dynamics will go a long way to improving your interactions (and even vendor performance) over time.

    Sales basics

    • Salespeople are typically paid a base salary and a commission on each sale.
    • Salespeople have quotas that must be met; failure to meet the quota results in probation (at a minimum) or termination.
    • Salespeople sell what they are motivated to sell; the motivation comes in the way of contests, commissions, and recognition. The commission structure is not the same for every service or product sold by the vendor. In addition, incentives may be created to move old product, overstock, or new product (to name a few).
    • Salespeople have multiple goals when interacting with customers:
      • Sell
      • Gather information
      • Build a relationship
      • Get a reference
      • Obtain a reference
      • Increase the vendor’s footprint

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand account team management basics (continued)

    Improving sales and account team dynamics with your organization

    • Conduct due diligence on your account team. Are they “qualified” to work with your account?
    • Set expectations with the account team for the ongoing relationship. Don’t leave it to chance.
    • Evaluate the sales and account teams at least annually. Get feedback from those who work closely with the salespeople and account managers, including stakeholders and executives.
    • Educate people internally about the sales process. At a minimum, counsel them to avoid giving away leverage, answering “damaging” questions, and disclosing confidential information.
    • Try to get involved early in the sales cycle. Sell your value to internal personnel.
    • Work to convert your account manager into your champion within the vendor. The salesperson can benefit by going to bat for you even though they work for the vendor. The commission structure often creates a split loyalty issue. Capitalize on it!
    • Watch out for high turnover. This can indicate a problem at the vendor OR your account is not that attractive/profitable. (See steps 2.2 and 3.1 regarding customer positioning.)

    Step 3.9 – Expand professional knowledge

    Understand account team management basics (continued)

    Improving sales and account team dynamics with your organization (continued)

    • Support effective sales reps by educating them on your organization, the best way to work with you, and the benefits of working with your processes. If they do something above and beyond, consider sending them a thank-you and copying their boss. Little things go a long way.
    • Control the sales process. Require qualified people from your organization to be invited to meetings; require an agenda for those meetings; and avoid “surprise” meetings (those meetings with limited notice and no agenda… "My boss is in town today, and I wanted to stop by and introduce her to you").
    • Don’t be afraid to request a new account manager. For your critical vendors, you should always be dealing with competent account teams. They should have the requisite knowledge of their products and services to be able to answer basic through intermediate questions; they should be ethical; and they should be responsive.
    • Build relationships beyond the salesperson or account manager. Develop a network that extends throughout the sales organization. (For example, the sales manager, sales director, and sales vice president at a minimum.) These people generally have more sway within the vendor organization and can get things done when the need arises.

    For more information on this topic, download the Info-Tech blueprint Evaluate Your Vendor Account Team to Optimize Vendor Relations.

    Step 3.10 – Create brand awareness

    Determine whether a brand makes sense for the VMI

    Branding isn’t just for companies. It is for departments (or whatever you call them at your place of employment) and individuals working in those departments. With a little work and even less money, you can create a meaningful brand for the VMI. While you are at it, you may want to encourage the VMI’s team members to focus a little attention on their personal brands since the VMI and its personnel are intertwined. First, let's define “brand.”

    Ask 50 people, “How do you define ‘brand’?” and you are likely to get 50 different answers. For the purposes of this blueprint, the following definition provides some guiderails by describing what a brand is and isn’t: “A brand is not a logo. A brand is not an identity. A brand is not a product. A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.”1 Let’s expand the definition of “a brand is…” to include departments and individuals since that’s the focus of this step, and it doesn’t violate the spirit of the original definition. A further expansion could include the goodwill associated with the product, service, organization, department, or individual.

    Dedicating time and other resources to proactively creating and nurturing the VMI’s brand has many advantages:

    • “If you don’t define your brand, others will.”2 This is your chance to define the VMI’s narrative and influence the perception others have of it.
    • It allows VMI team members to feel connected to the VMI’s vision and goals during their day-to-day activities.
    • It helps form an emotional connection between the VMI and your internal “clients.”
    • “Branding is a way of establishing and consistently reinforcing who you are and what you [do]…”2 Your brand helps you promote the VMI’s value and impact.
    1 Emotive Brand, 2019. 2 Forbes, 2018.

    Step 3.10 – Create brand awareness

    Establish the VMI’s brand and monitor it

    As you embark on creating a brand for the VMI and raising awareness, here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

    • Identify your mission.* Review the VMI’s mission statement and goals. Translate them into statements that connect with your internal clients.
    • Establish your unique value proposition.* What does the VMI provide to your internal clients that would make them go out of their way to use your services? How can you help them in ways others can’t?
    • Create your brand’s visual identity.* Can you create a logo for the VMI? Can you provide a consistent look and feel for the reports you generate and information you provide?
    • Increase brand recognition.* It takes time to build trust and establish a reputation. The same is true of creating a brand and increasing its recognition. Develop a plan for this rather than leaving it to chance.
    • Be consistent. Make sure your brand is consistent with the organization’s brand or at least doesn’t contradict it. The VMI’s brand is based on its values, mission, goals, and other items; these should complement the organization’s values, mission, goals, and other items.
    • Spread the word. Attend internal clients’ staff meetings, conduct lunch & learn sessions, send out a newsletter to ensure that your internal clients know who you are, what you do, and the impact you can make or have made. Make personal connections whenever possible.
    • Monitor your brand. It is not enough to create a brand and turn it loose unsupervised. Seek feedback on the VMI and its brand beyond the internal survey (step 3.11), and adjust your brand periodically as needed.
    * Stevens & Tate, 2019.

    Step 3.10 – Create brand awareness

    Enhance the brand of VMI team members

    As previously mentioned, brands are for individuals as well. In fact, everybody has a brand associated with them…for better or worse...whether they have consciously created and molded it or not. Focusing on the individual brand at this point offers the VMI and its team members the opportunity to enhance the brand for both. After all, the VMI is a reflection of its personnel.

    Here are some things VMI team members can do to enhance their brand:

    • Network internally beyond your immediate team.1 Get to know people and build relationships with others even if you don’t work directly or indirectly with them.
    • Say yes to relevant opportunities.1 Volunteer for projects where you can make an impact and let others see your value; it’s also a good way to build relationships beyond your immediate team.
    • Speak at a conference. According to Jeff Butler (author and TEDx speaker), “Speaking gets you that immediate credibility not only internally but also externally where other companies are now seeing you as an expert.” He also states that “speaking at … conferences is not only good for you but also good for your [organization].”1
    • Share your voice.1 Become a resource for bloggers, authors, and podcasters; consider blogging, writing, and podcasting. Remember not to disclose any proprietary or confidential information, though! Work with your legal and marketing departments before embarking on this path.
    • Set goals and monitor your progress. Track the number of times you are asked to speak or contribute to a blog, podcast, event, or article, and track the number of times you are mentioned or referenced in social media, blogs, articles, and podcasts.2
    1 Forbes, 2018. 2 Oberlo, 2022.

    3.10.1 – Create brand awareness

    30 – 90 Minutes

    1. Meet with the participants to review the information in Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 3.10. The worksheet is divided into two parts.
      1. Part 1 is for the VMI to use to create a brand, and
      2. Part 2 is for an individual VMI team member to create a brand.
    2. For Part 1, work as a team to answer the questions to begin identifying components of your brand awareness and building a strategy for the VMI's brand.
    3. For Part 2, individuals can work by themselves or with the team leader to answer the questions and set goals to help build an individual brand (if it is desirable).
    InputOutput
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 3.10
    • Brainstorming
    • VMI brand framework
    • Individual VMI personnel brand framework
    MaterialsParticipants
    • Elevate – Tools and Templates Compendium – Tab 3.10
    • VMI team

    Download the Info-Tech Elevate - Tools and Templates Compendium

    Step 3.11 – Survey internal clients

    Gain insights and feedback from internal sources

    As you deploy your surveys, timing must be considered. For annual surveys, avoid busy seasons such as mid to late December (especially if your organization’s fiscal year is a calendar year). Give people time to recover from any November holidays, and survey them before they become distracted by December holidays (if possible). You may want to push the annual survey until January or February when things have settled back into a normal routine. Your needs for timing and obtaining the results must be balanced against the time constraints and other issues facing the potential respondents.

    For recency surveys, timing can work to your advantage or disadvantage. Send the survey almost immediately after providing assistance. If you wait more than a week or two, memories will begin to fade, and the results will trend toward the middle of the road.

    Regardless of whether it is an annual survey or a recency survey, distributing the surveys to a big enough sample size will be tough. Combine that with low response rates and the results may be skewed. Take what you can get and look for trends over time. Some people may be tough critics; if possible, send the survey to the same people (and incorporate new ones) to see if the tough graders’ responses are remaining true over time. Another way to mitigate some of the tough critics is to review their answers to the open-ended questions. For example, a tough grader may respond with a “4 – helpful” when you were expecting a “5 – very helpful;” the narrative portion of the survey may be consistent with that answer, or it may provide what you were looking for: “The VMI was great to work with on this project.” When confined to a scale, some respondents won’t give the top value/assessment no matter what, but they will sing your praises in a question that requires a narrative response. Taken together, you may get a slightly different picture – one that often favors you.

    Step 3.11 – Survey internal clients

    Gain insights and feedback from internal sources (continued)

    The image contains a screenshot of an example survey.

    After you have received a few responses to your surveys (recency and annual), review the results against your expectations and follow up with some of the respondents. Were the questions clear? Were the answer choices appropriate? Ultimately, you have to decide if the survey provided the meaningful feedback you were looking for. If not, revise the questions and answers choices as needed. (Keep in mind, you are not looking for “feelgood fluff.” You are looking for feedback that will reinforce what you are doing well and show areas for improvement.)

    Once you have the results, it’s time to share them with the executives and stakeholders. When creating a report, consider the following guidance:

    • Don’t just list the data; convert it to usable information.
    • When needed, provide some context and interpretation for the results. For example, if you have an internal goal or service level, indicate this and show how the results compare to the target (e.g. in a bar chart, insert a horizontal line and label it “target”).
    • Present the results on a question-by-question basis, but you may want to combine or aggregate results to provide meaningful information. For example, combine 21% responding with “doing a great job” and 62% responding with “doing a good job” into one statement of “83% of those surveyed said the VMI is doing a good job or doing a great job.”
    • Use an executive summary as an overview or to highlight the key findings, with the detailed data and information on subsequent pages for people who want to dive deeper.

    Step 3.12 – Calculate VMI ROI

    Identify and report the VMI’s value and impact on the organization

    Calculating ROI begins with establishing baselines: what is the current situation? Once those are established, you can begin tracking the impact made by the VMI by looking at the differences between the baseline and the end result. For example, if the VMI is tracking money saved, it is critical to know the baseline amounts (e.g. the initial quote from the vendor, the budgeted amount). If time is being measured, it is important to understand how much time was previously spent on items (e.g. vendor meetings to address concerns, RFPs).

    The blueprint Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO will lead you through the process, but there are a couple of key things to remember: 1) some results will be quick and easy – the low-hanging fruit, things that have been ignored or not done well, eliminating waste, and streamlining inefficiencies; and 2) other things may take time to come to fruition. Be patient and make sure you work with finance or others to bring credibility to your calculations.

    When reporting the ROI, remember to include the results of the survey from step 3.11. They are not always quantifiable, but they help executives and stakeholders see the complete picture, and the stories or examples make the ROI “personal” to the organization.

    Reporting can be a challenge. VMIs often underestimate their value and don’t like self-promotion. While you don’t want to feel like you operate in justification mode, many eyes will be on the VMI. The ROI report helps validate and promote the VMI, and it helps build brand awareness for the VMI.

    Step 3.13 – Implement vendor recognition program

    Set your plan in motion

    As indicated in step 2.10, take a “crawl, walk, run” approach to your vendor recognition program. Start off small and grow the program over time. Based on the scope of the program, decide how you’ll announce and promote it. Work with marketing, IT, and others to ensure a consistent message, to leverage technology (e.g. your website), and to maximize awareness.

    For a formal program, you may want to hold a kickoff meeting to introduce the program internally and externally. The external kickoff can be handled in a variety of ways depending on available resources and the extent of the program. For example, a video can be produced and shared with eligible vendors, an email from the VMI or an executive can be used, or the program can be rolled out through BAMs if only BAM participants are eligible for the program. If you are taking an informal approach to the vendor recognition program, you may not need an external kickoff at all.

    For a formal program, collect information periodically throughout the year rather than waiting until the end of the year; however, some data may not be available or relevant until the end of the measurement period. For subjective criteria, the issue of recency may be an issue, and memories will fade over time. (Be careful the subjective portion doesn’t turn into a popularity contest.)

    If the vendor recognition program is not meeting your goals adequately, don’t be afraid to modify it or even scrap it. At some point, you may have to do a partial or total reboot of the program. Creating and maintaining a “lessons learned” document will make a reboot easier and better if it is necessary. Remember: While a vendor recognition program has many potential benefits, your main goals must be achieved or the program adds little or no value.

    Phase 4 - Review

    Ensure Your VMI Continues to Evolve

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    Phase 4

    1.1 Review and update existing Plan materials

    2.1 Vendor classification models

    2.2 Customer positioning model

    2.3 Two-way scorecards

    2.4 Performance improvement plan (PIP)

    2.5 Relationship improvement plan (RIP)

    2.6 Vendor-at-a-glance reports

    2.7 VMI personnel competency evaluation tool

    2.8 Internal feedback tool

    2.9 VMI ROI calculation

    2.10 Vendor recognition program

    3.1 Classify vendors and identify customer position

    3.2 Assess the relationship landscape

    3.3 Leverage two-way scorecards

    3.4 Implement PIPs and RIPs

    3.5 Gather market intelligence

    3.6 Generate vendor-at-a-glance reports

    3.7 Evaluate VMI personnel

    3.8 Improve professional skills

    3.9 Expand professional knowledge

    3.10 Create brand awareness

    3.11 Survey internal clients

    3.12 Calculate VMI ROI

    3.13 Implement vendor recognition program

    4.1 Investigate potential alliances

    4.2 Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    4.3 Review and update

    This phase will walk you through the following activities:

    This phase helps the VMI stay aligned with the overall organization, stay current, and improve its strategic value as it evolves. The main outcomes from this phase are ways to advance the VMI’s strategic impact.

    This phase involves the following participants:

    • VMI team
    • Applicable stakeholders and executives
    • Others as needed

    Phase 4 – Review

    Continue evolving the VMI and keep it up to date

    The emphasis of this final phase is on the VMI’s continued evolution.

    • First up is the concept of alliances. For a small number of vendors, your relationship has the ability to transcend to a different level. A collaborative, synergistic relationship can be achieved under the right circumstances.
    • Next, additional material on transforming the VMI from purely transactional to strategic is provided (along with some reminders from prior phases). To reach its full potential, the VMI must mature and evolve, but this won’t happen without the active management of a well-crafted plan. What got the VMI to this point won’t necessarily work to get you to the next point on the evolution scale.
    • Lastly, remember to stay vigilant about the review process. What is the VMI doing well? Where can it improve? What needs to change?

    Step 4.1 – Investigate potential alliances

    Understand what separates an alliance from a regular relationship

    Chances are you’ve seen a marketing or business alliance at work in your personal life. If you’ve visited a Target store or a Barnes and Noble store, you’ve more than likely walked past the Starbucks counter. The relationship is about more than the landlord-tenant agreement, and the same business concept can exist in non-retail settings. Although they may not be as common in the customer-IT vendor space, alliances can work here as well.

    Definition

    For vendor management purposes, an alliance is a symbiotic relationship between two parties where both benefit beyond the traditional transactional (i.e. buyer-seller) relationship.

    Characteristics

    • Each party remains independent; this is not a true partnership or joint venture from a legal perspective.
    • Each party obtains benefits they wouldn’t be able to obtain by themselves (or, at a minimum, the timeline is accelerated significantly).
    • The relationship is geared toward the long term, and each party contributes resources to achieve synergies.

    Step 4.1 – Investigate potential alliances

    Analyze benefits and risks for the alliance

    Benefits

    • Synergies
    • Innovations
    • Use of pooled resources
    • Access to different areas of expertise
    • Quicker development or improvement of products or services
    • Competitive advantages, new revenue streams, and new markets

    Risks

    • Cultural fit
    • Departing executives/sponsors
    • Return on investment pressures
    • Different interests or expectations
    • Failure to address intellectual property issues adequately
    • Lack of experience and process to manage the relationship

    Step 4.1 – Investigate potential alliances

    Set up the alliance for success

    Keys to success

    • Communicate transparently.
    • Ensure executive participation from both parties.
    • Establish a joint steering committee and alliance governances.
    • Set clear expectations and define what each party wants out of the alliance.
    • Create “alliance managers” in addition to vendor managers and project mangers.
    • Start with a small alliance; don’t go all-in on a big alliance the first time you try it.
    • Create an environment of trust and collaboration; the alliance goes beyond the contract.
    • Make sure both parties are happy with their contributions to and rewards from the alliance.

    The purpose of this step is not to make you an expert on alliances or to encourage you to rush out of your office, cubicle, bedroom, or other workspace looking for opportunities. The purpose is to familiarize you with the concepts, to encourage you to keep your eyes open, and to think about relationships from different angles. How will you make the most of your vendors’ expertise, resources, market, and other things they bring to the table?

    Step 4.2 – Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    Grow the VMI’s impact over time

    Although they are not synonymous concepts, increasing the VMI’s maturity and increasing the VMI’s strategic value can go hand in hand. Evolving the VMI to be strategic allows the organization to receive the greatest benefit for its investment. This isn’t to say that all work the VMI does will be strategic. It will always live in two places – the transactional world and the strategic world – even when it is fully mature and operating strategically. Just like any job, there are transactional tasks and activities that must be done, and some of them are foundational elements for being strategic (e.g. conducting research, preparing reports, and classifying vendors). The VMI must evolve and become strategic for many reasons: staying in the transactional world limits the VMI’s contributions, results, influence and impact; team members will have less job satisfaction and enjoyment and lower salaries; ultimately, the justification for the VMI could disappear.

    To enhance the VMI’s (and, as applicable, its personnel’s) strategic value, continue:

    • Maturing the VMI and its personnel.
    • Building relationships internally and with the critical vendors (typically, high operational, high tactical, and strategic vendors under the COST model and valued and principal vendors under the MVP model).
    • Increasing your knowledge about vendor management and your critical vendors and their industries.
    • Saying yes to opportunities or volunteering for cross-functional teams that allow the VMI to showcase its abilities.
    • Increasing your knowledge of your organization, how it operates, the political environment, and anything else that will help the VMI provide information, insight, and guidance.
    • Learning about your industry and competitors (if applicable).

    Step 4.2 – Continue increasing the VMI’s strategic value

    Shift from transactional to strategic as much as possible

    Indicators of a transactional VMI:

    Indicators of a strategic VMI:

    • Exclusively reactive approach to operations
    • Focused exclusively on day-to-day operations
    • Internal clients are obligated to use the VMI due to policy
    • No perceived value-add; perceived as an administrative function
    • Left out of the RFP process or only have a limited role
    • Left out of the negotiation process or only have a limited role
    • VMI has a narrow reach and impact within the organization
    • Measure of value for the VMI is only quantitative
    • Metrics gathering without analysis and influential use
    • Personnel have limited skills, competencies, and knowledge
    • Proactive approach to operations
    • Focused on the big picture
    • Internal clients seek out or voluntarily consult the VMI
    • VMI is valued for its contributions and impact
    • Good relationships exist with vendors and stakeholders
    • Personnel possess high levels of skill, competency, and knowledge
    • VMI processes are integrated into the organization
    • VMI participates in business strategy development
    • VMI leads or is heavily involved in the RFP & negotiation processes
    • Relationship managers are assigned to all critical vendors
    • Measure of value for the VMI is quantitative and qualitative
    • Metrics are used to make and influence decisions/strategy

    Step 4.3 – Review and update

    Tap into the collective wisdom and experience of your team members

    The vendor management lifecycle is continuous and more chaotic than linear, but the chaos mostly stays within the boundaries of the “plan, build, run, and review” framework outlined in this blueprint and the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative. Two of the goals of managing the lifecycle are: 1) to adapt to a changing world; and 2) to improve the VMI and its impact over time. To do this, keep following the guidance in this phase, but don’t forget about the direction provided in phase 4 of the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative:

    • Review and assess compliance.
    • Compile and leverage lessons learned.
    • Focus on maintaining alignment internally.
    • Identify and incorporate leading practices.
    • Update governances.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Continue reviewing and updating the VMI’s risk footprint. Add risk categories and scope as needed (measurement, monitoring, and reporting). Review Info-Tech’s vendor management-based series of risk blueprints for further information (Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization and others).

    Summary of Accomplishment

    Problem Solved

    It is easy for business owners to lose sight of things. There is a saying among entrepreneurs about remembering to work on the business rather than working exclusively in the business. For many entrepreneurs, it is easy to get lost in the day-to-day grind and to forget to look at the bigger picture. A VMI is like a business in that regard – it is easy to focus on the transactional work and lose sight of maturing or evolving the VMI. Don’t let this happen!

    Leverage the tools and templates from this blueprint and adapt them to your environment as needed. Unlike the blueprint Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative, some of the concepts presented here may take more time, resources, and evolution before you are ready to deploy them. Continue using the three-year roadmap and 90-day plans from the Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative blueprint, and add components from this blueprint when the time is right. The two blueprints are designed to work in concert as you move forward on your VMI journey.

    Lastly, focus on getting a little better each day, week, month, or year: better processes, better policies and procedures, better relationships with vendors, better relationships with internal clients, better planning, better anticipation, better research, better skills, competencies, and knowledge for team members, better communication, better value, and better impact. A little “better” goes a long way, and over time it becomes a lot better.

    If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

    Contact your account representative for more information.

    workshops@infotech.com

    1-888-670-8889

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative

    IT (and the organization as a whole) are more reliant on vendors than ever before, and vendor management has become increasingly necessary to manage the relationships and manage the risks. Implementing a vendor management initiative is no longer a luxury...it is a necessity.

    Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO

    Calculating the impact or value of a vendor management office (VMO) can be difficult without the right framework and tools. Let Info-Tech’s tools and templates help you account for the contributions made by your VMO.

    Evaluate Your Vendor Account Team to Optimize Vendor Relations

    Understanding your vendor team’s background, experience, and strategic approach to your account is key to the management of the relationship, the success of the vendor agreement, and, depending on the vendor, the success of your business.

    Identify and Manage Financial Risk Impacts on Your Organization

    Vendors’ failure to perform, including security and compliance violations, can have significant financial consequences. Good vendor management practices help organizations understand the costs of those actions.

    Bibliography

    Amaresan, Swetha. “The 9 Most Important Survey Design Tips & Best Practices.” HubSpot. Accessed 13 July 2022.
    “Best Practices for Every Step of Survey Creation.” Survey Monkey. Accessed 13 July 2022.
    Brevig, Armand. ”Here Is a Quicker Way of Getting Better Supply Market Insights.” Procurement Cube, 30 July 2020. Accessed 19 May 2022.
    Cain, Elna. “9 Simple Ways on How to Improve Your Writing Skills.” Elna Cain, 20 Nov. 2018. Accessed 5 June 2020.
    Colwell, Tony. “How to Select Strategic Suppliers Part 1: Beware the Supplier's Perspective.” Accuity Consultants, 7 Feb 2012. Accessed 19 May 2022.
    “50 Tips for Improving Your Emotional Intelligence.” RocheMartin, 12 Jan. 2022. Accessed 25 July 2022.
    “4 Ways to Strengthen Your Ability to Influence Others.” Center for Creative Leadership, 24 Nov. 2020. Accessed 20 July 2022.
    Ferreira, Nicole Martins. “10 Personal Branding Tips That’ll Elevate Your Business In 2022.” Oberlo, 21 Mar. 2022. Accessed 24 May 2022.
    Gartlan, Dan. “4 Essential Brand Components.” Stevens & Tate, 25 Nov. 2019. Accessed 24 May 2022.
    Geller & Company. “World-Class Procurement — Increasing Profitability and Quality.” Spend Matters, 2003. Accessed 4 March 2022.
    Gumaste, Pavan. “50 Project Management Terms You Should Know.” Whiz Labs, 2018. Accessed 22 July 2022.
    Hertzberg, Karen. “How to Improve Writing Skills in 15 Easy Steps.” Grammarly, 15 June 2017. Accessed 5 June 2020.
    “Improving Emotional Intelligence (EQ).” HelpGuide, 2022. Accessed 25 July 2022.
    “ISG Index 4Q 2021.” Information Services Group, Inc., 2022. Web.
    Lehoczky, Etelka. “How To Improve Your Writing Skills At Work.” Forbes, 9 Mar. 2016. Accessed 5 June 2020.
    Liu, Joseph. “5 Ways To Build Your Personal Brand At Work.” Forbes, 30 Apr. 2018. Accessed 24 May 2022.
    Lloyd, Tracy. “Defining What a Brand Is: Why Is It So Hard?” Emotive Brand, 18 June 2019. Accessed 28 July 2022.
    Nielson, Megan. “The Basic Tenants of Diplomatic Communication.” Communiqué PR, 22 October 2020. Accessed 23 May 2022
    “Positioning Yourself in the Market.” New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2021. Accessed 19 May 2022.
    Rogelberg, Steven G. “The Surprising Science Behind Successful Remote Meetings.” sloanreview.mit.edu. 21 May 2020. Accessed 19 July 2022.
    “Rule No 5: All Customers/Suppliers Have a Different Value to You.” newdawnpartners.com. Accessed 19 May 2022.

    Bibliography

    Shute, Benjamin. “Supplier Relationship Management: Is Bigger Always Better?” Comprara, 24 May 2015. Accessed 19 May 2022.
    Steele, Paul T. and Brian H. Court. Profitable Purchasing Strategies: A Manager's Guide for Improving Organizational Competitiveness Through the Skills of Purchasing. ‎ McGraw-Hill, 1996.
    “Take the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI).” Kilmann Diagnostics, 2018. Accessed 20 Aug. 2020.
    Tallia, Alfred F. MD, MPH, et al. ”Seven Characteristics of Successful Work Relationships.” Fam Pract Manag. 2006 Jan;13(1):47-50.
    “The Art of Tact and Diplomacy.” skillsyouneed.com. Accessed 23 May 2022.
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    Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}158|cart{/j2store}
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    • Parent Category Name: Development
    • Parent Category Link: /development
    • Your software platforms are a key enabler of your brand. When there are issues releasing, this brand suffers. Client confidence and satisfaction erode.
    • Your organization has invested significant capital in creating a culture product ownership, Agile, and DevOps. Yet the benefits from these investments are not yet fully realized.
    • Customers have more choices than ever when it comes to products and services. They require features and capabilities delivered quickly, consistently, and of sufficient quality otherwise they will look elsewhere.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Eliminate the need for dedicating time for off-hour or weekend release activities. Use a release management framework for optimizing release-related tasks, making them predictable and of high quality.

    Impact and Result

    • Develop a release management framework that efficiently and effectively orchestrates the different functions supporting a software’s release.
    • Use the release management framework and turn release-related activities into non-events.
    • Use principles of continuous delivery for converting your release processes from an overarching concern to a feature of a high-performing software practice.

    Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Deck – A step-by-step document that walks you through how to develop and implement a release management framework that takes advantage of continuous delivery.

    This presentation documents the Info-Tech approach to defining your application release management framework.

    • Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value – Phases 1-4

    2. Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Template – Use this template to help you define, detail, and make a reality your strategy in support of your application release management framework.

    The template gives the user a guide to the development of their application release management framework.

    • Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Template

    3. Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Workbook – This workbook documents the results of the exercises contained in the blueprint and offers the user a guide to development of their release management framework.

    This workbook is designed to capture the results of your exercises from the Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value blueprint.

    • Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value Workbook
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Define the Current Situation

    The Purpose

    Document the existing release management process and current pain points and use this to define the future-state framework.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Gain an understanding of the current process to confirm potential areas of opportunity.

    Understand current pain points so that we can build resolution into the new process.

    Activities

    1.1 Identify current pain points with your release management process. If appropriate, rank them in order of most to least disruptive.

    1.2 Use the statement of quality and current pain points (in addition to other considerations) and outline the guiding principles for your application release management framework.

    1.3 Brainstorm a set of metrics that will be used to assess the success of your aspired-to application release management framework.

    Outputs

    Understanding of pain points, their root causes, and ranking.

    Built guiding principles for application release management framework.

    Created set of metrics to measure the effectiveness of the application release management framework.

    2 Define Standard Release Criteria

    The Purpose

    Build sample release criteria, release contents, and standards for how it will be integrated in production.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Define a map to what success will look like once a new process is defined.

    Develop standards that the new process must meet to ensure benefits are realized.

    Activities

    2.1 Using an example of a product known to the team, list its criteria for release.

    2.2 Using an example of a product known to the team, develop a list of features and tasks that are directly and indirectly important for either a real or hypothetical upcoming release.

    2.3 Using an example of product known to the team, map out the process for its integration into the release-approved code in production. For each step in the process, think about how it satisfies guiding principles, releasability and principles of continuous anything.

    Outputs

    Completed Workbook example highlighting releasability.

    Completed Workbook example defining and detailing feature and task selection.

    Completed Workbook example defining and detailing the integration step.

    3 Define Acceptance and Deployment Standards

    The Purpose

    Define criteria for the critical acceptance and deployment phases of the release.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Ensure that releases will meet or exceed expectations and meet user quality standards.

    Ensure release standards for no / low risk deployments are recognized and implemented.

    Activities

    3.1 Using an example of product known to the team, map out the process for its acceptance. For each step in the process, think about how it satisfies guiding principles, releasability and principles of continuous anything.

    3.2 Using an example of product known to the team, map out the process for its deployment. For each step in the process, think about how it satisfies guiding principles, releasability and principles of continuous anything.

    Outputs

    Completed Workbook example defining and detailing the acceptance step.

    Completed Workbook example defining and detailing the deployment step.

    4 Implement the Strategy

    The Purpose

    Define your future application release management process and the plan to make the required changes to implement.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Build a repeatable process that meets the standards defined in phases 2 and 3.

    Ensure the pain points defined in Phase 1 are resolved.

    Show how the new process will be implemented.

    Activities

    4.1 Develop a plan and roadmap to enhance the integration, acceptance, and deployment processes.

    Outputs

    List of initiatives to reach the target state

    Application release management implementation roadmap

    Further reading

    Define a Release Management Process for Your Applications to Deliver Lasting Value

    Use your releases to drive business value and enhance the benefits delivered by your move to Agile.

    Analyst Perspective

    Improving your release management strategy and practices is a key step to fully unlock the value of your portfolio.

    As firms invest in modern delivery practices based around product ownership, Agile, and DevOps, organizations assume that’s all that is necessary to consistently deliver value. As organizations continue to release, they continue to see challenges delivering applications of sufficient and consistent quality.

    Delivering value doesn’t only require good vision, requirements, and technology. It requires a consistent and reliable approach to releasing and delivering products and services to your customer. Reaching this goal requires the definition of standards and criteria to govern release readiness, testing, and deployment.

    This will ensure that when you deploy a release it meets the high standards expected by your clients and delivers the value you have intended.

    Dr. Suneel Ghei

    Principal Research Director, Application Development

    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    • Your software platforms are a key enabler of your brand. When there are issues releasing, the brand suffers. Client confidence and satisfaction erode.
    • Your organization has invested significant capital in creating a culture of product ownership, Agile, and DevOps. Yet the benefits from these investments are not yet fully realized.
    • Customers have more choices than ever when it comes to products and services. They require features and capabilities delivered quickly, consistently, and of sufficient quality, otherwise they will look elsewhere.

    Common Obstacles

    • Development teams are moving faster but then face delays waiting for testing and deployment due to a lack of defined release cycle and process.
    • Individual stages in your software development life cycle (SDLC), such as code collaboration, testing, and deployment, have become leaner, but the overall complexity has increased since many products and services are composed of many applications, platforms, and processes.
    • The specifics of releasing products is (wrongly) classified as a technical concern and not a business concern, hindering the ability to prioritize improved release practices.

    Info-Tech's Approach

    • Develop a release management framework that efficiently and effectively orchestrates the different functions supporting a software’s release.
    • Use the release management framework and turn release-related activities into non-events.
    • Use principles of continuous delivery for converting your release processes from an overarching concern to a feature of a high-performing software practice.

    Executive Summary

    Info-Tech Insights

    Turn release-related activities into non-events.

    Eliminate the need for dedicating time for off-hour or weekend release activities. Use a release management framework for optimizing release-related tasks, making them predictable and of high quality.

    Release management is NOT a part of the software delivery life cycle.

    The release cycle runs parallel to the software delivery life cycle but is not tightly coupled with it. The act of releasing begins at the point requirements are confirmed and ends when user satisfaction is measurable. In contrast, the software delivery life cycle is focused on activities such as building, architecting, and testing.

    All releases are NOT created equal.

    Barring standard guiding principles, each release may have specific nuances that need to be considered as part of release planning.

    Your release management journey

    1. Optimize Applications Release Management - Set a baseline release management process and organization.
    2. Modernize Your SDLC - Move your organization to Agile and increase throughput to feed releases.
    3. Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision - Understand the practices that go into delivering products, including articulating your release plans.
    4. Automate Testing to Get More Done - Create the ability to do more testing quickly and ensure test coverage.
    5. Implement DevOps Practices That Work - Build in tools and techniques necessary for release deployment automation.
    6. Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value (We Are Here)

    Define a Release Management Process for Your Applications to Deliver Lasting Value

    Use your releases to drive business value and enhance the benefits delivered by your move to Agile.

    Executive Brief

    Your software delivery teams are expected to deliver value to stakeholders in a timely manner and with high quality

    Software delivery teams must enable the organization to react to market needs and competitive changes to improve the business’ bottom line. Otherwise, the business will question the team’s competencies.

    The business is constantly looking for innovative ways to do their jobs better and they need support from your technical teams.

    The increased stress from the business is widening the inefficiencies that already exist in application release management, risking poor product quality and delayed releases.

    Being detached from the release process, business stakeholders do not fully understand the complexities and challenges of completing a release, which complicates the team’s communication with them when issues occur.

    IT Stakeholders Are Also Not Satisfied With Their Own Throughput

    • Only 29% of IT employees find application development throughput highly effective.
    • Only 9% of organizations were classified as having highly effective application development throughput.
    • Application development throughput ranked 37th out of 45 core IT processes in terms of effectiveness.

    (Info-Tech’s Management and Governance Diagnostic, N=3,930)

    Your teams, however, struggle with core release issues, resulting in delayed delivery (and disappointed stakeholders)

    Implementing tools on top of an inefficient pipeline can significantly magnify the existing release issues. This can lead to missed deadlines, poor product quality, and business distrust with software delivery teams.

    COMMON RELEASE ISSUES

    1. Local Thinking: Release decisions and changes are made and approved without consideration of the holistic system, process, and organization.
    2. No Release Cadence: Lack of process governance and oversight generates unpredictable bottlenecks and load and ill-prepared downstream teams.
    3. Mismanagement of Releases: Program management does not accommodate the various integrated releases completed by multiple delivery teams.
    4. Poor Scope Management: Teams are struggling to effectively accommodate changes during the project.

    The bottom line: The business’ ability to operate is dictated by the software delivery team’s ability to successfully complete releases. If the team performs poorly, then the business will do poorly as well. Application release management is critical to ensure business expectations are within the team’s constraints.

    “As software becomes more embedded in the business, firms are discovering that the velocity of business change is now limited by how quickly they can deploy.” – Five Ways To Streamline Release Management, J.S. Hammond

    Historically, managing releases has been difficult and complicated…

    Typically, application release management has been hard to coordinate because…

    • Software has multiple dependencies and coordinating their inclusion into a deployable whole was not planned.
    • Teams many be spending too much time on features that are not needed any longer.
    • Software development functions (such as application architecture, test-first or test-driven design, source code integration, and functional testing) are not optimized.
    • There are no agreed upon service-level contracts (e.g. expected details in requirements, adequate testing, source control strategy) between development functions.
    • The different development functions are not integrated in a holistic style.
    • The different deployment environments have variability in their configuration, reducing the reliability of testing done in different environments.
    • Minimum thresholds for acceptable quality of development functions are either too low (leading to adverse outcomes down stream) or too high (leading to unnecessary delays).

    …but research shows being effective at application release management increases your throughput

    Research conducted on Info-Tech's members shows overwhelming evidence that application throughput is strongly tied to an effective application release management approach.

    The image shows a scatter plot, with Release Management Effectiveness on the x-axis and Application Development Throughput Effectiveness on the Y-axis. The graph shows a steady increase.

    (Info-Tech Management & Governance Diagnostic, since 2019; N=684 organizations)

    An application release management framework is critical for effective and timely delivery of software

    A well-developed application release management framework is transformative and changes...

    From To
    Short-lived projects Ongoing enhancements supporting a product strategy
    Aiming for mandated targets Flexible roadmaps
    Manual execution of release processes Automating a release pipeline as much as possible and reasonable
    Manual quality assurance Automated assessment of quality
    Centralized decision making Small, independent release teams, orchestrated through an optimized value stream

    Info-Tech Insight: Your application release management framework should turn a system release into a non-event. This is only possible through the development of a holistic, low-risk and standardized approach to releasing software, irrespective of their size or complexity.

    Robust continuous “anything” requires proficiency in five core practices

    A continuous anything evaluation should not be a “one-and-done” event. As part of ongoing improvements, keep evolving it to make it a fundamental component of a strong operational strategy.

    Continuous Anything

    • Automate where appropriate
      • Automation is not a silver bullet. All processes are not created equal; and therefore, some are not worthy of being automated.
    • Control system variables
      • Deploying and testing in environments that are apple to apple in comparison reduces the risk of unintended outcomes from production release.
    • Measure process outcomes
      • A process not open to being measured is a process bound to fail. If it can be measured, it should be, and insights found should be used for improving the system.
    • Select smaller features batches
      • Smaller release packages reduce the chances of cognitive load associated with finding root causes for defects and issues that may result as post-production incidents.
    • Reduction of cycle time
      • Identification of waste in each stage of the continuous anything process helps in lowering cost of operations and results in quicker generation of value for stakeholders.

    Invest time in developing an application release management framework for your development team(s) with a continuous anything mindset

    An application release management framework converts a set of features and make them ready for releasability in a low-risk, standardized, and high-quality process.

    The image shows a diagram titled Application Release Engineering From Idea to Product, which illustrates the process.

    A continuous anything (integration, delivery, and deployment) mindset is based on a growth and improvement philosophy, where every event is considered a valid data point for investigation of process efficiency.

    Diagram adapted from Continuous Delivery in the Wild, Pete Hodgson, Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2020

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Streamline Application Maintenance

    • Justify the necessity of streamlined maintenance. Gain a grounded understanding of stakeholder objectives and concerns and validate their achievability against the current state of the people, process, and technologies involved in application maintenance.
    • Strengthen triaging and prioritization practices. Obtain a holistic picture of the business and technical impacts, risks, and urgencies of each accepted maintenance request to justify its prioritization and relevance within your backlog. Identify opportunities to bundle requests together or integrate them within project commitments to ensure completion.
    • Establish and govern a repeatable process. Develop a maintenance process with well-defined stage gates, quality controls, and roles and responsibilities, and instill development best practices to improve the success of delivery.

    “Releasability” (or release criteria) of a system depends upon the inclusion of necessary building blocks and proof that they were worked on

    There is no standard definition of a system’s releasability. However, there are common themes around completions or assessments that should be investigated as part of a release:

    • The range of performance, technical, or compliance standards that need to be assessed.
    • The full range of test types required for business approval: unit tests, acceptance tests, security test, data migration tests, etc.
    • The volume-criticality mix of defects the organization is willing to accept as a risk.
    • The best source and version control strategy for the development team. This is mostly a function of the team's skill with using release branches and coordinating their work artifacts.
    • The addition of monitoring points and measures required for evaluations and impact analysis.
    • The documentation required for audit and compliance.
    • External and internal dependencies and integrations.
    • Validations, approvals, and sign-offs required as part of the business’ operating procedure.
    • Processes that are currently carried out outside and should be moved into the pipeline.
    • Manual processes that may be automated.
    • Any waste activities that do not directly contribute to releasability that can be eliminated from the development process.
    • Knowledge the team has regarding challenges and successes with similar software releases in the past.

    Releasability of a system is different than governing principles for application release management

    Governing principles are fundamental ways of doing something, which in this case is application release management, while releasability will generally have governing principles in addition to specific needs for a successful release.

    Example of Governing Principles

    • Approval from Senior Director is necessary before releasing to production
    • Production deployments can only be done in off-hours
    • We will try to automate processes whenever it is possible for us to do so
    • We will use a collaborative set of metrics to measure our processes

    Examples of Releasability Criteria

    • For the upcoming release, add performance testing for Finance and Budget Teams’ APIs
    • Audit and compliance documentation is required for this release
    • Automation of manual deployment
    • Use trunk-based source code management instead of feature-based

    Regulated industries are not more stable despite being less nimble

    A pervasive myth in industry revolves around the misperception that continuous anything and nimble and non-event application release management is not possible in large bureaucratic and regulated organizations because they are risk-averse.

    "We found that external approvals were negatively correlated with lead-time, deployment frequency and restore time, and had no correlation with change failure rate. In short, approval by an external body (such as a manager or Change Approval Board) simply doesn’t work to increase the stability of production systems…However, it certainly slows things down. It is in fact worse than having no change approval process at all." – Accelerate by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, and Nicole Forsgren

    Many organizations reduce risk in their product release by adopting a paternalistic stance by:

    • Requiring manual sign-offs from senior personnel who are external to the organization.
    • Increasing the number and level of authorization gates.
    • Staying away from change and preferring to stick with what has worked in the past.

    Despite the prevalence of these types of responses to risk, the evidence is that they do not work and are in fact counter-productive because they:

    • Create blocks to frequent releases.
    • Introduce procedural complexity to each release and in effect make them “bigger.”
    • Prefer process over people (and trusting them). Increase non-value-add scrutiny and reporting.

    There is a persistent misunderstanding about continuous anything being only an IT engineering practice

    01

    At the enterprise level, continuous anything focuses on:

    • Visibility of final value being provided in a high-quality and expedited manner
    • Ensuring efficiency in the organization’s delivery framework
    • Ensuring adherence to established governance and risk mitigation strategy

    02

    Focus of this blueprint

    At the product level, continuous anything focuses on:

    • Reliability of the product delivery system
    • Use of scientific evidence for continuous improvement of the product’s delivery system
    • Orchestration of different artifacts into a single whole

    03

    At the functional level, continuous anything focuses on*:

    • Local functional optimization (functions = software engineering, testing, application design)
    • Automation of local functions
    • Use of patterns for standardizing inputs and functional areas

    *Where necessary, practices at this level have been mentioned.

    Related Info-Tech Research

    Implement DevOps Practices That Work

    • Be DevOps, rather than do DevOps. DevOps is a philosophy, not an industry framework. Your organization’s culture must shift toward system-wide thinking, cross-function collaboration, and empathy.
    • Culture, learning, automation, integrated teams, and metrics and governance (CLAIM) are all critical components of effective DevOps.

    Automate Testing to Get More Done

    • Optimize and automate SDLC stages to recover team capacity. Recognize that automation without optimization is a recipe for long-term pain. Do it right the first time.
    • Optimization and automation are not one-hit wonders. Technical debt is a part of software systems and never goes away. The only remedy is constant vigilance and enhancements to the processes.

    The seeds of a good release are sown even before work on it begins

    Pre-release practices such as requirements intake and product backlog management are important because:

    • A standard process for documentation of features and requirements helps reduce “cognitive dissonance” between business and technology teams. Clearly articulated and well-understood business needs are fundamental ingredients of a high-quality product.
    • Product backlog management done right ensures the prioritized delivery of value to stakeholders. Features can become stale or get a bump in importance, depending upon evolving circumstances. Prioritizing the backlog is, therefore, critical for ensuring time, effort, and budget are spent on things that matter.

    CIO Priorities 2023

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    CIOs are facing these challenges in 2023:

    • Trying to understand the implications of external trends.
    • Determining what capabilities are most important to support the organization.
    • Understanding how to help the organization pursue new opportunities.
    • Preparing to mitigate new sources of organizational risk.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • While functional leaders may only see their next move, as head of the organization with a complete view of all the pieces, the CIO has full context awareness. It's up to them to assess their gaps, consider the present scenario, and then make their next move.
    • Each priority carries new opportunities for organizations that pursue them.
    • There are also different risks to mitigate as each priority is explored.

    Impact and Result

    • Inform your IT strategy for the year ahead.
    • Identify which capabilities you need to improve.
    • Add initiatives that support your priorities to your roadmap.

    CIO Priorities 2023 Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. CIO Priorities 2023 Report – Read about the priorities on IT leaders' agenda.

    Understand the five priorities that will help navigate the opportunities and risks of the year ahead.

    • CIO Priorities 2023 Report

    Infographic

     

    Further reading

    CIO Priorities 2023

    Engage cross-functional leadership to seize opportunity while protecting the organization from volatility.

    Analyst Perspective

    Take a full view of the board and use all your pieces to win.

    In our Tech Trends 2023 report, we called on CIOs to think of themselves as chess grandmasters. To view strategy as playing both sides of the board, simultaneously attacking the opponent's king while defending your own. In our CIO Priorities 2023 report, we'll continue with that metaphor as we reflect on IT's capability to respond to trends.

    If the trends report is a study of the board state that CIOs are playing with, the priorities report is about what move they should make next. We must consider all the pieces we have at our disposal and determine which ones we can afford to use to seize on opportunity. Other pieces are best used by staying put to defend their position.

    In examining the different capabilities that CIOs will require to succeed in the year ahead, it's apparent that a siloed view of IT isn't going to work. Just like a chess player in a competitive match would never limit themselves to only using their knights or their rooks, a CIO's responsibility is to deploy each of their pieces to win the day. While functional leaders may only see their next move, as head of the organization with a complete view of all the pieces, the CIO has full awareness of the board state.

    It's up to them to assess their gaps, consider the present scenario, and then make their next move.

    This is a picture of Brian Jackson

    Brian Jackson
    Principal Research Director, Research – CIO
    Info-Tech Research Group

    CIO Priorities 2023 is informed by Info-Tech's primary research data of surveys and benchmarks

    Info-Tech's Tech Trends 2023 report and State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report inform the externalities faced by organizations in the year ahead. They imply opportunities and risks that organizations face. Leadership must determine if they will respond and how to do so. CIOs then determine how to support those responses by creating or improving their IT capabilities. The priorities are the initiatives that will deliver the most value across the capabilities that are most in demand. The CIO Priorities 2023 report draws on data from several different Info-Tech surveys and diagnostic benchmarks.

    2023 Tech Trends and Priorities Survey; N=813 (partial), n=521 (completed)
    Info-Tech's Trends and Priorities 2023 Survey was conducted between August 9 and September 9, 2022. We received 813 total responses with 521 completed surveys. More than 90% of respondents work in IT departments. More than 84% of respondents are at a manager level of seniority or higher.

    2023 The State of Hybrid Work in IT Survey; N=518
    The State of Hybrid Work in IT Survey was conducted between July 11 and July 29 and received 518 responses. Nine in ten respondents were at a manager level of seniority or higher.

    Every organization will have its own custom list of priorities based on its internal context. Organizational goals, IT maturity level, and effectiveness of capabilities are some of the important factors to consider. To provide CIOs with a starting point for their list of priorities for 2023, we used aggregate data collected in our diagnostic benchmark tools between August 1, 2021, and October 31, 2022.

    Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program is intended to be completed by CIOs and their supervisors (CEO or other executive position [CxO]) and will provide the average maturity level and budget expectations (N=107). The IT Management and Governance Diagnostic will provide the average capability effectiveness and importance ranking to CIOs (N=271). The CIO Business Vision Diagnostic will provide stakeholder satisfaction feedback (N=259).

    The 2023 CIO priorities are based on that data, internal collaboration sessions at Info-Tech, and external interviews with CIOs and subject matter experts.

    Build IT alignment

    Assess your IT processes

    Determine stakeholder satisfaction

    Most IT departments should aim to drive outcomes that deliver better efficiency and cost savings

    Slightly more than half of CIOs using Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program rated themselves at a Support level of maturity in 2022. That aligns with IT professionals' view of their organizations from our Tech Trends and Priorities Survey, where organizations are rated at the Support level on average. At this level, IT departments can provide reliable infrastructure and support a responsive IT service desk that reasonably satisfies stakeholders.

    In the future, CIOs aspire to attain the Transform level of maturity. Nearly half of CIOs select this future state in our diagnostic, indicating a desire to deliver reliable innovation and lead the organization to become a technology-driven firm. However, we see that fewer CxOs aspire for that level of maturity from IT. CxOs are more likely than CIOs to say that IT should aim for the Optimize level of maturity. At this level, IT will help other departments become more efficient and lower costs across the organization.

    Whether a CIO is aiming for the top of the maturity scale in the future or not, IT maturity is achieved one step at a time. Aiming for outcomes at the Optimize level will be a realistic goal for most CIOs in 2023 and will satisfy many stakeholders.

    Current and future state of IT maturity

    This image depicts a table showing the Current and future states of IT maturity.

    Trends indicate a need to focus on leadership and change management

    Trends imply new opportunities and risks that an organization must decide on. Organizational leadership determines if action will be taken to respond to the new external context based on its importance compared to current internal context. To support their organizations, IT must use its capabilities to deliver on initiatives. But if a capability's effectiveness is poor, it could hamper the effort.

    To determine what capabilities IT departments may need to improve or create to support their organizations in 2023, we conducted an analysis of our trends data. Using the opportunities and risks implied by the Tech Trends 2023 report and the State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report, we've determined the top capabilities IT will need to respond. Capabilities are defined by Info-Tech's IT Management and Governance Framework.

    Tier 1: The Most Important Capabilities In 2023

    Enterprise Application Selection & Implementation

    Manage the selection and implementation of enterprise applications, off-the-shelf software, and software as a service to ensure that IT provides the business with the most appropriate applications at an acceptable cost.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.5; Importance: 8.8

    Leadership, Culture, and Values

    Ensure that the IT department reflects the values of your organization. Improve the leadership skills of your team to generate top performance.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.9; Importance: 9

    Data Architecture

    Manage the business' databases, including the technology, the governance processes, and the people that manage them. Establish the principles, policies, and guidelines relevant to the effective use of data within the organization.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.3; Importance: 8.8

    Organizational Change Management

    Implement or optimize the organization's capabilities for managing the impact of new business processes, new IT systems, and changes in organizational structure or culture.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.1; Importance: 8.8

    External Compliance

    Ensure that IT processes and IT-supported business processes are compliant with laws, regulations, and contractual requirements.

    		 Effectiveness: 7.4; Importance: 8.8

    Info-Tech's Management and Diagnostic Benchmark

    Tier 2: Other Important Capabilities In 2023

    Ten more capabilities surfaced as important compared to others but not as important as the capabilities in tier 1.

    Asset Management

    Track IT assets through their lifecycle to make sure that they deliver value at optimal cost, remain operational, and are accounted for and physically protected. Ensure that the assets are reliable and available as needed.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.4; Importance: 8.5

    Business Intelligence and Reporting

    Develop a set of capabilities, including people, processes, and technology, to enable the transformation of raw data into meaningful and useful information for the purpose of business analysis.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.3; Importance: 8.8

    Business Value

    Secure optimal value from IT-enabled initiatives, services, and assets by delivering cost-efficient solutions and services and by providing a reliable and accurate picture of costs and benefits.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.5; Importance: 8.7

    Cost and Budget Management

    Manage the IT-related financial activities and prioritize spending through the use of formal budgeting practices. Provide transparency and accountability for the cost and business value of IT solutions and services.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.5; Importance: 8.8

    Data Quality

    Put policies, processes, and capabilities in place to ensure that appropriate targets for data quality are set and achieved to match the needs of the business.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.4; Importance: 8.9

    Enterprise Architecture

    Establish a management practice to create and maintain a coherent set of principles, methods, and models that are used in the design and implementation of the enterprise's business processes, information systems, and infrastructure.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.8; Importance: 8.8

    IT Organizational Design

    Set up the structure of IT's people, processes, and technology as well as roles and responsibilities to ensure that it's best meeting the needs of the business.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.8; Importance: 8.8

    Performance Measurement

    Manage IT and process goals and metrics. Monitor and communicate that processes are performing against expectations and provide transparency for performance and conformance.

    		 Effectiveness: 6; Importance: 8.4

    Stakeholder Relations

    Manage the relationship between the business and IT to ensure that the stakeholders are satisfied with the services they need from IT and have visibility into IT processes.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.7; Importance: 9.2

    Vendor Management

    Manage IT-related services provided by all suppliers, including selecting suppliers, managing relationships and contracts, and reviewing and monitoring supplier performance.

    		 Effectiveness: 6.6; Importance: 8.4

    Defining the CIO Priorities for 2023

    Understand the CIO priorities by analyzing both how CIOs respond to trends in general and how a specific CIO responded in the context of their organization.

    This is an image of the four analyses: 1: Implications; 2: Opportunities and risks; 3: Case examples; 4: Priorities to action.

    The Five CIO Priorities for 2023

    Engage cross-functional leadership to seize opportunity while protecting the organization from volatility.

    1. Adjust IT operations to manage for inflation
      • Business Value
      • Vendor Management
      • Cost and Budget Management
    2. Prepare your data pipeline to train AI
      • Business Intelligence and Reporting
      • Data Quality
      • Data Architecture
    3. Go all in on zero-trust security
      • Asset Management
      • Stakeholder Relations
      • External Compliance
    4. Engage employees in the digital age
      • Leadership, Culture, and Values
      • Organizational Change Management
      • Enterprise Architecture
    5. Shape the IT organization to improve customer experience
      • Enterprise Application Selection & Implementation
      • Performance Measurement
      • IT Organizational Design

    Adjust IT operations to manage for inflation

    Priority 01

    • APO06 Cost and Budget Management
    • APo10 Vendor Management
    • EDM02 Business Value

    Recognize the relative impact of higher inflation on IT's spending power and adjust accordingly.

    Inflation takes a bite out of the budget

    Two-thirds of IT professionals are expecting their budgets to increase in 2023, according to our survey. But not every increase is keeping up with the pace of inflation. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that global inflation rose to 8.8% in 2022. It projects it will decline to 6.5% in 2023 and 4.1% by 2024 (IMF, 2022).

    CIOs must account for the impact of inflation on their IT budgets and realize that what looks like an increase on paper is effectively a flat budget or worse. Applied to our survey takers, an IT budget increase of more than 6.5% would be required to keep pace with inflation in 2023. Only 40% of survey takers are expecting that level of increase. For the 27% expecting an increase between 1-5%, they are facing an effective decrease in budget after the impact of inflation. Those expecting no change in budget or a decrease will be even worse off.

    Looking ahead to 2023, how do you anticipate your IT spending will change compared to spending in 2022?

    Global inflation estimates by year

    2022 8.8%
    2023 6.5%
    2024 4.1%

    International Monetary Fund, 2022

    CIOs are more optimistic about budgets than their supervisors

    Data from Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Diagnostic benchmark also shows that CIOs and their supervisors are planning for increases to the budget. This diagnostic is designed for a CIO to use with their direct supervisor, whether it's the CEO or otherwise (CxO). Results show that on average, CIOs are more optimistic than their supervisors that they will receive budget increases and headcount increases in the years ahead.

    While 14% of CxOs estimated the IT budget would see no change or a decrease in the next three to five years, only 3% of CIOs said the same. A larger discrepancy is seen in headcount, where nearly one-quarter of CXOs estimated no change or decrease in the years ahead, versus only 10% of CIOs estimating the same.

    When we account for the impact of inflation in 2023, this misalignment between CIOs and their supervisors increases. When adjusting for inflation, we need to view the responses projecting an increase of between 1-5% as an effective decrease. With the inflation adjustment, 26% of CXOs are predicting IT budgets to stay flat or see a decrease compared to only 10% of CIOs.

    CIOs should consider how inflation has affected their projected spending power over the past year and take into account projected inflation rates over the next couple of years. Given that the past decade has seen inflation rates between 2-3%, the higher rates projected will have more of an impact on organizational budgets than usual.

    Expect headcount to stay flat or decline over 3-5 years

    CIO: 10%; CXO: 24%

    IT budget expectations to stay flat or decrease before inflation

    CIO: 13.6 %; CXO: 3.2%

    IT budget expectations to stay flat or decrease adjusted for inflation

    CIO: 25.8%; CXO: 9.7%

    Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Opportunities

    Appoint a "cloud economist"

    Organizations that migrated from on-premises data centers to infrastructure as a service shifted their capital expenditures on server racks to operational expenditures on paying the monthly service bill. Managing that monthly bill so that it is in line with desired performance levels now becomes crucial. The expected benefit of the cloud is that an organization can turn the dial up to meet higher demand and turn it down when demand slows. In practice this is sometimes more difficult to execute than anticipated. Some IT departments realize their cloud-based data flows aren't always connected to the revenue-generating activity seen in the business. As a result, a "cloud economist" is needed to closely monitor cloud usage and adjust it to financial expectations. Especially during any recessionary period, IT departments will want to avoid a "bill shock" incident.

    Partner with technology providers

    Keep your friends close and your vendors closer. Look for opportunities to create leverage with your strategic vendors to unlock new opportunities. Identify if a vendor you work with is not entrenched in your industry and offer them the credibility of working with you in exchange for a favorable contract. Offering up your logo for a website listing clients or giving your own time to speak in a customer session at a conference can go a long way to building up some goodwill with your vendors. That's goodwill you'll need when you ask for a new multi-year contract on your software license without annual increases built into the structure.

    Demonstrate IT projects improve efficiency

    An IT department that operates at the Optimize level of Info-Tech's maturity scale can deliver outcomes that lower costs for other departments. IT can defend its own budget if it's able to demonstrate that its initiatives will automate or augment business activities in a way that improves margins. The argument becomes even more compelling if IT can demonstrate it is supporting a revenue-generating initiative or customer-facing experience. CIOs will need to find business champions to vouch for the important contributions IT is making to their area.

    Risks

    Imposition of non-financial reporting requirements

    In some jurisdictions, the largest companies will be required to start collecting information on carbon emissions emitted as a result of business activities by the end of next year. Smaller sized organizations will be next on the list to determine how to meet new requirements issued by various regulators. Risks of failure include facing fines or being shunned by investors. CIOs will need to support their financial reporting teams in collecting the new required data accurately. This will incur new costs as well.

    Rising asset costs

    Acquiring IT equipment is becoming more expensive due to overall inflation and specific pressures around semiconductor supply chains. As a result, more CIOs are extending their device refresh policies to last another year or two. Still, demands for new devices to support new hybrid work models could put pressure on budgets as IT teams are asked to modernize conferencing rooms. For organizations adopting mixed reality headsets, cutting-edge capabilities will come at a premium. Operating costs of devices may also increase as inflation increases costs of the electricity and bandwidth they depend on.

    CASE STUDY
    Leverage your influence in vendor negotiations

    Denise Cornish, Associate VP of IT and Deputy COO,
    Western University of Health Sciences

    Since taking on the lead IT role at Western University in 2020, Denise Cornish has approached vendor management like an auditable activity. She evaluates the value she gets from each vendor relationship and creates a list of critical vendors that she relies upon to deliver core business services. "The trick is to send a message to the vendor that they also need us as a customer that's willing to act as a reference," she says. Cornish has managed to renegotiate a contract with her ERP vendor, locking in a multi-year contract with a very small escalator in exchange for presenting as a customer at conferences. She's also working with them on developing a new integration to another piece of software popular in the education space.

    Western University even negotiated a partnership approach with Apple for a program run with its College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) called the Digital Doctor Bag. The partnership saw Apple agree to pre-package a customer application developed by Western that delivered the curriculum to students and facilitated communications across students and faculty. Apple recognized Western as an Apple Distinguished School, a program that recognizes innovative schools that use Apple products.

    "I like when negotiations are difficult.
    I don't necessarily expect a zero-sum game. We each need to get something out of this and having the conversation and really digging into what's in it for you and what's in it for me, I enjoy that. So usually when I negotiate a vendor contract, it's rare that it doesn't work out."

    CASE STUDY
    Control cloud costs with a simplified approach

    Jim Love, CIO, IT World Canada

    As an online publisher and a digital marketing platform for technology products and services companies, IT World Canada (ITWC) has observed that there are differences in how small and large companies adopt the cloud as their computing infrastructure. For smaller companies, even though adoption is accelerating, there may still be some reluctance to fully embrace cloud platforms and services. While larger companies often have a multi-cloud approach, this might not be practical for smaller IT shops that may struggle to master the skills necessary to effectively manage one cloud platform. While Love acknowledges that the cloud is the future of corporate computing, he also notes that not all applications or workloads may be well suited to run in the cloud. As well, moving data into the cloud is cheap but moving it back out can be more expensive. That is why it is critical to understand your applications and the data you're working with to control costs and have a successful cloud implementation.

    "Standardization is the friend of IT. So, if you can standardize on one platform, you're going to do better in terms of costs."

    From priorities to action

    Go deeper on pursuing your priorities by improving the associated capabilities.

    Improve Cost and Budget Management

    Take control of your cloud costs by providing central financial oversight on the infrastructure-as-a-service provider your organization uses. Create visibility into your operational costs and define policies to control them. Right-size the use of cloud services to stay within organizational budget expectations.

    Take Control of Cloud Costs on AWS

    Take Control of Cloud Costs on Microsoft Azure

    Improve Business Value

    Reduce the funds allocated to ongoing support and impose tougher discipline around change requests to lighten your maintenance burden and make room for investment in net-new initiatives to support the business.

    Free up funds for new initiatives

    Improve Vendor Management

    Lay the foundation for a vendor management process with long-term benefits. Position yourself as a valuable client with your strategic vendors and leverage your position to improve your contract terms.

    Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative

    Prepare your data pipeline to train AI

    Priority 02

    • ITRG06 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND REPORTING
    • ITRG07 DATA ARCHITECTURE
    • ITRG08 DATA QUALITY

    Keep pace as the market adopts AI capabilities, and be ready to create competitive advantage.

    Today's innovation is tomorrow's expectation

    During 2022, some compelling examples of generative-AI-based products took the world by storm. Images from AI-generating bots Midjourney and Stable Diffusion went viral, flooding social media and artistic communities with images generated from text prompts. Exchanges with OpenAI's ChatGPT bot also caught attention, as the bot was able to do everything from write poetry, to provide directions on a cooking recipe and then create a shopping list for it, to generate working code in a variety of languages. The foundation models are trained with AI techniques that include generative adversarial networks, transformers, and variational autoencoders. The end result is an algorithm that can produce content that's meaningful to people based on some simple direction. The industry is only beginning to come to grips with how this sort of capability will disrupt the enterprise.

    Slightly more than one-third of IT professionals say their organization has already invested in AI or machine learning. It's the sixth-most popular technology to have already invested in after cloud computing (82%), application programming interfaces (64%), workforce management solutions (44%), data lakes (36%), and next-gen cybersecurity (36%). It's ahead of 12 other technologies that IT is already invested in.

    When we asked what technologies organizations planned to invest in for next year, AI rocketed up the list to second place, as it's selected by 44% of IT professionals. It falls behind only cloud computing. This jump up the list makes AI the fastest growing technology for new investment from organizations.

    Many AI capabilities seem cutting edge now, but organizations are prioritizing it as a technology investment. In a couple of years, access to foundational models that produce images, text, or code will become easy to access with a commercial license and an API integration. AI will become embedded in off-the-shelf software and drive many new features that will quickly become commonplace.

    To stay even with the competition and meet customer expectations, organizations will have to work to at least adopt these AI-enhanced products and services. For those that want to create a competitive advantage, they will have to build a data pipeline that is capable of training their own custom AI models based on their unique data sets.

    Which of the following technology categories has your organization already invested in?

    A bar graph is depicted the percentage of organizations which already had invested in the following Categories: Cloud Computing; Application Programming; Next-Gen Cybersecurity; Workforce Management Solutions; Data Lake/Lakehouse; Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning.

    Which of those same technologies does your organization plan to invest in by the end of 2023?

    A bar graph is depicted the percentage of organizations which plan to invest in the following categories by the end of 2023: No-Code / Low-Code Platforms; Next-Gen Cybersecurity; Application Programming Interfaces (APIs); Data Lake / Lakehouse; Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning; Cloud Computing

    Tech Trends 2023 Survey

    Data quality and governance will be critical to customize generative AI

    Data collection and analysis are on the minds of both CIOs and their supervisors. When asked what technologies the business should adopt in the next three to five years, big data (analytics) ranked as most critical to adopt among CIOs and their supervisors. Big data (collection) ranked fourth out of 11 options.

    Organizations that want to drive a competitive advantage from generative AI will need to train these large, versatile models on their own data sets. But at the same time, IT organizations are struggling to provide clean data. The second-most critical gap for IT organizations on average is data quality, behind only organizational change management. Organizations know that data quality is important to support analytics goals, as algorithms can suffer in their integrity if they don't have reliable data to work with. As they say, garbage in, garbage out.

    Another challenge to overcome is the gap seen in IT governance, the sixth largest gap on average. Using data toward training custom generative models will hold new compliance and ethical implications for IT departments to contend with. How user data can be leveraged is already the subject of privacy legislation in many different jurisdictions, and new AI legislation is being developed in various places around the world that could create further demands. In some cases, users are reacting negatively to AI-generated content.

    Biggest capability gaps between rated importance and effectiveness

    This is a Bar graph showing the capability gaps between rated importance and effectiveness.

    IT Management and Governance Diagnostic

    Most critical technologies to adopt rated by CIOs and their supervisors

    This is a Bar graph showing the most critical technologies to adopt as rated by CIO's and their supervisors

    CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Opportunities

    Enterprise content discovery

    Many organizations still cobble together knowledgebases in SharePoint or some other shared corporate drive, full of resources that no one quite knows how to find. A generative AI chatbot holds potential to be trained on an organization's content and produce content based on an employee's queries. Trained properly, it could point employees to the right resource they need to answer their question or just provide the answer directly.

    Supply chain forecasts

    After Hurricane Ian shut down a Walmart distribution hub, the retailer used AI to simulate the effects on its supply chain. It rerouted deliveries from other hubs based on the predictions and planned for how to respond to demand for goods and services after the storm. Such forecasts would typically take a team of analysts days to compose, but thanks to AI, Walmart had it done in a matter of hours (The Economist, 2022).

    Reduce the costs of AI projects

    New generative AI models of sufficient scale offer advantages over previous AI models in their versatility. Just as ChatGPT can write poetry or dialogue for a play or perhaps a section of a research report (not this one, this human author promises), large models can be deployed for multiple use cases in the enterprise. One AI researcher says this could reduce the costs of an AI project by 20-30% (The Economist, 2022).

    Risks

    Impending AI regulation

    Multiple jurisdictions around the world are pursuing new legislation that imposes requirements on organizations that use AI, including the US, Europe, and Canada. Some uses of AI will be banned outright, such as the real-time use of facial recognition in public spaces, while in other situations people can opt out of using AI and work with a human instead. Regulations will take the risk of the possible outcomes created by AI into consideration, and organizations will often be required to disclose when and how AI is used to reach decisions (Science | Business, 2022). Questions around whether creators can prevent their content from being used for training AI are being raised, with some efforts already underway to collect a list of those who want to opt out. Organizations that adopt a generative AI model today may find it needs to be amended for copyright reasons in the future.

    Bias in the algorithms

    Organizations using a large AI model trained by a third party to complete their tasks or as a foundation to further customize it with their own data will have to contend with the inherent bias of the algorithm. This can lead to unintended negative experiences for users, as it did for MIT Technology Review journalist Melissa Heikkilä when she uploaded her images to AI avatar app Lensa, only to have it render a collection of sexualized portraits. Heikkilä contends that her Asian heritage overly influenced the algorithm to associate her with video-game characters, anime, and adult content (MIT Technology Review, 2022).

    Convincing nonsense

    Many of the generative AI bots released so far often create very good responses to user queries but sometimes create nonsense that at first glance might seem to be accurate. One example is Meta's Galactica bot – intended to streamline scientific research discovery and aid in text generation – which was taken down only three days after being made available. Scientists found that it generated fake research that sounded convincing or failed to do math correctly (Spiceworks, 2022).

    CASE STUDY
    How MLSE enhances the Toronto Raptors' competitiveness with data-driven practices

    Christian Magsisi, Vice President of Venue and Digital Technology, MLSE

    At the Toronto Raptors practice facility, the OVO Athletic Centre, a new 120-foot custom LG video screen towers over the court. The video board is used to playback game clips so coaches can use them to teach players, but it also displays analytics from algorithmic models that are custom-made for each player. Data on shot-making or defensive deflections are just a couple examples of what might inform the players.

    Vice President of Digital Technology Christian Magsisi leads a functional Digital Labs technical group at MLSE. The in-house team builds the specific data models that support the Raptors in their ongoing efforts to improve. The analytics are fed by Noah Analytics, which uses cognitive vision to provide real-time feedback on shot accuracy. SportsVU is a motion capture system that represents how players are positioned on the court, with detail down to which way they are facing and whether their arms are up or down. The third-party vendors provide the solutions to generate the analytics, but it's up to MLSE's internal team to shape them to be actionable for players during a practice.

    "All the way from making sure that a specific player is achieving the results that they're looking for and showing that through data, or finding opportunities for the coaching staff. This is the manifestation of it in real life. Our ultimate goal with the coaches was to be able to take what was on emails or in a report and sometimes even in text message and actually implement it into practice."

    Read the full story on Spiceworks Insights.

    How MLSE enhances the Toronto Raptors' competitiveness with data-driven practices (cont.)

    Humza Teherany, Chief Technology Officer, MLSE

    MLSE's Digital Labs team architects its data insights pipeline on top of cloud services. Amazon Web Services Rekognition provides cognitive vision analysis from video and Amazon Kinesis provides the video processing capabilities. Beyond the court, MLSE uses data to enhance the fan experience, explains CTO Humza Teherany. It begins with having meaningful business goals about where technology can provide the most value. He starts by engaging the leadership of the organization and considering the "art of the possible" when it comes to using technology to unlock their goals.

    Humza Teherany (left) and Christian Magsisi lead MLSE's digital efforts for the pro sports teams owned by the group, including the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Toronto Argonauts. (Photo by Brian Jackson).

    Read the full story on Spiceworks Insights.

    "Our first goal in the entire buildup of the Digital Labs organization has been to support MLSE and all of our teams. We like to do things first. We leverage our own technology to make things better for our fans and for our teams to complete and find incremental advantages where possible."
    Humza Teherany,
    Chief Technology Officer, MLSE

    From priorities to action

    Go deeper on pursuing your priorities by improving the associated capabilities.

    Improve Data Quality

    The performance of AI-assisted tools depends on mature IT operations processes and reliable data sets. Standardize service management processes and build a knowledgebase of structured content to prepare for AI-assisted IT operations.

    Prepare for Cognitive Service Management

    Improve Business Intelligence and Reporting

    Explore the enterprise chatbots that are available to not only assist with customer interactions but also help your employees find the resources they need to do their jobs and retrieve data in real time.

    Explore the best chatbots software

    Improve Data Architecture

    Understand if you are ready to embark on the AI journey and what business use cases are appropriate for AI. Plan around the organization's maturity in people, tools, and operations for delivering the correct data, model development, and model deployment and managing the models in the operational areas.

    Create an Architecture for AI

    Go all in on zero-trust security

    Priority 03

    • BAI09 ASSET MANAGEMENT
    • APO08 STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS
    • MEA03 EXTERNAL COMPLIANCE

    Adopt zero-trust architecture as the new security paradigm across your IT stack and from an organizational risk management perspective.

    Putting faith in zero trust

    The push toward a zero-trust security framework is becoming necessary for organizations for several different reasons over the past couple of years. As the pandemic forced workers away from offices and into their homes, perimeter-based approaches to security were challenged by much wider network footprints and the need to identify users external to the firewall. Supply-chain security became more of a concern with notable attacks affecting many thousands of firms, some with severe consequences. Finally, the regulatory pressure to implement zero trust is rising following President Joe Biden's 2021 Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. It directs federal agencies to implement zero trust. That will impact any company doing business with the federal government, and it's likely that zero trust will propagate through other government agencies in the years ahead. Zero-trust architecture can also help maintain compliance around privacy-focused regulations concerned about personal data (CSO Online, 2022).

    IT professionals are modestly confident that they can meet new government legislation regarding cybersecurity requirements. When asked to rank their confidence on a scale of one to five, the most common answer was 3 out of 5 (38.5%). The next most common answer was 4 out of 5 (33.3%).

    Zero-trust barriers:
    Talent shortage and lack of leadership involvement

    Out of a list of challenges, IT professionals are most concerned with talent shortages leading to capacity constraints in cybersecurity. Fifty-four per cent say they are concerned or very concerned with this issue. Implementing a new zero-trust framework for security will be difficult if capacity only allows for security teams to respond to incidents.

    The next most pressing concern is that cyber risks are not on the radar of executive leaders or the board of directors, with 46% of IT pros saying they are concerned or very concerned. Since zero-trust requires that organizations take an enterprise risk management approach to cybersecurity and involve top decision makers, this reveals another area where organizations may fall short of achieving a zero-trust environment.

    How confident are you that your organization is prepared to meet current and future government legislation regarding cybersecurity requirements? A circle graph is shown with 68.6% colored dark green, and the words: AVG 3.43 written inside the graph.
    a bar graph showing the confidence % for numbers 1-5
    54%

    of IT professionals are concerned with talent shortages leading to capacity constraints in cybersecurity.
    46%

    of IT professionals are concerned that cyber risks are not on the radar of executive leaders or the board of directors.

    Zero trust mitigates risk while removing friction

    A zero-trust approach to security requires organizations to view cybersecurity risk as part of its overall risk framework. Both CIOs and their supervisors agree that IT-related risks are a pain point. When asked to rate the severity of pain points, 58% of CIOs rated IT-related business risk incidents as a minor pain or major pain. Their supervisors were more concerned, with 61% rating it similarly. Enterprises can mitigate this pain point by involving top levels of leadership in cybersecurity planning.

    Organizations can be wary about implementing new security measures out of concern it will put barriers between employees and what they need to work. Through a zero-trust approach that focuses on identity verification, friction can be avoided. Overall, IT organizations did well to provide security without friction for stakeholders over the past 18 months. Results from Info-Tech's CIO Business Vision Diagnostic shows that stakeholders almost all agree friction due to security practices are acceptable. The one area that stands to be improved is remote/mobile device access, where 78.3% of stakeholders view the friction as acceptable.

    A zero-trust approach treats user identity the same regardless of device and whether it is inside or outside of the corporate network. This can remove friction when workers are looking to connect remotely from a mobile device.

    IT-related business risk incidents viewed as a pain point

    CXO 61%
    CIO 58%

    Business stakeholders rate security friction levels as acceptable

    A bar graph is depicted with the following dataset: Regulatory Compliance: 93.80%; Office/Desktop Computing: 86.50%;Data Access/Integrity: 86.10%; Remote/Mobile Device Access: 78.30%;

    CIO Business Vision Diagnostic, N=259

    Opportunities

    Move to identity-driven access control

    Today's approach to access control on the network is to allow every device to exchange data with every other device. User endpoints and servers talk to each other directly without any central governance. In a zero-trust environment, a centralized zero-trust network access broker provides one-to-one connectivity. This allows servers to rest offline until needed by a user with the right access permissions. Users verify their identity more often as they move throughout the network. The user can access the resources and data they need with minimal friction while protecting servers from unauthorized access. Log files are generated for analysis to raise alerts about when an authorized identity has been compromised.

    Protect data with just-in-time authentication

    Many organizations put process in place to make sure data at rest is encrypted, but often when users copy that data to their own devices, it becomes unencrypted, allowing attackers opportunities to exfiltrate sensitive data from user endpoints. Moving to a zero-trust environment where each data access is brokered by a central broker allows for encryption to be preserved. Parties accessing a document must exchange keys to gain access, locking out unauthorized users that don't have both sets of keys to decrypt the data (MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 2022).

    Harness free and open-source tools to deploy zero trust

    IT teams may not be seeing a budget infusion to invest in a new approach to security. By making use of the many free and open-source tools available, they can bootstrap their strategy into reality. Here's a list to get started:

    PingCastle Wrangle your Active Directory and find all the domains that you've long since forgotten about and manage the situation appropriately. Also builds a spoke-and-hub map of your Active Directory.

    OpenZiti Create an overlay network to enable programmable networking that supports zero trust.

    Snyk Developers can automatically find and fix vulnerabilities before they commit their code. This vendor offers a free tier but users that scale up will need to pay.

    sigstore Open-source users and maintainers can use this solution to verify the code they are running is the code the developer intended. Works by stitching together free services to facilitate software signing, verify against a transparent ledger, and provide auditable logs.

    Microsoft's SBOM generation tool A software bill of materials is a requirement in President Biden's Executive Order, intended to provide organizations with more transparency into their software components by providing a comprehensive list. Microsoft's tool will work with Windows, Linux, and Mac and auto-detect a longlist of software components, and it generates a list organized into four sections that will help organizations comprehend their software footprint.

    Risks

    Organizational culture change to accommodate zero trust

    Zero trust requires that top decision makers get involved in cybersecurity by treating it as an equal consideration of overall enterprise risk. Not all boards will have the cybersecurity expertise required, and some executives may not prioritize cybersecurity despite the warnings. Organizations that don't appoint a chief information security officer (CISO) role to drive the cybersecurity agenda from the top will be at risk of cybersecurity remaining an afterthought.

    Talent shortage

    No matter what industry you're in or what type of organization you run, you need cybersecurity. The demand for talent is very high and organizations are finding it difficult to hire in this area. Without the talent needed to mature cybersecurity approaches to a zero-trust model, the focus will remain on foundational principles of patch management to eliminate vulnerabilities and intrusion prevention. Smaller organizations may want to consider a "virtual CISO" that helps shape the organizational strategy on a part-time basis.

    Social engineering

    Many enterprise security postures remain vulnerable to an attack that commandeers an employee's identity to infiltrate the network. Hosted single sign-on models provide low friction and continuity of identity across applications but also offer a single point of failure that hackers can exploit. Phishing scams that are designed to trick an employee into providing their credentials to a fake website or to just click on a link that delivers a malware payload are the most common inroads that criminals take into the corporate network. Being aware of how user behavior influences security is crucial.

    CASE STUDY
    Engage the entire organization with cybersecurity awareness

    Serge Suponitskiy, CIO, Brosnan Risk Consultants

    Brosnan provides private security services to high-profile clients and is staffed by security experts with professional backgrounds in intelligence services and major law enforcement agencies. Safe to say that security is taken seriously in this culture and CIO Serge Suponitskiy makes sure that extends to all back-office staff that support the firm's activities. He's aware that people are often the weakest link in a cybersecurity posture and are prone to being fooled by a phishing email or even a fraudulent phone call. So cybersecurity training is an ongoing activity that takes many forms. He sends out a weekly cybersecurity bulletin that features a threat report and a story about the "scam of the week." He also uses KnowBe4, a tool that simulates phishing attacks and trains employees in security awareness. Suponitskiy advises reaching out to Marketing or HR for help with engaging employees and finding the right learning opportunities.

    "What is financially the best solution to protect yourself? It's to train your employees. … You can buy all of the tools and it's expensive. Some of the prices are going up for no reason. Some by 20%, some by 50%, it's ridiculous. So, the best way is to keep training, to keep educating, and to reimagine the training. It's not just sending this video that no one clicks on or posting a poster no one looks at. … Given the fact we're moving into this recession world, and everyone is questioning why we need to spend more, it's time to reimagine the training approach."

    CASE STUDY
    Focus on micro-segmentation as the foundation of zero trust

    David Senf, National Cybersecurity Strategist, Bell

    As a cybersecurity analyst and advisor that works with Bell's clients, David Senf sees zero-trust security as an opportunity for organizations to put a strong set of mitigating controls in place to defend against the thorny challenge of reducing vulnerabilities in their software supply chain. With major breaches being linked to widely used software in the past couple of years, security teams might find it effective to focus on a different layer of security to prevent certain breaches. With security policy being enforced at a narrow point/perimeter, attacks are in essence blocked from exploiting application vulnerabilities (e.g. you can't exploit what you can see). Organizations must still ensure there is a solid vulnerability management program in place, but surrounding applications with other controls is critical. One aspect of zero trust, micro-segmentation, which is an approach to network management, can limit the damage caused by a breach. The solutions help to map out and protect the different connections between applications that could otherwise be abused for discovery or lateral movement. Senf advises that knowing your inventory of software and the interdependencies between applications is the first step on a zero-trust journey, before putting protection and detection in place.

    "Next year will be a year of a lot more ZTNA, zero-trust network access, being deployed. So, I think that will give organizations more of an understanding of what zero trust is as well, from a really basic perspective. If I can just limit what applications you can see and no one can even see that application, it's undiscoverable because I've got that ZTNA solution in place. … I would see that as a leading area of deployment and coming to understand what zero trust is in 2023."

    From priorities to action

    Go deeper on pursuing your priorities by improving the associated capabilities.

    Improve Asset Management

    Enable reduced friction in the remote user experience by underpinning it with a hardware asset management program. Creating an inventory of devices and effectively tracking them will aid in maintaining compliance, result in stronger policy enforcement, and reduce the harm of a lost or stolen device.

    Implement Hardware Asset Management

    Improve Stakeholder Relations

    Communicate the transition from a perimeter-based security approach to an "Always Verify" approach with a clear roadmap toward implementation. Map key protect surfaces to business goals to demonstrate the importance of zero-trust security in helping the organization succeed. Help the organization's top leadership build awareness of cybersecurity risk.

    Build a Zero Trust Roadmap

    Improve External Compliance

    Manage the challenge of meeting new government requirements to implement zero-trust security and other data protection and cybersecurity regulations with a compliance program. Create a control environment that aligns multiple compliance regimes, and be prepared for IT audits.

    Build a Security Compliance Program

    Engage employees in the digital age

    Priority 04

    • ITRG02 LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND VALUES
    • BAI05 ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT
    • APO03 ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

    Lead a strong culture through digital means to succeed in engaging the hybrid workforce.

    The new deal for employers in a hybrid work world

    Necessity is the mother of innovation.

    The pandemic's disruption for non-essential workers looks to have a long-lasting, if not permanent, effect on the relationship between employer and employee. The new bargain for almost all organizations is a hybrid work reality, with employees splitting time between the office and working remotely, if not working remotely full-time. IT is in a unique position in the organization as it must not only contend with the shift to this new deal with its own employees but facilitate it for the entire organization.

    With 90% of organizations embracing some form of hybrid work, IT leaders have an opportunity to shift from coping with the new work reality to finding opportunities to improve productivity. Organizations that embrace a hybrid model for their IT departments see a more effective IT department. Organizations that offered no remote work for IT rated their IT effectiveness on average 6.2 out of 10, while organizations with at least 10% of IT roles in a hybrid model saw significantly higher effectiveness. At minimum, organizations with between 50%-70% of IT roles in a hybrid model rated their effectiveness at 6.9 out of 10.

    IT achieved this increase in effectiveness during a disruptive time that often saw IT take on a heavier burden. Remote work required IT to support more users and be involved in facilitating more work processes. Thriving through this challenging time is a win that's worth sharing with the rest of the organization.

    90% of organizations are embracing some form of hybrid work.

    IT's effectiveness compared to % working hybrid or remotely

    A bar graph is shown which compares the effectiveness of IT work with hybrid and full remote work, compared to No Remote Work for IT.

    High effectiveness doesn't mean high engagement

    Despite IT's success with hybrid work, CIOs are more concerned about their staff sufficiency, skill, and engagement than their supervisors. Among clients using our CEO-CIO Alignment Diagnostic, 49% of CIOs considered this issue a major pain point compared to only 32% of CXOs. While IT staff are more effective than ever, even while carrying more of a burden in the digital age, CIOs are still looking to improve staff engagement.

    Info-Tech's State of Hybrid Work Survey illuminates further details about where IT leaders are concerned for their employee engagement. About four in ten IT leaders say they are concerned for employee wellbeing, and almost the same amount say they are concerned they are not able to see signs that employees are demotivated (N=518).

    Boosting IT employees' engagement levels to match their effectiveness will require IT leaders to harness all the tools at their disposal. Communicating culture and effectively managing organizational change in the digital age is a real test of leadership.

    Staff sufficiency, skill, and engagement issues as a major pain point

    CXO 32%
    CIO 49%

    CEO-CIO Alignment Diagnostic

    Opportunities

    Drive effectiveness with a hybrid environment

    IT leaders concerned about the erosion of culture and connectedness due to hybrid work can mitigate those effects with increased and improved communication. Among highly effective IT departments, 55% of IT leaders made themselves highly available through instant messaging chat. Another 54% of highly effective leaders increased team meetings (State of Hybrid Work Survey, n=213). The ability to adapt to the team's needs and use a number of tactics to respond is the most important factor. The greater the number of tactics used to overcome communication barriers, the more effective the IT department (State of Hybrid Work Survey, N=518).

    Modernize the office conference room

    A hybrid work approach emphasizes the importance of not only the technology in the office conference room but the process around how meetings are conducted. Creating an equal footing for all participants regardless of how they join is the goal. In pursuit of that, 63% of organizations say they have made changes or upgrades to their conference room technology (n=496). The conferencing experience can influence employee engagement and work culture and enhance collaboration. IT should determine if the business case exists for upgrades and work to decrease the pain of using legacy solutions where possible (State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report).

    Understand the organizational value chain

    Map out the value chain from the customer perspective and then determine the organizational capabilities involved in delivering on that experience. It is a useful tool for helping IT staff understand how they're connected to the customer experience and organizational mission. It's crucial to identify opportunities to resolve pain points and create more efficiency throughout the organization.

    Risks

    Talent rejects the working model

    Many employees that experienced hybrid work over the past couple of years are finding it's a positive development for work/life balance and aren't interested in a full-time return to the office. Organizations that insist on returning all employees to the office all the time may find that employees choose to leave the organization. Similarly, it could be hard to hire IT talent in a competitive market if the position is required to be onsite every day. Most organizations are providing flexible options to employees and finding ways to manage work in the new digital age.

    Wasted expense on facilities

    Organizations may choose to keep their physical office only to later realize that no one is going to work there. While providing an office space can help foster positive culture through valuable face time, it has to be used intentionally. Managers should plan for specific days that their teams will meet in the office and make sure that work activities take advantage of everyone being in the same place at the same time. Asking everyone to come in so that they can be on a videoconference meeting in their cubicle isn't the point.

    Isolated employees and teams

    Studies on a remote work environment show it has an impact on how many connections each employee maintains within the company. Employees still interact well within their own teams but have fewer interactions across departments. Overall, workers are likely to collaborate just as often as they did when working in the office but with fewer other individuals at the company. Keep the isolating effect of remote work in mind and foster collaboration and networking opportunities across different departments (BBC News, 2022).

    CASE STUDY
    Equal support of in-office and remote work

    Roberto Eberhardt, CIO, Ontario Legislative Assembly

    Working in the legislature of the Ontario provincial government, CIO Roberto Eberhardt's staff went from a fully onsite model to a fully remote model at the outset of the pandemic. Today he's navigating his path to a hybrid model that's somewhere in the middle. His approach is to allow his business colleagues to determine the work model that's needed but to support a technology environment that allows employees to work from home or in the office equally. Every new process that's introduced must meet that paradigm, ensuring it will work in a hybrid environment. For his IT staff, he sees a culture of accountability and commitment to metrics to drive performance measurement as key to the success of this new reality.

    "While it's good in a way, the challenge for us is it became a little more complex because you have to account for all those things in the office environment and in the remote work approach. Everything you do now, you have to say OK well how is this going to work in this world and how will it work in the other world?"

    Creating purpose for IT through strategy

    Mike Russell, Virginia Community College System

    At the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), CIO Mike Russell's IT team supports an organization that governs and delivers services to all community colleges in the state. Russell sees his IT team's purpose as being driven by the organization's mission to ensure success throughout the entire student journey, from enrolment to becoming employed after graduation. That customer-focused mindset starts from the top-level leadership, the chancellor, and the state governor. The VCCS maintains a six-year business plan that informs IT's strategic plan and aligns IT with the mission, and both plans are living documents that get refreshed every two years. Updating the plans provides opportunities for the chancellor to engage the organization and remind everyone of the purpose of their work.

    "The outcome isn't the degree. The outcome we're trying to measure is the job. Did you get the job that you wanted? Whether it's being re-employed or first-time employment, did you get what you were after?"

    From priorities to action

    Go deeper on pursuing your priorities by improving the associated capabilities.

    Improve Leadership, Culture, and Values

    Help leaders manage their teams effectively in a hybrid environment by providing them with the right tools and tactics to manage the challenges of hybrid work. Focus on promoting teamwork and fostering connection.

    Prepare People Leaders for the Hybrid Work Environment

    Improve Organizational Change Management

    Assign accountability for managing the changes that the organization is experiencing in the digital age. Make a people-centric approach that takes human behavior into account and plans to address different needs in different ways. Be proactive about change.

    Master Organizational Change Management Practices

    Improve Enterprise Architecture

    Develop a foundation for aligning IT's activities with business value by creating a right-sized enterprise architecture approach that isn't heavy on bureaucracy. Drive IT's purpose by illustrating how their work contributes to the overall mission and the customer experience.

    Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

    Shape the IT organization to improve customer experience

    PRIORITY 05

    • BAI03 ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SELECTION & IMPLEMENTATION
    • MEA01 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
    • ITRG01 IT ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

    Tightly align the IT organization with the organization's value chain from a customer perspective.

    IT's value is defined by faster, better, bigger

    The pandemic motivated organizations to accelerate their digital transformation efforts, digitalizing more of their tasks and organizing the company's value chain around satisfying the customer experience. Now we see organizations taking their foot off the gas pedal of digitalization and shifting their focus to extracting the value from their investments. They want to execute on the digital transformation in their operations and realize the vision they set out to achieve.

    In our Trends Report we compared the emphasis organizations are putting on digitalization to last year. Overall, we see that most organizations shifted fewer of their processes to digital in the past year.

    We also asked organizations what motivated their push toward automation. The most common drivers are to improve efficiency, with almost seven out of ten organizations looking to increase staff on high-level tasks by automating repetitive tasks, 67% also wanting to increase productivity without increasing headcount, and 59% wanting to reduce errors being made by people. In addition, more than half of organizations pursued automation to improve customer satisfaction.

    What best describes your main motivation to pursue automation, above other considerations?

    A bar graph is depicted showing the following dataset: Increase staff focus on high-level tasks by automating repetitive tasks: 69%; Increase productivity of existing staff to avoid increasing headcount: 67%; Reduce errors made by people: 59%; Improve customer satisfaction: 52%; Achieve cost savings through reduction in headcount: 35%; Increase revenue by enabling higher volume of work: 30%

    Tech Trends 2023 Survey

    To what extent did your organization shift its processes from being manually completed to digitally completed during past year?

    A bar graph is depicted showing the extent to which organizations shifted processes from manual to digital during the past year for 2022 and 2023, from Tech Trends 2023 Survey

    With the shift in focus from implementing new applications to support digital transformation to operating in the new environment, IT must shift its own focus to help realize the value from these systems. At the same time, IT must reorganize itself around the new value chain that's defined by a customer perspective.

    IT struggles to deliver business value or support innovation

    Many current IT departments are structured around legacy processes that hinder their ability to deliver business value. CIOs are trying to grapple with the misalignment between the modern business structure and keep up with the demands for innovation and agility.

    Almost nine in ten CIOs say that business frustration with IT's failure to deliver value is a pain point. Their supervisors have a slightly more favorable opinion, with 76% agreeing that it is a pain point.

    Similarly, nine in ten CIOs say that IT limits affecting business innovation and agility is a pain point, while 81% of their supervisors say the same.

    Supervisors say that IT should "ensure benefits delivery" as the most important process (CEO-CIO Alignment Program). This underlines the need to achieve alignment, optimize service delivery, and facilitate innovation. The pain points identified here will need to be resolved to make this possible.

    IT departments will need to contend with a tight labor market and economic volatility in the year ahead. If this drives down resource capacity, it will be even more critical to tightly align with the organization.

    Views business frustration with IT failure to deliver value as a pain point

    CXO 76%
    CIO 88%

    Views IT limits affecting business innovation and agility as a pain point

    CXO 81%
    CIO

    90%

    CEO-CIO Alignment Program

    Opportunities

    Define IT's value by its contributions to enterprise value

    Communicate the performance of IT to stakeholders by attributing positive changes in enterprise value to IT initiatives. For example, if a digital channel helped increase sales in one area, then IT can claim some portion of that revenue. If optimization of another process resulted in cost savings, then IT can claim that as a contribution toward the bottom line. CIOs should develop their handle on how KPIs influence revenues and costs. Keeping tabs on normalized year-over-year revenue comparisons can help demonstrate that IT contributions are making an impact on driving profitability.

    Go with buy versus build if it's a commodity service

    Most back-office functions common to operating a company can be provided by cloud-based applications accessed through a web browser. There's no value in having IT spend time maintaining on-premises applications that require hosting and ongoing maintenance. Organizations that are still accruing technical debt and are unable to modernize will increasingly find it is negatively impacting employee experience, as users expect their working experience to be similar to their experience with consumer applications. In addition, IT will continue to have capacity challenges as resources will be consumed by maintenance. As they seek to outsource some applications, IT will need to consider the geopolitical risk of certain jurisdictions in selecting a provider.

    Redefine how employee performance is tracked

    The concept of "clocking in" for a shift and spending eight hours a day on the job doesn't help guide IT toward its objectives or create any higher sense of purpose. Leaders must work to create a true sense of accountability by reaching consensus on what key performance indicators are important and tasking staff to improve them. Metrics should clearly link back to business outcomes and IT should understand the role they play in delivering a good customer experience.

    Risks

    Lack of talent available to drive transformation

    CIOs are finding it difficult to hire the talent needed to create the capacity they need as digital demands of their organizations increase. This could slow the pace of change as new positions created in IT go unfilled. CIOs may need to consider reskilling and rebalancing workloads of existing staff in the short term and tap outsourcing providers to help make up shortfalls.

    Resistance to change

    New processes may have been given the official rubber stamp, but that doesn't mean staff are adhering to them. Organizations that reorganize themselves must take steps to audit their processes to ensure they're executed the way they intend. Some employees may feel they are being made obsolete or pushed out of their jobs and become disengaged.

    Short-term increased costs

    Restructuring the organization can come with the need for new tools and more training. It may be necessary to operate with redundant staff for the transitional period. Some additional expenses might be incurred for a brief period as the new structure is being put in place.

    Emphasize the value of IT in driving revenue

    Salman Ali, CIO, McDonald's Germany

    As the new CIO to McDonald's Germany, Salman Ali came on board with an early mandate to reorganize the IT department. The challenge is to merge two organizations together: one that delivers core technology services of infrastructure, security, service desk, and compliance and one that delivers customer-facing technology such as in-store touchscreen kiosks and the mobile app for food delivery. He is looking to organize this new-look department around the technology in the hands of both McDonald's staff and its customers. In conversations with his stakeholders, Ali emphasizes the value that IT is driving rather than discussing the costs that go into it. For example, there was a huge cost in integrating third-party meal delivery apps into the point-of-sales system, but the seamless experience it delivers to customers looking to place an order helps to drive a large volume of sales. He plans to reorganize his department around this value-driven approach. The organization model will be executed with clear accountability in place and key performance indicators to measure success.

    "Technology is no longer just an enabler. It's now a strategic business function. When they talk about digital, they are really talking about what's in the customers' hands and what do they use to interact with the business directly? Digital transformation has given technology a new front seat that's really driving the business."

    CASE STUDY
    Overhauling the "heartbeat" of the organization

    Ernest Solomon, Former CIO, LAWPRO

    LAWPRO is a provider of professional liability insurance and title insurance in Canada. The firm is moving its back-office applications from a build approach to a buy approach and focusing its build efforts on customer-facing systems tied to revenue generation. CIO Ernest Solomon says his team has been developing on a legacy platform for two decades, but it's time to modernize. The firm is replacing its legacy platform and moving to a cloud-based system to address technical debt and improve the experience for staff and customers. The claims and policy management platform, the "heartbeat" of the organization, is moving to a software-as-a-service model. At the same time, the firm's customer-facing Title Plus application is being moved to a cloud-native, serverless architecture. Solomon doesn't see the need for IT to spend time building services for the back office, as that doesn't align with the mission of the organization. Instead, he focuses his build efforts on creating a competitive advantage.

    "We're redefining the customer experience, which is how do we move the needle in a positive direction for all the lawyers that interact with us? How do we generate that value-based proposition and improve their interactions with our organization?"

    From priorities to action

    Go deeper on pursuing your priorities by improving the associated capabilities.

    Improve Enterprise Application Selection & Implementation

    Help leaders manage their teams effectively in a hybrid environment by providing them with the right tools and tactics to manage the challenges of hybrid work. Focus on promoting teamwork and fostering connection.

    Embrace Business-Managed Applications

    Improve Performance Measurement

    Drive the most important IT process in the eyes of supervisors by defining business value and linking IT spend to it. Make benefits realization part of your IT governance.

    Maximize Business Value From IT Through Benefits Realization

    Improve IT Organizational Design

    Showcase IT's value to the business by aligning IT spending and staffing to business functions. Provide transparency into business consumption of IT and compare your spending to your peers'.

    IT Spend & Staffing Benchmarking

    The Five Priorities

    Engage cross-functional leadership to seize opportunity while protecting the organization from volatility.

    1. Adjust IT operations to manage for inflation
    2. Prepare your data pipeline to train AI
    3. Go all in on zero-trust security
    4. Engage employees in the digital age
    5. Shape the IT organization to improve customer experience

    Expert Contributors

    In order of appearance

    Denise Cornish, Associate VP of IT and Deputy COO, Western University of Health Sciences

    Jim Love, CIO, IT World Canada

    Christian Magsisi, Vice President of Venue and Digital Technology, MLSE

    Humza Teherany, Chief Technology Officer, MLSE

    Serge Suponitskiy, CIO, Brosnan Risk Consultants

    David Senf, National Cybersecurity Strategist, Bell

    Roberto Eberhardt, CIO, Ontario Legislative Assembly

    Mike Russell, Virginia Community College System

    Salman Ali, CIO, McDonald's Germany

    Ernest Solomon, Former CIO, LAWPRO

    Bibliography

    Anderson, Brad, and Seth Patton. "In a Hybrid World, Your Tech Defines Employee Experience." Harvard Business Review, 18 Feb. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    "Artificial Intelligence Is Permeating Business at Last." The Economist, 6 Dec. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    Badlani, Danesh Kumar, and Adrian Diglio. "Microsoft Open Sources Its Software Bill
    of Materials (SBOM) Generation Tool." Engineering@Microsoft, 12 July 2022. Accessed
    12 Dec. 2022.
    Birch, Martin. "Council Post: Equipping Employees To Succeed In Digital Transformation." Forbes, 9 Aug. 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Bishop, Katie. "Is Remote Work Worse for Wellbeing than People Think?" BBC News,
    17 June 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Carlson, Brian. "Top 5 Priorities, Challenges For CIOs To Recession-Proof Their Business." The Customer Data Platform Resource, 19 July 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    "CIO Priorities: 2020 vs 2023." IT PRO, 23 Sept. 2022. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
    cyberinsiders. "Frictionless Zero Trust Security - How Minimizing Friction Can Lower Risks and Boost ROI." Cybersecurity Insiders, 9 Sept. 2021. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Garg, Sampak P. "Top 5 Regulatory Reasons for Implementing Zero Trust."
    CSO Online, 27 Oct. 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Heikkilä, Melissa. "The Viral AI Avatar App Lensa Undressed Me—without My Consent." MIT Technology Review, 12 Dec. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    Jackson, Brian. "How the Toronto Raptors Operate as the NBA's Most Data-Driven Team." Spiceworks, 1 Dec. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    Kiss, Michelle. "How the Digital Age Has Transformed Employee Engagement." Spiceworks,16 Dec. 2021. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Matthews, David. "EU Hopes to Build Aligned Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence with US." Science|Business, 22 Nov. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    Maxim, Merritt. "New Security & Risk Planning Guide Helps CISOs Set 2023 Priorities." Forrester, 23 Aug. 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Miller, Michael J. "Gartner Surveys Show Changing CEO and Board Concerns Are Driving a Different CIO Agenda for 2023." PCMag, 20 Oct. 2022. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
    MIT Lincoln Laboratory. "Overview of Zero Trust Architectures." YouTube,
    2 March 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    MIT Technology Review Insights. "CIO Vision 2025: Bridging the Gap between BI and AI." MIT Technology Review, 20 Sept. 2022. Accessed 1 Nov. 2022.
    Paramita, Ghosh. "Data Architecture Trends in 2022." DATAVERSITY, 22 Feb. 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Rosenbush, Steven. "Cybersecurity Tops the CIO Agenda as Threats Continue to Escalate - WSJ." The Wall Street Journal, 17 Oct. 2022. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
    Sacolick, Isaac. "What's in the Budget? 7 Investments for CIOs to Prioritize." StarCIO,
    22 Aug. 2022. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
    Singh, Yuvika. "Digital Culture-A Hurdle or A Catalyst in Employee Engagement." International Journal of Management Studies, vol. 6, Jan. 2019, pp. 54–60. ResearchGate, https://doi.org/10.18843/ijms/v6i1(8)/08.
    "Talent War Set to Become Top Priority for CIOs in 2023, Study Reveals." CEO.digital,
    8 Sept. 2022. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
    Tanaka, Rodney. "WesternU COMP and COMP-Northwest Named Apple Distinguished School." WesternU News. 10 Feb. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    Wadhwani, Sumeet. "Meta's New Large Language Model Galactica Pulled Down Three Days After Launch." Spiceworks, 22 Nov. 2022. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
    "World Economic Outlook." International Monetary Fund (IMF), 11 Oct. 2022. Accessed
    14 Dec. 2022.

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization

    • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}357|cart{/j2store}
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    • Parent Category Name: Project Management Office
    • Parent Category Link: /project-management-office
    • You use Microsoft tools to manage your work, projects, and/or project portfolio.
    • Its latest offering, Project for the web, is new and you’re not sure what to make of it. Microsoft says it will soon replace Microsoft Project and Project Online, but the new software doesn’t seem to do what the old software did.
    • The organization has adopted M365 for collaboration and work management. Meetings happen on Teams, projects are scoped a bit with Planner, and the operations group uses Azure Boards to keep track of what they need to get done.
    • Despite your reservations about the new project management software, Microsoft software has become even more ubiquitous.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • The various MS Project offerings (but most notably the latest, Project for the web) hold the promise of integrating with the rest of M365 into a unified work management solution. However, out of the box, Project for the web and the various platforms within M365 are all disparate utilities that need to be pieced together in a purpose-built manner to make use of them for holistic work management purposes. If you’re looking for a cohesive product out of the box, look elsewhere. If you’re looking to assemble a wide array of work, project, and portfolio management functions across different functions and departments, you may have found what you seek.
    • Rather than choosing tools based on your gaps, assess your current maturity level so that you optimize your investment in the Microsoft landscape.

    Impact and Result

    Follow Info-Tech’s path in this blueprint to:

    • Perform a tool audit to trim your work management tool landscape.
    • Navigate the MS Project and M365 licensing landscape.
    • Make sense of what to do with Project for the web and take the right approach to rolling it out (i.e. DIY or MS Gold Partner driven) based upon your needs.
    • Create an action plan to inform next steps.

    After following the program in this blueprint, you will be prepared to advise the organization on how to best leverage the rapidly shifting work management options within M365 and the place of MS Project within it.

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should make sense of the MS Project and M365 landscapes, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Determine your tool needs

    Assess your work management tool landscape, current state maturity, and licensing needs to inform a purpose-built work management action plan.

    • M365 Task Management Tool Guide
    • M365 Project Management Tool Guide
    • M365 Project Portfolio Management Tool Guide
    • Tool Audit Workbook
    • Force Field Analysis Tool
    • Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool
    • Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Workbook (With Tool Analysis)
    • Project Management Maturity Assessment Workbook (With Tool Analysis)

    2. Weigh your MS Project implementation options

    Get familiar with Project for the web’s extensibility as well as the MS Gold Partner ecosystem as you contemplate the best implementation approach(s) for your organization.

    • None
    • None

    3. Finalize your implementation approach

    Prepare a boardroom-ready presentation that will help you communicate your MS Project and M365 action plan to PMO and organizational stakeholders.

    • Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    Infographic

    Workshop: Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Assess Driving Forces and Risks

    The Purpose

    Assess the goals and needs as well as the risks and constraints of a work management optimization.

    Take stock of your organization’s current work management tool landscape.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Clear goals and alignment across workshop participants as well as an understanding of the risks and constraints that will need to be mitigated to succeed.

    Current-state insight into the organization’s work management tool landscape.

    Activities

    1.1 Review the business context.

    1.2 Explore the M365 work management landscape.

    1.3 Identify driving forces for change.

    1.4 Analyze potential risks.

    1.5 Perform current-state analysis on work management tools.

    Outputs

    Business context

    Current-state understanding of the task, project, and portfolio management options in M365 and how they align with the organization’s ways of working

    Goals and needs analysis

    Risks and constraints analysis

    Work management tool overview

    2 Determine Tool Needs and Process Maturity

    The Purpose

    Determine your organization’s work management tool needs as well as its current level of project management and project portfolio management process maturity.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An understanding of your tooling needs and your current levels of process maturity.

    Activities

    2.1 Review tool audit dashboard and conduct the final audit.

    2.2 Identify current Microsoft licensing.

    2.3 Assess current-state maturity for project management.

    2.4 Define target state for project management.

    2.5 Assess current-state maturity for project portfolio management.

    2.6 Define target state for project portfolio management.

    Outputs

    Tool audit

    An understanding of licensing options and what’s needed to optimize MS Project options

    Project management current-state analysis

    Project management gap analysis

    Project portfolio management current-state analysis

    Project portfolio management gap analysis

    3 Weigh Your Implementation Options

    The Purpose

    Take stock of your implementation options for Microsoft old project tech and new project tech.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    An optimized implementation approach based upon your organization’s current state and needs.

    Activities

    3.1 Prepare a needs assessment for Microsoft 365 and Project Plan licenses.

    3.2 Review the business case for Microsoft licensing.

    3.3 Get familiar with Project for the web.

    3.4 Assess the MS Gold Partner Community.

    3.5 Conduct a feasibility test for PFTW.

    Outputs

    M365 and Project Plan needs assessment

    Business case for additional M365 and MS Project licensing

    An understand of Project for the web and how to extend it

    MS Gold Partner outreach plan

    A go/no-go decision for extending Project for the web on your own

    4 Finalize Implementation Approach

    The Purpose

    Determine the best implementation approach for your organization and prepare an action plan.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A purpose-built implementation approach to help communicate recommendations and needs to key stakeholders.

    Activities

    4.1 Decide on the implementation approach.

    4.2 Identify the audience for your proposal.

    4.3 Determine timeline and assign accountabilities.

    4.4 Develop executive summary presentation.

    Outputs

    An implementation plan

    Stakeholder analysis

    A communication plan

    Initial executive presentation

    5 Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

    The Purpose

    Finalize your M365 and MS Project work management recommendations and get ready to communicate them to key stakeholders.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Time saved in developing and communicating an action plan.

    Stakeholder buy-in.

    Activities

    5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

    5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

    Outputs

    Finalized executive presentation

    A gameplan to communicate your recommendations to key stakeholders as well as a roadmap for future optimization

    Further reading

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization

    View your task management, project management, and project portfolio management options through the lens of M365.

    EXECUTIVE BRIEF

    Analyst Perspective

    Microsoft Project is an enigma

    Microsoft Project has dominated its market since being introduced in the 1980s, yet the level of adoption and usage per license is incredibly low.

    The software is ubiquitous, mostly considered to represent its category for “Project Management.” Yet, the software is conflated with its “Portfolio Management” offerings as organizations make platform decisions with Microsoft Project as the incorrectly identified incumbent.

    And incredibly, Microsoft has dominated the next era of productivity software with the “365” offerings. Yet, it froze the “Project” family of offerings and introduced the not-yet-functional “Project for the web.”

    Having a difficult time understanding what to do with, and about, Microsoft Project? You’re hardly alone. It’s not simply a question of tolerating, embracing, or rejecting the product: many who choose a competitor find they’re still paying for Microsoft Project-related licensing for years to come.

    If you’re in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, use this research to understand your rapidly shifting landscape of options.

    (Barry Cousins, Project Portfolio Management Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group)

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    You use Microsoft (MS) tools to manage your work, projects, and/or project portfolio.

    Their latest offering, Project for the web, is new and you’re not sure what to make of it. Microsoft says it will soon replace Microsoft Project and Project Online, but the new software doesn’t seem to do what the old software did.

    The organization has adopted M365 for collaboration and work management. Meetings happen on Teams, projects are scoped a bit with Planner, and the operations group uses Azure Boards to keep track of what they need to get done.

    Despite your reservations about the new project management software, Microsoft software has become even more ubiquitous.

    Common Obstacles

    M365 provides the basic components for managing tasks, projects, and project portfolios, but there is no instruction manual for making those parts work together.

    M365 isn’t the only set of tools at play. Business units and teams across the organization have procured other non-Microsoft tools for work management without involving IT.

    Microsoft’s latest project offering, Project for the web, is still evolving and you’re never sure if it is stable or ready for prime time. The missing function seems to involve the more sophisticated project planning disciplines, which are still important to larger, longer, and costlier projects.

    Common Obstacles

    Follow Info-Tech’s path in this blueprint to:

    • Perform a tool audit to trim your work management tool landscape.
    • Navigate the MS Project and M365 licensing landscape.
    • Make sense of what to do with Project for the web and take the right approach to rolling it out (i.e. DIY or MS Gold Partner driven) for your needs.
    • Create an action plan to inform next steps.

    After following the program in this blueprint, you will be prepared to advise the organization on how to best leverage the rapidly shifting work management options within M365 and the place of MS Project within it.

    M365 and, within it, O365 are taking over

    Accelerated partly by the pandemic and the move to remote work, Microsoft’s market share in the work productivity space has grown exponentially in the last two years.

    70% of Fortune 500 companies purchased 365 from Sept. 2019 to Sept. 2020. (Thexyz blog, 2020)

    In its FY21 Q2 report, Microsoft reported 47.5 million M365 consumer subscribers – an 11.2% increase from its FY20 Q4 reporting. (Office 365 for IT Pros, 2021)

    As of September 2020, there were 258,000,000 licensed O365 users. (Thexyz blog, 2020)

    In this blueprint, we’ll look at what the what the phenomenal growth of M365 means for PMOs and project portfolio practitioners who identify as Microsoft shops

    The market share of M365 warrants a fresh look at Microsoft’s suite of project offerings

    For many PMO and project portfolio practitioners, the footprint of M365 in their organizations’ work management cultures is forcing a renewed look at Microsoft’s suite of project offerings.

    The complicating factor is this renewed look comes at a transitional time in Microsoft’s suite of project and portfolio offerings.

    • The market dominance of MS Project Server and Project Online are wanning, with Microsoft promising the end-of-life for Online sometime in the coming years.
    • Project Online’s replacement, Project for the web, is a viable task management and lightweight project management tool, but its viability as a replacement for the rigor of Project Online is at present largely a question mark.
    • Related to the uncertainty and promise around Project for the web, the Dataverse and the Power Platform offer a glimpse into a democratized future of work management tools but anything specific about that future has yet to solidify.

    Microsoft Project has 66% market share in the project management tool space. (Celoxis, 2018)

    A copy of MS project is sold or licensed every 20 seconds. (Integent, 2013)

    MS Project is evolving to meet new work management realities

    It also evolved to not meet the old project management realities.

    • The lines between traditional project management and operational task management solutions are blurring as organizations struggle to keep up with demands.
    • To make the software easier to use, modern work management doesn’t involve the complexities from days past. You won’t find anywhere to introduce complex predecessor-successor relationships, unbalanced assignments with front-loading or back-loading, early-start/late-finish, critical path, etc.
    • “Work management” is among the latest buzzwords in IT consulting. With Project for the web (PFTW), Azure Boards, and Planner, Microsoft is attempting to compete with lighter and better-adopted tools like Trello, Basecamp, Asana, Wrike, and Monday.com.
    • Buyers of project and work management software have struggled to understand how PFTW will still be usable if it gets the missing project management function from MS Project.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Beware of the Software Granularity Paradox.

    Common opinion 1: “Plans and estimates that are granular enough to be believable are too detailed to manage and maintain.”

    Common opinion 2: “Plans simple enough to publish aren’t detailed enough to produce believable estimates.”

    In other words, software simple enough to get widely adopted doesn’t produce believable plans. Software that can produce believable plans is too complex to use at scale.

    A viable task and project management option must walk the line between these dichotomies.

    M365 gives you the pieces, but it’s on PMO users to piece them together in a viable way

    With the new MS Project and M365, it’s on PMOs to avoid the granularity paradox and produce a functioning solution that fits with the organization’s ways of working.

    Common perception still sees Microsoft Project as a rich software tool. Thus, when we consider the next generation of Microsoft Project, it’s easy to expect a newer and friendlier version of what we knew before.

    In truth, the new solution is a collection of partially integrated but largely disparate tools that each satisfy a portion of the market’s needs. While it looks like a rich collection of function when viewed through high-level requirements, users will find:

    • Overlaps, where multiple tools satisfy the same functional requirement (e.g. “assign a task”)
    • Gaps, where a tool doesn’t quite do enough and you’re forced to incorporate another tool (e.g. reverting back to Microsoft Project for advanced resource planning)
    • Islands, where tools don’t fluently talk to each other (e.g. Planner data integrated in real-time with portfolio data, which requires clunky, unstable, decentralized end-user integrations with Microsoft Power Automate)
    A colourful arrangement of Microsoft programs arranged around a pile of puzzle pieces.

    Info-Tech's approach

    Use our framework to best leverage the right MS Project offerings and M365 components for your organization’s work management needs.

    The Info-Tech difference:

    1. A simple to follow framework to help you make sense of a chaotic landscape.
    2. Practical and tactical tools that will help you save time.
    3. Leverage industry best practices and practitioner-based insights.
    An Info-Tech framework titled 'Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization, subtitle 'View your task, project, and portfolio management options through the lens of Microsoft 365'. There are four main sections titled 'Background', 'Approaches', 'Deployments', and 'Portfolio Outcomes'. In '1) Background' are 'Analyze Content', 'Assess Constraints', and 'Determine Goals and Needs'. In '2) Approaches' are 'DIY: Are you ready to do it yourself?' 'Info-Tech: Can our analysts help?', and 'MS Gold Partner: Are you better off with a third party?'. In '3) Deployments' are five sections: 'Personal Task Management', Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Person. 'Team Task Management', Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Team. 'Project Portfolio Management', Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Project. 'Project Management', Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Functionally Incomplete. 'Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management', Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Underadopted. In '4) Portfolio Outcomes' are 'Informed Steering Committee', 'Increased Project Throughput', 'Improved Portfolio Responsiveness', 'Optimized Resource Utilization', and 'Reduced Monetary Waste'.

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project in Your Organization

    View your task, project, and portfolio management options through the lens of Microsoft 365.

    1. Background

    • Analyze Content
    • Assess Constraints
    • Determine Goals and Needs

    2. Approaches

    • DIY – Are you ready to do it yourself?
    • Info-Tech – Can our analysts help?
    • MS Gold Partner – Are you better off with a third party?

    3. Deployments

      Task Management

    • Personal Task Management
      • Who does it? Knowledge workers
      • What is it? To-do lists
      • Common Approaches
        • Paper list and sticky notes
        • Light task tools
      • Applications
        • Planner
        • To Do
      • Level of Rigor 1/5
      • Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Person
    • Team Task Management
      • Who does it? Groups of knowledge workers
      • What is it? Collaborative to-do lists
      • Common Approaches
        • Kanban boards
        • Spreadsheets
        • Light task tools
      • Applications
        • Planner
        • Azure Boards
        • Teams
      • Level of Rigor 2/5
      • Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Team

      • Project Management

    • Project Portfolio Management
      • Who does it? PMO Directors, Portfolio Managers
      • What is it?
        • Centralized list of projects
        • Request and intake handling
        • Aggregating reporting
      • Common Approaches
        • Spreadsheets
        • PPM software
        • Roadmaps
      • Applications
        • Project for the Web
        • Power Platform
      • Level of Rigor 3/5
      • Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Isolated to One Project
    • Project Management
      • Who does it? Project Managers
      • What is it? Deterministic scheduling of related tasks
      • Common Approaches
        • Spreadsheets
        • Lists
        • PM software
        • PPM software
      • Applications
        • Project Desktop Client
      • Level of Rigor 4/5
      • Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Functionally Incomplete

      • Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management

    • Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management
      • Who does it? PMO and ePMO Directors, Portfolio Managers, Project Managers
      • What is it?
        • Centralized request and intake handling
        • Resource capacity management
        • Deterministic scheduling of related tasks
      • Common Approaches
        • PPM software
      • Applications
        • Project Online
        • Project Desktop Client
        • Project Server
      • Level of Rigor 5/5
      • Barriers to Portfolio Outcomes: Underadopted

    4. Portfolio Outcomes

    • Informed Steering Committee
    • Increased Project Throughput
    • Improved Portfolio Responsiveness
    • Optimized Resource Utilization
    • Reduced Monetary Waste

    Info-Tech's methodology for Determine the Future of MS Project for Your Organization

    1. Determine Your Tool Needs

    2. Weigh Your MS Project Implementation Options

    3. Finalize Your Implementation Approach

    Phase Steps
    1. Survey the M365 Work Management Tools
    2. Perform a Process Maturity Assessment to Help Inform Your M365 Starting Point
    3. Consider the Right MS Project Licenses for Your Stakeholders
    1. Get Familiar With Extending Project for the Web Using Power Apps
    2. Assess the MS Gold Partner Community
    1. Prepare an Action Plan

    Phase Outcomes
    1. Work Management Tool Audit
    2. MS Project and Power Platform Licensing Needs
    3. Project Management and Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment
    1. Project for the Web Readiness Assessment
    2. MS Gold Partner Outreach Plan
    1. MS Project and M365 Action Plan Presentation

    Insight Summary

    Overarching blueprint insight: Microsoft Parts Sold Separately. Assembly required.

    The various MS Project offerings (but most notably the latest, Project for the web) hold the promise of integrating with the rest of M365 into a unified work management solution. However, out of the box, Project for the web and the various platforms within M365 are all disparate utilities that need to be pieced together in a purpose-built manner to make use of them for holistic work management purposes.

    If you’re looking for a cohesive product out of the box, look elsewhere. If you’re looking to assemble a wide array of work, project, and portfolio management functions across different functions and departments, you may have found what you seek

    Phase 1 insight: Align your tool choice to your process maturity level.

    Rather than choosing tools based on your gaps, make sure to assess your current maturity level so that you optimize your investment in the Microsoft landscape.

    Phase 2 insight: Weigh your options before jumping into Microsoft’s new tech.

    Microsoft’s new Project plans (P1, P3, and P5) suggest there is a meaningful connection out of the box between its old tech (Project desktop, Project Server, and Project Online) and its new tech (Project for the web).

    However, the offerings are not always interoperable.

    Phase 3 insight: Keep the iterations small as you move ahead with trials and implementations.

    Organizations are changing as fast as the software we use to run them.

    If you’re implementing parts of this platform, keep the changes small as you monitor the vendors for new software versions and integrations.

    Blueprint deliverables

    Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

    Key deliverable: Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    The Action Plan will help culminate and present:

    • Context and Constraints
    • DIY Implementation Approach
    Or
    • MS Partner Implementation Approach
    • Future-State Vision and Goals
    Samples of Info-Tech's key deliverable 'Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template'.

    Tool Audit Workbook

    Sample of Info-Tech deliverable 'Tool Audit Workbook'.

    Assess your organization's current work management tool landscape and determine what tools drive value for individual users and teams and which ones can be rationalized.

    Force Field Analysis

    Sample of Info-Tech deliverable 'Force Field Analysis'.

    Document the driving and resisting forces for making a change to your work management tools.

    Maturity Assessments

    Sample of Info-Tech deliverable 'Maturity Assessments'.

    Use these assessments to identify gaps in project management and project portfolio management processes. The results will help guide process improvement efforts and measure success and progress.

    Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool

    Sample of Info-Tech deliverable 'Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool'.

    Determine the best licensing options and approaches for your implementation of Microsoft Project.

    Curate your work management tools to harness valuable portfolio outcomes

    • Increase Project Throughput

      Do more projects by ensuring the right projects and the right amount of projects are approved and executed.

    • Support an Informed Steering Committee

      Easily compare progress of projects across the portfolio and enable the leadership team to make decisions.

    • Improve portfolio responsiveness

      Make the portfolio responsive to executive steering when new projects and changing priorities need rapid action.

    • Optimize Resource Utilization

      Assign the right resources to approved projects and minimize the chronic over-allocation of resources that leads to burnout.

    • Reduce Monetary Waste

      Terminate low-value projects early and avoid sinking additional funds into unsuccessful ventures.

    Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

    DIY Toolkit

    Guided Implementation

    Workshop

    Consulting
    "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

    Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

    Guided Implementation

    What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

    A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

    A typical GI is between 6 to 8 calls over the course of 3 to 4 months.

      Introduction

    • Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

      • Phase 1

    • Call #2: Explore the M365 work management landscape.
    • Call #3: Discuss Microsoft Project Plans and their capabilities.
    • Call #4: Assess current-state maturity.

      • Phase 2

    • Call #5: Get familiar with extending Project for the web using Power Apps.
    • Call #6: Assess the MS Gold Partner Community.

      • Phase 3

    • Call #7: Determine approach and deployment.
    • Call #8: Discuss action plan.

    Workshop Overview

    Contact your account representative for more information.
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    Day 1
    Assess Driving Forces and Risks

    Day 2
    Determine Tool Needs and Process Maturity

    Day 3
    Weigh Your Implementation Options

    Day 4
    Finalize Implementation Approach

    Day 5
    Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

    Activities
    • 1.1 Review the business context.
    • 1.2 Explore the M365 work management landscape.
    • 1.3 Identify driving forces for change.
    • 1.4 Analyze potential risks.
    • 1.5 Perform current-state analysis on work management tools.
    • 2.1 Review tool audit dashboard and conduct the final audit.
    • 2.2 Identify current Microsoft licensing.
    • 2.3 Assess current-state maturity for project management.
    • 2.4 Define target state for project management.
    • 2.5 Assess current-state maturity for project portfolio management.
    • 2.6 Define target state for project portfolio management.
    • 3.1 Prepare a needs assessment for Microsoft 365 and Project Plan licenses.
    • 3.2 Review the business case for Microsoft licensing.
    • 3.3 Get familiar with Project for the web.
    • 3.4 Assess the MS Gold Partner Community.
    • 3.5 Conduct a feasibility test for PFTW.
    • 4.1 Decide on the implementation approach.
    • 4.2 Identify the audience for your proposal.
    • 4.3 Determine timeline and assign accountabilities.
    • 4.4 Develop executive summary presentation.
    • 5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.
    • 5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

    Deliverables
    1. Force Field Analysis
    2. Tool Audit Workbook
    1. Tool Audit Workbook
    2. Project Management Maturity Assessment
    3. Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment
    1. Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool
    1. Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan
    1. Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project for Your Organization

    Phase 1: Determine Your Tool Needs

    Phase 1: Determine Your Tool Needs

    		 Phase 2: Weigh Your Implementation Options Phase 3: Finalize Your Implementation Approach
    • Step 1.1: Survey the M365 work management landscape
    • Step 1.2: Explore the Microsoft Project Plans and their capabilities
    • Step 1.3: Assess the maturity of your current PM & PPM capabilities
    • Step 2.1: Get familiar with extending Project for the web using Power Apps
    • Step 2.2: Assess the MS Gold Partner Community
    • Step 3.1: Prepare an action plan

    Phase Outcomes

    • Tool Audit
    • Microsoft Project Licensing Analysis
    • Project Management Maturity Assessment
    • Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessments

    Step 1.1

    Survey the M365 Work Management Landscape

    Activities

    • 1.1.1 Distinguish between task, project, and portfolio capabilities
    • 1.1.2 Review Microsoft’s offering for task, project, and portfolio management needs
    • 1.1.4 Assess your organizational context and constraints
    • 1.1.3 Explore typical deployment options

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assessing your organization’s context for project and project portfolio management
    • Documenting the organization’s constraints
    • Establishing the organization’s goals and needs

    This step involves the following participants:

    • PMO Director
    • Resource Managers
    • Project Managers
    • Knowledge Workers

    Outcomes of Step

    • Knowledge of the Microsoft ecosystem as it relates to task, project, and portfolio management
    • Current organizational context and constraints

    Don’t underestimate the value of interoperability

    The whole Microsoft suite is worth more than the sum of its parts … if you know how to put it together.

    38% of the worldwide office suite market belongs to Microsoft. (Source: Statistica, 2021)

    1 in 3 small to mid-sized organizations moving to Microsoft Project say they are doing so because it integrates well with Office 365. (Source: CBT Nuggets, 2018)

    There’s a gravity to the Microsoft ecosystem.

    And while there is no argument that there are standalone task management tools, project management tools, or portfolio management tools that are likely more robust, feature-rich, and easier to adopt, it’s rare that you find an ecosystem that can do it all, to an acceptable level.

    That is the value proposition of Microsoft: the ubiquity, familiarity, and versatility. It’s the Swiss army knife of software products.

    The work management landscape is evolving

    With M365, Microsoft is angling to become the industry leader, and your organization’s hub, for work management.

    Workers lose up to 40% of their time multi-tasking and switching between applications. (Bluescape, 2018)

    25 Context switches – On average, workers switch between 10 apps, 25 times a day. (Asana, 2021)

    “Work management” is among the latest buzzwords in IT consulting.

    What is work management? It was born of a blurring of the traditional lines between operational or day-to-day tasks and project management tasks, as organizations struggle to keep up with both operational and project demands.

    To make the software easier to use, modern work management doesn’t involve the complexities from days past. You won’t find anywhere to introduce complex predecessor-successor relationships, unbalanced assignments with front-loading or back-loading, early-start/late-finish, critical path, etc.

    Indeed, with Project for the web, Azure Boards, Planner, and other M365 utilities, Microsoft is attempting to compete with lighter and better-adopted tools (e.g. Trello, Wike, Monday.com).

    The Microsoft world of work management can be understood across three broad categories

    1. Task Management

      Task management is essentially the same as keeping track of a to-do list. While you can have a project-related task, you can also have a non-project-related task. The sum of project and non-project tasks make up the work that you need to complete.

    2. Project Management

      Project management (PM) is a methodical approach to planning and guiding project processes from start to finish. Implementing PM processes helps establish repeatable steps and controls that enable project success. Documentation of PM processes leads to consistent results and dependable delivery on expectations.

    3. Portfolio Management

      Project portfolio management (PPM) is a strategic approach to approving, prioritizing, resourcing, and reporting on project. In addition, effective PPM should nurture the completion of projects in the portfolio in the most efficient way and track the extent to which the organization is realizing the intended benefits from completed projects.

    The slides ahead explain each of these modes of working in the Microsoft ecosystem in turn. Further, Info-Tech’s Task, Project, and Project Portfolio Management Tool Guides explain these areas in more detail.

    Use Info-Tech’s Tool Guides assess your MS Project and M365 work management options

    Lean on Info-Tech’s Tool Guides as you navigate Microsoft’s tasks management, project management, and project portfolio management options.

    • The slides ahead take you through a bird’s-eye view of what your MS Project and M365 work management options look like across Info-Tech’s three broad categories
    • In addition to these slides, Info-Tech has three in-depth tool guides that take you through your operational task management, project management, and project portfolio management options in MS Project and M365.
    • These tool guides can be leveraged as you determine whether Microsoft has the required toolset for your organization’s task, project, and project portfolio management needs.

    Download Info-Tech’s Task Management, Project Management, and Project Portfolio Management Tool Guides

    Task Management Overview

    What is task management?

    • It is essentially the same as keeping track of a to-do list. While you can have a project-related task, you can also have a non-project-related task. The sum of project and non-project tasks make up the work that you need to complete.

    What are the benefits of task management using applications within the MS suite?

    • Many organizations already own the tools and don't have to go out and buy something separately.
    • There is easy integration with other MS applications.

    What is personal task management?

    • Tools that allow you to structure work that is visible only to you. This can include work from tasks you are going to be completing for yourself and tasks you are completing as part of a larger work effort.

    What is team task management?

    • Tools that allow users to structure work that is visible to a group. When something is moved or changed, it affects what the group is seeing because it is a shared platform.

    Get familiar with the Microsoft product offerings for task management

    A diagram of Microsoft products and what they can help accomplish. It starts on the right with 'Teams' and 'Outlook'. Both can flow through to 'Personal Task Management' with products 'Teams Tasks' and 'To-Do', but Teams also flows into 'Team Task Management' with products 'Planner' and 'Project for the web'. See the next two slides for more details on these modes of working.

    Download the M365 Task Management Tool Guide

    Personal Task Management

    The To-Do list

    • Who does it?
      • Knowledge workers
    • What is it?
      • How each knowledge worker organizes their individual work tasks in M365
    • When is it done?
      • As needed throughout the day
    • Where is it done?
      • Paper
      • Digital location
    • How is it done?
      • DIY and self-developed
      • Usually not repeatable and evolves depending on work location and tools available
      • Not governed

    Microsoft differentiator:

    Utilities like Planner and To-Do make it easier to turn what are often ad hoc approaches into a more repeatable process.

    Team Task Management

    The SharedTo-Do list

    • Who does it?
      • Groups of knowledge workers
    • What is it?
      • Temporary and permanent collections of knowledge workers
    • When is it done?
      • As needed or on a pre-determined cadence
    • Where is it done?
      • Paper
      • Digital location
    • How is it done?
      • User norms are established organically and adapted based upon the needs of the team.
      • To whatever extent processes are repeatable in the first place, they remain repeatable only if the team is a collective.
      • Usually governed within the team and not subject to wider visibility.

    Microsoft differentiator:

    Teams has opened personal task management tactics up to more collaborative approaches.

    Project Management Overview

    2003

    Project Server: This product serves many large enterprise clients, but Microsoft has stated that it is at end of life. It is appealing to industries and organizations where privacy is paramount. This is an on-premises system that combines servers like SharePoint, SQL, and BI to report on information from Project Desktop Client. To realize the value of this product, there must be adoption across the organization and engagement at the project-task level for all projects within the portfolio.

    2013

    Project Online: This product serves many medium enterprise clients. It is appealing for IT departments who want to get a rich set of features that can be used to intake projects, assign resources, and report on project portfolio health. It is a cloud solution built on the SharePoint platform, which provides many users a sense of familiarity. However, due to the bottom-up reporting nature of this product, again, adoption across the organization and engagement at the project task level for all projects within the portfolio is critical.

    2020

    Project for the web: This product is the newest on the market and is quickly being evolved. Many O365 enthusiasts have been early adopters of Project for the web despite its limited features when compared to Project Online. It is also a cloud solution that encourages citizen developers by being built on the MS Power Platform. This positions the product well to integrate with Power BI, Power Automate, and Power Apps. It is, so far, the only MS product that lends itself to abstracted portfolio management, which means it doesn’t rely on project task level engagement to produce portfolio reports. The portfolio can also run with a mixed methodology by funneling Project, Azure Boards, and Planner boards into its roadmap function.

    Get familiar with the Microsoft product offerings for project management

    A diagram of Microsoft products and what they can help accomplish in Personal and Team Project Management. Products listed include 'Project Desktop Client', 'Project Online', 'SharePoint', 'Power Platform', 'Azure DevOps', 'Project for the web', Project Roadmap', 'Project Home', and 'Project Server'. See the next slide for more details on personal and team project management as modes of working.

    Download the M365 Project Management Tool Guide

    Project Management

    Orchestrating the delivery of project work

    • Who does it?
      • Project managers
    • What is it?
      • Individual project managers developing project plans and schedules in the MS Project Desktop Client
    • When is it done?
      • Throughout the lifecycle of the project
    • Where is it done?
      • Digital location
    • How is it done?
      • Used by individual project managers to develop and manage project plans.
      • Common approaches may or may not involve reconciliation of resource capacity through integration with Active Directory.
      • Sometimes usage norms are established by organizational project management governance standards, though individual use of the desktop client is largely ungoverned.

    Microsoft differentiator:

    For better or worse, Microsoft’s core solution is veritably synonymous with project management itself and has formally contributed to the definition of the project management space.

    Project Portfolio Management Overview

    Optimize what you’re already using and get familiar with the Power Platform.

    What does PPM look like within M365?

    • The Office suite in the Microsoft 365 suite boasts the world’s most widely used application for the purposes of abstracted and strategic PPM: Excel. For the purposes of PPM, Excel is largely implemented in a suboptimal fashion, and as a result, organizations fail to gain PPM adoption and maturation through its use.
    • Until very recently, Microsoft toolset did not explicitly address abstracted PPM needs.
    • However, with the latest version of M365 and Project for the web, Microsoft is boasting of renewed PPM capabilities from its toolset. These capabilities are largely facilitated through what Microsoft is calling its Power Platform (i.e. a suite of products that includes Power, Power Apps, and Power Automate).

    Explore the Microsoft product offering for abstracted project portfolio management

    A diagram of Microsoft products for 'Adaptive or Abstracted Portfolio Management'. Products listed include 'Excel', 'MS Lists', 'Forms', 'Teams', and the 'Power Platform' products 'Power BI', 'Power Apps', and 'Power Automate'. See the next slide for more details on adaptive or abstracted portfolio management as a mode of working.

    Download the M365 Project Portfolio Management Tool Guide

    Project Portfolio Management

    Doing the right projects, at the right time, with the right resources

    • Who does it?
      • PMO directors; portfolio managers
    • What is it?
      A strategic approach to approving, prioritizing, resourcing, and reporting on projects using applications in M365 and Project for the web. In distinction to enterprise PPM, a top-down or abstracted approach is applied, meaning PPM data is not tied to project task details.
    • Where is it done?
      • Digital tool, either homegrown or commercial
    • How is it done?
      • Currently in M365, PPM approaches are largely self-developed, though Microsoft Gold Partners are commonly involved.
      • User norms are still evolving, along with the software’s (Project for the web) function.

    Microsoft differentiator:

    Integration between Project for the web and Power Apps allows for custom approaches.

    Project Portfolio Management Overview

    Microsoft’s legacy project management toolset has contributed to the definition of traditional or enterprise PPM space.

    A robust and intensive bottom-up approach that requires task level roll-ups from projects to inform portfolio level data. For this model to work, reconciliation of individual resource capacity must be universal and perpetually current.

    If your organization has low or no maturity with PPM, this approach will be tough to make successful.

    In fact, most organizations under adopt the tools required to effectively operate with the traditional project portfolio management. Once adopted and operationalized, this combination of tools gives the executives the most precise view of the current state of projects within the portfolio.

    Explore the Microsoft product offering for enterprise project portfolio management

    A diagram of Microsoft products for 'Enterprise or Traditional Portfolio Management'. Products listed include 'Project Desktop Client', 'SharePoint', 'Project Online', 'Azure DevOps', 'Project Roadmaps', and 'Project Home'. See the next slide for more details on this as a mode of working.

    Download the M365 Project Portfolio Management Tool Guide

    Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management

    Bottom-up approach to managing the project portfolio

    • Who does it?
      • PMO and ePMO directors; portfolio managers
      • Project managers
    • What is it?
      • A strategic approach to approving, prioritizing, resourcing, and reporting on projects using applications in M365 and Project for the web. In distinction to enterprise PPM, a top-down or abstracted approach is applied, meaning PPM data is not tied to project task details.
    • Where is it done?
      • Digital tool that is usually commercial.
    • How is it done?
      • Microsoft Gold Partner involvement is highly likely in successful implementations.
      • Usage norms are long established and customized solutions are prevalent.
      • To be successful, use must be highly governed.
      • Reconciliation of individual resource capacity must be universal and perpetually current.

    Microsoft differentiator:

    Microsoft’s established network of Gold Partners helps to make this deployment a viable option.

    Assess your current tool ecosystem across work management categories

    Use Info-Tech’s Tool Audit Workbook to assess the value and satisfaction for the work management tools currently in use.

    • With the modes of working in mind that have been addressed in the previous slides and in Info-Tech’s Tool Guides, the activity slides ahead encourage you to engage your wider organization to determine all of the ways of working across individuals and teams.
    • Depending on the scope of your work management optimization, these engagements may be limited to IT or may extend to the business.
    • Use Info-Tech’s Tool Audit Workbook to help you gather and make sense of the tool data you collect. The result of this activity is to gain insight into the tools that drive value and fail to drive value across your work management categories with a view to streamline the organization’s tool ecosystem.

    Download Info-Tech’s Tool Audit Workbook

    Sample of Info-Tech's Tool Audit Workbook.

    1.2.1 Compile list of tools

    1-3 hours

    Input: Information on tools used to complete task, project, and portfolio tasks

    Output: Analyzed list of tools

    Materials: Whiteboard/Flip Charts, Tool Audit Workbook

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers, Business Stakeholders

    1. Identify the stakeholder groups that are in scope. For each group that you’ve identified, brainstorm the different tools and artifacts that are necessary to get the task, project, and project portfolio management functions done.
    2. Make sure to record the tool name and specify its category (standard document, artifact, homegrown solution, or commercial solution).
    3. Think about and discuss how often the tool is being used for each use case across the organization. Document whether its use is required. Then assess reporting functionality, data accuracy, and cost.
    4. Lastly, give a satisfaction rating for each use case.

    Excerpt from the Tool Audit Workbook

    Excerpt from Info-Tech's Tool Audit Workbook on compiling tools.

    1.2.1 Review dashboard

    1-3 hours

    Input: List of key PPM decision points, List of who is accountable for PPM decisions, List of who has PPM decision-making authority

    Output: Prioritized list of PPM decision-making support needs

    Materials: Whiteboard/Flip Charts, Tool Audit Workbook

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, CIO

    Discuss the outputs of the Dashboards tab to inform your decision maker on whether to pass or fail the tool for each use case.

    Sample of a BI dashboard used to evaluate the usefulness of tools. Written notes include: 'Slice the data based on stakeholder group, tool, use case, and category', and 'Review the results of the questionnaire by comparing cost and satisfaction'.

    1.2.1 Execute final audit

    1 hour

    Input: List of key PPM decision points, List of who is accountable for PPM decisions, List of who has PPM decision-making authority

    Output: Prioritized list of PPM decision-making support needs

    Materials: Whiteboard/Flip Charts, Tool Audit Workbook

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, CIO

    1. Using the information available, schedule time with the leadership team to present the results.
    2. Identify the accountable party to make the final decision on what current tools pass or fail the final audit.
    3. Mind the gap presented by the failed tools and look to possibilities within the M365 and Microsoft Project suite. For each tool that is deemed unsatisfactory for the future state, mark it as “Fail” in column O on tab 2 of the Tool Audit Workbook. This will ensure the item shows in the “Fail” column on tab 4 of the tool when you refresh the data.
    4. For each of the tools that “fail” your audit and that you’re going to make recommendations to rationalize in a future state, try to capture the annual total current-state spending on licenses, and the work modes the tool currently supports (i.e. task, project, and/or portfolio management).
    5. Additionally, start to think about future-state replacements for each tool within or outside of the M365/MS Project platforms. As we move forward to finalize your action plan in the last phase of this blueprint, we will capture and present this information to key stakeholders.

    Document your goals, needs, and constraints before proceeding

    Use Info-Tech’s Force Field Analysis Tool to help weigh goals and needs against risks and constraints associated with a work management change.

    • Now that you have discussed the organization’s ways of working and assessed its tool landscape – and made some initial decisions on some tool options that might need to change across that landscape – gather key stakeholders to define (a) why a change is needed at this time and (b) to document some of the risks and constraints associated with changing.
    • Info-Tech’s Force Field Analysis Tool can be used to capture these data points. It takes an organizational change management approach and asks you to consider the positive and negative forces associated with a work management tool change at this time.
    • The slides ahead walk you through a force field analysis activity and help you to navigate the relevant tabs in the Tool.

    Download Info-Tech's Force Field Analysis Tool

    Sample of Info-Tech's Force Field Analysis Tool.

    1.2.1 Identify goals and needs (1 of 2)

    Use tab 1 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook to assess goals and needs.

    30 minutes

    Input: Opportunities associated with determining the use case for Microsoft Project and M365 in your organization

    Output: Plotted opportunities based on probability and impact

    Materials: Whiteboard/Flip Charts, Force Field Analysis Tool

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers

    1. Brainstorm opportunities associated with exploring and/or implementing Microsoft Project and the Microsoft 365 suite of products for task, project, and project portfolio management.
    2. Document relevant opportunities in tab 1 of the Force Field Analysis Tool. For each driving force for the change (note: a driving force can include goals and needs) that is identified, provide a category that explains why the driving force is a concern (i.e. with this force is the organization looking to mature, integrate, scape, or accelerate?).
    3. In addition, assess the ease of achieving or realizing each goal or need and the impact of realizing them on the PMO and/or the organization.
    4. See the next slide for a screenshot that helps you navigate tab 1 of the Tool.

    Download the Force Field Analysis Tool

    1.2.1 Identify goals and needs (2 of 2)

    Screenshot of tab 1 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook.

    Screenshot of tab 1 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook. There are five columns referred to as columns B through F with the headings 'Opportunities', 'Category', 'Source', 'Ease of Achieving', and 'Impact on PMO/Organization'.

    In column B on tab 1, note the specific opportunities the group would like to call out.

    In column C, categorize the goal or need being articulated by the list of drop-down options: will it accelerate the time to benefit? Will it help to integrate systems and data sources? Will it mature processes and the organization overall? Will it help to scale across the organization? Choose the option that best aligns with the opportunity.

    In column D, categorize the source of the goal or need as internal or external.

    In column E, use the drop-down menus to indicate the ease of realizing each goal or need for the organization. Will it be relatively easy to manifest or will there be complexities to implementing it?

    In column F, use the drop-down menus to indicate the positive impact of realizing or achieving each need on the PMO and/or the organization.

    On tab 3 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook, your inputs on tab 1 are summarized in graphical form from columns B to G. On tab 3, these goals and needs results are contrasted with your inputs on tab 2 (see next slide).

    1.2.2 Identify risk and constraints (1 of 2)

    Use tab 2 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook to assess opposing forces to change.

    30 minutes

    Input: Risks associated with determining the use case for Microsoft Project and M365 in your organization

    Output: Plotted risks based on probability and impact

    Materials: Whiteboard/Flip Charts, Force Field Analysis Tool

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers

    1. With the same working group from 1.2.1, brainstorm risks, constraints, and other opposing forces pertaining to your potential future state.
    2. Document relevant opposing forces in tab 2 of the Force Field Analysis Tool. For each opposing force for the change (note: a driving force can include goals and needs) that is identified, provide a category that explains why the opposing force is a concern (i.e. will it impact or is it impacted by time, resources, maturity, budget, or culture?).
    3. In addition, assess the likelihood of the risk or constraint coming to light and the negative impact of it coming to light for your proposed change.
    4. See the next slide for a screenshot that helps you navigate tab 2 of the Force Field Analysis Tool.

    Download the Force Field Analysis Tool

    1.2.2 Identify risk and constraints (2 of 2)

    Screenshot of tab 2 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook.

    Screenshot of tab 2 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook. There are five columns referred to as columns B through F with the headings 'Risks and Constraints', 'Category', 'Source', 'Likelihood of Constraint/Risk/Resisting Force Being Felt', and 'Impact to Derailing Goals and Needs'.

    In column B on tab 2, note the specific risks and constraints the group would like to call out.

    In column C, categorize the risk or constraint being articulated by the list of drop-down options: will it impact or is it impacted by time, resources, budget, culture or maturity?

    In column D, categorize the source of the goal or need as internal or external.

    In column E, use the drop-down menus to indicate the likelihood of each risk or constraint materializing during your implementation. Will it definitely occur or is there just a small chance it could come to light?

    In column F, use the drop-down menus to indicate the negative impact of the risk or constraint to achieving your goals and needs.

    On tab 3 of the Force Field Analysis Workbook, your inputs on tab 2 are summarized in graphical form from columns I to N. On tab 3, your risk and constraint results are contrasted with your inputs on tab 1 to help you gauge the relative weight of driving vs. opposing forces.

    Step 1.2

    Explore the Microsoft Project Plans and their capabilities

    Activities

    • 1.1.1 Review the Microsoft 365 licensing features
    • 1.1.2 Explore the Microsoft Project Plan licenses
    • 1.1.3 Prepare a needs assessment for Microsoft 365 and Project Plan licenses

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Review the suite of task management, project management, and project portfolio management options available in Microsoft 365.
    • Prepare a preliminary checklist of required M365 apps for your stakeholders.

    This step usually involves the following participants:

    • PMO/Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • CIO and other executive stakeholders
    • Other project portfolio stakeholders (project and IT workers)

    Outcomes of Step

    • Preliminary requirements for an M365 project management and project portfolio management tool implementation

    Microsoft recently revamped its project plans to balance its old and new tech

    Access to the new tech, Project for the web, comes with all license types, while Project Online Professional and Premium licenses have been revamped as P3 and P5.

    Navigating Microsoft licensing is never easy, and Project for the web has further complicated licensing needs for project professionals.

    As we’ll cover in step 2.1 of this blueprint, Project for the web can be extended beyond its base lightweight work management functionality using the Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI). Depending on the scope of your implementation, this can require additional Power Platform licensing.

    • In this step, we will help you understand the basics of what’s already included in your enterprise M365 licensing as well as what’s new in Microsoft’s recent Project licensing plans (P1, P3, and P5).
    • As we cover toward the end of this step, you can use Info-Tech’s MS Project and M365 Licensing Tool to help you understand your plan and licensing needs. Further assistance on licensing can be found in the Task, Project, and Portfolio Management Tool Guides that accompany this blueprint and Info-Tech’s Modernize Your Microsoft Licensing for the Cloud Era.

    Download Info-Tech’s Modernize Your Microsoft Licensing for the Cloud Era

    Licensing features for knowledge workers

    Please note that licensing packages are frequently subject to change. This is up to date as of August 2021. For the most up-to-date information on licensing, visit the Microsoft website.

    Bundles are extremely common and can be more cost effective than à la carte options for the Microsoft products.

    The biggest differentiator between M365 and O365 is that the M365 product also includes Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility and Security.

    The color coding in the diagram indicates that the same platform/application suite is available.

    Platform or Application M365 E3 M365 E5 O365 E1 O365 E3 O365 E5
    Microsoft Forms X X X X X
    Microsoft Lists X X X X X
    OneDrive X X X X X
    Planner X X X X X
    Power Apps for Office 365 X X X X X
    Power Automate for Office X X X X X
    Power BI Pro X X
    Power Virtual Agents for Teams X X X X X
    SharePoint X X X X X
    Stream X X X X X
    Sway X X X X X
    Teams X X X X X
    To Do X X X X X

    Get familiar with Microsoft Project Plan 1

    Please note that licensing packages are frequently subject to change. This is up to date as of August 2021. For the most up to date information on licensing, visit the Microsoft website.

    Who is a good fit?

    • New project managers
    • Zero-allocation project managers
    • Individuals and organizations who want to move out of Excel into something less fragile (easily breaking formulas)

    What does it include?

    • Access to Project Home, a landing page to access all project plans you’ve created or have been assigned to.
    • Access to Grid View, Board View, and Timeline (Gantt) View to plan and manage your projects with Project for the web
    • Sharing Project for the web plans across Microsoft Teams channels
    • Co-authoring on project plans

    When does it make sense?

    • Lightweight project management
    • No process to use bottom-up approach for resourcing data
    • Critical-path analysis is not required
    • Organization does not have an appetite for project management rigor

    Get familiar with Microsoft Project Plan 3

    Please note that licensing packages are frequently subject to change. This is up to date as of August 2021. For the most up to date information on licensing, visit the Microsoft website.

    Who is a good fit?

    • Experienced and dedicated project managers
    • Organizations with complex projects
    • Large project teams are required to complete project work
    • Organizations have experience using project management software

    What does it include?

    Everything in Project Plan 1 plus the following:

    • Reporting through Power BI Report template apps (note that there are no pre-built reports for Project for the web)
    • Access to build a Roadmap of projects from Project for the web and Azure DevOps with key milestones, statuses, and deadlines
    • Project Online to submit and track timesheets for project teams
    • MS Project Desktop Client to support resource management

    When does it make sense?

    • Project management is an established discipline at the organization
    • Critical-path analysis is commonly used
    • Organization has some appetite for project management rigor
    • Resources are expected to submit timesheets to allow for more precise resource management data

    Get familiar with Microsoft Project Plan 5

    Please note that licensing packages are frequently subject to change. This is up to date as of August 2021. For the most up to date information on licensing, visit the Microsoft website.

    Who is a good fit?

    • Experienced and dedicated project managers
    • Experienced and dedicated PMO directors
    • Dedicated portfolio managers
    • Organizations proficient at sustaining data in a standard tool

    What does it include?

    Everything in Project Plan 3 plus the following:

    • Portfolio selection and optimization
    • Demand management
    • Enterprise resource planning and management through deterministic task and resource scheduling
    • MS Project Desktop Client to support resource management

    When does it make sense?

    • Project management is a key success factor at the organization
    • Organization employs a bottom-up approach for resourcing data
    • Critical-path analysis is required
    • Formal project portfolio management processes are well established
    • The organization is willing to either put in the time, energy, and resources to learn to configure the system through DIY or is willing to leverage a Microsoft Partner to help them do so

    What’s included in each plan (1 of 2)

    Plan details are up to date as of September 2021. Plans and pricing can change often. Visit the Microsoft website to validate plan options and get pricing details.
    MS Project Capabilities Info-Tech's Editorial Description P1 P3 P5
    Project Home Essentially a landing page that allows you to access all the project plans you've created or that you're assigned to. It amalgamates plans created in Project for the web, the Project for the web app in Power Apps, and Project Online. X X X
    Grid view One of three options in which to create your project plans in Project for the web (board view and timeline view are the other options). You can switch back and forth between the options. X X X
    Board view One of three options in which to create your project plans in Project for the web (grid view and timeline view are the other options). You can switch back and forth between the options. X X X
    Timeline (Gantt) view One of three options in which to create your project plans in Project for the web (board view and grid view are the other options). You can switch back and forth between the options. X X X
    Collaboration and communication This references the ability to add Project for the web project plans to Teams channels. X X X
    Coauthoring Many people can have access to the same project plan and can update tasks. X X X
    Project planning and scheduling For this the marketing lingo says "includes familiar scheduling tools to assign project tasks to team members and use different views like Grid, Board, and Timeline (Gantt chart) to oversee the schedule." Unclear how this is different than the project plans in the three view options above. X X X

    X - Functionality Included in Plan

    O - Functionality Not Included in Plan

    What’s included in each plan (2 of 2)

    Plan details are up to date as of September 2021. Plans and pricing can change often. Visit the Microsoft website to validate plan options and get pricing details.
    MS Project Capabilities Info-Tech's Editorial Description P1 P3 P5
    Reporting This seems to reference Excel reports and the Power BI Report Template App, which can be used if you're using Project Online. There are no pre-built reports for Project for the web, but third-party Power Apps are available. O X X
    Roadmap Roadmap is a platform that allows you to take one or more projects from Project for the web and Azure DevOps and create an organizational roadmap. Once your projects are loaded into Roadmap you can perform additional customizations like color status reporting and adding key days and milestones. O X X
    Timesheet submission Project Online and Server 2013 and 2016 allow team members to submit timesheets if the functionality is required. O X X
    Resource management The rich MS Project client supports old school, deterministic project scheduling at the project level. O X X
    Desktop client The full desktop client comes with P3 and P5, where it acts as the rich editor for project plans. The software enjoys a multi-decade market dominance as a project management tool but was never paired with an enterprise collaboration server engine that enjoyed the same level of success. O X X
    Portfolio selection and optimization Portfolio selection and optimization has been offered as part of the enterprise project and portfolio suite for many years. Most people taking advantage of this capability have used a Microsoft Partner to formalize and operationalize the feature. O O X
    Demand Management Enterprise demand management is targeted at the most rigorous of project portfolio management practices. Most people taking advantage of this capability have used a Microsoft Partner to formalize and operationalize the feature. O O X
    Enterprise resource planning and management The legacy MS Project Online/Server platform supports enterprise-wide resource capacity management through an old-school, deterministic task and resource scheduling engine, assuming scaled-out deployment of Active Directory. Most people succeeding with this capability have used a Microsoft Partner to formalize and operationalize the feature. O O X

    X - Functionality Included in Plan

    O - Functionality Not Included in Plan

    Use Info-Tech’s MS Project and M365 Licensing Tool

    Leverage the analysis in Info-Tech’s MS Project & M365 Licensing Tool to help inform your initial assumptions about what you need and how much to budget for it.

    • The Licensing Tool can help you determine what Project Plan licensing different user groups might need as well as additional Power Platform licensing that may be required.
    • It consists of four main tabs: two set-up tabs where you can validate the plan and pricing information for M365 and MS Project; an analysis tab where you set up your user groups and follow a survey to assess their Project Plan needs; and another analysis tab where you can document your Power Platform licensing needs across your user groups.
    • There is also a business case tab that breaks down your total licensing needs. The outputs of this tab can be used in your MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template, which we will help you develop in phase three of this blueprint.

    Download Info-Tech's Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool

    Sample of Info-Tech's Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool.

    1.2.1 Conduct a needs assessment

    1-2 hours

    Input: List of key user groups/profiles, Number of users and current licenses

    Output: List of Microsoft applications/capabilities included with each license, Analysis of user group needs for Microsoft Project Plan licenses

    Materials: Microsoft Project & 365 Licensing Tool

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers

    1. As a group, analyze the applications included in your current or desired 365 license and calculate any additional Power Platform licensing needs.
      2. Screenshot of the 'Application/Capabilities' screen from the 'Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool'.
    2. Within the same group, use the drop-down menus to analyze your high-level MS Project requirements by selecting whether each capability is necessary or not.
    3. Your inputs to the needs assessment will determine the figures in the Business Case tab. Consider exporting this information to PDF or other format to distribute to stakeholders.
      4. Screenshot of the 'Business Case' tab from the 'Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool'.

    Download Info-Tech's Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool

    Step 1.3

    Assess the maturity of your current PM & PPM capabilities

    Activities

    • Assess current state project and project portfolio management processes and tools
    • Determine target state project and project portfolio management processes and tools

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assess current state project and project portfolio management processes and tools
    • Determine target state project and project portfolio management processes and tools

    This step usually involves the following participants:

    • PMO/Portfolio Manager
    • Project Managers
    • CIO and other executive stakeholders
    • Other project portfolio stakeholders (project and IT workers)

    Outcomes of Step

    • Current and target state maturity for project management and project portfolio management processes

    Project portfolio management and project management are more than tools

    Implementing commercial tools without a matching level of process discipline is a futile exercise, leaving organizations frustrated at the wasted time and money.

    • The tool is only as good as the data that is input. There is often a misunderstanding that a tool will be “automatic.” While it is true that a tool can help make certain processes easier and more convenient by aggregating information, enhancing reporting, and coauthoring, it will not make up the data. If data becomes stale, the tool is no longer valid for accurate decision making.
    • Getting people onboard and establishing a clear process is often the hardest part. As IT folk, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the technology. All too often excitement around tools can drown out the important requisites around people and process. The reality is people and process are a necessary condition for a tool to be successful. Having a tool will not be sufficient to overcome obstacles like poor stakeholder buy-in, inadequate governance, and the absence of a standard operating procedure.

    • Slow is the way to go. When deciding what tools to purchase, start small and scale up rather than going all in and all too often ending up with many unused features and fees.

    "There's been a chicken-egg debate raging in the PPM world for decades: What comes first, the tool or the process? It seems reasonable to say, ‘We don't have a process now, so we'll just adopt the one in the tool.’ But you'll soon find out that the tool doesn't have a process, and you needed to do more planning and analysis before buying the tool." (Barry Cousins, Practice Lead, Project Portfolio Management)

    Assess your process maturity to determine the right tool approach

    Take the time to consider and reflect on the current and target state of the processes for project portfolio management and project management.

    Project Portfolio Management

    • Status and Progress Reporting

      1. Intake, Approval, and Prioritization

        PPM is the practice of selecting the right projects and ensuring the organization has the necessary resources to complete them. PPM should enable executive decision makers to make sense of the excess of demand and give IT the ability to prioritize those projects that are most valuable to the business.

      2. Resource Management

      3. Project Management

        1. Initiation
        2. Planning
        3. Execution
        4. Monitoring and Controlling
        5. Closing
        Tailor a project management framework to fit your organization. Formal methodologies aren’t always the best fit. Take what you can use from formal frameworks and define a right-sized approach to your project management processes.

      4. Project Closure

      5. Benefits Tracking

    Info-Tech’s maturity assessment tools can help you match your tools to your maturity level

    Use Info-Tech’s Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool and Project Management Maturity Assessment Tool.

    • The next few slides in this step take you through using our maturity assessment tools to help gauge your current-state and target-state maturity levels for project management (PM) and project portfolio management (PPM).
    • In addition to the process maturity assessments, these workbooks also help you document current-state support tools and desired target-state tools.
    • The outputs of these workbooks can be used in your MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template, which we will help you develop in phase three of this blueprint.

    Download Info-Tech’s Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool and Project Management Maturity Assessment Tool

    Samples of Info-Tech's Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool and Project Management Maturity Assessment Tool.

    Conduct a gap analysis survey for both project and project portfolio management.

    • Review the category and activity statements: For each gap analysis tab in the maturity assessments, use the comprehensive activity statements to identify gaps for the organization.
    • Assess the current state: To assess the current state, evaluate whether the statement should be labeled as:
      • Absent: There is no evidence of any activities supporting this process.
      • Initial: Activity is ad hoc and not well defined.
      • Defined: Activity is established and there is moderate adherence to its execution.
      • Repeatable: Activity is established, documented, repeatable, and integrated with other phases of the process.
      • Managed: Activity execution is tracked by gathering qualitative and quantitative feedback

    Once this is documented, take some time to describe the type of tool being used to do this (commercial, home-grown, standardized document) and provide additional details, where applicable.

    Define the target state: Repeat the assessment of activity statements for the target state. Then gauge the organizational impact and complexity of improving each capability on a scale of very low to very high.

    Excerpt from Info-Tech's Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool, the 'PPM Current State Target State Maturity Assessment Survey'. It has five columns whose purpose is denoted in notes. Column 1 'Category within the respective discipline'; Column 2 'Statement to consider'; Column 3 'Select the appropriate answer for current and target state'; Column 4 'Define the tool type'; Column 5 'Provide addition detail about the tool'.

    Analyze survey results for project and project portfolio management maturity

    Take stock of the gap between current state and target state.

    • What process areas have the biggest gap between current and target state?
    • What areas are aligned across current and target state?

    Identify what areas are currently the least and most mature.

    • What process area causes the most pain in the organization?
    • What process area is the organization’s lowest priority?

    Note the overall current process maturity.

    • After having done this exercise, does the overall maturity come as a surprise?
    • If so, what are some of the areas that were previously overlooked?
    A table and bar graph documenting and analysis of maturity survey results. The table has four columns labelled 'Process Area', 'Current Process Completeness', 'Current Maturity Level', and 'Target State Maturity'. Rows headers in the 'Process Area' column are 'Intake, Approval, and Prioritization', 'Resource Management', 'Portfolio Reporting', 'Project Closure and Benefits Realization', 'Portfolio Administration', and finally 'Overall Maturity'. The 'Current Process Completeness' column's values are in percentages. The 'Current Maturity Level' and 'Target State Maturity' columns' values can be one of the following: 'Absent', 'Initial', 'Defined', 'Repeatable', or 'Managed'. The bar chart visualizes the levels of the 'Target State' and 'Current State' with 'Absent' from 0-20%, 'Initial' from 20-40%, 'Defined' from 40-60%, 'Repeatable' from 60-80%, and 'Managed' from 80-100%.
    • Identify process areas with low levels of maturity
    • Spot areas of inconsistency between current and target state.
    • Assess the overall gap to get a sense of the magnitude of the effort required to get to the target state.
    • 100% doesn’t need to be the goal. Set a goal that is sustainable and always consider the value to effort ratio.

    Screenshot your results and put them into the MS Project and M365 Action Plan Template.

    Review the tool overview and plan to address gaps (tabs 3 & 4)

    Tool Overview:

    Analyze the applications used to support your project management and project portfolio management processes.

    Look for:

    • Tools that help with processes across the entire PM or PPM lifecycle.
    • Tools that are only used for one specific process.

    Reflect on the overlap between process areas with pain points and the current tools being used to complete this process.

    Consider the sustainability of the target-state tool choice

    Screenshot of a 'Tool Overview' table. Chart titled 'Current-to-Target State Supporting Tools by PPM Activity' documenting the current and target states of different supporting tools by PPM Activity. Tools listed are 'N/A', 'Standardized Document', 'Homegrown Tool', and 'Commercial Tool'.

    You have the option to create an action plan for each of the areas of improvement coming out of your maturity assessment.

    This can include:

    • Tactical Optimization Action: What is the main action needed to improve capability?
    • Related Actions: Is there a cross-over with any actions for other capabilities?
    • Timeframe: Is this near-term, mid-term, or long-term?
    • Proposed Start Date
    • Proposed Go-Live Date
    • RACI: Who will be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed?
    • Status: What is the status of this action item over time?

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project for Your Organization

    Phase 2: Weigh Your Implementation Options

    Phase 1: Determine Your Tool Needs

    Phase 2: Weigh Your Implementation Options

    		Phase 3: Finalize Your Implementation Approach
    • Step 1.1: Survey the M365 work management landscape
    • Step 1.2: Perform a process maturity assessment to help inform your M365 starting point
    • Step 1.3: Consider the right MS Project licenses for your stakeholders
    • Step 2.1: Get familiar with extending Project for the web using Power Apps
    • Step 2.2: Assess the MS Gold Partner Community
    • Step 3.1: Prepare an action plan

    Phase Outcomes

    • A decision on how best to proceed (or not proceed) with Project for the web
    • A Partner outreach plan

    Step 2.1

    Get familiar with extending Project for the web using Power Apps

    Activities

    • Get familiar with Project for the web: how it differs from Microsoft’s traditional project offerings and where it is going
    • Understand the basics of how to extend Project for the web in Power Apps
    • Perform a feasibility test

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Get familiar with Project for the web
    • Understand the basics of how to extend Project for the web in Power Apps
    • Perform a feasibility test to determine if taking a DIY approach to extending Project for the web is right for your organization currently

    This step usually involves the following participants:

    • Portfolio Manager (PMO Director)
    • Project Managers
    • Other relevant PMO stakeholders

    Outcomes of Step

    • A decision on how best to proceed (or not proceed) with Project for the web

    Project for the web is the latest of Microsoft’s project management offerings

    What is Project for the web?

    • First introduced in 2019 as Project Service, Project for the web (PFTW) is Microsoft’s entry into the world of cloud-based work management and lightweight project management options.
    • Built on the Power Platform and leveraging the Dataverse for data storage, PFTW integrates with the many applications that M365 users are already employing in their day-to-day work management and collaboration activities.
    • It is available as a part of your M365 subscription with the minimum activation of P1 license – it comes with P3 and P5 licenses as well.
    • From a functionality and user experience perspective, PFTW is closer to applications like Planner or Azure Boards than it is to traditional MS Project options.

    What does it do?

    • PFTW allows for task and dependency tracking and basic timeline creation and scheduling and offers board and grid view options. It also allows real-time coauthoring of tasks among team members scheduled to the same project.
    • PFTW also comes with a product/functionality Microsoft calls Roadmap, which allows users to aggregate multiple project timelines into a single view for reporting purposes.

    What doesn't it do?

    • With PFTW, Microsoft is offering noticeably less traditional project management functionality than its existing solutions. Absent are table stakes project management capabilities like critical path, baselining, resource load balancing, etc.

    Who is it for?

    • Currently, in its base lightweight project management option, PFTW is targeted toward occasional or part-time project managers (not the PMP-certified set) tasked with overseeing and/or collaborating on small to mid-sized initiatives and projects.

    Put Project for the web in perspective

    Out of the box, PFTW occupies a liminal space when it comes to work management options

    • More than a task management tool, but not quite a full project management tool
    • Not exactly a portfolio management tool, yet some PPM reporting functionality is inherent in the PFTW through Roadmap

    The table to the right shows some of the functionality in PFTW in relation to the task management functionality of Planner and the enterprise project and portfolio management functionality of Project Online.

    Table 2.1a Planner Project for the web Project Online
    Coauthoring on Tasks X X
    Task Planning X X X
    Resource Assignments X X X
    Board Views X X X
    MS Teams Integration X X X
    Roadmap X X
    Table and Gantt Views X X
    Task Dependency Tracking X X
    Timesheets X
    Financial Planning X
    Risks and Issues Tracking X
    Program Management X
    Advanced Portfolio Management X

    Project for the web will eventually replace Project Online

    • As early as 2018 Microsoft has been foreshadowing a transition away from the SharePoint-backed Project environments of Server and Online toward something based in Common Data Service (CDS) – now rebranded as the Dataverse.
    • Indeed, as recently as the spring of 2021, at its Reimagine Project Management online event, Microsoft reiterated its plans to sunset Project Online and transition existing Online users to the new environment of Project for the web – though it provided no firm dates when this might occur.
      • The reason for this move away from Online appears to be an acknowledgment that the rigidity of the tool is awkward in our current dynamic, collaborative, and overhead-adverse work management paradigm.
      • To paraphrase a point made by George Bullock, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, for Microsoft at the Reimagine Project Management event, teams want to manage work as they see fit, but the rigidity of legacy solutions doesn’t allow for this, leading to a proliferation of tools and data sprawl. (This comment was made during the “Overview of Microsoft Project” session during the Reimagine event.)

    PFTW is Microsoft’s proposed future-state antidote to this challenge. Its success will depend on how well users are able to integrate the solution into a wider M365 work management setting.

    "We are committed to supporting our customers on Project Online and helping them transition to Project for the Web. No end-of-support has been set for Project Online, but when the time comes, we will communicate our plans on the transition path and give you plenty of advance notice." (Heather Heide, Program Manager, Microsoft Planner and Project. This comment was made during the “Overview of Microsoft Project” session during the Reimagine event.)

    Project for the web can be extended beyond its base lightweight functionality

    Project for the web can be extended to add more traditional and robust project and project portfolio management functionality using the Power Platform.

    Microsoft plans to sunset Project Online in favor of PFTW will at first be a head-scratcher for those familiar with the extensive PPM functionality in Project Online and underwhelmed by the project and portfolio management in PFTW.

    However, having built the solution upon the Power Platform, Microsoft has made it possible to take the base functionality in PFTW and extend it to create a more custom, organizationally specific user experience.

    • With a little taste of what can be done with PFTW by leveraging the Power Platform – and, in particular, Power Apps – it becomes more obvious how we, as users, can begin to evolve the base tool toward a more traditional PPM solution and how, in time, Microsoft’s developers may develop the next iteration of PFTW into something more closely resembling Project Online.

    Before users get too excited about using these tools to build a custom PPM approach, we should consider the time, effort, and skills required. The slides ahead will take you through a series of considerations to help you gauge whether your PMO is ready to go it alone in extending the solution.

    Extending the tool enhances functionality

    Table 2.1a in this step displayed the functionality in PFTW in relation to the task management tool Planner and the robust PPM functionality in Online.

    The table to the right shows how the functionality in PFTW can differ from the base solution and Project Online when it is extended using the model-driven app option in Power Apps.

    Caveat: The list of functionality and processes in this table is sample data.

    This functionality is not inherent in the solution as soon as you integrate with Power Apps. Rather it must be built – and your success in developing these functions will depend upon the time and skills you have available.

    Table 2.1b Project for the web PFTW extended with PowerApps Project Online
    Critical Path X
    Timesheets X
    Financial Planning X X
    Risks and Issues Tracking X X
    Program Management X
    Status Updates X
    Project Requests X
    Business Cases X
    Project Charters X
    Resource Planning and Capacity Management X X
    Project Change Requests X

    Get familiar with the basics of Power Apps before you decide to go it alone

    While the concept of being able to customize and grow a commercial PPM tool is enticing, the reality of low-code development and application maintenance may be too much for resource-constrained PMOs.

    Long story short: Extending PFTW in Power Apps is time consuming and can be frustrating for the novice to intermediate user.

    It can take days, even weeks, just to find your feet in Power Apps, let alone to determine requirements to start building out a custom model-driven app. The latter activity can entail creating custom columns and tables, determining relationships between tables to get required outputs, in addition to basic design activities.

    Time-strapped and resource-constrained practitioners should pause before committing to this deployment approach. To help better understand the commitment, the slides ahead cover the basics of extending PFTW in Power Apps:

    1. Dataverse environments.
    2. Navigating Power App Designer and Sitemap Designer
    3. Customizing tables and forms in the Dataverse

    See Info-Tech’s M365 Project Portfolio Management Tool Guide for more information on Power Apps in general.

    Get familiar with Power Apps licensing

    Power Apps for 365 comes with E1 through E5 M365 licenses (and F3 and F5 licenses), though additional functionality can be purchased if required.

    While extending Project for the web with Power Apps does not at this time, in normal deployments, require additional licensing from what is included in a E3 or E5 license, it is not out of the realm of possibility that a more complex deployment could incur costs not included in the Power Apps for 365 that comes with your enterprise agreement.

    The table to the right shows current additional licensing options.

    Power Apps, Per User, Per App Plan

    Per User Plan
    Cost: US$10 per user per app per month, with a daily Dataverse database capacity of 40 MB and a daily Power Platform request capacity of 1,000. Cost: US$40 per user per month, with a daily Dataverse database capacity of 250 MB and a daily Power Platform request capacity of 5,000.
    What's included? This option is marketed as the option that allows organizations to “get started with the platform at a lower entry point … [or those] that run only a few apps.” Users can run an application for a specific business case scenario with “the full capabilities of Power Apps” (meaning, we believe, that unlicensed users can still submit data via an app created by a licensed user). What's included? A per-user plan allows licensed users to run unlimited canvas apps and model-driven apps – portal apps, the licensing guide says, can be “provisioned by customers on demand.” Dataverse database limits (the 250 MB and 5,000 request capacity mentioned above) are pooled at the per tenant, not the per user plan license, capacity.

    For more on Power Apps licensing, refer to Info-Tech’s Modernize Your Microsoft Licensing for the Cloud Era for more information.

    What needs to be configured?

    Extending Project for the web requires working with your IT peers to get the right environments configured based upon your needs.

    • PFTW data is stored in the Microsoft Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service or CDS).
    • The organization’s Dataverse can be made up of one to many environments based upon its needs. Environments are individual databases with unique proprieties in terms of who can access them and what applications can store data in them.
    • Project for the web supports three different types of environments: default, production, and sandbox.
    • You can have multiple instances of a custom PFTW app deployed across these environments and across different users – and the environment you choose depends upon the use case of each instance.

    Types of Environments

    • Default Environment

      • It is the easiest to deploy and get started with the PFTW Power App in the default environment. However, it is also the most restricted environment with the least room for configuration.
      • Microsoft recommends this environment for simple deployments or for projects that span the organization. This is because everyone in the organization is by default a member of this environment – and, with the least room for configuration, the app is relatively straightforward.
      • At minimum, you need one project license to deploy PFTW in the default environment.

    • Production Environment

      • This environment affords more flexibility for how a custom app can be configured and deployed. Unlike the default environment, deploying a production environment is a manual process (through the Power Platform Admin Center) and security roles need to be set to limit users who can access the environment.
      • Because users can be limited, production environments can be used to support more advanced deployments and can support diverse processes for different teams.
      • At present, you need at least five Project licenses to deploy to production environments.

    • Sandbox Environment

      • This environment is for users who are responsible for the creation of custom apps. It offers the same functionality as a production environment but allows users to make changes without jeopardizing a production environment.

    Resources to provide your IT colleagues with to help in your PFTW deployment:

    1. Project for the web admin help (Product Documentation, Microsoft)
    2. Advanced deployment for Project for the web (Video, Microsoft)
    3. Get Started with Project Power App (Product Support Documentation, Microsoft)
    4. Project for the Web Security Roles (Product Support Documentation, Microsoft)

    Get started creating or customizing a model-driven app

    With the proper environments procured, you can now start extending Project for the web.

    • Navigate to the environment you would like to extend PFTW within. For the purposes of the slides ahead, we’ll be using a sandbox environment for an example. Ensure you have the right access set up for production and sandbox environments of your own (see links on previous slide for more assistance).
    • To begin extending PFTW, the two core features you need to be familiar with before you start in Power Apps are (1) Tables/Entities and (2) the Power Apps Designer – and in particular the Site Map.

    From the Power Apps main page in 365, you can change your environment by selecting from the options in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

    Screenshot of the Power Apps “Apps” page in a sandbox environment. The Project App will appear as “Project” when the application is installed, though it is also easy to create an app from scratch.

    Model-driven apps are built around tables

    In Power Apps, tables (formerly called entities and still referred to as entities in the Power Apps Designer) function much like tables in Excel: they are containers of columns of data for tracking purposes. Tables define the data for your app, and you build your app around them.

    In general, there are three types of tables:

    • Standard: These are out-of-the box tables included with a Dataverse environment. Most standard tables can be customized.
    • Managed: These are tables that get imported into an environment as part of a managed solution. Managed tables cannot be customized.
    • Custom: These types of tables can either be imported from another solution or created directly in the Dataverse environment. To create custom tables, users need to have System Administrator or System Customizer security roles within the Dataverse.

    Tables can be accessed under Data banner on the left-hand panel of your Power Apps screen.

    The below is a list of standard tables that can be used to customize your Project App.

    A screenshot of the 'Data' banner in 'Power Apps' and a list of table names.

    Table Name

    Display Name
    msdyn_project Project
    msdyn_projectchange Change
    msdyn_projectprogram Program
    msdyn_projectrequest Request
    msdyn_projectrisk Risk
    msdyn_projectissue Issue
    msdyn_projectstatusreport Status

    App layouts are designed in the Power App Designer

    You configure tables with a view to using them in the design of your app in the Power Apps Designer.

    • If you’re customizing a Project for the web app manually installed into your production or sandbox environment, you can access Designer by highlighting the app from your list of apps on the Apps page and clicking “Edit” in the ribbon above.
      • If you’re creating a model-driven app from scratch, Designer will open past the “Create a New App” intro screen.
      • If you need to create separate apps in your environment for different PMOs or business units, it is as easy to create an app from scratch as it is to customize the manual install.
    • The App Designer is where you can design the layout of your model-driven app and employ the right data tables.
    Screenshot of the 'App Designer' screen in 'Power Apps'.

    The Site Map determines the navigation for your app, i.e. it is where you establish the links and pages users will navigate. We will review the basics of the sitemap on the next few slides.

    The tables that come loaded into your Project Power App environment (at this time, 37) via the manual install will appear in the Power Apps Designer in the Entity View pane at the bottom of the page. You do not have to use all of them in your design.

    Navigate the Sitemap Designer

    With the components of the previous two slides in mind, let’s walk through how to use them together in the development of a Project app.

    As addressed in the previous slide, the sitemap determines the navigation for your app, i.e. it is where you establish the links and the pages that users will navigate.

    To get to the Sitemap Designer, highlight the Project App from your list of apps on the Apps page and click “Edit” in the ribbon above. If you’re creating a model-driven app from scratch, Designer will open past the “Create a New App” intro screen.

    • To start designing your app layout, click the pencil icon beside the Site Map logo on the App Designer screen.
    • This will take you into the Sitemap Designer (see screenshot to the right). This is where you determine the layout of your app and the relevant data points (and related tables from within the Dataverse) that will factor into your Project App.
    • In the Sitemap Designer, you simply drag and drop the areas, groups, and subareas you want to see in your app’s user interface (see next slide for more details).
    Screenshot of the 'Sitemap Designer' in 'Power Apps'.

    Use Areas, Groups, and Subareas as building blocks for your App

    Screenshots of the main window and the right-hand panel in the 'Sitemap Designer', and of the subarea pop-up panel where you connect components to data tables. The first two separate elements into 'Area', 'Group', and 'Subarea'.

    Drag and drop the relevant components from the panel on the right-hand side of the screen into the main window to design the core pieces that will be present within your user interface.

    For each subarea in your design, use the pop-up panel on the right-hand side of the screen to connect your component the relevant table from within your Dataverse environment.

    How do Areas, Groups, and Subareas translate into an app?

    Screenshots of the main window in the 'Sitemap Designer' and of a left-hand panel from a published 'Project App'. There are notes defining the terms 'Area', 'Group', and 'Subarea' in the context of the screenshot.

    The names or titles for your Areas and Groups can be customized within the Sitemap Designer.

    The names or titles for your Subareas is dependent upon your table name within the Dataverse.

    Area: App users can toggle the arrows to switch between Areas.

    Group: These will change to reflect the chosen Area.

    Subarea: The tables and forms associated with each subarea.

    How to properly save and publish your changes made in the Sitemap Designer and Power Apps Designer:

    1. When you are done making changes to your components within the Sitemap Designer, and want your changes to go live, hit the “Publish” button in the top right corner; when it has successfully published, select “Save and Close.”
    2. You will be taken back to the Power App Designer homepage. Hit “Save,” then “Publish,” and then finally “Play,” to go to your app or “Save and Close.”

    How to find the right tables in the Dataverse

    While you determine which tables will play into your app in the Sitemap Designer, you use the Tables link to customize tables and forms.

    Screenshots of the tables search screen and the 'Tables' page under the 'Data' banner in 'Power Apps'.

    The Tables page under the Data banner in Power Apps houses all of the tables available in your Dataverse environment. Do not be overwhelmed or get too excited. Only a small portion of the tables in the Tables folder in Power Apps will be relevant when it comes to extending PFTW.

    Find the table you would like to customize and/or employ in your app and select it. The next slides will look at customizing the table (if you need to) and designing an app based upon the table.

    To access all the tables in your environment, you’ll need to ensure your filter is set correctly on the top right-hand corner of the screen, otherwise you will only see a small portion of the tables in your Dataverse environment.

    If you’re a novice, it will take you some time to get familiar with the table structure in the Dataverse.

    We recommend you start with the list of tables listed on slide. You can likely find something there that you can use or build from for most PPM purposes.

    How to customize a table (1 of 3)

    You won’t necessarily need to customize a table, but if you do here are some steps to help you get familiar with the basics.

    Screenshot of the 'Columns' tab, open in the 'msdyn_project table' in 'Power Apps'.

    In this screenshot, we are clicked into the msdyn_project (display name: Project) table. As you can see, there are a series of tabs below the name of the table, and we are clicked into the Columns tab. This is where you can see all of the data points included in the table.

    You are not able to customize all columns. If a column that you are not able to customize does not meet your needs, you will need to create a custom column from the “+Add column” option.

    “Required” or “Optional” status pertains to when the column or field is used within your app. For customizable or custom columns this status can be set when you click into each column.

    How to customize a table (2 of 3)

    Create a custom “Status” column.

    By way of illustrating how you might need to customize a table, we’ll highlight the “msdyn_project_statecode” (display name: Project Status) column that comes preloaded in the Project (msdyn_project) table.

    • The Project Status column only gives you a binary choice. While you are able to customize what that binary choice is (it comes preloaded with “Active” and “Inactive” as the options) you cannot add additional choices – so you cannot set it to red/yellow/green, the most universally adopted options for status in the project portfolio management world.
    • Because of this, let’s look at the effort involved in creating a choice and adding a custom column to your table based upon that choice.
    Screenshots of the '+New choice' button in the 'Choices' tab and the 'New choice' pane that opens when you click it.

    From within the Choices tab, click “+New choice” option to create a custom choice.

    A pane will appear to the right of your screen. From there you can give your choice a name, and under the “Items” header, add your list of options.

    Click save. Your custom choice is now saved to the Choices tab in the Dataverse environment and can be used in your table. Further customizations can be made to your choice if need be.

    How to customize a table (3 of 3)

    Back in the Tables tab, you can put your new choice to work by adding a column to a table and selecting your custom choice.

    Screenshots of the pop-up window that appear when you click '+Add Column', and details of what happens when you select the data type 'Choice'.

    Start by selecting “+ Add Column” at the top left-hand side of your table. A window will appear on the right-hand side of the page, and you will have options to name your column and choose the data type.

    As you can see in this screenshot to the left, data type options include text, number and date types, and many more. Because we are looking to use our custom choice for this example, we are going to choose “Choice.”

    When you select “Choice” as your data type, all of the choice options available or created in your Dataverse environment will appear. Find your custom choice – in this example the one name “RYG Status” – and click done. When the window closes, be sure to select “Save Table.”

    How to develop a Form based upon your table (1 of 3 – open the form editor)

    A form is the interface users will engage with when using your Project app.

    When the Project app is first installed in your environment, the main user form will be lacking, with only a few basic data options.

    This form can be customized and additional tabs can be added to your user interface.

    1. To do this, go to the table you want to customize.
    2. In the horizontal series of tabs at the top of the screen, below the table title select the “Forms” option.
    3. Click on the main information option or select Edit Form for the form with “Main” under its form type. A new window will open where you can customize your form.
    Screenshot of the 'Forms' tab, open in the 'msdyn_project' table in 'Power Apps'.

    Select the Forms tab.

    Start with the form that has “Main” as its Format Type.

    How to develop a Form based upon your table (2 of 3 – add a component)

    Screenshot of the 'Components' window in 'Power Apps' with a list of layouts as a window to the right of the main screen where you can name and format the chosen layout.

    You can add element like columns or sections to your form by selecting the Components window.

    In this example, we are adding a 1-Column section. When you select that option from the menu options on the left of the screen, a window will open to the right of the screen where you can name and format the section.

    Choose the component you would like to add from the layout options. Depending on the table element you are looking to use, you can also add input options like number inputs and star ratings and pull in related data elements like a project timeline.

    How to develop a Form based upon your table (3 of 3 – add table columns)

    Screenshot of the 'Table Columns' window in 'Power Apps' and instructions for adding table columns.

    If you click on the “Table Columns” option on the left-hand pane, all of the column options from within your table will appear in alphabetical order.

    When clicked within the form section you would like to add the new column to, select the column from the list of option in the left-hand pane. The new data point will appear within the section. You can order and format section elements as you would like.

    When you are done editing the form, click the “Save” icon in the top right-hand corner. If you are ready for your changes to go live within your Project App, select the “Publish” icon in the top right-hand corner. Your updated form will go live within all of the apps that use it.

    The good and the bad of extending Project for the web

    The content in this step has not instructed users how to extend PFTW; rather, it has covered three basic core pieces of Power Apps that those interesting in PFTW need to be aware of: Dataverse environments, the Power Apps and Sitemaps Designers, and Tables and associated Forms.

    Because we have only covered the very tip of the iceberg, those interested in going further and taking a DIY approach to extending PFTW will need to build upon these basics to unlock further functionality. Indeed, it takes work to develop the product into something that begins to resemble a viable enterprise project and portfolio management solution. Here are some of the good and the bad elements associated with that work:

    The Good:

    • You can right-size and purpose build: add as much or as little project management rigor as your process requires. Related, you can customize the solution in multiple ways to suit the needs of specific business units or portfolios.
    • Speed to market: it is possible to get up and running quickly with a minimum-viable product.

    The Bad:

    • Work required: to build anything beyond MVP requires independent research and trial and error.
    • Time required: to build anything beyond MVP requires time and skills that many PMOs don’t have.
    • Shadow support costs: ungoverned app creation could have negative support and maintenance impacts across IT.

    "The move to Power Platform and low code development will […increase] maintenance overhead. Will low code solution hit problems at scale? [H]ow easy will it be to support hundreds or thousands of small applications?

    I can hear the IT support desks already complaining at the thought of this. This part of the puzzle is yet to hit real world realities of support because non developers are busy creating lots of low code applications." (Ben Hosking, Software Developer and Blogger, "Why low code software development is eating the world")

    Quick start your extension with the Accelerator

    For those starting out, there is a pre-built app you can import into your environment to extend the Project for the web app without any custom development.

    • If the DIY approach in the previous slides was overwhelming, and you don’t have the budget for a MS Partner route in the near-term, this doesn’t mean that evolving your Project for the web app is unattainable.
    • Thanks to a partnership between OnePlan (one of the MS Gold Partners we detail in the next step) and Microsoft, Project for the web users have access to a free resource to help them evolve the base Project app. It’s called the “Project for the web Accelerator” (commonly referred to as “the Accelerator” for short).
    • Users interested in learning more about, and accessing, this free resource should refer to the links below:
      1. The Future of Microsoft Project Online (source: OnePlan).
      2. Introducing the Project Accelerator (source: Microsoft).
      3. Project for the web Accelerator (source: GitHub)
    Screen shot from one of the dashboards that comes with the Accelerator (image source: GitHub).

    2.1.1 Perform a feasibility test (1 of 2)

    15 mins

    As we’ve suggested, and as the material in this step indicates, extending PFTW in a DIY fashion is not small task. You need a knowledge of the Dataverse and Power Apps, and access to the requisite skills, time, and resources to develop the solution.

    To determine whether your PMO and organization are ready to go it alone in extending PFTW, perform the following activity:

    1. Convene a collection of portfolio, project, and PMO staff.
    2. Using the six-question survey on tab 5 of the Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool (see screenshot to the right) as a jumping off point for a discussion, consider the readiness of your PMO or project organization to undertake a DIY approach to extending and implementing PFTW at this time.
    3. You can use the recommendations on tab 5 of the Microsoft Project & 365 Licensing Tool to inform your next steps, and input the gauge graphic in section 4 of the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template.
    Screenshots from the 'Project for the Web Extensibility Feasibility Test'.

    Go to tab 5 of the Microsoft Project & M365 Licensing Tool

    See next slide for additional activity details

    2.1.1 Perform a feasibility test (2 of 2)

    Input: The contents of this step, The Project for the Web Extensibility Feasibility Test (tab 5 in the Microsoft Project & 365 Licensing Tool)

    Output: Initial recommendations on whether to proceed and how to proceed with a DIY approach to extending Project for the web

    Materials: The Project for the Web Extensibility Feasibility Test (tab 5 in the Microsoft Project & 365 Licensing Tool)

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), Project Managers, Other relevant PMO stakeholders

    Step 2.2

    Assess the Microsoft Gold Partner Community

    Activities

    • Review what to look for in a Microsoft Partner
    • Determine whether your needs would benefit from reaching out to a Microsoft Partner
    • Review three key Partners from the North American market
    • Create a Partner outreach plan

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Review what to look for in a Microsoft Partner.
    • Determine whether your needs would benefit from reaching out to a Microsoft Partner.
    • Review three key Partners from the North American market.

    This step usually involves the following participants:

    • Portfolio Manager (PMO Director)
    • Project Managers
    • Other relevant PMO stakeholders

    Outcomes of Step

    • A better understanding of MS Partners
    • A Partner outreach plan

    You don’t have to go it alone

    Microsoft has an established community of Partners who can help in your customizations and implementations of Project for the web and other MS Project offerings.

    If the content in the previous step seemed too technical or overly complex in a way that scared you away from a DIY approach to extending Microsoft’s latest project offering (and at some point in the near future, soon to be its only project offering), Project for the web, fear not.

    You do not have to wade into the waters of extending Project for the web alone, or for that matter, in implementing any other MS Project solution.

    Instead, Microsoft nurtures a community of Silver and Gold partners who offer hands-on technical assistance and tool implementation services. While the specific services provided vary from partner to partner, all can assist in the customization and implementation of any of Microsoft’s Project offerings.

    In this step we will cover what to look for in a Partner and how to assess whether you are a good candidate for the services of a Partner. We will also highlight three Partners from within the North American market.

    The basics of the Partner community

    What is a Microsoft Partner?

    Simply put, an MS Gold Partner is a software or professional services organization that provides sales and services related to Microsoft products.

    They’re resellers, implementors, integrators, software manufacturers, trainers, and virtually any other technology-related business service.

    • Microsoft has for decades opted out of being a professional services organization, outside of its very “leading edge” offerings from MCS (Microsoft Consulting Services) for only those technologies that are so new that they aren’t yet supported by MS Partners.
    • As you can see in the chart on the next slide, to become a silver or gold certified partner, firms must demonstrate expertise in specific areas of business and technology in 18 competency areas that are divided into four categories: applications and infrastructure, business applications, data and AI, and modern workplace and security.

    More information on what it takes to become a Microsoft Partner:

    1. Partner Center (Document Center, Microsoft)
    2. Differentiate your business by attaining Microsoft competencies (Document Center, Microsoft)
    3. Partner Network Homepage (Webpage, Microsoft)
    4. See which partner offer is right for you (Webpage, Microsoft)

    Types of partnerships and qualifications

    Microsoft Partner Network

    Microsoft Action Pack

    Silver Competency

    Gold Competency

    What is it?

    		 The Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) is a community that offers members tools, information, and training. Joining the MPN is an entry-level step for all partners. The Action Pack is an annual subscription offered to entry-level partners. It provides training and marketing materials and access to expensive products and licenses at a vastly reduced price. Approximately 5% of firms in the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) are silver partners. These partners are subject to audits and annual competency exams to maintain silver status. Approximately 1% of firms in the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) are gold partners. These partners are subject to audits and annual competency exams to maintain Gold status.

    Requirements

    		 Sign up for a membership Annual subscription fee While requirements can vary across competency area, broadly speaking, to become a silver partner firms must:
    • Pass regular exams and skills assessments, with at least two individuals on staff with Microsoft Certified Professional Status.
    • Hit annual customer, revenue, and licensing metrics.
    • Pay the annual subscription fee.
    		 While requirements can vary across competency area, broadly speaking, to become a gold partner firms must:
    • Pass regular exams and skills assessments, with at least two individuals on staff with Microsoft Certified Professional Status.
    • Hit annual customer, revenue, and licensing metrics.
    • Pay the annual subscription fee.

    Annual Fee

    		 No Cost $530 $1800 $5300

    When would a MS Partner be helpful?

    • Project management and portfolio management practitioners might look into procuring the services of a Microsoft Partner for a variety of reasons.
    • Because services vary from partner to partner (help to extend Project for the web, implement Project Server or Project Online, augment PMO staffing, etc.) we won’t comment on specific needs here.
    • Instead, the three most common conditions that trigger the need are listed to the right.

    Speed

    When you need to get results faster than your staff can grow the needed capabilities.

    Cost

    When the complexity of the purchase decision, implementation, communication, training, configuration, and/or customization cannot be cost-justified for internal staff, often because you’ll only do it once.

    Expertise & Skills

    When your needs cannot be met by the core Microsoft technology without significant extension or customization.

    Canadian Microsoft Partners Spotlight

    As part of our research process for this blueprint, Info-Tech asked Microsoft Canada for referrals and introductions to leading Microsoft Partners. We spent six months collaborating with them on fresh research into the underlying platform.

    These vendors are listed below and are highlighted in subsequent slides.

    Spotlighted Partners:

    Logo for One Plan. Logo for PMO Outsource Ltd. Logo for Western Principles.

    Please Note: While these vendors were referred to us by Microsoft Canada and have a footprint in the Canadian market, their footprints extend beyond this to the North American and global markets.

    A word about our approach

    Photo of Barry Cousins, Project Portfolio Management Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group.
    Barry Cousins
    Project Portfolio Management Practice Lead
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Our researchers have been working with Microsoft Project Online and Microsoft Project Server clients for years, and it’s fair to say that most of these clients (at some point) used a Microsoft Partner in their deployment. They’re not really software products, per se; they’re platforms. As a Microsoft Partner in 2003 when Project Server got its first big push, I heard it loud and clear: “Some assembly required. You might only make 7% on the licensing, but the world’s your oyster for services.”

    In the past few years, Microsoft froze the market for major Microsoft Project decisions by making it clear that the existing offering is not getting updates while the new offering (Project for the web) doesn’t do what the old one did. And in a fascinating timing coincidence, the market substantially adopted Microsoft 365 during that period, which enables access to Project for the web.

    Many of Info-Tech’s clients are justifiably curious, confused, and concerned, while the Microsoft Partners have persisted in their knowledge and capability. So, we asked Microsoft Canada for referrals and introductions to leading Microsoft Partners and spent six months collaborating with them on fresh research into the underlying platform.

    Disclosure: Info-Tech conducted collaborative research with the partners listed on the previous slide to produce this publication. Market trends and reactions were studied, but the only clients identified were in case studies provided by the Microsoft Partners. Info-Tech’s customers have been, and remain, anonymous. (Barry Cousins, Project Portfolio Management Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group)

    MS Gold Partner Spotlight:

    OnePlan

    Logo for One Plan.
    Headquarters: San Marcos, California, and Toronto, Ontario
    Number of Employees: ~80
    Active Since: 2007 (as EPMLive)
    Website: www.oneplan.ai

    Who are they?

    • While the OnePlan brand has only been the marketplace for a few years, the company has been a major player in MS Gold Partner space for well over a decade.
    • Born out of EPMLive in the mid-aughts, OnePlan Solutions has evolved through a series of acquisitions, including Upland, Tivitie, and most recently Wicresoft.

    What do they do?

    • Software: Its recent rebranding is largely because OnePlan Solutions is as much a software company as it is a professional services firm. The OnePlan software product is an impressive solution that can be used on its own to facilitate the portfolio approaches outlined on the next slide and that can also integrate with the tools your organization is already using to manage tasks (see here for a full rundown of the solutions within the Microsoft stack and beyond OnePlan can integrate with).

      • Beyond its ability to integrate with existing solutions, as a software product, OnePlan has modules for resource planning, strategic portfolio planning, financial planning, time tracking, and more.

    • PPM Consulting Services: The OnePlan team also offers portfolio management consulting services. See the next slide for a list of its approaches to project portfolio management.

    Markets served

    • US, Canada, Europe, and Australia

    Channel Differentiation

    • OnePlan scales to all the PPM needs of all industry types.
    • Additionally, OnePlan offers insights and functionality specific to the needs of BioTech-Pharma.

    What differentiates OnePlan?

    • OnePlan co-developed the Project Accelerator for Project for the web with Microsoft. The OnePlan team’s involvement in developing the Accelerator and making it free for users to access suggests it is aligned to and has expertise in the purpose-built and collaborative vision behind Microsoft’s move away from Project Online and toward the Power Platform and Teams collaboration.
    • 2021 MS Gold Partner of the Year. At Microsoft’s recent Microsoft Inspire event, OnePlan was recognized as the Gold Partner of the Year for Project and Portfolio Management as well as a finalist for Power Apps and Power Automate.
    • OnePlan Approaches: Below is a list of the services or approaches to project portfolio management that OnePlan provides. See its website for more details.
      • Strategic Portfolio Management: Align work to objectives and business outcomes. Track performance against the proposed objectives outcomes.
      • Agile Portfolio Management: Implement Agile practices across the organization, both at the team and executive level.
      • Adaptive Portfolio Management: Allow teams to use the project methodology and tools that best suit the work/team. Maintain visibility and decision making across the entire portfolio.
      • Professional Services Automation: Use automation to operate with greater efficiency.

    "OnePlan offers a strategic portfolio, financial and resource management solution that fits the needs of every PMO. Optimize your portfolio, financials and resources enterprise wide." (Paul Estabrooks, Vice President at OnePlan)

    OnePlan Case Study

    This case study was provided to Info-Tech by OnePlan.

    Brambles

    INDUSTRY: Supply Chain & Logistics
    SOURCE: OnePlan

    Overview: Brambles plays a key role in the delivery or return of products amongst global trading partners such as manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

    Challenge

    Brambles had a variety of Project Management tools with no easy way of consolidating project management data. The proliferation of project management solutions was hindering the execution of a long-term business transformation strategy. Brambles needed certain common and strategic project management processes and enterprise project reporting while still allowing individual project management solutions to be used as part of the PPM platform.

    Solution

    As part of the PMO-driven business transformation strategy, Brambles implemented a project management “operating system” acting as a foundation for core processes such as project intake, portfolio management, resource, and financial planning and reporting while providing integration capability for a variety of tools used for project execution.

    OnePlan’s new Adaptive PPM platform, combining the use of PowerApps and OnePlan, gives Brambles the desired PPM operating system while allowing for tool flexibility at the execution level.

    Results

    • Comprehensive picture of progress across the portfolio.
    • Greater adoption by allowing flexibility of work management tools.
    • Modern portfolio management solution that enables leadership to make confident decision.

    Solution Details

    • OnePlan
    • Project
    • Power Apps
    • Power Automate
    • Power BI
    • Teams

    Contacting OnePlan Solutions

    www.oneplan.ai

    Joe Larscheid: jlarscheid@oneplan.ai
    Paul Estabrooks: pestabrooks@oneplan.ai
    Contact Us: contact@oneplan.ai
    Partners: partner@oneplan.ai

    Partner Resources. OnePlan facilitates regular ongoing live webinars on PPM topics that anyone can sign up for on the OnePlan website.

    For more information on upcoming webinars, or to access recordings of past webinars, see here.

    Additional OnePlan Resources

    1. How to Extend Microsoft Teams into a Collaborative Project, Portfolio and Work Management Solution (on-demand webinar, OnePlan’s YouTube channel)
    2. What Does Agile PPM Mean To The Modern PMO (on-demand webinar, OnePlan’s YouTube channel)
    3. OnePlan is fused with the Microsoft User Experience (blog article, OnePlan)
    4. Adaptive Portfolio Management Demo – Bringing Order to the Tool Chaos with OnePlan (product demo, OnePlan’s YouTube channel)
    5. How OnePlan is aligning with Microsoft’s Project and Portfolio Management Vision (blog article, OnePlan)
    6. Accelerating Office 365 Value with a Hybrid Project Portfolio Management Solution (product demo, OnePlan’s YouTube channel)

    MS Gold Partner Spotlight:

    PMO Outsource Ltd.

    Logo for PMO Outsource Ltd.

    Headquarters: Calgary, Alberta, and Mississauga, Ontario
    Website: www.pmooutsource.com

    Who are they?

    • PMO Outsource Ltd. is a Microsoft Gold Partner and PMI certified professional services firm based in Alberta and Ontario, Canada.
    • It offers comprehensive project and portfolio management offerings with a specific focus on project lifecycle management, including demand management, resource management, and governance and communication practices.

    What do they do?

    • Project Online and Power Platform Expertise. The PMO Outsource Ltd. team has extensive knowledge in both Microsoft’s old tech (Project Server and Desktop) and in its newer, cloud-based technologies (Project Online, Project for the web, the Power Platform, and Dynamics 365). As the case study in two slides demonstrates, PMO Outsource Ltd. Uses its in-depth knowledge of the Microsoft suite to help organizations automate project and portfolio data collection process, create efficiencies, and encourage cloud adoption.
    • PPM Consulting Services: In addition to its Microsoft platform expertise, the PMO Outsource Ltd. team also offers project and portfolio management consulting services, helping organizations evolve their process and governance structures as well as their approaches to PPM tooling.

    Markets served

    • Global

    Channel Differentiation

    • PMO Outsource Ltd. scales to all the PPM needs of all industry types.

    What differentiates PMO Outsource Ltd.?

    • PMO Staff Augmentation. In addition to its technology and consulting services, PMO Outsource Ltd. offers PMO staff augmentation services. As advertised on its website, it offers “scalable PMO staffing solutions. Whether you require Project Managers, Business Analysts, Admins or Coordinators, [PMO Outsource Ltd.] can fulfill your talent search requirements from a skilled pool of resources.”
    • Multiple and easy-to-understand service contract packages. PMO Outsource Ltd. offers many prepackaged service offerings to suit PMOs’ needs. Those packages include “PMO Management, Admin, and Support,” “PPM Solution, Site and Workflow Configuration,” and “Add-Ons.” For full details of what’s included in these services packages, see the PMO Outsource Ltd. website.
    • PMO Outsource Ltd. Services: Below is a list of the services or approaches to project portfolio management that PMO Outsource Ltd. Provides. See its website for more details.
      • Process Automation, Workflows, and Tools. Facilitate line of sight by tailoring Microsoft’s technology to your organization’s needs and creating custom workflows.
      • PMO Management Framework. Receive a professionally managed PPM methodology as well as governance standardization of processes, tools, and templates.
      • Custom BI Reports. Leverage its expertise in reporting and dashboarding to create the visibility your organization needs.

    "While selecting an appropriate PPM tool, the PMO should not only evaluate the standard industry tools but also analyze which tool will best fit the organization’s strategy, budget, and culture in the long run." (Neeta Manghnani, PMO Strategist, PMO Outsource Ltd.)

    PMO Outsource Ltd. Case Study

    This case study was provided to Info-Tech by PMO Outsource Ltd.

    SAMUEL

    INDUSTRY: Manufacturing
    SOURCE: PMO Outsource Ltd.

    Challenge

    • MS Project 2013 Server (Legacy/OnPrem)
    • Out-of-support application and compliance with Office 365
    • Out-of-support third-party application for workflows
    • No capability for resource management
    • Too many manual processes for data maintenance and server administration

    Solution

    • Migrate project data to MS Project Online
    • Recreate workflows using Power Automate solution
    • Configure Power BI content packs for Portfolio reporting and resource management dashboards
    • Recreate OLAP reports from legacy environment using Power BI
    • Cut down nearly 50% of administrative time by automating PMO/PPM processes
    • Save costs on Server hardware/application maintenance by nearly 75%

    Full Case Study Link

    • For full details about how PMO Outsource Ltd. assisted Samuel in modernizing its solution and creating efficiencies, visit the Microsoft website where this case study is highlighted.

    Contacting PMO Outsource Ltd.

    www.pmooutsource.com

    700 8th Ave SW, #108
    Calgary, AB T2P 1H2
    Telephone : +1 (587) 355-3745
    6045 Creditview Road, #169
    Mississauga, ON L5V 0B1
    Telephone : +1 (289) 334-1228
    Information: info@pmooutsource.com
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pmo-outsource/

    Partner Resources. PMO Outsource Ltd.’s approach is rooted within a robust and comprehensive PPM framework that is focused on driving strategic outcomes and business success.

    For a full overview of its PPM framework, see here.

    Additional PMO Outsource Ltd. Resources

    1. 5 Benefits of PPM tools and PMO process automation (blog article, PMO Outsource Ltd.)
    2. Importance of PMO (blog article, PMO Outsource Ltd.)
    3. Meet the Powerful and Reimagined PPM tool for Everyone! (video, PMO Outsource Ltd. LinkedIn page)
    4. MS Project Tips: How to add #Sprints to an existing Project? (video, PMO Outsource Ltd. LinkedIn page)
    5. MS Project Tips: How to add a milestone to your project? (video, PMO Outsource Ltd. LinkedIn page)
    6. 5 Benefits of implementing Project Online Tools (video, PMO Outsource Ltd. LinkedIn page)

    MS Gold Partner Spotlight:

    Western Principles

    Logo for Western Principles.

    Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia
    Years Active: 16 Years
    Website: www.westernprinciples.com

    Who are they?

    • Western Principles is a Microsoft Gold Partner and UMT 360 PPM software provider based in British Columbia with a network of consultants across Canada.
    • In the last sixteen years, it has successfully conducted over 150 PPM implementations, helping in the implementation, training, and support of Microsoft Project offerings as well as UMT360 – a software solution provider that, much like OnePlan, enhances the PPM capabilities of the Microsoft platform.

    What do they do?

    • Technology expertise. The Western Principles team helps organizations maximize the value they are getting form the Microsoft Platform. Not only does it offer expertise in all the solutions in the MS Project ecosystem, it also helps organizations optimize their use and understanding of Teams, SharePoint, the Power Platform, and more. In addition to the Microsoft platform, Western Principles is partnered with many other technology providers, including UMT360 for strategic portfolio management, the Simplex Group for project document controls, HMS for time sheets, and FluentPro for integration, back-ups, and migrations.
    • PPM Consulting Services: In addition to its technical services and solutions, Western Principles offers PPM consulting and staff augmentation services.

    Markets served

    • Canada

    Channel Differentiation

    • Western Principles scales to all the PPM needs of all industry types, public and private sector.
    • In addition, its website offers persona-specific information based on the PPM needs of engineering and construction, new product development, marketing, and more.

    What differentiates Western Principles?

    • Gold-certified UMT 360 partner. In addition to being a Microsoft Gold Partner, Western Principles is a gold-certified UMT 360 partner. UMT 360 is a strategic portfolio management tool that integrates with many other work management solutions to offer holistic line of sight into the organization’s supply-demand pain points and strategic portfolio management needs. Some of the solutions UMT 360 integrates with include Project Online and Project for the web, Azure DevOps, Jira, and many more. See here for more information on the impressive functionality in UMT360.
    • Sustainment Services. Adoption can be the bane of most PPM tool implementations. Among the many services Western Principles offers, its “sustainment services” stand out. According to Western Principles’ website, these services are addressed to those who require “continual maintenance, change, and repair activities” to keep PPM systems in “good working order” to help maximize ROI.
    • Western Principles Services: In addition to the above, below is a list of some of the services that Western Principles offers. See its website for a full list of services.
      • Process Optimization: Determine your requirements and process needs.
      • Integration: Create a single source of truth.
      • Training: Ensure your team knows how to use the systems you implement.
      • Staff Augmentation: Provide experienced project team members based upon your needs.

    "One of our principles is to begin with the end in mind. This means that we will work with you to define a roadmap to help you advance your strategic portfolio … and project management capabilities. The roadmap for each customer is different and based on where you are today, and where you need to get to." (Western Principles, “Your Strategic Portfolio Management roadmap,” Whitepaper)

    Contacting Western Principles

    www.westernprinciples.com

    610 – 700 West Pender St.
    Vancouver, BC V6C 1G8
    +1 (800) 578-4155
    Information: info@westernprinciples.com
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/western-principle...

    Partner Resources. Western Principles provides a multitude of current case studies on its home page. These case studies let you know what the firm is working on this year and the type of support it provides to its clientele.

    To access these case studies, see here.

    Additional Western Principles Resources

    1. Program and Portfolio Roll ups with Microsoft Project and Power BI (video, Western Principles YouTube Channel)
    2. Dump the Spreadsheets for Microsoft Project Online (video, Western Principles YouTube Channel)
    3. Power BI for Project for the web (video, Western Principles YouTube Channel)
    4. How to do Capacity Planning and Resource Management in Microsoft Project Online [Part 1 & Part 2] (video, Western Principles YouTube Channel)
    5. Extend & Integrate Microsoft Project (whitepaper, Western Principles)
    6. Your COVID-19 Return-to-Work Plan (whitepaper, Western Principles)

    Watch Info-Tech’s Analyst-Partner Briefing Videos to lean more

    Info-Tech was able to sit down with the partners spotlighted in this step to discuss the current state of the PPM market and Microsoft’s place within it.

    • All three partners spotlighted in this step contributed to Info-Tech’s research process for this publication.
    • For two of the partners, OnePlan and PMO Outsource Ltd., Info-Tech was able to record a conversation where our analysts and the partners discuss Microsoft’s current MS Project offerings, the current state of the PPM tool market, and the services and the approaches of each respective partner.
    • A third video briefing with Western Principles has not happened yet due to logistical reasons. We are hoping we can include a video chat with our peers at Western Principles in the near future.
    Screenshot form the Analyst-Partner Briefing Videos. In addition to the content covered in this step, you can use these videos for further information about the partners to inform your next steps.

    Download Info-Tech’s Analyst-Partner Briefing Videos (OnePlan & PMO Outsource Ltd.)

    2.2.1 Create a partner outreach plan

    1-3 hours

    Input: Contents of this step, List of additional MS Gold Partners

    Output: A completed partner outreach program

    Materials: MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers, CIO

    1. With an understanding of the partner ecosystem, compile a working group of PMO peers and stakeholders to produce a gameplan for engaging the MS Gold Partner ecosystem.
      • For additional partner options see Microsoft’s Partner Page.
    2. Using slide 20 in Info-Tech’s MS Project and M365 Action Plan Template, document the Partners you would want or have scheduled briefings with.
      • As you go through the briefings and research process, document the pros and cons and areas of specialized associated with each vendor for your particular work management implementation.

    Download the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    2.2.2 Document your PM and PPM requirements

    1-3 hours

    Input: Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment, Project Management Maturity Assessment

    Output: MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    Materials: Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment, Project Management Maturity Assessment, MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: Portfolio Manager (PMO Director), PMO Admin Team, Project Managers, CIO

    1. As you prepare to engage the Partner Community, you should have a sense of where your project management and project portfolio management gaps are to better communicate your tooling needs.
    2. Leverage tab 4 from both your Project Portfolio Management Assessment and Project Management Assessment from step 1.3 of this blueprint to help document and communicate your requirements. Those tabs prioritize your project and portfolio management needs by highest impact for the organization.
    3. You can use the outputs of the tab to inform your inputs on slide 23 of the MS Project & M365 Action Plan Template to present to organizational stakeholders and share with the Partners you are briefing with.

    Download the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    Determine the Future of Microsoft Project for Your Organization

    Phase 3: Finalize Your Implementation Approach

    Phase 1: Determine Your Tool NeedsPhase 2: Weigh Your Implementation Options

    Phase 3: Finalize Your Implementation Approach

    • Step 1.1: Survey the M365 work management landscape
    • Step 1.2: Perform a process maturity assessment to help inform your M365 starting point
    • Step 1.3: Consider the right MS Project licenses for your stakeholders
    • Step 2.1: Get familiar with extending Project for the web using Power Apps
    • Step 2.2: Assess the MS Gold Partner Community
    • Step 3.1: Prepare an action plan

    Phase Outcomes

    An action plan concerning what to do with MS Project and M365 for your PMO or project organization.

    Step 3.1

    Prepare an action plan

    Activities

    • Compile the current state results
    • Prepare an Implementation Roadmap
    • Complete your presentation deck

    This step will walk you through the following activities:

    • Assess the impact of organizational change for the project
    • Develop your vision for stakeholders
    • Compile the current state results and document the implementation approach
    • Create clarity through a RACI and proposed implementation timeline

    This step usually involves the following participants:

    • Portfolio Manager (PMO Director)
    • PMO Admin Team
    • Business Analysts
    • Project Managers

    Outcomes of Step

    • Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan

    Assess the impact of organizational change

    Be prepared to answer: “What’s in it for me?”

    Before jumping into licensing and third-party negotiations, ensure you’ve clearly assessed the impact of change.

    Tailor the work effort involved in each step, as necessary:

    1. Assess the impact
      • Use the impact assessment questions to identify change impacts.
    2. Plan for change
      • Document the impact on each stakeholder group.
      • Anticipate their response.
      • Curate a compelling message for each stakeholder group.
      • Develop a communication plan.
    3. Act according to plan
      • Identify your executive sponsor.
      • Enable the sponsor to drive change communication.
      • Coach managers on how they can drive change at the individual level.

    Impact Assessment Questions

    • Will the change impact how our clients/customers receive, consume, or engage with our products/services?
    • Will there be a price increase?
    • Will there be a change to compensation and/or rewards?
    • Will the vision or mission of the job change?
    • Will the change span multiple locations/time zones?
    • Are multiple products/services impacted by this change?
    • Will staffing levels change?
    • Will this change increase the workload?
    • Will the tools of the job be substantially different?
    • Will a new or different set of skills be needed?
    • Will there be a change in reporting relationships?
    • Will the workflow and approvals be changed?
    • Will there be a substantial change to scheduling and logistics?

    Master Organizational Change Management Practices blueprint

    Develop your vision for stakeholders

    After careful analysis and planning, it’s time to synthesize your findings to those most impacted by the change.

    Executive Brief

    • Prepare a compelling message about the current situation.
    • Outline the considerations the working group took into account when developing the action plan.
    • Succinctly describe the recommendations proposed by the working group.

    Goals

    • Identify the goals for the project.
    • Explain the details for each goal to develop the organizational rationale for the project.
    • These goals are the building blocks for the change communication that the executive sponsor will use to build a coalition of sponsors.

    Future State Vision

    • Quantify the high-level costs and benefits of moving forward with this project.
    • Articulate the future- state maturity level for both the project and project portfolio management process.
    • Reiterate the organizational rationale and drivers for change.

    "In failed transformations, you often find plenty of plans, directives, and programs, but no vision…A useful rule of thumb: If you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest, you are not yet done…" (John P. Kotter, Leading Change)

    Get ready to compile the analysis completed throughout this blueprint in the subsequent activities. The outputs will come together in your Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan.

    Use the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template to help communicate your vision

    Our boardroom-ready presentation and communication template can be customized using the outputs of this blueprint.

    • Getting stakeholders to understand why you are recommending specific work management changes and then communicating exactly what those changes are and what they will cost is key to the success of your work management implementation.
    • To that end, the slides ahead walk you through how to customize the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template.
    • Many of the current-state analysis activities you completed during phase 1 of this blueprint can be directly made use of within the template as can the decisions you made and requirements you documented during phase 2.
    • By the end of this step, you will have a boardroom-ready presentation that will help you communicate your future-state vision.
    Screenshot of Info-Tech's Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template with a note to 'Update the presentation or distribution date and insert your name, role, and organization'.

    Download Info-Tech’s Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    3.1.1 Compile current state results

    1-3 hours

    Input: Force Field Analysis Tool, Tool Audit Workbook, Project Management Maturity Assessment Tool, Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool

    Output: Section 1: Executive Brief, Section 2: Context and Constraints

    Materials: Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director, PMO Admin Team, Business Analysts, Project Managers

    1. As a group, review the results of the tools introduced throughout this blueprint. Use this information along with organizational knowledge to document the business context and current state.
    2. Update the driving forces for change and risks and constraints slides using your outputs from the Force Field Analysis Tool.
    3. Update the current tool landscape, tool satisfaction, and tool audit results slides using your outputs from the Tool Audit Workbook.
    4. Update the gap analysis results slides using your outputs from the Project Management and Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tools.

    Screenshots of 'Business Context and Current State' screen from the 'Force Field Analysis Tool', the 'Tool Audit Results' screen from the 'Tool Audit Workbook', and the 'Project Portfolio Management Gap Analysis Results' screen from the 'PM and PPM Maturity Assessments Tool'.

    Download the Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    3.2.1 Option A: Prepare a DIY roadmap

    1-3 hours; Note: This is only applicable if you have chosen the DIY route

    Input: List of key PPM decision points, List of who is accountable for PPM decisions, List of who has PPM decision-making authority

    Output: Section 3: DIY Implementation Approach

    Materials: Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director, PMO Admin Team, Business Analysts, Project Managers

    1. As a group, review the results of the Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool. Use this information along with organizational knowledge and discussion with the working group to complete Section 3: DIY Implementation Approach.
    2. Copy and paste your results from tab 5 of the Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool. Update the Implementation Approach slide to detail the rationale for selecting this option.
    3. Update the Action Plan to articulate the details for total and annual costs of the proposed licensing solution.
    4. Facilitate a discussion to determine roles and responsibilities for the implementation. Based on the size, risk, and complexity of the implementation, create a reasonable timeline.
    Screenshots from the 'Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template' outlining the 'DIY Implementation Approach'.

    Download the Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    3.2.1 Option b: Prepare a Partner roadmap

    1-3 hours; Note: This is only applicable if you have chosen the Partner route

    Input: Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool, Information on Microsoft Partners

    Output: Section 4: Microsoft Partner Implementation Route

    Materials: Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director, PMO Admin Team, Business Analysts, Project Managers

    1. As a group, review the results of the Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool. Use this information along with organizational knowledge and discussion with the working group to complete Section 4: Microsoft Partner Implementation Route.
    2. Copy and paste your results from tab 5 of the Microsoft Project and M365 Licensing Tool. Update the Implementation Approach slide to detail the rationale for selecting this option.
    3. Develop an outreach plan for the Microsoft Partners you are planning to survey. Set targets for briefing dates and assign an individual to own any back-and-forth communication. Document the pros and cons of each Partner and gauge interest in continuing to analyze the vendor as a possible solution.
    4. Facilitate a discussion to determine roles and responsibilities for the implementation. Based on the size, risk, and complexity of the implementation, create a reasonable timeline.

    Screenshots from the 'Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template' outlining the 'Microsoft Partner Implementation Route'.

    Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    3.1.2 Complete your presentation deck

    1-2 hours

    Input: Outputs from the exercises in this blueprint

    Output: Section 5: Future-State Vision and Goals

    Materials: Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    Participants: PMO Director, PMO Admin Team, Business Analysts, Project Managers

    1. Put the finishing touches on your presentation deck by documenting your future- state vision and goals.
    2. Prepare to present to your stakeholders.
      • Understand your audience, their needs and priorities, and their degree of knowledge and experiences with technology. This informs what to include in your presentation and how to position the message and goal.
    3. Review the deck beginning to end and check for spelling, grammar, and vertical logic.
    4. Practice delivering the vision for the project through several practice sessions.

    Screenshots from the 'Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template' regarding finishing touches.

    Microsoft Project and M365 Action Plan Template

    Pitch your vision to key stakeholders

    There are multiple audiences for your pitch, and each audience requires a different level of detail when addressed. Depending on the outcomes expected from each audience, a suitable approach must be chosen. The format and information presented will vary significantly from group to group.

    Audience

    Key Contents

    Outcome

    Business Executives
    • Section 1: Executive Brief
    • Section 2: Context and Constraints
    • Section 5: Future-State Vision and Goals
    • Identify executive sponsor

    IT Leadership
    • Sections 1-5 with a focus on Section 3 or 4 depending on implementation approach
    • Get buy-in on proposed project
    • Identify skills or resourcing constraints

    Business Managers
    • Section 1: Executive Brief
    • Section 2: Context and Constraints
    • Section 5: Future-State Vision and Goals
    • Get feedback on proposed plan
    • Identify any unassessed risks and organizational impacts

    Business Users
    • Section 1: Executive Brief
    • Support the organizational change management process

    Summary of Accomplishment

    Problem Solved

    Knowledge Gained
    • How you work: Work management and the various ways of working (personal and team task management, strategic project portfolio management, formal project management, and enterprise project and portfolio management).
    • Where you need to go: Project portfolio management and project management current- and target-state maturity levels.
    • What you need: Microsoft Project Plans and requisite M365 licensing.
    • The skills you need: Extending Project for the web.
    • Who you need to work with: Get to know the Microsoft Gold Partner community.
    Deliverables Completed
    • M365 Tool Guides
    • Tool Audit Workbook
    • Force Field Analysis Tool
    • Project Portfolio Management Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Project Management Maturity Assessment Tool
    • Microsoft Project & M365 Action Plan Template

    If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop

    Contact your account representative for more information
    workshops@infotech.com
    1-888-670-8889

    Additional Support

    If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech Workshop.

    Photo of Barry Cousins.
    Contact your account representative for more information
    workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

    To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.

    Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.

    The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

    Perform a work management tool audit

    Gain insight into the tools that drive value or fail to drive value across your work management landscape with a view to streamline the organization’s tool ecosystem.

    Prepare an action plan for your tool needs

    Prepare the right work management tool recommendations for your IT teams and/or business units and develop a boardroom-ready presentation to communicate needs and next steps.

    Research Contributors and Experts

    Neeta Manghnani
    PMO Strategist
    PMO Outsource Ltd.

    Photo of Neeta Manghnani, PMO Strategist, PMO Outsource Ltd.
    • Innovative, performance-driven executive with significant experience managing Portfolios, Programs & Projects, and technical systems for international corporations with complex requirements. A hands-on, dynamic leader with over 20 years of experience guiding and motivating cross-functional teams. Highly creative and brings a blend of business acumen and expertise in multiple IT disciplines, to maximize the corporate benefit from capital investments.
    • Successfully deploys inventive solutions to automate processes and improve the functionality, scalability and security of critical business systems and applications. Leverages PMO/PPM management and leadership skills to meet the strategic goals and business initiatives.

    Robert Strickland
    Principal Consultant & Owner
    PMO Outsource Ltd.

    Photo of Robert Strickland, Principal Consultant and Owner, PMO Outsource Ltd.
    • Successful entrepreneur, leader, and technologist for over 15 years, is passionate about helping organizations leverage the value of SharePoint, O365, Project Online, Teams and the Power Platform. Expertise in implementing portals, workflows and collaboration experiences that create business value. Strategic manager with years of successful experience building businesses, developing custom solutions, delivering projects, and managing budgets. Strong transformational leader on large implementations with a technical pedigree.
    • A digital transformation leader helping clients move to the cloud, collaborate, automate their business processes and eliminate paper forms, spreadsheets and other manual practices.

    Related Info-Tech Research

    • Develop a Project Portfolio Management Strategy
      Time is money; spend it wisely.
    • Establish Realistic IT Resource Management Practices
      Holistically balance IT supply and demand to avoid overallocation.
    • Tailor Project Management Processes to Fit Your Projects
      Spend less time managing processes and more time delivering results

    Bibliography

    “13 Reasons not to use Microsoft Project.” Celoxis, 14 Sept. 2018. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Advisicon. “Project Online vs Project for the Web.” YouTube, 13 Nov. 2013. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Branscombe, Mary. “Is Project Online ready to replace Microsoft Project?” TechRepublic, 23 Jan. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Chemistruck, Dan. “The Complete Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Licensing Comparison.” Infused Innovations, 4 April 2019. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Compare Project management solutions and costs.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Day to Day Dynamics 365. “Microsoft Project for the web - Model-driven app.” YouTube, 29 Oct. 2019. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Deploying Project for the web.” Microsoft, 24 Aug. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Differentiate your business by attaining Microsoft competencies.” Microsoft, 26 Jan. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Extend & Integrate Microsoft Project.” Western Principles. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Get Started with Project Power App.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Hosking, Ben. “Why low code software development is eating the world.” DevGenius, May 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “How in the World is MS Project Still a Leading PM Software?” CBT Nuggets, 12 Nov. 2018. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Integent. “Project for the Web - Create a Program Entity and a model-driven app then expose in Microsoft Teams.” YouTube, 25 Mar. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Introducing the Project Accelerator.” Microsoft, 10 Mar. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Join the Microsoft Partner Network.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Kaneko, Judy. “How Productivity Tools Can Lead to a Loss of Productivity.” Bluescape, 2 Mar. 2018 Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Kotter, John. Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press, 1996.

    Leis, Merily. “What is Work Management.” Scoro. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Liu, Shanhong. “Number of Office 365 company users worldwide as of June 2021, by leading country.” Statistica, 2021. Web.

    Manghnani, Neeta. “5 Benefits of PPM tools and PMO process automation.” PMO Outsource Ltd., 11 Apr. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plan options.” Microsoft, 31 Aug. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Microsoft 365 for enterprise.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021

    “Microsoft Office 365 Usage Statistics.” Thexyz blog, 18 Sept. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Microsoft Power Apps, Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft Power Virtual Agents Licensing Guide.” Microsoft, June 2021. Web.

    “Microsoft Project service description.” Microsoft, 31 Aug. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Microsoft Project Statistics.” Integent Blog, 12 Dec. 2013. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Nanji, Aadil . Modernize Your Microsoft Licensing for the Cloud Era. Info-Tech Research Group, 12 Mar. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Number of Office 365 company users worldwide as of June 2021, by leading country.” Statista, 8 June 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Overcoming disruption in a digital world.” Asana. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Pajunen, Antti. “Customizing and extending Project for the web.” Day to Day Dynamics 365, 20 Jan. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Partner Center Documentation.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Pragmatic Works. “Building First Power Apps Model Driven Application.” YouTube, 21 June 2019. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project architecture overview.” Microsoft, 27 Mar. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project for the web Accelerator.” GitHub. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project for the web admin help.” Microsoft, 28 Oct. 2019. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project for the Web – The New Microsoft Project.” TPG. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project for the Web Security Roles.” Microsoft, 1 July 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “Project Online: Project For The Web vs Microsoft Project vs Planner vs Project Online.” PM Connection, 30 Nov. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Redmond, Tony. “Office 365 Insights from Microsoft’s FY21 Q2 Results.” Office 365 for IT Pros, 28 Jan. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Reimagine Project Management with Microsoft. “Advanced deployment for Project for the web.” YouTube, 4 Aug. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Reimagine Project Management with Microsoft. “Overview of Microsoft Project.” YouTube, 29 July 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “See which partner offer is right for you.” Microsoft. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Shalomova, Anna. “Microsoft Project for Web 2019 vs. Project Online: What’s Best for Enterprise Project Management?” FluentPro, 23 July 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Speed, Richard. “One Project to rule them all: Microsoft plots end to Project Online while nervous Server looks on.” The Register, 28 Sept. 2018. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Spataro, Jared. “A new vision for modern work management with Microsoft Project.” Microsoft, 25 Sept. 2018. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Stickel, Robert. “OnePlan Recognized as Winner of 2021 Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management Partner of the Year.” OnePlan, 8 July 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Stickel, Robert. “The Future of Project Online.” OnePlan, 2 Mar. 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Stickel, Robert. “What It Means to be Adaptive.” OnePlan, 24 May 2021. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “The Future of Microsoft Project Online.” OnePlan. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Weller, Joe. “Demystifying Microsoft Project Licensing.” Smartsheet, 10 Mar. 2016. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Western Principles Inc. “Dump the Spreadsheets for Microsoft Project Online.” YouTube, 2 July 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Western Principles Inc. “Project Online or Project for the web? Which project management system should you use?” YouTube, 11 Aug. 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    “What is Power Query?” Microsoft, 22 July 2021. Web.

    Wicresoft. “The Power of the New Microsoft Project and Microsoft 365.” YouTube, 29 May 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Wicresoft. “Why the Microsoft Power Platform is the Future of PPM.” YouTube, 11 June 2020. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.

    Service Management Integration With Agile Practices

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    • Work efficiently and in harmony with Agile and service management to deliver business value.
    • Optimize the value stream of services and products.
    • Leverage the benefits of each practice.
    • Create a culture of collaboration to support a rapidly changing business.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    Agile and Service Management are not necessarily at odds; find the integration points to solve specific problems.

    Impact and Result

    • Optimize the value stream of services and products.
    • Work efficiently and in harmony with Agile and service management to deliver business value.
    • Create a culture of collaboration to support a rapidly changing business.

    Service Management Integration With Agile Practices Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Service Management Integration With Agile Practices Storyboard – Use this deck to understand the integration points and how to overcome common challenges.

    Understand how service management integrates with Agile software development practices, and how to solve the most common challenges to work efficiently and deliver business value.

    • Service Management Integration With Agile Practices Storyboard

    2. Service Management Stakeholder Register Template – Use this tool to identify and document Service Management stakeholders.

    Use this tool to identify your stakeholders to engage when working on the service management integration.

    • ITSM Stakeholder Register Template

    3. Service Management Integration With Agile Practices Assessment Tool – Use this tool to identify key challenging integration points in your organization.

    Use this tool to identify which of your current practices might already be aligned with Agile mindset and which might need adjustment. Identify integration challenges with the current service management practices.

    • Service Management Integration With Agile Practices Assessment Tool
    [infographic]

    Further reading

    Service Management Integration With Agile Practices

    Understand how Agile transformation affects service management

    Analyst Perspective

    Don't forget about operations

    Many organizations believe that once they have implemented Agile that they no longer need any service management framework, like ITIL. They see service management as "old" and a roadblock to deliver products and services quickly. The culture clash is obvious, and it is the most common challenge people face when trying to integrate Agile and service management. However, it is not the only challenge. Agile methodologies are focused on optimized delivery. However, what happens after delivery is often overlooked. Operations may not receive proper communication or documentation, and processes are cumbersome or non-existent. This is a huge paradox if an organization is trying to become nimbler. You need to find ways to integrate your Agile practices with your existing Service Management processes.

    This is a picture of Renata Lopes

    Renata Lopes
    Senior Research Analyst
    Organizational Transformation Practice
    Info-Tech Research Group

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    • Work efficiently and in harmony with Agile and service management to deliver business value.
    • Optimize the value stream of services and products.
    • Leverage the benefits of each practice.
    • Create a culture of collaboration to support a rapidly changing business.

    Common Obstacles

    • Culture clashes.
    • Inefficient or inexistent processes.
    • Lack of understanding of what Agile and service management mean.
    • Leadership doesn't understand the integration points of practices.
    • Development overlooks the operations requirement.

    Info-Tech's Approach

    • When integrating Agile and service management practices start by understanding the key integration points:
    • Processes
    • People and resources
    • Governance and org structure

    Info-Tech Insight

    Agile and Service Management are not necessarily at odds Find the integration points to solve specific problems.

    Your challenge

    Deliver seamless business value by integrating service management and Agile development.

    • Understand how Agile development impacts service management.
    • Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies when integrating with service management.
    • Connect teams across the organization to collaborate toward the organizational goals.
    • Ensure operational requirements are considered while developing products in an Agile way.
    • Stay in alignment when designing and delivering services.

    The most significant Agile adoption barriers

    46% of respondents identified inconsistent processes and practices across teams as a challenge.
    Source: Digital.ai, 2021

    43% of respondents identified Culture clashes as a challenge.
    Source: Digital.ai, 2021

    What is Agile?

    Agile development is an umbrella term for several iterative and incremental development methodologies to develop products.

    In order to achieve Agile development, organizations will adopt frameworks and methodologies like Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Scrum, Large Scaled Scrum (LeSS), DevOps, Spotify Way of Working (WoW), etc.

    • DevOps
    • WoW
    • SAFe
    • Scrum
    • LeSS

    Cut Cost Through Effective IT Category Planning

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    • Parent Category Name: Vendor Management
    • Parent Category Link: /vendor-management
    • IT departments typically approach sourcing a new vendor or negotiating a contract renewal as an ad hoc event.
    • There is a lack of understanding on how category planning governance can save money.
    • IT vendor “go to market” or sourcing activities are typically not planned and are a reaction to internal client demands or vendor contract expiration.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Lack of knowledge of the benefits and features of category management, including the perception that the sourcing process takes too long, are two of the most common challenges that prevent IT from category planning.
    • Other challenges include the traditional view of contract renegotiation and vendor acquisition as a transactional event vs. an ongoing strategic process.
    • Finally, allocating resources and time to collect the data, vendor information, and marketing analysis prevents us from creating category plans.

    Impact and Result

    • An IT category plan establishes a consistent and proactive methodology or process to sourcing activities such as request for information (RFI), request for proposals, (RFPs), and direct negotiations with a specific vendor or“targeted negotiations” such as renewals.
    • The goal of an IT category plan is to leverage a strategic approach to vendor selection while identify cost optimizing opportunities that are aligned with IT strategy and budget objectives.

    Cut Cost Through Effective IT Category Planning Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should create an IT category plan to reduce your IT cost, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Create an IT category plan

    Use our three-step approach of Organize, Design, and Execute an IT Category Plan to get the most out of your IT budget while proactively planning your vendor negotiations.

    • IT Category Plan
    • IT Category Plan Metrics
    • IT Category Plan Review Presentation
    [infographic]

    Data Protection Notice

    Tymans Group BV processes personal information in compliance with this privacy statement. For further information, questions or comments on our privacy policy, please contact Gert Taeymans at https://tymansgroup.com/gdpr-contact.

    Purposes of the processing

    Tymans Group BV collects and processes customers’ personal data for customer and order management (customer administration, order / delivery follow-up, invoicing, solvency follow-up, profiling and the sending of marketing and personalised advertising).

    Legal foundation for the processing

    Personal data is processed based on several provisions of Article 6.1.

    (a)  consent, which you can revoke at any time,

    (b) required for the implementation of an agreement between you and Tymans Group BV, eg. when you enter into a contract with us,

    (c)  required to satisfy a legal obligation

    (f)  (required for the protection of our legitimate interest in entrepreneurship)] of the General Data Protection Regulation. An actual data item may be subject to multiple provisions.

    Insofar as the processing of personal data takes place based on Article 6.1. a) (consent), customers always have the right to withdraw the given consent.

    Transfer to third parties

    If required to achieve the set purposes, your personal data will be shared with other companies within the European Economic Area, which are linked directly or indirectly with Gert Taeymans BV or with any other partner of Tymans Group BV

    Tymans Group BV guarantees that these recipients will take the necessary technical and organisational measures for the protection of personal data.

    Third party categories that are subject to this provision are:

        Accounting
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    Due to the ECJ striking down the  EU-US Privacy Shield agreement, this leaves us with a open gap. The resulting implications and actions to take are not yet clear. You must be aware that one can argue that any data transfer from the EU towards the US is now in breach of the law. Other argue that necessary transfers are still allowed, whithout however defining, as far as we know, what "necessary" actually means. This website runs on servers within the EU. We also closely follow the opinions by the scholars and our regulator.

    Retention period

    Personal data processed for customer management will be stored for the time necessary to satisfy legal requirements (in terms of bookkeeping, among others).

    Right to inspection, improvement, deletion, limitation, objection and transferability of personal data

    You have at all times the right to inspect your personal data and can have it improved should it be incorrect or incomplete, have it removed, limit its processing an object to the processing of their personal data based on Article 6.1 (f), including profiling based on said provisions. Any personal data however that is needed for the legal processing of your order cannot be removed after you placed an order, as we need to keep it for legal purposes.

    Furthermore, you are entitled to obtain a copy of your personal data and to have said personal data forwarded to another company.

    In order to exercise the aforementioned rights, you are requested to send an e-mail the following address: dataprivacy@tymansgroup.com.

    Direct marketing

    You are entitled to object free of charge to the processing of any processing of their personal data aimed at direct marketing.

    Complaint

    You have the right to file a complaint with the Belgian Privacy Protection Commission (35 Rue de la Presse, 1000 Brussels - contact@adp-gba.be - 02/ 274 48 00 or 02/ 274 48 35).

    2020 Security Priorities Report

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    • Parent Category Name: Security Strategy & Budgeting
    • Parent Category Link: /security-strategy-and-budgeting

    Use this deck to learn what projects security practitioners are prioritizing for 2020. Based on a survey of 460 IT security professionals, this report explains what you need to know about the top five priorities, including:

    • Signals and drivers
    • Benefits
    • Critical uncertainties
    • Case study
    • Implications

    While the priorities should in no way be read as prescriptive, this research study provides a high-level guide to understand that priorities drive the initiatives, projects, and responsibilities that make up organizations' security strategies.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    There is always more to do, and if IT leaders are to grow with the business, provide meaningful value, and ascend the ladder to achieve true business partner and innovator status, aggressive prioritization is necessary. Clearly, security has become a priority across organizations, as security budgets have continued to increase over the course of 2019. 2020’s priorities highlight that data security has become the thread that runs through all other security priorities, as data is now the currency of the modern digital economy. As a result, data security has reshaped organizations’ priorities to ensure that data is always protected.

    Impact and Result

    Ultimately, understanding how changes in technology and patterns of work stand to impact the day-to-day lives of IT staff across seniority and industries will allow you to evaluate what your priorities should be for 2020. Ensure that you’re spending your time right. Use data to validate. Prioritize and implement.

    2020 Security Priorities Report Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    This storyboard will help you understand what projects security practitioners are prioritizing for 2020.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Data security

    Data security often rubs against other organizational priorities like data quality, but organizations need to understand that the way they store, handle, and dispose of data is now under regulatory oversight.

    • 2020 Security Priorities Report – Priority 1: Data Security

    2. Cloud security

    Cloud security means that organizations can take advantage of automation tools not only for patching and patch management but also to secure code throughout the SDLC. It is clear that cloud will transform how security is performed.

    • 2020 Security Priorities Report – Priority 2: Cloud Security

    3. Email security

    Email security is critical, since email continues to be one of the top points of ingress for cyberattacks from ransomware to business email compromise.

    • 2020 Security Priorities Report – Priority 3: Email Security

    4. Security risk management

    Security risk management requires organizations to make decisions based on their individual risk tolerance on such things as machine learning and IoT devices.

    • 2020 Security Priorities Report – Priority 4: Security Risk Management

    5. Security awareness and training

    Human error continues to be a security issue. In 2020, organizations should tailor their security awareness and training to their people so that they are more secure not only at work but also in life.

    • 2020 Security Priorities Report – Priority 5: Security Awareness and Training
    [infographic]

    Debunk Machine Learning Endpoint Security Solutions

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    • Parent Category Name: Endpoint Security
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    • Threat actors are more innovative than ever before and developing sophisticated methods of endpoints attacks capable of avoiding detection with traditional legacy anti-virus software.
    • Legacy anti-virus solutions rely on signatures and hence fail at detecting memory objects, and new and mutating malware.
    • Combined with the cybersecurity talent gap and the sheer volume of endpoint attacks, organizations need endpoint security solutions capable of efficiently and accurately blocking never-before-seen malware types and variants.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Don’t make machine learning a goal in itself. Think of how machine learning can help you achieve your goals.
    • Determine your endpoint security requirements and goals prior to shopping around for a vendor. Vendors can easily suck you into a vortex of marketing jargon and sell you tools that your organization does not need.
    • Machine learning alone is not a solution to catching malware. It is a computational method that can generalize and analyze large datasets, and output insights quicker than a human security analyst.

    Impact and Result

    • Consider deploying an endpoint protection technology that leverages machine learning into your existing endpoint security strategy to counteract against the unknown and to quickly sift through the large volumes of data.
    • Understand how machine learning methods can help drive your organization’s security goals.
    • Identify vendors that utilize machine learning in their endpoint security products.
    • Understand use cases of where machine learning in endpoint security has been successful.

    Debunk Machine Learning Endpoint Security Solutions Research & Tools

    Start here – read the Executive Brief

    Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should consider machine learning in endpoint security solutions, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Demystify machine learning concepts

    Understand basic machine learning concepts used in endpoint security.

    • Debunk Machine Learning Endpoint Security Solutions – Phase 1: Demystify Machine Learning Concepts

    2. Evaluate vendors that leverage machine learning

    Determine feature requirements to evaluate vendors.

    • Debunk Machine Learning Endpoint Security Solutions – Phase 2: Evaluate Vendors That Leverage Machine Learning
    • Endpoint Protection Request for Proposal
    [infographic]

    Tactics to Retain IT Talent

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    • Parent Category Name: Engage
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    • Regrettable turnover is impacting organizational productivity and leading to significant costs associated with employee departures and the recruitment required to replace them.
    • Many organizations focus on increasing engagement to improve retention, but this approach doesn’t address the entire problem.

    Our Advice

    Critical Insight

    • Engagement surveys mask the volatility of the employee experience and hide the reason why individual employees leave. You must also talk to employees to understand the moments that matter and engage managers to understand turnover triggers.

    Impact and Result

    • Build the case for creating retention plans by leveraging employee data and feedback to identify the key reasons for turnover that need to be addressed.
    • Target employee segments and work with management to develop solutions to retain top talent.

    Tactics to Retain IT Talent Research & Tools

    Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

    1. Tactics to Retain IT Talent Storyboard – Use this storyboard to develop a targeted talent retention plan to retain top and core talent in the organization.

    Integrate data from exit surveys and interviews, engagement surveys, and stay interviews to understand the most commonly cited reasons for employee departure in order to select and prioritize tactics that improve retention. This blueprint will help you identify reasons for regrettable turnover, select solutions, and create an action plan.

    • Tactics to Retain IT Talent Storyboard

    2. Retention Plan Workbook – Capture key information in one place as you work through the process to assess and prioritize solutions.

    Use this tool to document and analyze turnover data to find suitable retention solutions.

    • Retention Plan Workbook

    3. Stay Interview Guide – Managers will use this guide to conduct regular stay interviews with employees to anticipate and address turnover triggers.

    The Stay Interview Guide helps managers conduct interviews with current employees, enabling the manager to understand the employee's current engagement level, satisfaction with current role and responsibilities, suggestions for potential improvements, and intent to stay with the organization.

    • Stay Interview Guide

    4. IT Retention Solutions Catalog – Use this catalog to select and prioritize retention solutions across the employee lifecycle.

    Review best-practice solutions to identify those that are most suitable to your organizational culture and employee needs. Use the IT Retention Solutions Catalog to explore a variety of methods to improve retention, understand their use cases, and determine stakeholder responsibilities.

    • IT Retention Solutions Catalog
    [infographic]

    Workshop: Tactics to Retain IT Talent

    Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

    1 Identify Reasons for Regrettable Turnover

    The Purpose

    Identify the main drivers of turnover at the organization.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Find out what to explore during focus groups.

    Activities

    1.1 Review data to determine why employees join, stay, and leave.

    1.2 Identify common themes.

    1.3 Prepare for focus groups.

    Outputs

    List of common themes/pain points recorded in the Retention Plan Workbook.

    2 Conduct Focus Groups

    The Purpose

    Conduct focus groups to explore retention drivers.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    Explore identified themes.

    Activities

    2.1 Conduct four 1-hour focus groups with the employee segment(s) identified in the pre-workshop activities.

    2.2 Info-Tech facilitators independently analyze results of focus groups and group results by theme.

    Outputs

    Focus group feedback.

    Focus group feedback analyzed and organized by themes.

    3 Identify Needs and Retention Initiatives

    The Purpose

    Home in on employee needs that are a priority.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A list of initiatives to address the identified needs

    Activities

    3.1 Create an empathy map to identify needs.

    3.2 Shortlist retention initiatives.

    Outputs

    Employee needs and shortlist of initiatives to address them.

    4 Prepare to Communicate and Launch

    The Purpose

    Prepare to launch your retention initiatives.

    Key Benefits Achieved

    A clear action plan for implementing your retention initiatives.

    Activities

    4.1 Select retention initiatives.

    4.2 Determine goals and metrics.

    4.3 Plan stakeholder communication.

    4.4 Build a high-level action plan.

    Outputs

    Finalized list of retention initiatives.

    Goals and associated metrics recorded in the Retention Plan Workbook.

    Further reading

    Tactics to Retain IT Talent

    Keep talent from walking out the door by discovering and addressing moments that matter and turnover triggers.

    Executive Summary

    Your Challenge

    Many organizations are facing an increase in voluntary turnover as low unemployment, a lack of skilled labor, and a rise in the number of vacant roles have given employees more employment choices.

    Common Obstacles

    Regrettable turnover is impacting organizational productivity and leading to significant costs associated with employee departures and the recruitment required to replace them.

    Many organizations tackle retention from an engagement perspective: Increase engagement to improve retention. This approach doesn't consider the whole problem.

    Info-Tech's Approach

    Build the case for creating retention plans by leveraging employee data and feedback to identify the key reasons for turnover that need to be addressed.

    Target employee segments and work with management to develop solutions to retain top talent.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Engagement surveys mask the volatility of the employee experience and hide the reason why individual employees leave. You must also talk to employees to understand the moments that matter and engage managers to understand turnover triggers.

    This research addresses regrettable turnover

    This is an image of a flow chart with three levels. The top level has only one box, labeled Turnover. the Second level has 2 boxes, labeled Voluntary, and Involuntary. The third level has two boxes under Voluntary, labeled Non-regrettable: The loss of employees that the organization did not wish to keep, e.g. low performers, and Regrettable: The loss of employees that the organization wishes it could have kept.

    Low unemployment and rising voluntary turnover makes it critical to focus on retention

    As the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, unemployment continues to trend downward even with a looming recession. This leaves more job openings vacant, making it easier for employees to job hop.

    This image contains a graph of the US Employment rate between 2020 - 2022 from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2022, the percentage of individuals who change jobs every one to five years from 2022 Job Seeker Nation Study, Jobvite, 2022, and voluntary turnover rates from BLS, 2022

    With more employees voluntarily choosing to leave jobs, it is more important than ever for organizations to identify key employees they want to retain and put plans in place to keep them.

    Retention is a challenge for many organizations

    The number of HR professionals citing retention/turnover as a top workforce management challenge is increasing, and it is now the second highest recruiting priority ("2020 Recruiter Nation Survey," Jobvite, 2020).

    65% of employees believe they can find a better position elsewhere (Legaljobs, 2021). This is a challenge for organizations in that they need to find ways to ensure employees want to stay at the organization or they will lose them, which results in high turnover costs.

    Executives and IT are making retention and turnover – two sides of the same coin – a priority because they cost organizations money.

    • 87% of HR professionals cited retention/turnover as a critical and high priority for the next few years (TINYpulse, 2020).
    • $630B The cost of voluntary turnover in the US (Work Institute, 2020).
    • 66% of organizations consider employee retention to be important or very important to an organization (PayScale, 2019).

    Improving retention leads to broad-reaching organizational benefits

    Cost savings: the price of turnover as a percentage of salary

    • 33% Improving retention can result in significant cost savings. A recent study found turnover costs, on average, to be around a third of an employee's annual salary (SHRM, 2019).
    • 37.9% of employees leave their organization within the first year. Employees who leave within the first 90 days of being hired offer very little or no return on the investment made to hire them (Work Institute, 2020).

    Improved performance

    Employees with longer tenure have an increased understanding of an organization's policies and processes, which leads to increased productivity (Indeed, 2021).

    Prevents a ripple effect

    Turnover often ripples across a team or department, with employees following each other out of the organization (Mereo). Retaining even one individual can often have an impact across the organization.

    Transfer of knowledge

    Retaining key individuals allows them to pass it on to other employees through communities of practice, mentoring, or other knowledge-sharing activities.

    Info-Tech Insight

    Improving retention goes beyond cost savings: Employees who agree with the statement "I expect to be at this organization a year from now" are 71% more likely to put in extra hours and 32% more likely to accomplish more than what is expected of their role (McLean & Company Engagement Survey, 2021; N=77,170 and 97,326 respectively).

    However, the traditional engagement-focused approach to retention is not enough

    Employee engagement is a strong driver of retention, with only 25% of disengaged employees expecting to be at their organization a year from now compared to 92% of engaged employees (McLean & Company Engagement Survey, 2018-2021; N=117,307).

    Average employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

    This image contains a graph of the Average employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

    Individual employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS)

    This image contains a graph of the Individual employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS)

    However, engagement surveys mask the volatility of the employee experience and hide the reason why individual employees leave.

    This analysis of McLean & Company's engagement survey results shows that while an organization's average employee net promoter score (eNPS) stays relatively static, at an individual level there is a huge amount of volatility.

    This demonstrates the need for an approach that is more capable of responding to or identifying employees' in-the-moment needs, which an annual engagement survey doesn't support.

    Turnover triggers and moments that matter also have an impact on retention

    Retention needs to be monitored throughout the employee lifecycle. To address the variety of issues that can appear, consider three main paths to turnover:

    1. Employee engagement – areas of low engagement.
    2. Turnover triggers that can quickly lead to departures.
    3. Moments that matter in the employee experience (EX).

    Employee engagement

    Engagement drivers are strong predictors of turnover.

    Employees who are highly engaged are 3.6x more likely to believe they will be with the organization 12 months from now than disengaged employees (McLean & Company Engagement Survey, 2018-2021; N=117,307).

    Turnover triggers

    Turnover triggers are events that act as shocks or catalysts that quickly lead to an employee's departure.

    Turnover triggers are a cause for voluntary turnover more often than accumulated issues (Lee et al.).

    Moments that matter

    Employee experience is the employee's perception of the accumulation of moments that matter within their employee lifecycle.

    Retention rates increase from 21% to 44% when employees have positive experiences in the following categories: belonging, purpose, achievement, happiness, and vigor at work. (Workhuman, 2020).

    While managers do not directly impact turnover, they do influence the three main paths to turnover

    Research shows managers do not appear as one of the common reasons for employee turnover.

    Top five most common reasons employees leave an organization (McLean & Company, Exit Survey, 2018-2021; N=107 to 141 companies,14,870 to 19,431 responses).

    Turnover factorsRank
    Opportunities for career advancement1
    Satisfaction with my role and responsibilities2
    Base pay3
    Opportunities for career-related skill development4
    The degree to which my skills were used in my job5

    However, managers can still have a huge impact on the turnover of their team through each of the three main paths to turnover:

    Employee engagement

    Employees who believe their managers care about them as a person are 3.3x more likely to be engaged than those who do not (McLean & Company, 2021; N=105,186).

    Turnover triggers

    Managers who are involved with and aware of their staff can serve as an early warning system for triggers that lead to turnover too quickly to detect with data.

    Moments that matter

    Managers have a direct connection with each individual and can tailor the employee experience to meet the needs of the individuals who report to them.

    Gallup has found that 52% of exiting employees say their manager could have done something to prevent them from leaving (Gallup, 2019). Do not discount the power of managers in anticipating and preventing regrettable turnover.

    Addressing engagement, turnover triggers, and moments that matter is the key to retention

    This is an image of a flow chart with four levels. The top level has only one box, labeled Turnover. the Second level has 2 boxes, labeled Voluntary, and Involuntary. The third level has two boxes under Voluntary, labeled Non-regrettable, and Regrettable. The fourth level has three boxes under Regrettable, labeled Employee Engagement, Turnover triggers, and Moments that matter

    Info-Tech Insight

    HR traditionally seeks to examine engagement levels when faced with retention challenges, but engagement is only a part of the full picture. You must also talk to employees to understand the moments that matter and engage managers to understand turnover triggers.

    Follow Info-Tech's two-step process to create a retention plan

    1. Identify Reasons for Regrettable Turnover

    2. Select Solutions and Create an Action Plan

    Step 1

    Identify Reasons for Regrettable Turnover

    After completing this step you will have:

    • Analyzed and documented why employees join, stay, and leave your organization.
    • Identified common themes and employee needs.
    • Conducted employee focus groups and prioritized employee needs.

    Step 1 focuses on analyzing existing data and validating it through focus groups

    Employee engagement

    Employee engagement and moments that matter are easily tracked by data. Validating employee feedback data by speaking and empathizing with employees helps to uncover moments that matter. This step focuses on analyzing existing data and validating it through focus groups.

    Engagement drivers such as compensation or working environment are strong predictors of turnover.
    Moments that matter
    Employee experience (EX) is the employee's perception of the accumulation of moments that matter with the organization.
    Turnover triggers
    Turnover triggers are events that act as shocks or catalysts that quickly lead to an employee's departure.

    Turnover triggers

    This step will not touch on turnover triggers. Instead, they will be discussed in step 2 in the context of the role of the manager in improving retention.

    Turnover triggers are events that act as shocks or catalysts that quickly lead to an employee's departure.

    Info-Tech Insight

    IT managers often have insights into where and why retention is an issue through their day-to-day work. Gathering detailed quantitative and qualitative data provides credibility to these insights and is key to building a business case for action. Keep an open mind and allow the data to inform your gut feeling, not the other way around.

    Gather data to better understand why employees join, stay, and leave

    Start to gather and examine additional data to accurately identify the reason(s) for high turnover. Begin to uncover the story behind why these employees join, stay, and leave your organization through themes and trends that emerge.

    Look for these icons throughout step 2.

    Join

    Why do candidates join your organization?

    Stay

    Why do employees stay with your organization?

    Leave

    Why do employees leave your organization?

    For more information on analysis, visualization, and storytelling with data, see Info-Tech's Start Making Data-Driven People Decisions blueprint.

    Employee feedback data to look at includes:

    Gather insights through:

    • Focus groups
    • Verbatim comments
    • Exit interviews
    • Using the employee value proposition (EVP) as a filter (does it resonate with the lived experience of employees?)

    Prepare to draw themes and trends from employee data throughout step 1.

    Uncover employee needs and reasons for turnover by analyzing employee feedback data.

    • Look for trends (e.g. new hires join for career opportunities and leave for the same reason, or most departments have strong work-life balance scores in engagement data).
    • Review if there are recurring issues being raised that may impact turnover.
    • Group feedback to highlight themes (e.g. lack of understanding of EVP).
    • Identify which key employee needs merit further investigation or information.

    This is an image showing how you can draw out themes and trends using employee data throughout step 1.

    Classify where key employee needs fall within the employee lifecycle diagram in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook. This will be used in step 2 to pinpoint and prioritize solutions.

    Info-Tech Insight

    The employee lifecycle is a valuable way to analyze and organize engagement pain points, moments that matter, and turnover triggers. It ensures that you consider the entirety of an employee's tenure and the different factors that lead to turnover.

    Examine new hire data and begin to document emerging themes

    Join

    While conducting a high-level analysis of new hire data, look for these three key themes impacting retention:

    Issues or pain points that occurred during the hiring process.

    Reasons why employees joined your organization.

    The experience of their first 90 days. This can include their satisfaction with the onboarding process and their overall experience with the organization.

    Themes will help to identify areas of strength and weakness organization-wide and within key segments. Document in tab 3 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

    1. Start by isolating the top reasons employees joined your organization. Ask:
      • Do the reasons align with the benefits you associate with working at your organization?
      • How might this impact your EVP?
      • If you use a new hire survey, look at the results for the following questions:
      • For which of the following reasons did you apply to this organization?
      • For what reasons did you accept the job offer with this organization?
    2. then, examine other potential problem areas that may not be covered by your new hire survey, such as onboarding or the candidate experience during the hiring process.
      • If you conduct a new hire survey, look at the results in the following sections:
        • Candidate Experience
        • Acclimatization
        • Training and Development
        • Defining Performance Expectations

      Analyze engagement data to identify areas of strength that drive retention

      Employees who are engaged are 3.6x more likely to believe they will be with the organization 12 months from now (McLean & Company Engagement Survey, 2018-2021; N=117,307). Given the strength of this relationship, it is essential to identify areas of strength to maintain and leverage.

      1. Look at the highest-performing drivers in your organization's employee engagement survey and drivers that fall into the "leverage" and "maintain" quadrants of the priority matrix.
        • These drivers provide insight into what prompts broader groups of employees to stay.

      This is an image of a quadrant analysis, with the following quadrants in order from left to right, top to bottom. Improve; Leverage; Evaluate; Maintain.

      1. Look into what efforts have been made to maintain programs, policies, and practices related to these drivers and ensure they are consistent across the entire organization.
      2. Document trends and themes related to engagement strengths in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      If you use Info-Tech's Engagement Survey, look in detail at what are classified as "Retention Drivers": total compensation, working environment, and work-life balance.

      Identify areas of weakness that drive turnover in your engagement data

      1. Look at the lowest-performing drivers in your organization's employee engagement survey and drivers that fall into the "improve" and "evaluate" quadrants of the priority matrix.
        • These drivers provide insight into what pushes employees to leave the organization.
      2. Delve into organizational efforts that have been made to address issues with the programs, policies, and practices related to these drivers. Are there any projects underway to improve them? What are the barriers preventing improvements?
      3. Document trends and themes related to engagement weaknesses in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      If you use a product other than Info-Tech's Engagement Survey, your results will look different. The key is to look at areas of weakness that emerge from the data.

      This is an image of a quadrant analysis, with the following quadrants in order from left to right, top to bottom. Improve; Leverage; Evaluate; Maintain.

      If you use Info-Tech's Engagement Survey, look in detail at what are classified as "Retention Drivers": total compensation, working environment, and work-life balance.

      Mine exit surveys to develop an integrated, holistic understanding of why employees leave

      Conduct a high-level analysis of the data from your employee exit diagnostic. While analyzing this data, consider the following:

      • What are the trends and quantitative data about why employees leave your organization that may illuminate employee needs or issues at specific points throughout the employee lifecycle?
      • What are insights around your key segments? Data on key segments is easily sliced from exit survey results and can be used as a starting point for digging deeper into retention issues for specific groups.
      • Exit surveys are an excellent starting point. However, it is valuable to validate the data gathered from an exit survey using exit interviews.
      1. Isolate results for key segments of employees to target with retention initiatives (e.g. by age group or by department).
      2. Identify data trends or patterns over time; for example, that compensation factors have been increasing in importance.
      3. Document trends and themes taken from the exit survey results in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      If your organization conducts exit interviews, analyze the results alongside or in lieu of exit survey data.

      Compare new hire data with exit data to identify patterns and insights

      Determine if new hire expectations weren't met, prompting employees to leave your organization, to help identify where in the employee lifecycle issues driving turnover may be occurring.

      1. Look at your new hire data for the top reasons employees joined your organization.
        • McLean & Company's New Hire Survey database shows that the top three reasons candidates accept job offers on average are:
          1. Career opportunities
          2. Nature of the job
          3. Development opportunities
      2. Next, look at your exit data and the top reasons employees left your organization.
        1. McLean & Company's Exit Survey database shows that the top three reasons employees leave on average are:
          1. Opportunities for career advancement
          2. Base pay
          3. Satisfaction with my role and responsibilities
      3. Examine the results and ask:
        • Is there a link between why employees join and leave the organization?
        • Did they cite the same reasons for joining and for leaving?
        • What do the results say about what your employees do and do not value about working at your organization?
      4. Document the resulting insights in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      Example:

      A result where employees are leaving for the same reason they're joining the organization could signal a disconnect between your organization's employee value proposition and the lived experience.

      Revisit your employee value proposition to uncover misalignment

      Your employee value proposition (EVP), formal or informal, communicates the value your organization can offer to prospective employees.

      If your EVP is mismatched with the lived experience of your employees, new hires will be in for a surprise when they start their new job and find out it isn't what they were expecting.

      Forty-six percent of respondents who left a job within 90 days of starting cited a mismatch of expectations about their role ("Job Seeker Nation Study 2020," Jobvite, 2020).

      1. Use the EVP as a filter through which you look at all your employee feedback data. It will help identify misalignment between the promised and the lived experience.
      2. If you have EVP documentation, start there. If not, go to your careers page and put yourself in the shoes of a candidate. Ask what the four elements of an EVP look like for candidates:
        • Compensation and benefits
        • Day-to-day job elements
        • Working conditions
        • Organizational elements
      3. Next, compare this to your own day-to-day experiences. Does it differ drastically? Are there any contradictions with the lived experience at your organization? Are there misleading statements or promises?
      4. Document any insights or patterns you uncover in tab 2 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      Conduct focus groups to examine themes

      Through focus groups, explore the themes you have uncovered with employees to discover employee needs that are not being met. Addressing these employee needs will be a key aspect of your retention plan.

      Identify employee groups who will participate in focus groups:

      • Incorporate diverse perspectives (e.g. employees, managers, supervisors).
      • Include employees from departments and demographics with strong and weak engagement for a full picture of how engagement impacts your employees.
      • Invite boomerang employees to learn why an individual might return to your organization after leaving.

      image contains two screenshots Mclean & Company's Standard Focus Group Guide.

      Customize Info-Tech's Standard Focus Group Guide based on the themes you have identified in tab 3 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      The goal of the focus group is to learn from employees and use this information to design or modify a process, system, or other solution that impacts retention.

      Focus questions on the employees' personal experience from their perspective.

      Key things to remember:

      • It is vital for facilitators to be objective.
      • Keep an open mind; no feelings are wrong.
      • Beware of your own biases.
      • Be open and share the reason for conducting the focus groups.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Maintaining an open dialogue with employees will help flesh out the context behind the data you've gathered and allow you to keep in mind that retention is about people first and foremost.

      Empathize with employees to identify moments that matter

      Look for discrepancies between what employees are saying and doing.

      1. Say

      "What words or quotes did the employee use?"

      3.Think

      "What might the employee be thinking?"

      Record feelings and thoughts discussed, body language observed, tone of voice, and words used.

      Look for areas of negative emotion to determine the moments that matter that drive retention.

      2. Do

      "What actions or behavior did the employee demonstrate?"

      4. Feel

      "What might the employee be feeling?"

      Record them in tab 3 of the Retention Plan Workbook.

      5. Identify Needs

      "Needs are verbs (activities or desires), not nouns (solutions)"

      Synthesize focus group findings using Info-Tech's Empathy Map Template.

      6. Identify Insights

      "Ask yourself, why?"

      (Based on Stanford d.school Empathy Map Method)

      Distill employee needs into priority issues to address first

      Take employee needs revealed by your data and focus groups and prioritize three to five needs.

      Select a limited number of employee needs to develop solutions to ensure that the scope of the project is feasible and that the resources dedicated to this project are not stretched too thin. The remaining needs should not be ignored – act on them later.

      Share the needs you identify with stakeholders so they can support prioritization and so you can confirm their buy-in and approval where necessary.

      Ask yourself the following questions to determine your priority employee needs:

      • Which needs will have the greatest impact on turnover?
      • Which needs have the potential to be an easy fix or quick win?
      • Which themes or trends came up repeatedly in different data sources?
      • Which needs evoked particularly strong or negative emotions in the focus groups?

      This image contains screenshots of two table templates found in tab 5 of the Retention Plan Workbook

      In the Retention Plan Workbook, distill employee needs on tab 2 into three to five priorities on tab 5.

      Step 2

      Select Solutions and Create an Action Plan

      After completing this step, you will have:

      • Selected and prioritized solutions to address employee needs.
      • Created a plan to launch stay interviews.
      • Built an action plan to implement solutions.

      Select IT-owned solutions and implement people leader–driven initiatives

      Solutions

      First, select and prioritize solutions to address employee needs identified in the previous step. These solutions will address reasons for turnover that influence employee engagement and moments that matter.

      • Brainstorm solutions using the Retention Solutions Catalog as a starting point. Select a longlist of solutions to address your priority needs.
      • Prioritize the longlist of solutions into a manageable number to act on.

      People leaders

      Next, create a plan to launch stay interviews to increase managers' accountability in improving retention. Managers will be critical to solving issues stemming from turnover triggers.

      • Clarify the importance of harnessing the influence of people leaders in improving retention.
      • Discover what might cause individual employees to leave through stay interviews.
      • Increase trust in managers through training.

      Action plan

      Finally, create an action plan and present to senior leadership for approval.

      Look for these icons in the top right of slides in this step.

      Select solutions to employee needs, starting with the Retention Solutions Catalog

      Based on the priority needs you have identified, use the Retention Solutions Catalog to review best-practice solutions for pain points associated with each stage of the lifecycle.

      Use this tool as a starting point, adding to it and iterating based on your own experience and organizational culture and goals.

      This image contains three screenshots from Info-Tech's Retention Solutions Catalog.

      Use Info-Tech's Retention Solutions Catalog to start the brainstorming process and produce a shortlist of potential solutions that will be prioritized on the next slide.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Unless you have the good fortune of having only a few pain points, no single initiative will completely solve your retention issues. Combine one or two of these broad solutions with people-leader initiatives to ensure employee needs are addressed on an individual and an aggregate level.

      Prioritize solutions to be implemented

      Target efforts accordingly

      Quick wins are high-impact, low-effort initiatives that will build traction and credibility within the organization.

      Long-term initiatives require more time and need to be planned for accordingly but will still deliver a large impact. Review the planning horizon to determine how early these need to begin.

      Re-evaluate low-impact and low-effort initiatives and identify ones that either support other higher impact initiatives or have the highest impact to gain traction and credibility. Look for low-hanging fruit.

      Deprioritize initiatives that will take a high degree of effort to deliver lower-value results.

      When assessing the impact of potential solutions, consider:

      • How many critical segments or employees will this solution affect?
      • Is the employee need it addresses critical, or did the solution encompass several themes in the data you analyzed?
      • Will the success of this solution help build a case for further action?
      • Will the solution address multiple employee needs?

      Info-Tech Insight

      It's better to master a few initiatives than under-deliver on many. Start with a few solutions that will have a measurable impact to build the case for further action in the future.

      Solutions

      Low ImpactMedium ImpactLarge Impact
      Large EffortThis is an image of the used to help you prioritize solutions to be implemented.
      Medium Effort
      Low Effort

      Use tab 3 of the Retention Plan Workbook to prioritize your shortlist of solutions.

      Harness the influence of people leaders to improve employee retention

      Leaders at all levels have a huge impact on employees.

      Effective people leaders:

      • Manage work distribution.
      • Create a motivating work environment.
      • Provide development opportunities.
      • Ensure work is stimulating and challenging, but not overwhelming.
      • Provide clear, actionable feedback.
      • Recognize team member contributions.
      • Develop positive relationships with their teams.
      • Create a line of sight between what the employee is doing and what the organization's objectives are.

      Support leaders in recommitting to their role as people managers through Learning & Development initiatives with particular emphasis on coaching and building trust.

      For coaching training, see Info-Tech's Build a Better Manager: Team Essentials – Feedback and Coaching training deck.

      For more information on supporting managers to become better people leaders, see Info-Tech's Build a Better Manager: Manage Your People blueprint.

      "HR can't fix turnover. But leaders on the front line can."
      – Richard P. Finnegan, CEO, C-Suite Analytics

      Equip managers to conduct regular stay interviews to address turnover triggers

      Managers often have the most visibility into their employees' personal and work lives and have a key opportunity to anticipate and address turnover triggers.

      Stay interviews are an effective way of uncovering potential retention issues and allowing managers to act as an early warning system for turnover triggers.

      Examples of common turnover triggers and potential manager responses:

      • Moving, creating a long commute to the office.
        • Through stay interviews, a manager can learn that a long commute is an issue and can help find workarounds such as flexible/remote work options.
      • Not receiving an expected promotion.
        • A trusted manager can anticipate issues stemming from this, discuss why the decision was made, and plan development opportunities for future openings.

      Stay interview best practices

      1. Conducted by an employee's direct manager.
      2. Happen regularly as a part of an ongoing process.
      3. Based on the stay interview, managers produce a turnover forecast for each direct report.
        1. The method used by stay interview expert Richard P. Finnegan is simple: red for high risk, yellow for medium, and green for low.
      4. Provide managers with training and a rough script or list of questions to follow.
        1. Use and customize Info-Tech's Stay Interview Guide to provide a guide for managers on how to conduct a stay interview.
      5. Managers use the results to create an individualized retention action plan made up of concrete actions the manager and employee will take.

      Sources: Richard P. Finnegan, CEO, C-Suite Analytics; SHRM

      Build an action plan to implement the retention plan

      For each initiative identified, map out timelines and actions that need to be taken.

      When building actions and timelines:

      • Refer to the priority needs you identified in tab 4 of the Retention Plan Workbook and ensure they are addressed first.
      • Engage internal stakeholders who will be key to the development of the initiatives to ensure they have sufficient time to complete their deliverables.
        • For example, if you conduct manager training, Learning & Development needs to be involved in the development and launch of the program.
      • Include a date to revisit your baseline retention and engagement data in your project milestones.
      • Designate process owners for new processes such as stay interviews.

      Plan for stay interviews by determining:

      • Whether stay interviews will be a requirement for all employees.
      • How much flexibility managers will have with the process.
      • How you will communicate the stay interview approach to managers.
      • If manager training is required.
      • How managers should record stay interview data and how you will collect this data from them as a way to monitor retention issues.
        • For example, managers can share their turnover forecasts and action plans for each employee.

      Be clear about manager accountabilities for initiatives they will own, such as stay interviews. Plan to communicate the goals and timelines managers will be asked to meet, such as when they must conduct interviews or their responsibility to follow up on action items that come from interviews.

      Track project success to iterate and improve your solutions

      Analyze measurements

      • Regularly remeasure your engagement and retention levels to identify themes and trends that provide insights into program improvements.
      • For example, look at the difference in manager relationship score to see if training has had an impact, or look at changes in critical segment turnover to calculate cost savings.

      Revisit employee and manager feedback

      • After three to six months, conduct additional surveys or focus groups to determine the success of your initiatives and opportunities for improvement. Tweak the program, including stay interviews, based on manager and employee feedback.

      Iterate frequently

      • Revisit your initiatives every two or three years to determine if a refresh is necessary to meet changing organizational and employee needs and to update your goals and targets.

      Key insights

      Insight 1Insight 2Insight 3

      Retention and turnover are two sides of the same coin. You can't fix retention without first understanding turnover.

      Engagement surveys mask the volatility of the employee experience and hide the reason why individual employees leave. You must also talk to employees to understand the moments that matter and engage managers to understand turnover triggers.

      Improving retention isn't just about lowering turnover, it's about discovering what healthy retention looks like for your organization.

      Insight 4Insight 5Insight 6

      HR professionals often have insights into where and why retention is an issue. Gathering detailed employee feedback data through surveys and focus groups provides credibility to these insights and is key to building a case for action. Keep an open mind and allow the data to inform your gut feeling, not the other way around.

      Successful retention plans must be owned by both IT leaders and HR.

      IT leaders often have the most visibility into their employees' personal and work lives and have a key opportunity to anticipate and address turnover triggers.

      Stay interviews help managers anticipate potential retention issues on their teams.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Info-Tech AnalystsPre-workPost-work
      Client Data Gathering and PlanningImplementation Supported Through Analyst Calls

      1.1 Discuss participants, logistics, overview of workshop activities

      1.2 Provide support to client for below activities through calls.

      		2.1 Schedule follow-up calls to work through implementation of retention solutions based on identified needs.
      Client

      1.Gather results of engagement survey, new hire survey, exit survey, and any exit and stay interview feedback.

      2.Gather and analyze turnover data.

      3.Identify key employee segment(s) and identify and organize participants for focus groups.

      4.Complete cost of turnover analysis.

      5.Review turnover data and prioritize list of employee segments.

      1.Obtain senior leader approval to proceed with retention plan.

      2.Finalize and implement retention solutions.

      3.Prepare managers to conduct stay interviews.

      4.Communicate next steps to stakeholders.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      ActivitiesDay 1Day 2Day 3Day 4
      Assess Current StateConduct Focus GroupsIdentify Needs and Retention InitiativesPrepare to Communicate and Launch

      1.1 Review data to determine why employees join, stay, and leave.

      1.2 Identify common themes.

      1.3 Prepare for focus groups.

      2.1 Conduct four 1-hour focus groups with the employee segment(s) identified in the pre-workshop activities..

      2.2 Info-Tech facilitators independently analyze results of focus groups and group results by theme.

      3.1 Create an empathy map to identify needs

      3.2 Shortlist retention initiatives

      4.1 Select retention initiatives

      4.2 Determine goals and metrics

      4.3 Plan stakeholder communication4.4 Build a high-level action plan

      Deliverables

      1.List of common themes/pain points recorded in the Retention Plan Workbook

      2.Plan for focus groups documented in the Focus Group Guide

      1.Focus group feedback

      2.Focus group feedback analyzed and organized by themes

      		1.Employee needs and shortlist of initiatives to address them1.Finalized list of retention initiatives

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

      Guided Implementation

      “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

      Workshop

      “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

      Consulting

      “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Research Contributors and Experts

      Jeff Bonnell
      VP HR
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Phillip Kotanidis
      CHRO
      Michael Garron Hospital

      Michael McGuire
      Director, Organizational Development
      William Osler Health System

      Dr. Iris Ware
      Chief Learning Officer
      City of Detroit

      Richard P. Finnegan
      CEO
      C-Suite Analytics

      Dr. Thomas Lee
      Professor of Management
      University of Washington

      Jane Moughon
      Specialist in increasing profits, reducing turnover, and maximizing human potential in manufacturing companies

      Lisa Kaste
      Former HR Director
      Citco

      Piyush Mathur
      Head of Workforce Analytics
      Johnson & Johnson

      Gregory P. Smith
      CEO
      Chart Your Course

      Works Cited

      "17 Surprising Statistics about Employee Retention." TINYpulse, 8 Sept. 2020. Web.
      "2020 Job Seeker Nation Study." Jobvite, April 2020. Web.
      "2020 Recruiter Nation Survey." Jobvite, 2020. Web.
      "2020 Retention Report: Insights on 2019 Turnover Trends, Reasons, Costs, & Recommendations." Work Institute, 2020. Web.
      "25 Essential Productivity Statistics for 2021." TeamStage, 2021. Accessed 22 Jun. 2021.
      Agovino, Theresa. "To Have and to Hold." SHRM, 23 Feb. 2019. Web.
      "Civilian Unemployment Rate." Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2020. Web.
      Foreman, Paul. "The domino effect of chief sales officer turnover on salespeople." Mereo, 19 July 2018. Web.
      "Gross Domestic Product." U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 27 May 2021. Accessed 22 Jun. 2020.
      Kinne, Aaron. "Back to Basics: What is Employee Experience?" Workhuman, 27August 2020. Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
      Lee, Thomas W, et al. "Managing employee retention and turnover with 21st century ideas." Organizational Dynamics, vol 47, no. 2, 2017, pp. 88-98. Web.
      Lee, Thomas W. and Terence R. Mitchell. "Control Turnover by Understanding its Causes." The Blackwell Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behaviour. 2017. Print.
      McFeely, Shane, and Ben Wigert. "This Fixable Problem Costs U.S. Businesses $1 Trillion." Gallup. 13 March 2019. Web.
      "Table 18. Annual Quit rates by Industry and Region Not Seasonally Adjusted." Bureau of Labor Statistics. June 2021. Web.
      "The 2019 Compensation Best Practices Report: Will They Stay or Will They Go? Employee Retention and Acquisition in an Uncertain Economy." PayScale. 2019. Web.
      Vuleta, Branka. "30 Troubling Employee Retention Statistics." Legaljobs. 1 Feb. 2021. Web.
      "What is a Tenured Employee? Top Benefits of Tenure and How to Stay Engaged as One." Indeed. 22 Feb. 2021. Accessed 22 Jun. 2021.

      Consolidate Your Data Centers

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      • Parent Category Name: Data Center & Facilities Strategy
      • Parent Category Link: /data-center-and-facilities-strategy
      • Data center operating costs continue to escalate as organizations struggle with data center sprawl.
      • While data center consolidation is an attractive option to reduce cost and sprawl, the complexity of these projects makes them extremely difficulty to execute.
      • The status quo is also not an option, as budget constraints and the challenges with managing multiple data centers continues to increase.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Despite consolidation being an effective way of addressing sprawl, it is often difficult to secure buy-in and funding from the business.
      • Many consolidation projects suffer cost overruns due to unforeseen requirements and hidden interdependencies which could have been mitigated during the planning phase.
      • Organizations that avoid consolidation projects due to their complexity are just deferring the challenge, while costs and inefficiencies continue to increase.

      Impact and Result

      • Successful data center consolidation will have an immediate impact on reducing data center sprawl. Maximize your chances of success by securing buy-in from the business.
      • Avoid cost overruns and unforeseen requirements by engaging with the business at the start of the process. Clearly define business requirements and establish common expectations.
      • While cost improvements often drive data center consolidation, successful projects will also improve scalability, operational efficiency, and data center redundancy.

      Consolidate Your Data Centers Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should perform a data center consolidation, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Discover

      Identify IT infrastructure systems and establish dependency bundles for the current and target sites.

      • Consolidate Your Data Centers – Phase 1: Discover
      • Data Center Consolidation Data Collection Workbook
      • Data Center Consolidation Project Planning and Prioritization Tool

      2. Plan

      Build a strong business case for data center consolidation by leveraging a TCO analysis and incorporating business requirements.

      • Consolidate Your Data Centers – Phase 2: Plan
      • Data Center Consolidation TCO Comparison Tool
      • Data Center Relocation Vendor Statement of Work Evaluation Tool

      3. Execute

      Streamline the move-day process through effective communication and clear delegation of duties.

      • Consolidate Your Data Centers – Phase 3: Execute
      • Communications Plan Template for Data Center Consolidation
      • Data Center Consolidation Executive Presentation
      • Minute-to-Minute Move Day Script (PDF)
      • Minute-to-Minute Move Day Script (Visio)
      • Data Center Relocation Minute-to-Minute Project Planning and Monitoring Tool

      4. Close

      Close the loop on the data center consolidation project by conducting an effective project retrospective.

      • Consolidate Your Data Centers – Phase 4: Close
      • Data Center Relocation QA Team Project Planning and Monitoring Tool
      • Data Center Move Issue Resolution and Change Order Template
      • Data Center Relocation Wrap-up Checklist
      [infographic]

      Accelerate Digital Transformation With a Digital Factory

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      • Parent Category Name: Innovation
      • Parent Category Link: /innovation
      • Organizational challenges are hampering digital transformation (DX) initiatives.
      • The organization’s existing digital factory is failing to deliver value.
      • Designing a successful digital factory is a difficult process.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      To remain competitive, enterprises must deliver products and services like a startup or a digital native enterprise. This requires enterprises to:

      • Understand how digital native enterprises are designed.
      • Understand the foundations of good design: purpose, organizational support, and leadership.
      • Understand the design of the operating model: structure and organization, management practices, culture, environment, teams, technology platforms, and meaningful metrics and KPIs.

      Impact and Result

      Organizations that implement this project will draw benefits in the following aspects:

      • Gain awareness and understanding of various aspects that hamper DX.
      • Set the right foundations by having clarity of purpose, alignment on organizational support, and the right leadership in place.
      • Design an optimal operating model by setting up the right organizational structures, management practices, lean and optimal governance, agile teams, and an environment that promotes productivity and wellbeing.
      • Finally, set the right measures and KPIs.

      Accelerate Digital Transformation With a Digital Factory Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to understand the importance of a well-designed digital factory.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Build the case

      Collect data and stats that will help build a narrative for digital factory.

      • Digital Factory Playbook

      2. Lay the foundation

      Discuss purpose, mission, organizational support, and leadership.

      3. Design the operating model

      Discuss organizational structure, management, culture, teams, environment, technology, and KPIs.

      [infographic]

      Workshop: Accelerate Digital Transformation With a Digital Factory

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Build the case

      The Purpose

      Understand and gather data and stats for factors impacting digital transformation.

      Develop a narrative for the digital factory.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Identification of key pain points and data collected

      Narrative to support the digital factory

      Activities

      1.1 Understand the importance and urgency of digital transformation (DX).

      1.2 Collect data and stats on the progress of DX initiatives.

      1.3 Identify the factors that hamper DX and tie them to data/stats.

      1.4 Build the narrative for the digital factory (DF) using the data/stats.

      Outputs

      Identification of factors that hamper DX

      Data and stats on progress of DX

      Narrative for the digital factory

      2 Lay the foundation

      The Purpose

      Discuss the factors that impact the success of establishing a digital factory.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A solid understanding and awareness that successful digital factories have clarity of purpose, organizational support, and sound leadership.

      Activities

      2.1 Discuss

      2.2 Discuss what organizational support the digital factory will require and align and commit to it.

      2.3 Discuss reference models to understand the dynamics and the strategic investment.

      2.4 Discuss leadership for the digital age.

      Outputs

      DF purpose and mission statements

      Alignment and commitment on organizational support

      Understanding of competitive dynamics and investment spread

      Develop the profile of a digital leader

      3 Design the operating model (part 1)

      The Purpose

      Understand the fundamentals of the operating model.

      Understand the gaps and formulate the strategies.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Design of structure and organization

      Design of culture aligned with organizational goals

      Management practices aligned with the goals of the digital factory

      Activities

      3.1 Discuss structure and organization and associated organizational pathologies, with focus on hierarchy and silos, size and complexity, and project-centered mindset.

      3.2 Discuss the importance of culture and its impact on productivity and what shifts will be required.

      3.3 Discuss management for the digital factory, with focus on governance, rewards and compensation, and talent management.

      Outputs

      Organizational design in the context of identified pathologies

      Cultural design for the DF

      Management practices and governance for the digital factory

      Roles/responsibilities for governance

      4 Design the operating model (part 2)

      The Purpose

      Understand the fundamentals of the operating model.

      Understand the gaps and formulate the strategies.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Discuss agile teams and the roles for DF

      Environment design that supports productivity

      Understanding of existing and new platforms

      Activities

      4.1 Discuss teams and various roles for the DF.

      4.2 Discuss the impact of the environment on productivity and satisfaction and discuss design factors.

      4.3 Discuss technology and tools, focusing on existing and future platforms, platform components, and organization.

      4.4 Discuss design of meaningful metrics and KPIs.

      Outputs

      Roles for DF teams

      Environment design factors

      Platforms and technology components

      Meaningful metrics and KPIs

      Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations Metrics

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      • member rating overall impact: 8.5/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $7,199 Average $ Saved
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      • Parent Category Name: Operations Management
      • Parent Category Link: /i-and-o-process-management
      • Measuring the business value provided by IT is very challenging.
      • You have a number of metrics, but they may not be truly meaningful, contextual, or actionable.
      • You know you need more than a single metric to tell the whole story. You also suspect that metrics from different systems combined will tell an even fuller story.
      • You are being asked to provide information from different levels of management, for different audiences, conveying different information.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Many organizations collect metrics to validate they are keeping the lights on. But the Infrastructure and Operations managers who are benefitting the most are taking steps to ensure they are getting the right metrics to help them make decisions, manage costs, and plan for change.
      • Complaints about metrics are often rooted in managers wading through too many individual metrics, wrong metrics, or data that they simply can’t trust.
      • Info-Tech surveyed and interviewed a number of Infrastructure managers, CIOs, and IT leaders to understand how they are leveraging metrics. Successful organizations are using metrics for everything from capacity planning to solving customer service issues to troubleshooting system failures.

      Impact and Result

      • Manage metrics so they don’t become time wasters and instead provide real value.
      • Identify the types of metrics you need to focus on.
      • Build a metrics process to ensure you are collecting the right metrics and getting data you can use to save time and make better decisions.

      Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations Metrics Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should implement a metrics program in your Infrastructure and Operations practice, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Gap analysis

      This phase will help you identify challenges that you want to avoid by implementing a metrics program, discover the main IT goals, and determine your core metrics.

      • Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations Metrics – Phase 1: Gap Analysis
      • Infra & Ops Metrics Executive Presentation

      2. Build strategy

      This phase will help you make an actionable plan to implement your metrics program, define roles and responsibilities, and communicate your metrics project across your organization and with the business division.

      • Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations Metrics – Phase 2: Build Strategy
      • Infra & Ops Metrics Definition Template
      • Infra & Ops Metrics Tracking and Reporting Tool
      • Infra & Ops Metrics Program Roles & Responsibilities Guide
      • Weekly Metrics Review With Your Staff
      • Quarterly Metrics Review With the CIO
      [infographic]

      Tech Trend Update: If Contact Tracing Then Distributed Trust

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      • Parent Category Name: DR and Business Continuity
      • Parent Category Link: /business-continuity

      With COVID-19's rapid spread through populations, governments are looking for technology tools that can augment the efforts of manual contact tracing processes. How the system is designed is crucial to a positive outcome.

      • CIOs must understand how distributed trust principles achieve embedded privacy and help encourage user adoption.
      • CEOs must consider how society's waning trust in institutions affects the way they engage their customers.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      Mobile contact tracing apps that use a decentralized design approach will be the most likely to be adopted by a wide swath of the population.

      Impact and Result

      There are some key considerations to realize from the way different governments are approaching contact tracing:

      1. If centralized, then seek to ensure privacy protections.
      2. If decentralized, then seek to enable collaboration.
      3. In either case, put in place data governance to create trust.

      Tech Trend Update: If Contact Tracing Then Distributed Trust Research & Tools

      Learn why distributed trust is becoming critical to technology systems design

      Understand the differences between mobile app architectures available to developers and how to achieve success in implementation based on your goals.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      • Tech Trend Update: If Contact Tracing Then Distributed Trust Storyboard
      [infographic]

      How to build a Service Desk Chatbot POC

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      • member rating overall impact: 9.7/10
      • member rating average dollars saved: 11,197
      • member rating average days saved: 8
      • Parent Category Name: Service Desk
      • Parent Category Link: /service-desk
      • byline: Chatbots that build business value.

      The challenge

      Build a chatbot that creates value for your business

       

      • Ensure your chatbot meets your business needs.
      • Bring scalability to your customer service delivery in a cost-effective manner.
      • Measure your chatbot objectives with clear metrics.
      • Pre-determine your ticket categories to use during the proof of concept.

      Our advice

      Insight

      • Build your chatbot to create business value. Whether increasing service or resource efficiency, keep value creation in mind when making decisions with your proof of concept.

      Impact and results 

      • When implemented effectively, chatbots can help save costs, generate new revenue, and ultimately increase customer satisfaction for external and internal-facing customers.

      The roadmap

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you building a chatbot proof of concept is a good idea, review our methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you to successfully complete this project. Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      Start here

      Form your chatbot strategy.

      Build the right metrics to measure the success of your chatbot POC

      • Chatbot ROI Calculator (xls)
      • Chatbot POC Metrics Tool (xls)

      Build the foundation for your chatbot.

      Architect the chatbot to maximize business value

      • Chatbot Conversation Tree Library

      Continue to improve your chatbot.

      Now take your chatbot proof of concept to production

      • Chatbot POC RACI (doc)
      • Chatbot POC Implementation Roadmap (xls)
      • Chatbot POC Communication Plan (doc)Chatbot ROI Calculator (xls)

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy

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      • Parent Category Name: IT Governance, Risk & Compliance
      • Parent Category Link: /it-governance-risk-and-compliance
      • Business leaders, driven by the need to make more risk-informed decisions, are putting pressure on IT to provide more timely and consistent risk reporting.
      • IT risk managers need to balance the emerging threat landscape with not losing sight of the risks of today.
      • IT needs to strengthen IT controls and anticipate risks in an age of disruption.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      A common understanding of risks, threats, and opportunities gives organizations the flexibility and agility to adapt to changing business conditions and drive corporate value.

      Impact and Result

      • Use this blueprint as a baseline to build a customized IT risk taxonomy suitable for your organization.
      • Learn about the role and drivers of integrated risk management and the benefits it brings to enterprise decision-makers.
      • Discover how to set up your organization up for success by understanding how risk management links to organizational strategy and corporate performance.

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Build an IT Risk Taxonomy – Develop a common approach to managing risks to enable faster, more effective decision making.

      Learn how to develop an IT risk taxonomy that will remain relevant over time while providing the granularity and clarity needed to make more effective risk-based decisions.

      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy – Phases 1-3

      2. Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline and Template – A set of tools to customize and design an IT risk taxonomy suitable for your organization.

      Leverage these tools as a starting point to develop risk levels and definitions appropriate to your organization. Take a collaborative approach when developing your IT risk taxonomy to gain greater acceptance and understanding of accountability.

      • IT Risk Taxonomy Committee Charter Template
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Definitions
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      3. IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook – A place to complete activities and document decisions that may need to be communicated.

      Use this workbook to document outcomes of activities and brainstorming sessions.

      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      4. IT Risk Register – An internal control tool used to manage IT risks. Risk levels archived in this tool are instrumental to achieving an integrated and holistic view of risks across an organization.

      Leverage this tool to document risk levels, risk events, and controls. Smaller organizations can leverage this tool for risk management while larger organizations may find this tool useful to structure and define risks prior to using a risk management software tool.

      • Risk Register Tool

      Infographic

      Workshop: Build an IT Risk Taxonomy

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Review IT Risk Fundamentals and Governance

      The Purpose

      Review IT risk fundamentals and governance.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Learn how enterprise risk management and IT risk management intersect and the role the IT taxonomy plays in integrated risk management.

      Activities

      1.1 Discuss risk fundamentals and the benefits of integrated risk.

      1.2 Create a cross-functional IT taxonomy working group.

      Outputs

      IT Risk Taxonomy Committee Charter Template

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      2 Identify Level 1 Risk Types

      The Purpose

      Identify suitable IT level 1 risk types.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Level 1 IT risk types are determined and have been tested against ERM level one risk types.

      Activities

      2.1 Discuss corporate strategy, business risks, macro trends, and organizational opportunities and constraints.

      2.2 Establish level 1 risk types.

      2.3 Test soundness of IT level 1 types by mapping to ERM level 1 types.

      Outputs

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      3 Identify Level 2 and Level 3 Risk Types

      The Purpose

      Define level 2 and level 3 risk types.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Level 2 and level 3 risk types have been determined.

      Activities

      3.1 Establish level 2 risk types.

      3.2 Establish level 3 risk types (and level 4 if appropriate for your organization).

      3.3 Begin to test by working backward from controls to ensure risk events will aggregate consistently.

      Outputs

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      Risk Register Tool

      4 Monitor, Report, and Respond to IT Risk

      The Purpose

      Test the robustness of your IT risk taxonomy by populating the risk register with risk events and controls.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Your IT risk taxonomy has been tested and your risk register has been updated.

      Activities

      4.1 Continue to test robustness of taxonomy and iterate if necessary.

      4.2 Optional activity: Draft your IT risk appetite statements.

      4.3 Discuss communication and continual improvement plan.

      Outputs

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      Risk Register Tool

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      Further reading

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy

      If integrated risk is your destination, your IT risk taxonomy is the road to get you there.

      Analyst Perspective

      Donna Bales.

      The pace and uncertainty of the current business environment introduce new and emerging vulnerabilities that can disrupt an organization’s strategy on short notice.

      Having a long-term view of risk while navigating the short term requires discipline and a robust and strategic approach to risk management.

      Managing emerging risks such as climate risk, the impact of digital disruption on internal technology, and the greater use of third parties will require IT leaders to be more disciplined in how they manage and communicate material risks to the enterprise.

      Establishing a hierarchical common language of IT risks through a taxonomy will facilitate true aggregation and integration of risks, enabling more effective decision making. This holistic, disciplined approach to risk management helps to promote a more sustainable risk culture across the organization while adding greater rigor at the IT control level.

      Donna Bales
      Principal Research Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Common Obstacles

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      IT has several challenges when managing and responding to risk events:

      • Business leaders, driven by the need to make more risk-informed decisions, are putting pressure on IT to provide more timely and consistent risk reporting.
      • Navigating today’s ever-evolving threat landscape is complex. IT risk managers need to balance the emerging threat landscape while not losing sight of the risks of today.
      • IT needs to strengthen IT controls and anticipate risks in an age of disruption.

      Many IT organizations encounter obstacles in these areas:

      • Ensuring an integrated, well-coordinated approach to risk management across the organization.
      • Developing an IT risk taxonomy that will remain relevant over time while providing sufficient granularity and definitional clarity.
      • Gaining acceptance and ensuring understanding of accountability. Involving business leaders and a wide variety of risk owners when developing your IT risk taxonomy will lead to greater organizational acceptance.

      .

      • Take a collaborative approach when developing your IT risk taxonomy to gain greater acceptance and understanding of accountability.
      • Spend the time to fully analyze your current and future threat landscape when defining your level 1 IT risks and consider the causal impact and complex linkages and intersections.
      • Recognize that the threat landscape will continue to evolve and that your IT risk taxonomy is a living document that must be continually reviewed and strengthened.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A common understanding of risks, threats, and opportunities gives organizations the flexibility and agility to adapt to changing business conditions and drive corporate value.

      Increasing threat landscape

      The risk landscape is continually evolving, putting greater pressure on the risk function to work collaboratively throughout the organization to strengthen operational resilience and minimize strategic, financial, and reputational impact.

      Financial Impact

      Strategic Risk

      Reputation Risk

      In IBM’s 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the Ponemon Institute found that data security breaches now cost companies $4.24 million per incident on average – the highest cost in the 17-year history of the report.

      58% percent of CROs who view inability to manage cyber risks as a top strategic risk.

      EY’s 2022 Global Bank Risk Management survey revealed that Chief Risk Officers (CROs) view the inability to manage cyber risk and the inability to manage cloud and data risk as the top strategic risks.

      Protiviti’s 2023 Executive Perspectives on Top Risks survey featured operational resilience within its top ten risks. An organization’s failure to be sufficiently resilient or agile in a crisis can significantly impact operations and reputation.

      Persistent and emerging threats

      Organizations should not underestimate the long-term impact on corporate performance if emerging risks are not fully understood, controlled, and embedded into decision-making.

      Talent Risk

      Sustainability

      Digital Disruption

      Protiviti’s 2023 Executive Perspectives on Top Risks survey revealed talent risk as the top risk organizations face, specifically organizations’ ability to attract and retain top talent. Of the 38 risks in the survey, it was the only risk issue rated at a “significant impact” level.

      Sustainability is at the top of the risk agenda for many organizations. In EY’s 2022 Global Bank Risk Management survey, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks were identified as a risk focus area, with 84% anticipating it to increase in priority over the next three years. Yet Info-Tech’s Tech Trends 2023 report revealed that only 24% of organizations could accurately report on their carbon footprint.

      Source: Info-Tech 2023 Tech Trends Report

      The risks related to digital disruption are vast and evolving. In the short term, risks surface in compliance and skills shortage, but Protiviti’s 2023 Executive Perspectives survey shows that in the longer term, executives are concerned that the speed of change and market forces may outpace an organization’s ability to compete.

      Build an IT risk taxonomy: As technology and digitization continue to advance, risk management practices must also mature. To strengthen operational and financial resiliency, it is essential that organizations move away from a siloed approach to IT risk management wart an integrated approach. Without a common IT risk taxonomy, effective risk assessment and aggregation at the enterprise level is not possible.

      Blueprint benefits

      IT Benefits

      Business Benefits

      • Simple, customizable approach to build an IT risk taxonomy
      • Improved satisfaction with IT for senior leadership and business units
      • Greater ability to respond to evolving threats
      • Improved understanding of IT’s role in enterprise risk management (ERM)
      • Stronger, more reliable internal control framework
      • Reduced operational surprises and failures
      • More dynamic decision making
      • More proactive risk responses
      • Improve transparency and comparability of risks across silos
      • Better financial resilience and confidence in meeting regulatory requirements
      • More relevant risk assurance for key stakeholders

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      IT Risk Taxonomy Committee Charter Template

      Create a cross-functional IT risk taxonomy committee.

      		The image contains a screenshot of the IT risk taxonomy committee charter template.

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline

      Use IT risk taxonomy as a baseline to build your organization’s approach.

      		The image contains a screenshot of the build an it risk taxonomy guideline.

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      Use this template to design and test your taxonomy.

      		The image contains a screenshot of the build an IT risk taxonomy design template.

      Risk Register Tool

      Update your risk register with your IT risk taxonomy.

      		The image contains a screenshot of the risk register tool.

      Key deliverable:

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      Use the tools and activities in each phase of the blueprint to customize your IT risk taxonomy to suit your organization’s needs.

      The image contains a screenshot of the build an IT risk taxonomy workbook.

      Benefit from industry-leading best practices

      As a part of our research process, we used the COSO, ISO 31000, and COBIT 2019 frameworks. Contextualizing IT risk management within these frameworks ensures that our project-focused approach is grounded in industry-leading best practices for managing IT risk.

      COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management —Integrating with Strategy and Performance addresses the evolution of enterprise risk management and the need for organizations to improve their approach to managing risk to meet the demands of an evolving business environment.

      ISO 31000 – Risk Management can help organizations increase the likelihood of achieving objectives, improve the identification of opportunities and threats, and effectively allocate and use resources for risk treatment.

      COBIT 2019’s IT functions were used to develop and refine the ten IT risk categories used in our top-down risk identification methodology.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

      Guided Implementation

      “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

      Workshop

      “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

      Consulting

      “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

      Call #1: Review risk management fundamentals.

      Call #2: Review the role of an IT risk taxonomy in risk management.

      Call #3: Establish a cross-functional team.

      Calls #4-5: Identify level 1 IT risk types. Test against enterprise risk management.

      Call #6: Identify level 2 and level 3 risk types.

      Call #7: Align risk events and controls to level 3 risk types and test.

      Call #8: Update your risk register and communicate taxonomy internally.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series

      of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is 6 to 8 calls over the course of 3 to 6 months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

      Review IT Risk Fundamentals and Governance

      Identify Level 1 IT Risk Types

      Identify Level 2 and Level 3 Risk Types

      Monitor, Report, and Respond to IT Risk

      Next Steps and
      Wrap-Up (offsite)

      Activities

      1.1 Discuss risk fundamentals and the benefits of integrated risk.

      1.2 Create a cross-functional IT taxonomy working group.

      2.1 Discuss corporate strategy, business risks, macro trends, and organizational opportunities and constraints.

      2.2 Establish level 1 risk types.

      2.3 Test soundness of IT level 1 types by mapping to ERM level 1 types.

      3.1 Establish level 2 risk types.

      3.2 Establish level 3 risk types (and level 4 if appropriate for your organization).

      3.3 Begin to test by working backward from controls to ensure risk events will aggregate consistently.

      4.1 Continue to test robustness of taxonomy and iterate if necessary.

      4.2 Optional activity: Draft your IT risk appetite statements.

      4.3 Discuss communication and continual improvement plan.

      5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

      Deliverables
      1. T Risk Taxonomy Committee Charter Template
      2. Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      1. Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      1. IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template
      2. Risk Register
      1. IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template
      2. Risk Register
      3. Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      1. Workshop Report

      Phase 1

      Understand Risk Management Fundamentals

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      • Governance, Risk, and Compliance
      • Enterprise Risk Management
      • Enterprise Risk Appetite
      • Risk Statements and Scenarios
      • What Is a Risk Taxonomy?
      • Functional Role of an IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Connection to Enterprise Risk Management
      • Establish Committee
      • Steps to Define IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Define Level 1
      • Test Level 1
      • Define Level 2 and 3
      • Test via Your Control Framework

      Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC)

      Risk management is one component of an organization’s GRC function.

      GRC principles are important tools to support enterprise management.

      Governance sets the guardrails to ensure that the enterprise is in alignment with standards, regulations, and board decisions. A governance framework will communicate rules and expectations throughout the organization and monitor adherence.

      Risk management is how the organization protects and creates enterprise value. It is an integral part of an organization’s processes and enables a structured decision-making approach.

      Compliance is the process of adhering to a set of guidelines; these could be external regulations and guidelines or internal corporate policies.

      GRC principles are tightly bound and continuous

      The image contains a screenshot of a continuous circle that is divided into three parts: risk, compliance, and governance.

      Enterprise risk management

      Regardless of size or structure, every organization makes strategic and operational decisions that expose it to uncertainties.

      Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a strategic business discipline that supports the achievement of an organization’s objectives by addressing the full spectrum of its risks and managing the combined impact of those risks as an interrelated risk portfolio (RIMS).

      An ERM is program is crucial because it will:

      • Help shape business objectives, drive revenue growth, and execute risk-based decisions.
      • Enable a deeper understanding of risks and assessment of current risk profile.
      • Support forward-looking risk management and more constructive dialogue with the board and regulatory agencies.
      • Provide insight on the robustness and efficacy of risk management processes, tools, and controls.
      • Drive a positive risk culture.

      ERM is supported by strategy, effective processes, technology, and people

      The image contains a screenshot that demonstrates how ERM is supported by strategy, effective processes, technology, and people.

      Risk frameworks

      Risk frameworks are leveraged by the industry to “provide a structure and set of definitions to allow enterprises of all types and sizes to understand and better manage their risk environments.” COSO Enterprise Risk Management, 2nd edition

      • Many organizations lean on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations’ Enterprise Risk Management framework (COSO ERM) and ISO 31000 to view organizational risks from an enterprise perspective.
      • Prior to the introduction of standardized risk frameworks, it was difficult to quantify the impact of a risk event on the entire enterprise, as the risk was viewed in a silo or as an individual risk component.
      • Recently, the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) published guidance on developing an enterprise risk management approach. The guidance helps to bridge the gap between best practices in enterprise risk management and processes and control techniques that cybersecurity professionals use to meet regulatory cybersecurity risk requirements.

      The image contains a screenshot of NIST ERM approach to strategic risk.

      Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology

      New NIST guidance (NISTIR 8286) emphasizes the complexity of risk management and the need for the risk management process to be carried out seamlessly across three tiers with the overall objective of continuous improvement.

      Enterprise risk appetite

      “The amount of risk an organization is willing to take in pursuit of its objectives”

      – Robert R. Moeller, COSO ERM Framework Model
      • A primary role of the board and senior management is to balance value creation with effectively management of enterprise risks.
      • As part of this role, the board will approve the enterprise’s risk appetite. Placing this responsibility with the board ensures that the risk appetite is aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.
      • The risk appetite is used throughout the organization to assess and respond to individual risks, acting as a constant to make sure that risks are managed within the organization’s acceptable limits.
      • Each year, or in reaction to a risk trigger, the enterprise risk appetite will be updated and approved by the board.
      • Risk appetite will vary across organizations for several reasons, such as industry, company culture, competitors, the nature of the objectives pursued, and financial strength.

      Change or new risks » adjust enterprise risk profile » adjust risk appetite

      Risk profile vs. risk appetite

      Risk profile is the broad parameters an organization considers in executing its business strategy. Risk appetite is the amount of risk an entity is willing to accept in pursuit of its strategic objectives. The risk appetite can be used to inform the risk profile or vice versa. Your organization’s risk culture informs and is used to communicate both.

      Risk Tolerant

      Moderate

      Risk Averse

      • You have no compliance requirements.
      • You have no sensitive data.
      • Customers do not expect you to have strong security controls.
      • Revenue generation and innovative products take priority and risk is acceptable.
      • The organization does not have remote locations.
      • It is likely that your organization does not operate within the following industries:
        • Finance
        • Healthcare
        • Telecom
        • Government
        • Research
        • Education
      • You have some compliance requirements, such as:
        • HIPAA
        • PIPEDA
      • You have sensitive data and are required to retain records.
      • Customers expect strong security controls.
      • Information security is visible to senior leadership.
      • The organization has some remote locations.
      • Your organization most likely operates within the following industries:
        • Government
        • Research
        • Education
      • You have multiple strict compliance and/or regulatory requirements.
      • You house sensitive data, such as medical records.
      • Customers expect your organization to maintain strong and current security controls.
      • Information security is highly visible to senior management and public investors.
      • The organization has multiple remote locations.
      • Your organization operates within the following industries:
        • Finance
        • Healthcare
        • Telecom

      Where the IT risk appetite fits into the risk program

      • Your organization’s strategy and associated risk appetite cascade down to each business department. Overall strategy and risk appetite also set a strategy and risk appetite for each department.
      • Both risk appetite and risk tolerances set boundaries for how much risk an organization is willing or prepared to take. However, while appetite is often broad, tolerance is tactical and focused.
      • Tolerances apply to specific objectives and provide guidance to those executing on a day-to-day basis. They measure the variation around performance expectations that the organization will tolerate.
      • Ideally, they are incorporated into existing governance, risk, and compliance systems and are also considered when evaluated business cases.
      • IT risk appetite statements are based on IT level 1 risk types.

      The risk appetite has a risk lens but is also closely linked to corporate performance.

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram that demonstrates how risk appetite has a risk lens, and how it is linked to corporate performance.

      Statements of risk

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram of the risk landscape.

      Risk Appetite

      Risk Tolerance

      • The general amount of risk an organization is willing to accept while pursuing its objectives.
      • Proactive, future view of risks that reflects the desired range of enterprise performance.
      • Reflects the longer-term strategy of what needs to be achieved and the resources available to achieve it, expressed in quantitative criteria.
      • Risk appetites will vary for several reasons, such as the company culture, financial strength, and capabilities.
      • Risk tolerance is the acceptable deviation from the level set by the risk appetite.
      • Risk tolerance is a tactical tool often expressed in quantitative terms.
      • Key risk indicators are often used to align to risk tolerance limits to ensure the organization stays within the set risk boundary.

      Risk scenarios

      Risk scenarios serve two main purposes: to help decision makers understand how adverse events can affect organizational strategy and objectives and to prepare a framework for risk analysis by clearly defining and decomposing the factors contributing to the frequency and the magnitude of adverse events.

      ISACA
      • Organizations’ pervasive use of and dependency on technology has increased the importance of scenario analysis to identify relevant and important risks and the potential impacts of risk events on the organization if the risk event were to occur.
      • Risk scenarios provide “what if” analysis through a structured approach, which can help to define controls and document assumptions.
      • They form a constructive narrative and help to communicate a story by bringing in business context.
      • For the best outcome, have input from business and IT stakeholders. However, in reality, risk scenarios are usually driven by IT through the asset management practice.
      • Once the scenarios are developed, they are used during the risk analysis phase, in which frequency and business impacts are estimated. They are also a useful tool to help the risk team (and IT) communicate and explain risks to various business stakeholders.

      Top-down approach – driven by the business by determining the business impact, i.e. what is the impact on my customers, reputation, and bottom line if the system that supports payment processing fails?

      Bottom-up approach – driven by IT by identifying critical assets and what harm could happen if they were to fail.

      Example risk scenario

      Use level 1 IT risks to derive potential scenarios.

      Risk Scenario Description

      Example: IT Risks

      Risk Scenario Title

      A brief description of the risk scenario

      The enterprise is unable to recruit and retain IT staff

      Risk Type

      The process or system that is impacted by the risk

      • Service quality
      • Product and service cost

      Risk Scenario Category

      Deeper insight into how the risk might impact business functions

      • Inadequate capacity to support business needs
      • Talent and skills gap due to inability to retain talent

      Risk Statement

      Used to communicate the potential adverse outcomes of a particular risk event and can be used to communicate to stakeholders to enable informed decisions

      The organization chronically fails to recruit sufficiently skilled IT workers, leading to a loss of efficiency in overall technology operation and an increased security exposure.

      Risk Owner

      The designated party responsible and accountable for ensuring that the risk is maintained in accordance with enterprise requirements

      • Head of Human Resources
      • Business Process Owner

      Risk Oversight

      The person (role) who is responsible for risk assessments, monitoring, documenting risk response, and establishing key risk indicators

      CRO/COO

      Phase 2

      Set Your Organization Up for Success

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      • Governance, Risk, and Compliance
      • Enterprise Risk Management
      • Enterprise Risk Appetite
      • Risk Statements and Scenarios
      • What Is a Risk Taxonomy?
      • Functional Role of an IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Connection to Enterprise Risk Management
      • Establish Committee
      • Steps to Define IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Define Level 1
      • Test Level 1
      • Define Level 2 and 3
      • Test via Your Control Framework

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • How to set up a cross-functional IT risk taxonomy committee

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • CISO
      • CRO
      • IT Risk Owners
      • Business Leaders
      • Human Resources

      What is a risk taxonomy?

      A risk taxonomy provides a common risk view and enables integrated risk

      • A risk taxonomy is the (typically hierarchical) categorization of risk types. It is constructed out of a collection of risk types organized by a classification scheme.
      • Its purpose is to assist with the management of an organization’s risk by arranging risks in a classification scheme.
      • It provides foundational support across the risk management lifecycle in relation to each of the key risks.
      • More material risk categories form the root nodes of the taxonomy, and risk types cascade into more granular manifestations (child nodes).
      • From a risk management perspective, a taxonomy will:
        • Enable more effective risk aggregation and interoperability.
        • Provide the organization with a complete view of risks and how risks might be interconnected or concentrated.
        • Help organizations form a robust control framework.
        • Give risk managers a structure to manage risks proactively.

      Typical Tree Structure

      The image contains a screenshot of the Typical Tree Structure.

      What is integrated risk management?

      • Integrated risk management is the process of ensuring all forms of risk information, including risk related to information and technology, are considered and included in the organization’s risk management strategy.
      • It removes the siloed approach of classifying risks related to specific departments or areas of the organization, recognizing that each risk is a potential threat to the overarching enterprise.
      • By aggregating the different threats or uncertainty that might exist within an organization, integrated risk management enables more informed decisions to be made that align to strategic goals and continue to drive value back to the business.
      • By holistically considering the different risks, the organization can make informed decisions on the best course of action that will reduce any negative impacts associated with the uncertainty and increase the overall value.

      The image contains a screenshot of the ERM.

      Integrated risk management: A strategic and collaborative way to manage risks across the organization. It is a forward-looking, business-specific outlook with the objective of improving risk visibility and culture.

      Drivers and benefits of integrated risk

      Drivers for Integrated Risk Management

      • Business shift to digital experiences
      • The breadth and number of risks requiring oversight
      • The need for faster risk analysis and decision making

      Benefits of Integrated Risk Management

      • Enables better scenario planning
      • Enables more proactive risk responses
      • Provides more relevant risk assurance to key stakeholders
      • Improves transparency and comparability of risks across organizational silos
      • Supports better financial resilience

      Business velocity and complexity are making real-time risk management a business necessity.

      If integrated risk is the destination, your taxonomy is your road to get you there

      Info-Tech’s Model for Integrated Risk

      The image contains a screenshot of Info-Tech's Model for Integrated Risk.

      How the risk practices intersect

      The risk taxonomy provides a common classification of risks that allows risks to roll up systematically to enterprise risk, enabling more effective risk responses and more informed decision making.

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram that demonstrates how the risk practices intersect.

      ERM taxonomy

      Relative to the base event types, overall there is an increase in the number of level 1 risk types in risk taxonomies

      Oliver Wyman
      • The changing risk profile of organizations and regulatory focus in some industries is pushing organizations to rethink their risk taxonomies.
      • Generally, the expansion of level 1 risk types is due to the increase in risk themes under the operational risk umbrella.
      • Non-financial risks are risks that are not considered to be traditional financial risks, such as operational risk, technology risk, culture, and conduct. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk is often referred to as a non-financial risk, although it can have both financial and non-financial implications.
      • Certain level 1 ERM risks, such as strategic risk, reputational risk, and ESG risk, cover both financial and non-financial risks.

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram of the Traditional ERM Structure.

      Operational resilience

      • The concept of operational resiliency was first introduced by European Central Bank (ECB) in 2018 as an attempt to corral supervisory cooperation on operational resiliency in financial services.
      • The necessity for stronger operational resiliency became clear during the early stages of COVID-19 when many organizations were not prepared for disruption, leading to serious concern for the safety and soundness of the financial system.
      • It has gained traction and is now defined in global supervisory guidance. Canada’s prudential regulator, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), defines it as “the ability of a financial institution to deliver its operations, including its critical operations, through disruption.”
      • Practically, its purpose is to knit together several operational risk management categories such as business continuity, security, and third-party risk.
      • The concept has been adopted by information and communication technology (ICT) companies, as technology and cyber risks sit neatly under this risk type.
      • It is now not uncommon to see operational resiliency as a level 1 risk type in a financial institution’s ERM framework.

      Operational resilience will often feature in ERM frameworks in organizations that deliver critical services, products, or functions, such as financial services

      Operational Resilience.

      ERM level 1 risk categories

      Although many organizations have expanded their enterprise risk management taxonomies to address new threats, most organizations will have the following level 1 risk types:

      ERM Level 1

      Definition

      Definition Source

      Financial

      The ability to obtain sufficient and timely funding capacity.

      Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)

      Non-Financial

      Non-financial risks are risks that are not considered to be traditional financial risks such as operational risk, technology risk, culture and conduct.

      Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)

      Reputational

      Potential negative publicity regarding business practices regardless of validity.

      US Federal Reserve

      Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)

      Strategic

      Risk of unsuccessful business performance due to internal or external uncertainties, whether the event is event or trend driven. Actions or events that adversely impact an organizations strategies and/or implementation of its strategies.

      The Risk Management Society (RIMS)

      Sustainability (ESG)

      This risk of any negative financial or reputational impact on an organizations stemming from current or prospective impacts of ESG factors on its counterparties or invested assets.

      Open Risk Manual

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Talent and Risk Culture

      The widespread behaviors and mindsets that can threaten sound decision-making, prudent risk-taking, and effective risk management and can weaken an institution’s financial and operational resilience.

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Different models of ERM

      Some large organizations will elevate certain operational risks to level 1 organizational risks due to risk materiality.

      Every organization will approach its risk management taxonomy differently; the number of level 1 risk types will vary and depend highly on perceived impact.

      Some of the reasons why an organization would elevate a risk to a level 1 ERM risk are:

      • The risk has significant impact on the organization's strategy, reputation, or financial performance.
      • The regulator has explicitly called out board oversight within legislation.
      • It is best practice in the organization’s industry or business sector.
      • The organization has structured its operations around a particular risk theme due to its potential negative impact. For example, the organization may have a dedicated department for data privacy.

      Level 1

      Potential Rationale

      Industries

      Risk Definition

      Advanced Analytics

      Use of advanced analytics is considered material

      Large Enterprise, Marketing

      Risks involved with model risk and emerging risks posed by artificial intelligence/machine learning.

      Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud

      Risk is viewed as material

      Financial Services, Gaming, Real Estate

      The risk of exposure to financial crime and fraud.

      Conduct Risk

      Sector-specific risk type

      Financial Services

      The current or prospective risk of losses to an institution arising from inappropriate supply of financial services including cases of willful or negligent misconduct.

      Operational Resiliency

      Sector-specific risk type

      Financial Services, ICT

      Organizational risk resulting from an organization’s failure to deliver its operations, including its critical operations, through disruption.

      Privacy

      Board driven – perceived as material risk to organization

      Healthcare, Financial Services

      The potential loss of control over personal information.

      Information Security

      Board driven – regulatory focus

      All may consider

      The people, processes, and technology involved in protecting data (information) in any form – whether digital or on paper – through its creation, storage, transmission, exchange, and destruction.

      Risk and impact

      Mapping risks to business outcomes happens within the ERM function and by enterprise fiduciaries.

      • When mapping risk events to enterprise risk types, the relationship is rarely linear. Rather, risk events typically will have multiple impacts on the enterprise, including strategic, reputational, ESG, and financial impacts.
      • As risk information is transmitted from lower levels, it informs the next level, providing the appropriate information to prioritize risk.
      • In the final stage, the enterprise portfolio view will reflect the enterprise impacts according to risk dimensions, such as strategic, operational, reporting, and compliance.

      Rolling Up Risks to a Portfolio View

      The image contains a screenshot to demonstrate rolling up risks to a portfolio view.

      1. A risk event within IT will roll up to the enterprise via the IT risk register.
      2. The impact of the risk on cash flow and operations will be aggregated and allocated in the enterprise risk register by enterprise fiduciaries (e.g. CFO).
      3. The impacts are translated into full value exposures or modified impact and likelihood assessments.

      Common challenges

      How to synthesize different objectives between IT risk and enterprise risk

      Commingling risk data is a major challenge when developing a risk taxonomy, but one of the underlying reasons is that the enterprise and IT look at risk from different dimensions.

      • The role of the enterprise in risk management is to provide and preserve value, and therefore the enterprise evaluates risk on an adjusted risk-return basis.
      • To do this effectively, the enterprise must break down silos and view risk holistically.
      • ERM is a top-down process of evaluating risks that may impact the entity. As part of the process, ERM must manage risks within the enterprise risk framework and provide reasonable assurances that enterprise objectives will be met.
      		↔
      • IT risk management focuses on internal controls and sits as a function within the larger enterprise.
      • IT takes a bottom-up approach by applying an ongoing process of risk management and constantly identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and mitigating risks.
      • IT has a central role in risk mitigation and, if functioning well, will continually reduce IT risks, simplifying the role for ERM.

      Establish a team

      Cross-functional collaboration is key to defining level 1 risk types.

      Establish a cross-functional working group.

      • Level 1 IT risk types are the most important to get right because they are the root nodes that all subtypes of risk cascade from.
      • To ensure the root nodes (level 1 risk types) address the risks of your organization, it is vital to have a strong understanding or your organization’s value chain, so your organizational strategy is a key input for defining your IT level 1 risk types.
      • Since the taxonomy provides the method for communicating risks to the people who need to make decisions, a wide understanding and acceptance of the taxonomy is essential. This means that multiple people across your organization should be involved in defining the taxonomy.
      • Form a cross-functional tactical team to collaborate and agree on definitions. The team should include subject matter experts and leaders in key risk and business areas. In terms of governance structure, this committee might sit underneath the enterprise risk council, and members of your IT risk council may also be good candidates for this tactical working group.
      • The committee would be responsible for defining the taxonomy as well as performing regular reviews.
      • The importance of collaboration will become crystal clear as you begin this work, as risks should be connected to only one risk type.

      Governance Layer

      Role/ Responsibilities

      Enterprise

      Defines organizational goals. Directs or regulates the performance and behavior of the enterprise, ensuring it has the structure and capabilities to achieve its goals.

      Enterprise Risk Council

      • Approve of risk taxonomy

      Strategic

      Ensures business and IT initiatives, products, and services are aligned to the organization’s goals and strategy and provide expected value. Ensures adherence to key principles.

      IT Risk Council

      • Provide input
      • May review taxonomy ahead of going to the enterprise risk council for approval

      Tactical

      Ensures key activities and planning are in place to execute strategic initiatives.

      Subcommittee

      • Define risk types and definitions
      • Establish and maintain taxonomy
      • Recommend changes
      • Advocate and communicate internally

      2.1 Establish a cross-functional working group

      2-3 hours

      1. Consider your organization’s operating model and current governance framework, specifically any current risk committees.
      2. Consider the members of current committees and your objectives and begin defining:
        1. Committee mandate, goals, and success factors.
        2. Responsibility and membership.
        3. Committee procedures and policies.
      3. Make sure you define how this tactical working group will interact with existing committees.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      Input Output
      • Organization chart and operating model
      • Corporate governance framework and existing committee charters
      • Cross-functional working group charter
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • IT Taxonomy Committee Charter
      • CISO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Phase 3

      Structure Your IT Risk Taxonomy

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      • Governance, Risk, and Compliance
      • Enterprise Risk Management
      • Enterprise Risk Appetite
      • Risk Statements and Scenarios
      • What Is a Risk Taxonomy?
      • Functional Role of an IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Connection to Enterprise Risk Management
      • Establish Committee
      • Steps to Define IT Risk Taxonomy
      • Define Level 1
      • Test Level 1
      • Define Level 2 and 3
      • Test via Your Control Framework

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Establish level 1 risk types
      • Test level 1 risk types
      • Define level 2 and level 3 risk types
      • Test the taxonomy via your control framework

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • CISO
      • CRO
      • IT Risk Owners
      • Business Leaders
      • Human Resources

      Structuring your IT risk taxonomy

      Do’s

      • Ensure your organization’s values are embedded into the risk types.
      • Design your taxonomy to be forward looking and risk based.
      • Make level 1 risk types generic so they can be used across the organization.
      • Ensure each risk has its own attributes and belongs to only one risk type.
      • Collaborate on and communicate your taxonomy throughout organization.

      Don’ts

      • Don’t develop risk types based on function.
      • Don’t develop your taxonomy in a silo.

      A successful risk taxonomy is forward looking and codifies the most frequently used risk language across your organization.

      Level 1

      Parent risk types aligned to organizational values

      Level 2

      Subrisks to level 1 risks

      Level 3

      Further definition

      Steps to define your IT risk taxonomy

      Step 1

      Leverage Info-Tech’s Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline and identify IT level 1 risk types. Consider corporate inputs and macro trends.

      Step 2

      Test level 1 IT risk types by mapping to your enterprise's ERM level 1 risk types.

      Step 3

      Draft your level 2 and level 3 risk types. Be mutually exclusive to the extent possible.

      Step 4

      Work backward – align risk events and controls to the lowest level risk category. In our examples, we align to level 3.

      Step 5

      Add risk levels to your risk registry.

      Step 6

      Optional – Add IT risk appetite statements to risk register.

      Inputs to use when defining level 1

      To help you define your IT risk taxonomy, leverage your organization’s strategy and risk management artifacts, such as outputs from risk assessments, audits, and test results. Also consider macro trends and potential risks unique to your organization.

      Step 1 – Define Level 1 Risk Types

      Use corporate inputs to help structure your taxonomy

      • Corporate Strategy
      • Risk Assessment
      • Audit
      • Test Results

      Consider macro trends that may have an impact on how you manage IT risks

      • Geopolitical Risk
      • Economic Downturn
      • Regulation
      • Competition
      • Climate Risk
      • Industry Disruption

      Evaluate from an organizational lens

      Ask risk-based questions to help define level 1 IT risks for your organization.

      IT Risk Type

      Example Questions

      Technology

      How reliant is our organization on critical assets for business operations?

      How resilient is the organization to an unexpected crisis?

      How many planned integrations do we have (over the next 24 months)?

      Talent Risk

      What is our need for specialized skills, like digital, AI, etc.?

      Does our culture support change and innovation?

      How susceptible is our organization to labor market changes?

      Strategy

      What is the extent of digital adoption or use of emerging technologies in our organization?

      How aligned is IT with strategy/corporate goals?

      How much is our business dependent on changing customer preferences?

      Data

      How much sensitive data does our organization use?

      How much data is used and stored aggregately?

      How often is data moved? And to what locations?

      Third-party

      How many third-party suppliers do we have?

      How reliant are we on the global supply chain?

      What is the maturity level of our third-party suppliers?

      Do we have any concentration risk?

      Security

      How equipped is our organization to manage cyber threats?

      How many security incidents occur per year/quarter/day?

      Do we have regulatory obligations? Is there risk of enforcement action?

      Level 1 IT taxonomy structure

      Step 2 – Consider your organization’s strategy and areas where risks may manifest and use this guidance to advance your thinking. Many factors may influence your taxonomy structure, including internal organizational structure, the size of your organization, industry trends and organizational context, etc.

      Most IT organizations will include these level 1 risks in their IT risk taxonomy

      IT Level 1

      Definition

      Definition Source

      Technology

      Risk arising from the inadequacy, disruption, destruction, failure, damage from unauthorized access modifications, or malicious use of information technology assets, people or processes that enable and support business needs, and can result in financial loss and/or reputational damage.

      Open Risk Manual

      Note how this definition by OSFI includes cyber risk as part of technology risk. Smaller organizations and organizations that do not use large amounts of sensitive information will typically fold cyber risks under technology risks. Not all organizations will take this approach. Some organizations may elevate security risk to level 1.

      “Technology risk”, which includes “cyber risk”, refers to the risk arising from the inadequacy, disruption, destruction, failure, damage from unauthorized access, modifications, or malicious use of information technology assets, people or processes that enable and support business needs, and can result in financial loss and/or reputational damage.

      Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)

      Talent

      The risk of not having the right knowledge and skills to execute strategy.

      Info-Tech Research Group/McLean & Company

      Human capital challenges including succession challenges and the ability to attract and retain top talent are considered the most dominant risk to organizations’ ability to meet their value proposition (Protiviti, 2023).

      Strategic

      Risks that threaten IT’s ability to deliver expected business outcomes.

      Info-Tech Research Group

      IT’s role as strategic enabler to the business has never been so vital. With the speed of disruptive innovation, IT must be able to monitor alignment, support opportunities, and manage unexpected crises.

      Level 1 IT taxonomy structure cont'd

      Step 2 – Large and more complex organizations may have more level 1 risk types. Variances in approaches are closely linked to the type of industry and business in which the organization operates as well as how they view and position risks within their organization.

      IT Level 1

      Definition

      Definition Source

      Data

      Data risk is the exposure to loss of value or reputation caused by issues or limitations to an organization’s ability to acquire, store, transform, move, and use its data assets.

      Deloitte

      Data risk encompasses the risk of loss value or reputation resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events impacting on data.

      Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) CPG 235 -2013)

      Data is increasingly being used for strategic growth initiatives as well as for meeting regulatory requirements. Organizations that use a lot of data or specifically sensitive information will likely have data as a level 1 IT risk type.

      Third-Party

      The risk adversely impacting the institutions performance by engaging a third party, or their associated downstream and upstream partners or another group entity (intragroup outsourcing) to provide IT systems or related services.

      European Banking Association (EBA)

      Open Risk Manual uses EBA definition

      Third-party risk (supply chain risk) received heightened attention during COVID-19. If your IT organization is heavily reliant on third parties, you may want to consider elevating third-party risk to level 1.

      Security

      The risk of unauthorized access to IT systems and data from within or outside the institution (e.g., cyber-attacks). An incident is viewed as a series of events that adversely affects the information assets of an organization. The overall narrative of this type of risk event is captured as who, did what, to what (or whom), with what result.

      Open Risk Manual

      Some organizations and industries are subject to regulatory obligations, which typically means the board has strict oversight and will elevate security risk to a level 1.

      Common challenges

      Considerations when defining level 1 IT risk types

      • Ultimately, the identification of a level 1 IT risk type will be driven by the potential for and materiality of vulnerabilities that may impede an organization from delivering successful business outcomes.
      • Senior leaders within organizations play a central role in protecting organizations against vulnerabilities and threats.
      • The size and structure of your organization will influence how you manage risk.
      • The following slide shows typical roles and responsibilities for data privacy.
      • Large enterprises and organizations that use a lot of personal identifiable information (PII) data, such as those in healthcare, financial services, and online retail, will typically have data as a level 1 IT risk and data privacy as a level 2 risk type.
      • However, smaller organizations or organizations that do not use a lot of data will typically fold data privacy under either technology risk or security risk.

      Deciding placement in taxonomy

      Deciding Placement in Taxonomy.

      • In larger enterprises, data risks are managed within a dedicated functional department with its own governance structure. In small organizations, the CIO is typically responsible and accountable for managing data privacy risk.

      Global Enterprise

      Midmarket

      Privacy Requirement

      What Is Involved

      Accountable

      Responsible

      Accountable & Responsible

      Privacy Legal and Compliance Obligations

      • Ensuring the relevant Accountable roles understand privacy obligations for the jurisdictions operated in.

      Privacy Officer (Legal)

      Privacy Officer (Legal)

      Privacy Policy, Standards, and Governance

      • Defining polices and ensuring they are in place to ensure all privacy obligations are met.
      • Monitoring adherence to those policies and standards.

      Chief Risk Officer (Risk)

      Head of Risk Function

      Data Classification and Security Standards and Best-Practice Capabilities

      • Defining the organization’s data classification and security standards and ensuring they align to the privacy policy.
      • Designing and building the data security standards, processes, roles, and technologies required to ensure all security obligations under the privacy policy can be met.
      • Providing oversight of the effectiveness of data security practices and leading resolution of data security issues/incidents.

      Chief Information Security Officer (IT)

      Chief Information Security Officer (IT)

      Technical Application of Data Classification, Management and Security Standards

      • Ensuring all technology design, implementation, and operational decisions adhere to data classification, data management, and data security standards.

      Chief Information Officer (IT)

      Chief Data Architect (IT)

      Chief Information Officer (IT)

      Data Management Standards and Best-Practice Capabilities

      • Defining the organization’s data management standards and ensuring they align to the privacy policy.
      • Designing and building the data management standards, processes, roles, and technologies required to ensure data classification, access, and sharing obligations under the privacy policy can be met.
      • Providing oversight of the effectiveness of data classification, access, and sharing practices and leading resolution of data management issues/incidents.

      Chief Data Officer

      Where no Head of Data Exists and IT, not the business, is seen as de facto owner of data and data quality

      Execution of Data Management

      • Ensuring business processes that involve data classification, sharing, and access related to their data domain align to data management standards (and therefore privacy obligations).

      L1 Business Process Owner

      L2 Business Process Owner

      Common challenges

      Defining security risk and where it resides in the taxonomy

      • For risk management to be effective, risk professionals need to speak the same language, but the terms “information security,” “cybersecurity,” and “IT security” are often used interchangeably.
      • Traditionally, cyber risk was folded under technology risk and therefore resided at a lower level of a risk taxonomy. However, due to heightened attention from regulators and boards stemming from the pervasiveness of cyber threats, some organizations are elevating security risks to a level 1 IT risk.
      • Furthermore, regulatory cybersecurity requirements have emphasized control frameworks. As such, many organizations have adopted NIST because it is comprehensive, regularly updated, and easily tailored.
      • While NIST is prescriptive and action oriented, it start with controls and does not easily integrate with traditional ERM frameworks. To address this, NIST has published new guidance focused on an enterprise risk management approach. The guidance helps to bridge the gap between best practices in enterprise risk management and processes and control techniques that cybersecurity professionals use to meet regulatory cybersecurity risk requirements.

      Definitional Nuances

      “Cybersecurity” describes the technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.

      “IT security” describes a function as well as a method of implementing policies, procedures, and systems to defend the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of any digital information used, transmitted, or stored throughout the organization’s environment.

      “Information security” defines the people, processes, and technology involved in protecting data (information) in any form – whether digital or on paper – through its creation, storage, transmission, exchange, and destruction.

      3.1 Establish level 1 risk types

      2-3 hours

      1. Consider your current and future corporate goals and business initiatives, risk management artifacts, and macro industry trends.
      2. Ask questions to understand risks unique to your organization.
      3. Review Info-Tech’s IT level 1 risk types and identify the risk types that apply to your organization.
      4. Add any risk types that are missing and unique to your organization.
      5. Refine the definitions to suit your organization.
      6. Be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive to the extent possible.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      InputOutput
      • Organization's strategy
      • Other organizational artifacts if available (operating model, outputs from audits and risk assessments, risk profile, and risk appetite)
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline
      • IT Risk Taxonomy Definitions
      • Level 1 IT risk types customized to your organization
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • CISO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      3.2 Map IT risk types against ERM level 1 risk types

      1-2 hours

      1. Using the output from Activity 3.1, map your IT risk types to your ERM level 1 risk types.
      2. Record in the Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      InputOutput
      • IT level 1 risk types customized to your organization
      • ERM level 1 risk types
      • Final level 1 IT risk types
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • CISO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Map IT level 1 risk types to ERM

      Test your level 1 IT risk types by mapping to your organization’s level 1 risk types.

      Step 2 – Map IT level 1 risk types to ERM

      The image contains two tables. 1 table is ERM Level 1 Risks, the other table is IT Level 1 Risks.

      3.3 Establishing level 2 and 3 risk types

      3-4 hours

      1. Using the level 1 IT risk types that you have defined and using Info-Tech’s Risk Taxonomy Guideline, first begin to identify level 2 risk types for each level 1 type.
      2. Be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive to the extent possible.
      3. Once satisfied with your level 2 risk types, break them down further to level 3 risk types.

      Note: Smaller organizations may only define two risk levels, while larger organizations may define further to level 4.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      InputOutput
      • Output from Activity 3.1, Establish level 1 risk types
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Guideline
      • Level 2 and level 3 risk types recorded in Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • CISO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Level 2 IT taxonomy structure

      Step 3 – Break down your level 1 risk types into subcategories. This is complicated and may take many iterations to reach a consistent and accepted approach. Try to make your definitions intuitive and easy to understand so that they will endure the test of time.

      The image contains a screenshot of Level 2 IT taxonomy Structure.

      Security vulnerabilities often surface through third parties, but where and how you manage this risk is highly dependent on how you structure your taxonomy. Organizations with a lot of exposure may have a dedicated team and may manage and report security risks under a level 1 third-party risk type.

      Level 3 IT taxonomy structure

      Step 3 – Break down your level 2 risk types into lower-level subcategories. The number of levels of risk you have will depend on the size of and magnitude of risks within your organization. In our examples, we demonstrate three levels.

      The image contains a screenshot of Level 3 IT taxonomy Structure.

      Risk taxonomies for smaller organizations may only include two risk levels. However, large enterprises or more complex organizations may extend their taxonomy to level 3 or even 4. This illustration shows just a few examples of level 3 risks.

      Test using risk events and controls

      Ultimately risk events and controls need to roll up to level 1 risks in a consistent manner. Test the robustness of your taxonomy by working backward.

      Step 4 – Work backward to test and align risk events and controls to the lowest level risk category.

      • A key function of IT risk management is to monitor and maintain internal controls.
      • Internal controls help to reduce the level of inherent risk to acceptable levels, known as residual risk.
      • As risks evolve, new controls may be needed to upgrade protection for tech infrastructure and strengthen connections between critical assets and third-party suppliers.

      Example – Third Party Risk

      Third Party Risk example.

      3.4 Test your IT taxonomy

      2-3 hours

      1. Leveraging the output from Activities 3.1 to 3.3 and your IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template, begin to test the robustness of the taxonomy by working backward from controls to level 1 IT risks.
      2. The lineage should show clearly that the control will mitigate the impact of a realized risk event. Refine the control or move the control to another level 1 risk type if the control will not sufficiently reduce the impact of a realized risk event.
      3. Once satisfied, update your risk register or your risk management software tool.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template

      InputOutput
      • Output from Activities 3.1 to 3.3
      • IT risk taxonomy documented in the IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • IT risk register
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • CISO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Update risk register

      Step 5 – Once you are satisfied with your risk categories, update your risk registry with your IT risk taxonomy.

      Use Info-Tech’s Risk Register Tool or populate your internal risk software tool.

      Risk Register.

      Download Info-Tech’s Risk Register Tool

      Augment the risk event list using COBIT 2019 processes (Optional)

      Other industry-leading frameworks provide alternative ways of conceptualizing the functions and responsibilities of IT and may help you uncover additional risk events.

      1. Managed IT Management Framework
      2. Managed Strategy
      3. Managed Enterprise Architecture
      4. Managed Innovation
      5. Managed Portfolio
      6. Managed Budget and Costs
      7. Managed Human Resources
      8. Managed Relationships
      9. Managed Service Agreements
      10. Managed Vendors
      11. Managed Quality
      12. Managed Risk
      13. Managed Security
      14. Managed Data
      15. Managed Programs
      16. Managed Requirements Definition
      17. Managed Solutions Identification and Build
      18. Managed Availability and Capacity
      19. Managed Organizational Change Enablement
      20. Managed IT Changes
      21. Managed IT Change Acceptance and Transitioning
      22. Managed Knowledge
      23. Managed Assets
      24. Managed Configuration
      25. Managed Projects
      26. Managed Operations
      27. Managed Service Requests and Incidents
      28. Managed Problems
      29. Managed Continuity
      30. Managed Security Services
      31. Managed Business Process Controls
      32. Managed Performance and Conformance Monitoring
      33. Managed System of Internal Control
      34. Managed Compliance with External Requirements
      35. Managed Assurance
      36. Ensured Governance Framework Setting and Maintenance
      37. Ensured Benefits Delivery
      38. Ensured Risk Optimization
      39. Ensured Resource Optimization
      40. Ensured Stakeholder Engagement

      Example IT risk appetite

      When developing your risk appetite statements, ensure they are aligned to your organization’s risk appetite and success can be measured.

      Example IT Risk Appetite Statement

      Risk Type

      Technology Risk

      IT should establish a risk appetite statement for each level 1 IT risk type.

      Appetite Statement

      Our organization’s number-one priority is to provide high-quality trusted service to our customers. To meet this objective, critical systems must be highly performant and well protected from potential threats. To meet this objective, the following expectations have been established:

      • No appetite for unauthorized access to systems and confidential data.
      • Low appetite for service downtime.
        • Service availability objective of 99.9%.
        • Near real-time recovery of critical services – ideally within 30 minutes, no longer than 3 hours.

      The ideal risk appetite statement is qualitative and supported by quantitative measures.

      Risk Owner

      Chief Information Officer

      Ultimately, there is an accountable owner(s), but involve business and technology stakeholders when drafting to gain consensus.

      Risk Oversight

      Enterprise Risk Committee

      Supporting Framework(s)

      Business Continuity Management, Information Security, Internal Audit

      The number of supporting programs and frameworks will vary with the size of the organization.

      3.5 Draft your IT risk appetite statements

      Optional Activity

      2-3 hours

      1. Using your completed taxonomy and your organization’s risk appetite statement, draft an IT risk appetite statement for each level 1 risk in your workbook.
      2. Socialize the statements and gain approval.
      3. Add the approved risk appetite statements to your IT risk register.

      Download Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook

      Input Output
      • Organization’s risk appetite statement
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • IT Risk Taxonomy Design Template
      • IT risk appetite statements
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • CISO, CIO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Key takeaways and next steps

      • The risk taxonomy is the backbone of a robust enterprise risk management program. A good taxonomy is frequently used and well understood.
      • Not only is the risk taxonomy used to assess organizational impact, but it is also used for risk reporting, scenarios analysis and horizon scanning, and risk appetite expression.
      • It is essential to capture IT risks within the ERM framework to fully understand the impact and allow for consistent risk discussions and meaningful aggregation.
      • Defining an IT risk taxonomy is a team sport, and organizations should strive to set up a cross-functional working group that is tasked with defining the taxonomy, monitoring its effectiveness, and ensuring continual improvement.
      • The work does not end when the taxonomy is complete. The taxonomy should be well socialized throughout the organization after inception through training and new policies and procedures. Ultimately, it should be an activity embedded into risk management practices.
      • The taxonomy is a living document and should be continually improved upon.

      3.6 Prepare to communicate the taxonomy internally

      1-2 hours

      To gain acceptance of your risk taxonomy within your organization, ensure it is well understood and used throughout the organization.

      1. Consider your audience and agree on the key elements you want to convey.
      2. Prepare your presentation.
      3. Test your presentation with a smaller group before communicating to senior leadership or the board.

      Coming soon: Look for our upcoming research Communicate Any IT Initiative.

      InputOutput
      • Build an IT Risk Taxonomy Workbook
      • Upcoming research: Communicate Any IT Initiative
      • Presentation
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Upcoming research: Communicate Any IT Initiative
      • Internal communication templates
      • CISO, CIO
      • Human resources
      • Corporate communications
      • CRO or risk owners
      • Business leaders

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Build an IT Risk Management Program

      • Use this blueprint to transform your ad hoc risk management processes into a formalized ongoing program and increase risk management success.
      • Learn how to take a proactive stance against IT threats and vulnerabilities by identifying and assessing IT’s greatest's risks before they occur.

      Integrate IT Risk Into Enterprise Risk

      • Use this blueprint to understand gaps in your organization’s approach to risk management.
      • Learn how to integrate IT risks into the foundational risk practice

      Coming Soon: Communicate Any IT initiative

      • Use this blueprint to compose an easy-to-understand presentation to convey the rationale of your initiative and plan of action.
      • Learn how to identify your target audience and tailor and deliver the message in an authentic and clear manner.

      Risk definitions

      Term Description
      Emergent Risk Risks that are poorly understood but expected to grow in significance.
      Residual Risk The amount of risk you have left after you have removed a source of risk or implemented a mitigation approach (controls, monitoring, assurance).
      Risk Acceptance If the risk is within the enterprise's risk tolerance or if the cost of otherwise mitigating the risk is higher than the potential loss, the enterprise can assume the risk and absorb any losses.
      Risk Appetite An organization’s general approach and attitude toward risk; the total exposed amount that an organization wishes to undertake on the basis of risk-return trade-offs for one or more desired and expected outcomes.
      Risk Assessment The process of estimating and evaluating risk.
      Risk Avoidance The risk response where an organization chooses not to perform a particular action or maintain an existing engagement due to the risk involved.
      Risk Event A risk occurrence (actual or potential) or a change of circumstances. Can consist of more than one occurrence or of something not happening. Can be referred to as an incident or accident.
      Risk Identification The process of finding, recognizing, describing, and documenting risks that could impact the achievement of objectives.
      Risk Management The capability and related activities used by an organization to identify and actively manage risks that affect its ability to achieve goals and strategic objectives. Includes principles, processes, and framework.
      Risk Likelihood The chance of a risk occurring. Usually measured mathematically using probability.
      Risk Management Policy Expresses an organization’s commitment to risk management and clarifies its use and direction.
      Risk Mitigation The risk response where an action is taken to reduce the impact or likelihood of a risk occurring.
      Risk Profile A written description of a set of risks.

      Risk definitions

      Term Description
      Risk Opportunity A cause/trigger of a risk with a positive outcome.
      Risk Owner The designated party responsible and accountable for ensuring that the risk is maintained in accordance with enterprise requirements.
      Risk Register A tool used to identify and document potential and active risks in an organization and to track the actions in place to manage each risk.
      Risk Response How you choose to respond to risk (accept, mitigate, transfer, or avoid).
      Risk Source The element that, alone or in combination, has potential to give rise to a risk. Usually this is the root cause of the risk.
      Risk Statement A description of the current conditions that may lead to the loss, and a description of the loss.
      Risk Tolerance The amount of risk you are prepared or able to accept (in terms of volume or impact); the amount of uncertainty an organization is willing to accept in the aggregate (or more narrowly within a certain business unit or for a specific risk category). Expressed in quantitative terms that can be monitored (such as volatility or deviation measures), risk tolerance often is communicated in terms of acceptable/unacceptable outcomes or as limited levels of risk. Risk tolerance statements identify the specific minimum and maximum levels beyond which the organization is unwilling to accept variations from the expected outcome.
      Risk Transfer The risk response where you transfer the risk to a third party.

      Research Contributors and Experts

      LynnAnn Brewer
      Director
      McLean & Company

      Sandi Conrad
      Principal Research Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Valence Howden
      Principal Research Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      John Kemp
      Executive Counsellor – Executive Services
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Brittany Lutes
      Research Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Carlene McCubbin
      Practice Lead – CIO Practice
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Frank Sargent
      Senior Workshop Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Frank Sewell
      Advisory Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Ida Siahaan
      Research Director
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Steve Willis
      Practice Lead – Data Practice
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Bibliography

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      Anthony Kruizinga, “Reshaping the risk taxonomy”. PwC, April 2021, Accessed January 2023
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      Brenda Boultwood, “How to Design an ERM-Friendly Risk Data Architecture”. Global Association of Risk Professionals, February 2020, Accessed January 2023
      BSI Standards Publication, "Risk Management Guidelines", ISO 31000, 2018
      Dan Swinhoe, "What is Physical Security, How to keep your facilities and devices safe from onsite attackers", August 2021, Accessed January 2023
      Eloise Gratton, “Data governance and privacy risk in Canada: A checklist for boards and c-suite”. Borden Ladner Gervais, November 2022 , Accessed January 2023
      European Union Agency for Cyber Security Glossary
      European Banking Authority, "Guidelines on ICT Risk Assessment under the Supervisory Review and Evaluation process (SREP)", September 2017, Accessed February 2023
      European Banking Authority, "Regulatory Framework for Mitigating Key Resilient Risks", Sept 2018, Accessed February 2023
      EY, "Seeking stability within volatility: How interdependent risks put CROs at the heart of the banking business", 12th annual EY/IFF global bank risk management survey, 2022, Accessed February 2023
      Financial Stability Board, "Cyber Lexicon", November 2018, Accessed February 2023
      Financial Stability Board, "Principles for Effective Risk Appetite Framework", November 2013, Accessed January 2023
      Forbes Technology Council, "14 Top Data Security Risks Every Business Should Address", January 2020, Accessed January 2023
      Frank Martens, Dr. Larry Rittenberg, "COSO, Risk Appetite Critical for Success, Using Risk Appetite to Thrive in a Changing World", May 2020, Accessed January 2023
      Gary Stoneurmer, Alice Goguen and Alexis Feringa, "NIST, Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems", Special Publication, 800-30, September 2012, Accessed February 2023
      Guy Pearce, "Real-World Data Resilience Demands and Integrated Approach to AI, Data Governance and the Cloud", ISACA Journal, May 2022
      InfoTech Tech Trends Report, 2023
      ISACA, "Getting Started with Risk Scenarios", 2022, Accessed February 2023
      James Kaplan, "Creating a technology risk and cyber risk appetite framework," McKinsey & Company, August 2022, Accessed February 2023
      Jean-Gregorie Manoukian, Wolters Kluwer, "Risk appetite and risk tolerance: what’s the difference?", Sept 2016, Accessed February 2023
      Jennifer Bayuk, “Technology’s Role in Enterprise Risk Management”, ISACA Journal, March 2018, Accessed in February 2023
      John Thackeray, "Global Association of Risk Professionals, 7 Key Elements of Effective ERM", January 2020, Accessed January 2023
      KPMG, "Regulatory rigor: Managing technology and cyber risk, How FRFI’s can achieve outcomes laid out in OSFI B-13", October 2022, Accessed January 2023
      Marc Chiapolino et al, “Risk and resilience priorities, as told by chief risk officers”, McKinsey and Company, December 2022, Accessed January 2023
      Mike Rost, Workiva, "5 Steps to Effective Strategic Management", Updated February 2023. Accessed February 2023
      NIST, "Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organization, The System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy," December 2018, Accessed February 2023
      NIST, NISTIR, "Integrating CyberSecurity and Enterprise Risk", October 2020, Accessed February 2023
      Oliver Wyman, "The ORX Reference Taxonomy for operational and non-financial risk summary report", 2019, Accessed February 2023.
      Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, "Operational Resilience Consultation Results Summary", December 2021, Accessed January 2023
      Open Risk Manual, Risk Taxonomy Definitions
      Ponemon. "Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021." IBM, July 2021. Web.
      Protiviti, "Executive Perspectives on Top Risks, 2023 & 2032, Key Issues being discussed in the boardroom and c-suite", February 2023, Accessed February 2023
      RIMS, ISACA, "Bridging the Digital Gap, How Collaboration Between IT and Risk Management can Enhance Value Creation", September 2019, Accessed February 2023
      Robert, R. Moeller, "COSO, Enterprise Risk Management, Second Edition, 2011", Accessed February 2023
      Robert Putrus, "Effective Reporting to the BoD on Critical Assets, Cyberthreats and Key Controls: The Qualitative and Quantitative Model", ISACA Journal, January 2021, Accessed January 2023
      Ron Brash, "Prioritizing Asset Risk Management in ICS Security", August 2020, Accessed February 2023
      Ronald Van Loon, "What is Data Culture and How to Implement it?", November 2023, Accessed February 2023
      SAS, "From Crisis to Opportunity, Redefining Risk Management", 2021Accessed January 2023
      Satori, Cloudian, "Data Protection and Privacy: 12 Ways to Protect User Data", Accessed January 2023
      Spector Information Security, "Building your Asset and Risk Register to Manage Technology Risk", November 2021, Accessed January 2023
      Talend, "What is data culture", Accessed February 2023
      Tom Schneider, "Managing Cyber Security Risk as Enterprise Risk", ISACA Journal, September 2022, Accessed February 2023
      Tony Martin –Vegue, "How to Write Strong Risk Scenarios and Statements", ISACA Journal, September 2021, Accessed February 2023
      The Wall Street Journal, "Making Data Risk a Top Priority", April 2018, Accessed February 2023

      Demystify Blockchain: How Can It Bring Value to Your Organization?

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}96|cart{/j2store}
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      • Parent Category Name: Innovation
      • Parent Category Link: /innovation
      • Most leaders have an ambiguous understanding of blockchain and its benefits, let alone how it impacts their organization.
      • At the same time, with bitcoin drawing most of the media attention, organizations are finding it difficult to translate cryptocurrency usage to business case.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Cut through the hype associated with blockchain by focusing on what is relevant to your organization. You have been hearing about blockchain for some time now and want to better understand it. While it is complex, you can beat the learning curve by analyzing its key benefits and purpose. Features such as transparency, efficiency, and security differentiate blockchain from existing technologies and help explain why it has transformative potential.
      • Ensure your use case is actually useful by first determining whether blockchain aligns with your organization. CIOs must take a practical approach to blockchain in order to avoid wasting resources (both time and money) and hurting IT’s image in the eyes of the business. While is easy to get excited and invest in a new technology to help maintain your image as a thought leader, you must ensure that your use case is fully developed prior to doing so.

      Impact and Result

      • Follow Info-Tech’s methodology for simplifying an otherwise complex concept. By focusing on its benefits and how they directly relate to a use case, blockchain technology is made easy to understand for business and IT professionals.
      • Our program will help you understand if blockchain is the optimal solution for your organization by mapping its key benefits (i.e. transparency, integrity, efficiency, and security) to your needs and capabilities.
      • Leverage a repeatable framework for brainstorming blockchain use case ideas and communicate your findings to business stakeholders who may otherwise be confused about the transformative potential of blockchain.

      Demystify Blockchain: How Can It Bring Value to Your Organization? Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why your organization should care about determining whether blockchain aligns with your organization, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. What exactly is blockchain?

      Understand blockchain’s unique feature, benefits, and business use cases.

      • Demystify Blockchain – Phase 1: What Is Blockchain?
      • Blockchain Glossary

      2. What can blockchain do for your organization?

      Envision blockchain’s transformative potential for your organization by brainstorming and validating a use case.

      • Demystify Blockchain – Phase 2: What Can Blockchain Do for Your Organization?
      • Blockchain Alignment Tool
      • Blockchain Alignment Presentation
      [infographic]

      Streamline Application Maintenance

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}402|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.5/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: 20 Average Days Saved
      • member rating average days saved: After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve.
      • Parent Category Name: Maintenance
      • Parent Category Link: /maintenance
      • Application maintenance teams are accountable for the various requests and incidents coming from a variety business and technical sources. The sheer volume and variety of requests create unmanageable backlogs.
      • The increasing complexity and reliance on technology within the business has set unrealistic expectations on maintenance teams. Stakeholders expect teams to accommodate maintenance without impact on project schedules.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Improving maintenance’s focus and attention may mean doing less but more valuable work. Teams need to be realistic about what can be committed and be prepared to justify why certain requests have to be pushed down the backlog (e.g. lack of business value, high risks).
      • Maintenance must be treated like any other development activity. The same intake and prioritization practices and quality standards must be upheld, and best practices followed.

      Impact and Result

      • Justify the necessity of streamlined maintenance. Gain a grounded understanding of stakeholder objectives and concerns, and validate their achievability against the current state of the people, process, and technologies involved in application maintenance.
      • Strengthen triaging and prioritization practices. Obtain a holistic picture of the business and technical impacts, risks, and urgencies of each accepted maintenance requests in order to justify its prioritization and relevance within your backlog. Identify opportunities to bundle requests together or integrate them within project commitments to ensure completion.
      • Establish and govern a repeatable process. Develop a maintenance process with well-defined stage gates, quality controls, and roles and responsibilities, and instill development best practices to improve the success of delivery.

      Streamline Application Maintenance Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our Executive Brief to understand the common struggles found in application maintenance, their root causes, and the Info-Tech methodology to overcoming these hurdles.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Understand your maintenance priorities

      Understand the stakeholder priorities driving changes in your application maintenance practice.

      • Streamline Application Maintenance – Phase 1: Assess the Current Maintenance Landscape
      • Application Maintenance Operating Model Template
      • Application Maintenance Resource Capacity Assessment
      • Application Maintenance Maturity Assessment

      2. Instill maintenance governance

      Identify the appropriate level of governance and enforcement to ensure accountability and quality standards are upheld across maintenance practices.

      • Streamline Application Maintenance – Phase 2: Develop a Maintenance Release Schedule

      3. Enhance triaging and prioritization practices

      Build a maintenance triage and prioritization scheme that accommodates business and IT risks and urgencies.

      • Streamline Application Maintenance – Phase 3: Optimize Maintenance Capabilities

      4. Streamline maintenance delivery

      Define and enforce quality standards in maintenance activities and build a high degree of transparency to readily address delivery challenges.

      • Streamline Application Maintenance – Phase 4: Streamline Maintenance Delivery
      • Application Maintenance Business Case Presentation Document
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Streamline Application Maintenance

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Understand Your Maintenance Priorities

      The Purpose

      Understand the business and IT stakeholder priorities driving the success of your application maintenance practice.

      Understand any current issues that are affecting your maintenance practice.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Awareness of business and IT priorities.

      An understanding of the maturity of your maintenance practices and identification of issues to alleviate.

      Activities

      1.1 Define priorities for enhanced maintenance practices.

      1.2 Conduct a current state assessment of your application maintenance practices.

      Outputs

      List of business and technical priorities

      List of the root-cause issues, constraints, and opportunities of current maintenance practice

      2 Instill Maintenance Governance

      The Purpose

      Define the processes, roles, and points of communication across all maintenance activities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An in-depth understanding of all maintenance activities and what they require to function effectively.

      Activities

      2.1 Modify your maintenance process.

      2.2 Define your maintenance roles and responsibilities.

      Outputs

      Application maintenance process flow

      List of metrics to gauge success

      Maintenance roles and responsibilities

      Maintenance communication flow

      3 Enhance Triaging and Prioritization Practices

      The Purpose

      Understand in greater detail the process and people involved in receiving and triaging a request.

      Define your criteria for value, impact, and urgency, and understand how these fit into a prioritization scheme.

      Understand backlog management and release planning tactics to accommodate maintenance.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of the stakeholders needed to assess and approve requests.

      The criteria used to build a tailored prioritization scheme.

      Tactics for efficient use of resources and ideal timing of the delivery of changes.

      A process that ensures maintenance teams are always working on tasks that are valuable to the business.

      Activities

      3.1 Review your maintenance intake process.

      3.2 Define a request prioritization scheme.

      3.3 Create a set of practices to manage your backlog and release plans.

      Outputs

      Understanding of the maintenance request intake process

      Approach to assess the impact, urgency, and severity of requests for prioritization

      List of backlog management grooming and release planning practices

      4 Streamline Maintenance Delivery

      The Purpose

      Understand how to apply development best practices and quality standards to application maintenance.

      Learn the methods for monitoring and visualizing maintenance work.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of quality standards and the scenarios for where they apply.

      The tactics to monitor and visualize maintenance work.

      Streamlined maintenance delivery process with best practices.

      Activities

      4.1 Define approach to monitor maintenance work.

      4.2 Define application quality attributes.

      4.3 Discuss best practices to enhance maintenance development and deployment.

      Outputs

      Taskboard structure and rules

      Definition of application quality attributes with user scenarios

      List of best practices to streamline maintenance development and deployment

      5 Finalize Your Maintenance Practice

      The Purpose

      Create a target state built from appropriate metrics and attainable goals.

      Consider the required items and steps for the implementation of your optimization initiatives.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A realistic target state for your optimized application maintenance practice.

      A well-defined and structured roadmap for the implementation of your optimization initiatives.

      Activities

      5.1 Refine your target state maintenance practices.

      5.2 Develop a roadmap to achieve your target state.

      Outputs

      Finalized application maintenance process document

      Roadmap of initiatives to achieve your target state

      Take Advantage of Big Tech Layoffs

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      • Parent Category Name: Attract & Select
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      Tech layoffs have been making the news over the past year, with thousands of Big Tech employees having been laid off. After years of record low unemployment in IT, many leaders are looking to take advantage of these layoffs to fill their talent gaps.

      However, IT leaders need to determine their response – wait and see the impact of the recession on budgets and candidate expectations, or dive in and secure great talent to execute today on strategic needs. This research is designed to help those IT leaders who are looking to take advantage employee effective talents to secure talent.

      • With the impact of the economic slowdown still unknown, the first question IT leaders need to ask is whether now is the time to act.
      • Even with these layoffs, IT unemployment rates are at record lows, with many organizations continuing to struggle to attract talent. While these layoffs have opened a window, IT leaders need to act quickly to secure great talent.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      The “where has the talent gone?” puzzle has been solved. Many tech firms over-hired and were able to outcompete everyone, but it wasn’t sustainable. This correction won’t impact unemployment numbers in the short term – the job force is just in flux right now.

      Impact and Result

      This research is designed to help IT leaders understand the talent market and to provide winning tactics to those looking to take advantage of the layoffs to fill their hiring needs.

      Take Advantage of Big Tech Layoffs Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Take Advantage of Big Tech Layoffs Storyboard – A snapshot of the current talent market in IT and quick tactics IT leaders can employ to improve their hiring process to find and attract tech talent.

      Straightforward tactics you can execute to successfully recruit IT staff impacted by layoffs.

      • Take Advantage of Big Tech Layoffs Storyboard

      2. IT Talent Acquisition Optimization Tool – Use this tool to document the current and future talent acquisition process.

      To hire efficiently, create a clear, consistent talent acquisition process. The IT Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool will help to:

    • Map out the current talent acquisition workflow
    • Identify areas of opportunity and potential gaps in the current process

      • IT Talent Acquisition Optimization Tool
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Take Advantage of Big Tech Layoffs

      Simple tactics to secure the right talent in times of economic uncertainty.

      Why are the layoffs making the news?

      After three years of record low unemployment rates in IT and organizations struggling to hire IT talent into their organization, the window appears to be opening with tens of thousands layoffs from Big Tech employers.

      Big brand organizations such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Twitter, Netflix, and Meta have been hitting major newswires, but these layoffs aren't exclusive to the big names. We've also seen smaller high-growth tech organizations following suit. In fact, in 2022, it's estimated that there were more than 160,997 layoffs across over 1,045 tech organizations. This trend has continued into 2023. By mid-February 2023, there were already 108,754 employees laid off at 385 tech companies (Layoffs.fyi).(1)

      While some of these layoffs have been openly connected to economic slowdown, others are pointing to the layoffs being a correction for over-hiring during the pandemic. It is also important to note that many of these workers were not IT employees, as these organizations also saw cuts across other areas of the business such as sales, marketing, recruitment, and operations.

      (1)This global database is constantly being updated, and these numbers are changing on an ongoing basis. For up-to-date statistics, see https://layoffs.fyi

      While tech layoffs have been making the news, so far many of these layoffs have been a correction to over-hiring, with most employees laid off finding work, if they want it, within three months.

      IT leaders need to determine their response – wait and see the impact of the recession on budgets and candidate expectations or dive in and secure great talent to execute today on strategic needs.

      This research is designed to help IT leaders understand the talent market and provide winning strategies to those looking to take advantage of the layoffs to fill their hiring needs.

      Three key drivers for Big Tech layoffs

      Economic uncertainty

      Globally, economists are predicting an economic slowdown, though there is not a consistent prediction on the impact. We have seen an increase in interest rates and inflation, as well as reduced investment budgets.

      Over-hiring during the pandemic

      High growth and demand for digital technologies and services during the early pandemic led to over-hiring in the tech industry. Many organizations overestimated the future demand and had to rebalance staffing as a result.

      New automation investments

      Many tech organizations that have conducted layoffs are still in a growth mindset. This is demonstrated though new tech investments by these companies in products like chatbots and RPA to semi-automate processes to reduce the need for certain roles.

      Despite layoffs, the labor market remains competitive

      There were at least 160,997 layoffs from more than 1,045 tech companies last year (2022). (Layoffs.fyi reported as of Feb 21/2023)

      But just because Big Tech is laying people off doesn't mean the IT job market has cooled.

      Between January and October 2022 technology- focused job postings rose 25% compared to the same period in 2021, and there were more than 375,000 tech jobs posted in October of 2022.
      (Dice: Tech Jobs Report.)

      Info-Tech Insight

      The "where has the talent gone?" puzzle has been solved. Many tech firms over-hired and were able to outcompete everyone, but it wasn't sustainable. This correction won't impact unemployment numbers in the short term – the job force is just in flux right now.

      So far, many of the layoffs have been a market correction

      Tech Layoffs Since COVID-19

      This is an image of a combo line graph plotting the number of tech layoffs from Q1 2020 to Q4 2022.

      Source: Layoffs.fyi - Tech Layoff Tracker and Startup Layoff Lists

      Tech Companies Layoffs vs. Early Pandemic Hiring # of People

      This is an image of a bar graph plotting Tech Companies Layoffs vs. Early Pandemic Hiring # of People

      Source: Yahoo Finance. Q4 '19 to Q3 '22

      Tech Layoffs between 2020 Q3- 2022 Q1 remained very low across the sector. In fact, outside of the initial increase at the start of the pandemic, layoffs have remained at historic low levels of around 1% (HBR, 2023). While the layoffs look significant in isolation, when you compare these numbers to pandemic hiring and growth for these organizations, the figures are relatively small.

      The first question IT leaders need to ask is whether now is the time to act

      The big gamble many CIOs face is whether to strike now to secure talent or to wait to better understand the impact of the recession. While two-thirds of IT professionals are still expecting their budgets to increase in 2023, CIOs must account for the impact of inflation and the recession on their IT budgets and staffing decisions (see Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program).

      Ultimately, while unemployment is low today, it's common to see unemployment numbers drop right before a recession. If that is the case, then we will see more talent entering the market, possibly at more competitive salaries. But organizations that wait to hire risk not having the staff they need to execute on their strategy and finding themselves in a hiring freeze. CIOs need to decide on how to approach the economic uncertainty and where to place their bets.

      Looking ahead to 2023, how do you anticipate your IT spending will change compared to spending in 2022?

      This is an image of anticipated changes to IT spending compared to 2022 for the following categories: Decrease of more than 30%; Decrease between 16-30%; Decrease between 6-15%; Decrease between 1-5%; No Change; Increase between 1-5%; Increase between 6-15%; Increase between 16-30%; Increase of more than 30%

      Info-Tech's CEO-CIO Alignment Program

      Organizations ready to take advantage will need to act fast when layoffs happen

      Organizations looking to fill hiring needs or grow their IT/digital organization will need to be strategic and efficient when it comes to recruitment. Regardless of the number of layoffs, it continues to be an employee market when it comes to IT roles.

      While it is likely that the recession will impact unemployment rates, so far, the market remains hot, and the number of open roles continues to grow. This means that organizations that want to take advantage need to act quickly when news hits.

      Leaders not only need to compete with other organizations for talent, but the other challenge hiring organizations will need to compete with is that many in tech received generous severance packages and will be considering taking time off. To take advantage, leaders need to establish a plan and a clear employee value proposition to entice these highly skilled workers to get off the bench.

      Why you need to act fast:

      • Unemployment rates remain low:
        • Tech unemployment's rates in the US dropped to 1.5% in January 2023 (CompTIA), compared to overall unemployment which is at 3.4% in the US as of January 2023 (Yahoo Finance). While the layoffs look significant, we can see that many workers have been rehired into the labor market.
      • Long time-to-hire results in lost candidates:
        • According to Info-Tech's IT Talent Trend Report, 58% of IT leaders report time-to-hire is longer than two months. This timing increases for tech roles which require unique skills or higher seniority. IT leaders who can increase the timeline for their requirement process are much more likely to be able to take advantage of tech layoffs.

      IT must take a leading role in IT recruitment to take advantage of layoffs

      A personal connection is the differentiator when it comes to talent acquisition

      There is a statistically significant relationship between IT leadership involvement in talent acquisition and the effectiveness of this process in the IT department. The more involved they are, the higher the effectiveness.(1)

      More IT leadership involvement

      		 An image of two upward facing arrows. The left arrow is faded purple, and the right arrow is dark purple.

      Higher recruitment effectiveness

      Involved leaders see shorter times to hire

      There is a statistically significant relationship between IT leadership involvement in the talent acquisition process and time to fill vacant positions. The more involved they are, the shorter the time to hire.(2)

      Involved leaders are an integral part of effective IT departments

      There is a statistically significant relationship between IT leadership involvement in talent acquisition and overall IT department effectiveness. Those that are more involved have higher levels of effectiveness.(3)

      Increased IT Leadership in Recruitment Is Directly Correlated to Recruitment Effectiveness.

      This is an image of a combo bar graph plotting Overall Effectiveness for IT leadership involvement in recruitment.

      Focus your layoff recruitment strategy on critical and strategic roles

      If you are ready to take advantage of tech layoffs, focus hiring on critical and strategic roles, rather than your operational backfills. Roles related to security, cloud migration, data and analytics, and digital transformation are more likely to be shielded from budget cuts and are logical areas to focus on when looking to recruit from Big Tech organizations.

      Additionally, within the IT talent market, scarcity is focused in areas with specialized skill sets, such as security and architecture, which are dynamic and evolving faster than other skill sets. When looking to recruit in these areas, it's critical that you have a targeted recruitment approach; this is why tech layoffs represent a strong opportunity to secure talent in these specialized areas.

      ROLES DIFFICULT TO FILL

      An image of a bar graph plotting roles by difficulty to fill.

      Info-Tech Talent Trends 2022 Survey

      Four quick tactics to take advantage of Big Tech layoffs

      TALENT ACQUISITION PROCESS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LAYOFFS

      This is an image of the talent acquisition process to take advantage of layoffs. It involves the following four steps: 1 Prepare organization and job ads for recruitment. 2 Actively track and scan for layoff activity. 3 Prioritize and screen candidates using salary benchmarks and keywords. 4 Eliminate all unnecessary hiring process steps.

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

      Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

      Call #2: IT job ad review.

      Call #4: Identify screening and sourcing opportunities.

      Call #5: Review your IT talent acquisition process.

      Call #3: Employee value proposition review.

      Call #7: Refine your talent acquisition process.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

      Tactics to take advantage of tech layoffs

      Activities

      1.1 Spot check your employee value proposition
      1.2 Update job advertisements
      1.3 Document your talent acquisition process
      1.4 Refine your talent acquisition process

      This step involves the following participants:

      • IT executive leadership
      • IT hiring manager
      • Human resources
      • Marketing/public relations

      Outcomes of this step

      Streamlined talent acquisition process tailored to take advantage of tech layoffs.

      This is an image of the talent acquisition process to take advantage of layoffs. It involves the following fo steps: 1 Prepare organization and job ads for recrtment. 2 Actively track and scan for layoff aivity. 3 Prioritize and screen candidates using salary benchmarks and kwords. 4 Eliminate all unnecessary hiring process steps.

      Requisition: update job ads and secure approval to hire

      Critical steps:

      1. Ensure you have secured budget and hiring approval.
      2. Identify an IT recruitment partner within the IT organization who will be accountable for working with HR throughout the process and who will actively track and scan for recruitment opportunities.
      3. Update your IT job descriptions.
      4. Spot check your employee value proposition (EVP) to appeal to targeted candidates (Exercise 1.1).
      5. Write employee job ads for relevant skills and minimum viable experience (Exercise 1.2).
      6. Work with HR to develop your candidate outreach messages – ensure that your outreach is empathetic, aligns with your EVP, and focuses on welcoming them to apply to a role.

      The approval process to activate a requisition can be one of the longest stages in the talent acquisition process. Ensure all your roles are up to date and approved so you can trigger outreach as soon as news hits; otherwise, you'll be late before you've even begun.

      Your employee value proposition (EVP) is a key tool for attracting and retaining talent

      Any updates to your EVP need to be a genuine reflection of the employee experience at your organization – and should resonate internally and externally.

      Internal (retention) perspective: These characteristics help to retain new and existing talent by ensuring that new hires' expectations are met and that the EVP is experienced throughout the organization.

      External (attraction) perspective: These characteristics help to attract talent and are targeted so the right candidates are motivated to join, while those who aren't a good fit will self-select out.

      McLean & Company's Employee Value Proposition Framework

      This is an image of McLean & Company's Employee Value Proposition Framework. It is divided into Retain and Attract. under Retain, are the following three headings: Aligned; Accurate; Aspirational. Under Attract are: Compelling; Clear; Comprehensive.

      Source: McLean & Company

      1.1 Spot check your EVP

      1-3 hours

      1. Review your existing IT employee value proposition. If you do not have an EVP, see Info-Tech's comprehensive research Improve the IT Recruitment Process to draft a new EVP.
      2. Invite a representative group of employees to participate in a working group to improve your employee value proposition. Ask each participant to brainstorm the top five things they value most about working at the organization.
      3. Consider the following categories: work environment, career advancement, benefits, and ESG and diversity impact. Brainstorm as a group if there is anything unique your organization offers with regard to these categories.
      4. Compare your notes to your existing EVP, identify up to four key statements to focus on for the EVP, ensuring that your EVP speaks to at least one of the categories above. Remove any statements that no longer speak to who you are as an organization or what you offer.

      Input

      • Existing employee value proposition
      • Employee Engagement Surveys (If Available)

      Output

      • Updated employee value proposition

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Job ad template

      Participants

      • Representative group of internal employees.
      • HR
      • Marketing/PR (if possible)

      Four critical factors considered by today's job seeker

      1. Be specific about remote work policies: Include verbiage about whether there is an option to work hybrid or remote. 81% of job seekers stated that whether a job is remote, hybrid, or in-person was a top factor in whether they'd accept an offer (Benefits Canada, 2022).
      2. Career advancement and stability: "37% of Gen Z employees and 25% of millennial employees are currently looking for a job that offers career progression transparency — or, in other words, a job with clear opportunities for growth. This is significantly higher than our findings for older generations Gen X (18%) and baby boomers (7%)," (Lattice, 2021).
      3. Unique benefits: Consider your unique benefits – it's not the Big Tech "fun perks" like slides and ping pong that drive interest. Employees are increasingly looking for roles with long-term benefits programs. 90% of job seekers consider higher pension contributions to be a key factor, and 85% are considering bonuses/profit sharing" (Benefits Canada, 2022). Candidates may accept lower total compensation in exchange for flexibility, culture, work/life balance that was lacking in the start-up scene or the mega-vendors' fast-paced world.
      4. ESG and diversity impact: Include details of how the candidate will make a societal impact through their role, and how the company is acting on climate and sustainability. "Nearly two in five [Gen Z's and millennials] say they have rejected a job or assignment because it did not align with their values," (Deloitte Global, 2022).

      Update or establish job ads for candidate outreach

      Take the time up front to update your IT job descriptions and to write effective job advertisements. A job advertisement is an external-facing document that advertises a position with the intent of attracting job applicants. It contains key elements from the job description as well as information on the organization and its EVP. A job description informs a job ad, it doesn't replace it.
      When updating job descriptions and job ads, it's critical that your requirements are an accurate representation of what you need in the position. For the job ads especially, focus on the minimum requirements for the role, highlight your employee value proposition, and ensure that they are using inclusive language.
      Don't be lulled into using a job description as a posting when there's a time crunch to fill a position – use your preparation time to complete this key step.

      Three tips to consider when building a job ad

      Include the minimum desired requirements

      Include the required skills, responsibilities, and certifications required. Instead of looking for a unicorn, look for what you need and a demonstrated ability to learn. 70% of business executives say they are getting creative about sourcing for skills rather than just considering job experience (Deloitte Insights, 2022).

      Strategically include certifications

      When including certifications, ensure you have validated the process to be certified – i.e. if you are hiring for a role with 3-5 years' experience, ensure that the certification does not take 5-10 years of experience be eligible.

      Use inclusive language

      Consider having a review group within your IT organization to ensure the language is inclusive, that the responsibilities don't read as overly complex, and that it is an accurate representation of the organization's culture.

      1.2 Update or build job ads

      1-3 hours

      1. Begin with a copy of the job ad you are looking to fill, if you haven't begun to draft the role, start with Info-Tech's Job Description Library and Info-Tech's Job Ad Template.
      2. Review the job accountabilities, rank each responsibility based on its importance and volume of work. Determine if there are any responsibilities that are uncommon to be executed by the role and remove unnecessary responsibilities.
      3. For each of the job accountabilities, identify if there is a level of experience, knowledge or competency that would be the minimum bar for a candidate. Remove technical skills, specific technologies, and competencies that aren't directly relevant to the role, responsibilities or values.
      4. Review the education and requirements, and ensure that any certification or educational background is truly needed or suggested.
      5. Use the checklist on the following tab to review and update your job ad.

      Input

      • Job description
      • Employee value proposition
      • Job ad template

      Output

      • Completed job ad

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Web share

      Participants

      • Representative group of internal employees.
      • HR
      • Marketing/PR (if possible)

      1.2 Job ad checklist:

      A job ad needs to be two things: effective and inclusive.

      Effective

      The job ad does include:
      The organization's logo.
      Description of the organization.
      Information about benefits.
      A link to the organization's website and social media platforms.
      Steps in the application process and what candidates can expect.

      The job ad:
      Paints an accurate picture of key aspects of the role.
      Tells a story to show potential candidates how the role and organization will fit into their career path (outlines potential career paths, growth opportunities, training, etc.).
      Does not contain too many details and tasks that would overwhelm applicants.
      Highlights the employer brand in a manner that conveys the EVP and markets the organization to attract potential applicants.
      Includes creative design or formatting to make the ad stand out.
      The job ad speaks to the audience by using targeted language (e.g. using creative language when recruiting for a creative role).
      The job ad has been reviewed by HR, Marketing, PR.

      Inclusive

      The job ad does NOT include:

      Industry jargon or abbreviations that are not spelled out.
      Personality characteristics and unnecessary adjectives that would deter qualified candidates (e.g. extroverted, aggressive, competitive).
      A list of specific academic disciplines or schools, GPA requirements, or inflated degree requirements.

      The job ad:

      Uses gender-neutral language and does not contain terms that indicate traits that are typically associated with a specific gender.
      Can be viewed and applications can be completed on mobile devices.
      Focuses on results, day-to-day requirements, competencies, and transferrable skills.
      Includes design that is accessible (e.g. alternative text is provided for images, clear posting structure with headings, color is not used to convey information).

      Sourcing: Set up news trackers and review layoff source lists

      • Set up news and social media trackers to track layoff updates, and ensure you have an IT staff member on standby to complete a more detailed opportunity analysis when layoffs happen.
      • Use layoff source lists such as Layoffs.fyi to actively track organizations that have laid people off, noting the industry, location, and numbers in order to identify potential candidates. Limit your future analysis to locations that would be geographically possible to hire from.
      • Review open-source lists of laid-off employees to quickly identify potential candidates for your organization.
      • Many organizations that have completed layoffs have established outplacement programs to help laid-off staff find new roles. Set a plan in motion with HR to reach out to organizations once a layoff has occurred to understand their layoff support program.

      The key to successful sourcing is for IT to take an active role in identifying which organizations impacted by layoffs would be a good fit, and to quickly respond by searching open-source lists and LinkedIn to reach out potential candidates.

      Consider leveraging open-source lists

      Layoffs.fyi has been tracking and reporting on layoffs since the start of COVID-19. While they are not an official source of information, the site has more than a million views per month and is a strong starting point for IT leaders looking to source candidates from tech layoffs beyond the big organizations that are making the news.

      The site offers a view of companies with layoffs by location, industry, and the source of the info. Additionally, it often lists the names and contact information of laid-off employees, which you can leverage to start your deeper LinkedIn outreach or candidate screening.

      This is an image of two screenshots of open source lists from Layoffs.fyi

      Screenshots from Layoffs.fyi.

      Screening: Prioritize by considering salary benchmarks and keywords

      • Determine a set of consistent pre-screening questions to leverage while screening candidates, which every candidate must answer, including knockout questions.
      • Prioritize by going for salary ranges you can afford: It is important to be aware of what companies are paying within the tech arena, so you know if your salary bands are within a competitive range.
      • Pre-screen resumes using appropriate keywords that are critical for the role, and widen the terms if you do not have enough candidates. Given the pool you are looking to recruit from, consider removing criteria specifically related to education or certifications; instead, prioritize skills and on-the-job experience.

      Screening is one of the most time-consuming stages of the TA process. For each open position, it can take 23 hours to screen resumes (Toolbox, 2021). In fact, 52% of TA leaders believe that screening candidates from a large pool of applicants is the hardest part of recruitment (Ideal, 2021).

      Compensation comparison reports

      Keep in mind that the market may be shifting rapidly as layoffs proliferate, so what the data shows, particularly on free-to-use sites with little data-checking, may not be current and may be overstated. Info-Tech does not provide salary analysis; however, there are publicly available reports and online websites with self-reported data.

      This list contains several market data sources for the tech industry, which may be a good starting point for comparison. Info-Tech is not affiliated with or endorsing any of these market data sources.

      Aon Global Cyber Security Compensation and Talent Survey
      Aon – Radford Surveys Radford Global Technology Survey
      Culpepper Comprehensive Compensation Survey Solution for Technology-Focused Companies
      Modis 2022 IT Compensation Guide
      Motion Recruitment 2023 Tech Salary Guide
      Mondo 2022 Salary Guide for roles & jobs across the technology, creative & digital marketing industries.
      Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson Data Services - Artificial Intelligence and Digital Talent
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Artificial Intelligence and Digital Talent Survey Report - Canada
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Artificial Intelligence and Digital Talent Survey Report - U.S.
      Michael Page Salary Guide 2022 for the Greater Toronto Area Technology Industry
      Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson Data Services - Tech, Media, and Gaming
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Tech, Media and Gaming Executive Survey Report - Canada
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Tech, Media and Gaming Middle Management, Professional and Support Survey Report - Canada
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Tech, Media and Gaming Executive Survey Report - U.S.
      Willis Towers Watson 2022 Tech, Media and Gaming Middle Management, Professional and Support Survey Report - U.S.

      Work with your HR partner to streamline your talent acquisition process

      A slow talent acquisition process presents multiple risks to your ability to recruit. Candidates are likely having multiple hiring conversations, and you could lose a good candidate just by being slower than another organization. Additionally, long hiring processes are also an indicator of a high level of bureaucracy in an organization, which may turn off tech candidates who are used to faster-paced decision making.

      Reducing your time-to-hire needs to be a strategic priority, and companies that manage to do this are reaping the benefits: There is a statistically significant relationship between time to fill vacant positions and overall IT department effectiveness. The shorter the time to fill a position, the higher the effectiveness (Bika, 2019).

      Key Considerations for Optimizing your Talent Acquisition Process

      Key Considerations for Optimizing your Talent Acquisition Process

      Review the end-to-end experience

      50%

      of job seekers surveyed had "declined a job offer due to poor [candidate] experience," (Echevarria, 2020).

      Reduce the time to hire

      55%

      "of candidates believe that it should take one to two weeks from the first interview to being offered the job," (Duszyński, 2021).

      Be clear on Timelines

      83%

      "of candidates say it would greatly improve the overall experience if employers provided a clear timeline of the hiring process," (Miller, n.d.).

      Time to hire: Identify solutions to drive efficient hiring

      1. Document all steps between screening and hiring and remove any unnecessary steps.
      2. Create clearly defined interview guides to ensure consistent questioning by interviewers.
      3. Enable hiring managers to schedule their own interviews.
      4. Determine who needs to approve an offer. Streamline the number of approvals, if possible.
      5. Eliminate unnecessary background checks. Many companies have eliminated reference checks, for example, after determining that it was it was not adding value to their decision.
      6. Identify and track key metrics across your talent acquisition process.

      It is critical to partner with your HR department on optimizing this process, as they are typically the process owners and will have deep knowledge of the rationale for decisions. Together, you can identify some opportunities to streamline the process and improve the time to hire.

      4.1 Document your TA process

      1-3 hours

      1. If you have a documented talent acquisition process, begin with that; if not, open the IT Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool and map the stages of the talent acquisition process with your HR leader. Stages are the top level in the process (e.g. requisition, sourcing, screening).
      2. Identify all the stakeholders involved in IT talent acquisition and document these in the tool.
      3. Next, identify the steps required for each stage. These are more detailed actions that together will complete the stage (e.g. enter requisition into ATS, intake meeting). Ask subject matter experts to add steps to their portion of the process and document these in the cells.
      4. For each step in the stage, record the time required and the number of people who are involved.

      Input

      • Existing talent acquisition (TA) process document
      • Any TA process metrics
      • Info-Tech's Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool

      Output

      • Documented TA process

      Materials

      • Info-Tech's Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Sticky notes

      Participants

      • HR
      • IT leaders
      • Hiring manager

      Download the IT Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool

      Example of steps in each stage of the TA process

      Activities

      Requisition

      Source

      Screen

      Interview & Assess

      Offer

      Background Check

      Vacancy identified Posted on website Resumes screened in system Interviews scheduled Offer letter drafted Reference checks conducted
      Requisition submitted Posted on job boards Resume screened by recruited First round interviews Offer letter sent Medical checks conducted
      Requisition approved Identification of layoff sources Resumed reviewed by hiring manager Assessment Negotiations Other background checks conducted
      Job description updated Review layoff source lists Screening calls Second round interview First date confirmed
      Job ad updated Screening questions developed Candidates selected
      Intake meeting

      4.2 Refine your TA process

      1-3 hours

      1. Collectively identify any:
        1. Inconsistent applications: Activities that are done differently by different participants.
        2. Bottlenecks: A place in the process where activity is constrained and holds up next steps.
        3. Errors: When a mistake occurs requiring extra time, resources, or rework.
        4. Lack of value: An activity that adds little to no value (often a legacy activity).
      2. Work with HR to identify any proposed solutions to improve consistency, reduce bottlenecks, errors, or eliminate steps that lack value. Document your proposed solutions in tab 3 of the IT Talent Acquisition Optimization Tool.
      3. Identify any new steps needed that would drive greater efficiency, including the tactics suggested in this research. Document any proposed solutions in tab 3.
      4. For each proposed solution, evaluate the general level of effort and impact required to move forward with that solution and select the appropriate classification from the drop-down.
      5. Determine if you will move forward with the proposed solution at this time. Update the TA workflow with your decisions.

      Input

      • Existing talent acquisition (TA) process document
      • Any TA process metrics
      • Info-Tech's Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool

      Output

      • Documented TA process

      Materials

      • Info-Tech's Talent Acquisition Process Optimization Tool
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Sticky notes

      Participants

      • HR
      • IT leaders
      • Hiring manager

      Use Info-Tech's IT Talent Acquisition Optimization Tool to document current challenges & target solutions.

      Map your process and identify opportunities to streamline

      This is an image of the talent aquisitions workflow page from Info-Tech's Map your process and identify opportunities to streamline

      Brainstorm and select solutions to improve your process

      This is an image of the Effort Analysis page from Info-Tech's Brainstorm and select solutions to improve your process

      Key considerations when optimizing your process

      • Put yourself in each stakeholder's shoes (candidate, HR, hiring manager). Think through what they need from the process.
      • Challenge assumptions and norms. It can be tempting to get caught up in "how we do it today." Think beyond how it is today.
      • Question timing of activities and events. Identify if they are occurring when they need to.
      • Rebalance work to align with priorities. Identify if work can be redistributed or condensed to use time more efficiently.
      • Distinguish when consistency will add value and when there should be process flexibility.
      • Question the value. For each activity, ask "What value does this activity add?"

      Select metrics to measure Talent Acquisition process improvement

      METRICS INFORMATION
      Metric Definition Calculation
      Average applicants per posting The average number of applicants received per post. Number of applications / Number of postings
      Average number of interviews for open job positions Average number of interviews for open job positions. Total number of interviews / Total number of open job positions
      Average external time to fill Average number of calendar days from when the requisition is issued to when a candidate accepts the position from outside the organization. External days to fill / External candidates
      Pipeline throughput Percentage of candidates advancing through to the next stage. (Number of candidates in chosen stage / Number of candidates in preceding stage) * 100
      External offer acceptance rate Percentage of job offers extended to external candidates that were accepted. (Number of job offers that are accepted / Number of job offers extended) * 100
      Percentage of target group hired The percentage of a target group that was hired. Number of FTE hired / Target number of FTE to be hired
      Average time to hire Average number of calendar days between first contact with the candidate and when they accept the offer. Sum of number of days between first contact and offer acceptance / External candidates
      Quality of hire Percentage of new hires achieving a satisfactory appraisal at their first assessment. New hires who achieve a satisfactory rating at their first appraisal / Total number of new hires
      Vacancy rate Percentage of positions being actively recruited for at the end of the reporting period. Count of vacant positions / (Headcount + Vacant positions)

      Bibliography

      "81% of Employees Factoring Hybrid Work Into Job Search: Survey." BenefitsCanada.com, 16 June 2022.
      Andre, Louie. "40 Notable Candidate Experience Statistics: 2023 Job Application Trends & Challenges." Financesonline.Com, 15 Mar. 2023.
      Bika, Nikoletta. "Key Hiring Metrics: Useful Benchmarks for Tech Roles." Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better, 10 Jan. 2019.
      "Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Market Revisions Contribute to Conflicting Signals in Latest Tech Employment Data, CompTIA Analysis Finds." CompTIA, 3 Feb. 2023. Press release.
      Byrnes, Amy. "ICIMS Insights Workforce Report: Time to Press the Reset Button?" ICIMS | The Leading Cloud Recruiting Software, 1 Dec. 2022.
      Cantrell, Sue, et al. "The Skills-Based Organization: A New Operating Model for Work and the Workforce." Deloitte Insights, 8 Sept. 2022.
      deBara, Deanna. "Top Findings from Lattice's Career Progression Survey." Lattice, 13 Sept. 2021. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
      Duszyński, Maciej. "Candidate Experience Statistics (Survey of 1,000+ Americans)." Zety, 14 Oct. 2019.
      Duszyński, Maciej. "Candidate Experience Statistics." Zety, 2021.
      Echevarria, Desiree. "2020 Candidate Experience Report." Career Plug, 17 Mar. 2021.
      Ghosh, Prarthana. "Candidate Screening and Selection Process: The Complete Guide for 2021." Spiceworks, 26 Feb. 2021. Accessed 22 Jun. 2021
      "Introduction - Dice Tech Job Report: Tech Hiring Trends by Location, Industry, Role and Skill." Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
      Lee, Roger. "Tech Layoff Tracker and Startup Layoff Lists." Layoffs.fyi. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
      Miller, Kandace. "Candidate Experience And Engagement Metrics You Should Be Tracking." ConveyIQ, n.d. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
      Min, Ji-A. "Resume Screening: A How-To Guide for Recruiters." Ideal, 15 Mar. 2021. Web.
      Palmeri, Shelby. "2023 Candidate Experience Research: Strategies for Recruiting." CareerPlug, 6 Feb. 2023.
      Semenova, Alexandra. "Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Adds 517,000 Jobs in January, Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.4% as Labor Market Stuns." Yahoo!Finance, 3 Feb. 2023.
      Sozzi, Brian. "Big Tech Layoffs: What Companies Such as Amazon and Meta Have in Common." Yahoo!News, 6 Feb. 2023.
      Tarki, Atta. "Despite Layoffs, It's Still a Workers' Labor Market." Harvard Business Review, 30 Jan. 2023.
      The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. Deloitte Global, 2022. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
      "Uncover the Employee Value Proposition." McLean & Company, 21 Jun. 2022. Accessed 22 Feb. 2023.

      GDPR, Implemented!

      GDPR, Are You really ready?

      It is now 2020 and the GDPR has been in effect for almost 2 years. Many companies thought: been there, done that. And for a while the regulators let some time go by.

      The first warnings appeared quickly enough. Eg; in September 2018, the French regulator warned a company that they needed to get consent of their customers for getting geolocation based data.

      That same month, an airline was hacked and, on top of the reputational damage and costs to fix the IT systems, it faced the threat of a stiff fine.

      Even though we not have really noticed, fines started being imposed as early as January 2019.

      But these fines, that is when you have material breaches...

      Wrong! The fines are levied in a number of cases. And to make it difficult to estimate, there are guidelines that will shape the decision making process, but no hard and fast rules!

      The GDPR is very complex and consists of both articles and associated recitals that you need to be in compliance with. it is amuch about the letter as it is about the spirit.

      We have a clear view on what most of those cases are.
      And more importantly, when you follow our guidelines, you will be well placed to answer any questions by your clients and cooperate with the regulator in a proactive way.

      They will never come after me. I'm too small.

      And besides, I have my privacy policy and cookie notice in place

      Company size has nothing to do with it.

      While in the beginning, it seemed mostly a game for the big players (for names, you have to contact us) that is just perception.

      As early as March 2018 a €10M revenue company was fined around €120,000. 2 days later another company with operating revenues of  around €6.2M was fined close to €200.000 for failing to abide by the DSRR stipulatons.

      Don't know what these are?
      Fill out the form below and we'll let you in on the good stuff.

       

      Continue reading

      Grow Your Own PPM Solution

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}436|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.6/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $47,944 Average $ Saved
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      • Parent Category Name: Portfolio Management
      • Parent Category Link: /portfolio-management
      • As portfolio manager, you’re responsible for supporting the intake of new project requests, providing visibility into the portfolio of in-flight projects, and helping to facilitate the right approval and prioritization decisions.
      • You need a project portfolio management (PPM) tool that promotes the maintenance and flow of good data to help you succeed in these tasks. However, while throwing expensive technology at bad process rarely works, many organizations take this approach to solve their PPM problems.
      • Commercial PPM solutions are powerful and compelling, but they are also expensive, complex, and hard to use. When a solution is not properly adopted, the data can be unreliable and inconsistent, defeating the point of purchasing a tool in the first place.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Your choice of PPM solution must be in tune with your organizational PPM maturity to ensure that you are prepared to sustain the tool use without having the corresponding PPM processes collapse under its own weight.
      • A spreadsheet-based homegrown PPM solution can provide key capabilities of an optimized PPM solution with a high level of sophistication and complexity without the prohibitive capital and labor costs demanded by commercial PPM solution.
      • Focus on your PPM decision makers that will consume the reports and insights by investigating their specific reporting needs.

      Impact and Result

      • Think outside the commercial box. Develop an affordable, adoptable, and effective PPM solution using widely available tools based on Info-Tech’s ready-to-deploy templates.
      • Make your solution sustainable. When it comes to portfolio management, high level is better. A tool that is accurate and maintainable will provide more value than one that strives for precise data yet is ultimately unmaintainable.
      • Report success. A PPM tool needs to foster portfolio visibility in order to engage and inform the executive layer and support effective decision making.

      Grow Your Own PPM Solution Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should grow your own PPM solution, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Right-size your PPM solution

      Scope an affordable, adoptable, and effective PPM solution with Info-Tech's Portfolio Manager 2017 workbook.

      • Grow Your Own PPM Solution – Phase 1: Right-Size Your PPM Solution
      • Portfolio Manager 2017 Cost-in-Use Estimation Tool
      • None

      2. Get to know Portfolio Manager 2017

      Learn how to use Info-Tech's Portfolio Manager 2017 workbook and create powerful reports.

      • Grow Your Own PPM Solution – Phase 2: Meet Portfolio Manager 2017
      • Portfolio Manager 2017
      • Portfolio Manager 2017 (with Actuals)
      • None
      • None
      • None

      3. Implement your homegrown PPM solution

      Plan and implement an affordable, adoptable, and effective PPM solution with Info-Tech's Portfolio Manager 2017 workbook.

      • Grow Your Own PPM Solution – Phase 3: Implement Your PPM Solution
      • Portfolio Manager 2017 Operating Manual
      • Stakeholder Engagement Workbook
      • Portfolio Manager Debut Presentation for Portfolio Owners
      • Portfolio Manager Debut Presentation for Data Suppliers

      4. Outgrow your own PPM solution

      Develop an exit strategy from your home-grown solution to a commercial PPM toolset. In this video, we show a rapid transition from the Excel dataset shown on this page to a commercial solution from Meisterplan. Christoph Hirnle of Meisterplan is interviewed starting at 9 minutes.

      • None
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Grow Your Own PPM Solution

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Scope a Homegrown PPM Solution for Your Organization

      The Purpose

      Assess the current state of project portfolio management capability at your organization. The activities in this module will inform the next modules by exploring your organization’s current strengths and weaknesses and identifying areas that require improvement.

      Set up the workbook to generate a fully functional project portfolio workbook that will give you a high-level view into your portfolio.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A high-level review of your current project portfolio capability is used to decide whether a homegrown PPM solution is an appropriate choice

      Cost-benefit analysis is done to build a business case for supporting this choice

      Activities

      1.1 Review existing PPM strategy and processes.

      1.2 Perform a cost-benefit analysis.

      Outputs

      Confirmation of homegrown PPM solution as the right choice

      Expected benefits for the PPM solution

      2 Get to Know Portfolio Manager 2017

      The Purpose

      Define a list of requirements for your PPM solution that meets the needs of all stakeholders.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A fully customized PPM solution in your chosen platform

      Activities

      2.1 Introduction to Info-Tech's Portfolio Manager 2017: inputs, outputs, and the data model.

      2.2 Gather requirements for enhancements and customizations.

      Outputs

      Trained project/resource managers on the homegrown solution

      A wish list of enhancements and customizations

      3 Implement Your Homegrown PPM Solution

      The Purpose

      Determine an action plan regarding next steps for implementation.

      Implement your homegrown PPM solution. The activities outlined in this step will help to promote adoption of the tool throughout your organization.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A set of processes to integrate the new homegrown PPM solution into existing PPM activities

      Plans for piloting the new processes, process improvement, and stakeholder communication

      Activities

      3.1 Plan to integrate your new solution into your PPM processes.

      3.2 Plan to pilot the new processes.

      3.3 Manage stakeholder communications.

      Outputs

      Portfolio Manager 2017 operating manual, which documents how Portfolio Manager 2017 is used to augment the PPM processes

      Plan for a pilot run and post-pilot evaluation for a wider rollout

      Communication plan for impacted PPM stakeholders

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}585|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.4/10 Overall Impact
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      • Parent Category Name: Enterprise Resource Planning
      • Parent Category Link: /enterprise-resource-planning
      • Organizations often do not know where to start with an ERP project.
      • They focus on tactically selecting and implementing the technology.
      • ERP projects are routinely reported as going over budget, over schedule, and they fail to realize any benefits.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • An ERP strategy is an ongoing communication tool for the business.
      • Accountability for ERP success is shared between IT and the business.
      • An actionable roadmap provides a clear path to benefits realization.

      Impact and Result

      • Align the ERP strategy and roadmap with business priorities, securing buy-in from the business for the program.
      • Identification of gaps, needs, and opportunities in relation to business processes; ensuring the most critical areas are addressed.
      • Assess alternatives for the critical path(s) most relevant to your organization’s direction.

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap – A comprehensive guide to align business and IT on what the organization needs from their ERP.

      A business-led, top-management-supported initiative partnered with IT has the greatest chance of success.

    • Aligning and prioritizing key business and technology drivers.
    • Clearly defining what is in and out of scope for the project.
    • Getting a clear picture of how the business process and underlying applications support the business strategic priorities.
    • Pulling it all together into an actionable roadmap.

      • Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap – Phases 1-4
      • ERP Strategy Report Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Introduction to ERP

      The Purpose

      To build understanding and alignment between business and IT on what an ERP is and the goals for the project

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Clear understanding of how the ERP supports the organizational goals

      What business processes the ERP will be supporting

      An initial understanding of the effort involved

      Activities

      1.1 Introduction to ERP

      1.2 Background

      1.3 Expectations and goals

      1.4 Align business strategy

      1.5 ERP vision and guiding principles

      1.6 ERP strategy model

      1.7 ERP operating model

      Outputs

      ERP strategy model

      ERP Operating model

      2 Build the ERP operation model

      The Purpose

      Generate an understanding of the business processes, challenges, and application portfolio currently supporting the organization.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of the application portfolio supporting the business

      Detailed understanding of the business operating processes and pain points

      Activities

      2.1 Build application portfolio

      2.2 Map the level 1 ERP processes including identifying stakeholders, pain points, and key success indicators

      2.3 Discuss process and technology maturity for each level 1 process

      Outputs

      Application portfolio

      Mega-processes with level 1 process lists

      3 Project set up

      The Purpose

      A project of this size has multiple stakeholders and may have competing priorities. This section maps those stakeholders and identifies their possible conflicting priorities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A prioritized list of ERP mega-processes based on process rigor and strategic importance

      An understanding of stakeholders and competing priorities

      Initial compilation of the risks the organization will face with the project to begin early mitigation

      Activities

      3.1 ERP process prioritization

      3.2 Stakeholder mapping

      3.3 Competing priorities review

      3.4 Initial risk register compilation

      Outputs

      Prioritized ERP operating model

      Stakeholder map.

      Competing priorities list.

      Initial risk register.

      4 Roadmap and presentation review

      The Purpose

      Select a future state and build the initial roadmap to set expectations and accountabilities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Identification of the future state

      Initial roadmap with expectations on accountability and timelines

      Activities

      4.1 Discuss future state options

      4.2 Build initial roadmap

      4.3 Review of final deliverable

      Outputs

      Future state options

      Initiative roadmap

      Draft final deliverable

      Further reading

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Align business and IT to successfully deliver on your ERP initiative

      Table of Contents

      Analyst Perspective

      Phase 3: Plan Your Project

      Executive Summary

      Step 3.1: Stakeholders, risk, and value

      Phase 1: Build Alignment and Scope

      Step 3.2: Project set up

      Step 1.1: Aligning Business and IT

      Phase 4: Next Steps

      Step 1.2: Scope and Priorities

      Step 4.1: Build your roadmap

      Phase 2: Define Your ERP

      Step 4.2: Wrap up and present

      Step 2.1: ERP business model

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Step 2.2: ERP processes and supporting applications

      Research Contributors

      Step 2.3: Process pains, opportunities, and maturity

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Bibliography

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Align business and IT to successfully deliver on your ERP initiative

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Analyst Perspective

      A foundational ERP strategy is critical to decision making.

      Photo of Robert Fayle, Research Director, Enterprise Applications, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a core tool that the business leverages to accomplish its goals. An ERP that is doing its job well is invisible to the business. The challenges come when the tool is no longer invisible. It has become a source of friction in the functioning of the business

      ERP systems are expensive, their benefits are difficult to quantify, and they often suffer from poor user satisfaction. Post-implementation, technology evolves, organizational goals change, and the health of the system is not monitored. This is complicated in today’s digital landscape with multiple integration points, siloed data, and competing priorities.

      Too often organizations jump into selecting replacement systems without understanding the needs of the organization. Alignment between business and IT is just one part of the overall strategy. Identifying key pain points and opportunities, assessed in the light of organizational strategy, will provide a strong foundation to the transformation of the ERP system.

      Robert Fayle
      Research Director, Enterprise Applications
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Organizations often do not know where to start with an ERP project. They focus on tactically selecting and implementing the technology but ignore the strategic foundation that sets the ERP system up for success. ERP projects are routinely reported as going over budget, over schedule, and they fail to realize any benefits.

      Common Obstacles

      ERP projects impact the entire organization – they are not limited to just financial and operating metrics. The disruption is felt during both implementation and in the production environment.

      Missteps early on can cost time, financial resources, and careers. Roughly 55% of ERP projects reported being over budget, and two-thirds of organizations implementing ERP realized less than half of their anticipated benefits.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Obtain organizational buy-in and secure top management support. Set clear expectations, guiding principles, and critical success factors.

      Build an ERP operating model/business model that identifies process boundaries, scope, and prioritizes requirements. Assess stakeholder involvement, change impact, risks, and opportunities.

      Understand the alternatives your organization can choose for the future state of ERP. Develop an actionable roadmap and meaningful KPIs that directly align with your strategic goals.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Accountability for ERP success is shared between IT and the business. There is no single owner of an ERP. A unified approach to building your strategy promotes an integrated roadmap so all stakeholders have clear direction on the future state.

      Insight summary

      Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems facilitate the flow of information across business units. It allows for the seamless integration of systems and creates a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making.

      In many organizations, the ERP system is considered the lifeblood of the enterprise. Problems with this key operational system will have a dramatic impact on the ability of the enterprise to survive and grow.

      A measured and strategic approach to change will help mitigate many of the risks associated with ERP projects, which will avoid the chances of these changes becoming the dreaded “career killers.”

      A business led, top management supported initiative partnered with IT has the greatest chance of success.

      • A properly scoped ERP project reduces churn and provides all parts of the business with clarity.
      • This blueprint provides the business and IT the methodology to get the right level of detail for the business processes that the ERP supports so you can avoid getting lost in the details.
      • Build a successful ERP Strategy and roadmap by:
        • Aligning and prioritizing key business and technology drivers.
        • Clearly defining what is in and out of scope for the project.
        • Providing a clear picture of how the business process and underlying applications support the business strategic priorities.
        • Pulling it all together into an actionable roadmap.

      Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

      What is ERP?

      Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems facilitate the flow of information across business units. They allow for the seamless integration of systems and create a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making.

      In many organizations, the ERP system is considered the lifeblood of the enterprise. Problems with this key operational system will have a dramatic impact on the ability of the enterprise to survive and grow.

      An ERP system:

      • Automates processes, reducing the amount of manual, routine work.
      • Integrates with core modules, eliminating the fragmentation of systems.
      • Centralizes information for reporting from multiple parts of the value chain to a single point.

      A diagram visualizing the many aspects of ERP and the categories they fall under. Highlighted as 'Supply Chain Management' are 'Supply Chain: Procure to Pay' and 'Distribution: Forecast to Delivery'. Highlighted as 'Customer Relationship Management' are 'Sales: Quote to Cash', 'CRM: Market to Order', and 'Customer Service: Issue to Resolution'.

      ERP use cases:

      • Product-Centric
        Suitable for organizations that manufacture, assemble, distribute, or manage material goods.
      • Service-Centric
        Suitable for organizations that provide and manage field services and/or professional services.

      ERP by the numbers

      50-70%
      Statistical analysis of ERP projects indicates rates of failure vary from 50 to 70%. Taking the low end of those analyst reports, one in two ERP projects is considered a failure. (Source: Saxena and Mcdonagh)

      85%
      Companies that apply the principles of behavioral economics outperform their peers by 85% in sales growth and more than 25% in gross margin. (Source: Gallup)

      40%
      Nearly 40% of companies said functionality was the key driver for the adoption of a new ERP. (Source: Gheorghiu)

      ERP dissatisfaction

      Drivers of Dissatisfaction
      Business
      • Misaligned objectives
      • Product fit
      • Changing priorities
      • Lack of metrics
      Data
      • Access to data
      • Data hygiene
      • Data literacy
      • One view of the customer
      People and teams
      • User adoption
      • Lack of IT support
      • Training (use of data and system)
      • Vendor relations
      Technology
      • Systems integration
      • Multi-channel complexity
      • Capability shortfall
      • Lack of product support

      Finance, IT, Sales, and other users of the ERP system can only optimize ERP with the full support of each other. The cooperation of the departments is crucial when trying to improve ERP technology capabilities and customer interaction.

      Info-Tech Insight

      While technology is the key enabler of building strong customer experiences, there are many other drivers of dissatisfaction. IT must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the business to develop a technology framework for ERP.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for developing a foundational ERP strategy and roadmap

      1. Build alignment and scope 2. Define your ERP 3. Plan your project 4. Next Steps
      Phase Steps
      1. Aligning business and IT
      2. Scope and priorities
      1. ERP Business Model
      2. ERP processes and supporting applications
      3. Process pains, opportunities & maturity
      1. Stakeholders, risk & value
      2. Project set up
      1. Build your roadmap
      2. Wrap up and present
      Phase Outcomes Discuss organizational goals and how to advance those using the ERP system. Establish the scope of the project and ensure that business and IT are aligned on project priorities. Build the ERP business model then move on to the top level (mega) processes and an initial list of the sub-processes. Generate a list of applications that support the identified processes. Conclude with a complete view of the mega-processes and their sub-processes. Map out your stakeholders to evaluate their impact on the project, build an initial risk register and discuss group alignment. Conclude the phase by setting the initial core project team and their accountabilities to the project. Review the different options to solve the identified pain points then build out a roadmap of how to get to that solution. Build a communication plan as part of organizational change management, which includes the stakeholder presentation.

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      Sample of the Key Deliverable 'ERP Strategy Report'.

      ERP Strategy Report

      Complete an assessment of processes, prioritization, and pain points, and create an initiative roadmap.

      Samples of blueprint deliverables related to 'ERP Strategy Report'.

      ERP Business Model
      Align your business and technology goals and objectives in the current environment.       		Sample of the 'ERP Business Model' blueprint deliverable.
      ERP Operating Model
      Identify and prioritize your ERP top-level processes.       		Sample of the 'ERP Operating Model' blueprint deliverable.
      ERP Process Prioritization
      Assess ERP processes against the axes of rigor and strategic importance.       		Sample of the 'ERP Process Prioritization' blueprint deliverable.
      ERP Strategy Roadmap
      A data-driven roadmap of how to address the ERP pain points and opportunities.       		Sample of the 'ERP Strategy Roadmap' blueprint deliverable.

      Executive Brief Case Study

      INDUSTRY: Aerospace
      SOURCE: Panorama, 2021

      Aerospace organization assesses ERP future state from opportunities, needs, and pain points

      Challenge

      Several issues plagued the aerospace and defense organization. Many of the processes were ad hoc and did not use the system in place, often relying on Excel. The organization had a very large pain point stemming from its lack of business process standardization and oversight. The biggest gap, however, was from the under-utilization of the ERP software.

      Solution

      By assessing the usage of the system by employees and identifying key workarounds, the gaps quickly became apparent. After assessing the organization’s current state and generating recommendations from the gaps, it realized the steps needed to achieve its desired future state. The analysis of the pain points generated various needs and opportunities that allowed the organization to present and discuss its key findings with executive leadership to set milestones for the project.

      Results

      The overall assessment led the organization to the conclusion that in order to achieve its desired future state and maximize ROI from its ERP, the organization must address the internal issues prior to implementing the upgraded software.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Guided Implementation

      Workshop

      Consulting
      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is between eight to twelve calls over the course of four to six months.

      Phase 1

      • Call #1: Scoping call to understand the current situation.
      • Call #2: Establish business & IT alignment and project scope.

      Phase 2

      • Call #3: Discuss the ERP Strategy business model and mega-processes.
      • Call #4: Begin the drill down on the level 1 processes.

      Phase 3

      • Call #5: Establish the stakeholder map and project risks.
      • Call #6: Discuss project setup including stakeholder commitment and accountability.

      Phase 4

      • Call #7: Discuss resolution paths and build initial roadmap.
      • Call #8: Summarize results and plan next steps.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
      Activities
      Introduction to ERP

      1.1 Introduction to ERP

      1.2 Background

      1.3 Expectations and goals

      1.4 Align business strategy

      1.5 ERP vision and guiding principles

      1.6 ERP strategy model

      1.7 ERP operating model

      Build the ERP operating model

      2.1 Build application portfolio

      2.2 Map the level 1 ERP processes including identifying stakeholders, pain points, and key success indicators

      2.3 Discuss process and technology maturity for each level 1 process

      Project set up

      3.1 ERP process prioritization

      3.2 Stakeholder mapping

      3.3 Competing priorities review

      3.4 Initial risk register compilation

      3.5 Workshop retrospective

      Roadmap and presentation review

      4.1 Discuss future state options

      4.2 Build initial roadmap

      4.3 Review of final deliverable

      Next Steps and wrap-up (offsite)

      5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps

      Deliverables
      1. ERP strategy model
      2. ERP operating model
      1. Application portfolio
      2. Mega-processes with level 1 process lists
      1. Prioritized ERP operating model
      2. Stakeholder map
      3. Competing priorities list
      4. Initial risk register
      1. Future state options
      2. Initiative roadmap
      3. Draft final deliverable
      1. Completed ERP strategy template
      2. ERP strategy roadmap

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Phase 1

      Build alignment and scope

      Phase 1

      • 1.1 Aligning business and IT
      • 1.2 Scope and priorities
        •

      Phase 2

      • 2.1 ERP Business Model
      • 2.2 ERP processes and supporting applications
      • 2.3 Process pains, opportunities & maturity

      Phase 3

      • 3.1 Stakeholders, risk & value
      • 3.2 Project set up

      Phase 4

      • 4.1 Build your roadmap
      • 4.2 Wrap up and present

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      Build a common language to ensure clear understanding of the organizational needs. Define a vision and guiding principles to aid in decision making and enumerate how the ERP supports achievement of the organizational goals. Define the initial scope of the ERP project. This includes the discussion of what is not in scope.

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Create a compelling case that addresses strategic business objectives

      When someone at the organization asks you WHY, you need to deliver a compelling case. The ERP project will receive pushback, doubt, and resistance; if you can’t answer the question WHY, you will be left back-peddling.

      When faced with a challenge, prepare for the WHY.

      • Why do we need this?
      • Why are we spending all this money?
      • Why are we bothering?
      • Why is this important?
      • Why did we do it this way?
      • Why did we choose this vendor?

      Most organizations can answer “What?”
      Some organizations can answer “How?”
      Very few organizations have an answer for “Why?”

      Each stage of the project will be difficult and present its own unique challenges and failure points. Re-evaluate if you lose sight of WHY at any stage in the project.

      Step 1.1

      Aligning business and IT

      Activities
      • 1.1.1 Build a glossary
      • 1.1.2 ERP Vision and guiding principles
      • 1.1.3 Corporate goals and ERP benefits

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Building a common language to ensure a clear understanding of the organization’s needs.
      • Creating a definition of your vision and identifying the guiding principles to aid in decision making.
      • Defining how the ERP supports achievement of the organizational goals.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      Business and IT have a shared understanding of how the ERP supports the organizational goals.

      Are we all talking about the same thing?

      Every group has their own understanding of the ERP system, and they may use the same words to describe different things. For example, is there a difference between procurement of office supplies and procurement of parts to assemble an item for sale? And if they are different, do your terms differ (e.g., procurement versus purchasing)?

      Term(s) Definition
      HRMS, HRIS, HCM Human Resource Management System, Human Resource Information System, Human Capital Management. These represent four capabilities of HR: core HR, talent management, workforce management, and strategic HR.
      Finance Finance includes the core functionalities of GL, AR, and AP. It also covers such items as treasury, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), tax management, expenses, and asset management.
      Supply Chain The processes and networks required to produce and distribute a product or service. This encompasses both the organization and the suppliers.
      Procurement Procurement is about getting the right products from the right suppliers in a timely fashion. Related to procurement is vendor contract management.
      Distribution The process of getting the things we create to our customers.
      CRM Customer Relationship Management, the software used to maintain records of our sales and non-sales contact with our customers.
      Sales The process of identifying customers, providing quotes, and converting those quotes to sales orders to be invoiced.
      Customer Service This is the process of supporting customers with challenges and non-sales questions related to the delivery of our products/services.
      Field Service The group that provides maintenance services to our customers.

      Activity 1.1.1 Build a glossary

      1 hour
      1. As a group, discuss the organization’s functional areas, business capabilities, value streams, and business processes.
      2. Ask each of the participants if there are terms or “jargon” that they hear used that they may be unclear on or know that others may not be aware of. Record these items in the table along with a description.
        • Acronyms are particularly important to document. These are often bandied about without explanation. For example, people outside of finance may not understand that FP&A is short for Financial Planning and Analysis.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'ERP Strategy Report Template: Glossary'.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 1.1.1 Working slide

      Example/working slide for your glossary. Consider this a living document and keep it up to date.

      Term(s) Definition
      HRMS, HRIS, HCM Human Resource Management System, Human Resource Information System, Human Capital Management. These represent four capabilities of HR: core HR, talent management, workforce management, and strategic HR.
      Finance Finance includes the core functionalities of GL, AR, and AP. It also covers such items as treasury, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), tax management, expenses, and asset management.
      Supply Chain The processes and networks required to produce and distribute a product or service. This encompasses both the organization and the suppliers.
      Procurement Procurement is about getting the right products from the right suppliers in a timely fashion. Related to procurement is vendor contract management.
      Distribution The process of getting the things we create to our customers.
      CRM Customer Relationship Management, the software used to maintain records of our sales and non-sales contact with our customers.
      Sales The process of identifying customers, providing quotes, and converting those quotes to sales orders to be invoiced.
      Customer Service This is the process of supporting customers with challenges and non-sales questions related to the delivery of our products/services.
      Field Service The group that provides maintenance services to our customers.

      Vision and Guiding Principles

      GUIDING PRINCIPLES

      Guiding principles are high-level rules of engagement that help to align stakeholders from the outset. Determine guiding principles to shape the scope and ensure stakeholders have the same vision.

      Creating Guiding Principles

      Guiding principles should be constructed as full sentences. These statements should be able to guide decisions.

      EXAMPLES

      • [Organization] is implementing an ERP system to streamline processes and reduce redundancies, saving time and money.
      • [Organization] is implementing an ERP to integrate disparate systems and rationalize the application portfolio.
      • [Organization] is aiming at taking advantage of best industry practices and strives to minimize the level of customization required in solution.

      Questions to Ask

      1. What is a strong statement that will help guide decision making throughout the life of the ERP project?
      2. What are your overarching requirements for business processes?
      3. What do you ultimately want to achieve?
      4. What is a statement that will ensure all stakeholders are on the same page for the project?

      Activity 1.1.2 – ERP Vision and Project Guiding Principles

      1 hour

      1. As a group, discuss whether you want to create a separate ERP vision statement or re-state your corporate vision and/or goals.
        • An ERP vision statement will provide project-guiding principles, encompass the ERP objectives, and give a rationale for the project.
        • Using the corporate vision/goals will remind the business and IT that the project is to find an ERP solution that supports and enhances the organizational objectives.
      2. Review each of the sample guiding principles provided and ask the following questions:
        1. Do we agree with the statement?
        2. Is this statement framed in the language we used internally? Does everyone agree on the meaning of the statement?
        3. Will this statement help guide our decision-making process?

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'ERP Strategy Report Template: Guiding Principles.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 1.1.2 – ERP Vision and Project Guiding Principles

      We, [Organization], will select and implement an integrated software suite that enhances the growth and profitability of the organization through streamlined global business processes, real time data-driven decisions, increased employee productivity, and IT investment protection.

      • Support Business Agility: A flexible and adaptable integrated business system providing a seamless user experience.
      • Utilize ERP best practices: Do not recreate or replicate what we have today, focus on modernization. Exercise customization governance by focusing on those customizations that are strategically differentiating.
      • Automate: Take manual work out where we can, empowering staff and improving productivity through automation and process efficiencies.
      • Stay focused: Focus on scope around core business capabilities. Maintain scope control. Prioritize demand in line with the strategy.
      • Strive for “One Source of Truth”: Unify data model and integrate processes where possible. Assess integration needs carefully.

      Align the ERP strategy with the corporate strategy

      Corporate Strategy Unified Strategy ERP Strategy
      • Conveys the current state of the organization and the path it wants to take.
      • Identifies future goals and business aspirations.
      • Communicates the initiatives that are critical for getting the organization from its current state to the future state.
      • ERP optimization can be and should be linked, with metrics, to the corporate strategy and ultimate business objectives.
      • Communicates the organization’s budget and spending on ERP.
      • Identifies IT initiatives that will support the business and key ERP objectives.
      • Outlines staffing and resourcing for ERP initiatives.

      Info-Tech Insight

      ERP projects are more successful when the management team understands the strategic importance and the criticality of alignment. Time needs to be spent upfront aligning business strategies with ERP capabilities. Effective alignment between IT and the business should happen daily. Alignment doesn’t just to occur at the executive level alone, but at each level of the organization.

      1.1.3 – Corporate goals and ERP benefits

      1-2 hours

      1. Discuss the business objectives. Identify two or three objectives that are a priority for this year.
      2. Produce several ways a new ERP system will meet each objective.
      3. Think about the modules and ERP functions that will help you realize these benefits.

      Cost Reduction

      • Decrease Total Cost: Reduce total costs by five percent by January 2022.
      • Decrease Specific Costs: Reduce costs of “x” business unit by ten percent by Jan. next year.

      ERP Benefits

      • Reduce headcount
      • Reallocate workers
      • Reduce overtime
      • Increased compliance
      • Streamlined audit process
      • Less rework due to decrease in errors

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 1.1.3 – Corporate goals and ERP benefits

      Corporate Strategy ERP Benefits
      End customer visibility (consumer experience)
      • Help OEM’s target customers
      • Keep customer information up-to-date, including contact choices
      • [Product A] process support improvements
      • Ability to survey and track responses
      • Track and improve renewals
      • Service support – improve cycle times for claims, payment processing, and submission quality
      Social responsibility
      • Reduce paper internally and externally
      • Facilitating tracking and reporting of EFT
      • One location for all documents
      New business development
      • Track all contacts
      • Measure where in process the contact is
      • Measure impact of promotions
      Employee experience
      • Improve integration of systems reducing manual processes through automation
      • Better tracking of sales for employee comp
      • Ability to survey employees

      Step 1.2

      Scope and priorities

      Activities
      • 1.2.1 Project scope
      • 1.2.2 Competing priorities

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Define the initial scope of the ERP project. This includes the discussion of what is not in scope. For example, a stand-alone warehouse management system may be out of scope while an existing HRMS could be in scope.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      A project scope statement and a prioritized list of projects that may compete for organizational resources.

      Understand the importance of setting expectations with a scope statement

      Be sure to understand what is in scope for an ERP strategy project. Prevent too wide of a scope to avoid scope creep – for example, we aren’t tackling MMS or BI under ERP.

      A diamond shape with three layers. Inside is 'In Scope', middle is 'Scope Creep', and outside is 'Out of Scope'.

      Establishing the parameters of the project in a scope statement helps define expectations and provides a baseline for resource allocation and planning. Future decisions about the strategic direction of ERP will be based on the scope statement.

      Well-executed requirements gathering will help you avoid expanding project parameters, drawing on your resources, and contributing to cost overruns and project delays. Avoid scope creep by gathering high-level requirements that lead to the selection of category-level application solutions (e.g. HRIS, CRM, PLM etc.) rather than granular requirements that would lead to vendor application selection (e.g. SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, etc.).

      Out-of-scope items should also be defined to alleviate ambiguity, reduce assumptions, and further clarify expectations for stakeholders. Out-of-scope items can be placed in a backlog for later consideration.

      In Scope Out of Scope
      Strategy High-level ERP requirements, strategic direction
      Software selection Vendor application selection, Granular system requirements

      Activity 1.2.1 – Define scope

      1 hour

      1. Formulate a scope statement. Decide which people, processes, and functions the ERP strategy will address. Generally, the aim of this project is to develop strategic requirements for the ERP application portfolio – not to select individual vendors.
      2. To assist in forming your scope statement, answer the following questions:
        • What are the major coverage points?
        • Who will be using the systems?
        • How will different users interact with the systems?
        • What are the objectives that need to be addressed?
        • Where do we start?
        • Where do we draw the line?

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'ERP Strategy Report Template: Scope Statements'.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 1.2.1 – Define scope

      Scope statements

      The following systems are considered in scope for this project:

      • Finance
      • HRMS
      • CRM
      • Supply chain

      The following systems are out of scope for this project:

      • PLM – product lifecycle management
      • Project management
      • Contract management

      The following systems are in scope, in that they must integrate into the new system. They will not change.

      • Payroll processing
      • Bank accounts
      • EDI software

      Know your competing priorities

      Organizations typically have multiple projects on the table or in flight. Each of those projects requires resources and attention from business and/or the IT organization.

      Don’t let poor prioritization hurt your ERP implementation.
      BNP Paribas Fortis had multiple projects that were poorly prioritized resulting in the time to bring products to market to double over a three-year period. (Source: Neito-Rodriguez, 2016)

      Project Timeline Priority notes Implications
      Warehouse management system upgrade project Early 2022 implementation High Taking IT staff and warehouse team, testing by finance
      Microsoft 365 October 2021-March 2022 High IT Staff, org impacted by change management
      Electronic Records Management April 2022 – Feb 2023 High Legislative requirement, org impact due to record keeping
      Web site upgrade Early fiscal 2023

      Activity 1.2.2 – Competing priorities

      1 hour

      1. As a group, discuss the projects that are currently in flight as well as any known projects including such things as territory expansion or new regulation compliance.
      2. For each project discuss and record the following items:
        • The project timeline. When does it start and how long is it expected to run?
        • How important is this project to the organization? A lot of high priority projects are going to require more attention from the staff involved.
        • What are the implications of this project?
          • What staff will be impacted? What business users will be impacted, and what is the IT involvement?
          • To what extent will the overall organization be impacted? Is it localized to a location or is it organization wide?
          • Can the project be deferred?

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'ERP Strategy Report Template: Priorities'.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 1.2.2 – Competing priorities

      List all your known projects both current and proposed. Discuss the prioritization of those projects, whether they are more or less important than your ERP project.

      Project Timeline Priority notes Implications
      Warehouse management system upgrade project Early 2022 implementation High Taking IT staff and warehouse team, testing by finance
      Microsoft 365 October 2021-March 2022 High IT Staff, org impacted by change management
      Electronic Records Management April 2022 – Feb 2023 High Legislative requirement, org impact due to record keeping
      Web site upgrade Early fiscal 2023 Medium
      Point of Sale replacement Oct 2021– Mar 2022 Medium
      ERP utilization and training on unused systems Friday, Sept 17 Medium Could impact multiple staff
      Managed Security Service RFP This calendar year Medium
      Mental Health Dashboard In research phase Low

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Phase 2

      Define your ERP

      Phase 1

      • 1.1 Aligning business and IT
      • 1.2 Scope and priorities

      Phase 2

      • 2.1 ERP Business Model
      • 2.2 ERP processes and supporting applications
      • 2.3 Process pains, opportunities & maturity

      Phase 3

      • 3.1 Stakeholders, risk & value
      • 3.2 Project set up

      Phase 4

      • 4.1 Build your roadmap
      • 4.2 Wrap up and present

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Build the ERP business model then move on to the top level (mega) processes and an initial list of the sub-processes
      • Generate a list of applications that support the identified processes
      • Assign stakeholders, discuss pain points, opportunities, and key success indicators
      • Assign process and technology maturity to each stakeholder

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP applications support team

      Step 2.1

      ERP business model

      Activities
      • 2.1.1 Environmental factors, technology drivers, and business needs
      • 2.1.2 Challenges, pain points, enablers, and organizational goals

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify ERP drivers and objectives
      • Explore ERP challenges and pain points
      • Discuss the ERP benefits and opportunities

      This step involves the following participants:

      • ERP implementation team
      • Business stakeholders

      Outcomes of this step

      • ERP business model

      Explore environmental factors and technology drivers

      1. Identify business drivers that are contributing to the organization’s need for ERP.
      2. Understand how the company is running today and what the organization’s future will look like. Try to identify the purpose for becoming an integrated organization.
      3. Consider external considerations, organizational drivers, technology drivers, and key functional requirements
      The ERP Business Model with 'Business Needs', 'Environmental Factors', and 'Technology Drivers' highlighted. At the center is 'ERP Strategy' with 'Barriers' above and 'Enablers' below. Surrounding and feeding into the center group are 'Business Needs', 'Environmental Factors', 'Technology Drivers', and 'Organizational Goals'.
      External Considerations
      • Regulations
      • Elections
      • Availability of resources
      • Staff licensing and certifications
      Organizational Drivers
      • Compliance
      • Scalability
      • Operational efficiency
      • Union agreements
      • Self service
      • Role appropriate dashboards and reports
      • Real time data access
        • Use of data in the system (no exports)
      Technology Considerations
      • Data accuracy
      • Data quality
      • Better reporting
      Functional Requirements
      • Information availability
      • Integration between systems
      • Secure data

      Activity 2.1.1 – Explore environmental factors and technology drivers

      1 hour

      1. Identify business drivers that are contributing to the organization’s need for ERP.
      2. Understand how the company is running today and what the organization’s future will look like. Try to identify the purpose for becoming an integrated organization. Use a whiteboard or flip charts and markers to capture key findings.
      3. Consider External Considerations, Organizational Drivers, Technology Drivers, and Key Functional Requirements.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the next slide, 'ERP Business Model', with an iconized ERP Business Model and a table highlighting 'Environmental Factors', 'Technology Drivers', and 'Business Needs'.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      ERP Business Model A iconized version of the ERP Business Model.

      Environmental FactorsTechnology DriversBusiness Needs
      • Regulations
      • Elections
      • Availability of resources
      • Staff licensing and certifications
      • Document storage
      • Cloud security standards
      • Functionality based on deployment
      • Cloud-first based on above
      • Integration with external data suppliers
      • Integration with internal systems (Elite?)
      • Compliance
      • Scalability
      • Operational efficiency
      • Union agreements
      • Self service
      • Role appropriate dashboards and reports
      • Real time data access
      • Use of data in the system (no exports)
      • CapEx vs. OpEx

      Discuss challenges, pain points, enablers and organizational goals

      1. Identify challenges with current systems and processes.
      2. Brainstorm potential barriers to successful ERP selection and implementation. Use a whiteboard and marker to capture key findings.
      3. Consider organizational goals along with barriers and enablers to ERP success.
      The ERP Business Model with 'Organizational Goals', 'Enablers', and 'Barriers' highlighted. At the center is 'ERP Strategy' with 'Barriers' above and 'Enablers' below. Surrounding and feeding into the center group are 'Business Needs', 'Environmental Factors', 'Technology Drivers', and 'Organizational Goals'.
      Functional Gaps
      • No online purchase order requisition
      Technical Gaps
      • Inconsistent reporting – data quality concerns
      Process Gaps
      • Duplication of data
      • Lack of system integration
      Barriers to Success
      • Cultural mindset
      • Resistance to change
      Business Benefits
      • Business-IT alignment
      IT Benefits
      • Compliance
      • Scalability
      Organizational Benefits
      • Data accuracy
      • Data quality
      Enablers of Success
      • Change management
      • Alignment to strategic objectives

      Activity 2.1.2 – Discuss challenges, pain points, enablers, and organizational goals

      1 hour

      1. Identify challenges with the current systems and processes.
      2. Brainstorm potential barriers to successful ERP selection and implementation. Use a whiteboard or flip chart and markers to capture key findings.
      3. Consider functional gaps, technical gaps, process gaps, and barriers to ERP success.
      4. Identify the opportunities and benefits from an integrated system.
      5. Brainstorm potential enablers for successful ERP selection and implementation. Use a whiteboard and markers to capture key findings.
      6. Consider business benefits, IT benefits, organizational benefits, and enablers of success.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the next slide, 'ERP Business Model', with an iconized ERP Business Model and a table highlighting 'Organizational Goals', 'Enablers', and 'Barriers'.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      ERP Business Model A iconized version of the ERP Business Model.

      Organizational Goals Enablers Barriers
      • Efficiency
      • Effectiveness
      • Integrity
      • One source of truth for data
      • One team
      • Customer service, external and internal
      • Cross-trained employees
      • Desire to focus on value-add activities
      • Collaborative
      • Top level executive support
      • Effective change management process
      • Organizational silos
      • Lack of formal process documentation
      • Funding availability
      • What goes first? Organizational priorities

      Step 2.2

      ERP processes and supporting applications

      Activities
      • 2.2.1 ERP process inventory
      • 2.2.2 Application portfolio

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify the top-level (mega) processes and create an initial list of the sub-processes
      • Generate a list of applications that support the identified processes

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • A list of in scope business processes
      • A list of current applications and services supporting the business processes

      Process Inventory

      In business architecture, the primary view of an organization is known as a business capability map.

      A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation rather than how.

      Business capabilities:

      • Represent stable business functions
      • Are unique and independent of each other
      • Will typically have a defined business outcome

      A business capability map provides details that help the business architecture practitioner direct attention to a specific area of the business for further assessment.

      A process map titled 'Business capability map (Level 0)' with many processes sectioned off into sections and subsections. The top-left section is 'Products and Services Development' with subsections 'Design'(6 processes) and 'Manufacturing'(3 processes). The top-middle section is 'Revenue Generation'(3 processes) and below that is 'Sourcing'(2 processes). The top-right section is 'Demand Fulfillment'(9 processes). Along the bottom is the section 'Enterprise Management and Planning' with subsections 'Human Resources'(4 processes), 'Business Direction'(4 processes), and 'Finance'(4 processes).

      If you do not have a documented process model, you can use the APQC Framework to help define your inventory of business processes.

      APQC’s Process Classification Framework is a taxonomy of cross-functional business processes intended to allow the objective comparison of organizational performance within and among organizations.

      APQC’s Process Classification Framework

      Activity 2.2.1 – Process inventory

      2-4 hours

      1. As a group, discuss the business capabilities, value streams, and business processes.
      2. For each capability determine the following:
        • Is this capability applicable to our organization?
        • What application, if any, supports this capability?
      3. Are there any missing capabilities to add?

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Process Inventory' table on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 2.2.1 – Process inventory

      Core Finance Core HR Workforce Management Talent Management Warehouse Management Enterprise Asset Management
      Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology
      • General ledger
      • Accounts payable
      • Accounts receivable
      • GL consolidation
      • Cash management
      • Billing and invoicing
      • Expenses
      • Payroll accounting
      • Tax management
      • Reporting
      • Payroll administration
      • Benefits administration
      • Position management
      • Organizational structure
      • Core HR records
      • Time and attendance
      • Leave management
      • Scheduling
      • Performance management
      • Talent acquisition
      • Offboarding & onboarding
      • Plan layout
      • Manage inventory
      • Manage loading docks
      • Pick, pack, ship
      • Plan and manage workforce
      • Manage returns
      • Transfer product cross-dock
      • Asset lifecycle management
      • Supply chain management
      • Maintenance planning & scheduling
      Planning & Budgeting Strategic HR Procurement Customer Relationship Management Facilities Management Project Management
      Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology Process Technology
      • Budget reporting
      • Variance analysis
      • Multi-year operating plan
      • Monthly forecasting
      • Annual operating plan
      • Compensation planning
      • Workforce planning
      • Succession planning
      • Supplier management
      • Purchase order management
      • Workflow approvals
      • Contract / tender management
      • Contact management
      • Activity management
      • Analytics
      • Plan and acquire
      • Asset maintenance
      • Disposal
      • Project management
      • Project costing
      • Budget control
      • Document management

      Complete an inventory collection of your application portfolio

      MANAGED vs. UNMANAGED APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS

      • Managed environments make way for easier inventory collection since there is significant control as to what applications can be installed on a company asset. Organizations will most likely have a comprehensive list of supported and approved applications.
      • Unmanaged environments are challenging to control because users are free to install any applications on company assets, which may or may not be supported by IT.
      • Most organizations fall somewhere in between – there is usually a central repository of applications and several applications that are exceptions to the company policies. Ensure that all applications are accounted for.

      Determine your inventory collection method:

      MANUAL INVENTORY COLLECTION
      • In its simplest form, a spreadsheet is used to document your application inventory.
      • For large organizations, reps interview all business domains to create a list of installed applications.
      • Conducting an end-user survey within your business domains is one way to gather your application inventory and assess quality.
      • This manual approach is most appropriate for smaller organizations with small application portfolios across domains.
      AUTOMATED INVENTORY COLLECTION
      • Using inventory collection compatibility tools, discover all of the supported applications within your organization.
      • This approach may not capture all applications, depending on the parameters of your automated tool.
      • This approach works well in a managed environment.

      Activity 2.2.2 – Understand the current application portfolio

      1-2 hours

      1. Brainstorm a list of the applications that support the ERP business processes inventoried in Activity 2.2.1. If an application has multiple instances, list each instance as a separate line item.
      2. Indicate the following for each application:
        1. User satisfaction. This may be more than one entry as different groups – e.g., IT vs. business – may differ.
        2. Processes supported. Refer to processes defined in Activity 2.2.1. Update 2.2.1 if additional processes are identified during this exercise.
        3. Define a future disposition: Keep, Update, Replace. It is possible to have more than one disposition, e.g., Update or Replace is a valid disposition.
      3. [Optional] Collect the following information about each application. This information can be used to calculate the cost per application and total cost per user:
        1. Number of users or user groups
        2. Estimated maintenance costs
        3. Estimated capital costs
        4. Estimated licensing costs
        5. Estimated support costs

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Application Portfolio' table on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      2.2.2 - Application portfolio

      Inventory your applications and assess usage, satisfaction, and disposition

      Application Name Satisfaction Processes Supported Future Disposition
      PeopleSoft Financials Medium and declining ERP – shares one support person with HR Update or Replace
      Time Entry (custom) Low Time and Attendance Replace
      PeopleSoft HR Medium Core HR Update or Replace
      ServiceNow High ITSM
      CSM: Med-Low       		ITSM and CSM
      CSM – complexity and process changes       		Update
      Data Warehouse High IT
      Business: Med-Low       		BI portal – Tibco SaaS datamart Keep
      Regulatory Compliance Medium Regulatory software – users need training Keep
      ACL Analytics Low Audit Replace
      Elite Medium Supply chain for wholesale Update (in progress)
      Visual Importer Med-High Customs and taxes Keep
      Custom Reporting application Med-High Reporting solution for wholesale (custom for old system, patched for Elite) Replace

      2.3.1 – Visual application portfolio [optional]

      A diagram of applications and how they connect to each other. There are 'External Systems' and 'Internal Systems' split into three divisions, 'Retail Division', 'Wholesale Division', and 'Corporate Services'. Example external systems are 'Moneris', 'Freight Carriers', and 'Banks'. Example internal systems are 'Retail ERP/POS', 'Elite', and 'Excel'.

      Step 2.3

      Process pains, opportunities, and maturity

      Activities
      • 2.3.1 Level one process inventory with stakeholders
      • 2.3.2 Process pain points and opportunities
      • 2.3.3 Process key success indicators
      • 2.3.4 Process and technology maturity
      • 2.3.5 Mega-process prioritization

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Assign stakeholders, discuss pain points, opportunities, and key success indicators for the mega-processes identified in Step 2.1
      • Assign process and technology maturity to each prioritizing the mega-processes

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      For each mega-process:

      • Level 1 processes with process and technology maturity assigned
      • Stakeholders identified
      • Process pain points, opportunities, and key success indicators identified
      • Prioritize the mega-processes

      Building out the mega-processes

      Congratulations, you have made it to the “big lift” portion of the blueprint. For each of the processes that were identified in exercise 2.2.1, you will fill out the following six details:

      1. Primary stakeholder(s)
      2. A description of the process
      3. hat level 1 processes/capabilities the mega-process is composed of
      4. Problems the new system must solve
      5. What success will look like when the new system is implemented
      6. The process and technological maturity of each level 1 process.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report, as shown on the next slide, with numbers corresponding to the ordered list above. 1 is on a list of 'Stakeholders', 2 is by the 'Description' box, 3 is on the 'Capability' table column, 4 is on the 'Current Pain Points' box, 5 is on the 'Key Success Factors' box, and 6 is on the 'Maturity' ratings column.

      It will take one to three hours per mega-process to complete the six different sections.

      Note:
      For each mega-process identified you will create a separate slide in the ERP Strategy Report. Default slides have been provided. Add or delete as necessary.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report. Note on the list of stakeholders reads 'Primary Stakeholders'. Note on the title, Core Finance, reads 'Mega-process name'. Note on the description box reads 'Description of the process'. Note on the 'Key Success Factors' box reads 'What success looks like'. Note on the 'Current Pain Points' box reads 'Problems the new system must solve'. Below is a capability table with columns 'Capability', 'Maturity', and a blank on for notes. Note on the 'Capability' table column reads 'Level 1 process'. Note on the 'Maturity' ratings column reads 'Level 1 process maturity of process and technology'. Note on the notes column reads 'Level 1 process notes'.

      An ERP project is most effective when you follow a structured approach to define, select, implement, and optimize

      Top-down approach

      ERP Strategy
      • Operating Model – Define process strategy, objectives, and operational implications.
      • Level 1 Processes –Define process boundaries, scope at the organization level; the highest level of mega-process.

      • Level 2 Processes – Define processes by function/group which represent the next level of process interaction in the organization.
      • Level 3 Processes – Decompose process by activity and role and identify suppliers, inputs, outputs, customers, metrics, and controls.
      • Functional Specifications; Blueprint and Technical Framework – Refine how the system will support and enable processes; includes functional and technical elements.
      • Org Structure and Change Management – Align org structure and develop change mgmt. strategy to support your target operating model.
      • Implementation and Transition to Operations – Execute new methods, systems, processes, procedures, and organizational structure.
      • ERP Optimization and Continuous Improvement – Establish a program to monitor, govern, and improve ERP systems and processes.

      *A “stage gate” approach should be used: the next level begins after consensus is achieved for the previous level.

      Activity 2.3.1 – Level 1 process inventory with stakeholders

      1 hour per mega-process

      1. Identify the primary stakeholder for the mega-process. The primary stakeholder is usually the process owner. For example, for core finance the CFO is the process owner/primary stakeholder. Name a maximum of three stakeholders.
      2. In the lower section, detail all the capabilities/processes associated with the mega-process. Be careful to remain at the level 1 process level as it is easy to start identifying the “How” of a process. The “How” is too deep.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report with the 'Stakeholders' list and 'Capability' table column highlighted.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 2.3.2 – Process pain points and opportunities

      30+ minutes per mega-process

      1. As a group, write a clear description of the mega-process. This helps establish alignment on the scope of the mega-process.
      2. Start with the discussion of current pain points with the various capabilities. These pain points will be items that the new solution will have to resolve.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report with the 'Description', 'Key Success Factors', and 'Current Pain Points' boxes highlighted.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 2.3.3 – Key success indicators

      30 minutes per mega-process

      1. Document key success factors that should be base-lined in the existing system to show the overall improvement once the new system is implemented. For example, if month-end close takes 12 days in the current system, target three days for month-end close in the new system.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report with the 'Description', 'Key Success Factors', and 'Current Pain Points' boxes highlighted.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 2.3.4 – Process and technology maturity

      1 hour

      1. For each capability/level 1 process identified determine you level of process maturity:
        • Weak – Ad hoc processes without documentation
        • Moderate – Documented processes that are often executed consistently
        • Strong – Documented processes that include exception handling that are rigorously followed
          • Payroll is an example of a strong process, even if every step is manual. The process is executed the same every time to ensure staff are paid properly and on time.
      2. For each capability/level 1 process identified determine you level of technology maturity:
        • Weak – manual execution and often paper-based
        • Moderate – Some technology support with little automation
        • Strong – The process executed entirely within the technology stack with no manual processes

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Sample of the 'Core Finance' slide in the ERP Strategy Report with the 'Maturity' and notes columns highlighted.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Activity 2.3.5 – Mega-process prioritization

      1 hour

      1. For the mega-processes identified, map each process’s current state in terms of process rigor versus organizational importance.
        • For process rigor, refer to your process maturity in the previous exercises.
      2. Now, as a group discuss how you want to “move the needle” on each of the processes. Remember that you have a limited capacity so focus on the processes that are, or will be, of strategic importance to the organization. The processes that are placed in the top right quadrant are the ones that are likely the strategic differentiators.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      A smaller version of the process prioritization map on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      ERP Process Prioritization

      Establishing an order of importance can impact vendor selection and implementation roadmap; high priority areas are critical for ERP success.

      A prioritization map placing processes by 'Rigor' and 'Organizational Importance' They are numbered 1-9, 0, A, and B and are split into two colour-coded sets for 'Future (green)' and 'Current(red)'. On the x-axis 'Organizational Importance' ranges from 'Operational' to 'Strategic' and on the y-axis 'Process Rigor' ranges from 'Get the Job Done' to 'Best Practice'. Comparing 'Current' to 'Future', they have all moved up from 'Get the Job Done' into 'Best Practice' territory and a few have migrated over from 'Operational' to 'Strategic'. Processes are 1. Core Finance, 2. Core HR, 3. Workforce Management, 4.Talent Management, 5. Employee Health and Safety, 6. Enterprise Asset Management, 7.Planning & Budgeting, 8. Strategic HR, 9. Procurement Mgmt., 0. CRM, A. Facilities, and B. Project Management.

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Phase 3

      Plan your project

      Phase 1

      • 1.1 Aligning business and IT
      • 1.2 Scope and priorities

      Phase 2

      • 2.1 ERP Business Model
      • 2.2 ERP processes and supporting applications
      • 2.3 Process pains, opportunities & maturity

      Phase 3

      • 3.1 Stakeholders, risk & value
      • 3.2 Project set up

      Phase 4

      • 4.1 Build your roadmap
      • 4.2 Wrap up and present

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Map out your stakeholders to evaluate their impact on the project
      • Build an initial risk register and ensure the group is aligned
      • Set the initial core project team and their accountabilities and get them started on the project

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Step 3.1

      Stakeholders, risk, and value

      Activities
      • 3.1.1 Stakeholder analysis
      • 3.1.2 Potential pitfalls and mitigation strategies
      • 3.1.3 Project value [optional]

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Map out your stakeholders to evaluate their impact on the project
      • Build an initial risk register and ensure the group is aligned

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the stakeholders and their project influence
      • An initial risk register
      • A consensus on readiness to proceed

      Understand how to navigate the complex web of stakeholders in ERP

      Identify which stakeholders to include and what their level of involvement should be during requirements elicitation based on relevant topic expertise.

      Sponsor End User IT Business
      Description An internal stakeholder who has final sign-off on the ERP project. Front-line users of the ERP technology. Back-end support staff who are tasked with project planning, execution, and eventual system maintenance. Additional stakeholders that will be impacted by any ERP technology changes.
      Examples
      • CEO
      • CIO/CTO
      • COO
      • CFO
      • Warehouse personnel
      • Sales teams
      • HR admins
      • Applications manager
      • Vendor relationship manager(s)
      • Director, Procurement
      • VP, Marketing
      • Manager, HR
      Value Executive buy-in and support is essential to the success of the project. Often, the sponsor controls funding and resource allocation. End users determine the success of the system through user adoption. If the end user does not adopt the system, the system is deemed useless and benefits realization is poor. IT is likely to be responsible for more in-depth requirements gathering. IT possesses critical knowledge around system compatibility, integration, and data. Involving business stakeholders in the requirements gathering will ensure alignment between HR and organizational objectives.

      Large-scale ERP projects require the involvement of many stakeholders from all corners and levels of the organization, including project sponsors, IT, end users, and business stakeholders. Consider the influence and interest of stakeholders in contributing to the requirements elicitation process and involve them accordingly.

      An example stakeholder map, categorizing stakeholders by amount of influence and interest.

      Activity 3.1.1 – Map your stakeholders

      1 hour

      1. As a group, identify all the ERP stakeholders. A stakeholder may be an individual such as the CEO or CFO, or it may be a group such as front-line employees.
      2. Map each stakeholder on the quadrant based on their expected Influence and Involvement in the project
      3. [Optional] Color code the users using the scale below to quickly identify the group that the stakeholder belongs to.
        • Sponsor – An internal stakeholder who has final sign-off on the ERP project.
        • End User – Front-line users of the ERP technology.
        • IT – Back-end support staff who are tasked with project planning, execution, and eventual system maintenance.
        • Business – Additional stakeholders that will be impacted by any ERP technology changes.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Slide titled 'Map the organization's stakeholders with a more in-depth example of a stakeholder map and long 'List of Stakeholders'. The quadrants that stakeholders are sorted into by influence and involvement are labelled 'Keep Satisfied (1)', 'Involve Closely (2)', 'Monitor (3)', and 'Keep Informed (4)'.

      Prepare contingency plans to minimize time spent handling unexpected risks

      Understanding the technical and strategic risks of a project can help you establish contingencies to reduce the likelihood of risk occurrence and devise mitigation strategies to help offset their impact if contingencies are insufficient.

      Risk Impact Likelihood Mitigation Effort
      Inadequate budget for additional staffing resources. 2 1 Use internal transfers and role-sharing rather than external hiring.
      Push-back on an ERP solution. 2 2 Use formal communication plans, an ERP steering committee, and change management to overcome organizational readiness.
      Overworked resources. 1 1 Create a detailed project plan that outlines resources and timelines in advance.
      Rating Scale:
      Impact: 1- High Risk 2- Moderate Risk 3- Minimal Risk
      Likelihood: 1- High/Needs Focus 2- Can Be Mitigated 3- Remote Likelihood

      Remember

      The biggest sources of risk in an ERP strategy are lack of planning, poorly defined requirements, and lack of governance.

      Apply the following mitigation tips to avoid pitfalls and delays.

      Risk Mitigation Tips

      • Upfront planning
      • Realistic timelines
      • Resource support
      • Managing change
      • Executive sponsorship
      • Sufficient funding
      • Setting the right expectations

      Activity 3.1.2 – Identify potential project pitfalls and mitigation strategies

      1-2 hours

      1. Discuss what “Impact” and “Likelihood” mean to your organization. For example, define Impact by what is important to your organization – financial loss, reputational impact, employee loss, and process impairment are all possible factors.
      2. Identify potential risks that may impede the successful completion of each work initiative. Risks may include predictable factors such as low resource capability, or unpredictable factors such as a change in priorities leading to withdrawn buy-in.
      3. For each risk, identify mitigation tactics. In some cases, mitigation tactics might take the form of standalone work initiative. For example, if a risk is lack of end-user buy-in, a work initiative to mitigate that risk might be to build an end-user communication plan.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Risks

      Risk Impact Likelihood Mitigation Effort
      Inadequate budget for additional staffing resources. 2 1 Use internal transfers and role-sharing rather than external hiring.
      Push-back on an ERP solution. 2 2 Use formal communication plans, an ERP steering committee, and change management to overcome organizational readiness.
      Overworked resources. 1 1 Create a detailed project plan that outlines resources and timelines in advance.
      Project approval 1 1 Build a strong business case for project approval and allow adequate time for the approval process
      Software does not work as advertised resulting in custom functionality with associated costs to create/ maintain 1 2 Work with staff to change processes to match the software instead of customizing the system thorough needs analysis prior to RFP creation
      Under estimation of staffing levels required, i.e. staff utilized at 25% for project when they are still 100% on their day job 1 2 Build a proper business case around staffing (be somewhat pessimistic)
      EHS system does not integrate with new HRMS/ERP system 2 2
      Selection of an ERP/HRMS that does not integrate with existing systems 2 3 Be very clear in RFP on existing systems that MUST be integrated to
      Rating Scale:
      Impact: 1- High Risk 2- Moderate Risk 3- Minimal Risk
      Likelihood: 1- High/Needs Focus 2- Can Be Mitigated 3- Remote Likelihood

      Is the organization committed to the ERP project?

      A recent study of critical success factors to an ERP implementation identified top management support and interdepartmental communication and cooperation as the top two success factors.

      By answering the seven questions the key stakeholders are indicating their commitment. While this doesn’t guarantee that the top two critical success factors have been met, it does create the conversation to guide the organization into alignment on whether to proceed.

      A table of example stakeholder questions with options 1-5 for how strongly they agree or disagree. 'Strongly disagree - 1', 'Somewhat disagree - 2', 'Neither agree or disagree - 3', 'Somewhat agree - 4', 'Strongly agree - 5'.

      Activity 3.1.3 – Project value (optional)

      30 minutes

      1. As a group, discuss the seven questions in the table. Ensure everyone agrees on what the questions are asking. If necessary, modify the language so that the meaning is clear to everyone.
      2. Have each stakeholder answer the seven questions on their own. Have someone compile the answers looking for:
        1. Any disagrees, strongly, somewhat, or neither as this indicates a lack of clarity. Endeavour to discover what additional information is required.
        2. [Optional] Have the most positive and most negative respondents present their points of view for the group to discuss. Is someone being overly optimistic, or pessimistic? Did the group miss something?

      There are no wrong answers. It should be okay to disagree with any of these statements. The goal of the exercise is to generate conversation that leads to support of the project and collaboration on the part of the participants.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      A preview of the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Ask the right questions now to determine the value of the project to the organization

      Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.

      Question # Question Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neither agree nor disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree
      1. I have everything I need to succeed. 1 2 3 4 5
      2. The right people are involved in the project. 1 2 3 4 5
      3. I understand the process of ERP selection. 1 2 3 4 5
      4. My role in the project is clear to me. 1 2 3 4 5
      5. I am clear about the vision for this project. 1 2 3 4 5
      6. I am nervous about this project. 1 2 3 4 5
      7. There is leadership support for the project. 1 2 3 4 5

      Step 3.2

      Project set up

      Activities
      • 3.2.1 Create the project team
      • 3.2.2 Set the project RACI

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Set the initial core project team and their accountabilities to the project.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Identify the core team members and their time commitments.
      • Assign responsibility, accountability or communication needs.

      Identify the right stakeholders for your project team

      Consider the core team functions when composing the project team. It is essential to ensure that all relevant perspectives (business, IT, etc.) are evaluated to create a well-aligned and holistic ERP strategy.

      PROJECT TEAM ROLES

      • Project champion
      • Project advisor
      • Steering committee
      • Project manager
      • Project team
      • Subject matter experts
      • Change management specialist

      PROJECT TEAM FUNCTIONS

      • Collecting all relevant inputs from the business.
      • Gathering high-level requirements.
      • Creating a roadmap.

      Info-Tech Insight

      There may be an inclination towards a large project team when trying to include all relevant stakeholders. Carefully limiting the size of the project team will enable effective decision making while still including functional business units like HR and Finance, as well as IT.

      Activity 3.2.1 – Project team

      1 hour

      1. Considering your ERP project scope, discuss the resources and capabilities necessary, and generate a complete list of key stakeholders considering each of the roles indicated on the chart to the right.
      2. Using the list previously generated, identify a candidate(s) for each role and determine their responsibility in the ERP strategy and their expected time commitment.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the table on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Project team

      Of particular importance for this table is the commitment column. It is important that the organization understands the level of involvement for all roles. Failure to properly account for the necessary involvement is a major risk factor.

      Role Candidate Responsibility Commitment
      Project champion John Smith
      • Provide executive sponsorship.
      		 20 hours/week
      Steering committee
      • Establish goals and priorities.
      • Define scope and approve changes.
      • Provide adequate resources and resolve conflict.
      • Monitor project milestones.
      		 10 hours/week
      Project manager
      • Prepare and manage project plan.
      • Monitor project team progress.
      • Conduct project team meetings.
      		 40 hours/week
      Project team
      • Drive day-to-day project activities.
      • Coordinate department communication.
      • Make process and design decisions.
      		 40 hours/week
      Subject matter experts by area
      • Attend meetings as needed.
      • Respond to questions and inquiries.
      		 5 hours/week

      Define project roles and responsibilities to improve progress tracking

      Build a list of the core ERP strategy team members and then structure a RACI chart with the relevant categories and roles for the overall project.

      • Responsible – Conducts work to achieve the task
      • Accountable – Answerable for completeness of task
      • Consulted – Provides input for the task
      • Informed – Receives updates on the task

      Benefits of assigning RACI early:

      • Improve project quality by assigning the right people to the right tasks.
      • Improve chances of project task completion by assigning clear accountabilities.
      • Improve project buy-in by ensuring stakeholders are kept informed of project progress, risks, and successes.

      Activity 3.2.2 – Project RACI

      1 hour

      1. The ERP strategy will require a cross-functional team within IT and business units. Make sure the responsibilities are clearly communicated to the selected project sponsor.
      2. Modify the left-hand column to match the activities expected in your project.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the RACI chart on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      3.2.2 – Project RACI

      Project champion Project advisor Project steering committee Project manager Project team Subject matter experts
      Determine project scope & vision I C A R C C
      Document business goals I I A R I C
      Inventory ERP processes I I A C R R
      Map current state I I A R I R
      Assess gaps and opportunities I C A R I I
      Explore alternatives R R A I I R
      Build a roadmap R A R I I R
      Create a communication plan R A R I I R
      Present findings R A R I I R

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap

      Phase 4

      Next steps

      Phase 1

      • 1.1 Aligning business and IT
      • 1.2 Scope and priorities

      Phase 2

      • 2.1 ERP Business Model
      • 2.2 ERP processes and supporting applications
      • 2.3 Process pains, opportunities & maturity

      Phase 3

      • 3.1 Stakeholders, risk & value
      • 3.2 Project set up

      Phase 4

      • 4.1 Build your roadmap
      • 4.2 Wrap up and present

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Review the different options to solve the identified pain points
      • Build out a roadmap showing how you will get to those solutions
      • Build a communication plan that includes the stakeholder presentation

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Step 4.1

      Build your roadmap

      Activities
      • 4.1.1 Pick your path
      • 4.1.2 Build your roadmap
      • 4.1.3 Visualize your roadmap (optional)

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Review the different options to solve the identified pain points then build out a roadmap of how to get to that solution.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • A strategic direction is set
      • An initial roadmap is laid out

      Choose the right path for your organization

      There are several different paths you can take to achieve your ideal future state. Make sure to pick the one that suits your needs as defined by your current state.

      A diagram of strategies. At the top is 'Current State', at the bottom is 'Future State', and listed strategies are 'Maintain Current System', 'Augment Current System', 'Optimize', and 'Transform'.

      Explore the options for achieving your ideal future state

      CURRENT STATE STRATEGY
      Your existing application satisfies both functionality and integration requirements. The processes surrounding it likely need attention, but the system should be considered for retention. MAINTAIN CURRENT SYSTEM
      Your existing application is, for the most part, functionally rich, but may need some tweaking. Spend time and effort building and enhancing additional functionalities or consolidating and integrating interfaces. AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM
      Your ERP application portfolio consists of multiple apps serving the same functions. Consolidating applications with duplicate functionality is more cost efficient and makes integration and data sharing simpler. OPTIMIZE: CONSOLIDATE AND INTEGRATE SYSTEMS
      Your existing system offers poor functionality and poor integration. It would likely be more cost and time efficient to replace the application and its surrounding processes altogether. TRANSFORM: REPLACE CURRENT SYSTEM

      Option: Maintain your current system

      Resolve your existing process and people pain points

      MAINTAIN CURRENT SYSTEM

      Keep the system, change the process.

      Your existing application satisfies both functionality and integration requirements. The processes surrounding it likely need attention, but the system should be considered for retention.

      Maintaining your current system entails adjusting current processes and/or adding new ones, and involves minimal cost, time, and effort.

      INDICATORS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
      People Pain Points
      • Lack of training
      • Low user adoption
      • Lack of change management
      • Contact vendor to inquire about employee training opportunities
      • Build a change management strategy
      Process Pain Points
      • Legacy processes
      • Workarounds and shortcuts
      • Highly specialized processes
      • Inconsistent processes
      • Explore process reengineering and process improvement opportunities
      • Evaluate and standardize processes

      Option: Augment your current system

      Use augmentation to resolve your existing technology and data pain points

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Add to the system.

      Your existing application is for the most part functionally rich but may need some tweaking. Spend time and effort enhancing your current system.

      You will be able to add functions by leveraging existing system features. Augmentation requires limited investment and less time and effort than a full system replacement.

      INDICATORS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
      Technology Pain Points
      • Lack of reporting functions.
      • Lacking functional depth in key process areas.
      • Add point solutions or enable modules to address missing functionality.
      Data Pain Points
      • Poor data quality
      • Lack of data for processing and reporting
      • Single-source data entry
      • Add modules or augment processes to capture data

      Option: Consolidate and integrate

      Consolidate and integrate your current systems to address your technology and data pain points

      CONSOLIDATE AND INTEGRATE SYSTEMS

      Get rid of one system, combine two, or connect many.

      Your ERP application portfolio consists of multiple apps serving the same functions.

      Consolidating your systems eliminates the need to manage multiple pieces of software that provide duplicate functionality. Reducing the number of ERP applications makes integration and data sharing simpler.

      INDICATORS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
      Technology Pain Points
      • Disparate and disjointed systems
      • Multiple systems supporting the same function
      • Unused software licenses
      • System consolidation
      • System and module integration
      • Assess usage and consolidate licensing
      Data Pain Points
      • Multiple versions of same data
      • Duplication of data entry in different modules or systems
      • Poor data quality
      • Centralize core records
      • Assign data ownership
      • Single-source data entry

      Option: Replace your current system

      Replace your system to address gaps in your existing processes and various pain points

      REPLACE CURRENT SYSTEM

      Start from scratch.

      You’re transitioning from an end-of-life legacy system. Your existing system offers poor functionality and poor integration. It would likely be more cost and time efficient to replace the application and its surrounding processes all together.

      INDICATORS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
      Technology Pain Points
      • Lack of functionality and poor integration.
      • Obsolete technology.
      • Not aligned with technology direction or enterprise architecture plans.
      • Evaluate the ERP technology landscape.
      • Determine if you need to replace the current system with a point solution or an all-in-one solution.
      • Align ERP technologies with enterprise architecture.
      Data Pain Points
      • Limited capability to store and retrieve data.
      • Understand your data requirements.
      Process Pains
      • Insufficient tools to manage workflow.
      • Review end-to-end processes.
      • Assess user satisfaction.

      Activity 4.1.1 – Path to future state

      1+ hour
      1. Discuss the four options and the implications for your organization.
      2. Come to an agreement on your chosen path.

      The same diagram of strategies. At the top is 'Current State', at the bottom is 'Future State', and listed strategies are 'Maintain Current System', 'Augment Current System', 'Optimize', and 'Transform'.

      Activity 4.1.2 – Build a roadmap

      1-2 hours

      1. Start your roadmap with the stakeholder presentation. This is your mark in the sand to launch the project.
      2. For each item on your roadmap assign an owner who will be accountable to the completion of the roadmap item.
      3. Wherever possible, assign a start date, month, or quarter. The more specific you can be the better.
      4. Identify completion dates to create a sense of urgency. If you are struggling with start dates, it can help to start with a finish date and “back in” to a start date based on estimated efforts.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Note:
      Your roadmap should be treated as a living document that is updated and shared with the stakeholders on a regular schedule.

      Preview of the strategy roadmap table on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      ERP Strategy roadmap

      Initiative Owner Start Date Completion Date
      Create final workshop deliverable Info-Tech 16 September, 2021
      Review final deliverable Workshop sponsor
      Present to executive team Oct 2021
      Build business case CFO, CIO, Directors 3 weeks to build
      3-4 weeks process time
      Build an RFI for initial costings 1-2 weeks
      Stage 1 approval for requirements gathering Executive committee Milestone
      Determine and acquire BA support for next step 1 week
      Requirements gathering – level 2 processes Project team 5-6 weeks effort
      Build RFP (based on informal approval) CFO, CIO, Directors 4th calendar quarter 2022 Possible completion January 2023
      2-4 weeks

      Activity 4.1.3 – Build a visual roadmap [optional]

      1 hour

      1. For some, a visual representation of a roadmap is easier to comprehend. Consider taking the roadmap built in 4.1.2 and creating a visual.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the visual strategy roadmap chart on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      ERP Strategy Roadmap

      A table set up similarly to the previous one, but instead of 'Start Date' and 'Completion Date' columns there are multiple small columns broken up by fiscal quarters (i.e.. FY2022: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). There is a key with a light blue diamond shape representing a 'Milestone' and a blue arrow representing a 'Work in progress'; they are placed the Quarters columns according to when each row item reached a milestone or began its progress.

      Step 4.2

      Wrap up and present

      Activities
      • 4.2.1 Communication plan
      • 4.2.2 Stakeholder presentation

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Build a communication plan as part of organizational change management, which includes the stakeholder presentation

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP Applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • An initial communication plan for organizational change management
      • A stakeholder presentation

      Effectively communicate the changes an ERP foundation strategy will impose

      A communication plan is necessary because not everyone will react positively to change. Therefore, you must be prepared to explain the rationale behind any initiatives that are being rolled out.

      Steps:

      1. Start by building a sound communication plan.
      2. The communication plan should address all stakeholders that will be subject to change, including executives and end users.
      3. Communicate how a specific initiative will impact the way employees work and the work they do.
      4. Clearly convey the benefits of the strategy to avoid resistance.

      “The most important thing in project management is communication, communication, communication. You have to be able to put a message into business terms rather than technical terms.” (Lance Foust, I.S. Manager, Plymouth Tube Company)

      Project Goals Communication Goals Required Resources Communication Channels
      Why is your organization embarking on an ERP project? What do you want employees to know about the project? What resources are going to be utilized throughout the ERP strategy? How will your project team communicate project updates to the employees?
      Streamline processes and achieve operational efficiency. We will focus on mapping and gathering requirements for (X) mega-processes. We will be hiring process owners for each mega-process. You will be kept up to date about the project progress via email and intranet. Please feel free to contact the project owner if you have any questions.

      Activity 4.2.1 – Communication plan

      1 hour

      1. List the types of communication events and documents you will need to produce and distribute.
      2. Indicate the purpose of the event or document, who the audience is, and who is responsible for the communication.
      3. Identify who will be responsible for the development and delivery of the communication plan.

      Record this information in the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Preview of the Communication Plan table on the next slide.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Communication plan

      Use the communication planning template to track communication methods needed to convey information regarding ERP initiatives.

      This is designed to help your organization make ERP initiatives visible and create stakeholder awareness.

      Audience Purpose Delivery/ Format Communicator Delivery Date Status/Notes
      Front-line employees Highlight successes Bi-weekly email CEO Mondays
      Entire organization Highlight successes
      Plans for next iteration       		Monthly townhall Senior leadership Last Thursday of every month Recognize top contributors from different parts of the business. Consider giving out prizes such as coffee mugs
      Iteration demos Show completed functionality to key stakeholders Iteration completion web conference Delivery lead Every other Wednesday Record and share the demonstrations to all employees

      Conduct a presentation of the final deliverable for stakeholders

      After completing the activities and exercises within this blueprint, the final step of the process is to present the deliverable to senior management and stakeholders.

      Know Your Audience

      • Decide what needs to be presented and to whom. The purpose and format for communicating initiatives varies based on the audience. Identify the audience first to ensure initiatives are communicated appropriately.
      • IT and the business speak different languages. The business may not have the patience to try to understand IT, so it is up to IT to learn and use the language of business. Failing to put messages into language that resonates with the business will create disengagement and resistance.
      • Effective communication takes preparation to get the right content and tone to convey your real message.

      Learn From Other Organizations

      “When delivering the strategy and next steps, break the project down into consumable pieces. Make sure you deliver quick wins to retain enthusiasm and engagement.

      By making it look like a different project you keep momentum and avoid making it seem unattainable.” (Scott Clark, Innovation Credit Union)

      “To successfully sell the value of ERP, determine what the high-level business problem is and explain how ERP can be the resolution. Explicitly state which business areas ERP is going to touch. The business often has a very narrow view of ERP and perceives it as just a financial system. The key part of the strategy is that the organization sees the broader view of ERP.” (Scott Clark, Innovation Credit Union)

      Activity 4.2.2 – Stakeholder presentation

      1 hour

      1. The following sections of the ERP Strategy Report Template are designed to function as the stakeholder presentation:
        1. Workshop Overview
        2. ERP Models
        3. Roadmap
      2. You can use the Template as your presentation deck or extract the above sections to create a stand-alone stakeholder presentation.
      3. Remember to take your audience into account and anticipate the questions they may have.

      Samples of the ERP Strategy Report Template.

      Download the ERP Strategy Report Template

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Get the Most Out of Your ERP

      ERP technology is critical to facilitating an organization’s flow of information across business units. It allows for seamless integration of systems and creates a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making. ERP implementation should not be a one-and-done exercise. There needs to be an ongoing optimization to enable business processes and optimal organizational results.

      Build an ERP Strategy and Roadmap allows organizations to proactively implement continuous assessment and optimization of their enterprise resource planning system, including:

      • Alignment and prioritization of key business and technology drivers.
      • Identification of ERP processes, including classification and gap analysis.
      • Measurement of user satisfaction across key departments.
      • Improved vendor relations.
      • Data quality initiatives.

      This formal ERP optimization initiative will drive business-IT alignment, identify IT automation priorities, and dig deep into continuous process improvement.

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors

      Name Title Organization
      Anonymous Anonymous Software industry
      Anonymous Anonymous Pharmaceutical industry
      Boris Znebel VP of Sales Second Foundation
      Brian Kudeba Director, Administrative Systems Fidelis Care
      David Lawrence Director, ERP Allegheny Technologies Inc.
      Ken Zima CIO Aquarion Water Company
      Lance Foust I.S. Manager Plymouth Tube Company
      Pooja Bagga Head of ERP Strategy & Change Transport for London
      Rob Schneider Project Director, ERP Strathcona County
      Scott Clark Innovation Credit Union
      Tarek Raafat Manager, Application Solutions IDRC
      Tom Walker VP, Information Technology StarTech.com

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Bibliography

      Gheorghiu, Gabriel. "The ERP Buyer’s Profile for Growing Companies." Selecthub. 2018. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      "Maximizing the Emotional Economy: Behavioral Economics." Gallup. n.d. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Neito-Rodriguez, Antonio. Project Management | How to Prioritize Your Company's Projects. 13 Dec. 2016. Accessed 29 Nov 2021. Web.

      "A&D organization resolves organizational.“ Case Study. Panorama Consulting Group. 2021. PDF. 09 Nov. 2021. Web.

      "Process Frameworks." APQC. n.d. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Saxena, Deepak and Joe Mcdonagh. "Evaluating ERP Implementations: The Case for a Lifecycle-based Interpretive Approach." The Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 29-37. 22 Feb. 2019. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Build Your BizDevOps Playbook

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      • Parent Category Name: Architecture & Strategy
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      • Today’s rapidly scaling and increasingly complex products create mounting pressure on delivery teams to release new features and changes quickly and with sufficient quality.
      • Many organizations see BizDevOps as a solution to help meet this demand. However, they often lack the critical cross-functional collaboration and team-sport culture that are critical for success.
      • The industry provides little consensus and guidance on how to prepare for the transition to BizDevOps.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • BizDevOps is cultural, not driven by tools. It is about delivering high-quality and valuable releases to stakeholders through collective ownership, continuous collaboration, and team-first behaviors supported by tools.
      • BizDevOps begins with a strong foundation in five key areas. The crux of successful BizDevOps is centered on the strategic adoption and optimization of building great requirements, collaborative practices, iterative delivery, application management, and high-fidelity environments.
      • Teams take STOCK of what it takes to collaborate effectively. Teams and stakeholders must show up, trust the delivery method and people, orchestrate facilitated activities, clearly communicate and knowledge share every time they collaborate.

      Impact and Result

      • Bring the right people to the table. BizDevOps brings significant organizational, process and technology changes to improve delivery effectiveness. Include the key roles in the definition and validation of your BizDevOps vision and practices.
      • Focus on the areas that matter. Review your current circumstances and incorporate the right practices that addresses your key challenges and blockers to becoming BizDevOps.
      • Build your BizDevOps playbook. Gain a broad understanding of the key plays and practices that makes a successful BizDevOps organization. Verify and validate these practices in order to tailor them to your context. Keep your playbook live.

      Build Your BizDevOps Playbook Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Find out why you should implement BizDevOps, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Get started with BizDevOps

      Set the right expectations with your stakeholders and define the context of your BizDevOps implementation.

      • Build Your BizDevOps Playbook – Phase 1: Get Started With BizDevOps
      • BizDevOps Playbook

      2. Tailor your BizDevOps playbook

      Tailor the plays in your BizDevOps playbook to your circumstances and vision.

      • Build Your BizDevOps Playbook – Phase 2: Tailor Your BizDevOps Playbook
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Build Your BizDevOps Playbook

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Set Your Expectations

      The Purpose

      Discuss the goals of your BizDevOps playbook.

      Identify the various perspectives who should be included in the BizDevOps discussion.

      Level set expectations of your BizDevOps implementation.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Identification of the key roles who should be included in the BizDevOps discussion.

      Learning of key practices to support your BizDevOps vision and goals.

      Your vision of BizDevOps in your organization.

      Activities

      1.1 Define BizDevOps.

      1.2 Understand your key stakeholders.

      1.3 Define your objectives.

      Outputs

      Your BizDevOps definition

      List of BizDevOps stakeholders

      BizDevOps vision and objectives

      2 Set the Context

      The Purpose

      Understand the various methods to initiate the structuring of facilitated collaboration.

      Share a common way of thinking and behaving with a set of principles.

      Focus BizDevOps adoption on key areas of software product delivery.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A chosen collaboration method (Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban) to facilitate collaboration

      A mutually understanding and beneficial set of guiding principles

      Areas where BizDevOps will see the most benefit

      Activities

      2.1 Select your foundation method.

      2.2 Define your guiding principles.

      2.3 Focus on the areas that matter.

      Outputs

      Chosen collaboration model

      List of guiding principles

      High-level assessment of delivery practices and its fit for BizDevOps

      3 Tailor Your BizDevOps Playbook

      The Purpose

      Review the good practices within Info-Tech’s BizDevOps Playbook.

      Tailor your playbook to reflect your circumstances.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understanding of the key plays involved in product delivery

      Product delivery plays that reflect the challenges and opportunities of your organization and support your BizDevOps vision

      Activities

      3.1 Review and tailor the plays in your playbook

      Outputs

      High-level discussion of key product delivery plays and its optimization to support BizDevOps

      Maintain Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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      • Parent Category Name: Engage
      • Parent Category Link: /engage
      • The uncertainty of the pandemic means that employee engagement is at higher risk.
      • Organizations need to think beyond targeting traditional audiences by considering engagement of onsite, remote, and laid-off employees.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • The changing way of work triggered by this pandemic means engagement efforts must be easy to implement and targeted for relevant audiences.

      Impact and Result

      • Identify key drivers to leverage during the pandemic to boost engagement as well as at-risk drivers to focus efforts on.
      • Select quick-win tactics to sustain and boost engagement for relevant target audiences.

      Maintain Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Determine the scope

      Evaluate the current state, stakeholder capacity, and target audience of engagement actions.

      • Maintain Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic Storyboard
      • Pandemic Engagement Workbook

      2. Identify engagement drivers

      Review impact to engagement drivers in order to prioritize and select tactics for addressing each.

      • Tactics Catalog: Maintain Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic
      • Employee Engagement During COVID-19: Manager Tactics

      3. Determine ownership and communicate engagement actions

      Designate owners of tactics, select measurement tools and cadence, and communicate engagement actions.

      • Crisis Communication Guide for HR
      • Crisis Communication Guide for Leaders
      • Leadership Crisis Communication Guide Template
      • HR Action and Communication Plan
      [infographic]

      IT Governance

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      • member rating overall impact: 9.2/10
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      • member rating average days saved: 37
      • Parent Category Name: Strategy and Governance
      • Parent Category Link: /strategy-and-governance
      • byline: Avoid bureaucracy and achieve alignment with a practical approach.
      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you may want to redesign your IT governance, Review our methodology, and understand how we can support you in completing this process.

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

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      • Parent Category Name: Mobile Development
      • Parent Category Link: /mobile-development
      • Organizations see the value of mobile applications in improving productivity and reach of day-to-day business and IT operations. This motivates leaders to begin the planning of their first application.
      • However, organizations often lack the critical foundational knowledge and skills to deliver and maintain high quality and valuable applications that meet business and user priorities and technical requirements.
      • Mobile technologies and trends are continually evolving and maturing. It is hard to predict which trends will make a significant impact and to prepare current mobile investments to harness their value of these trends.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Mobile applications can stress the stability, reliability, and overall quality of your enterprise systems and services. They will also increase your security risks because of the exposure of your enterprise technology assets to unsecured networks and devices.
      • High costs of entry may restrict what built-in features your users can have in their mobile experience. Workarounds may not be sufficient to offset the costs of certain built-in feature needs.
      • Many operating models do not enable or encourage the collaboration required to fully understand user needs and behaviors and evaluate mobile opportunities and underlying operational systems from multiple perspectives.

      Impact and Result

      • Establish the right expectations. Understand your mobile users by learning their needs, challenges, and behaviors. Discuss the current state of your systems and your high priority non-functional requirements to determine what to expect from your mobile applications.
      • Choose the right mobile platform approach and shortlist your mobile delivery solutions. Obtain a thorough view of the business and technical complexities of your mobile opportunities, including current mobile delivery capabilities and system compatibilities.
      • Create your mobile roadmap. Describe the gradual rollout of your mobile technologies through minimal valuable products (MVPs).

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools Storyboard

      This blueprint helps you develop an approach to understand the mobile experience your stakeholders want your users to have and select the appropriate platform and delivery tools to meet these expectations.

      • Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools Storyboard

      2. Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template – Clearly communicate the goal and approach of your mobile application implementation in a language your audience understands.

      This template narrates a story to describe the need and expectations of your low- and no-code initiative to get buy-in from stakeholders and interested parties.

      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Infographic

      Workshop: Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Choose Your Platform and Delivery Solution

      The Purpose

      Choose the right mobile platform.

      Shortlist your mobile delivery solution and desired features and services.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A chosen mobile platform that meets user and enterprise needs.

      Candidate mobile delivery solutions that meet your delivery needs and capacity of your teams.

      Activities

      1.1 Select your platform approach.

      1.2 Shortlist your mobile delivery solution.

      1.3 Build your feature and service lists.

      Outputs

      Desired mobile platform approach.

      Shortlisted mobile delivery solutions.

      Desired list of vendor features and services.

      2 Create Your Roadmap

      The Purpose

      Design the mobile application minimal viable product (MVP).

      Create your mobile roadmap.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An achievable and valuable mobile application that is scalable for future growth.

      Clear intent of business outcome delivery and completing mobile delivery activities.

      Activities

      2.1 Define your MVP release.

      2.2 Build your roadmap.

      Outputs

      MVP design.

      Mobile delivery roadmap.

      3 Set the Mobile Context

      The Purpose

      Understand your user’s environment needs, behaviors, and challenges.

      Define stakeholder expectations and ensure alignment with the holistic business strategy.

      Identify your mobile application opportunities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Thorough understanding of your mobile user and opportunities where mobile applications can help.

      Level set stakeholder expectations and establish targeted objectives.

      Prioritized list of mobile opportunities.

      Activities

      3.1 Generate user personas with empathy maps.

      3.2 Build your mobile application canvas.

      3.3 Build your mobile backlog.

      Outputs

      User personas.

      Mobile objectives and metrics.

      Mobile opportunity backlog.

      4 Identify Your Technical Needs

      The Purpose

      Define the mobile experience you want to deliver and the features to enable it.

      Understand the state of your current system to support mobile.

      Identify your definition of mobile application quality.

      List the concerns with mobile delivery.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Clear understanding of the desired mobile experience.

      Potential issues and risks with enabling mobile on top of existing systems.

      Grounded understanding of mobile application quality.

      Holistic readiness assessment to proceed with mobile delivery.

      Activities

      4.1 Discuss your mobile needs.

      4.2 Conduct a technical assessment.

      4.3 Define mobile application quality.

      4.4 Verify your decision to deliver mobile applications.

      Outputs

      List of mobile features to enable the desired mobile experience.

      System current assessment.

      Mobile application quality definition.

      Verification to proceed with mobile delivery.

      Further reading

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      Maximize the value of your mobile investments by prioritizing technology decisions on user experience, business priorities, and system quality.

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Analyst Perspective

      Mobile is the way of working.

      Workers require access to enterprise products, data, and services anywhere at anytime on any device. Give them the device-specific features, offline access, desktop-like interfaces, and automation capabilities they need to be productive.

      To be successful, you need to instill a collaborative business-IT partnership. Only through this partnership will you be able to select the right mobile platform and tools to balance desired outcomes with enterprise security, performance, integration, quality, and other delivery capacity concerns.

      This is a picture of Andrew Kum-Seun Senior Research Analyst, Application Delivery and Application Management Info-Tech Research Group

      Andrew Kum-Seun
      Senior Research Analyst,
      Application Delivery and Application Management
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      • Organizations see the value of mobile applications in improving productivity and reach of day-to-day business and IT operations. This motivates leaders to begin the planning of their first application.
      • However, organizations often lack the critical foundational knowledge and skills to deliver and maintain high quality and valuable applications that meet business and user priorities and technical requirements.
      • Mobile technologies and trends are continually evolving and maturing. It is hard to predict which trends will make a significant impact and to prepare current mobile investments to harness the value of these trends.

      Common Obstacles

      • Mobile applications can stress the stability, reliability and overall quality of your enterprise systems and services. They will also increase your security risks because of the exposure of your enterprise technology assets to unsecured networks and devices.
      • High costs of entry may restrict what native features your users can have in their mobile experience. Workarounds may not be sufficient to offset the costs of certain native feature needs.
      • Many operating models do not enable or encourage the collaboration required to fully understand user needs and behaviors and evaluate mobile opportunities and underlying operational systems from multiple perspectives.

      Info-Tech's Approach

      • Establish the right expectations. Understand your mobile users by learning their needs, challenges, and behaviors. Discuss the current state of your systems and your high priority non-functional requirements to determine what to expect from your mobile applications.
      • Choose the right mobile platform approach and shortlist your mobile delivery solutions. Obtain a thorough view of the business and technical complexities of your mobile opportunities, including current mobile delivery capabilities and system compatibilities.
      • Create your mobile roadmap. Describe the gradual rollout of your mobile technologies through minimal valuable products (MVPs).

      Insight Summary

      Overarching Info-Tech Insight

      Treat your mobile applications as digital products. Digital products are continuously modernized to ensure they are fit-for-purpose, secured, accessible, and immersive. A successful mobile experience involves more than just the software and supporting system. It involves good training and onboarding, efficient delivery turnaround, and a clear and rational vision and strategy.

      Phase 1: Set the Mobile Context

      • Build applications your users need and desire – Design the right mobile application that enables your users to address their frustrations and productivity challenges.
      • Maximize return on your technology investments – Build your mobile applications with existing web APIs, infrastructure, and services as much as possible.
      • Prioritize mobile security, performance and integration requirements – Understand the unique security, performance, and integration influences has on your desired mobile user experience. Find the right balance of functional and non-functional requirements through business and IT collaboration.

      Phase 2: Define Your Mobile Approach

      • Start with a mobile web platform - Minimize disruptions to your existing delivery process and technical stack by building against common web standards. Select a hybrid platform or cross-platform if you need device hardware access or have complicated non-functional requirements.
      • Focus your mobile solution decision on vendor support and functional complexity – Verify that your solution is not only compatible with the architecture, data, and policies of existing business systems, but satisfies IT's concerns with access to restricted technology and data, and with IT's ability to manage and operate your applications.
      • Anticipate changes, defects & failures in your roadmap - Quickly shift your mobile roadmaps according to user feedback, delivery challenges, value, and stability.

      Mobile is how the business works today

      Mobile adoption continues to grow in part due to the need to be a mobile workforce, and the shift in customer behaviors. This reality pushed the industry to transform business processes and technologies to better support the mobile way of working.

      Mobile Builds Interests
      61%
      Mobile devices drove 61% of visits to U.S. websites
      Source: Perficient, 2021

      Mobile Maintains Engagement
      54%
      Mobile devices generated 54.4% of global website traffic in Q4 2021.
      Source: Statista, 2022

      Mobile Drives Productivity
      82%
      According to 82% of IT executives, smartphones are highly important to employee productivity
      Source: Samsung and Oxford Economics, 2022

      Mobile applications enable and drive your digital business strategy

      Organizations know the criticality of mobile applications in meeting key business and digital transformation goals, and they are making significant investments. Over half (58%) of organizations say their main strategy for driving application adoption is enabling mobile access to critical enterprise systems (Enterprise CIO, 2016). The strategic positioning and planning of mobile applications are key for success.

      Mobile Can Motivate, Support and Drive Progress in Key Activities Underpinning Digital Transformation Goals

      Goal: Enhance Customer Experience

      • A shift from paper to digital communications
      • Seamless, omni-channel client experiences across devices
      • Create Digital interactive documents with sections that customers can customize to better understand their communications

      Goal: Increase Workflow Throughput & Efficiency

      • Digitized processes and use of data to improve process efficiency
      • Modern IT platforms
      • Automation through robotic process automation (RPA) where possible
      • Use of AI and machine learning for intelligent automation

      Source: Broadridge, 2022

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Define Your Digital Business Strategy blueprint.

      Well developed mobile applications bring unique opportunities to drive more value

      Role

      Opportunities With Mobile Applications

      Expected Value

      Stationary Worker

      Design flowcharts and diagrams, while abandoning paper and desktop applications in favor of easy-to-use, drawing tablet applications.

      Multitask by checking the application to verify information given by a vendor during their presentation or pitch.

      • Reduce materials cost to complete administrative responsibilities.
      • Digitally and automatically store and archive frequently used documents.

      Roaming Worker
      (Engineer)

      Replace physical copies of service and repair manuals with digital copies, and access them with mobile applications.

      Scan or input product bar code to determine whether a replacement part is available or needs to be ordered.

      • Readily access and update corporate data anywhere at anytime.
      • Expand employee responsibilities with minimal skills impact.

      Roaming Worker
      (Nurse)

      Log patient information according to HIPAA standards and complete diagnostics live to propose medication for a patient.

      Receive messages from senior staff about patients and scheduling while on-call.

      • Quickly and accurately complete tasks and update patient data at site.
      • Be readily accessible to address urgent issues.

      Info-Tech Insight

      If you build it, they may not come. Design and build the applications your user wants and needs, and ensure users are properly onboarded and trained. Learn how your applications are leveraged, capture feedback from the user and system dashboards, and plan for enhancements, fixes, and modernizations.

      Workers expect IT to deliver against their high mobile expectations

      Workers want sophisticated mobile applications like what they see their peers and competitors use.

      Why is IT considering building their own applications?

      • Complex and Unique Workflows: Canned templates and shells are viewed as incompatible to the workflows required to complete worker responsibilities outside the office, with the same level of access to corporate data as on premise.
      • Supporting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): Developing your own mobile applications around your security protocols and standards can help mitigate the risks with personal devices that are already in your workforce.
      • Long-Term Architecture Misalignment: Outsourcing mobile development risks the mobile application misaligned with your quality standards or incompatible with other enterprise and third-party systems.

      Continuously meeting aggressive user expectations will not be easy

      Value Quickly Wears Off
      39.9% of users uninstall an application because it is not in use.
      40%
      Source: n=2,000, CleverTap, 2021

      Low Tolerance to Waiting
      Keeping a user waiting for 3 seconds is enough to dissatisfy 43% of users.
      43%
      Source: AppSamurai, 2018

      Quick Fixes Are Paramount
      44% of defects are found by users
      44%
      Source: Perfecto Mobile, 2014

      Mobile emphasizes the importance of good security, performance, and integration

      Today's mobile workers are looking for new ways to get more work done quickly. They want access to enterprise solutions and data directly on their mobile devices, which can reside on multiple legacy systems and in the cloud and third-party infrastructure. This presents significant performance, integration, and security risks.

      Cloud Solutions: Can I use my existing APIs?. Solutions in Corporate Networks: Do my legacy systems have the capacity to support mobile?; How do I integrate solutions and data from multiple sources into a single view?; Third Party Solutions: Will I have a significant performance bottleneck?; Single View on Mobile Devices: How is corporate data stored on the device?; What new technology dependencies must I account for in my architecture and operational support capabilities?

      Accept change as the norm

      IT is challenged with keeping up with disruptive technologies, such as mobile, which are arriving and changing faster and faster.

      What is the issue? Mobile priorities, concepts, and technologies do not remain static. For example, current Google's Pixels benefit from at least three versions of Android updates and at least three years of monthly security patches after their release (NextPit, 2022). Keeping up to date with anything mobile is difficult if you do not have the right delivery and product management practices in place.

      What is the impact on IT? Those who fail to prepare for changing requirements and technologies will quickly run into maintainability, extensibility, and flexibility issues. Mobile applications will quickly become stale and misaligned with the maturity of other enterprise infrastructure and applications.

      Continuously look at the trends, vendor roadmaps, and your user's feedback to envision where your mobile applications should be. Learning from your past attempts gives you insights on the opportunities and impacts changes will have on your people, process, and technology.

      How do I address this issue? A well-defined mobile vision and roadmap ensures your initiatives are aligned with your holistic business and technology strategies, the right problem is being solved, and resources are available to deliver high priority changes.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision blueprint.

      Address the difficulties in managing enterprise mobile technologies

      Adaptability During Development

      Teams must be ready to alter their mobile approach when new insights and issues arise during and after the delivery of your mobile application and its updates.

      High Cybersecurity Standards

      Cybersecurity should be a top priority given the high security exposure of mobiles and the sensitive data mobile applications need to operate. Role-based access, back-up systems, advanced scanning, and protection software and encryption should all be implemented.

      Integration with Other Systems

      Your application will likely be integrated with other systems to expand service offerings and optimize performance and user experience. Your enterprise integration strategy ensures all systems connect against a common pattern with compatible technologies.

      Finding the Right Mobile Developers

      Enterprise mobile delivery requires a broad skillset to build valuable applications against extensive non-functional requirements in complex and integration environments. The right resources are even harder to find when native applications are preferred over web-based ones.

      Source: Radoslaw Szeja, Netguru, 2022.

      Build and manage the right experience by treating mobile as digital products

      Digital products are continuously modernized to ensure they are fit-for-purpose, secured, insightful, accessible, and interoperable. A good experience involves more than just technology.

      First, deliver the experience end users want and expect by designing the application against digital application principles.

      Business Value

      Continuous modernization

      • Fit for purpose
      • User-centric
      • Adaptable
      • Accessible
      • Private and secured
      • Informative and insightful
      • Seamless application connection
      • Relationship and network building

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Modernize Your Applications blueprint.

      Then, deliver a long-lasting experience by supporting your applications with key governance and management capabilities.

      • Product Strategy and Roadmap
      • External Relationships
      • User Adoption and Organizational Change Management
      • Funding
      • Knowledge Management
      • Stakeholder Management
      • Product Governance
      • Maintenance & Enhancement
      • User Support
      • Managing and Governing Data
      • Requirements Analysis and Design
      • Research & Development

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Make the Case for Product Delivery blueprint.

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      Maximize the value of your mobile investments by prioritizing technology decisions on user experience, business priorities, and system quality.

      WORKFLOW

      1. Capture Your User Personas and Journey workflow: Trigger: Step 1; Step 2; Step 3; Step 4; Outcome
      2. Select Your Platform Nine datapoints are arranged on a graph where the x axis s labeled: User Centric Needs; and the Y axis is labeled: Enterprise-centric needs. The datapoints are, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Hybrid; Cross- Platform; Native; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform; Cros-s Platform; Web; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform.
      3. Shortlist Your Solutions A quadrant analysis is depicted. the top data is labeled Complex Mobile Features; the right side is labeled Organization-Managed Stack; the bottom is labeled Simple Mobile Features; and the left side is labeled Vendor-Managed Stack. The quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Vendor- Hosted Mobile Platform; Custom Native Development Solutions; Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solutions; Custom Web Development Solutions. In the middle of the graph are the following, in order from top to bottom: Cross-Platform Development Solutions; Hybrid Development Solutions

      Strategic Perspective
      Business and Product Strategies

      1. End-User Perspective

      End User Needs

      • Productivity
      • Innovation
      • Transformation

      Native User Experience

      • Anytime, Anywhere
      • Visually Pleasing & Fulfilling
      • Personalized & Insightful
      • Hands-Off & Automated
      • Integrated Ecosystem

      2. Platform Perspective

      Technical Requirements

      Security

      Performance

      Integration

      Mobile Platform

      3. Solution Perspective

      Vendor Support

      Services

      Stack Mgmt.

      Quality & Risk

      Mobile Delivery Solutions

      Make user experience (UX) the standard

      User experience (UX) focuses on a user's emotions, beliefs, and physical and psychological responses that occur before, during, or after interacting with a service or product.

      For a mobile application to be meaningful, the functions, aesthetics and content must be:

      • Usable
        • Users can intuitively navigate through your mobile application and complete their desired tasks.
      • Desirable
        • The application elements are used to evoke positive emotions and appreciation.
      • Accessible
        • Users can easily use your mobile application, including those with disabilities.
      • Valuable
        • Users find the content useful, and it fulfills a need.

      Enable a greater experience with UX-driven thinking

      Designing for a high-quality experience requires more than just focusing on the UI. It also requires the merging of multiple business, technical, and social disciplines in order to create an immersive, practical, and receptive application. The image on the right explains the disciplines involved in UX. This is critical for ensuring users have a strong desire to use the mobile application, it is adequately supported technically, and it supports business objectives.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Implement and Mature Your User Experience Design Practice blueprint.

      A Venn diagram is depicted, demonstrating the inputs that lead to an interactive design, with interactive elements, usability, and accessibility. This work by Mark Roden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

      Source: Marky Roden, Xomino, 2018

      Define the mobile experience your end users want

      • Anytime, Anywhere
        • The user can access, update and analyze data and corporate products and services whenever they want, in all networks, and on any device.
      • Hands-Off and Automated
        • The application can perform various workflows and tasks without the user's involvement and notify the user when specific triggers are hit.
      • Personalized and Insightful
        • Content presentation and subject are tailored for the user based on specific inputs from the user, device hardware, or predicted actions.
      • Integrated Ecosystem
        • The application supports a seamless experience across various third-party and enterprise applications and services the user needs.
      • Visually Pleasing and Fulfilling
        • The UI is intuitive and aesthetically gratifying, with little security and performance trade-offs to use the full breadth of its functions and services.

      Each mobile platform has its own take on the mobile native experience. The choice ultimately depends on whether the costs and effort are worth the anticipated value.

      Mobile value is dependent on the platform you choose

      What is a platform?

      "A platform is a set of software and a surrounding ecosystem of resources that helps you to grow your business. A platform enables growth through connection: its value comes not only from its own features, but from its ability to connect external tools, teams, data, and processes." (Source: Emilie Nøss Wangen, 2021) In the mobile context, applications in a platform execute and communicate through a loosely-coupled API architecture, whether the supporting system is managed and supported by your organization or by third-party providers.

      Web

      Mobile web applications are deployed and executed within the mobile web browser. They are often developed with a combination of web and scripting languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Web often takes two forms on mobile:

      • Progressive Web Applications (PWA)
      • Mobile Web Sites

      Hybrid

      Hybrid applications are developed with web technologies but are deployed as native applications. The code is wrapped using a framework so that it runs locally within a native container. It uses the device's browser runtime engine to support more sophisticated designs and features than to the web approach.

      Cross-Platform

      Cross-platform applications are developed within a distinct programming or scripting environment that uses its own scripting language (often like web languages) and APIs. The solution compiles the code into device-specific builds for native deployment.

      Native

      Native applications are developed and deployed to specific devices and OSs using platform-specific software development kits (SDKs) provided by the operating system vendors. The programming language and framework are dictated by the targeted device, such as Java for Android.

      Start mobile development on a mobile web platform

      Start with what you have: begin with a mobile web platform to minimize impacts to your existing delivery skill sets and technical stack while addressing business needs. Resort to a hybrid first. Then consider a cross-platform application if you require device access or need to meet specific non-functional requirements.

      Why choose a mobile web platform?

      Pros

      The latest versions of the most popular web languages (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript) abstract away from the granular, physical components of the application, simplifying the development process. HTML5 offer some mobile features (e.g. geolocation, accelerometer) that can meet your desired experience without the need for native development skills. Native look-and-feel, high performance, and full device access are just a few tradeoffs of going with web languages.

      Cons

      Native mobile platforms depend on device-specific code which follows specific frameworks and leverages unique programming libraries, such as Objective C for iOS and Java for Android. Each language requires a high level of expertise in the coding structure and hardware of specific devices. This requires resources with specific skillsets and different tools to support development and testing.

      Other Notable Benefits with Web Languages

      • Modern browsers in most mobile devices can execute and render many mobile features developed in web languages, allowing for greater portability and sophistication of code across multiple devices. However, this flexibility comes at the cost of performance since the browser's runtime engine will not perform as well as a native engine.
      • Web languages are well known by developers, minimizing skills and resourcing impacts. Consequently, changes can be quickly accommodated and updated uniformly across all end users.

      Select your mobile platform

      Drive your mobile platform selection against user-centric needs (e.g. device access, aesthetics) and enterprise-centric needs (e.g. security, system performance).

      When does a platform makes sense to use?

      Web

      • Desire to maximize current web technologies investments (people, process, and technologies).
      • Use cases do not require significant computational resources on the device or are tightly constrained by non-functional requirements.
      • Limited budget to acquire mobile development resources.
      • Access to device hardware is not a high priority.

      Hybrid / Cross-Platform

      • The need to quickly spin up native-like applications for multiple platforms and devices.
      • Desire to leverage existing web development skills, but also a need for device access and meeting specific non-functional requirements.
      • Vendor support is needed for the entire mobile delivery process.

      Native

      • Developers are experts in the target programming language and with the device's hardware.
      • Strong need for high performance, security, and device-specific access and customizations.
      • Application use cases require significant computing resources.

      Nine datapoints are arranged on a graph where the x axis s labeled: User Centric Needs; and the Y axis is labeled: Enterprise-centric needs. The datapoints are, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Hybrid; Cross- Platform; Native; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform; Cros-s Platform; Web; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform.

      Understand the common attributes of a mobile delivery solution

      • Source Code Management – Built-in or having the ability to integrate with code management solutions for branching, merging, and versioning. Debugging and coding assistance capabilities may be available.
      • Single Code Base – Capable of programming in a standard coding and scripting language for deployment into several platforms and devices. This code base is aligned to a common industry framework (e.g. AngularJS, Java) or a vendor-defined one.
      • Out-of-the-Box Connectors & Plug-ins – Pre-built APIs enhance the solution's capabilities with third-party tools and systems to deliver and manage high quality and valuable mobile applications.
      • Emulators – Ability to virtualize an application's execution on a target platform and device.
      • Support for Native Features – Supports plug-ins and APIs for access to device-specific features.

      What are mobile delivery solutions?

      A mobile delivery solution provides the tools, resources, and support to enable or build your mobile application. It can provide pre-built applications, vendor supported components to allow some configurations, or resources for full stack customizations. Solutions can be barebone software development kits (SDKs), or comprehensive suites offering features to support the entire software delivery lifecycle, such as:

      • Mobile application management
      • Testing and publishing to app stores
      • Content management
      • Cloud hosting
      • Application performance management

      Info-Tech Insight

      Mobile enablement and development capabilities are already embedded in many common productivity tools and enterprise applications, such as Microsoft PowerApps and ERP modules. They can serve as a starting point in the initial rollout of new management and governance practices without the need to acquire new tools.

      Select your mobile delivery solutions

      1. Set the scope of your framework.
      • The initial context of this framework is based on the mobile functions needed to support your desired mobile experience and on the current state of your enterprise and 3rd party systems.
    • Define the decision factors for your solution selection.
      • Review the decision factors that will influence the selection of your mobile delivery solution for each mobile opportunity:
      • Stack Management – Who will be hosting and supporting your mobile application stack?
      • Workflows Complexity & Native Experience – How complex is your desired mobile experience and how will native device features be leveraged?
    • Select your solution type.
      • Mobile delivery solutions are broadly defined in the following groups:
      • Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) – Pre-built mobile applications requiring little to no configurations or implementation effort.
      • Vendor Hosted Mobile Platform – Back-end and mid-tier infrastructure and operational support are managed by a vendor.
      • Cross-Platform Development – Frameworks that transform a single code base into platform-specific builds.
      • Hybrid Development – Tools that wrap a single code base into a locally deployable build.
      • Custom Web Development – Environment enabling full stack development for mobile web applications.
      • Custom Native Development – Environment enabling full stack development for mobile native applications.
      • A quadrant analysis is depicted. the top data is labeled Complex Mobile Features; the right side is labeled Organization-Managed Stack; the bottom is labeled Simple Mobile Features; and the left side is labeled Vendor-Managed Stack. The quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Vendor- Hosted Mobile Platform; Custom Native Development Solutions; Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solutions; Custom Web Development Solutions. In the middle of the graph are the following, in order from top to bottom: Cross-Platform Development Solutions; Hybrid Development Solutions

      Optimize your software delivery process

      Mobile brings new delivery and management challenges that are often difficult for organizations that are tied to legacy systems, hindered by rigid and slow delivery lifecycles, and are unable to adopt leading-edge technologies. Many of these challenges stem from the fact that mobile is a significant shift from desktop development:

      • Mobile devices and operating systems are heavily fragmented, especially in the Android space.
      • Test coverage is significantly expanded to include physical environments and multiple network connections.
      • Mobile devices do not have the same performance capabilities and memory storage as their desktop counterparts.
      • The user interface must be strategically designed to accommodate the limited screen size.
      • Mobile applications are highly susceptible to security breaches.
      • Mobile users often expect quick turnaround time on fixes and enhancements due to continuously changing technology, business priorities, and user needs.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Modernize Your SDLC blueprint.

      How should the process change?

      • Cross-functional collaboration – Bringing business and IT together at the most opportune times to clarify user needs and business priorities, and set realistic expectations given technology and capacity constraints. The appropriate tactics and techniques are used to improve decision making and delivery effectiveness according to the type of work.
      • Iterative delivery – Frequent delivery of progressive changes minimizes the risk of low-quality features by containing and simplifying scope, and enables responsive turnarounds of fixes, enhancements, and priority changes.
      • Feedback loops –Mobile application owners constantly review, update and refine their backlog of mobile features and changes to reflect user feedback and system performance metrics. Delivery teams proactively prepare the application for future scaling based on lessons and feedback learned from earlier releases.

      Achieve mobile success with MVPs

      By delivering mobile capabilities in small iterations, teams recognize value sooner and reduce accumulated risk. Both benefits are realized as the iteration enters validation testing and release.

      This image depicts a graph of the learn-build-measure cycle over time, adapted from Managing the Development of Large Software Systems, Dr. Winston W. Royce, 1970

      An MVP focuses on a small set of functions, involves minimal possible effort to deliver a working and valuable solution, and is designed to satisfy a specific user group. Its purpose is to:

      • Maximize learning.
      • Evaluate the value and acceptance of mobile applications.
      • Inform the building of a mobile delivery practice.

      The build-measure-learn loop suggests mobile delivery teams should perpetually take an idea and develop, test, and validate it with the mobile development solution, then expand on the MVP using the lessons learned and evolving ideas. In this sense the MVP is just the first iteration in the loop.

      Gauge the value with the right metrics

      Metrics are a powerful way to drive behavior change in your organization. But metrics are highly prone to creating unexpected outcomes so they must be used with great care. Use metrics judiciously to avoid gaming or ambivalent behavior, productivity loss, and unintended consequences.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively blueprint.

      What should I measure?

      1. Mobile Application Engagement, Retention and User Satisfaction
        1. The activeness of users on the applications, the number of returning users, and the happiness of the users.
        2. Example: Number of tasks completed, number of active and returning users, session length and intervals, user satisfaction
      2. Value Driven from Mobile Applications
        1. The business value that the user directly or indirectly receives with the mobile application.
        2. Example: Mobile application revenue, business operational costs, worker productivity, business reputation and image
      3. Delivery Throughput and Quality
        1. The health and quality of your mobile applications throughout their lifespan and the speed to deliver working applications that meet stakeholder expectations.
        2. Example: Frequency of release, lead time, request turnaround, escaped defects, test coverage.

      Use Info-Tech's diagnostic to evaluate the reception of your mobile applications

      Info-Tech's Application Portfolio Assessment (APA) Diagnostic is a canned end-user satisfaction survey used to evaluate your application portfolio health to support data-driven decisions.

      This image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's Application Portfolio Assessment (APA) Diagnostic

      USE THE PROGRAM DIAGNOSTIC TO:

      • Assess the importance and satisfaction of enterprise applications.
      • Solicit feedback from your end users on applications being used.
      • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current applications.
      • Perform a high-level application rationalization initiative.

      INTEGRATE DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS TO:

      • Target which applications to analyze in greater detail.
      • Expand on the initial application rationalization results with a more comprehensive and business-value-focused criteria.

      Grow your mobile delivery practice

      Level 1: Mobile Delivery Foundations

      You understand the opportunities and impacts mobile has on your business operations and its disruptive nature on your enterprise systems. Your software delivery lifecycle was optimized to incorporate the specific practices and requirements needed for mobile. A mobile platform was selected based on stakeholder needs that are weighed against current skillsets, high priority non-functional requirements, the available capacity and scalability of your stack, and alignment to your current delivery process.

      Level 2: Scaled Mobile Delivery

      New features and mobile use cases are regularly emerging in the industry. Ensuring your mobile platform and delivery process can easily scale to incorporate constantly changing mobile features and technologies is key. This can help minimize the impact these changes will have on your mobile stack and the resulting experience.

      Achieving this state requires three competencies: mobile security, performance optimization, and integration practices.

      Level 3: Leading-Edge Mobile Delivery

      Many of today's mobile trends involve, in one form or another, hardware components on the mobile device (e.g., NFC receivers, GPS, cameras). You understand the scope of native features available on your end user's mobile device and the required steps and capabilities to enable and leverage them.

      Hit a home run with your stakeholders

      Use a data-driven approach to select the right tooling vendor for your needs – fast.

      Awareness Education & Discovery Evaluation Selection

      Negotiation & Configuration

      1.1 Proactively Lead Technology Optimization & Prioritization 2.1 Understand Marketplace Capabilities & Trends 3.1 Gather & Prioritize Requirements & Establish Key Success Metrics 4.1 Create a Weighted Selection Decision Model 5.1 Initiate Price Negotiation with Top Two Venders
      1.2 Scope & Define the Selection Process for Each Selection Request Action 2.2 Discover Alternate Solutions & Conduct Market Education 3.2 Conduct a Data Driven Comparison of Vendor Features & Capabilities 4.2 Conduct Investigative Interviews Focused on Mission Critical Priorities with Top 2-4 Vendors 5.2 Negotiate Contract Terms & Product Configuration

      1.3 Conduct an Accelerated Business Needs Assessment

      		2.3 Evaluate Enterprise Architecture & Application Portfolio Narrow the Field to Four Top Contenders 4.3 Validate Key Issues with Deep Technical Assessments, Trial Configuration & Reference Checks 5.3 Finalize Budget Approval & Project
      1.4 Align Stakeholder Calendars to Reduce Elapsed Time & Asynchronous Evaluation 2.4 Validate the Business Case 5.4 Invest in Training & Onboarding Assistance

      Investing time improving your software selection methodology has big returns.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Not all software selection projects are created equal – some are very small, some span the entire enterprise. To ensure that IT is using the right framework, understand the cost and complexity profile of the application you're looking to select. Info-Tech's Rapid Application Selection Framework approach is best for commodity and mid-tier enterprise applications; selecting complex applications is better handled by the methodology in Info-Tech's Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process.

      Pitch your mobile delivery approach with Info-Tech's template

      Communicate the justification of your approach to mobile applications with Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template:

      • Level set your mobile application goals and objectives by weighing end user expectations with technical requirements.
      • Define the high priority opportunities for mobile applications.
      • Educate decision makers of the limitations and challenges of delivering specific mobile experiences with the various mobile platform options.
      • Describe your framework to select the right mobile platform and delivery tools.
      • Lay out your mobile delivery roadmap and initiatives.

      INFO-TECH DELIVERABLE

      This is a screenshot from Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Info-Tech's methodology for mobile platform and delivery solution selection

      1. Set the Mobile Context

      2. Define Your Mobile Approach

      Phase Steps

      Step 1.1 Build Your Mobile Backlog

      Step 1.2 Identify Your Technical Needs

      Step 1.3 Define Your Non-Functional Requirements

      Step 2.1 Choose Your Platform Approach

      Step 2.2 Shortlist Your Mobile Delivery Solution

      Step 2.3 Create a Roadmap for Mobile Delivery

      Phase Outcomes

      • User personas
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile opportunity backlog
      • List of mobile features to enable the desired mobile experience
      • System current assessment
      • Mobile application quality definition
      • Readiness for mobile delivery
      • Desired mobile platform approach
      • Shortlisted mobile delivery solutions
      • Desired list of vendor features and services
      • MVP design
      • Mobile delivery roadmap

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

      Workshop

      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting

      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1 Phase 2

      Call #1: Understand the case and motivators for mobile applications.

      Call #2: Discuss the end user and desired mobile experience.

      Call #5: Discuss the desired mobile platform.

      Call #8: Discuss your mobile MVP.

      Call #3: Review technical complexities and non-functional requirements.

      Call #6: Shortlist mobile delivery solutions and desired features.

      Call #9: Review your mobile delivery roadmap.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is 6 to 9 calls over the course of 2 to 3 months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Module 4 Post-Workshop
      Activities Set the Mobile Context Identify Your Technical Needs Choose Your Platform & Delivery Solution Create Your Roadmap Next Steps andWrap-Up (offsite)

      1.1 Generate user personas with empathy maps

      1.2 Build your mobile application canvas

      1.3 Build your mobile backlog

      2.1 Discuss your mobile needs

      2.2 Conduct a technical assessment

      2.3 Define mobile application quality

      2.4 Verify your decision to deliver mobile applications

      3.1 Select your platform approach

      3.2 Shortlist your mobile delivery solution

      3.3 Build your feature and service lists

      4.1 Define your MVP release

      4.2 Build your roadmap

      5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

      Deliverables

      • User personas
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile opportunity backlog
      • List of mobile features to enable the desired mobile experience
      • System current assessment
      • Mobile application quality definition
      • Verification to proceed with mobile delivery
      • Desired mobile platform approach
      • Shortlisted mobile delivery solutions
      • Desired list of vendor features and services
      • MVP design
      • Mobile delivery roadmap
      • Completed workshop output deliverable
      • Next steps

      Phase 1

      Set the Mobile Context

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      This phase will walk you through the following steps:

      • Step 1.1 – Build Your Mobile Backlog
      • Step 1.2 – Identify Your Technical Needs
      • Step 1.3 – Define Your Non-Functional Requirements

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Step 1.1

      Build Your Mobile Backlog

      Activities

      1.1.1 Generate user personas with empathy maps

      1.1.2 Build your mobile application canvas

      1.1.3 Build your mobile backlog

      Set the Mobile Context

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • User personas
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile opportunity backlog

      Users expect your organization to support their mobile way of working

      Today, users expect sophisticated and personalized features, immersive interactions, and cross-platform capabilities from their mobile applications and be able to access information and services anytime, anywhere and on any device. These demands are pushing organizations to become more user-driven, placing greater importance on user experience (UX) with enterprise-grade technologies.

      How has technologies evolved to easily enable mobile capabilities?

      • Desktop-Like Features
        • Native-like features, such as geolocation and local caching, are supported through web language or third-party plugins and extensions.
      • Extendable & Scalable
        • Plug-and-play architecture is designed to allow software delivery teams to explore new use cases and mobile capabilities with out-of-the-box connectors and/or customizable REST APIs.
      • Low Barrier to Entry
        • Low- and no-code development tools, full-stack solutions, and plug-and-play architectures allow non-technical users to easily build and implement applications without direct IT involvement.
      • Templates & Shells
        • Vendors provide UI templates and application shells that contain pre-built native features and multiple aesthetic layouts in a publishing-friendly and configurable way.
      • Personalized Content
        • Content can be uniquely tailored to a user's preference or be automatically generated based on the user's profile or activity history.
      • Hands-Off Operations
        • Many mobile solutions operate in a as-a-service model where the underlying and integrated technologies are managed by the vendor and abstracted away.

      Make user experience (UX) the standard

      User experience (UX) focuses on a user's emotions, beliefs, and physical and psychological responses that occur before, during, or after interacting with a service or product.

      For a mobile application to be a meaningful experience, the functions, aesthetics and content must be:

      • Usable
        • Users can intuitively navigate through your mobile application and complete their desired tasks.
      • Desirable
        • The application elements are used to evoke positive emotions and appreciation.
      • Accessible
        • Users can easily use your mobile application, including those with disabilities.
      • Valuable
        • Users find the content useful, and it fulfills a need.

      Enable a greater experience with UX-driven thinking

      Designing for a high-quality experience requires more than just focusing on the UI. It also requires the merging of multiple business, technical, and social disciplines in order to create an immersive, practical, and receptive application. The image on the right explains the disciplines involved in UX. This is critical for ensuring users have a strong desire to use the mobile application, it is adequately supported technically, and it supports business objectives.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Implement and Mature Your User Experience Design Practice blueprint.

      A Venn diagram is depicted, demonstrating the inputs that lead to an interactive design, with interactive elements, usability, and accessibility. This work by Mark Roden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

      Source: Marky Roden, Xomino, 2018

      UX-driven mobile apps bring together a compelling UI with valuable functionality

      Info-Tech Insight

      Organizations often over-rotate on the UI. Receptive and satisfying applications require more than just pretty pictures, bold colors, and flashy animations. UX-driven mobile applications require the seamless merging of enticing design elements and valuable functions that are specifically tailored to the behaviors of the users. Take a deep look at how each design element and function is used and perceived by the user, and how your application can sufficiently support user needs.

      UI-Function Balance to Achieve Highly Satisfying Mobile Applications

      An application's UI and function both contribute to UX, but they do so in different ways.

      • The UI generates the visual, audio, and vocal cues to draw the attention of users to key areas of the application while stimulating the user's emotions.
      • Functions give users the means to satisfy their needs effortlessly.

      Finding the right balance of UI and function is dependent on the organization's understanding of user emotions, needs, and tendencies. However, these factors are often left out of an application's design. Having the right UX competencies is key in assuring user behaviors are appropriately accommodated early in the delivery process.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Modernize Your Corporate Website to Drive Business Value blueprint.

      Focus your efforts on all items that drive high user experience and satisfaction

      UX-driven mobile applications involve all interaction points and system components working together to create an immersive experience while being actively supported by delivery and operations teams. Many organizations commonly focus on visual and content design to improve the experience, but this is only a small fraction of the total UX design. Look beyond the surface to effectively enhance your application's overall UX.

      Typical Focus of Mobile UX

      Aesthetics
      What Are the Colors & Fonts?

      Relevance & Modern
      Will Users Receive Up to Date Content and Trending Features?

      UI Design
      Where Are the Interaction Points?

      Content Layout
      How Is Content Organized?

      Critical Areas of Mobile UX That Are Often Ignored

      Web Infrastructure
      How Will Your Application Be Operationally Supported?

      Human Behavior
      What Do the Users Feel About Your Application?

      Coding Language
      What Is the Best Language to Use?

      Cross-Platform Compatibility
      How Does It Work in a Browser Versus Each Mobile Platform?

      Application Quality
      How are Functional and Non-Functional Needs Balanced?

      Adoption & Retention
      How Do I Promote Adoption and Maintain User Engagement?

      Application Support
      How Will My Requests and Issues Be Handled?

      Use personas to envision who will be using your mobile application

      What Are Personas?

      Personas are detailed descriptions of the targeted audience of your mobile application. It represents a type of user in a particular scenario. Effective personas:

      • Express and focus on the major needs and expectations of the most important user groups.
      • Give a clear picture of the typical user's behavior.
      • Aid in uncovering critical features and functionalities.
      • Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values.

      Why Are Personas Important to UX?

      They are important because they help:

      • Focus the development of mobile application features on the immediate needs of the intended audience.
      • Detail the level of customization needed to ensure content is valuable to and resonates with the user.
      • Describe how users may behave when certain audio and visual stimulus are triggered from the mobile application.
      • Outline the special design considerations required to meet user accessibility needs.

      Key Elements of a Persona:

      • Professional and Technical Skills and Experiences (e.g., knowledge of mobile applications, area of expertise)
      • Persona Group (e.g., executives)
      • Technological Environment of User (e.g., devices, browsers, network connection)
      • Demographics (e.g., nationality, age, language spoken)
      • Typical Behaviors and Tendencies (e.g., goes to different website when cannot find information in 20 seconds)
      • Purpose of Using the Mobile Application (e.g., search for information, submit registration form)

      Create empathy maps to gain a deeper understanding of stakeholder personas

      Empathy mapping draws out the characteristics, motivations, and mannerisms of a potential end user.

      This image contains an image of an empathy map from XPLANE, 2017. it includes the following list: 1. Who are we empathizing with; 2. What do they need to DO; 3. What do they SEE; 4. What do they SAY?; 5. What do they DO; 6. What do they HEAR; 7. What do they THINK and FEEL.

      Source: XPLANE, 2017

      Empathy mapping focuses on identifying the problems, ambitions, and frustrations they are looking to resolve and describes their motivations for wanting to resolve them. This analysis helps your teams:

      • Better understand the reason behind the struggles, frustrations and motivators through a user's perspective.
      • Verify the accuracy of assertions made about the user.
      • Pinpoint the specific problem the mobile application will be designed to solve and the constraints to its successful adoption and on-going use.
      • Read more about empathy mapping and download the empathy map PDF template here.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Use Experience Design to Drive Empathy with the Business blueprint.

      1.1.1 Generate user personas with empathy maps

      1-3 hours

      1. Download the Empathy Map Canvas and draw the map on a whiteboard or project it on the screen.
      2. Choose an end user to be the focus of your empathy map. Using sticky notes, fill out the sections of the empathy map in the following order:
        1. Start by filling out the goals section. State who the subject of the empathy map will be and what activity or task you would like them to do.
          1. Focus on activities and tasks that may benefit from mobile.
        2. Next, complete the outer sections in clockwise order (see, say, do, hear). The purpose of this is to think in terms of what the subject of your empathy map is observing, sensing, and experiencing.
          1. Indicate the mobile devices and OS users will likely use and the environments they will likely be in (e.g., places with poor connections)
          2. Discuss accessibility needs and how user prefer to consume content.
        3. Last, complete the inner circle of the empathy map (pains and gains). Since you spent the last step of the exercise thinking about the external influences on your stakeholder, you can think about how those stimuli affect their emotions.
      3. Document your end user persona into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Input

      		Output
      • List of potential mobile application users
      • User personas
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.1.1 cont'd

      This image contains an image of an empathy map from XPLANE, 2017. it includes the following list: 1. Who are we empathizing with; 2. What do they need to DO; 3. What do they SEE; 4. What do they SAY?; 5. What do they DO; 6. What do they HEAR; 7. What do they THINK and FEEL.

      Download the Empathy Map Canvas

      Many business priorities are driving mobile

      Mobile Applications

      • Product Roadmap
        • Upcoming enterprise technology releases and updates offer mobile capabilities to expand its access to a broader userbase.
      • Cost Optimization
        • Maximizing business value in processes and technologies through disciplined and strategic cost and spending reduction practices with mobile applications.
      • Competitive Differentiation
        • Developing and optimizing your organization's distinct products and services quickly with mobile applications.
      • Digital Transformation
        • Transitioning processes, data and systems to a digital environment to broaden access to enterprise data and services anywhere at anytime.
      • Operational Efficiency
        • Improving software delivery and business process throughput by increasing worker productivity with mobile applications.
      • Other Business Priorities
        • New corporate products and services, business model changes, application rationalization and other priorities may require modernization, innovation and a mobile way of working.

      Focus on the mobile business and end user problem, not the solution

      People are naturally solution-focused. The onus isn't on them to express their needs in the form of a problem statement!

      When refining your mobile problem statement, attempt to answer the following four questions:

      • Who is impacted?
      • What is the (user or organizational) challenge that needs to be addressed?
      • Where does it happen?
      • Why does it matter?

      There are many ways of writing problem statements, a clear approach follows the format:

      • "Our (who) has the problem that (what) when (where). Our solution should (why)."
      • Example: "Our system analysts has the problem that new tickets take too long to update when working on user requests. Our approach should enable the analyst to focus on working with customers and not on administration."

      Adapted from: "Design Problem Statements – What and How to Frame Them"

      How to write a vision statement

      It's ok to dream a little!

      When thinking about a vision statement, think about:

      • Who is it for?
      • What does the customer need?
      • What can we do for them?
      • And why is this special?

      There are different statement templates available to help form your vision statements. Some include:

      1. For [our target customer], who [customer's need], the [product] is a [product category or description] that [unique benefits and selling points]. Unlike [competitors or current methods], our product [main differentiators]. (Crossing the Chasm)
      2. "We believe (in) a [noun: world, time, state, etc.] where [persona] can [verb: do, make, offer, etc.], for/by/with [benefit/goal].
      3. To [verb: empower, unlock, enable, create, etc.] [persona] to [benefit, goal, future state].
      4. Our vision is to [verb: build, design, provide], the [goal, future state], to [verb: help, enable, make it easier to...] [persona]."

      (Numbers 2-4 from: How to define a product vision)

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      A vision shouldn't be so far out that it doesn't feel real and so short term that it gets bogged down in minutiae and implementation details. Finding that right balance will take some trial and error and will be different depending on your organization.

      Ensure mobile supports ongoing value delivery and stakeholder expectations

      Success hinges on your team's ability to deliver business value. Well-developed mobile applications instill stakeholder confidence in ongoing business value delivery and stakeholder buy-in, provided proper expectations are set and met.

      Business value defines the success criteria of an organization, and it is interpreted from four perspectives:

      • Profit Generation – The revenue generated from a business capability with mobile applications.
      • Cost Reduction – The cost reduction when performing business capabilities with mobile applications.
      • Service Enablement – The productivity and efficiency gains of internal business operations with mobile applications.
      • Customer and Market Reach – Metrics measuring the improved reach and insights of the business in existing or new markets.

      See our Build a Value Measurement Framework blueprint for more information about business value definition.

      This image contains a quadrant analysis with the following labels: Left - Improved Capabilities; Top - Outward; Right - Financial Benefit; Bottom - Inward. the quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Customer and Market Reach; Profit Generation; Service Enhancement; Cost Reduction

      Set realistic mobile goals

      Mobile applications enables the exploration of new and different ways to improve worker productivity and deliver business value. However, the realities of mobile applications may limit your ability to meet some of your objectives:

      • On the day of installation, the average retention rate for public-facing applications was 25.3%. By day 30, the retention rate drops to 5.7%. (Source: Statista, 2020)
      • 63% of 3,335 most popular Android mobile applications on the Google Play Store contained open-source components with known security vulnerabilities and other pervasive security concerns including exposing sensitive data (Source: Synopsys, 2021)
      • 62% of users would delete the application because of performance issues, such as crashes, freezes and other errors (Source: Intersog, 2021).

      These realities are not guaranteed to occur or impede your ability to deliver valuable mobile applications, but they can lead to unachievable expectations. Ensure your stakeholders are not oversold on advertised benefits and hold you accountable for unrealistic objectives. Recognize that the organization must also change how it works and operates to see the full benefit and adoption of mobile applications and overcome the known and unknown challenges and hurdles that often come with mobile delivery.

      Benchmarks present enticing opportunities, but should be used to set reasonable expectations

      66%
      Improve Market Reach
      66% of the global population uses a mobile device
      Source: DataReportal, 2021

      20%
      Connected Workers are More Productive
      Nearly 20 percent of mobile professionals estimate they miss more than three hours of working time a week not being able to get connected to the internet
      Source: iPass, 2017

      80%
      Increase Brand Recognition
      80% of smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies whose mobile sites of apps help them easily find answers to their questions
      Source: Google, 2018

      Gauge the value with the right metrics

      Metrics are a powerful way to drive behavior change in your organization. But metrics are highly prone to creating unexpected outcomes so they must be used with great care. Use metrics judiciously to avoid gaming or ambivalent behavior, productivity loss, and unintended consequences.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively blueprint.

      What should I measure?

      1. Mobile Application Engagement, Retention and User Satisfaction
        • The activeness of users on the applications, the number of returning users, and the happiness of the users.
        • Example: Number of tasks completed, number of active and returning users, session length and intervals, user satisfaction
      2. Value Driven from Mobile Applications
        • The business value that the user directly or indirectly receives with the mobile application.
        • Example: Mobile application revenue, business operational costs, worker productivity, business reputation and image
      3. Delivery Throughput and Quality
        • The health and quality of your mobile applications throughout their lifespan and the speed to deliver working applications that meet stakeholder expectations.
        • Example: Frequency of release, lead time, request turnaround, escaped defects, test coverage.

      Use Info-Tech's diagnostic to evaluate the reception of your mobile applications

      Info-Tech's Application Portfolio Assessment (APA) Diagnostic is a canned end user satisfaction survey used to evaluate your application portfolio health to support data-driven decisions.

      This image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's Application Portfolio Assessment (APA) Diagnostic

      USE THE PROGRAM DIAGNOSTIC TO:

      • Assess the importance and satisfaction of enterprise applications.
      • Solicit feedback from your end users on applications being used.
      • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current applications.
      • Perform a high-level application rationalization initiative.

      INTEGRATE DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS TO:

      • Target which applications to analyze in greater detail.
      • Expand on the initial application rationalization results with a more comprehensive and business-value-focused criteria.

      Use a canvas to define key elements of your mobile initiative

      Mobile Application Initiative Name

      Owner:
      Parent Initiative:
      Updated:

      NAME
      LINK
      October 05, 2022

      Problem Statement

      Vision

      The problem or need mobile applications are addressing

      Vision, unique value proposition, elevator pitch, or positioning statement

      Business Goals & Metrics

      Capabilities, Processes & Application Systems

      List of business objectives or goals for the mobile application initiative.

      List of business capabilities, processes and application systems related to this initiative.

      Personas/Customers/Users

      Stakeholders

      List of groups who consume the mobile application

      List of key resources, stakeholders, and teams needed to support the process, systems and services

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision blueprint.

      1.1.2 Build your mobile application canvas

      1-3 hours

      1. Complete the following fields to build your mobile application canvas:
        • Mobile application initiative name
        • Mobile application owner
        • Parent initiative name
        • Problem that mobile applications are intending to solve and your vision. See the outcome from the previous exercise.
        • Mobile application business goals and metrics.
        • Capabilities, processes and application systems involved
        • Primary customers/users (For additional help with your product personas, download and complete to Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision.)
      2. Stakeholders
      3. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • User personas
      • Business strategy
      • Problem and vision statements
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile application canvas
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.1.2 cont'd

      Mobile Application Initiative Name

      Owner:
      Parent Initiative:
      Updated:

      NAME
      LINK
      October 05, 2022

      Problem Statement

      Vision

      [Problem Statement]

      [Vision]

      Business Goals & Metrics

      Capabilities, Processes & Application Systems

      [Business Goal 1, Metric]
      [Business Goal 2, Metric]
      [Business Goal 3, Metric]

      [Business Capability]
      [Business Process]
      [Application System]

      Personas/Customers/Users

      Stakeholders

      [User 1]
      [User 2]
      [User 3]

      [Stakeholder 1]
      [Stakeholder 2]
      [Stakeholder 3]

      Create your mobile backlog

      Your backlog gives you a holistic understanding of the demand for mobile applications across your organization.

      Opportunities
      Trends
      MVP

      External Sources

      Internal Sources

      • Market Trends Analysis
      • Competitive Analysis
      • Regulations & Industry Standards
      • Customer & Reputation Analysis
      • Application Rationalization
      • Capability & Value Stream Analysis
      • Business Requests & Incidents
      • Discovery & Mining Capabilities

      A mobile application minimum viable product (MVP) focuses on a small set of functions, involves minimal possible effort to deliver a working and valuable solution, and is designed to satisfy a specific user group. Its purpose is to maximize learning, evaluate value and acceptance, and inform the development of a full-fledged mobile delivery practice.

      Find your mobile opportunities

      Modern mobile technologies enable users to access, analyze and change data anywhere with native device features, which opens the door to enhanced processes and new value sources.

      Examples of Mobile Opportunities:

      • Mobile Payment
        • Cost alternative to credit card transaction fees.
        • Loyalty systems are updated upon payment without need of a physical card.
        • Quicker completion of transactions.
      • Inventory Management
        • Update inventory database when shipments arrive or deliveries are made.
        • Inform retailers and consumers of current stock on website.
        • Alert staff of expired or outdated products.
      • Quick and Small Data Transfer
        • Embed tags into posters to transfer URIs, which sends users to sites containing product or location information.
        • Replace entry tags, fobs, or smart cards at doors.
        • Exchange contact details.
      • Location Sensitive Information
        • Proactively send promotions and other information (e.g. coupons, event details) to users within a defined area.
        • Inform employees of nearby prospective clients.
      • Supply Chain Management
        • Track the movement and location of goods and delivery trucks.
        • Direct drivers to the most optimal route.
        • Location-sensitive billing apps such as train and bus ticket purchases.
      • Education and Learning
        • Educate users about real-world objects and places with augmented books and by pushing relevant learning materials.
        • Visualize theories and other text with dynamic 3D objects.
      • Augmented Reality (AR)
        • Provide information about the user's surroundings and the objects in the environment through the mobile device.
        • Interactive and immersive experiences with the inclusion of virtual reality.
      • Architecture and Planning
        • Visualize historic buildings or the layout of structural projects and development plans.
        • Develop a digital tour with location-based audio initiated with location-based services or a camera.
      • Navigation
        • Provide directions to users to navigate and provide contextual travelling instructions.
        • Push traffic notifications and route changes to travelling users.
      • Tracking User Movement
        • Predict the future location of users based on historic information and traffic modelling.
        • Proactively push information to users before they reach their destination.

      1.1.3 Build your mobile backlog

      1-3 hours

      1. As a group, discuss the use and value mobile already has within your organization for each persona.
        1. What are some of the apps being used?
        2. What enterprise systems and applications are already exposed to the web and accessible by mobile devices?
        3. How critical is mobile to business operations, marketing campaigns, etc.?
      2. Discuss how mobile can bring additional business value to other areas of your organization for each persona.
        1. Can mobile enhance your customer reach? Do your customers care that your services are offered through mobile?
        2. Are employees asking for better access to enterprise systems in order to improve their productivity?
      3. Write your mobile opportunities in the following form: As a [end user persona], I want to [process or capability to enable with mobile applications], so that [organizational benefit]. Prioritize each opportunity against feasibility, desirability, and viability.
      4. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Input

      		Output
      • Problem and vision statements
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile application canvas
      • Mobile opportunities backlog
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Manage your mobile backlog

      Your backlog stores and organizes your mobile opportunities at various stages of readiness. It must be continuously refined to address new requests, maintenance and changing priorities.

      3 – IDEAS
      Composed of raw, vague, and potentially large ideas that have yet to go through any formal valuation.

      2 – QUALIFIED
      Researched and qualified opportunities awaiting refinement.

      1 READY
      Discrete, refined opportunities that are ready to be placed in your team's delivery plans.

      Adapted from Essential Scrum

      A well-formed backlog can be thought of as a DEEP backlog

      • Detailed Appropriately: opportunities are broken down and refined as necessary
      • Emergent: The backlog grows and evolves over time as opportunities are added and removed.
      • Estimated: The effort an opportunity requires is estimated at each tier.
      • Prioritized: The opportunity's value and priority are determined at each tier.

      (Source Perforce, 2018)

      See our Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision for more information on backlog practices.

      Step 1.2

      Identify Your Technical Needs

      Activities

      1.2.1 Discuss your mobile needs

      1.2.2 Conduct a technical assessment

      Set the Mobile Context

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • List of mobile features to enable the desired mobile experience
      • System current assessment

      Describe your desired mobile experiences with journey maps

      A journey map tells the story of the user's experience with an existing or prospective product or service, starting with a trigger, through the process of engagement, to create an outcome. Journey maps can focus on a particular part of the user's or the entire experience with your organization's products or services. All types of maps capture key interactions and motivations of the user in chronological order.

      Why are journey maps an important for mobile application delivery?

      Everyone has their own preferred method for completing their tasks on mobile devices – often, what differentiates one persona from another has to do with how users privately behave. Understand that the activities performed outside of IT's purview develop context for your persona's pain points and position IT to meet their needs with the appropriate solution.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Use Experience Design to Drive Empathy with the Business blueprint.

      Two charts are depicted, the first shows the path from Trigger, through steps 1-4, to the outcome, and the Activities and Touchpoints for each. The second chart shows the Expectation analysis, showing which steps are must-haves, nice-to-haves, and hidden-needs.

      Pinpoint specific mobile needs in your journey map

      Realize that mobile applications may not precisely fit with your personas workflow or align to their expectations due to device and system limitations and restrictions. Flag the mobile opportunities that require significant modifications to underlying systems.

      Consider these workflow scenarios that can influence your persona's desire for mobile:

      Workflow Scenarios Ask Yourself The Key Questions Technology Constraints or Restrictions to Consider Examples of Mobile Opportunities

      Data View – Data is queried, prepared and presented to make informed decisions, but it cannot be edited.

      Where is the data located and can it be easily gathered and prepared?

      Is the data sensitive and can it be locally stored?

      What is the level of detail in my view?

      Multi-factor authentication required.

      Highly sensitive data requires encryption in transit and at rest.

      Minor calculations and preparation needed before data view.

      Generate a status report.

      View social media channels.

      View contact information.

      Data Collection – Data is inputted directly into the application and updates back-end system or integrated 3rd party services.

      Do I need special permission to add, delete and overwrite data?

      How much data can I edit?

      Is the data automatically gathered?

      Bandwidth restrictions.

      Multi-factor authentication required.

      Native device access required (e.g., camera).

      Multiple types and formats of gathered data.

      Manual and automatic data gathering

      Book appointments with clients.

      Update inventory.

      Tracking movement of company assets.

      Data Analysis & Modification – Data is evaluated, manipulated and transformed through the application, back-end system or 3rd party service.

      How complex are my calculations?

      Can computations be offloaded?

      What resources are needed to complete the analysis?

      Memory and processing limitations on device.

      Inability to configure device and enterprise hardware to support system resource demand.

      Scope and precision of analysis and modifications.

      Evaluate and propose trends.

      Gauge user sentiment.

      Propose next steps and directions.

      Define the mobile experience your end users want

      Anytime, Anywhere
      The user can access, update and analyze data, and corporate products and services whenever they want, in all networks, and on any device.

      Hands-Off & Automated
      The application can perform various workflows and tasks without the user's involvement and notify the user when specific triggers are hit.

      Personalized & Insightful
      Content presentation and subject are tailored for the user based on specific inputs from the user, device hardware or predicted actions.

      Integrated Ecosystem
      The application supports a seamless experience across various 3rd party and enterprise applications and services the user needs.

      Visually Pleasing & Fulfilling
      The UI is intuitive and aesthetically gratifying with little security and performance trade-offs to use the full breadth of its functions and services.

      Each mobile platform has its own take on the mobile native experience. The choice ultimately depends on whether the costs and effort are worth the anticipated value.

      1.2.1 Discover your mobile needs

      1-3 hours

      1. Define the workflow of a high priority opportunity in your mobile backlog. This workflow can be pertaining to an existing mobile application or a workflow that can benefit with a mobile application.
        1. Indicate the trigger that will initiate the opportunity and the desired outcome.
        2. Break down the persona's desired outcome into small pieces of value that are realized in each workflow step.
      2. Identify activities and touchpoints the persona will need to complete to finish each step in the workflow. Indicate the technology used to complete the activity or to facilitate the touchpoint.
      3. Indicate which activities and touchpoints can be satisfied, complimented or enhanced with mobile.

      Input

      		Output
      • User personas
      • Mobile application canvas
      • Desired mobile experience
      • List of mobile features
      • Journey map
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.2.1 cont'd

      Workflow

      Trigger

      Conduct initial analysis

      Get planning help

      Complete and submit RFP

      Design and implement solution

      Implement changes

      Activities, Channels, and Touchpoints

      Need is recognized in CIO council meeting

      See if we have a sufficient solution internally

      Seek planning help (various channels)

      *Meet with IT shared services business analyst

      Select the appropriate vendor

      Follow action plan

      Compliance rqmt triggered by new law

      See if we have a sufficient solution internally

      *Hold in-person initial meeting with IT shared services

      *Review and approve rqmts (email)

      Seek miscellaneous support

      Implement project and manage change

      Research potential solutions in the marketplace

      Excess budget identified for utilization

      Pick a "favorite" solution

      *Negotiate and sign statement of work (email)

      Prime organization for the change

      Create action plan

      If solution is unsatisfactory, plan remediation

      Current Technology

      • Email
      • Video conferencing
      • Phone
      • Meeting transcripts and recordings
      • ERP
      • IT asset management
      • Internet browser for research
      • Virtual environment to demonstrate solutions
      • Email
      • Vendor assessment and procurement solution
      • Email
      • Video conferencing
      • Phone
      • Meeting transcripts and recordings
      • PDF documents and reader
      • Digital signature
      • Email
      • Video conferencing
      • Phone
      • Meeting transcripts and recordings
      • PDF documents and reader
      • Digital signature
      • Email
      • Video conferencing
      • Phone
      • Vendor assessment and procurement solution
      • Project management solution
      • Team collaboration solution
      • Email
      • Video conferencing
      • Phone
      • Project management solution
      • Team collaboration solution
      • Vendor's solution

      Legend:

      Bold – Touchpoint

      * – Activities or Touchpoints That Can Benefit with Mobile

      1.2.1 cont'd

      1-3 hours

      1. Analyze persona expectations. Identify the persona's must-haves, then nice-to-haves, and then hidden needs to effectively complete the workflow.
        1. Must-haves. The necessary outcomes, qualities, and features of the workflow step.
        2. Nice-to-haves. Desired outcomes, qualities, or features that your persona is able to articulate or express.
        3. Hidden needs. Outcomes, qualities, or features that your persona is not aware they have a desire for; benefits that they are pleasantly surprised to receive. These will usually be unknown for your first-iteration journey map.
      2. Indicate which persona expectations can be satisfied with mobile. Discuss what would the desired mobile experience be.
      3. Discuss feedback and experiences your team has heard from the personas they engage with regularly.
      4. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      1.2.1 cont'd

      Example

      This image contains an example workflow for determining mobile needs.

      1.2.1 cont'd

      Template:

      Workflow

      		TriggerStep 1Step 2Step 3Step 4

      Desired Outcome

      Journey Map

      Activities & Touch-points

      <>

      <>

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      Must-Haves

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      Nice-to-Haves

      <>

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      <>

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      Hidden Needs

      <>

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      Emotional Journey

      <>

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      If you need more than four steps in the workflow, duplicate this slide.

      Understand how mobile fits with your current system

      Evaluate the risks and impacts of your desired mobile features by looking at your enterprise system architecture from top to bottom. Is your mobile vision and needs compatible with your existing business capabilities and technologies?

      An architecture is usually represented by one or more architecture views that together provide a coherent description of the application system, including demonstrating the full impact mobile will have. A single, comprehensive model is often too complex to be understood and communicated in its most detailed form, and a model too high level hides the underlying complexity of an application's structure and deployment (The Open Group, TOGAF 8.1.1 - Developing Architecture Views). Obtain a complete understanding of your architecture by assessing it through multiple levels of views to reveal different sets of concerns:

      Application Architecture Views

      1. Use Case View
      • How does your business operate, and how will users interact with your mobile applications?
    • . Process View
      • What is the user workflow impacted by mobile, and how will it change?
    • Component View
      • How are my existing applications structured? What are its various components? How will mobile expand the costs of the existing technical debt?
    • Data View
      • What is the relationship of the data and information consumed, analyzed, and transmitted? Will mobile jeopardize the quality and reliability of the data?
    • Deployment View
      • In what environment are your mobile application components deployed? How will the existing systems operate with your mobile applications?
    • System View
      • How does your mobile application communicate with other internal and external systems? How will dependencies change with mobile?

      • See our Enhance Your Solution Architecture for more information.

      Ask key questions in your current system assessment

      • How do the various components of your system communicate with each other (e.g., web APIs, middleware, and point to point)?
      • What information is exchanged during the conversation?
      • How does the data flow from one component to the next? Is the data read-only or can application and users edit and modify it?
      • What are the access points to your mid- and back-tier systems (e.g., user access through web interface, corporate networks and third-party application access through APIs)?
      • Who has access to your enterprise systems?
      • Which components are managed and operated by third-party providers? What is your level of control?
      • What are the security protocols currently enforced in your system?
      • How often are your databases updated? Is it real-time or periodic extract, transfer, and load (ETL)?
      • What are the business rules?
      • Is your mobile stack dependent on other systems?
      • Is a mobile middleware, web server, or API gateway needed to help facilitate the integration between devices and your back-end support?

      1.2.2 Conduct a technical assessment

      1-3 hours

      1. Evaluate your current systems that will support the journey map of your mobile opportunities based on two categories: system quality and system management. Use the tables on the following slides and modify the questions if needed.
      2. Discuss if the current state of your system will impede your ability to succeed with mobile. Use this discussion to verify the decision to continue with mobile applications in your current state.
      3. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • Journey map
      • Understanding of current system
      • Assessment of current system
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.2.2 cont'd

      Current State System Quality Assessment

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Fit-for-Purpose System functionalities, services and integrations are designed and implemented for the purpose of satisfying the end users' needs and technology compatibilities. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Response Rate The system completes computation and processing requests within acceptable timeframes. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Data Quality The system delivers consumable, accurate, and trustworthy data. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Usability The system provides functionalities, services and integrations that are rewarding, engaging, intuitive, and emotionally satisfying. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Reliability The system is resilient or quickly recovers from issues and defects. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Accessible The system is available on demand and on the end user's preferred interface and device. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Secured End-user activity and data is protected from unauthorized access. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Adaptable The system can be quickly tailored to meet changing end-user and technology needs with reusable and customizable components. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)

      1.2.2 cont'd

      Current State System Management Assessment

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Documentation The system is documented, accurate, and shared in the organization. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Measurement The system is continuously measured against clearly defined metrics tied to business value. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Compliance The system is compliant with regulations and industry standards. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Continuous Improvement The system is routinely rationalized and enhanced. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Architecture There is a shared overview of how the process supports business value delivery and its dependencies with technologies and other processes. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Ownership & Accountability The process has a clearly defined owner who is accountable for its risks and roadmap. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Support Resources are available to address adoption and execution challenges. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)
      Organizational Change Management Communication, onboarding, and other change management capabilities are available to facilitate technology and related role and process changes. 1 (Very Poor) – 2 – 3 (Fair) – 4 – 5 (Excellent)

      Step 1.3

      Define Your Non-Functional Requirements

      Activities

      1.3.1 Define mobile application quality

      1.3.2 Verify your decision to deliver mobile applications

      Set the Mobile Context

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams

      Outcomes of this step

      • Mobile application quality definition
      • Readiness for mobile delivery

      Build a strong foundation of mobile application quality

      Functionality and aesthetics often take front seats in mobile application delivery. Applications are then frequently modified and changed, not because they are functionally deficient or visually displeasing, but because they are difficult to maintain or scale, too slow, vulnerable or compromised. Implementing clear quality principles (i.e., non-functional requirements) and strong quality assurance practices throughout delivery are critical to minimize the potential work of future maintenance and to avoid, mitigate and manage IT risks.

      What is Mobile Application Quality?

      • Quality requirements (i.e., non-functional requirements) are properties of a system or product that dictate how it should behave at runtime and how it should be designed, implemented, and maintained.
      • These requirements should be involved in decision making around architecture, UI and functional design changes.
      • Functionality should not dictate the level of security, availability, or performance of a product, thereby risking system quality. Functionality and quality are viewed orthogonally, and trade-offs are discussed when one impacts the other.
      • Quality attributes should never be achieved in isolation as one attribute can have a negative or positive impact on another (e.g. security and availability).

      Why is Mobile Quality Assurance Critical?

      • Quality assurance (QA) is a necessity for the validation and verification of mobile delivery, whether you are delivering applications in an Agile or Waterfall fashion. Effective QA practices implemented across the software development lifecycle (SDLC) are vital, as all layers of the mobile stack need to readily able to adjust to suddenly evolving and changing business and user needs and technologies without risking system stability and breaking business standards and expectations.
      • However, investments in QA optimizations are often afterthoughts. QA is commonly viewed as a lower priority compared to other delivery capabilities (e.g., design and coding) and is typically the first item cut when delivery is under pressure.

      See our Build a Software Quality Assurance Program for more information.

      Mobile emphasizes the importance of good security, performance and integration

      Today's mobile workforce is looking for new ways to get more work done quickly. They want access to enterprise solutions and data directly on their mobile device, which can reside on multiple legacy systems and in the cloud and third-party infrastructure. This presents significant performance, integration, and security risks.

      Cloud Solutions: Can I use my existing APIs?. Solutions in Corporate Networks: Do my legacy systems have the capacity to support mobile?; How do I integrate solutions and data from multiple sources into a single view?; Third Party Solutions: Will I have a significant performance bottleneck?; Single View on Mobile Devices: How is corporate data stored on the device?; What new technology dependencies must I account for in my architecture and operational support capabilities?

      Mobile risks opening and widening existing security gaps

      New mobile technologies and the continued expansion of the enterprise environment increase the number of entry points attackers to your corporate data and networks. The ever-growing volume, velocity, and variety of new threats puts significant pressure on mobile delivery teams who are responsible for implementing mobile security measures and maintaining alignment to your security policies and those of app stores.

      Mobile attacks can come from various vectors:

      Attack Surface: Mobile Device

      Attack Surface: Network

      Attack Surface: Data Center

      Browser:
      Phishing
      Buffer Overflow
      Data Caching

      System:
      No Passcode
      Jailbroken and Rooted OS
      No/Weak Encryption
      OS Data Caching

      Phone:
      SMSishing
      Radio Frequency Attacks

      Apps:
      Configuration Manipulation
      Runtime Injection
      Improper SSL Validation

      • Packet Sniffing
      • Session Hijacking
      • Man-in-the-Middle (circumvent password verification systems)
      • Fake SSL Certificate
      • Rogue Access Points

      Web Server:
      Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
      Brute Force Attacks
      Server Misconfigurations

      Database:
      SQL Injection
      Data Dumping

      Understand the top web security risks and vulnerabilities seen in the industry

      Recognize mobile applications are exposed to the same risks and vulnerabilities as web applications. Learn of OWASP's top 10 web security risks.

      • Broken Access Control
        • Failures typically lead to unauthorized information disclosure, modification, or destruction of all data or performing a business function outside the user's limits.
      • Cryptographic Failures
        • Improper and incorrect protection of data in transit and at rest, especially proprietary and confidential data and those that fall under privacy laws.
      • Injection
        • Execution of malicious code and injection of hostile or unfiltered data on the mobile device via the mobile application.
      • Insecure Design
        • Missing or ineffective security controls in the application design. An insecure design cannot be fixed by a perfect implementation,. Needed security controls were never created to defend against specific attacks.
      • Security Misconfiguration
        • The security settings in the application are not securely set or configured, including poor security hardening and inadequate system upgrading practices.
      • Vulnerable and Outdated Components
        • System components are vulnerable because they are unsupported, out of date, untested or not hardened against current security concerns.
      • Identification and Authentication Failures
        • Improper or poor protection against authentication-related attacks, particularly to the user's identity, authentication and session management.
      • Software and Data Integrity Failures
        • Failures related to code and infrastructure that does not protect against integrity violations, such as an application relying upon plugins, libraries, or modules from untrusted sources, repositories, and content delivery networks
      • Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
        • Insufficient logging, detection, monitoring, and active response that hinders the ability to detect, escalate, and respond to active breaches.
      • Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
        • SSRF flaws occur whenever a web application is fetching a remote resource without validating the user-supplied URL.

      Good mobile application performance drives satisfaction and value delivery

      Underperforming mobile applications can cause your users to be unproductive. Your mobile applications should always aim to satisfy the productivity requirements of your end users.

      Users quickly notice applications that are slow and difficult to use. Providing a seamless experience for the user is now heavily dependent on how well your application performs. Optimizing your mobile application's processing efficiency can help your users perform their jobs properly in various environment conditions.

      Productive Users Need
      Performant Mobile Applications

      Persona

      Mobile Application Use Case

      Optimized Mobile Application

      Stationary Worker

      • Design flowcharts and diagrams, while abandoning paper and desktop apps in favor of easy-to-use, drawing tablet applications.
      • Multitask by checking the application to verify information given by a vendor during their presentation or pitch.
      • Flowcharts and diagrams are updated in real time for team members to view and edit
      • Compare vendors under assessment with a quick look-up app feature

      Roaming Worker (Engineer)

      • Replace physical copies of service and repair manuals physically stored with digital copies and access them with mobile applications.
      • Scan or input product bar code to determine whether a replacement part is available or needs to be ordered.
      • Worker is capable of interacting with other features of the mobile web app while product bar code is being verified

      Enhance the performance of the entire mobile stack

      Due to frequently changing mobile hardware, users' high performance expectations and mobile network constraints, mobile delivery teams must focus on the entire mobile stack for optimizing performance.

      Fine tune your enterprise mobile applications using optimization techniques to improve performance across the full mobile stack.

      This image contains a bar graph ranking the importance of the following datapoints: Minimize render blocking resources; Configure the mobile application viewport; Determine the right image file format ; Determine above-the-fold content; Minimize browser reflow; Adopt UI techniques to improve perceived latency; Resource minification; Data compression; Asynchronous programming; Resource HTTP caching; Minimize network roundtrips for first time to render.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Some user performance expectations can be managed with clever UI design (e.g., spinning pinwheels to indicate loading in progress and directing user focus to quick loading content) and operational choices (e.g. graceful degradation and progressive enhancements).

      Create an API-centric integration strategy

      Mobile delivery teams are tasked to keep up with the changing needs of end users and accommodate the evolution of trending mobile features. Ensuring scalable APIs is critical in quickly releasing changes and ensuring availability of corporate services and resources.

      As your portfolio of mobile applications grows, and device platforms and browsers diversify, it will become increasingly complex to provide all the data and service capabilities your mobile apps need to operate. It is important that your APIs are available, reliable, reusable, and secure for multiple uses and platforms.

      Take an API-centric approach to retain control of your mobile development and ensure reliability.

      APIs are the underlying layer of your mobile applications, enabling remote access of company data and services to end users. Focusing design and development efforts on the maintainability, reliability and scalability of your APIs enables your delivery teams to:

      • Reuse tried-and-tested APIs to deliver, test and harden applications and systems quicker by standardizing on the use and structure of REST APIs.
      • Ensure a consistent experience and performance across different applications using the same API.
      • Uniformly apply security and access control to remain compliant to security protocols, industry standards and regulations.
      • Provide reliable integration points when leveraging third-party APIs and services.

      See our Build Effective Enterprise Integration on the Back of Business Process for more information.

      Guide your integration strategy with principles

      Craft your principles around good API management and integration practices

      Expose Enterprise Data And Functionality in API-Friendly Formats
      Convert complex on-premises application services into developer-friendly RESTful APIs

      Protect Information Assets Exposed Via APIs to Prevent Misuse
      Ensure that enterprise systems are protected against message-level attack and hijack

      Authorize Secure, Seamless Access for Valid Identities
      Deploy strong access control, identity federation and social login functionality

      Optimize System Performance and Manage the API Lifecycle
      Maintain the availability of backend systems for APIs, applications and end users

      Engage, Onboard, Educate and Manage Developers
      Give developers the resources they need to create applications that deliver real value

      Source: 5 Pillars of API Management, Broadcom, 2021

      Clarify your definition of mobile quality

      Quality does not mean the same thing to everyone

      Do not expect a universal definition of mobile quality. Each department, person and industry standard will have a different interpretation of quality, and they will perform certain activities and enforce policies that meet those interpretations. Misunderstanding of what is defined as a high quality mobile application within business and IT teams can lead to further confusion behind governance, testing priorities and compliance.

      Each interpretation of quality can lead to endless testing, guardrails and constraints, or lack thereof. Be clear on the priority of each interpretation and the degree of effort needed to ensure they are met.

      For example:

      Mobile Application Owner
      What does an accessible mobile application mean?

      Persona: Customer
      I can access it on mobile phones, tablets and the web browser

      Persona: Developer
      I have access to each layer of the mobile stack including the code & data

      Persona: Operations
      The mobile application is accessible 24/7 with 95% uptime

      Example: A School Board's Quality Definition

      Quality Attribute Definitions
      Usability The product is an intuitive solution. Usability is the ease with which the user accomplishes a desired task in the application system and the degree of user support the system provides. Limited training and documentation are required.
      Performance Usability and performance are closely related. A solution that is slow is not usable. The application system is able to meet timing requirements, which is dependent on stable infrastructure to support it regardless of where the application is hosted. Baseline performance metrics are defined and changes must result in improvements. Performance is validated against peak loads.
      Availability The application system is present, accessible, and ready to carry out its tasks when needed. The application is accessible from multiple devices and platforms, is available 24x7x365, and teams communicate planned downtimes and unplanned outages. IT must serve teachers international student's parents, and other users who access the application outside normal business hours. The application should never be down when it should be up. Teams must not put undue burden on end users accessing the systems. Reasonable access requirements are published.
      Security Applications handle both private and personal data, and must be able to segregate data based on permissions to protect privacy. The application system is able to protect data and information from unauthorized access. Users want it to be secure but seamless. Vendors need to understand and implement the District School Board's security requirements into their products. Teams ensure access is authorized, maintain data integrity, and enforce privacy.
      Reusability Reusability is the capability for components and subsystems to be suitable for use in other applications and in other scenarios. This attribute minimizes the duplication of components and implementation time. Teams ensure a modular design that is flexible and usable in other applications.
      Interoperability The degree to which two or more systems can usefully exchange meaningful information via interfaces in a particular context.

      Scalability

      There are two kinds of scalability:

      • Horizontal scalability (scaling out): Adding more resources to logical units, such as adding another server to a cluster of servers.
      • Vertical scalability (scaling up): Adding more resources to a physical unit, such as adding more memory to a single computer.

      Ease of maintenance and enhancements are critical. Additional care is given to custom code because of the inherent difficulty to make it scale and update.

      Modifiability The capability to manage the risks and costs of change, considering what can be changed, the likelihood of change, and when and who makes the change. Teams minimize the barriers to change, and get business buy in to keep systems current and valuable.
      Testability The ease with which software are made to demonstrate its faults through (typically execution-based) testing. It cannot be assumed that the vendor has already tested the system against District School Board's requirements. Testability applies to all applications, operating systems, and databases.
      Supportability The ability of the system to provide information helpful for identifying and resolving issues when it fails to work correctly. Supportability applies to all applications and systems within the District School Board's portfolio, whether that be custom developed applications or vendor provided solutions. Resource investments are made to better support the system.
      Cost Efficiency The application system is executed and maintained in such a way that each area of cost is reduced to what is critically needed. Cost efficiency is critical (e.g. printers cost per page, TCO, software what does downtime cost us), and everyone must understand the financial impact of their decisions.
      Self-Service End users are empowered to make configurations, troubleshoot and make changes to their application without the involvement of IT. The appropriate controls are in place to manage the access to unauthorized access to corporate systems.
      Modifiability The capability to manage the risks and costs of change, considering what can be changed, the likelihood of change, and when and who makes the change. Teams minimize the barriers to change, and get business buy in to keep systems current and valuable.
      Testability The ease with which software are made to demonstrate its faults through (typically execution-based) testing. It cannot be assumed that the vendor has already tested the system against District School Board's requirements. Testability applies to all applications, operating systems, and databases.
      Supportability The ability of the system to provide information helpful for identifying and resolving issues when it fails to work correctly. Supportability applies to all applications and systems within the District School Board's portfolio, whether that be custom developed applications or vendor provided solutions. Resource investments are made to better support the system.

      1.3.1 Define mobile application quality

      1-3 hours

      1. List 5 quality attributes that your organization sees as important for a successful mobile application.
      2. List the core personas that will support mobile delivery and that will consume the mobile application. Start with development, operations and support, and end user.
      3. Describe each quality attributes from the perspective of each persona by asking, "What does quality mean to you?".
      4. Review each description from each persona to come to an acceptable definition.
      5. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • User personas
      • Mobile application canvas
      • Journey map
      • Mobile application quality definition
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.3.1 cont'd

      Example: Info-Tech Guided Implementation with a Legal and Professional Services Organization

      Quality AttributeDeveloperOperations & Support TeamEnd Users

      Usability

      • Architecture and frameworks are aligned with industry best practices
      • Regular feedback through analytics and user feedback
      • Faster development and less technical debt
      • Pride in the product
      • Satisfaction that the product is serving its purpose and is actually being used by the user
      • Increased update of product use and feedback for future lifecycle
      • Standardization and positive perception of IT processes
      • Simpler to train users to adopt products and changes
      • Trust in system and ability to promote the product in a positive light
      • Trusted list of applications
      • Intuitive (easy to use, no training required)
      • Encourage collaboration and sharing ideas between end users and delivery teams
      • The information presented is correct and accurate
      • Users understand where the data came from and the algorithms behind it
      • Users learn features quickly and retain their knowledge longer, which directly correlates to decreased training costs and time
      • High uptake in use of the product
      • Seamless experience, use less energy to work with product

      Security

      • Secure by design approach
      • Testing across all layers of the application stack
      • Security analysis of our source code
      • Good approach to security requirement definition, secure access to databases, using latest libraries and using semantics in code
      • Standardized & clear practices for development
      • Making data access granular (not all or none)
      • Secure mission critical procedures which will reduce operational cost, improve compliance and mitigate risks
      • Auditable artifacts on security implementation
      • Good data classification, managed secure access, system backups and privacy protocols
      • Confidence of protection of user data
      • Encryption of sensitive data
      Availability
      • Good access to the code
      • Good access to the data
      • Good access to APIs and other integration technologies
      • Automatic alerts when something goes wrong
      • Self-repairing/recovering
      • SLAs and uptimes
      • Code documentation
      • Proactive support from the infrastructure team
      • System availability dashboard
      • Access on any end user device, including mobile and desktop
      • 24/7 uptime
      • Rapid response to reported defects or bugs
      • Business continuity

      1.3.2 Verify your decision to deliver mobile applications

      1-3 hours

      1. Review the various end user, business and technical expectations for mobile its achievability given the current state of your system and non-functional requirements.
      2. Complete the list of questions on the following slide as an indication for your readiness for mobile delivery.

      Input

      		Output
      • Mobile application canvas
      • Assessment to proceed with mobile
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      1.3.2 cont'd

      Skill Sets
      Software delivery teams have skills in creating mobile applications that stakeholders are expecting in value and quality. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Architects look for ways to reuse existing technical asset and design for future growth and maturity in mobile. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Resources can be committed to implement and manage a mobile platform. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Software delivery teams and resources are adaptable and flexible to requirements and system changes. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Delivery Process
      My software delivery process can accommodate last minute and sudden changes in mobile delivery tasks. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Business and IT requirements for the mobile are clarified through collaboration between business and IT representatives. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Mobile will help us fill the gaps and standardize our software delivery process process. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      My testing practices can be adapted to verify and validate the mobile functional and non-functional requirements. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Technical Stack
      My mid-tier and back-end support has the capacity to accommodate additional traffic from mobile. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      I have access to my web infrastructure and integration technologies, and I am capable of making configurations. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      My security approaches and capabilities can be enhanced address specific mobile application risks and vulnerabilities. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      I have a sound and robust integration strategy involving web APIs that gives me the flexibility to support mobile applications. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)

      Phase 2

      Define Your Mobile Approach

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Step 2.1 – Choose Your Platform Approach
      • Step 2.2 – Shortlist Your Mobile Delivery Solution
      • Step 2.3 – Create a Roadmap for Mobile Delivery

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Step 2.1

      Choose Your Platform Approach

      Activities

      2.1.1 Select your platform approach

      Define Your Mobile Approach

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • Desired mobile platform approach

      Mobile value is dependent on the platform you choose

      What is a platform?

      "A platform is a set of software and a surrounding ecosystem of resources that helps you to grow your business. A platform enables growth through connection: its value comes not only from its own features, but from its ability to connect external tools, teams, data, and processes." (Source: Emilie Nøss Wangen, 2021) In the mobile context, applications in a platform execute and communicate through a loosely coupled API architecture whether the supporting system is managed and supported by your organization or by 3rd party providers.

      Web

      The mobile web often takes on one of the following two approaches:

      • Responsive websites – Content, UI and other website elements automatically adjusts itself according to the device, creating a seamless experience regardless of the device.
      • Progressive web applications (PWAs) – PWAs uses the browser's APIs and features to offer native-like experiences.

      Mobile web applications are often developed with a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript languages.

      Hybrid

      Hybrid applications are developed with web technologies but are deployed as native applications. The code is wrapped using a framework so that it runs locally within a native container, and it uses the device's browser runtime engine to support more sophisticated designs and features compared to the web approach. Hybrid mobile solutions allows teams to code once and deploy to multiple platforms.

      Some notable examples:

      • Gmail
      • Instagram

      Cross-Platform

      Cross-platform applications are developed within a distinct programming or scripting environment that uses its own scripting language (often like web languages) and APIs. Then the solution will compile the code into device-specific builds for native deployment.

      Some notable examples:

      • Facebook
      • Skype
      • Slack

      Native

      Native applications are developed and deployed to specific devices and OSs using platform-specific software development kits (SDKs) provided by the operating system vendors. The programming language and framework are dictated by the targeted device, such as Java for Android.

      With this platform, developers have direct access to local device features allowing customized operations. This enables the use of local resources, such as memory and runtime engines, which will achieve a higher performance than hybrid and cross-platform applications.

      Each platform offers unique pros and cons depending on your mobile needs

      WebHybridCross-PlatformNative

      Pros

      Cons

      Pros

      Cons

      Pros

      Cons

      Pros

      Cons

      • Modern browsers support the popular of web languages (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).
      • Ubiquitous across multiple form factors and devices.
      • Mobile can be easily integrated into traditional web development processes and technical stacks.
      • Installations are not required, and updates are immediate.
      • Sensitive data can be wiped from memory after app is closed.
      • Limited access to local device hardware and software.
      • Local caching is available for limited offline capabilities, but the scope of tasks that can be completed in this scenario is restricted.
      • The browser's runtime engine is limited in computing power.
      • Not all browsers fully support the latest versions of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
      • Web languages can be used to develop a complete application.
      • Code can be reused for multiple platforms, including web.
      • Access to commonly-used native features that are not available through the web platform.
      • Quick delivery and maintenance updates compared to native and cross-platform platforms.
      • Consistent internet access is needed due to its reliance heavily reliance on web technologies to operate.
      • Limited ability to support complex workflows and features.
      • Sluggish performance compared to cross-platform and native applications.
      • Certain features may not operate the same across all platforms given the code once, deploy everywhere approach.
      • More cost-effective to develop than using native development approaches to gain similar features. Platform-specific developers are not needed.
      • Common codebase to develop applications on different applications.
      • Enables more complex application functionalities and technical customizations compared to hybrid applications.
      • Code is not portable across cross-platform delivery solutions.
      • The framework is tied to the vendor solution which presents the risk of vendor lock-in.
      • Deployment is dependent on an app store and the delivery solution may not guarantee the application's acceptance into the application store.
      • Significant training and onboarding may be needed using the cross-platform framework.
      • Tight integration with the device's hardware enables high performance and greater use of hardware features.
      • Computationally-intensive and complex tasks can be completed on the device.
      • Available offline access.
      • Apps are available through easy-to-access app stores.
      • Requires additional investments, such as app stores, app-specific support, versioning, and platform-specific extensions.
      • Developers skilled in a device-specific language are difficult to acquire and costly to train.
      • Testing is required every time a new device or OS is introduced.
      • Higher development and maintenance costs are tradeoffs for native device features.

      Start mobile development on a mobile web platform

      Start with what you have: begin with a mobile web platform to minimize impacts to your existing delivery skill sets and technical stack while addressing business needs. Resort to a hybrid first and then consider a cross-platform application if you require device access or the need to meet specific non-functional requirements.

      Why choose a mobile web platform?

      Pros

      The latest versions of the most popular web languages (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript) abstract away from the granular, physical components of the application, simplifying the development process. HTML5 offer some mobile features (e.g., geolocation, accelerometer) that can meet your desired experience without the need for native development skills. Native look-and-feel, high performance, and full device access are just a few tradeoffs of going with web languages.

      Cons

      Native mobile platforms depend on device-specific code which follows specific frameworks and leverages unique programming libraries, such as Objective C for iOS and Java for Android. Each language requires a high level of expertise in the coding structure and hardware of specific devices requiring resources with specific skillsets and different tools to support development and testing.

      Other Notable Benefits with Web Languages

      • Modern browsers in most mobile devices are capable of executing and rendering many mobile features developed in web languages, allowing for greater portability and sophistication of code across multiple devices. However, this flexibility comes at the cost of performance since the browser's runtime engine will not perform as well as a native engine.
      • Web languages are well known by developers, minimizing skills and resourcing impacts. Consequently, changes can be quickly accommodated and updated uniformly across all end users.

      Do you need a native platform?

      Consider web workarounds if you choose a web platform but require some native experiences.

      The web platform does not give you direct access or sophisticated customizations to local device hardware and services, underlying code and integrations. You may run into the situation where you need some native experiences, but the value of these features may not offset the costs to undertake a native, hybrid or cross-platform application. When developing hybrid and cross-platform applications with a mobile delivery solution, only the APIs of the commonly used device features are available. Note that some vendors may not offer a particular native feature across all devices, inhibiting your ability to achieve feature parity or exploiting device features only available in certain devices. Workarounds are then needed.

      Consider the following workarounds to address the required native experiences on the web platform:

      Native Function Description Web Workaround Impact
      Camera Takes pictures or records videos through the device's camera. Create an upload form in the web with HTML5. Break in workflow leading to poor user experience (UX).
      Geolocation Detects the geographical location of the device. Available through HTML5. Not Applicable.
      Calendar Stores the user's calendar in local memory. Integrate with calendaring system or manually upload contacts. Costly integration initiative. Poor user experience.
      Contacts Stores contact information in local memory. Integrate app with contact system or manually upload contacts. Costly integration initiative. Poor user experience.
      Near Field Communication (NFC) Communication between devices by touching them together or bringing them into proximity. Manual transfer of data. A lot of time is consumed transferring simple information.
      Native Computation Computational power and resources needed to complete tasks on the device. Resource-intensive requests are completed by back-end systems and results sent back to user. Slower application performance given network constraints.

      Info-Tech Insight

      In many cases, workarounds are available when evaluating the gaps between web and native applications. For example, not having application-level access to the camera does not negate the user option to upload a picture taken by the camera through a web form. Tradeoffs like this will come down to assessing the importance of each platform gap for your organization and whether a workaround is good enough as a native-like experience.

      Architect and configure your entire mobile stack with a plan

      • Assess your existing technology stack that will support your mobile platform. Determine if it has the capacity to handle mobile traffic and the necessary integration between devices and enterprise and 3rd party systems are robust and reliable. Reach out to your IT teams and vendors if you are missing key mobile components, such as:
      • The acquisition and provisioning of physical or virtual mobile web servers and middleware from existing vendors.
      • Cloud services [e.g., Mobile Back-end as a Service (mBaaS)] that assists in the mobilization of back-end data sources with API SDKs, orchestration of data from multiple sources, transformation of legacy APIs to mobile formats, and satisfaction of other security, integration and performance needs.
      • Configure the services of your web server or middleware to facilitate the translation, transformation, and transfer of data between your mobile front-end and back-end. If your plan involves scripts, maintenance and other ongoing costs will likely increase.
      • Leverage the APIs or adapters provided by your vendors or device manufacturers to integrate your mobile front-end and back-end support to your web server or middleware. If you are reusing a web server, the back-end integration should already be in place. Remember, APIs implement business rules to maintain the integrity of data exchange within your mobile stack.
      • See Appendix A for examples of reference architectures of mobile platforms.

      See our Enhance Your Solution Architecture for more information.

      Do Not Forget Your Security and Performance Requirements

      Security: New threats from mobile put organizations into a difficult situation beyond simply responding to them in a timely matter. Be careful not to take the benefits of security out of the mobile context. You need to make security a first-order citizen during the scoping, design, and optimization of your systems supporting mobile. It must also be balanced with other functional and non-functional requirements with the right roles taking accountability for these decisions.

      See our Strengthen the SSDLC for Enterprise Mobile Applications for more information.

      Performance: Within a distributed mobile environment, performance has a risk of diminishing due to limited device capacity, network hopping, lack of server scalability, API bottlenecks, and other device, network and infrastructure issues. Mobile web APIs suffer from the same pain points as traditional web browsing and unplanned API call management in an application will lead to slow performance.

      See our Develop Enterprise Mobile Applications With Realistic and Relevant Performance for more information.

      Enterprise platform selection requires a shift in perspective

      Your mobile platform selection must consider both user and enterprise (i.e., non-functional) needs. Use a two-step process for your analysis:

      Begin Platform Selection with a User-Centric Approach

      Organizations appealing to end users place emphasis on the user experience: the look and appeal of the user interface, and the satisfaction, ease of use, and value of its functionalities. In this approach, IT concerns and needs are not high priorities, but many functions are completed locally or isolated from mission critical corporate networks and sensitive data. Some needs include:

      • Performance: quick execution of tasks and calculations made on the device or offloaded to web servers or the cloud.
      • User Interface: cross-platform compatibility and feature-rich design and functionality. The right native experience is critical to the user adoption and satisfaction.
      • Device Access: use of local device hardware and software to complete app use cases, such as camera, calendar, and contact lists.

      Refine Platform Selection with an Enterprise-Centric Approach

      From the enterprise perspective, emphasis is on security, system performance, integration, reuse and other non-functional requirements as the primary motivations in the selection of a mobile platform. User experience is still a contributing factor because of the mobile application's need to drive value but its priority is not exclusive. Some drivers include:

      • Openness: agreed-upon industry standards and technologies that can be applied to serve enterprise needs which support business processes.
      • Integration: increase the reuse of legacy investments and existing applications and services with integration capabilities.
      • Flexibility: support for multiple data types from applications such as JSON format for mobile.
      • Capacity: maximize the utilization of your software delivery resources beyond the initial iteration of the mobile application.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Selecting a mobile platform should not solely be made on business requirements. Key technical stakeholders should be at the table in this discussion to provide insight on the implementation and ongoing costs and benefits of each platform. Both business and technical requirements should be considered when deciding on a final platform.

      Select your mobile platform

      Drive your mobile platform selection against user-centric needs (e.g. device access, aesthetics) and enterprise-centric needs (e.g. security, system performance).

      When does a platform makes sense to use?

      Web

      • Desire to maximize current web technologies investments (people, process, and technologies).
      • Use cases do not require significant computational resources on the device or are tightly constrained by non-functional requirements.
      • Limited budget to acquire mobile development resources.
      • Access to device hardware is not a high priority.

      Hybrid / Cross-Platform

      • The need to quickly spin up native-like applications for multiple platforms and devices.
      • Desire to leverage existing web development skills, but also a need for device access and meeting specific non-functional requirements.
      • Vendor support is needed for the entire mobile delivery process.

      Native

      • Developers are experts in the target programming language and with the device's hardware.
      • Strong need for high performance, security and device-specific access and customizations.
      • Application use cases requiring significant computing resources.

      Nine datapoints are arranged on a graph where the x axis s labeled: User Centric Needs; and the Y axis is labeled: Enterprise-centric needs. The datapoints are, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Hybrid; Cross- Platform; Native; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform; Cros-s Platform; Web; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform.

      2.1.1 Select your platform approach

      1-3 hours

      1. Review your mobile objectives, end user needs and non-functional requirements.
      2. Determine which mobile platform is appropriate for each mobile opportunity or use case by answering the following questions on the following slides against two factors: user-centric and enterprise-centric needs.
      3. Calculate an average score for user-centric and one for enterprise-centric. Then, map them on the matrix to indicate possible platform options. Consider all options around the plotted point.
      4. Further discuss which platforms should be the preferred choice.
      5. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • Desired mobile experience
      • List of desired mobile features
      • Current state assessments
      • Mobile platform approach
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      2.1.1 cont'd

      User-Centric Needs: Functional Requirements

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Device Hardware Access The scope of access to native device hardware features. Basic features include those that are available through current web languages (e.g., geolocation) whereas comprehensive features are those that are device-specific. 1 (Basic) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Comprehensive)
      Customized Execution of Device Hardware The degree of changes to the execution of local device hardware to satisfy functional needs. 1 (Use as Is) – 2 – 3 (Configure) – 4 – 5 (Customize)
      Device Software Access The scope of access to software on the user's device, such as calendars and contact. 1 (Basic) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Comprehensive)
      Customized Execution of Device Software The degree of changes to the execution of local device software to satisfy functional needs. 1 (Use as Is) – 2 – 3 (Configure) – 4 – 5 (Customize)
      Use Case Complexity Workflow tasks and decisions are simple and straightforward. Complex computation is not needed to acquire the desired outcome. 1 (Strongly Agree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Disagree)
      Computational Resources The resources needed on the device to complete desired functional needs. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Use Case Ambiguity The mobile use case and technical requirements are well understood and documented. Changes to the mobile application is likely. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Mobile Application Access Enterprise systems and data are accessible to the broader organization through the mobile application. This factor does not necessarily mean that anyone can access it untracked. You may still need to identify yourself or log in, etc. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Scope of Adoption & Impact The extent to which the mobile application is leveraged in the organization. 1 (Enterprise) – 2 – 3 (Department) – 4 – 5 (Team)
      Installable The need to locally install the mobile application. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Targeted Devices & Platforms Mobile applications are developed for a defined set of mobile platform versions and types and device. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Output Audience The mobile application transforms an input into a valuable output for high-priority internal or external stakeholders. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)

      2.1.1 cont'd

      User-Centric Needs: Native User Experience Factors

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Immersive Experience The need to bridge physical world with the virtual and digital environment, such as geofencing and NFC. 1 (Internally Delivered) – 2 – 3 (3rd Party Supported) – 4 – 5 (Business Implemented)
      Timeliness of Content and Updates The speed of which the mobile application (and supporting system) responds with requested information, data and updates from enterprise systems and 3rd party services. 1 (Reasonable Delayed Response) – 2 – 3 (Partially Outsourced) – 4 – 5 (Fully Outsourced)
      Application Performance The speed of which the mobile application completes tasks is critical to its success. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Network Accessibility The needed ability to access and use the mobile application in various network conditions. 1 (Only Available When Online) – 2 – 3 (Partially Available When Online) – 4 – 5 (Available Online)
      Integrated Ecosystem The approach to integrate the mobile application with enterprise or 3rd party systems and services. 1 (Out-of-the-Box Connectors) – 2 – 3 (Configurable Connectors) – 4 – 5 (Customized Connectors)
      Desire to Have a Native Look-and-Feel The aesthetics and UI features (e.g., heavy animations) that are only available through native and cross-platform applications. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      User Tolerance to Change The degree of willingness and ableness for a user to change their way of working to maximize the value of the mobile application. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Mission Criticality The business could not execute its main strategy if the mobile application was removed. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Business Value The mobile application directly adds business value to the organization. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Industry Differentiation The mobile application provides a distinctive competitive advantage or is unique to your organization. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)

      2.1.1 cont'd

      Enterprise-Centric Needs: Non-Functional Requirements

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Legacy Compatibility The need to integrate and operate with legacy systems. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Code Portability The need to enable the "code once and deploy everywhere" approach. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Vendor & Technology Lock-In The tolerance to lock into a vendor mobile delivery solution or technology framework. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Data Sensitivity The data used by the mobile application does not fall into the category of sensitive data – meaning nothing financial, medical, or personal identity (GDPR and worldwide equivalents). The disclosure, modification, or destruction of this data would cause limited harm to the organization. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Data Policies Policies of the mobile application's data are mandated by internal departmental standards (e.g. naming standards, backup standards, data type consistency). Policies only mandated in this way usually have limited use in a production capacity. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Security Risks Mobile applications are connected to private data sources and its intended use will be significant if underlying data is breached. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      Business Continuity & System Integrity Risks The mobile application in question does not have much significance relative to the running of mission critical processes in the organization. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 2 – 3 (Neutral) – 4 – 5 (Strongly Agree)
      System Openness Openness of enterprise systems to enable mobile applications from the user interface to the business logic and backend integrations and database. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Mobile Device Management The organization's policy for the use of mobile devices to access and leverage enterprise data and services. 1 (Bring-Your-Own-Device) – 2 – 3 (Hybrid) – 4 – 5 (Corporate Devices)

      2.1.1 cont'd

      Enterprise-Centric Needs: Delivery Capacity

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Ease of Mobile Delivery The desire to have out-of-the-box and packaged tools to expedite mobile application delivery using web technologies. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Solution Competency The capability for internal staff to and learn how to implement and administer mobile delivery tools and deliver valuable, high-quality applications. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Ease of Deployment The desire to have the mobile applications delivered by the team or person without specialized resources from outside the team. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Delivery Approach The capability to successfully deliver mobile applications given budgetary and costing, resourcing, and supporting services constraints. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Maintenance & Operational Support The capability of the resources to responsibly maintain and operate mobile applications, including defect fixes and the addition and extension of modules to base implementations of the digital product. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Domain Knowledge Support The availability and accessibility of subject and domain experts to guide facilitate mobile application implementation and adoption. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Delivery Urgency The desire to have the mobile application delivered quickly. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Reusable Components The desire to reuse UI elements and application components. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)

      2.1.1 cont'd

      Example:

      Score Factors (Average) Mobile Opportunity 1: Inventory Management Mobile Opportunity 2: Remote Support
      User-Centric Needs 4.25 3
      Functional Requirements 4.5 2.25
      Native User Experience Factors 4 1.75
      Enterprise-Centric Needs 4 2
      Non-Functional Requirements 3.75 3.25
      Delivery Capacity 4.25 2.75
      Possible Mobile Platform Cross-Platform Native PWA Hybrid

      Nine datapoints are arranged on a graph where the x axis s labeled: User Centric Needs; and the Y axis is labeled: Enterprise-centric needs. The datapoints are, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Hybrid; Cross- Platform; Native; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform; Cros-s Platform; Web; Web; Hybrid or Cross- Platform. Two yellow circles are overlaid, one containing the phrase: Remote Support - over the box containing Progressive Web Applications (PWA) or Hybrid; and a yellow circle containing the phrase Inventory MGMT, partly covering the box containing Native; and the box containing Cross-Platform.

      Build a scalable and manageable platform

      Long-term mobile success depends on the efficiency and reliability of the underlying operational platform. This platform must support the computational and performance demands in a changing business environment, whether it is composed of off-the-self or custom-developed solutions, or a single vendor or best-of-breed.

      • Application
        • The UI design and content language is standardized and consistently applied
        • All mobile configurations and components are automatically versioned
        • Controlled administration and tooling access, automation capabilities, and update delivery
        • Holistic portfolio management
      • Data
        • Automated data management to preserve data quality (e.g. removal of duplications)
        • Defined single source of truth
        • Adherence to data governance, and privacy and security policies
        • Good content management practices, governance and architecture
      • Infrastructure
        • Containers and sandboxes are available for development and testing
        • Self-healing and self-service environments
        • Automatic system scaling and load balancing
        • Comply to budgetary and licensing constraints
      • Integration
        • Backend database and system updates are efficient
        • Loosely coupled architecture to minimize system regressions and delivery effort
        • Application, system and data monitoring

      Step 2.2

      Shortlist Your Mobile Delivery Solution

      Activities

      2.2.1 Shortlist your mobile delivery solution

      2.2.2 Build your feature and service lists

      Define Your Mobile Approach

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • Shortlisted mobile delivery solutions
      • Desired list of vendor features and services

      Ask yourself: should I build or buy?

      Build Buy

      Multi-Source Best-of-Breed

      Vendor Add-Ons & Integrations

      Integrate various technologies that provide subset(s) of the features needed for supporting the business functions.

      Enhance an existing vendor's offerings by using their system add-ons either as upgrades, new add-ons or integrations.

      Pros

      • Flexibility in choice of tools.
      • In some cases, cost may be lower.
      • Easier to enhance with in-house teams.

      Cons

      • Introduces tool sprawl.
      • Requires resources to understand tools and how they integrate.
      • Some of the tools necessary may not be compatible with each other.

      Pros

      • Reduces tool sprawl.
      • Supports consistent tool stack.
      • Vendor support can make enhancement easier.
      • Total cost of ownership may be lower.

      Cons

      • Vendor Lock-In.
      • The processes to enhance may require tweaking to fit tool capability.

      Multi-Source Custom

      Single Source

      Integrate systems built in-house with technologies developed by external organizations.

      Buy an application/system from one vendor only.

      Pros

      • Flexibility in choice of tools.
      • In some cases, cost may be lower.
      • Easier to enhance with in-house teams.

      Cons

      • May introduce tool sprawl.
      • Requires resources to have strong technical skills
      • Some of the tools necessary may
      • not be compatible with each other.

      Pros

      • Reduces tool sprawl.
      • Supports consistent tool stack.
      • Vendor support can make enhancement easier.
      • Total cost of ownership may be lower.

      Cons

      • Vendor Lock-In.
      • The processes to enhance may require tweaking to fit tool capability.

      Weigh the pros and cons of mobile enablement versus development

      Mobile Enablement

      Mobile Development

      Description Mobile interfaces that heavily rely on enterprise or 3rd party systems to operate. Mobile does not expand the functionality of the system but complements it with enhanced access, input and consumption capabilities. Mobile applications that are custom built or configured in a way that can operate as a standalone entity, whether they are locally deployed to a user's device or virtually hosted.
      Mobile Platform Mobile web, locally installed mobile application provided by vendor Mobile web, hybrid, cross-platform, native
      Typical Audience Internal staff, trusted users Internal and external users, general public
      Examples of Tooling Flavors Enterprise applications, point solutions, robotic & process automation Mobile enterprise application platform, web development, low and no code development, software development kits (SDKs)
      Technical Skills Required Little to no mobile delivery experience and skillsets are needed, but teams must be familiar with the supporting system to understand how a mobile interface can improve the value of the system. Have good UX-driven and quality-first practices in the mobile context. In-depth coding, networking, system and UX design, data management and security skills are needed for complex designs, functions, and architectures.
      Architecture & Integration Architecture is standardized by the vendor or enterprise with UI elements that are often minimally configurable. Extensions and integrations must be done through the system rather than the mobile interface. Much of application stack and integration approach can be customized to meet the specific functional and non-functional needs. It should still leverage web and design standards and investments currently used.
      Functional Scope Functionality is limited to the what the underlying system allows the interface to do. This often is constrained to commodity web application features (e.g., reporting) or tied to minor configurations to the vendor-provided point solution Functionality is only constrained by the platform and the targeted mobile devices whether it is performance, integration, access or security related. Teams should consider feature and content parity across all products within the organization portfolio.
      Delivery Pipeline End-to-end delivery and automated pipeline is provided by the vendor to ensure parity across all interfaces. Many vendors provide cloud-based services for hosting. Otherwise, it is directly tied to the SDLC of the supporting system. End-to-end delivery and automated pipeline is directly tied to enterprise SDLC practices or through the vendor. Some vendors provide cloud-based services for hosting. Updates are manually or automatically (through a vendor) published to app stores and can be automatically pushed to corporate users through mobile application management capabilities.
      Standards & Guardrails Quality standards and technology governance are managed by the vendor or IT with limited capabilities to tailor them to be mobile specific. Quality standards and technology governance are managed by the mobile delivery teams. The degree of customizations to these standards and guardrails is dependent on the chosen platform and delivery team competencies.

      Understand the common attributes of a mobile delivery solution

      • Source Code Management – Built-in or having the ability to integrate with code management solutions for branching, merging, and versioning. Debugging and coding assistance capabilities may be available.
      • Single Code Base – Capable of programming in a standard coding and scripting language for deployment into several platforms and devices. This code base is aligned to a common industry framework (e.g., AngularJS, Java) or a vendor-defined one.
      • Out-of-the-Box Connectors & Plug-ins – Pre-built APIs enhance the solution's capabilities with 3rd party tools and systems to deliver and manage high quality and valuable mobile applications.
      • Emulators – Ability to virtualize an application's execution on a target platform and device.
      • Support for Native Features – Supports plug-ins and APIs for access to device-specific features.

      What are mobile delivery solutions?

      A mobile delivery solution gives you the tools, resources and support to enable or build your mobile application. They can provide pre-built applications, vendor supported components to allow some configurations, or resources for full stack customizations. Some solutions can be barebone software development kits (SDKs) or comprehensive suites offering features to support the entire software delivery lifecycle, such as:

      • Mobile application management
      • Testing and publishing to app stores
      • Content management
      • Cloud hosting
      • Application performance management

      Info-Tech Insight

      Mobile enablement and development capabilities are already embedded in many common productivity tools and enterprise applications, such as Microsoft PowerApps and ERP modules. They can serve as a starting point in the initial rollout of new management and governance practices without the need of acquiring new tools.

      Select your mobile delivery solutions

      1. Set the scope of your framework.
      • The initial context of this framework is based on the mobile functions needed to support your desired mobile experience and on the current state of your enterprise and 3rd party systems.
    • Define the decision factors for your solution selection.
      • Review the decision factors that will influence the selection of your mobile delivery solution for each mobile opportunity:
      • Stack Management – Who will be hosting and supporting your mobile application stack?
      • Workflows Complexity & Native Experience – How complex is your desired mobile experience and how will native device features be leveraged?
    • Select your solution type.
      • Mobile delivery solutions are broadly defined in the following groups:
      • Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) – Pre-built mobile applications requiring little to no configurations or implementation effort.
      • Vendor Hosted Mobile Platform – Back-end and mid-tier infrastructure and operational support are managed by a vendor.
      • Cross-Platform Development – Frameworks that transform a single code base into platform-specific builds.
      • Hybrid Development – Tools that wrap a single code base into a locally deployable build.
      • Custom Web Development – Environment enabling full stack development for mobile web applications.
      • Custom Native Development – Environment enabling full stack development for mobile native applications.

      • A quadrant analysis is depicted. the top data is labeled Complex Mobile Features; the right side is labeled Organization-Managed Stack; the bottom is labeled Simple Mobile Features; and the left side is labeled Vendor-Managed Stack. The quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Vendor- Hosted Mobile Platform; Custom Native Development Solutions; Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solutions; Custom Web Development Solutions. In the middle of the graph are the following, in order from top to bottom: Cross-Platform Development Solutions; Hybrid Development Solutions

      Explore the various solution options

      Vendor Hosted Mobile Platform

      • Cloud Services (Mobile Backend-as-a-Service) (Amazon Amplify, Kinvey, Back4App, Google Firebase, Apache Usergrid)
      • Low Code Mobile Platforms (Outsystems, Mendix, Zoho Creator, IBM Mobile Foundation, Pega Mobile, HCL Volt MX, Appery)
      • Mobile Development via Enterprise Application (SalesForce Heroku, Oracle Application Accelerator MAX, SAP Mobile Development Kit, NetSuite Mobile)
      • Mobile Development via Business Process Automation (PowerApps, Appian, Nintex, Quickbase)

      Cross-Platform Development SDKs

      React Native, NativeScript, Xamarin Forms, .NET MAUI, Flutter, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile, jQuery Mobile, Telerik, Temenos Quantum

      Custom Native Development Solutions

      • Native Development Languages and Environments (Swift, Java, Objective-C, Kotlin, Xcode, NetBeans, Android Studio, AppCode, Microsoft Visual Studio, Eclipse, DriodScript, Compose, Atom)
      • Mobile Application Utilities (Unity, MonoGame, Blender, 3ds Max Design, Maya, Unreal Engine, Amazon Lumberyard, Oculus)

      Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solutions

      • No Code Mobile Platforms (Swiftic, Betty Blocks, BuildFire, Appy Pie, Plant an App, Microsoft Power Apps, AppSheet, Wix, Quixy)
      • Mobile Application Point Solutions and Enablement via Enterprise Applications

      Hybrid Development SDKs

      Cordova Project, Sencha Touch, Electron, Ionic, Capacitor, Monaca, Voltbuilder

      Custom Web Development Solutions

      Web Development Frameworks (React, Angular, Vue, Express, Django, Rails, Spring, Ember, Backbone, Bulma, Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS, Blade)

      Get the most out of your solutions by understanding their core components

      While most of the heavy lifting is handled by the vendor or framework, understanding how the mobile application is built and operates can identify where further fine-tuning is needed to increase its value and quality.

      Platform Runtime

      Automatic provisioning, configurations, and tuning of organizational and 3rd party infrastructure for high availability, performance, security and stability. This can include cloud management and non-production environments.

      Extensions

      • Mobile delivery solutions can be extended to allow:
      • Custom development of back-end code
      • Customizable integrations and hooks where needed
      • Integrations with CI/CD pipelines and administrative services
      • Integrations with existing databases and authentication services

      Platform Services

      The various services needed to support mobile delivery and enable continuous delivery, such as:

      • Configuration & Change Management – Verifies, validates, and monitors builds, deployments and changes across all components.
      • Code Generator – Transforms UI and data models into native application components that are ready to be deployed.
      • Deployment Services – Deploys application components consistently across all target environments and app stores.
      • Application Services – Manages the mobile application at runtime, including executing scheduled tasks and instrumentation.

      Application Architecture

      Fundamentally, mobile application architecture is no different than any other application architecture so much of your design standards still applies. The trick is tuning it to best meet your mobile functional and non-functional needs.

      This image contains an example of mobile application architecture.

      Source: "HCL Volt MX", HCL.

      Build your shortlist decision criteria

      The decision on which type of mobile delivery solution to use is dependent on several key questions?

      Who is the Mobile Delivery Team?

      • Is it a worker, business or IT?
      • What skills and knowledge does this person have?
      • Who is supporting mobile delivery and management?
      • Are other skills and tools needed to support, extend or mature mobile delivery adoption?

      What are the Use Cases?

      • What is the value and priority of the use cases?
      • What native features do we need?
      • Who is the audience of the output and who is impacted?
      • What systems, data and services do I need access?
      • Is it best to build it or buy it?
      • What are the quality standards?
      • How strategic is the use case?

      How Complex is the System?

      • Is the mobile application a standalone or integrated with enterprise systems?
      • What is the system's state and architecture?
      • What 3rd party services do we need integrated?
      • Are integrations out-of-the-box or custom?
      • Is the data standardized and who can edit its definition?
      • Is the system monolithic or loosely coupled?

      How Much Can We Tolerate?

      • Risks: What are the business and technical risks involved?
      • Costs: How much can we invest in implementation, training and operations?
      • Change: What organizational changes am I expecting to make? Will these changes be accepted and adopted?

      2.2.1 Shortlist your mobile delivery solution

      1-3 hours

      1. Determine which mobile delivery solutions is appropriate for each mobile opportunity or use case by answering the following questions on the following slides against two factors: complexity of mobile workflows and native features and management of the mobile stack.
        1. Take the average of the enterprise-centric and user-centric scores from step 2.1 for your complexity of mobile workflows and native features scores.
      2. Calculate an average score for the management of the mobile stack. Then, map them on the matrix to indicate possible solution options alongside your user-centric scores. Consider all options around the plotted point.
      3. Further discuss which solution should be the preferred choice and compare those options with your selected platform approach.
      4. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • Current state assessment
      • Mobile platform approach
      • Shortlist of mobile delivery solution
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      2.2.1 cont'd

      Stack Management

      Factors Definitions Survey Responses
      Cost of Delayed Delivery The expected cost if a vendor solution or update is delayed. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Vendor Negotiation Organization's ability to negotiate favorable terms from vendors. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Controllable Delivery Timeline Organization's desire to control when solutions and updates are delivered. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Solution Hosting The desired approach to host the mobile application. 1 (Fully Outsourced) – 2 – 3 (Partially Outsourced) – 4 – 5 (Internally Hosted)
      Vendor Lock-In The tolerance to be locked into a specific technology stack or vendor ecosystem. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Operational Cost Target The primary target of the mobile application's operational budget. 1 (External Resources) – 2 – 3 (Hybrid) – 4 – 5 (Internal Resources)
      Platform Management The desired approach to manage the mobile delivery solution, platform or underlying technology. 1 (Decentralized) – 2 – 3 (Federated) – 4 – 5 (Centralized)
      Skill & Competency of Mobile Delivery Team The ability of the team to create and manage valuable and high-quality mobile applications. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Current Investment in Enterprise Technologies The need to maximize the ROI of current enterprise technologies or integrate with legacy technologies. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Ease of Extensibility Need to have out-of-the-box connectors and plug-ins to extend the mobile delivery solution beyond its base implementation. 1 (High) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (Low)
      Holistic Application Strategy Organizational priorities on the types of applications the portfolio should be comprised. 1 (Buy) – 2 – 3 (Hybrid) – 4 – 5 (Build)
      Control of Delivery Pipeline The desire to control the software delivery pipeline from design to development, testing, publishing and support. 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)
      Specific Quality Requirements Software and mobile delivery is constrained to your unique quality standards (e.g., security, performance, availability) 1 (Low) – 2 – 3 (Moderate) – 4 – 5 (High)

      2.2.1 cont'd

      Example:

      Score Factors (Average) Mobile Opportunity 1: Inventory Management Mobile Opportunity 2: Remote Support
      User-Centric & Enterprise Centric Needs (From Step 2.1) 4.125 2.5
      Stack Management 2 2.5
      Desired Mobile Delivery Solution Vendor-Hosted Mobile Platform

      Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solution

      Hybrid Development Solution

      A quadrant analysis is depicted. the top data is labeled Complex Mobile Features; the right side is labeled Organization-Managed Stack; the bottom is labeled Simple Mobile Features; and the left side is labeled Vendor-Managed Stack. The quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Vendor- Hosted Mobile Platform; Custom Native Development Solutions; Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Solutions; Custom Web Development Solutions. In the middle of the graph are the following, in order from top to bottom: Cross-Platform Development Solutions; Hybrid Development Solutions.

      Consider the following in your solution selection and implementation

      • Vendor lock in – Each solution has its own approach, frameworks, and data schemas to convert designs and logic into an executable build that is stable in the targeted environment. Consequently, moving application artifacts (e.g., code and designs) from one solution or environment to another may not be easily accomplished without significant modifications or the use of application modernization or migration services.
      • Conflicting priorities and viewpoints of good delivery practices – Mobile delivery solutions are very particular on how they generate applications from designs and configurations. The solution's approach may not accommodate your interpretation of high-quality code (e.g., scalability, maintainability, extensibility, security). Technical experts should be reviewing and refactoring the generated code.
      • Incompatibility with enterprise applications and systems – The true benefit of mobile delivery solutions is their ability to connect your mobile application to enterprise and 3rd party technologies and services. This capability often requires enterprise technologies and services to be architected in a way that is compatible with your delivery solution while ensuring data, security protocols and other standards and policies are consistently enforced.
      • Integration with current application development and management tools – Mobile delivery solutions should be extensions from your existing application development and management tools that provides the versioning, testing, monitoring, and deployment capabilities to sustain a valuable application portfolio. Without this integration, IT will be unable to:
        • Root cause issues found on IT dashboards or reported to help desk.
        • Rollback defective applications to a previous stable state.
        • Obtain a complete application portfolio inventory.
        • Execute comprehensive testing for high-risk applications.
        • Trace artifacts throughout the development lifecycle.
        • Generate reports of the status of releases.

      Enhance your SDLC to support mobile delivery

      What is the SDLC?

      The software development lifecycle (SDLC) is a process that ensures valuable software products are efficiently delivered to customers. It contains a repeatable set of activities needed to intake and analyze requirements to design, build, test, deploy, and maintain software products.

      How will mobile delivery influence my SDLC?

      • Cross-functional collaboration – Bringing business and IT together at the most opportune times to clarify user needs and business priorities, and set realistic expectations given technology and capacity constraints. The appropriate tactics and techniques are used to improve decision making and delivery effectiveness according to the type of work.
      • Iterative delivery – Frequent delivery of progressive changes minimizes the risk of low-quality features by containing and simplifying scope, and enables responsive turnarounds of fixes, enhancements, and priority changes.
      • Feedback loops –Mobile application owners constantly review, update and refine their backlog of mobile features and changes to reflect user feedback and system performance metrics. Delivery teams proactively prepare the application for future scaling based on lessons and feedback learned from earlier releases.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Modernize Your SDLC blueprint.

      Example: Low- & No-Code Mobile Delivery Pipeline

      Low Code

      		Data Modeling & Configuration

      No Code

      Visual Interface with Complex Data Models

      		Data Modeling & Configuration

      Visual Interfaces with Simple Data Models

      GUI Designer with Customizable Components & Entities

      UI Definition & Design

      GUI Designer with Canned Templates

      Visual Workflow and Custom Scripting

      		Business Logic Rules and Workflow Specification

      Visual Workflow and Natural Language Scripting

      Out-of-the-Box Plugins & Custom Integrations

      		Integration of External Services (via 3rd Party APIs)

      Out-of-the-Box Plugins

      Automated and Manual Build & Packaging

      		Build & Package

      Automated Build & Packaging

      Automated & Manual Testing

      		Test

      Automated Testing

      One-Click Push or IT Push to App Store

      		Publish to App Store

      One-Click Push to App Store

      Use Info-Tech's research to address your delivery gaps

      Mobile success requires more than a set of good tools.

      Overcome the Common Challenges Faced with Building Mobile Applications

      Common Challenges with Digital Applications

      Suggested Solutions

      • Time & Resource Constraints
      • Buy-In From Internal Stakeholders
      • Rapidly Changing Requirements
      • Legacy Systems
      • Low-Priority for Internal Tools
      • Insufficient Data Access

      Source: DronaHQ, 2021

      Learn the differentiators of mobile delivery solutions

      • Native Program Languages – Supports languages other than web (Java, Ruby, C/C++/C#, Objective-C).
      • IDE Integration – Available plug-ins for popular development suites and editors.
      • Debugging Tools – Finding and eliminating bugs (breakpoints, single stepping, variable inspection, etc.).
      • Application Packaging via IDE – Digitally sign applications through the IDE for it to be packaged and published in app stores.
      • Automated Testing Tools – Native or integration with automated functional and unit testing tools.
      • Low- and No- Code Designer – Tools for designing graphical user interfaces and features and managing data with drag-and-drop functionalities.
      • Publishing and Deployment Capabilities – Automated deployment to mobile device management (MDM) systems, mobile application management (MAM) systems, mobile application stores, and web servers.
      • Third-Party and Open-Source Integration – Integration with proprietary and open-source third-party modules, development tools, and systems.
      • Developer Marketplace – Out-of-the-box plug-ins, templates, and integration are available through a marketplace.
      • Mobile Application Support Capabilities – Ability to gather, manage, and address application issues and defects.
      • API Gateway, Monitoring, and Management – Services that enable the creation, publishing, maintenance, monitoring, and securing of APIs through a common interface.
      • Mobile Analytics and Monitoring – View the adoption, usage, and performance of deployed mobile applications through graphical dashboards.
      • Mobile Content Management – Publish and manage mobile content through a centralized system.
      • Mobile Application Security – Supports the securing of application access and usage, data encryption, and testing of security controls.

      Define your mobile delivery vendor selection criteria

      Focus on the key vendor attributes and capabilities that enable mobile delivery scaling and growth in your organization

      Considerations in Mobile Delivery Vendor Selection
      Platform Features & Capabilities Price to Implement & Operate Platform
      Types of Mobile Applications That Can Be Developed Ease of IT Administration & Management
      User Community & Marketplace Size Security, Privacy & Access Control Capabilities
      SME in Industry Verticals & Business Functions Vendor Product Roadmap & Corporate Strategy
      Pre-Built Designs, Templates & Application Shells Scope of Device- and OS-Specific Compatibilities
      Regulatory & Industry Compliance Integration & Technology Partners
      Importing Artifacts From and Exporting to Other Solutions Platform Architecture & Underlying Technology
      End-to-End Support for the Entire Mobile SDLC Relevance to Current Mobile Trends & Practices

      Build your features list

      Incorporate different perspectives when defining the list of mandatory and desired features of your target solution.

      Appendix B contains a list of features for low- and no-code solutions that can be used as a starting point.

      Visit Info-Tech's Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process blueprint.

      Mobile Developer

      • Visual, drag-and-drop models to define data models, business logic, and user interfaces.
      • One-click deployment.
      • Self-healing capabilities.
      • Vendor-managed infrastructure.
      • Active community and marketplace.
      • Pre-built templates and libraries.
      • Optical character recognition and natural language processing.
      • Knowledgebase and document management.
      • Business value, operational costs, and other KPI monitoring.
      • Business workflow automation.

      Mobile IT Professional

      • Audit and change logs.
      • Theme and template builder.
      • Template management.
      • Role-based access.
      • Regulatory compliance.
      • Consistent design and user experience across applications.
      • Application and system performance monitoring.
      • Versioning and code management.
      • Automatic application and system refactoring and recovery.
      • Exception and error handling.
      • Scalability (e.g. load balancing) and infrastructure management.
      • Real-time debugging.
      • Testing capabilities.
      • Security management.
      • Application integration management.

      2.2.2 Build your feature and service lists

      1-3 hours

      Review the key outcomes in the previous exercises to help inform the features and vendor support you require to support your mobile delivery needs:

      End user personas and desired mobile experience

      Objectives and expectations

      Desired mobile features and platform

      Mobile delivery solutions

      Brainstorm a list of features and functionalities you require from your ideal solution vendors. Prioritize these features and functionalities. See our Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process blueprint for more information on vendor procurement.

      Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Download the Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template

      Input

      		Output
      • Shortlist of mobile solutions
      • Quality definitions
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • List of desired features and services of mobile delivery solution vendors
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Hit a home run with your stakeholders

      Use a data-driven approach to select the right tooling vendor for your needs – fast.

      AwarenessEducation & DiscoveryEvaluationSelection

      Negotiation & Configuration

      1.1 Proactively Lead Technology Optimization & Prioritization2.1 Understand Marketplace Capabilities & Trends3.1 Gather & Prioritize Requirements & Establish Key Success Metrics4.1 Create a Weighted Selection Decision Model5.1 Initiate Price Negotiation with Top Two Venders
      1.2 Scope & Define the Selection Process for Each Selection Request Action2.2 Discover Alternate Solutions & Conduct Market Education3.2 Conduct a Data Driven Comparison of Vendor Features & Capabilities4.2 Conduct Investigative Interviews Focused on Mission Critical Priorities with Top 2-4 Vendors5.2 Negotiate Contract Terms & Product Configuration

      1.3 Conduct an Accelerated Business Needs Assessment

      		2.3 Evaluate Enterprise Architecture & Application PortfolioNarrow the Field to Four Top Contenders4.3 Validate Key Issues with Deep Technical Assessments, Trial Configuration & Reference Checks5.3 Finalize Budget Approval & Project
      1.4 Align Stakeholder Calendars to Reduce Elapsed Time & Asynchronous Evaluation2.4 Validate the Business Case5.4 Invest in Training & Onboarding Assistance

      Investing time improving your software selection methodology has big returns.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Not all software selection projects are created equal – some are very small, some span the entire enterprise. To ensure that IT is using the right framework, understand the cost and complexity profile of the application you're looking to select. Info-Tech's Rapid Application Selection Framework approach is best for commodity and mid-tier enterprise applications; selecting complex applications is better handled by the methodology in Info-Tech's Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process.

      Step 2.3

      Create a Roadmap for Mobile Delivery

      Activities

      2.3.1 Define your MVP release

      2.3.2 Build your roadmap

      Define Your Mobile Approach

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • MVP design
      • Mobile delivery roadmap

      Achieve mobile success with MVPs

      By delivering mobile capabilities in small iterations, teams recognize value sooner and reduce accumulated risk. Both benefits are realized as the iteration enters validation testing and release.

      This image depicts a graph of the learn-build-measure cycle over time, adapted from Managing the Development of Large Software Systems, Dr. Winston W. Royce, 1970

      An MVP focuses on a small set of functions, involves minimal possible effort to deliver a working and valuable solution, and is designed to satisfy a specific user group. Its purpose is to:

      • Maximize learning.
      • Evaluate the value and acceptance of mobile applications.
      • Inform the building of a mobile delivery practice.

      The build-measure-learn loop suggests mobile delivery teams should perpetually take an idea and develop, test, and validate it with the mobile development solution, then expand on the MVP using the lessons learned and evolving ideas. In this sense the MVP is just the first iteration in the loop.

      Leverage a canvas to detail your MVP

      Use the release canvas to organize and align the organization around your MVP!

      This is an example of a release canvas which can be used to detail your MVP.

      2.3.1 Define your MVP release

      1-3 hours

      1. Create a list of high priority use cases slated for mobile application delivery. Brainstorm the various supporting activities required to implement your use cases including the shortlisting of mobile delivery tools.
      2. Prioritize these use cases based on business priority (from your canvas). Size the effort of these use cases through collaboration.
      3. Define your MVPs using a release canvas as shown on the following slide.
      4. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Input

      		Output
      • High priority mobile opportunities
      • Mobile platform approach
      • Shortlist of mobile solutions
      • List of potential MVPs
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      2.3.1 cont'd

      MVP Name

      Owner:
      Parent Initiative:
      Updated:

      NAME
      LINK
      October 05, 2022

      MVP Theme/Goals

      [Theme / Goal]

      Use Cases

      Value

      Costs

      [Use Case 1]
      [Use Case 2]
      [Use Case 3]

      [Business Value 1]
      [Business Value 2]
      [Business Value 3]

      [Cost Item 1]
      [Cost Item 2]
      [Cost Item 3]

      Impacted Personas

      Impacted Workflows

      Stakeholders

      [Persona 1]
      [Persona 2]
      [Persona 3]

      [Workflow 1]
      [Workflow 2]
      [Workflow 3]

      [Stakeholder 1]
      [Stakeholder 2]
      [Stakeholder 3]

      Build your mobile roadmap

      It's more than a set of colorful boxes. It's the map to align everyone to where you are going

      Your mobile roadmap

      • Lays out a strategy for your mobile application, platform and practice implementation and scaling.
      • Is a statement of intent for your mobile adoption.
      • Communicates direction for the implementation and use of mobile delivery tools, mobile applications and supporting technologies.
      • Directly connects to the organization's goals

      However, it is not:

      • Representative of a hard commitment.
      • A simple combination of your current product roadmaps

      Roadmap your MVPs against your milestones and release dates

      This is an image of an example of a roadmap for your MVPS, with milestones across Jan 2022, Feb 2022, Mar 2022, Apr 2022. under milestones, are the following points: Points in the timeline when an established set of artifacts is complete (feature-based), or to check status at a particular point in time (time-based); Typically assigned a date and used to show progress; Plays an important role when sequencing different types of artifacts. Under Release Dates are the following points: Releases mark the actual delivery of a set of artifacts packaged together in a new version of processes and applications or new mobile application and delivery capabilities. ; Release dates, firm or not, allow stakeholders to anticipate when this is coming.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision blueprint.

      Understand what is communicated in your roadmap

      WHY is the work being done?

      Explains the overarching goal of work being done to a specific audience.

      WHO is doing the work?

      Categorizes the different groups delivering the work on the product.

      WHAT is the work being done?

      Explains the artifacts, or items of work, that will be delivered.

      WHEN is the work being done?

      Explains when the work will be delivered within your timeline.

      To learn more, visit Info-Tech's Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision blueprint.

      Pay attention to organizational changes

      Be prepared to answer:

      "How will mobile change the way I do my job?"

      • Plan how workers will incorporate mobile applications into their way of working and maximize the features it offers.
      • Address the human concerns regarding the transition to a digital world involving modern and mobile technologies and automation.
      • Accept changes, challenges and failures with open arms and instill tactics to quickly address them.
      • Build and strengthen business-IT trust, empowerment, and collaborative culture by adopting the right practices throughout the mobile delivery process.
      • Ensure continuous management and leadership support for business empowerment, operational changes, and shifts in role definitions to best support mobile delivery.
      • Establish a committee to manage the growth, adoption, and delivery of mobile as part of a grandeur digital application portfolio and address conflicts among business units and IT.

      Anticipate and prepare for changes and issues

      Verify and validate the flexibility and adaptability of your mobile applications, strategy and roadmap against various scenarios

      • Scenarios
        • Application Stores Rejecting the Application
        • Security Incidents & Risks
        • Low User Adoption, Retention & Satisfaction
        • Incompatibility with User's Device & Other Systems
        • Device & OS Patches & Updates
        • Changes in Industry Standards & Regulations

      Use the "Now, Next, Later" roadmap

      Use this when deadlines and delivery dates are not strict. This is best suited for brainstorming a product plan when dependency mapping is not required.

      Now

      What are you going to do now?

      Next

      What are you going to do very soon?

      Later

      What are you going to do in the future?

      This is a roadmap showing various points in the following categories: Now; Next; Later

      Adapted From: "Tips for Agile product roadmaps & product roadmap examples," Scrum.org, 2017

      2.3.2 Build your roadmap

      1-3 hours

      1. Identify the business outcomes your mobile application delivery and MVP is expected to deliver.
      2. Build your strategic roadmap by grouping each business outcome by how soon you need to deliver it:
        1. Now: Let's achieve this ASAP.
        2. Next: Sometime very soon, let's achieve these things.
        3. Later: Much further off in the distance, let's consider these things.
      3. Identify what the critical steps are for the organization to embrace mobile application delivery and deliver your MVP.
      4. Build your tactical roadmap by grouping each critical step by how soon you need to address it:
        1. Now: Let's do this ASAP.
        2. Next: Sometime very soon, let's do these things.
        3. Later: Much further off in the distance, let's consider these things.
      5. Document your findings and discussions into Info-Tech's Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template.

      Input

      		Output
      • List of potential MVPs
      • Mobile roadmap
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • Mobile Application Delivery Communication Template
      • Applications Manager
      • Product and Platform Owners
      • Software Delivery Teams
      • Business and IT Leaders

      2.3.2 cont'd

      Example: Tactical Roadmap

      Milestone 1

      • Modify the business processes of the MVP to best leverage mobile technologies. Streamline the business processes by removing the steps that do not directly support value delivery.
      • Develop UI templates using the material design framework and the organization's design standards. Ensure it is supported on mobile devices through the mobile browser and satisfy accessibility design standards.
      • Verify and validate current security controls against latest security risks using the W3C as a starting point. Install the latest security patches to maintain compliance.
      • Acquire the Ionic SDK and upskill delivery teams.

      Milestone 2

      • Update the current web framework and third-party libraries with the latest version and align web infrastructure to latest W3C guidelines.
      • Verify and validate functionality and stability of APIs with third-party applications. Begin transition to REST APIs where possible.
      • Make minor changes to the existing data architecture to better support the data volume, velocity, variety, and veracity the system will process and deliver.
      • Update the master data management with latest changes. Keep changes to a minimum.
      • Develop and deliver the first iteration of the MVP with Ionic.

      Milestone 3

      • Standardize the initial mobile delivery practice.
      • Continuously monitor the system and proactively address business continuity, system stability and performance, and security risks.
      • Deliver a hands-on and facilitated training session to end users.
      • Develop intuitive user manuals that are easily accessible on SharePoint.
      • Consult end users for their views and perspectives of suggested business model and technology changes.
      • Regularly survey end users and the media to gauge industry sentiment toward the organization.

      Pitch your roadmap initiatives

      There are multiple audiences for your pitch, and each audience requires a different level of detail when addressed. Depending on the outcomes expected from each audience, a suitable approach must be chosen. The format and information presented will vary significantly from group to group.

      Audience

      Key Contents

      Outcome

      Outcome

      • Costs or benefits estimates

      Sign off on cost and benefit projections

      Executives and decision makers

      • Business value and financial benefits
      • Notable business risks and impacts
      • Business rationale and strategic roadmap

      Revisions, edits, and approval

      IT teams

      • Notable technical and IT risks
      • IT rationale and tactical roadmap
      • Proposed resourcing and skills capacity

      Clarity of vision and direction and readiness for delivery

      Business workers

      • Business rationale
      • Proposed business operations changes
      • Application roadmap

      Verification on proposed changes and feedback

      Continuously measure the benefits and value realized in your mobile applications

      Success hinges on your team's ability to deliver business value. Well-developed mobile applications instill stakeholder confidence in ongoing business value delivery and stakeholder buy-in, provided proper expectations are set and met.

      Business value defines the success criteria of an organization, and it is interpreted from four perspectives:

      • Profit Generation – The revenue generated from a business capability with mobile applications.
      • Cost Reduction – The cost reduction when performing business capabilities with mobile applications.
      • Service Enablement – The productivity and efficiency gains of internal business operations with mobile applications.
      • Customer and Market Reach – Metrics measuring the improved reach and insights of the business in existing or new markets.

      See our Build a Value Measurement Framework blueprint for more information about business value definition.

      Business Value Matrix

      This image contains a quadrant analysis with the following labels: Left - Improved Capabilities; Top - Outward; Right - Financial Benefit; Bottom - Inward. the quadrants are labeled the following, in order from left to right, top to bottom. Customer and Market Reach; Profit Generation; Service Enhancement; Cost Reduction

      Grow your mobile delivery practice

      We are Here
      Level 1: Mobile Delivery Foundations Level 2: Scaled Mobile Delivery Level 3: Leading-Edge Mobile Delivery

      You understand the opportunities and impacts mobile has on your business operations and its disruptive nature on your enterprise systems. Your software delivery lifecycle was optimized to incorporate the specific practices and requirements needed for mobile. A mobile platform was selected based on stakeholder needs that are weighed against current skillsets, high priority non-functional requirements, the available capacity and scalability of your stack, and alignment to your current delivery process.

      New features and mobile use cases are regularly emerging in the industry. Ensuring your mobile platform and delivery process can easily scale to incorporate constantly changing mobile features and technologies is key. This can help minimize the impact these changes will have on your mobile stack and the resulting experience.

      Achieving this state requires three competencies: mobile security, performance optimization, and integration practices.

      Many of today's mobile trends involve, in one form or another, hardware components on the mobile device (e.g., NFC receivers, GPS, cameras). You understand the scope of native features available on your end user's mobile device and the required steps and capabilities to enable and leverage them.

      Grow your mobile delivery practice (cont'd)

      Ask yourself the following questions:
      Level 1: Mobile Delivery Foundations Level 2: Scaled Mobile Delivery Level 3: Leading-Edge Mobile Delivery

      Checkpoint questions shown at the end of step 1.2 of this blueprint

      You should be at this point upon the successful delivery of your first mobile application.

      Security

      • Your mobile stack (application, data, and infrastructure) is updated to incorporate the security risks mobile apps will have on your systems and business operations.
      • Leading edge encryption, authentication management (e.g., multi-factor), and access control systems are used to bolster existing mobile security infrastructure.
      • Network traffic to and from mobile application is monitored and analyzed.

      Performance Optimization

      • Performance enhancements are made with the entire mobile stack in mind.
      • Mobile performance is monitored and assessed with both proactive (data flow) and retroactive (instrumentation) approaches.
      • Development and testing practices and technologies accommodate the performance differences between mobile and desktop applications.

      API Development

      • Existing web APIs are compatible with mobile applications, or a gateway / middleware is used to facilitate communication with backend and third-party services.
      • APIs are secured to prevent unauthorized access and misuse.
      • Web APIs are documented and standardized for reuse in multiple mobile applications.
      • Implementing APIs of native features in native and/or cross-platform and/or hybrid platforms is well understood.
      • All leading-edge mobile features are mapped to and support business requirements and objectives.
      • The new mobile use cases are well understood and account for the various scenarios/environments a user may encounter with the leading-edge mobile features.
      • The relevant non-mobile devices, readers, sensors, and other dependent systems are shortlisted and acquired to enable and support your new mobile capabilities.
      • Delivery teams are prepared to accommodate the various security, performance, and integration risks associated with implementing leading-edge mobile features. Practices and mechanisms are established to minimize the impact to business operations.
      • Metrics are used to measure the success of your leading-edge mobile features implementation by comparing its performance and acceptance against past projects.
      • Business stakeholders and development teams are up to date with the latest mobile technologies and delivery techniques.

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Choose Your Mobile Platform and Tools

      • User personas
      • Mobile objectives and metrics
      • Mobile opportunity backlog
      • List of mobile features to enable the desired mobile experience
      • System current assessment
      • Mobile application quality definition
      • Readiness for mobile delivery
      • Desired mobile platform approach
      • Shortlisted mobile delivery solutions
      • Desired list of vendor features and services
      • MVP design
      • Mobile delivery roadmap

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information

      workshops@infotech.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors and Experts

      This is a picture of Chaim Yudkowsky, Chief Information Officer for The American Israel Public Affairs Committee

      Chaim Yudkowsky
      Chief Information Officer
      The American Israel Public Affairs Committee

      Chaim Yudkowsky is currently Chief information Officer for American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the DC headquartered not-for-profit focused on lobbying for a strong US-Israel relationship. In that role, Chaim is responsible for all traditional IT functions including oversight of IT strategy, vendor relationships, and cybersecurity program. In addition, Chaim also has primary responsibility for all physical security technology and strategy for US offices and event technology for the many AIPAC events.

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      Ceci, L. "Mobile app user retention rate worldwide 2020, by vertical". Statista, 6 Apr 2022. Web.

      Clement, J. "Share of global mobile website traffic 2015-2021". Statista, 18 Feb 2022. Web

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      Karlsson, Johan. "Backlog Grooming: Must-Know Tips for High-Value Products." Perforce, 2019. Web.

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      Appendix A

      Sample Reference Frameworks

      Reference Framework: Web Platform

      Most of the operations of the applications on a web platform are executed in the mid-tier or back-end servers. End users interact with the platform through the presentation layer, developed with web languages, in the browser.

      This is an image of the Reference Framework: Web Platform

      Reference Framework: Mobile Web Application

      Many mobile web applications are composed of JavaScript (the muscle of the app), HTML5 (the backbone of the app), and CSS (the aesthetics of the app). The user will make a request to the web server which will interact with the application to provide a response. Since each device has unique attributes, consider a device detection service to help adjust content for each type of device.

      this is an image of the Reference Framework: Mobile Web Application

      Source: MaLavolta, Ivono, 2012.

      Web Platform: Anatomy of a Web Server

      Web Server Services

      • Mediation Services: Perform transformation of data/messages.
      • Boundary Services: Provide interface protocol and data/message conversion capabilities.
      • Event Distribution: Provides for the enterprise-wide adoption of content and topic-based publish/subscribe event distribution.
      • Transport Services: Facilitate data transmission across the middleware/server.
      • Service Directory: Manages multiple service identifiers and locations.

      This image shows the relationships of the various web server services listed above

      Reference Framework: Hybrid Platform

      Unlike the mobile web platform, most of an application's operations on the hybrid platform is on the device within a native container. The container leverages the device browser's runtime engine and is based on the framework of the mobile delivery solution.

      This is an image of the Reference Framework: Hybrid Platform

      Reference Framework: Native Platform

      Applications on a native platform are installed locally on the device giving it access to native device hardware and software. The programming language depends on the operating system's or device's SDK.

      This is an image of the Reference Framework: Native Platform

      Appendix B

      List of Low- and No- Code Software Delivery Solution Features

      Supplementary List of Features

      Graphical user interface

      • Drag-and-drop designer - This feature enhances the user experience by permitting to drag all the items involved in making an app including actions, responses, connections, etc.
      • Point and click approach - This is similar to the drag-and-drop feature except it involves pointing on the item and clicking on the interface rather than dragging and dropping the item.
      • Pre-built forms/reports - This is off-the-shelf and most common reusable editable forms or reports that a user can use when developing an application.
      • Pre-built dashboards - This is off-the-shelf and most common dashboards that a user can use when developing an application.
      • Forms - This feature helps in creating a better user interface and user experience when developing applications. A form includes dashboards, custom forms, surveys, checklists, etc. which could be useful to enhance the usability of the application being developed.
      • Progress tracking - This features helps collaborators to combine their work and track the development progress of the application.
      • Advanced Reporting - This features enables the user to obtain a graphical reporting of the application usage. The graphical reporting includes graphs, tables, charts, etc.
      • Built-in workflows - This feature helps to concentrate the most common reusable workflows when creating applications.
      • Configurable workflows - Besides built-in workflows, the user should be able to customize workflows according to their needs.

      Interoperability support

      • Interoperability with external services - This feature is one of the most important features to incorporate different services and platforms including that of Microsoft, Google, etc. It also includes the interoperability possibilities among different low-code platforms.
      • Connection with data sources - This features connects the application with data sources such as Microsoft Excel, Access and other relational databases such as Microsoft SQL, Azure and other non-relational databases such as MongoDB.

      Security Support

      • Application security - This feature enables the security mechanism of an application which involves confidentiality, integrity and availability of an application, if and when required.
      • Platform security - The security and roles management is a key part in developing an application so that the confidentiality, integrity and authentication (CIA) can be ensured at the platform level.

      Collaborative development support

      • Off-line collaboration - Different developers can collaborate on the specification of the same application. They work off-line locally and then they commit to a remote server their changes, which need to be properly merged.
      • On-line collaboration - Different developers collaborate concurrently on the specification of the same application. Conflicts are managed at run-time.

      Reusability support

      • Built-in workflows - This feature helps to concentrate the most common reusable workflows in creating an application.
      • Pre-built forms/reports - This is off-the-shelf and most common reusable editable forms or reports that a user might want to employ when developing an application.
      • Pre-built dashboards - This is off-the-shelf and most common dashboards that a user might want to employ when developing an application.

      Scalability

      • Scalability on number of users - This features enables the application to scale-up with respect to the number of active users that are using that application at the same time.
      • Scalability on data traffic - This features enables the application to scale-up with respect to the volume of data traffic that are allowed by that application in a particular time.
      • Scalability on data storage - This features enables the application to scale-up with respect to the data storage capacity of that application.

      Business logic specification mechanisms

      • Business rules engine - This feature helps in executing one or more business rules that help in managing data according to user's requirements.
      • Graphical workflow editor - This feature helps to specify one or more business rules in a graphical manner.
      • AI enabled business logic - This is an important feature which uses Artificial Intelligence in learning the behavior of an attributes and replicate those behaviors according to learning mechanisms.

      Application build mechanisms

      • Code generation - According to this feature, the source code of the modeled application is generated and subsequently deployed before its execution.
      • Models at run-time - The model of the specified application is interpreted and used at run-time during the execution of the modeled application without performing any code generation phase.

      Deployment support

      • Deployment on cloud - This features enables an application to be deployed online in a cloud infrastructure when the application is ready to deployed and used.
      • Deployment on local infrastructures - This features enables an application to be deployed locally on the user organization's infrastructure when the application is ready to be deployed and used.

      Kinds of supported applications

      • Event monitoring - This kind of applications involves the process of collecting data, analyzing the event that can be caused by the data, and signaling any events occurring on the data to the user.
      • Process automation - This kind of applications focuses on automating complex processes, such as workflows, which can take place with minimal human intervention.
      • Approval process control - This kind of applications consists of processes of creating and managing work approvals depending on the authorization of the user. For example, payment tasks should be managed by the approval of authorized personnel only.
      • Escalation management - This kind of applications are in the domain of customer service and focuses on the management of user viewpoints that filter out aspects that are not under the user competences.
      • Inventory management - This kind of applications is for monitoring the inflow and outflow of goods and manages the right amount of goods to be stored.
      • Quality management - This kind of applications is for managing the quality of software projects, e.g., by focusing on planning, assurance, control and improvements of quality factors.
      • Workflow management - This kind of applications is defined as sequences of tasks to be performed and monitored during their execution, e.g., to check the performance and correctness of the overall workflow.

      Source: Sahay, Apurvanand et al., 2020

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}156|cart{/j2store}
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      • Parent Category Name: Development
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      • Products are the lifeblood of an organization. They provide the capabilities the business needs to deliver value to both internal and external customers and stakeholders.
      • Product organizations are expected to continually deliver evolving value to the overall organization as they grow.
      • You need to clearly convey the direction and strategy of a broad product portfolio to gain alignment, support, and funding from your organization.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Product delivery requires significant shifts in the way you complete development work and deliver value to your users. Make the changes that improve end-user value and enterprise alignment.
      • Your organizational goals and strategy are achieved through capabilities that deliver value. Your product hierarchy is the mechanism to translate enterprise goals, priorities, and constraints down to the product level where changes can be made.
      • Recognize that each product owner represents one of three primary perspectives: business, technical, and operational. Although all share the same capabilities, how they approach their responsibilities is influenced by their perspective.
      • The quality of your product backlog – and your ability to realize business value from your delivery pipeline – is directly related to the input, content, and prioritization of items in your product roadmap.
      • Your product family roadmap and product roadmap tell different stories. The product family roadmap represents the overall connection of products to the enterprise strategy, while the product roadmap focuses on the fulfillment of the product’s vision.
      • Although products can be delivered with any software development lifecycle, methodology, delivery team structure, or organizational design, high-performing product teams optimize their structure to fit the needs of product and product family delivery.

      Impact and Result

      • Understand the importance of product families for scaling product delivery.
      • Define products in your context and organize products into operational families.
      • Use product family roadmaps to align product roadmaps to enterprise goals and priorities.
      • Evaluate the different approaches to improve your product family delivery pipelines and milestones.

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should define enterprise product families to scale your product delivery capability, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Become a product-centric organization

      Define products in your organization’s context and explore product families as a way to organize products at scale.

      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale – Phase 1: Become a Product-Centric Organization
      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook
      • Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook

      2. Organize products into product families

      Identify an approach to group the inventory of products into one or more product families.

      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale – Phase 2: Organize Products Into Product Families

      3. Ensure alignment between products and families

      Confirm alignment between your products and product families via the product family roadmap and a shared definition of delivered value.

      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale – Phase 3: Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      4. Bridge the gap between product families and delivery

      Agree on a delivery approach that best aligns with your product families.

      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale – Phase 4: Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery
      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale Readiness Assessment

      5. Build your transformation roadmap and communication plan

      Define your communication plan and transformation roadmap for transitioning to delivering products at the scale of your organization.

      • Deliver Digital Products at Scale – Phase 5: Transformation Roadmap and Communication

      Infographic

      Workshop: Deliver Digital Products at Scale

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Become a Product-Centric Organization

      The Purpose

      Define products in your organization’s context and explore product families as a way to organize products at scale.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of the case for product practices

      A concise definition of products and product families

      Activities

      1.1 Understand your organizational factors driving product-centric delivery.

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory.

      1.3 Determine your approach to scale product families.

      Outputs

      Organizational drivers and goals for a product-centric delivery

      Definition of product

      Product scaling principles

      Scaling approach and direction

      Pilot list of products to scale

      2 Organize Products Into Product Families

      The Purpose

      Identify a suitable approach to group the inventory of products into one or more product families.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A scaling approach for products that fits your organization

      Activities

      2.1 Define your product families.

      Outputs

      Product family mapping

      Enabling applications

      Dependent applications

      Product family canvas

      3 Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      The Purpose

      Confirm alignment between your products and product families via the product family roadmap and a shared definition of delivered value.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Recognition of the product family roadmap and a shared definition of value as key concepts to maintain alignment between your products and product families

      Activities

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps.

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication.

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps.

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment.

      Outputs

      Current approach for communication of product family strategy

      List of product family stakeholders and a prioritization plan for communication

      Defined key pieces of a product family roadmap

      An approach to confirming alignment between products and product families through a shared definition of business value

      4 Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery

      The Purpose

      Agree on the delivery approach that best aligns with your product families.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of the team configuration and operating model required to deliver value through your product families

      Activities

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness.

      4.2 Understand your delivery options.

      4.3 Determine your operating model.

      4.4 Identify how to fund product delivery.

      4.5 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy.

      4.6 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy.

      4.7 Determine your next steps.

      Outputs

      Assessment results on your organization’s delivery maturity

      A preferred approach to structuring product delivery

      Your preferred operating model for delivering product families

      Understanding of your preferred approach for product family funding

      Product family transformation roadmap

      Your plan for communicating your roadmap

      List of actionable next steps to start on your journey

      5 Advisory: Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

      The Purpose

      Implement your communication plan and transformation roadmap for transitioning to delivering products at the scale of your organization.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      New product family organization and supporting product delivery approach

      Activities

      5.1 Execute communication plan and product family changes.

      5.2 Review the pilot family implementation and update the transformation roadmap.

      5.3 Begin advisory calls for related blueprints.

      Outputs

      Organizational communication of product families and product family roadmaps

      Product family implementation and updated transformation roadmap

      Support for product owners, backlog and roadmap management, and other topics

      Further reading

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale

      Deliver value at the scale of your organization through defining enterprise product families.

      Analyst Perspective

      Product families align enterprise goals to product changes and value realization.

      A picture of Info-Tech analyst Banu Raghuraman. A picture of Info-Tech analyst Ari Glaizel. A picture of Info-Tech analyst Hans Eckman

      Our world is changing faster than ever, and the need for business agility continues to grow. Organizations are shifting from long-term project delivery to smaller, iterative product delivery models to be able to embrace change and respond to challenges and opportunities faster.

      Unfortunately, many organizations focus on product delivery at the tactical level. Product teams may be individually successful, but how well are their changes aligned to division and enterprise goals and priorities?

      Grouping products into operationally aligned families is key to delivering the right value to the right stakeholders at the right time.

      Product families translate enterprise goals, constraints, and priorities down to the individual product level so product owners can make better decisions and more effectively manage their roadmaps and backlogs. By scaling products into families and using product family roadmaps to align product roadmaps, product owners can deliver the capabilities that allow organizations to reach their goals.

      In this blueprint, we’ll provide the tools and guidance to help you define what “product” means to your organization, use scaling patterns to build product families, align product and product family roadmaps, and identify impacts to your delivery and organizational design models.

      Banu Raghuraman, Ari Glaizel, and Hans Eckman

      Applications Practice

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale

      Deliver value at the scale of your organization through defining enterprise product families.

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      • Products are the lifeblood of an organization. They deliver the capabilities needed to deliver value to customers, internal users, and stakeholders.
      • The shift to becoming a product organization is intended to continually increase the value you provide to the broader organization as you grow and evolve.
      • You need to clearly convey the direction and strategy of your product portfolio to gain alignment, support, and funding from your organization.

      Common Obstacles

      • IT organizations are traditionally organized to deliver initiatives in specific periods of time. This conflicts with product delivery, which continuously delivers value over the lifetime of a product.
      • Delivering multiple products together creates additional challenges because each product has its own pedigree, history, and goals.
      • Product owners struggle to prioritize changes to deliver product value. This creates a gap and conflict between product and enterprise goals.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Info-Tech’s approach will guide you through:

      • Understanding the importance of product families in scaling product delivery.
      • Defining products in your context and organizing products into operational families.
      • Using product family roadmaps to align product roadmaps to enterprise goals and priorities.
      • Evaluating the different approaches to improve your product family delivery pipelines and milestones.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Changes can only be made at the individual product or service level. To achieve enterprise goals and priorities, organizations needed to organize and scale products into operational families. This structure allows product managers to translate goals and constraints to the product level and allows product owners to deliver changes that support enabling capabilities. In this blueprint, we’ll help you define your products, scale them using the best patterns, and align your roadmaps and delivery models to improve throughput and value delivery.

      Info-Tech’s approach

      Operationally align product delivery to enterprise goals

      A flowchart is shown on how to operationally align product delivery to enterprise goals.

      The Info-Tech difference:

      1. Start by piloting product families to determine which approaches work best for your organization.
      2. Create a common definition of what a product is and identify products in your inventory.
      3. Use scaling patterns to build operationally aligned product families.
      4. Develop a roadmap strategy to align families and products to enterprise goals and priorities.
      5. Use products and families to evaluate delivery and organizational design improvements.

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale via Enterprise Product Families

      An infographic on the Enterprise Product Families is shown.

      Product does not mean the same thing to everyone

      Do not expect a universal definition of products.

      Every organization and industry has a different definition of what a product is. Organizations structure their people, processes, and technologies according to their definition of the products they manage. Conflicting product definitions between teams increase confusion and misalignment of product roadmaps.

      “A product [is] something (physical or not) that is created through a process and that provides benefits to a market.”

      - Mike Cohn, Founding Member of Agile Alliance and Scrum Alliance

      “A product is something ... that is created and then made available to customers, usually with a distinct name or order number.”

      - TechTarget

      “A product is the physical object ... , software or service from which customer gets direct utility plus a number of other factors, services, and perceptions that make the product useful, desirable [and] convenient.”

      - Mark Curphey

      Organizations need a common understanding of what a product is and how it pertains to the business. This understanding needs to be accepted across the organization.

      “There is not a lot of guidance in the industry on how to define [products]. This is dangerous because what will happen is that product backlogs will be formed in too many areas. All that does is create dependencies and coordination across teams … and backlogs.”

      – Chad Beier, "How Do You Define a Product?” Scrum.org

      What is a product?

      “A tangible solution, tool, or service (physical or digital) that enables the long-term and evolving delivery of value to customers and stakeholders based on business and user requirements.”

      Info-Tech Insight

      A proper definition of product recognizes three key facts:

      1. Products are long-term endeavors that don’t end after the project finishes.
      2. Products are not just “apps” but can be software or services that drive the delivery of value.
      3. There is more than one stakeholder group that derives value from the product or service.

      Products and services share the same foundation and best practices

      For the purpose of this blueprint, product/service and product owner/service owner are used interchangeably. Product is used for consistency but would apply to services as well.

      Product = Service

      “Product” and “service” are terms that each organization needs to define to fit its culture and customers (internal and external). The most important aspect is consistent use and understanding of:

      • External products
      • Internal products
      • External services
      • Internal services
      • Products as a service (PaaS)
      • Productizing services (SaaS)

      Recognize the different product owner perspectives

      Business:

      • Customer facing, revenue generating

      Technical:

      • IT systems and tools

      Operations:

      • Keep the lights on processes

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Product owners must translate needs and constraints from their perspective into the language of their audience. Kathy Borneman, Digital Product Owner at SunTrust Bank, noted the challenges of finding a common language between lines of business and IT (e.g. what is a unit?).

      Info-Tech Insight

      Recognize that product owners represent one of three primary perspectives. Although all share the same capabilities, how they approach their responsibilities is influenced by their perspective.

      “A Product Owner in its most beneficial form acts like an Entrepreneur, like a 'mini-CEO'. The Product Owner is someone who really 'owns' the product.”

      – Robbin Schuurman, “Tips for Starting Product Owners”

      Identify the differences between a project-centric and a product-centric organization

      Project

      Product

      Fund projects

      Funding

      Fund products or teams

      Line of business sponsor

      Prioritization

      Product owner

      Makes specific changes to a product

      Product management

      Improve product maturity and support

      Assign people to work

      Work allocation

      Assign work to product teams

      Project manager manages

      Capacity management

      Team manages capacity

      Info-Tech Insight

      Product delivery requires significant shifts in the way you complete development work and deliver value to your users. Make the changes that support improving end-user value and enterprise alignment.

      Projects can be a mechanism for delivering product changes and improvements

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the difference between project lifecycle, hybrid lifecycle and product lifecycle.

      Projects within products

      Regardless of whether you recognize yourself as a product-based or project-based shop, the same basic principles should apply. The purpose of projects is to deliver the scope of a product release. The shift to product delivery leverages a product roadmap and backlog as the mechanism for defining and managing the scope of the release. Eventually, teams progress to continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) where they can release on demand or as scheduled, requiring org change management.

      Define product value by aligning backlog delivery with roadmap goals

      In each product plan, the backlogs show what you will deliver. Roadmaps identify when and in what order you will deliver value, capabilities, and goals.

      An image is shown to demonstrate the relationship between the product backlog and the product roadmap.

      Product roadmaps guide delivery and communicate your strategy

      In Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision, we demonstrate how the product roadmap is core to value realization. The product roadmap is your communicated path, and as a product owner, you use it to align teams and changes to your defined goals while aligning your product to enterprise goals and strategy.

      An example of a product roadmap is shown to demonstrate how it is the core to value realization.

      Adapted from: Pichler, "What Is Product Management?""

      Info-Tech Insight

      The quality of your product backlog – and your ability to realize business value from your delivery pipeline – is directly related to the input, content, and prioritization of items in your product roadmap.

      Use Agile DevOps principles to expedite product-centric delivery and management

      Delivering products does not necessarily require an Agile DevOps mindset. However, Agile methods facilitate the journey because product thinking is baked into them.

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the product deliery maturity and the Agile DevOps used.
      Based on: Ambysoft, 2018

      Organizations start with Waterfall to improve the predictable delivery of product features.

      Iterative development shifts the focus from delivery of features to delivery of user value.

      Agile further shifts delivery to consider ROI. Often, the highest-value backlog items aren’t the ones with the highest ROI.

      Lean and DevOps improve your delivery pipeline by providing full integration between product owners, development teams, and operations.

      CI/CD reduces time in process by allowing release on demand and simplifying release and support activities.

      Although teams will adopt parts of all these stages during their journey, it isn’t until you’ve adopted a fully integrated delivery chain that you’ve become product centric.

      Scale products into related families to improve value delivery and alignment

      Defining product families builds a network of related products into coordinated value delivery streams.

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the relations between product family and the delivery streams.

      “As with basic product management, scaling an organization is all about articulating the vision and communicating it effectively. Using a well-defined framework helps you align the growth of your organization with that of the company. In fact, how the product organization is structured is very helpful in driving the vision of what you as a product company are going to do.”

      – Rich Mironov, Mironov Consulting

      Product families translate enterprise goals into value-enabling capabilities

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the relationship between enterprise strategy and enabling capabilities.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organizational goals and strategy are achieved through capabilities that deliver value. Your product hierarchy is the mechanism to translate enterprise goals, priorities, and constraints down to the product level where changes can be made.

      Arrange product families by operational groups, not solely by your org chart

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate how to arrange product families by operational groups.

      1. To align product changes with enterprise goals and priorities, you need to organize your products into operational groups based on the capabilities or business functions the product and family support.

      2. Product managers translate these goals, priorities, and constraints into their product families, so they are actionable at the next level, whether that level is another product family or products implementing enhancements to meet these goals.

      3. The product family manager ensures that the product changes enhance the capabilities that allow you to realize your product family, division, and enterprise goals.

      4. Enabling capabilities realize value and help reach your goals, which then drives your next set of enterprise goals and strategy.

      Approach alignment from both directions, validating by the opposite way

      Defining your product families is not a one-way street. Often, we start from either the top or the bottom depending on our scaling principles. We use multiple patterns to find the best arrangement and grouping of our products and families.

      It may be helpful to work partway, then approach your scaling from the opposite direction, meeting in the middle. This way you are taking advantage of the strengths in both approaches.

      Once you have your proposed structure, validate the grouping by applying the principles from the opposite direction to ensure each product and family is in the best starting group.

      As the needs of your organization change, you may need to realign your product families into your new business architecture and operational structure.

      A top-down alignment example is shown.

      When to use: You have a business architecture defined or clear market/functional grouping of value streams.

      A bottom-up alignment example is shown.

      When to use: You are starting from an Application Portfolio Management application inventory to build or validate application families.

      Leverage patterns for scaling products

      Organizing your products and families is easier when leveraging these grouping patterns. Each is explained in greater detail on the following slides

      Value Stream Alignment

      Enterprise Applications

      Shared Services

      Technical

      Organizational Alignment
      • Business architecture
        • Value stream
        • Capability
        • Function
      • Market/customer segment
      • Line of business (LoB)
      • Example: Customer group > value stream > products
      • Enabling capabilities
      • Enterprise platforms
      • Supporting apps
      • Example: HR > Workday/Peoplesoft > ModulesSupporting: Job board, healthcare administrator
      • Organization of related services into service family
      • Direct hierarchy does not necessarily exist within the family
      • Examples: End-user support and ticketing, workflow and collaboration tools
      • Domain grouping of IT infrastructure, platforms, apps, skills, or languages
      • Often used in combination with Shared Services grouping or LoB-specific apps
      • Examples: Java, .NET, low-code, database, network
      • Used at higher levels of the organization where products are aligned under divisions
      • Separation of product managers from organizational structure no longer needed because the management team owns product management role

      Leverage the product family roadmap for alignment

      It’s more than a set of colorful boxes. It’s the map to align everyone to where you are going.

      Your product family roadmap

        ✓ Lays out a strategy for your product family.

        ✓ Is a statement of intent for your family of products.

        ✓ Communicates direction for the entire product family and product teams.

        ✓ Directly connects to the organization’s goals.

      However, it is not:

        x Representative of a hard commitment.

        x A simple combination of your current product roadmaps.

      Before connecting your family roadmap to products, think about what each roadmap typically presents

      An example of a product family roadmap is shown and how it can be connected to the products.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your product family roadmap and product roadmap tell different stories. The product family roadmap represents the overall connection of products to the enterprise strategy, while the product roadmap focuses on the fulfillment of the product’s vision.

      Product family roadmaps are more strategic by nature

      While individual product roadmaps can be different levels of tactical or strategic depending on a variety of market factors, your options are more limited when defining roadmaps for product families.

      Product

      TACTICAL

      A roadmap that is technical, committed, and detailed.

      Product Family

      STRATEGIC

      A roadmap that is strategic, goal based, high level, and flexible.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Roadmaps for your product family are, by design, less detailed. This does not mean they aren’t actionable! Your product family roadmap should be able to communicate clear intentions around the future delivery of value in both the near and long term.

      Consider volatility when structuring product family roadmaps

      A roadmap is shown without any changes.

      There is no such thing as a roadmap that never changes.

      Your product family roadmap represents a broad statement of intent and high-level tactics to get closer to the organization’s goals.

      A roadmap is shown with changes.

      All good product family roadmaps embrace change!

      Your strategic intentions are subject to volatility, especially those planned further in the future. The more costs you incur in planning, the more you leave yourself exposed to inefficiency and waste if those plans change.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A good product family roadmap is intended to manage and communicate the inevitable changes as a result of market volatility and changes in strategy.

      Product delivery realizes value for your product family

      While planning and analysis are done at the family level, work and delivery are done at the individual product level.

      PRODUCT STRATEGY

      What are the artifacts?

      What are you saying?

      Defined at the family level?

      Defined at the product level?

      Vision

      I want to...

      		 ✓ ✓

      Strategic focus

      Delivery focus

      Goals

      To get there we need to...

      		 ✓ ✓

      Roadmap

      To achieve our goals, we’ll deliver...

      		 ✓ ✓

      Backlog

      The work will be done in this order...

      		 ✓

      Release Plan

      We will deliver in the following ways...

      		✓

      Typical elements of a product family roadmap

      While there are others, these represent what will commonly appear across most family-based roadmaps.

      An example is shown to highlight the typical elements of a product family roadmap.

      GROUP/CATEGORY: Groups are collections of artifacts. In a product family context, these are usually product family goals, value streams, or products.

      ARTIFACT: An artifact is one of many kinds of tangible by-products produced during the delivery of products. For a product family, the artifacts represented are capabilities or value streams.

      MILESTONE: Points in the timeline when established sets of artifacts are complete. This is a critical tool in the alignment of products in a given family.

      TIME HORIZON: Separated periods within the projected timeline covered by the roadmap.

      Connecting your product family roadmaps to product roadmaps

      Your product and product family roadmaps should be connected at an artifact level that is common between both. Typically, this is done with capabilities, but it can be done at a more granular level if an understanding of capabilities isn’t available.

      An example is shown on how the product family roadmpas can be connected to the product roadmaps.

      Multiple roadmap views can communicate differently, yet tell the same truth

      Audience

      Business/ IT Leaders

      Users/Customers

      Delivery Teams

      Roadmap View

      Portfolio

      Product Family

      Technology

      Objectives

      To provide a snapshot of the portfolio and priority products

      To visualize and validate product strategy

      To coordinate broad technology and architecture decisions

      Artifacts

      Line items or sections of the roadmap are made up of individual products, and an artifact represents a disposition at its highest level.

      Artifacts are generally grouped by product teams and consist of strategic goals and the features that realize those goals.

      Artifacts are grouped by the teams who deliver that work and consist of technical capabilities that support the broader delivery of value for the product family.

      Your communication objectives are linked to your audience; ensure you know your audience and speak their language

      I want to...

      I need to talk to...

      Because they are focused on...

      ALIGN PRODUCT TEAMS

      Get my delivery teams on the same page.

      Architects

      Products Owners

      PRODUCTS

      A product that delivers value against a common set of goals and objectives.

      SHOWCASE CHANGES

      Inform users and customers of product strategy.

      Bus. Process Owners

      End Users

      FUNCTIONALITY

      A group of functionality that business customers see as a single unit.

      ARTICULATE RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

      Inform the business of product development requirements.

      IT Management

      Business Stakeholders

      FUNDING

      An initiative that those with the money see as a single budget.

      Assess the impacts of product-centric delivery on your teams and org design

      Product delivery can exist within any org structure or delivery model. However, when making the shift toward product management, consider optimizing your org design and product team structure to match your capacity and throughput needs.

      A flowchart is shown to see how the impacts of product-centric delivery can impact team and org designs.

      Determine which delivery team structure best fits your product pipeline

      Four delivery team structures are shown. The four are: functional roles, shared service and resource pools, product or system, and skills and competencies.

      Weigh the pros and cons of IT operating models to find the best fit

      There are many different operating models. LoB/Product Aligned and Hybrid Functional align themselves most closely with how products and product families are typically delivered.

      1. LoB/Product Aligned – Decentralized Model: Line of Business, Geographically, Product, or Functionally Aligned

        2. A decentralized IT operating model that embeds specific functions within LoBs/product teams and provides cross-organizational support for their initiatives.

      2. Hybrid Functional: Functional/Product Aligned

        3. A best-of-both-worlds model that balances the benefits of centralized and decentralized approaches to achieve both customer responsiveness and economies of scale.

      3. Hybrid Service Model: Product-Aligned Operating Model

        4. A model that supports what is commonly referred to as a matrix organization, organizing by highly related service categories and introducing the role of the service owner.

      4. Centralized: Plan-Build-Run

        5. A highly typical IT operating model that focuses on centralized strategic control and oversight in delivering cost-optimized and effective solutions.

      5. Centralized: Demand-Develop-Service

        6. A centralized IT operating model that lends well to more mature operating environments. Aimed at leveraging economies of scale in an end-to-end services delivery model.

      Consider how investment spending will differ in a product environment

      Reward for delivering outcomes, not features

      Autonomy

      Flexibility

      Accountability

      Fund what delivers value

      Allocate iteratively

      Measure and adjust

      Fund long-lived delivery of value through products (not projects).

      Give autonomy to the team to decide exactly what to build.

      Allocate to a pool based on higher-level business case.

      Provide funds in smaller amounts to different product teams and initiatives based on need.

      Product teams define metrics that contribute to given outcomes.

      Track progress and allocate more (or less) funds as appropriate.
      Adapted from Bain, 2019

      Info-Tech Insight

      Changes to funding require changes to product and Agile practices to ensure product ownership and accountability.

      Why is having a common value measure important?

      CIO-CEO Alignment Diagnostic

      A stacked bar graph is shown to demonstrate CIO-CEO Alignment Diagnostic. A bar titled: Business Value Metrics is highlighted. 51% had some improvement necessary and 32% had significant improvement necessary.

      Over 700 Info-Tech members have implemented the Balanced Value Measurement Framework.

      “The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

      – Oscar Wilde

      “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

      – Warren Buffett

      Understanding where you derive value is critical to building solid roadmaps.

      Measure delivery and success

      Metrics and measurements are powerful tools to drive behavior change and decision making in your organization. However, metrics are highly prone to creating unexpected outcomes, so use them with great care. Use metrics judiciously to uncover insights but avoid gaming or ambivalent behavior, productivity loss, and unintended consequences.

      Build good practices in your selection and use of metrics:

      • Choose the metrics that are as close to measuring the desired outcome as possible.
      • Select the fewest metrics possible and ensure they are of the highest value to your team, the safest from gaming behaviors and unintended consequences, and the easiest to gather and report.
      • Never use metrics for reward or punishment; use them to develop your team.
      • Automate as much metrics gathering and reporting as possible.
      • Focus on trends rather than precise metrics values.
      • Review and change your metrics periodically.

      Executive Brief Case Study

      INDUSTRY: Public Sector & Financial Services

      SOURCE: Info-Tech Interviews

      A tale of two product transformations

      Two of the organizations we interviewed shared the challenges they experienced defining product families and the impact these challenges had on their digital transformations.

      A major financial services organization (2,000+ people in IT) had employed a top-down line of business–focused approach and found itself caught in a vicious circle of moving applications between families to resolve cross-LoB dependencies.

      A similarly sized public sector organization suffered from a similar challenge as grouping from the bottom up based on technology areas led to teams fragmented across multiple business units employing different applications built on similar technology foundations.

      Results

      Both organizations struggled for over a year to structure their product families. This materially delayed key aspects of their product-centric transformation, resulting in additional effort and expenditure delivering solutions piecemeal as opposed to as a part of a holistic product family. It took embracing a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach and beginning with pilot product families to make progress on their transformation.

      A picture of Cole Cioran is shown.

      Cole Cioran

      Practice Lead,

      Applications Practice

      Info-Tech Research Group

      There is no such thing as a perfect product-family structure. There will always be trade-offs when you need to manage shifting demand from stakeholder groups spanning customers, business units, process owners, and technology owners.

      Focusing on a single approach to structure your product families inevitably leads to decisions that are readily challenged or are brittle in the face of changing demand.

      The key to accelerating a product-centric transformation is to build a hybrid model that embraces top-down and bottom-up perspectives to structure and evolve product families over time. Add a robust pilot to evaluate the structure and you have the key to unlocking the potential of product delivery in your organization.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for Deliver Digital Products at Scale

      1. Become a Product-Centric Organization

      2. Organize Products Into Product Families

      3. Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      4. Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery

      5. Build Your Transformation Roadmap and Communication Plan
      Phase Steps

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm goal and value alignment of products and their product families

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps
      Phase Outcomes
      • Organizational drivers and goals for a product-centric delivery
      • Definition of product
      • Pilot list of products to scale
      • Product scaling principles
      • Scaling approach and direction
      • Product family mapping
      • Enabling applications
      • Dependent applications
      • Product family canvas
      • Approach for communication of product family strategy
      • Stakeholder management plan
      • Defined key pieces of a product family roadmap
      • An approach to confirming alignment between products and product families
      • Assessment of delivery maturity
      • Approach to structuring product delivery
      • Operating model for product delivery
      • Approach for product family funding
      • Product family transformation roadmap
      • Your plan for communicating your roadmap
      • List of actionable next steps to start on your journey

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook

      Use this supporting workbook to document interim results from a number of exercises that will contribute to your overall strategy.

      A screenshot of the Scale Workbook is shown.

      Deliver Digital Products at Scale Readiness Assessment

      Your strategy needs to encompass your approaches to delivery. Understand where you need to focus using this simple assessment.

      A screenshot of the Scale Readiness Assessment is shown.

      Key deliverable:

      Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook

      Record the results from the exercises to help you define, detail, and deliver digital products at scale.

      A screenshot of the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook is shown.

      Blueprint benefits

      IT Benefits

      • Improved product delivery ROI.
      • Improved IT satisfaction and business support.
      • Greater alignment between product delivery and product family goals.
      • Improved alignment between product delivery and organizational models.
      • Better support for Agile/DevOps adoption.

      Business Benefits

      • Increased value realization across product families.
      • Faster delivery of enterprise capabilities.
      • Improved IT satisfaction and business support.
      • Greater alignment between product delivery and product family goals.
      • Uniform understanding of product and product family roadmaps and key milestones.

      Measure the value of this blueprint

      Align product family metrics to product delivery and value realization.

      Member Outcome Suggested Metric Estimated Impact

      Increase business application satisfaction

      Satisfaction with business applications (CIO Business Vision diagnostic)

      20% increase within one year after implementation

      Increase effectiveness of application portfolio management

      Effectiveness of application portfolio management (Management & Governance diagnostic)

      20% increase within one year after implementation

      Increase importance and effectiveness of application portfolio

      Importance and effectiveness to business ( Application Portfolio Assessment diagnostic)

      20% increase within one year after implementation

      Increase satisfaction of support of business operations

      Support to business (CIO Business Vision diagnostic.

      20% increase within one year after implementation

      Successfully deliver committed work (productivity)

      Number of successful deliveries; burndown

      20% increase within one year after implementation

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keeps us on track."

      Workshop

      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting

      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1: Become a Product-Centric Organization

      Phase 2: Organize Products Into Product Families

      Phase 3: Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      Phase 4: Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery

      Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.

      Call #2: Define products and product families in your context.

      Call #3: Understand the list of products in your context.

      Call #4: Define your scaling principles and goals.

      Call #5: Select a pilot and define your product families.

      Call #6: Understand the product family roadmap as a method to align products to families.

      Call #7: Define components of your product family roadmap and confirm alignment.

      Call #8: Assess your delivery readiness.

      Call #9: Discuss delivery, operating, and funding models relevant to delivering product families.

      Call #10: Wrap up.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization. A typical GI is between 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1

      Become a Product-Centric Organization

      		 Day 2

      Organize Products Into Product Families

      		 Day 3

      Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      		 Day 4

      Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery

      		 Advisory

      Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

      Activities

      1.1 Understand your organizational factors driving product-centric delivery.

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory.

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families.

      2.2 Define your product families.

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps.

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication.

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps.

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment.

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness.

      4.2 Understand your delivery options.

      4.3 Determine your operating model.

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery.

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy.

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy.

      5.3 Determine your next steps.
      1. Execute communication plan and product family changes.
      2. Review the pilot family implementation and update the transformation roadmap.
      3. Begin advisory calls for related blueprints.

      Key Deliverables
      1. Organizational drivers and goals for a product-centric delivery
      2. Definition of product
      3. Product scaling principles
      4. Scaling approach and direction
      5. Pilot list of products to scale
      1. Product family mapping
      2. Enabling applications
      3. Dependent applications
      4. Product family canvas
      1. Current approach for communication of product family strategy
      2. List of product family stakeholders and a prioritization plan for communication
      3. Defined key pieces of a product family roadmap
      4. An approach to confirming alignment between products and product families through a shared definition of business value
      1. Assessment results on your organization’s delivery maturity
      2. A preferred approach to structuring product delivery
      3. Your preferred operating model for delivering product families
      4. Understanding your preferred approach for product family funding
      5. Product family transformation roadmap
      6. Your plan for communicating your roadmap
      7. List of actionable next steps to start on your journey
      1. Organizational communication of product families and product family roadmaps
      2. Product family implementation and updated transformation roadmap
      3. Support for product owners, backlog and roadmap management, and other topics

      Phase 1

      Become a Product-Centric Organization

      Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      1.1.1 Understand your drivers for product-centric delivery

      1.1.2 Identify the differences between project and product delivery

      1.1.3 Define the goals for your product-centric organization

      1.2.1 Define “product” in your context

      1.2.2 Identify and establish a pilot list of products

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Step 1.1

      Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      Activities

      1.1.1 Understand your drivers for product-centric delivery

      1.1.2 Identify the differences between project and product delivery

      1.1.3 Define the goals for your product-centric organization

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Organizational drivers to move to product-centric delivery
      • List of differences between project and product delivery
      • Goals for product-centric delivery

      1.1.1 Understand your drivers for product-centric delivery

      30-60 minutes

      1. Identify your pain points in the current delivery model.
      2. What is the root cause of these pain points?
      3. How will a product-centric delivery model fix the root cause?
      4. Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.
      Pain Points Root Causes Drivers
      • Lack of ownership
      • Siloed departments
      • Accountability

      Output

      • Organizational drivers to move to product-centric delivery.

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      1.1.2 Identify the differences between project and product delivery

      30-60 minutes

      1. Consider project delivery and product delivery.
      2. Discuss what some differences are between the two.

        3. Note: This exercise is not about identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each style of delivery. This is to identify the variation between the two.

      3. Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.
      Project Delivery Product Delivery
      Point in time What is changed
      Method of funding changes Needs an owner

      Output

      • List of differences between project and product delivery

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Identify the differences between a project-centric and a product-centric organization

      Project Product
      Fund projects Funding Fund products or teams
      Line of business sponsor Prioritization Product owner
      Makes specific changes to a product Product management Improves product maturity and support
      Assignment of people to work Work allocation Assignment of work to product teams
      Project manager manages Capacity management Team manages capacity

      Info-Tech Insight

      Product delivery requires significant shifts in the way you complete development work and deliver value to your users. Make the changes that support improving end-user value and enterprise alignment.

      Projects can be a mechanism for funding product changes and improvements

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the difference between project lifecycle, hybrid lifecycle, and product lifecycle.

      Projects within products

      Regardless of whether you recognize yourself as a product-based or project-based shop, the same basic principles should apply.

      The purpose of projects is to deliver the scope of a product release. The shift to product delivery leverages a product roadmap and backlog as the mechanism for defining and managing the scope of the release.

      Eventually, teams progress to continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) where they can release on demand or as scheduled, requiring org change management.

      Use Agile DevOps principles to expedite product-centric delivery and management

      Delivering products does not necessarily require an Agile DevOps mindset. However, Agile methods facilitate the journey because product thinking is baked into them.

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the product delivery maturity and the Agile DevOps used.

      Based on: Ambysoft, 2018

      Organizations start with Waterfall to improve the predictable delivery of product features.

      Iterative development shifts the focus from delivery of features to delivery of user value.

      Agile further shifts delivery to consider ROI. Often, the highest-value backlog items aren’t the ones with the highest ROI.

      Lean and DevOps improve your delivery pipeline by providing full integration between product owners, development teams, and operations.

      CI/CD reduces time in process by allowing release on demand and simplifying release and support activities.

      Although teams will adopt parts of all these stages during their journey, it isn’t until you’ve adopted a fully integrated delivery chain that you’ve become product centric.

      1.1.3 Define the goals for your product-centric organization

      30 minutes

      1. Review your list of drivers from exercise 1.1.1 and the differences between project and product delivery from exercise 1.1.2.
      2. Define your goals for achieving a product-centric organization.

        3. Note: Your drivers may have already covered the goals. If so, review if you would like to change the drivers based on your renewed understanding of the differences between project and product delivery.

      Pain PointsRoot CausesDriversGoals
      • Lack of ownership
      • Siloed departments
      • Accountability
      • End-to-end ownership

      Output

      • Goals for product-centric delivery

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Step 1.2

      Establish your organization’s product inventory

      Activities

      1.2.1 Define “product” in your context

      1.2.2 Identify and establish a pilot list of products

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Your organizational definition of products and services
      • A pilot list of active products

      Product does not mean the same thing to everyone

      Do not expect a universal definition of products.

      Every organization and industry has a different definition of what a product is. Organizations structure their people, processes, and technologies according to their definition of the products they manage. Conflicting product definitions between teams increase confusion and misalignment of product roadmaps.

      “A product [is] something (physical or not) that is created through a process and that provides benefits to a market.”

      - Mike Cohn, Founding Member of Agile Alliance and Scrum Alliance

      “A product is something ... that is created and then made available to customers, usually with a distinct name or order number.”

      - TechTarget

      “A product is the physical object ... , software or service from which customer gets direct utility plus a number of other factors, services, and perceptions that make the product useful, desirable [and] convenient.”

      - Mark Curphey

      Organizations need a common understanding of what a product is and how it pertains to the business. This understanding needs to be accepted across the organization.

      “There is not a lot of guidance in the industry on how to define [products]. This is dangerous because what will happen is that product backlogs will be formed in too many areas. All that does is create dependencies and coordination across teams … and backlogs.”

      – Chad Beier, "How Do You Define a Product?” Scrum.org

      Products and services share the same foundation and best practices

      For the purpose of this blueprint, product/service and product owner/service owner are used interchangeably. Product is used for consistency but would apply to services as well.

      Product = Service

      “Product” and “service” are terms that each organization needs to define to fit its culture and customers (internal and external). The most important aspect is consistent use and understanding of:

      • External products
      • Internal products
      • External services
      • Internal services
      • Products as a service (PaaS)
      • Productizing services (SaaS)

      Recognize the different product owner perspectives

      Business:

      • Customer facing, revenue generating

      Technical:

      • IT systems and tools

      Operations

      • Keep the lights on processes

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Product owners must translate needs and constraints from their perspective into the language of their audience. Kathy Borneman, Digital Product Owner at SunTrust Bank, noted the challenges of finding a common language between lines of business and IT (e.g. what is a unit?).

      Info-Tech Insight

      Recognize that product owners represent one of three primary perspectives. Although all share the same capabilities, how they approach their responsibilities is influenced by their perspective.

      “A Product Owner in its most beneficial form acts like an Entrepreneur, like a 'mini-CEO'. The Product Owner is someone who really 'owns' the product.”

      – Robbin Schuurman, “Tips for Starting Product Owners”

      Your product definition should include everything required to support it, not just what users see.

      A picture of an iceburg is shown, showing the ice both above and below the water to demonstrate that the product definition should include everything, not just what users see. On top of the picture are various words to go with the product definition. They inlude: funding, external relationships, adoption, product strategy, stakeholder managment. The product defitions that may not be seen include: Product governance, business functionality, user support, managing and governing data, maintenance and enhancement, R-and-D, requirements analysis and design, code, and knowledge management.

      Establish where product management would be beneficial in the organization

      What does not need product ownership?

      • Individual features
      • Transactions
      • Unstructured data
      • One-time solutions
      • Non-repeatable processes
      • Solutions that have no users or consumers
      • People or teams

      Characteristics of a discrete product

      • Has end users or consumers
      • Delivers quantifiable value
      • Evolves or changes over time
      • Has predictable delivery
      • Has definable boundaries
      • Has a cost to produce and operate

      Product capabilities deliver value!

      These are the various facets of a product. As a product owner, you are responsible for managing these facets through your capabilities and activities.

      A flowchart is shown that demonstrates the various facets of a product.

      It is easy to lose sight of what matters when we look at a product from a single point of view. Despite what The Agile Manifesto says, working software is not valuable without the knowledge and support that people need in order to adopt, use, and maintain it. If you build it, they will not come. Product leaders must consider the needs of all stakeholders when designing and building products.

      Define product value by aligning backlog delivery with roadmap goals

      In each product plan, the backlogs show what you will deliver. Roadmaps identify when and in what order you will deliver value, capabilities, and goals.

      An image is shown to demonstrate the relationship between the product backlog and the product roadmap.

      Product roadmaps guide delivery and communicate your strategy

      In Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision, we demonstrate how the product roadmap is core to value realization. The product roadmap is your communicated path, and as a product owner, you use it to align teams and changes to your defined goals while aligning your product to enterprise goals and strategy.

      An example of a product roadmap is shown to demonstrate how it is the core to value realization.

      Info-Tech Insight

      The quality of your product backlog – and your ability to realize business value from your delivery pipeline – is directly related to the input, content, and prioritization of items in your product roadmap.

      What is a product?

      Not all organizations will define products in the same way. Take this as a general example:

      “A tangible solution, tool, or service (physical or digital) that enables the long-term and evolving delivery of value to customers and stakeholders based on business and user requirements.”

      Info-Tech Insight

      A proper definition of product recognizes three key facts:

      1. Products are long-term endeavors that don’t end after the project finishes.
      2. Products are not just “apps” but can be software or services that drive the delivery of value.

        3. There is more than one stakeholder group that derives value from the product or service.

      1.2.1 Define “product” in your context

      30-60 minutes

      1. Discuss what “product” means in your organization.
      2. Create a common, enterprise-wide definition for “product.”
      3. Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      For example:

      • An application, platform, or application family.
      • Discrete items that deliver value to a user/customer.

      Output

      • Your enterprise/organizational definition of products and services

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      1.2.2 Identify and establish a pilot list of products

      1-2 hours

      1. Review any current documented application inventory. If you have these details in an existing document, share it with the team. Select the group of applications for your family scaling pilot.
      2. List your initial application inventory on the Product List tab of the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.
    • For each of the products listed, add the vision and goals of the product. Refer to Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision to learn more about identifying vision and goals or to complete the product vision canvas.
    • You’ll add business capabilities and vision in Phase 2, but you can add these now if they are available in your existing inventory.

      • Output

      • A pilot list of active products

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Phase 2

      Organize Products Into Product Families

      Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      2.1.1 Define your scaling principles and goals

      2.1.2 Define your pilot product family areas and direction

      2.2.1 Arrange your applications and services into product families

      2.2.2 Define enabling and supporting applications

      2.2.3 Build your product family canvas

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Step 2.1

      Determine your approach to scale product families

      Activities

      2.1.1 Define your scaling principles and goals

      2.1.2 Define your pilot product family areas and direction

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • List of product scaling principles
      • Scope of product scaling pilot and target areas
      • Scaling approach and direction

      Use consistent terminology for product and service families

      In this blueprint, we refer to any grouping of products or services as a “family.” Your organization may prefer other terms, such as product/service line, portfolio, group, etc. The underlying principles for grouping and managing product families are the same, so define the terminology that fits best with your culture. The same is true for “products” and “services,” which may also be referred to in different terms.

      An example flowchart is displayed to demonstrate the terminology for product and service families.

      A product family is a logical and operational grouping of related products or services. The grouping provides a scaled hierarchy to translate goals, priorities, strategy, and constraints down the grouping while aligning value realization upwards.

      Group product families by related purpose to improve business value

      Families should be scaled by how the products operationally relate to each other, with clear boundaries and common purpose.

      A product family contains...

      • Vision
      • Goals
      • Cumulative roadmap of the products within the family

      A product family can be grouped by...

      • Function
      • Value stream and capability
      • Customer segments or end-user group
      • Strategic purpose
      • Underlying architecture
      • Common technology or support structures
      • And many more
      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the product family and product relations.

      Scale products into related families to improve value delivery and alignment

      Defining product families builds a network of related products into coordinated value delivery streams.

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the relations between product family and the delivery streams.

      “As with basic product management, scaling an organization is all about articulating the vision and communicating it effectively. Using a well-defined framework helps you align the growth of your organization with that of the company. In fact, how the product organization is structured is very helpful in driving the vision of what you as a product company are going to do.”

      – Rich Mironov, Mironov Consulting

      Product families translate enterprise goals into value-enabling capabilities

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the relationship between enterprise strategy and enabling capabilities.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organizational goals and strategy are achieved through capabilities that deliver value. Your product hierarchy is the mechanism to translate enterprise goals, priorities, and constraints down to the product level where changes can be made.

      Arrange product families by operational groups, not solely by your org chart

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate how to arrange product families by operational groups.

      1. To align product changes with enterprise goals and priorities, you need to organize your products into operational groups based on the capabilities or business functions the product and family support.

      2. Product managers translate these goals, priorities, and constraints into their product families, so they are actionable at the next level, whether that level is another product family or products implementing enhancements to meet these goals.

      3. The product family manager ensures that the product changes enhance the capabilities that allow you to realize your product family, division, and enterprise goals.

      4. Enabling capabilities realize value and help reach your goals, which then drives your next set of enterprise goals and strategy.

      Product families need owners with a more strategic focus

      Product Owner

      (More tactical product delivery focus)

      • Backlog management and prioritization
      • Product vision and product roadmap
      • Epic/story definition, refinement in conjunction with business stakeholders
      • Sprint planning with Scrum Master and delivery team
      • Working with Scrum Master to minimize disruption to team velocity
      • Ensuring alignment between business and Scrum teams during sprints
      • Profit and loss (P&L) product analysis and monitoring

      Product Manager

      (More strategic product family focus)

      • Product strategy, positioning, and messaging
      • Product family vision and product roadmap
      • Competitive analysis and positioning
      • New product innovation/definition
      • Release timing and focus (release themes)
      • Ongoing optimization of product-related marketing and sales activities
      • P&L product analysis and monitoring

      Info-Tech Insight

      “Product owner” and “product manager” are terms that should be adapted to fit your culture and product hierarchy. These are not management relationships but rather a way to structure related products and services that touch the same end users. Use the terms that work best in your culture.

      Download Build a Better Product Owner for role support.

      2.1.1 Define your scaling principles and goals

      30-60 minutes

      1. Discuss the guiding principles for your product scaling model. Your guiding principles should consider key business priorities, organizational culture, and division/team objectives, such as improving:
      • Business agility and ability to respond to changes and needs.
      • Alignment of product roadmaps to enterprise goals and priorities.
      • Collaboration between stakeholders and product delivery teams.
      • Resource utilization and productivity.
      • The quality and value of products.
      • Coordination between related products and services.

      Output

      • List of product scaling principles

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Start scaling with a pilot

      You will likely use a combination of patterns that work best for each product area. Pilot your product scaling with a domain, team, or functional area before organizing your entire portfolio.

      Learn more about each pattern.

      Discuss the pros and cons of each.

      Select a pilot product area.

      Select a pattern.

      Approach alignment from both directions, validating by the opposite way

      Defining your product families is not a one-way street. Often, we start from either the top or the bottom depending on our scaling principles. We use multiple patterns to find the best arrangement and grouping of our products and families.

      It may be helpful to work partway, then approach your scaling from the opposite direction, meeting in the middle. This way you are taking advantage of the strengths in both approaches.

      Once you have your proposed structure, validate the grouping by applying the principles from the opposite direction to ensure each product and family is in the best starting group.

      As the needs of your organization change, you may need to realign your product families into your new business architecture and operational structure.

      A top-down alignment example is shown.

      When to use: You have a business architecture defined or clear market/functional grouping of value streams.

      A bottom-up alignment example is shown.

      When to use: You are starting from an Application Portfolio Management application inventory to build or validate application families.

      Top-down examples: Start with your enterprise structure or market grouping

      A top-down example flowchart is shown.

      Examples:

      Market Alignment
      • Consumer Banking
        • DDA: Checking, Savings, Money Market
        • Revolving Credit: Credit Cards, Line of Credit
        • Term Credit: Mortgage, Auto, Boat, Installment
      Enterprise Applications
      • Human Resources
        • Benefits: Health, Dental, Life, Retirement
        • Human Capital: Hiring, Performance, Training
        • Hiring: Posting, Interviews, Onboarding
      Shared Service
      • End-User Support
        • Desktop: New Systems, Software, Errors
        • Security: Access Requests, Password Reset, Attestations
      Business Architecture
      • Value Stream
        • Capability
          • Applications
          • Services

      Bottom-up examples: Start with your inventory

      Based on your current inventory, start organizing products and services into related groups using one of the five scaling models discussed in the next step.

      A bottom-up example flowchart is shown.

      Examples:

      Technical Grouping
      • Custom Apps: Java, .NET, Python
      • Cloud: Azure, AWS, Virtual Environments
      • Low Code: ServiceNow, Appian
      Functional/Capability Grouping
      • CRM: Salesforce, Microsoft CRM
      • Security Platforms: IAM, SSO, Scanning
      • Workflow: Remedy, ServiceNow
      Shared Services Grouping
      • Workflow: Appian, Pega, ServiceNow
      • Collaboration: SharePoint, Teams
      • Data: Dictionary, Lake, BI/Reporting

      2.1.2 Define your pilot product family areas and direction

      30-60 minutes

      1. Using your inventory of products for your pilot, consider the top-down and bottom-up approaches.
      2. Identify areas where you will begin arranging your product into families.
      3. Prioritize these pilot areas into waves:
        1. First pilot areas
        2. Second pilot areas
        3. Third pilot areas
      4. Discuss and decide whether a top-down or bottom-up approach is the best place to start for each pilot group.
      5. Prioritize your pilot families in the order in which you want to organize them. This is a guide to help you get started, and you may change the order during the scaling pattern exercise.

      Output

      • Scope of product scaling pilot and target areas

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Step 2.2

      Define your product families

      Activities

      2.2.1 Arrange your applications and services into product families

      2.2.2 Define enabling and supporting applications

      2.2.3 Build your product family canvas

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers’
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Product family mapping
      • Product families
      • Enabling applications
      • Dependent applications
      • Product family canvas

      Use three perspectives to guide scaling pattern selection

      • One size does not fit all. There is no single or static product model that fits all product teams.
      • Structure relationships based on your organizational needs and capabilities.
      • Be flexible. Product ownership is designed to enable value delivery.
      • Avoid structures that promote proxy product ownership.
      • Make decisions based on products and services, not people. Then assign people to the roles.
      		 Alignment perspectives:

      Value Stream

      Align products based on the defined sources of value for a collection of products or services.

      For example: Wholesale channel for products that may also be sold directly to consumers, such as wireless network service.

      Users/Consumers

      Align products based on a common group of users or product consumers.

      For example: Consumer vs. small business vs. enterprise customers in banking, insurance, and healthcare.

      Common Domain

      Align products based on a common domain knowledge or skill set needed to deliver and support the products.

      For example: Applications in a shared service framework supporting other products.

      Leverage patterns for scaling products

      Organizing your products and families is easier when leveraging these grouping patterns. Each is explained in greater detail on the following slides

      Value Stream AlignmentEnterprise ApplicationsShared ServicesTechnicalOrganizational Alignment
      • Business architecture
        • Value stream
        • Capability
        • Function
      • Market/customer segment
      • Line of business (LoB)
      • Example: Customer group > value stream > products
      • Enabling capabilities
      • Enterprise platforms
      • Supporting apps
      • Example: HR > Workday/Peoplesoft > ModulesSupporting: Job board, healthcare administrator
      • Organization of related services into service family
      • Direct hierarchy does not necessarily exist within the family
      • Examples: End-user support and ticketing, workflow and collaboration tools
      • Domain grouping of IT infrastructure, platforms, apps, skills, or languages
      • Often used in combination with Shared Services grouping or LoB-specific apps
      • Examples: Java, .NET, low-code, database, network
      • Used at higher levels of the organization where products are aligned under divisions
      • Separation of product managers from organizational structure no longer needed because the management team owns product management role

      Select the best family pattern to improve alignment

      A flowchart is shown on how to select the best family pattern to improve alignment.

      Use scenarios to help select patterns

      Top-Down

      Bottom-Up

      We have a business architecture defined.

      (See Document Your Business Architecture and industry reference architectures for help.)

      Start with your business architecture

      Start with market segments

      We want to be more customer first or customer centric.

      Start with market segments

      Our organization has rigid lines of business and organizational boundaries.

      Start with LoB structure
      Most products are specific to a business unit or division. Start with LoB structure

      Products are aligned to people, not how we are operationally organized.

      Start with market or LoB structure

      We are focusing on enterprise or enabling applications.

      1. Start with enterprise app and service team

      2. Align supporting apps

      We already have applications and services grouped into teams but want to evaluate if they are grouped in the best families.

      Validate using multiple patterns

      Validate using multiple patterns

      Our applications and services are shared across the enterprise or support multiple products, value streams, or shared capabilities.

      Our applications or services are domain, knowledge, or technology specific.

      Start by grouping inventory

      We are starting from an application inventory. (See the APM Research Center for help.)

      Start by grouping inventory

      Pattern: Value Stream – Capability

      Grouping products into capabilities defined in your business architecture is recommended because it aligns people/processes (services) and products (tools) into their value stream and delivery grouping. This requires an accurate capability map to implement.

      Example:

      • Healthcare is delivered through a series of distinct value streams (top chevrons) and shared services supporting all streams.
      • Diagnosing Health Needs is executed through the Admissions, Testing, Imaging, and Triage capabilities.
      • Products and services are needed to deliver each capability.
      • Shared capabilities can also be grouped into families to better align capability delivery and maturity to ensure that the enterprise goals and needs are being met in each value stream the capabilities support.
      An example is shown to demonstrate how to group products into capabilities.

      Sample business architecture/ capability map for healthcare

      A sample business architecture/capability map for healthcare is shown.

      Your business architecture maps your value streams (value delivered to your customer or user personas) to the capabilities that deliver that value. A capability is the people, processes, and/or tools needed to deliver each value function.

      Defining capabilities are specific to a value stream. Shared capabilities support multiple value streams. Enabling capabilities are core “keep the lights on” capabilities and enterprise functions needed to run your organization.

      See Info-Tech’s industry coverage and reference architectures.

      Download Document Your Business Architecture

      Pattern: Value Stream – Market

      Market/Customer Segment Alignment focuses products into the channels, verticals, or market segments in the same way customers and users view the organization.

      An example is shown to demonstrate how products can be placed into channels, verticals, or market segments.

      Example:

      • Customers want one stop to solve all their issues, needs, and transactions.
      • Banking includes consumer, small business, and enterprise.
      • Consumer banking can be grouped by type of financial service: deposit accounts (checking, savings, money market), revolving credit (credit cards, lines of credit), term lending (mortgage, auto, installment).
      • Each group of services has a unique set of applications and services that support the consumer product, with some core systems supporting the entire relationship.

      Pattern: Value Stream – Line of Business (LoB)

      Line of Business Alignment uses the operational structure as the basis for organizing products and services into families that support each area.

      An example of the operational structure as the basis is shown.

      Example:

      • LoB alignment favors continuity of services, tools, and skills based on internal operations over unified customer services.
      • A hospital requires care and services from many different operational teams.
      • Emergency services may be internally organized by the type of care and emergency to allow specialized equipment and resources to diagnose and treat the patients, relying on support teams for imaging and diagnostics to support care.
      • This model may be efficient and logical from an internal viewpoint but can cause gaps in customer services without careful coordination between product teams.

      Pattern: Enterprise Applications

      A division or group delivers enabling capabilities, and the team’s operational alignment maps directly to the modules/components of an enterprise application and other applications that support the specific business function.

      An example flowchart is shown with enterprise applications.

      Example:

      • Human resources is one corporate function. Within HR, however, there are subfunctions that operate independently.
      • Each operational team is supported by one or more applications or modules within a primary HR system.
      • Even though the teams work independently, the information they manage is shared with or ties into processes used by other teams. Coordination of efforts helps provide a higher level of service and consistency.

      For additional information about HRMS, please download Get the Most Out of Your HRMS.

      Pattern: Shared Services

      Grouping by service type, knowledge area, or technology allows for specialization while families align service delivery to shared business capabilities.

      An example is shown with the shared services.

      Example:

      • Recommended for governance, risk, and compliance; infrastructure; security; end-user support; and shared platforms (workflow, collaboration, imaging/record retention). Direct hierarchies do not necessarily exist within the shared service family.
      • Service groupings are common for service owners (also known as support managers, operations managers, etc.).
      • End-user ticketing comes through a common request system, is routed to the team responsible for triage, and then is routed to a team for resolution.
      • Collaboration tools and workflow tools are enablers of other applications, and product families might support multiple apps or platforms delivering that shared capability.

      Pattern: Technical

      Technical grouping is used in Shared Services or as a family grouping method within a Value Stream Alignment (Capability, Market, LoB) product family.

      An example of technical grouping is shown.

      Example:

      • Within Shared Services, Technical product grouping focuses on domains requiring specific experience and knowledge not common to typical product teams. This can also support insourcing so other product teams do not have to build their own capacity.
      • Within a Market or LoB team, these same technical groups support specific tools and services within that product family only while also specializing in the business domain.
      • Alignment into tool, platform, or skill areas improves delivery capabilities and resource scalability.

      Pattern: Organizational Alignment

      Eventually in your product hierarchy, the management structure functions as the product management team.

      • When planning your product families, be careful determining when to merge product families into the management team structure.
      • Since the goal of scaling products into families is to align product delivery roadmaps to enterprise goals and enable value realization, the primary focus of scaling must be operational.
      • Alignment to the organizational chart should only occur when the product families report into an HR manager who has ownership for the delivery and value realization for all product and services within that family.
      Am example of organizational alignment is shown.

      Download Build a Better Product Owner for role support.

      2.2.1 Arrange your applications and services into product families

      1-4 hours

      1. (Optional but recommended) Define your value streams and capabilities on the App Capability List tab in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.
      2. On the Product Families tab, build your product family hierarchy using the following structure:
      • Value Stream > Capability > Family 3 > Family 2 > Family 1 > Product/Service.
      • If you are not using a Value Stream > Capability grouping, you can leave these blank for now.
      A screenshot of the App Capability List in the Deliver Disital Products at Scale Workbook is shown.
    • If you previously completed an application inventory using one of our application portfolio management (APM) resources, you can paste values here. Do not paste cells, as Excel may create a cell reference or replace the current conditional formatting.

      • Output

      • Product family mapping

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      2.2.2 Define enabling and supporting applications

      1-4 hours

      1. Review your grouping from the reverse direction or with different patterns to validate the grouping. Consider each grouping.
      • Does it operationally align the products and families to best cascade enterprise goals and priorities while validating enabling capabilities?
      • In the next phase, when defining your roadmap strategy, you may wish to revisit this phase and adjust as needed.
    • Select and enter enabling or dependent applications to the right of each product.

      • A screenshot from the Deliver Digitial Products at Scale Workbook is shown.

      Output

      • Product families
      • Enabling applications
      • Dependent applications

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Use a product canvas to define key elements of your product family

      A product canvas is an excellent tool for quickly providing important information about a product family.

      Product owners/managers

      Provide target state to align child product and product family roadmaps.

      Stakeholders

      Communicate high-level concepts and key metrics with leadership teams and stakeholders.

      Strategy teams

      Use the canvas as a tool for brainstorming, scoping, and ideation.

      Operations teams

      Share background overview to align operational team with end-user value.

      Impacted users

      Refine communication strategy and support based on user impacts and value realization.

      Download Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision.

      Product Family Canvas: Define your core information

      A screenshot of the product family canvas is shown.

      Problem Statement: The problem or need the product family is addressing

      Business Goals: List of business objectives or goals for the product

      Personas/Customers/Users: List of groups who consume the product/service

      Vision: Vision, unique value proposition, elevator pitch, or positioning statement

      Child Product Families or Products: List of product families or products within this family

      Stakeholders: List of key resources, stakeholders, and teams needed to support the product or service

      Download Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision.

      2.2.3 Build your product family canvas

      30-60 minutes

      1. Complete the following fields to build your product family canvas in your Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook:
        1. Product family name
        2. Product family owner
        3. Parent product family name
        4. Problem that the family is intending to solve (For additional help articulating your problem statement, refer to Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision.)
        5. Product family vision/goals (For additional help writing your vision, refer to Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision..)
        6. Child product or product family name(s)
        7. Primary customers/users (For additional help with your product personas, download and complete Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision..)
        8. Stakeholders (If you aren’t sure who your stakeholders are, fill this in after completing the stakeholder management exercises in phase 3.)

      Output

      • Product family canvas

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Development team leads
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      A screenshot of the Product Family Canvas is shown.

      Phase 3

      Ensure Alignment Between Products and Families

      Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • 3.1.1 Evaluate your current approach to product family communication
      • 3.2.1 Visualize interrelationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers
      • 3.2.2 Group stakeholders into categories
      • 3.2.3 Prioritize your stakeholders
      • 3.3.1 Define the communication objectives and audience of your product family roadmaps
      • 3.3.2 Identify the level of detail that you want your product family roadmap artifacts to represent
      • 3.4.1 Validate business value alignment between products and their product families

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Step 3.1

      Leverage product family roadmaps

      Activities

      3.1.1 Evaluate your current approach to product family communication

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Understanding of what a product family roadmap is
      • Comparison of Info-Tech’s position on product families to how you currently communicate about product families

      Aligning products’ goals with families

      Without alignment between product family goals and their underlying products, you aren’t seeing the full picture.

      An example of a product roadmap is shown to demonstrate how it is the core to value realization.

      Adapted from: Pichler," What Is Product Management?"

      • Aligning product strategy to enterprise goals needs to happen through the product family.
      • A product roadmap has traditionally been used to express the overall intent and visualization of the product strategy.
      • Connecting the strategy of your products with your enterprise goals can be done through the product family roadmap.

      Leveraging product family roadmaps

      It’s more than a set of colorful boxes.

        ✓ Lays out a strategy for your product family.

        ✓ Is a statement of intent for your family of products.

        ✓ Communicates direction for the entire product family and product teams.

        ✓ Directly connects to the organization’s goals.

      However, it is not:

        x Representative of a hard commitment.

        x A simple combination of your current product roadmaps.

        x A technical implementation plan.

      Product family roadmaps

      A roadmap is shown without any changes.

      There is no such thing as a roadmap that never changes.

      Your product family roadmap represents a broad statement of intent and high-level tactics to get closer to the organization’s goals.

      A roadmap is shown with changes.

      All good product family roadmaps embrace change!

      Your strategic intentions are subject to volatility, especially those planned further in the future. The more costs you incur in planning, the more you leave yourself exposed to inefficiency and waste if those plans change.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A good product family roadmap is intended to manage and communicate the inevitable changes as a result of market volatility and changes in strategy.

      Product family roadmaps are more strategic by nature

      While individual product roadmaps can be different levels of tactical or strategic depending on a variety of market factors, your options are more limited when defining roadmaps for product families.

      An image is displayed to show the relationships between product and product family, and how the roadmaps could be tactical or strategic.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Roadmaps for your product family are, by design, less detailed. This does not mean they aren’t actionable! Your product family roadmap should be able to communicate clear intentions around the future delivery of value in both the near and long term.

      Reminder: Your enterprise vision provides alignment for your product family roadmaps

      Not knowing the difference between enterprise vision and goals will prevent you from both dreaming big and achieving your dream.

      Your enterprise vision represents your “north star” – where you want to go. It represents what you want to do.

      • Your enterprise goals represent what you need to achieve in order to reach your enterprise vision.
      • A key element of operationalizing your vision.
      • Your strategy, initiatives, and features will align with one or more goals.

      Download Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision for support.

      Multiple roadmap views can communicate differently, yet tell the same truth

      Audience

      Business/ IT Leaders

      Users/Customers

      Delivery Teams

      Roadmap View

      Portfolio

      Product Family

      Technology

      Objectives

      To provide a snapshot of the portfolio and priority products

      To visualize and validate product strategy

      To coordinate broad technology and architecture decisions

      Artifacts

      Line items or sections of the roadmap are made up of individual products, and an artifact represents a disposition at its highest level.

      Artifacts are generally grouped by product teams and consist of strategic goals and the features that realize those goals.

      Artifacts are grouped by the teams who deliver that work and consist of technical capabilities that support the broader delivery of value for the product family.

      Typical elements of a product family roadmap

      While there are others, these represent what will commonly appear across most family-based roadmaps.

      An example is shown to highlight the typical elements of a product family roadmap.

      GROUP/CATEGORY: Groups are collections of artifacts. In a product family context, these are usually product family goals, value streams, or products.

      ARTIFACT: An artifact is one of many kinds of tangible by-products produced during the delivery of products. For a product family, the artifacts represented are capabilities or value streams.

      MILESTONE: Points in the timeline when established sets of artifacts are complete. This is a critical tool in the alignment of products in a given family.

      TIME HORIZON: Separated periods within the projected timeline covered by the roadmap.

      3.1.1 Evaluate your current approach to product family communication

      1-2 hours

      1. Write down how you currently communicate your intentions for your products and family of products.
      2. Compare and contrast this to how this blueprint defines product families and product family roadmaps.
      3. Consider the similarities and the key gaps between your current approach and Info-Tech’s definition of product family roadmaps.

      Output

      • Your documented approach to product family communication

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Step 3.2

      Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      Activities

      3.2.1 Visualize interrelationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers

      3.2.2 Group stakeholders into categories

      3.2.3 Prioritize your stakeholders

      Info-Tech Note

      If you have done the stakeholder exercises in Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision or Build a Better Product Owner u don’t need to repeat the exercises from scratch.

      You can bring the results forward and update them based on your prior work.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Relationships among stakeholders and influencers
      • Categorization of stakeholders and influencers
      • Stakeholder and influencer prioritization

      Reminder: Not everyone is a user!

      USERS

      Individuals who directly obtain value from usage of the product.

      STAKEHOLDERS

      Represent individuals who provide the context, alignment, and constraints that influence or control what you will be able to accomplish.

      FUNDERS

      Individuals both external and internal that fund the product initiative. Sometimes they are lumped in as stakeholders. However, motivations can be different.

      For more information, see Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision.

      A stakeholder strategy is a key part of product family attainment

      A roadmap is only “good” when it effectively communicates to stakeholders. Understanding your stakeholders is the first step in delivering great product family roadmaps.

      A picture is shown that has 4 characters with puzzle pieces, each repersenting a key to product family attainment. The four keys are: Stakeholder management, product lifecycle, project delivery, and operational support.

      Create a stakeholder network map for product roadmaps and prioritization

      Follow the trail of breadcrumbs from your direct stakeholders to their influencers to uncover hidden stakeholders.

      An example stakeholder network map is displayed.

      Legend

      Black arrows: indicate the direction of professional influence

      Dashed green arrows: indicate bidirectional, informal influence relationships

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your stakeholder map defines the influence landscape your product family operates in. It is every bit as important as the teams who enhance, support, and operate your product directly.

      Use connectors to determine who may be influencing your direct stakeholders. They may not have any formal authority within the organization, but they may have informal yet substantial relationships with your stakeholders.

      3.2.1 Visualize interrelationships among stakeholders to identify key influencers

      60 minutes

      1. List direct stakeholders for your product.
      2. Determine the stakeholders of your stakeholders and consider adding each of them to the stakeholder list.
      3. Assess who has either formal or informal influence over your stakeholders; add these influencers to your stakeholder list.
      4. Construct a diagram linking stakeholders and their influencers together.
      • Use black arrows to indicate the direction of professional influence.
      • Use dashed green arrows to indicate bidirectional, informal influence relationships.

      Output

      • Relationships among stakeholders and influencers

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Categorize your stakeholders with a prioritization map

      A stakeholder prioritization map helps product leaders categorize their stakeholders by their level of influence and ownership in the product and/or teams.

      An example stakeholder prioritization map is shown.

      There are four areas in the map, and the stakeholders within each area should be treated differently.

      Players – players have a high interest in the initiative and the influence to effect change over the initiative. Their support is critical, and a lack of support can cause significant impediment to the objectives.

      Mediators – mediators have a low interest but significant influence over the initiative. They can help to provide balance and objective opinions to issues that arise.

      Noisemakers – noisemakers have low influence but high interest. They tend to be very vocal and engaged, either positively or negatively, but have little ability to enact their wishes.

      Spectators – generally, spectators are apathetic and have little influence over or interest in the initiative.

      3.2.2 Group stakeholders into categories

      30-60 minutes

      1. Identify your stakeholders’ interest in and influence on your product as high, medium, or low by rating the attributes below.
      2. Map your results to the model below to determine each stakeholder’s category.
      Level of Influence
      • Power: Ability of a stakeholder to effect change.
      • Urgency: Degree of immediacy demanded.
      • Legitimacy: Perceived validity of stakeholder’s claim.
      • Volume: How loud their “voice” is or could become.
      • Contribution: What they have that is of value to you.
      Level of Interest

      How much are the stakeholder’s individual performance and goals directly tied to the success or failure of the product?

      The example stakeholder prioritization map is shown with the stakeholders grouped into the categories.

      Output

      • Categorization of stakeholders and influencers

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Prioritize your stakeholders

      There may be too many stakeholders to be able to manage them all. Focus your attention on the stakeholders that matter most.

      Level of Support

      Stakeholder Category

      Supporter

      Evangelist

      		 Neutral Blocker

      Player

      Critical

      High

      High

      Critical

      Mediator

      Medium

      Low

      Low

      Medium

      Noisemaker

      High

      Medium

      Medium

      High

      Spectator

      Low

      Irrelevant

      Irrelevant

      Low

      Consider the three dimensions for stakeholder prioritization: influence, interest, and support. Support can be determined by answering the following question: How likely is it that this stakeholder would recommend your product?

      These parameters are used to prioritize which stakeholders are most important and should receive your focused attention.

      3.2.3 Prioritize your stakeholders

      30 minutes

      1. Identify the level of support of each stakeholder by answering the following question: How likely is it that this stakeholder would endorse your product?
      2. Prioritize your stakeholders using the prioritization scheme on the previous slide.

      Stakeholder

      Category

      Level of Support

      Prioritization

      CMO

      Spectator

      Neutral

      Irrelevant

      CIO

      Player

      Supporter

      Critical

      Output

      • Stakeholder and influencer prioritization

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Define strategies for engaging stakeholders by type

      An example is shown to demonstrate how to define strategies to engage staeholders by type.

      Type

      Quadrant

      Actions

      Players

      High influence, high interest – actively engage

      Keep them updated on the progress of the project. Continuously involve Players in the process and maintain their engagement and interest by demonstrating their value to its success.

      Mediators

      High influence, low interest – keep satisfied

      They can be the game changers in groups of stakeholders. Turn them into supporters by gaining their confidence and trust and including them in important decision-making steps. In turn, they can help you influence other stakeholders.

      Noisemakers

      Low influence, high interest – keep informed

      Try to increase their influence (or decrease it if they are detractors) by providing them with key information, supporting them in meetings, and using Mediators to help them.

      Spectators

      Low influence, low interest – monitor

      They are followers. Keep them in the loop by providing clarity on objectives and status updates.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Each group of stakeholders draws attention and resources away from critical tasks. By properly identifying your stakeholder groups, the product owner can develop corresponding actions to manage stakeholders in each group. This can dramatically reduce wasted effort trying to satisfy Spectators and Noisemakers, while ensuring the needs of Mediators and Players are met.

      Step 3.3

      Configure your product family roadmaps

      Activities

      3.3.1 Define the communication objectives and audience of your product family roadmaps

      3.3.2 Identify the level of detail that you want your product family roadmap artifacts to represent

      Info-Tech Note

      If you are unfamiliar with product roadmaps, Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision contains more detailed exercises we recommend you review before focusing on product family roadmaps.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the key communication objectives and target stakeholder audience for your product family roadmaps
      • A position on the level of detail you want your product family roadmap to operate at

      Your communication objectives are linked to your audience; ensure you know your audience and speak their language

      I want to... I need to talk to... Because they are focused on...
      ALIGN PRODUCT TEAMS Get my delivery teams on the same page. Architects Products Owners PRODUCTS A product that delivers value against a common set of goals and objectives.
      SHOWCASE CHANGES Inform users and customers of product strategy. Bus. Process Owners End Users FUNCTIONALITY A group of functionality that business customers see as a single unit.
      ARTICULATE RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS Inform the business of product development requirements. IT Management Business Stakeholders FUNDING An initiative that those with the money see as a single budget.

      3.3.1 Define the communication objectives and audience of your product family roadmaps

      30-60 minutes

      1. Explicitly state the communication objectives and audience of your roadmap.
      • Think of finishing this sentence: This roadmap is designed for … in order to …
    • You may want to consider including more than a single audience or objective.
    • Example:

      • Roadmap

      Audience

      Statement

      Internal Strategic Roadmap

      Internal Stakeholders

      This roadmap is designed to detail the strategy for delivery. It tends to use language that represents internal initiatives and names.

      Customer Strategic Roadmap

      External Customers

      This roadmap is designed to showcase and validate future strategic plans and internal teams to coordinate the development of features and enablers.

      Output

      • Roadmap list with communication objectives and audience

      Participants

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      The length of time horizons on your roadmap depend on the needs of the underlying products or families

      Info-Tech InsightAn example timeline is shown.

      Given the relationship between product and product family roadmaps, the product family roadmap needs to serve the time horizons of its respective products.

      This translates into product family roadmaps with timelines that, at a minimum, cover the full scope of the respective product roadmaps.

      Based on your communication objectives, consider different ways to visualize your product family roadmap

      Swimline/Stream-Based roadmap example.

      Swimlane/Stream-Based – Understanding when groups of items intend to be delivered.

      An example is shown that has an overall plan with rough intentions around delivery.

      Now, Next, Later – Communicate an overall plan with rough intentions around delivery without specific date ranges.

      An example of a sunrise roadmap is shown.

      Sunrise Roadmap – Articulate the journey toward a given target state across multiple streams.

      Before connecting your family roadmap to products, think about what each roadmap typically presents

      An example of a product family roadmap is shown and how it can be connected to the products.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your product family roadmap and product roadmap tell different stories. The product family roadmap represents the overall connection of products to the enterprise strategy, while the product roadmap focuses on the fulfillment of the product’s vision.

      Example: Connecting your product family roadmaps to product roadmaps

      Your roadmaps should be connected at an artifact level that is common between both. Typically, this is done with capabilities, but you can do it at a more granular level if an understanding of capabilities isn’t available.

      Example is shown connecting product family roadmaps to product roadmaps.

      3.3.2 Identify the level of detail that you want your product family roadmap artifacts to represent

      30-60 minutes

      1. Consider the different available artifacts for a product family (goals, value stream, capabilities).
      2. List the roadmaps that you wish to represent.
      3. Based on how you currently articulate details on your product families, consider:
      • What do you want to use as the level of granularity for the artifact? Consider selecting something that has a direct connection to the product roadmap itself (for example, capabilities).
      • For some roadmaps you will want to categorize your artifacts – what would work best in those cases?

      Examples

      Level of Hierarchy

      Artifact Type

      Roadmap 1

      Goals

      Capability

      Roadmap 2

      Roadmap 3

      Output

      • Details on your roadmap granularity

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Step 3.4

      Confirm goal and value alignment of products and their product families

      Activities

      3.4.1 Validate business value alignment between products and their product families

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Business analysts

      Outcomes of this step

      • Validation of the alignment between your product families and products

      Confirming product to family value alignment

      It isn’t always obvious whether you have the right value delivery alignment between products and product families.

      An example is shown to demonstrate product-to-family-alignment.

      Product-to-family alignment can be validated in two different ways:

      1. Initial value alignment

        2. Confirm the perceived business value at a family level is aligned with what is being delivered at a product level.

      2. Value measurement during the lifetime of the product

        3. Validate family roadmap attainment through progression toward the specified product goals.

      For more detail on calculating business value, see Build a Value Measurement Framework.

      To evaluate a product family’s contribution, you need a common definition of value

      Why is having a common value measure important?

      CIO-CEO Alignment Diagnostic

      A stacked bar graph is shown to demonstrate CIO-CEO Alignment Diagnostic. A bar titled Business Value Metrics is highlighted. 51% had some improvement necessary and 32% had significant improvement necessary.

      Over 700 Info-Tech members have implemented the Balanced Value Measurement Framework.

      “The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

      – Oscar Wilde

      “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

      – Warren Buffett

      Understanding where you derive value is critical to building solid roadmaps.

      All value in your product family is not created equal

      Business value is the value of the business outcome the application produces and how effective the product is at producing that outcome. Dissecting value by the benefit type and the value source allows you to see the many ways in which a product or service brings value to your organization. Capture the value of your products in short, concise statements, like an elevator pitch.

      A business value matrix is shown.

      Increase Revenue

      Product or service functions that are specifically related to the impact on your organization’s ability to generate revenue.

      Reduce Costs

      Reduction of overhead. The ways in which your product limits the operational costs of business functions.

      Enhance Services

      Functions that enable business capabilities that improve the organization’s ability to perform its internal operations.

      Reach Customers

      Application functions that enable and improve the interaction with customers or produce market information and insights.

      Financial Benefits vs. Improved Capabilities

      • Financial Benefit refers to the degree to which the value source can be measured through monetary metrics and is often quite tangible.
      • Human Benefit refers to how a product or service can deliver value through a user’s experience.

      Inward vs. Outward Orientation

      • Inward refers to value sources that have an internal impact and improve your organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in performing its operations.
      • Outward refers to value sources that come from your interaction with external factors, such as the market or your customers.

      3.4.1 Validate business value alignment between products and their product families

      30-60 minutes

      1. Draw the 2x2 Business Value Matrix on a flip chart or open the Business Value Matrix tab in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook to use in this exercise.
      2. Brainstorm and record the different types of business value that your product and product family produce on the sticky notes (one item per sticky note).
      3. As a team, evaluate how the product value delivered contributes to the product family value delivered. Note any gaps or differences between the two.

      Download and complete Build a Value Measurement Framework for full support in focusing product delivery on business value–driven outcomes.

      A business value matrix is shown.

      Output

      • Confirmation of value alignment between product families and their respective products

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Example: Validate business value alignment between products and their product families

      An example of a business value matrix is shown.

      Measure product value with metrics tied to your business value sources and objectives

      Assign metrics to your business value sources

      Business Value Category

      Source Examples

      Metric Examples

      Profit Generation

      Revenue

      		 Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

      Data Monetization

      Average Revenue per User (ARPU)

      Cost Reduction

      Reduce Labor Costs

      Contract Labor Cost

      Reduce Overhead

      Effective Cost per Install (eCPI)

      Service Enablement

      Limit Failure Risk

      Mean Time to Mitigate Fixes

      Collaboration

      Completion Time Relative to Deadline

      Customer and Market Reach

      Customer Satisfaction

      Net Promoter Score

      Customer Trends

      Number of Customer Profiles

      The importance of measuring business value through metrics

      The better an organization is at using business value metrics to evaluate IT’s performance, the more satisfied the organization is with IT’s performance as a business partner. In fact, those that say they’re effective at business value metrics have satisfaction scores that are 30% higher than those that believe significant improvements are necessary (Info-Tech’s IT diagnostics).

      Assigning metrics to your prioritized values source will allow you to more accurately measure a product’s value to the organization and identify optimization opportunities. See Info-Tech’s Related Research: Value, Delivery Metrics, Estimation blueprint for more information.

      Your product delivery pipeline connects your roadmap with business value realization

      The effectiveness of your product roadmap needs to be evaluated based on delivery capacity and throughput.

      A product roadmap is shown with additional details to demonstrate delivery capacity and throughput.

      When thinking about product delivery metrics, be careful what you ask for…

      As the saying goes “Be careful what you ask for, because you will probably get it.”

      Metrics are powerful because they drive behavior.

      • Metrics are also dangerous because they often lead to unintended negative outcomes.
      • Choose your metrics carefully to avoid getting what you asked for instead of what you intended.

      It’s a cautionary tale that also offers a low-risk path through the complexities of metrics use.

      For more information on the use (and abuse) of metrics, see Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively.

      Measure delivery and success

      Metrics and measurements are powerful tools to drive behavior change and decision making in your organization. However, metrics are highly prone to creating unexpected outcomes, so use them with great care. Use metrics judiciously to uncover insights but avoid gaming or ambivalent behavior, productivity loss, and unintended consequences.

      Build good practices in your selection and use of metrics:

      • Choose the metrics that are as close to measuring the desired outcome as possible.
      • Select the fewest metrics possible and ensure they are of the highest value to your team, the safest from gaming behaviors and unintended consequences, and the easiest to gather and report.
      • Never use metrics for reward or punishment; use them to develop your team.
      • Automate as much metrics gathering and reporting as possible.
      • Focus on trends rather than precise metrics values.
      • Review and change your metrics periodically.

      Phase 4

      Bridge the Gap Between Product Families and Delivery

      Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      4.1.1 Assess your organization’s readiness to deliver digital product families

      4.2.1 Consider pros and cons for each delivery model relative to how you wish to deliver

      4.3.1 Understand the relationships between product management, delivery teams, and stakeholders

      4.4.1 Discuss traditional vs. product-centric funding methods

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Delivery managers

      Assess the impacts of product-centric delivery on your teams and org design

      Product delivery can exist within any org structure or delivery model. However, when making the shift toward product management, consider optimizing your org design and product team structure to match your capacity and throughput needs.

      A flowchart is shown to see how the impacts of product-centric delivery can impact team and org designs.

      Info-Tech Note

      Realigning your delivery pipeline and org design takes significant effort and time. Although we won’t solve these questions here, it’s important to identify factors in your current or future models that improve value delivery.

      Step 4.1

      Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      Activities

      4.1.1 Assess your organization’s readiness to deliver digital product families

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Delivery managers

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the group’s maturity level when it comes to product delivery

      Maturing product practices enables delivery of product families, not just products or projects

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the differences between project lifecycle, hybrid lifecycle, and product lifecycle.

      Just like product owners, product family owners are needed to develop long-term product value, strategy, and delivery. Projects can still be used as the source of funding and change management; however, the product family owner must manage product releases and operational support. The focus of this section will be on aligning product families to one or more releases.

      4.1.1 Assess your organization’s readiness to deliver digital product families

      30-60 minutes

      1. For each question in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Readiness Assessment, ask yourself which of the five associated maturity statements most closely describes your organization.
      2. As a group, agree on your organization’s current readiness score for each of the six categories.

      A screenshot of the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Readiness Assessment is shown.

      Output

      • Product delivery readiness score

      Participants

      • Product managers
      • Product owners

      Download the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Readiness Assessment.

      Value realization is constrained by your product delivery pipeline

      Value is realized through changes made at the product level. Your pipeline dictates the rate, quality, and prioritization of your backlog delivery. This pipeline connects your roadmap goals to the value the goals are intended to provide.

      An example of a product roadmap is shown with the additional details of the product delivery pipeline being highlighted.

      Product delivery realizes value for your product family

      While planning and analysis are done at the family level, work and delivery are done at the individual product level.

      PRODUCT STRATEGY

      What are the artifacts?

      What are you saying?

      Defined at the family level?

      Defined at the product level?

      Vision

      I want to...

      		✓✓

      Strategic focus

      Delivery focus

      Goals

      To get there we need to...

      		✓✓

      Roadmap

      To achieve our goals, we’ll deliver...

      		✓✓

      Backlog

      The work will be done in this order...

      		 ✓

      Release Plan

      We will deliver in the following ways...

      		✓

      Step 4.2

      Understand your delivery options

      Activities

      4.2.1 Consider pros and cons for each delivery model relative to how you wish to deliver

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Delivery managers

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the different team configuration options when it comes to delivery and their relevance to how you currently work

      Define the scope of your product delivery strategy

      The goal of your product delivery strategy is to establish streamlined, enforceable, and standardized product management and delivery capabilities that follow industry best practices. You will need to be strategic in how and where you implement your changes because this will set the stage for future adoption. Strategically select the most appropriate products, roles, and areas of your organization to implement your new or enhanced capabilities and establish a foundation for scaling.

      Successful product delivery requires people who are knowledgeable about the products they manage and have a broad perspective of the entire delivery process, from intake to delivery, and of the product portfolio. The right people also have influence with other teams and stakeholders who are directly or indirectly impacted by product decisions. Involve team members who have expertise in the development, maintenance, and management of your selected products and stakeholders who can facilitate and promote change.

      Learn about different patterns to structure and resource your product delivery teams

      The primary goal of any product delivery team is to improve the delivery of value for customers and the business based on your product definition and each product’s demand. Each organization will have different priorities and constraints, so your team structure may take on a combination of patterns or may take on one pattern and then transform into another.

      Delivery Team Structure Patterns

      How Are Resources and Work Allocated?

      Functional Roles

      Teams are divided by functional responsibilities (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk) and arranged according to their placement in the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

      Completed work is handed off from team to team sequentially as outlined in the organization’s SDLC.

      Shared Service and Resource Pools

      Teams are created by pulling the necessary resources from pools (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk).

      Resources are pulled whenever the work requires specific skills or pushed to areas where product demand is high.

      Product or System

      Teams are dedicated to the development, support, and management of specific products or systems.

      Work is directly sent to the teams who are directly managing the product or directly supporting the requester.

      Skills and Competencies

      Teams are grouped based on skills and competencies related to technology (e.g. Java, mobile, web) or familiarity with business capabilities (e.g. HR, finance).

      Work is directly sent to the teams who have the IT and business skills and competencies to complete the work.

      See the flow of work through each delivery team structure pattern

      Four delivery team structures are shown. The four are: functional roles, shared service and resource pools, product or system, and skills and competencies.

      Staffing models for product teams

      Functional Roles Shared Service and Resource Pools Product or System Skills and Competencies
      A screenshot of the functional roles from the flow of work example is shown. A screenshot of the shared service and resource pools from the flow of work example is shown. A screenshot of the product or system from the flow of work example is shown. A screenshot of skills and competencies from the flow of work example is shown.
      Pros
        ✓ Specialized resources are easier to staff

        ✓ Product knowledge is maintained
        ✓ Flexible demand/capacity management

        ✓ Supports full utilization of resources
        ✓ Teams are invested in the full life of the product

        ✓ Standing teams enable continuous improvement
        ✓ Teams are invested in the technology

        ✓ Standing teams enable continuous improvement
      Cons
        x Demand on specialists can create bottlenecks

        x Creates barriers to collaboration
        x Unavailability of resources can lead to delays

        x Product knowledge can be lost as resources move
        x Changes in demand can lead to downtime

        x Cross-functional skills make staffing a challenge
        x Technology bias can lead to the wrong solution

        x Resource contention when team supports multiple solutions
      Considerations
        ! Product owners must break requests down into very small components to support Agile delivery as mini-Waterfalls
        ! Product owners must identify specialist requirements in the roadmap to ensure resources are available
        ! Product owners must ensure that there is a sufficient backlog of valuable work ready to keep the team utilized
        ! Product owners must remain independent of technology to ensure the right solution is built
      Use Case
      • When you lack people with cross-functional skills
      • When you have specialists such as those skilled in security and operations who will not have full-time work on the product
      • When you have people with cross-functional skills who can self-organize around the request
      • When you have a significant investment in a specific technology stack

      4.2.1 Consider pros and cons for each delivery model relative to how you wish to deliver

      1. Document your current staffing model for your product delivery teams.
      2. Evaluate the pros and cons of each model, as specified on the previous slide, relative to how you currently work.
      3. What would be the ideal target state for your team? If one model does not completely fit, is there a hybrid option worth considering? For example: Product-Based combined with Shared Service/Resource Pools for specific roles.

      Functional Roles

      Teams are divided by functional responsibilities (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk) and arranged according to their placement in the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

      Shared Service and Resource Pools

      Teams are created by pulling the necessary resources from pools (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk).

      Product or System

      Teams are dedicated to the development, support, and management of specific products or systems.

      Skills and Competencies

      Teams are grouped based on skills and competencies related to technology (e.g. Java, mobile, web) or familiarity with business capabilities (e.g. HR, finance).

      Output

      • An understanding of pros and cons for each delivery model and the ideal target state for your team

      Participants

      • Product managers
      • Product owners

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Step 4.3

      Determine your operating model

      Activities

      4.3.1 Understand the relationships between product management, delivery teams, and stakeholders

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Delivery managers

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the potential operating models and what will work best for your organization

      Reminder: Patterns for scaling products

      The alignment of your product families should be considered in your operating model.

      Value Stream Alignment

      Enterprise Applications

      Shared Services

      Technical

      Organizational Alignment
      • Business architecture
        • Value stream
        • Capability
        • Function
      • Market/customer segment
      • Line of business (LoB)
      • Example: Customer group > value stream > products
      • Enabling capabilities
      • Enterprise platforms
      • Supporting apps
      • Example: HR > Workday/Peoplesoft > ModulesSupporting: Job board, healthcare administrator
      • Organization of related services into service family
      • Direct hierarchy does not necessarily exist within the family
      • Examples: End-user support and ticketing, workflow and collaboration tools
      • Domain grouping of IT infrastructure, platforms, apps, skills, or languages
      • Often used in combination with Shared Services grouping or LoB-specific apps
      • Examples: Java, .NET, low-code, database, network
      • Used at higher levels of the organization where products are aligned under divisions
      • Separation of product managers from organizational structure no longer needed because the management team owns product management role

      Ensure consistency in the application of your design principles with a coherent operating model

      What is an operating model?

      An operating model is an abstract visualization, used like an architect’s blueprint, that depicts how structures and resources are aligned and integrated to deliver on the organization’s strategy. It ensures consistency of all elements in the organizational structure through a clear and coherent blueprint before embarking on detailed organizational design

      The visual should highlight which capabilities are critical to attaining strategic goals and clearly show the flow of work so that key stakeholders can understand where inputs flow in and outputs flow out of the IT organization.

      An example of an operating model is shown.

      For more information, see Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure.

      Weigh the pros and cons of IT operating models to find the best fit

      1. LoB/Product Aligned – Decentralized Model: Line of Business, Geographically, Product, or Functionally Aligned

        2. A decentralized IT operating model that embeds specific functions within LoBs/product teams and provides cross-organizational support for their initiatives.

      2. Hybrid Functional: Functional/Product Aligned

        3. A best-of-both-worlds model that balances the benefits of centralized and decentralized approaches to achieve both customer responsiveness and economies of scale.

      3. Hybrid Service Model: Product-Aligned Operating Model

        4. A model that supports what is commonly referred to as a matrix organization, organizing by highly related service categories and introducing the role of the service owner.

      4. Centralized: Plan-Build-Run

        5. A highly typical IT operating model that focuses on centralized strategic control and oversight in delivering cost-optimized and effective solutions.

      5. Centralized: Demand-Develop-Service

        6. A centralized IT operating model that lends well to more mature operating environments. Aimed at leveraging economies of scale in an end-to-end services delivery model.

      There are many different operating models. LoB/Product Aligned and Hybrid Functional align themselves most closely with how products and product families are typically delivered.

      Decentralized Model: Line of Business, Geographically, Product, or Functionally Aligned

      An example of a decentralized model is shown.

      BENEFITS

      DRAWBACKS
      • Organization around functions (FXN) allows for diversity in approach in how areas are run to best serve specific business units needs.
      • Each functional line exists largely independently, with full capacity and control to deliver service at the committed service level agreements.
      • Highly responsive to shifting needs and demands with direct connection to customers and all stages of the solution development lifecycle.
      • Accelerates decision making by delegating authority lower into the FXN.
      • Promotes a flatter organization with less hierarchy and more direct communication with the CIO.
      • Less synergy and integration across what different lines of business are doing can result in redundancies and unnecessary complexity.
      • Higher overall cost to the IT group due to role and technology duplication across different FXN.
      • Inexperience becomes an issue; requires more competent people to be distributed across the FXN.
      • Loss of sight of the big picture – difficult to enforce standards around people/process/technology with solution ownership within the FXN.

      For more information, see Redesign your IT Organizational Structure.

      Hybrid Model: Functional/Product Aligned

      An example of a hybrid model: functional/product aligned is shown.

      BENEFITS

      DRAWBACKS

      • Best of both worlds of centralization and decentralization; attempts to channel benefits from both centralized and decentralized models.
      • Embeds key IT functions that require business knowledge within functional areas, allowing for critical feedback.
      • Balances a holistic IT strategy and architecture with responsiveness to needs of the organization.
      • Achieves economies of scale where necessary through the delivery of shared services that can be requested by the function.
      • May result in excessive cost through role and system redundancies across different functions
      • Business units can have variable levels of IT competence; may result in different levels of effectiveness.
      • No guaranteed synergy and integration across functions; requires strong communication, collaboration, and steering.
      • Cannot meet every business unit’s needs – can cause tension from varying effectiveness of the IT functions placed within the functional areas.

      For more information, see Redesign your IT Organizational Structure.

      Hybrid Model: Product-Aligned Operating Model

      An example of a hybrid model: product-aligned operating model.

      BENEFITS

      DRAWBACKS

      • Focus is on the full lifecycle of a product – takes a strategic view of how technology enables the organization.
      • Promotes centralized backlog around a specific value creator, rather than traditional project focus, which is more transactional.
      • Dedicated teams around the product family ensure that you have all of the resources required to deliver on your product roadmap.
      • Reduces barriers between IT and business stakeholders, focuses on technology as a key strategic enabler.
      • Delivery is largely done through a DevOps methodology.
      • Significant business involvement is required for success within this model, with business stakeholders taking an active role in product governance and potentially product management as well.
      • Strong architecture standards and practices are required to make this successful because you need to ensure that product families are building in a consistent manner and limiting application sprawl.
      • Introduced the need for practice standards to drive consistency in quality of delivered services.
      • May result in increased cost through role redundancies across different squads.

      For more information, see Redesign your IT Organizational Structure.

      Centralized: Plan-Build-Run

      An example of a centralized: Plan-Build-Run is shown.

      BENEFITS

      DRAWBACKS

      • Effective at implementing long-term plans efficiently, separates maintenance and projects to allow each to have the appropriate focus.
      • More oversight over financials; better suited for fixed budgets.
      • Works across centralized technology domains to better align with the business's strategic objectives – allows for a top-down approach to decision making.
      • Allows for economies of scale and expertise pooling to improve IT’s efficiency.
      • Well suited for a project-driven environment that employs Waterfall or a hybrid project management methodology that is less iterative.
      • Not optimized for unpredictable/shifting project demands, as decision making is centralized in the plan function.
      • Less agility to deliver new features or solutions to the customer in comparison to decentralized models.
      • Build (developers) and run (operations staff) are far removed from the business, resulting in lower understanding of business needs (as well as “passing the buck” – from development to operations).
      • Requires strong hand-off processes to be defined and strong knowledge transfer from build to run functions in order to be successful.

      For more information, see Redesign your IT Organizational Structure.

      Centralized: Demand-Develop-Service

      An example of a centralized: Demand-Develop-Service model is shown.

      BENEFITS

      DRAWBACKS

      • Aligns well with an end-to-end services model; constant attention to customer demand and service supply.
      • Centralizes service operations under one functional area to serve shared needs across lines of business.
      • Allows for economies of scale and expertise pooling to improve IT’s efficiency.
      • Elevates sourcing and vendor management as its own strategic function; lends well to managed service and digital initiatives.
      • Development and operations housed together; lends well to DevOps-related initiatives.
      • Can be less responsive to business needs than decentralized models due to the need for portfolio steering to prioritize initiatives and solutions.
      • Requires a higher level of operational maturity to succeed; stable supply functions (service mgmt., operations mgmt., service desk, security, data) are critical to maintaining business satisfaction.
      • Requires highly effective governance around project portfolio, services, and integration capabilities.
      • Effective feedback loop highly dependent on accurate performance measures.

      For more information, see Redesign your IT Organizational Structure.

      Assess how your product scaling pattern impacts your resource delivery model

      Value Stream Alignment

      Enterprise Applications

      Shared Services

      Technical

      Plan-Build-Run:
      Centralized

      Pro: Supports established and stable families.

      Con: Command-and-control nature inhibits Agile DevOps and business agility.

      Pro: Supports established and stable families.

      Con: Command-and-control nature inhibits Agile DevOps and business agility.

      Pro: Can be used to align high-level families.

      Con: Lacks flexibility at the product level to address shifting priorities in product demand.

      Pro: Supports a factory model.

      Con: Lacks flexibility at the product level to address shifting priorities in product demand.

      Centralized Model 2:
      Demand-Develop-
      Service

      Pro: Supports established and stable families.

      Con: Command-and-control nature inhibits Agile DevOps and business agility.

      Pro: Supports established and stable families.

      Con: Command-and-control nature inhibits Agile DevOps and business agility.

      Pro: Recommended for aligning high-level service families based on user needs.

      Con: Reduces product empowerment, prioritizing demand. Slow.

      Pro: Supports factory models.

      Con: Reduces product empowerment, prioritizing demand. Slow.

      Decentralized Model:
      Line of Business, Product, Geographically, or

      Functionally Aligned

      Pro: Aligns product families to value streams, capabilities, and organizational structure.

      Con: Reduces shared solutions and may create duplicate apps and services.

      Pro: Enterprise apps treated as distinct LoB groups.

      Con: Reduces shared solutions and may create duplicate apps and services.

      Pro: Complements value stream alignment by consolidating shared apps and services.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Fits within other groupings where technical expertise is needed.

      Con: Creates redundancy between localized and shared technical teams.

      Hybrid Model:
      Functional/Product

      Aligned

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Creates redundancy between localized and shared technical teams.

      Hybrid Model:

      Product-Aligned Operating Model

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Requires additional effort to differentiate local vs. shared solutions.

      Pro: Supports multiple patterns of product grouping.

      Con: Creates redundancy between localized and shared technical teams.

      4.3.1 Understand the relationships between product management, delivery teams, and stakeholders

      30-60 minutes

      1. Discuss the intake sources of product work.
      2. Trace the flow of requests down to the functional roles of your delivery team (e.g., developer, QA, operations).
      3. Indicate where key deliverables are produced, particularly those that are built in collaboration.
      4. Discuss the five operating models relative to your current operating model choice. How aligned are you?
      5. Review Info-Tech’s recommendation on the best-aligned operating models for product family delivery. Do you agree or disagree?
      6. Evaluate recommendations against how you operate/work.

      Output

      • Understanding of the relationships between key groups
      • A preferred operating model

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Delivery managers

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      4.3.1 Understand the relationships between product management, delivery teams, and stakeholders

      An example of activity 4.3.1 to understand the relationships between product management, delivery teams, and stakeholders is shown.

      Output

      • Understanding of the relationships between key groups
      • A preferred operating model

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Delivery managers

      Step 4.4

      Identify how to fund product family delivery

      Activities

      4.4.1 Discuss traditional vs. product-centric funding methods

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Portfolio managers
      • Delivery managers

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of the differences between product-based and traditional funding methods

      Why is funding so problematic?

      We often still think about funding products like construction projects.

      Three models are shown on the various options to fund projects.

      These models require increasing accuracy throughout the project lifecycle to manage actuals vs. estimates.

      "Most IT funding depends on one-time expenditures or capital-funding mechanisms that are based on building-construction funding models predicated on a life expectancy of 20 years or more. Such models don’t provide the stability or flexibility needed for modern IT investments." – EDUCAUSE

      Reminder: Projects don’t go away. The center of the conversation changes.

      A flowchart is shown to demonstrate the difference between project lifecycle, hybrid lifecycle, and product lifecycle.

      Projects within products

      Regardless of whether you recognize yourself as a product-based or project-based shop, the same basic principles should apply.

      The purpose of projects is to deliver the scope of a product release. The shift to product delivery leverages a product roadmap and backlog as the mechanism for defining and managing the scope of the release.

      Eventually, teams progress to continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) where they can release on demand or as scheduled, requiring org change management.

      Planning and budgeting for products and families

      Reward for delivering outcomes, not features

      AutonomyFlexibilityAccountability
      Fund what delivers valueAllocate iterativelyMeasure and adjust

      Fund long-lived delivery of value through products (not projects).

      Give autonomy to the team to decide exactly what to build.

      Allocate to a pool based on higher-level business case.

      Provide funds in smaller amounts to different product teams and initiatives based on need.

      Product teams define metrics that contribute to given outcomes.

      Track progress and allocate more (or less) funds as appropriate.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Changes to funding require changes to product and Agile practices to ensure product ownership and accountability.

      The Lean Enterprise Funding Model is an example of a different approach

      An example of the lean enterprise funding model is shown.
      From: Implement Agile Practices That Work

      A flexible funding pool akin to venture capital models is maintained to support innovative ideas and fund proofs of concept for product and process improvements.

      Proofs of concept (POCs) are run by standing innovation teams or a reserve of resources not committed to existing products, projects, or services.

      Every product line has funding for all changes and ongoing operations and support.

      Teams are funded continuously so that they can learn and improve their practices as much as possible.

      Budgeting approaches must evolve as you mature your product operating environment

      TRADITIONAL PROJECTS WITH WATERFALL DELIVERY

      TRADITIONAL PROJECTS WITH AGILE DELIVERY

      PRODUCTS WITH AGILE PROJECT DELIVERY

      PRODUCTS WITH AGILE DELIVERY

      WHEN IS THE BUDGET TRACKED?

      Budget tracked by major phases

      Budget tracked by sprint and project

      Budget tracked by sprint and project

      Budget tracked by sprint and release

      HOW ARE CHANGES HANDLED?

      All change is by exception

      Scope change is routine, budget change is by exception

      Scope change is routine, budget change is by exception

      Budget change is expected on roadmap cadence

      WHEN ARE BENEFITS REALIZED?

      Benefits realization after project completion

      Benefits realization is ongoing throughout the life of the project

      Benefits realization is ongoing throughout the life of the product

      Benefits realization is ongoing throughout life of the product

      WHO “DRIVES”?

      Project Manager

      • Project team delivery role
      • Refines project scope, advocates for changes in the budget
      • Advocates for additional funding in the forecast

      Product Owner

      • Project team delivery role
      • Refines project scope, advocates for changes in the budget
      • Advocates for additional funding in the forecast

      Product Manager

      • Product portfolio team role
      • Forecasting new initiatives during delivery to continue to drive value throughout the life of the product

      Product Manager

    • Product family team role
    • Forecasting new initiatives during delivery to continue to drive value throughout the life of the product
      		•

      Info-Tech Insight

      As you evolve your approach to product delivery, you will be decoupling the expected benefits, forecast, and budget. Managing them independently will improve your ability to adapt to change and drive the right outcomes!

      Your strategy must include the cost to build and operate

      Most investment happens after go-live, not in the initial build!

      An example strategy is displayed that incorporates the concepts of cost to build and operate.

      Adapted from: LookFar

      Info-Tech Insight

      While the exact balance point between development or implementation costs varies from application to application, over 80% of the cost is accrued after go-live.

      Traditional accounting leaves software development CapEx on the table

      Software development costs have traditionally been capitalized, while research and operations are operational expenditures.

      The challenge has always been the myth that operations are only bug fixes, upgrades, and other operational expenditures. Research shows that most post-release work on developed solutions is the development of new features and changes to support material changes in the business. While projects could bundle some of these changes into capital expenditure, much of the business-as-usual work that goes on leaves capital expenses on the table because the work is lumped together as maintenance-related OpEx.

      From “How to Stop Leaving Software CapEx on the Table With Agile and DevOps”

      4.4.1 Discuss traditional vs. product-centric funding methods

      30-60 minutes

      1. Discuss how products and product families are currently funded.
      2. Review how the Agile/product funding models differ from how you currently operate.
      3. What changes do you need to consider in order to support a product delivery model?
      4. For each change, identify the key stakeholders and list at least one action to take.
      5. Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Output

      • Understanding of funding principles and challenges

      Participants

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Delivery managers

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Phase 5

      Build Your Transformation Roadmap and Communication Plan

      Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5

      1.1 Understand the organizational factors driving product-centric delivery

      1.2 Establish your organization’s product inventory

      2.1 Determine your approach to scale product families

      2.2 Define your product families

      3.1 Leverage product family roadmaps

      3.2 Use stakeholder management to improve roadmap communication

      3.3 Configure your product family roadmaps

      3.4 Confirm product family to product alignment

      4.1 Assess your organization’s delivery readiness

      4.2 Understand your delivery options

      4.3 Determine your operating model

      4.4 Identify how to fund product family delivery

      5.1 Learn how to introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2 Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      5.3 Determine your next steps

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      5.1.1 Introduce your digital product family strategy

      5.2.1 Define your communication cadence for your strategy updates

      5.2.2 Define your messaging for each stakeholder

      5.3.1 How do we get started?

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Product owners
      • Product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Step 5.1

      Introduce your digital product family strategy

      Activities

      5.1.1 Introduce your digital product family strategy

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Outcomes of this step

      • A completed executive summary presenting your digital product strategy

      Product decisions are traditionally made in silos with little to no cross-functional communication and strategic oversight

      Software delivery teams and stakeholders traditionally make plans, strategies, and releases within their silos and tailor their decisions based on their own priorities. Interactions are typically limited to hand-offs (such as feature requests) and routing of issues and defects back up the delivery pipeline. These silos likely came about through well-intentioned training, mandates, and processes, but they do not sufficiently support today’s need to rapidly release and change platforms.

      Siloed departments often have poor visibility into the activities of other silos, and they may not be aware of the ramifications their decisions have on teams and stakeholders outside of their silo.

      • Silos may make choices that are optimal largely for themselves without thinking of the holistic impact on a platform’s structure, strategy, use cases, and delivery.
      • The business may approve platform improvements without the consideration of the delivery team’s current capacity or the system’s complexity, resulting in unrealistic commitments.
      • Quality standards may be misinterpreted and inconsistently enforced across the entire delivery pipeline.

      In some cases, the only way to achieve greater visibility and communication for all roles across a platform’s lifecycle is implementing an overarching role or team.

      “The majority of our candid conversations with practitioners and project management offices indicate that the platform ownership role is poorly defined and poorly executed.”

      – Barry Cousins

      Practice Lead, Applications – Project & Portfolio Management

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Use stakeholder management and roadmap views to improve communication

      Proactive, clear communication with stakeholders, SMEs, and your product delivery team can significantly improve alignment and agreement with your roadmap, strategy, and vision.

      When building your communication strategy, revisit the work you completed in phase 3 developing your:

      • Roadmap types
      • Stakeholder strategy

      Type

      Quadrant

      Actions

      Players

      High influence, high interest – actively engage

      Keep them updated on the progress of the project. Continuously involve Players in the process and maintain their engagement and interest by demonstrating their value to its success.

      Mediators

      High influence, low interest – keep satisfied

      They can be the game changers in groups of stakeholders. Turn them into supporters by gaining their confidence and trust and including them in important decision-making steps. In turn, they can help you influence other stakeholders.

      Noisemakers

      Low influence, high interest – keep informed

      Try to increase their influence (or decrease it if they are detractors) by providing them with key information, supporting them in meetings, and using Mediators to help them.

      Spectators

      Low influence, low interest – monitor

      They are followers. Keep them in the loop by providing clarity on objectives and status updates.

      5.1.1 Introduce your digital product family strategy

      30-60 minutes

      This exercise is intended to help you lay out the framing of your strategy and the justification for the effort. A lot of these items can be pulled directly from the product canvas you created in phase 2. This is intended to be a single slide to frame your upcoming discussions.

      1. Update your vision, goals, and values on your product canvas. Determine which stakeholders may be impacted and what their concerns are. If you have many stakeholders, limit to Players and Influencers.
      2. Identify what you need from the stakeholders as a result of this communication.
      3. Keeping in mind the information gathered in steps 1 and 2, describe your product family strategy by answering three questions:
      1. Why do we need product families?
      2. What is in our way?
      3. Our first step will be... ?

      Output

      • An executive summary that introduces your product strategy

      Participants

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Example: Scaling delivery through product families

      Why do we need product families?

      • The growth of our product offerings and our company’s movement into new areas of growth mean we need to do a better job scaling our offerings to meet the needs of the organization.

      What is in our way?

      • Our existing applications and services are so dramatically different we are unsure how to bring them together.

      Our first step will be...

      • Taking a full inventory of our applications and services.

      Step 5.2

      Communicate changes on updates to your strategy

      Activities

      5.2.1 Define your communication cadence for your strategy updates

      5.2.2 Define your messaging for each stakeholder

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Outcomes of this step

      • A communication plan for when strategy updates need to be given

      5.2.1 Define your communication cadence for your strategy updates

      30 minutes

      Remember the role of different artifacts when it comes to your strategy. The canvas contributes to the What, and the roadmap addresses the How. Any updates to the strategy are articulated and communicated through your roadmap.

      1. Review your currently defined roadmaps, their communication objectives, update frequency, and updates.
      2. Consider the impacted stakeholders and the strategies required to communicate with them.
      3. Fill in your communication cadence and communication method.

      EXAMPLE:

      Roadmap Name

      Audience/Stakeholders

      Communication Cadence

      External Customer Roadmap

      Customers and External Users

      Quarterly (Website)

      Product Delivery Roadmap

      Development Teams, Infrastructure, Architects

      Monthly (By Email)

      Technology Roadmap

      Development Teams, Infrastructure, Architects

      Biweekly (Website)

      Output

      • Clear communication cadence for your roadmaps

      Participants

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      The “what” behind the communication

      Leaders of successful change spend considerable time developing a powerful change message, i.e. a compelling narrative that articulates the desired end state and makes the change concrete and meaningful to staff.

      The change message should:

      • Explain why the change is needed.
      • Summarize what will stay the same.
      • Highlight what will be left behind.
      • Emphasize what is being changed.
      • Explain how change will be implemented.
      • Address how change will affect various roles in the organization.
      • Discuss the staff’s role in making the change successful.

      Five elements of communicating change

      1. What is the change?
      2. Why are we doing it?
      3. How are we going to go about it?
      4. How long will it take us to do it?
      5. What is the role for each department and individual?

      Source: Cornelius & Associates

      How we engage with the message is just as important as the message itself

      Why are we here?

      Speak to what matters to them

      Sell the improvement

      Show real value

      Discuss potential fears

      Ask for their support

      Be gracious

      5.2.2 (Optional) Define your messaging for each stakeholder

      30 minutes

      It’s one thing to communicate the strategy, it’s another thing to send the right message to your stakeholders. Some of this will depend on the kind of news given, but the majority of this is dependent on the stakeholder and the cadence of communication.

      1. From exercise 5.2.1, take the information on the specific roadmaps, target audience, and communication cadence.
      2. Based on your understanding of the audience’s needs, what would the specific update try to get across?
      3. Pick a specific typical example of a change in strategy that you have gone through. (e.g. Product will be delayed by a quarter; key feature is being substituted for another.)

      EXAMPLE:

      Roadmap Name

      Audience/ Stakeholder

      Communication Cadence

      Messaging

      External Customer Roadmap

      Customers and External Users

      Quarterly (Website)

      Output

      • Messaging plan for each roadmap type

      Participants

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Step 5.3

      Determine your next steps

      Activities

      5.3.1 How do we get started?

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Outcomes of this step

      • Understanding the steps to get started in your transformation

      Make a plan in order to make a plan!

      Consider some of the techniques you can use to validate your strategy.

      Learning Milestones

      Sprint Zero (AKA Project-before-the-project)

      The completion of a set of artifacts dedicated to validating business opportunities and hypotheses.

      Possible areas of focus:

      Align teams on product strategy prior to build

      Market research and analysis

      Dedicated feedback sessions

      Provide information on feature requirements

      The completion of a set of key planning activities, typically the first sprint.

      Possible areas of focus:

      Focus on technical verification to enable product development alignment

      Sign off on architectural questions or concerns
      An image showing the flowchart of continuous delivery of value is shown.

      Go to your backlog and prioritize the elements that need to be answered sooner rather than later.

      Possible areas of focus:

      Regulatory requirements or questions to answer around accessibility, security, privacy.

      Stress testing any new processes against situations that may occur.

      The “Now, Next, Later” roadmap

      Use this when deadlines and delivery dates are not strict. This is best suited for brainstorming a product plan when dependency mapping is not required.

      Now: What are you going to do now?

      Next: What are you going to do very soon?

      Later: What are you going to do in the future?

      An example of a now, next, later roadmap is shown.

      Source: “Tips for Agile product roadmaps & product roadmap examples,” Scrum.org, 2017

      5.3.1 How do we get started?

      30-60 minutes

      1. Identify what the critical steps are for the organization to embrace product-centric delivery.
      2. Group each critical step by how soon you need to address it:
      • Now: Let’s do this ASAP.
      • Next: Sometime very soon, let’s do these things.
      • Later: Much further off in the distance, let’s consider these things.
    • Record the group results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.
    • Record changes for your product and product family in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      • An example of a now, next, later roadmap is shown.

      Source: “Tips for Agile product roadmaps & product roadmap examples,” Scrum.org, 2017

      Output

      • Product family transformation critical steps and basic roadmap

      Participants

      • Product owners and product managers
      • Application leaders
      • Stakeholders

      Record the results in the Digital Product Family Strategy Playbook.

      Record the results in the Deliver Digital Products at Scale Workbook.

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Problem Solved

      The journey to become a product-centric organization is not short or easy. Like with any improvement or innovation, teams need to continue to evolve and mature with changes in their operations, teams, tools, and user needs.You’ve taken a big step completing your product family alignment. This provides a backbone for aligning all aspects of your organization to your enterprise goals and strategy while empowering product teams to find solutions closer to the problem. Continue to refine your model and operations to improve value realization and your product delivery pipelines to embrace business agility. Organizations that are most responsive to change will continue to outperform command-and-control leadership.

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors and Experts

      Photo of Emily Archer.

      Emily Archer

      Lead Business Analyst,

      Enterprise Consulting, authentic digital agency

      Emily Archer is a consultant currently working with Fortune 500 clients to ensure the delivery of successful projects, products, and processes. She helps increase the business value returned for organizations’ investments in designing and implementing enterprise content hubs and content operations, custom web applications, digital marketing, and e-commerce platforms.

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      Founder & CTO

      Strainprint Technologies Inc.

      David Berg is a product commercialization expert that has spent the last 20 years of his career delivering product management and business development services across a broad range of industries. Early in his career, David worked with product management and engineering teams to build core network infrastructure products that secure and power the internet we benefit from today. David’s experience also includes working with clean technologies in the area of clean power generation, agritech, and Internet of Things infrastructure. Over the last five years, David has been focused on his latest venture, Strainprint Technologies, a data and analytics company focused on the medical cannabis industry. Strainprint has built the largest longitudinal medical cannabis dataset in the world with the goal to develop an understanding of treatment behavior, interactions, and chemical drivers to guide future product development.

      Kathy Borneman

      Digital Product Owner, SunTrust Bank

      Kathy Borneman is a senior product owner who helps people enjoy their jobs again by engaging others in end-to-end decision making to deliver software and operational solutions that enhance the client experience and allow people to think and act strategically.

      Photro of Charlie Campbell

      Charlie Campbell

      Product Owner, Merchant e-Solutions

      Charlie Campbell is an experienced problem solver with the ability to quickly dissect situations and recommend immediate actions to achieve resolution, liaise between technical and functional personnel to bridge the technology and communication gap, and work with diverse teams and resources to reach a common goal.

      Photo of Yarrow Diamond

      Yarrow Diamond

      Sr. Director, Business Architecture

      Financial Services

      Yarrow Diamond is an experienced professional with expertise in enterprise strategy development, project portfolio management, and business process reengineering across financial services, healthcare and insurance, hospitality, and real estate environments. She has a master’s in Enterprise Architecture from Penn State University, LSSMBB, PMP, CSM, ITILv3.

      Photo of Cari J. Faanes-Blakey

      Cari J. Faanes-Blakey, CBAP, PMI-PBA

      Enterprise Business Systems Analyst,

      Vertex, Inc.

      Cari J. Faanes-Blakey has a history in software development and implementation as a Business Analyst and Project Manager for financial and taxation software vendors. Active in the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Cari participated on the writing team for the BA Body of Knowledge 3.0 and the certification exam.

      Photo of Kieran Gobey

      Kieran Gobey

      Senior Consultant Professional Services

      Blueprint Software Systems

      Kieran Gobey is an IT professional with 24 years of experience, focused on business, technology, and systems analysis. He has split his career between external and internal customer-facing roles, and this has resulted in a true understanding of what is required to be a Professional Services Consultant. His problem-solving skills and ability to mentor others have resulted in successful software implementations. Kieran’s specialties include deep system troubleshooting and analysis skills, facilitating communications to bring together participants effectively, mentoring, leadership, and organizational skills.

      Photo of Rupert Kainzbauer

      Rupert Kainzbauer

      VP Product, Digital Wallets

      Paysafe Group

      Rupert Kainzbauer is an experienced senior leader with a passion for defining and delivering products that deliver real customer and commercial benefit. Together with a team of highly experienced and motivated product managers, he has successfully led highly complex, multi-stakeholder payments initiatives, from proposition development and solution design through to market delivery. Their domain experience is in building online payment products in high-risk and emerging markets, remittance, prepaid cards, and mobile applications.

      Photo of Saeed Khan

      Saeed Khan

      Founder,

      Transformation Labs

      Saeed Khan has been working in high tech for 30 years in both Canada and the US and has held a number of leadership roles in Product Management over that time. He speaks regularly at conferences and has been writing publicly about technology product management since 2005. Through Transformation Labs, Saeed helps companies accelerate product success by working with product teams to improve their skills, practices, and processes. He is a cofounder of ProductCamp Toronto and currently runs a Meetup group and global Slack community called Product Leaders; the only global community of senior level product executives.

      Photo of Hoi Kun Lo

      Hoi Kun Lo

      Product Owner

      Nielsen

      Hoi Kun Lo is an experienced change agent who can be found actively participating within the IIBA and WITI groups in Tampa, FL and a champion for Agile, architecture, diversity, and inclusion programs at Nielsen. She is currently a Product Owner in the Digital Strategy team within Nielsen Global Watch Technology.

      Photo of Abhishek Mathur

      Abhishek Mathur

      Sr Director, Product Management

      Kasisto, Inc.

      Abhishek Mathur is a product management leader, an artificial intelligence practitioner, and an educator. He has led product management and engineering teams at Clarifai, IBM, and Kasisto to build a variety of artificial intelligence applications within the space of computer vision, natural language processing, and recommendation systems. Abhishek enjoys having deep conversations about the future of technology and helping aspiring product managers enter and accelerate their careers.

      Photo of Jeff Meister

      Jeff Meister

      Technology Advisor and Product Leader

      Jeff Meister is a technology advisor and product leader. He has more than 20 years of experience building and operating software products and the teams that build them. He has built products across a wide range of industries and has built and led large engineering, design, and product organizations. Jeff most recently served as Senior Director of Product Management at Avanade, where he built and led the product management practice. This involved hiring and leading product managers, defining product management processes, solution shaping and engagement execution, and evangelizing the discipline through pitches, presentations, and speaking engagements. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science (Electrical Engineering) and a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Waterloo, an MBA from INSEAD (Strategy), and certifications in product management, project management, and design thinking.

      Photo of Vincent Mirabelli

      Vincent Mirabelli

      Principal,

      Global Project Synergy Group

      With over 10 years of experience in both the private and public sectors, Vincent Mirabelli possesses an impressive track record of improving, informing, and transforming business strategy and operations through process improvement, design and re-engineering, and the application of quality to business analysis, project management, and process improvement standards.

      Photo of Oz Nazili

      Oz Nazili

      VP, Product & Growth

      TWG

      Oz Nazili is a product leader with a decade of experience in both building products and product teams. Having spent time at funded startups and large enterprises, he thinks often about the most effective way to deliver value to users. His core areas of interest include Lean MVP development and data-driven product growth.

      Photo of Mark Pearson

      Mark Pearson

      Principal IT Architect, First Data Corporation

      Mark Pearson is an executive business leader grounded in the process, data, technology, and operations of software-driven business. He knows the enterprise software landscape and is skilled in product, technology, and operations design and delivery within information technology organizations, outsourcing firms, and software product companies.

      Photo of Brenda Peshak

      Brenda Peshak

      Product Owner,

      Widget Industries, LLC

      Brenda Peshak is skilled in business process, analytical skills, Microsoft Office Suite, communication, and customer relationship management (CRM). She is a strong product management professional with a Master’s focused in Business Leadership (MBL) from William Penn University.

      Photo of Mike Starkey

      Mike Starkey

      Director of Engineering

      W.W. Grainger

      Mike Starkey is a Director of Engineering at W.W. Grainger, currently focusing on operating model development, digital architecture, and building enterprise software. Prior to joining W.W. Grainger, Mike held a variety of technology consulting roles throughout the system delivery lifecycle spanning multiple industries such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and utilities with Fortune 500 companies.

      Photo of Anant Tailor

      Anant Tailor

      Cofounder & Head of Product

      Dream Payments Corp.

      Anant Tailor is a cofounder at Dream Payments where he currently serves as the COO and Head of Product, having responsibility for Product Strategy & Development, Client Delivery, Compliance, and Operations. He has 20+ years of experience building and operating organizations that deliver software products and solutions for consumers and businesses of varying sizes. Prior to founding Dream Payments, Anant was the COO and Director of Client Services at DonRiver Inc, a technology strategy and software consultancy that he helped to build and scale into a global company with 100+ employees operating in seven countries. Anant is a Professional Engineer with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from McMaster University and a certificate in Product Strategy & Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

      Photo of Angela Weller

      Angela Weller

      Scrum Master, Businessolver

      Angela Weller is an experienced Agile business analyst who collaborates with key stakeholders to attain their goals and contributes to the achievement of the company’s strategic objectives to ensure a competitive advantage. She excels when mediating or facilitating teams.

      Related Info-Tech Research

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      Build Your Agile Acceleration Roadmap

      • Quickly assess the state of your Agile readiness and plan your path forward to higher value realization.

      Implement Agile Practices That Work

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      • Streamline business value delivery through the strategic adoption of DevOps practices.

      Extend Agile Practices Beyond IT

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      • Embrace a team sport culture built around continuous business-IT collaboration to deliver great products.

      Embed Security Into the DevOps Pipeline

      • Shift security left to get into DevSecOps.

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      Application Portfolio Management

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      • See an overview of the APM journey and how we can support the pieces in this journey.

      Application Portfolio Management for Small Enterprises

      • There is no one-size-fits-all rationalization. Tailor your framework to meet your goals.

      Streamline Application Maintenance

      • Effective maintenance ensures the long-term value of your applications.

      Build an Application Rationalization Framework

      • Manage your application portfolio to minimize risk and maximize value.

      Modernize Your Applications

      • Justify modernizing your application portfolio from both business and technical perspectives.

      Review Your Application Strategy

      • Ensure your applications enable your business strategy.

      Discover Your Applications

      • Most application strategies fail. Arm yourself with the necessary information and team structure for a successful application portfolio strategy.

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      Optimize Applications Release Management

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      Embrace Business-Managed Applications

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      • Focus product delivery on business value–driven outcomes.

      Select and Use SDLC Metrics Effectively

      • Be careful what you ask for, because you will probably get it.

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      Create a Holistic IT Dashboard

      • Mature your IT department by measuring what matters.

      Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations

      • Don’t let bad estimates ruin good work.

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      Reduce Time to Consensus With an Accelerated Business Case

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      • Don’t just measure engagement, act on it.

      Set Meaningful Employee Performance Measures

      • Set holistic measures to inspire employee performance.

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      • PMOs, if you don't know who is responsible for org change, it's you.

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      McCloskey, Heather. “When and How to Scale Your Product Team.” UserVoice, 21 Feb. 2017. Web.

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      Pichler, Roman. “Sprint Planning Tips for Product Owners.” LinkedIn, 4 Sept. 2018. Web.

      Pichler, Roman. “What Is Product Management?” Pichler Consulting Limited, 26 Nov. 2014. Web.

      Radigan, Dan. “Putting the ‘Flow' Back in Workflow With WIP Limits.” Atlassian, n.d. Web.

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      Schuurman, Robbin. “10 Tips for Product Owners on (Business) Value.” Scrum.org, 30 Nov. 2017. Web.

      Schuurman, Robbin. “10 Tips for Product Owners on Agile Product Management.” Scrum.org, 28 Nov. 2017. Web.

      Schuurman, Robbin. “10 Tips for Product Owners on Product Backlog Management.” Scrum.org, 5 Dec. 2017. Web.

      Schuurman, Robbin. “10 Tips for Product Owners on the Product Vision.” Scrum.org, 29 Nov. 2017. Web.

      Schuurman, Robbin. “Tips for Starting Product Owners.” Scrum.org, 27 Nov. 2017. Web.

      Sharma, Rohit. “Scaling Product Teams the Structured Way.” Monetary Musings, 28 Nov. 2016. Web.

      Shirazi, Reza. “Betsy Stockdale of Seilevel: Product Managers Are Not Afraid To Be Wrong.” Austin Voice of Product, 2 Oct. 2018. Web.

      Steiner, Anne. “Start to Scale Your Product Management: Multiple Teams Working on Single Product.” Cprime, 6 Aug. 2019. Web.

      “The Qualities of Leadership: Leading Change.” Cornelius & Associates, 2016. Web.

      “The Standish Group 2015 Chaos Report.” The Standish Group. 2015. Web.

      Theus, Andre. “When Should You Scale the Product Management Team?” ProductPlan, 7 May 2019. Web.

      Tolonen, Arto. “Scaling Product Management in a Single Product Company.” Smartly.io, 26 Apr. 2018. Web.

      Ulrich, Catherine. “The 6 Types of Product Managers. Which One Do You Need?” Medium, 19 Dec. 2017. Web.

      Verwijs, Christiaan. “Retrospective: Do The Team Radar.” The Liberators, Medium, 10 Feb. 2017. Web.

      Vlaanderen, Kevin. “Towards Agile Product and Portfolio Management”. Academia.edu. 2010. Web.

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      Bastow, Janna. “Creating Agile Product roadmaps Everyone Understands.” ProdPad, 22 Mar. 2017. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Bastow, Janna. “The Product Tree Game: Our Favorite Way To Prioritize Features.” ProdPad, 21 Feb. 2016. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Chernak, Yuri. “Requirements Reuse: The State of the Practice.” 2012 IEEE International Conference, 12 June 2012, Herzliya, Israel. Web.

      Fowler, Martin. “Application Boundary.” MartinFowler.com, 11 Sept. 2003. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

      Harrin, Elizabeth. “Learn What a Project Milestone Is.” The Balance Careers, 10 May 2018. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      “How to create a product roadmap.” Roadmunk, n.d. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Johnson, Steve. “How to Master the 3 Horizons of Product Strategy.” Aha!, 24 Sept. 2015. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Johnson, Steve. “The Product Roadmap vs. the Technology Roadmap.” Aha!, 23 June 2016. Accessed Sept. 2018

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      Leffingwell, Dean. “SAFe 4.0.” Scaled Agile, 2017. Web.

      Maurya, Ash. “What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).” Leanstack, 12 June 2017. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Pichler, Roman. “10 Tips for Creating an Agile Product Roadmap.” Roman Pichler, 20 July 2016. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Pichler, Roman. Strategize: Product Strategy and Product Roadmap Practices for the Digital Age. Pichler Consulting, 2016.

      “Product Roadmap Contents: What Should You Include?” ProductPlan, n.d. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

      Saez, Andrea. “Why Your Roadmap Is Not a Release Plan.” ProdPad, 23 October 2015. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Schuurman, Robbin. “Tips for Agile product roadmaps & product roadmap examples.” Scrum.org, 7 Dec. 2017. Accessed Sept. 2018.

      Bibliography (Vision and Canvas)

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      Barry, Richard. “The Product Vision Canvas – a Strategic Tool in Developing a Successful Business.” Polymorph, 2019. Web.

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      Charak, Dinker. “Idea to Product: The Working Model.” ThoughtWorks, 13 July 2017. Web.

      Charak, Dinker. “Product Management Canvas - Product in a Snapshot.” Dinker Charak, 29 May 2017. Web.

      Chudley, James. “Practical Steps in Determining Your Product Vision (Product Tank Bristol, Oct. 2018).” LinkedIn SlideShare. Uploaded by cxpartners, 2 Nov. 2018. Web.

      Cowan, Alex. “The 20 Minute Business Plan: Business Model Canvas Made Easy.” COWAN+, 2019. Web.

      Craig, Desiree. “So You've Decided To Become A Product Manager.” Start it up, Medium, 2 June 2019. Web.

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      Eriksson, Martin. “The next Product Canvas.” Mind the Product, 22 Nov. 2013. Web.

      “Experience Canvas: a Lean Approach: Atlassian Team Playbook.” Atlassian, 2019. Web.

      Freeman, James. “How to Make a Product Canvas – Visualize Your Product Plan.” Edraw, 23 Dec. 2019. Web.

      Fuchs, Danny. “Measure What Matters: 5 Best Practices from Performance Management Leaders.” OpenGov, 8 Aug. 2018. Web.

      Gorisse, Willem. “A Practical Guide to the Product Canvas.” Mendix, 28 Mar. 2017. Web.

      Gothelf, Jeff. “The Lean UX Canvas.” Jeff Gothelf, 15 Dec. 2016. Web.

      Gottesdiener, Ellen. “Using the Product Canvas to Define Your Product: Getting Started.” EBG Consulting, 15 Jan. 2019. Web.

      Gottesdiener, Ellen. “Using the Product Canvas to Define Your Product's Core Requirements.” EBG Consulting, 4 Feb. 2019. Web.

      Gray, Mark Krishan. “Should I Use the Business Model Canvas or the Lean Canvas?” Emergn, 2019. Web.

      Hanby, Jeff. "Software Maintenance: Understanding and Estimating Costs." LookFar, 21 Oct. 2016. Web.

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      Juncal, Shaun. “How to Build a Product Roadmap Based on a Business Model Canvas.” ProductPlan, 19 June 2019. Web.

      “Lean Canvas Intro - Uber Example.” YouTube, uploaded by Railsware Product Academy, 12 Oct. 2018. Web.

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      Maurya, Ash. “Create a New Lean Canvas.” Canvanizer, 2019. Web.

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      Mirabelli, Vincent. “The Project Value Canvas.” Vincent Mirabelli, 2019. Web.

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      “What Is a Product Vision?” Aha!, 2019. Web.

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      Select a Security Outsourcing Partner

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      • Parent Category Name: Security Processes & Operations
      • Parent Category Link: /security-processes-and-operations
      • Most organizations do not have a clear understanding of their current security posture, their security goals, and the specific security services they require. Without a clear understanding of their needs, organizations may struggle to identify a partner that can meet their requirements.
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      • Be aware that in most cases, the traditional approach is more profitable to MSSPs, and they may push you toward one, so make sure you get the service you want, not what they prescribe.

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      • Determine which security responsibilities can be outsourced and which should be insourced and the right procedure to outsourcing to gain cost savings, improve resource allocation, and boost your overall security posture.

      Select a Security Outsourcing Partner Research & Tools

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      Select a Security Outsourcing Partner

      Outsource the right functions to secure your business.

      Analyst Perspective

      Understanding your security needs and remaining accountable is the key to selecting the right partner.

      The need for specialized security services is fast becoming a necessity to most organizations. However, resource challenges will always mean that organizations will still have to take practical measures to ensure that the time, quality, and service that they require from outsourcing partners have been carefully crafted and packaged to elicit the right services that cover all their needs and requirements.

      Organizations must ensure that security partners are aligned not only with their needs and requirements, but also with the corporate culture. Rather than introducing hindrances to daily operations, security partners must support business goals and protect the organization’s interests at all times.

      And as always, outsource only your responsibilities and do not outsource your accountability, as that will cost you in the long run.

      Photo of Danny Hammond
      Danny Hammond
      Research Analyst
      Security, Risk, Privacy & Compliance Practice
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      A lack of high-skill labor increases the cost of internal security, making outsourcing more appealing.

      A lack of time and resources prevents your organization from being able to enable security internally.

      Due to a lack of key information on the subject, you are unsure which functions should be outsourced versus which functions should remain in-house.

      Having 24/7/365 monitoring in-house is not feasible for most firms.

      There is difficulty measuring the effectiveness of managed security service providers (MSSPs).

      Common Obstacles

      InfoSec leaders will struggle to select the right outsourcing partner without knowing what the organization needs, such as:

      • How to start the process to select the right service provider that will cover your security needs. With so many service providers and technology tools in this field, who is the right partner?
      • Where to obtain guidance on externalization of resources or maintaining internal posture to enable to you confidently select an outsourcing partner.

      InfoSec leaders must understand the business environment and their own internal security needs before they can select an outsourcing partner that fits.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Info-Tech’s Select a Security Outsourcing Partner takes a multi-faceted approach to the problem that incorporates foundational technical elements, compliance considerations, and supporting processes:

      • Determine which security responsibilities can be insourced and which should be outsourced, and the right procedure to outsourcing in order to gain cost savings, improve resource allocation, and boost your overall security posture.
      • Understand the current landscape of MSSPs that are available today and the features they offer.
      • Highlight the future financial obligations of outsourcing vs. insourcing to explain which method is the most cost-effective.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Mitigate security risks by developing an end-to-end process that ensures you are outsourcing your responsibilities and not your accountability.

      Your Challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations select an effective security outsourcing partner.

      • A security outsourcing partner is a third-party service provider that offers security services on a contractual basis depending on client needs and requirements.
      • An effective outsourcing partner can help an organization improve its security posture by providing access to more specialized security experts, tools, and technologies.
      • One of the main challenges with selecting a security outsourcing partner is finding a partner that is a good fit for the organization's unique security needs and requirements.
      • Security outsourcing partners typically have access to sensitive information and systems, so proper controls and safeguards must be in place to protect all sensitive assets.
      • Without careful evaluation and due diligence to ensure that the partner is a good fit for the organization's security needs and requirements, it can be challenging to select an outsourcing partner.

      Outsourcing is effective, but only if done right

      • 83% of decision makers with in-house cybersecurity teams are considering outsourcing to an MSP (Syntax, 2021).
      • 77% of IT leaders said cyberattacks were more frequent (Syntax, 2021).
      • 51% of businesses suffered a data breach caused by a third party (Ponemon, 2021).

      Common Obstacles

      The problem with selecting an outsourcing partner isn’t a lack of qualified partners, it’s the lack of clarity about an organization's specific security needs.

      • Most organizations do not have a clear understanding of their current security posture, their security goals, and the specific security services they require. Without a clear understanding of their needs, organizations may struggle to identify a partner that can meet their requirements.
      • Breakdowns and lack of communication can be a significant obstacle, especially when clear lines of communication with partners, including regular check-ins, reporting, and incident response protocols, have not been clearly established.
      • Ensuring that security partner's systems and processes integrate seamlessly with existing systems can be a challenge for most organizations. This is in addition to making sure that security partners have the necessary access and permissions to perform their services effectively.
      • Adhering to security policies is rarely a priority to users, as compliance often feels like an interference to daily workflow. For a lot of organizations, security policies are not having the desired effect.

      A diagram that shows Average cost of a data breach from 2019 to 2022.
      Source: IBM, 2022 Cost of a Data Breach; N=537.


      Reaching an all-time high, the cost of a data breach averaged US$4.35 million in 2022. This figure represents a 2.6% increase from 2021, when the average cost of a breach was US$4.24 million. The average cost has climbed 12.7% since 2020.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for selecting a security outsourcing partner

      Determine your responsibilities

      Determine what responsibilities you can outsource to a service partner. Analyze which responsibilities you should outsource versus keep in-house? Do you require a service partner based on identified responsibilities?

      Scope your requirements

      Refine the list of role-based requirements, variables, and features you will require. Use a well-known list of critical security controls as a framework to determine these activities and send out RFPs to pick the best candidate for your organization.

      Manage your outsourcing program

      Adopt a program to manage your third-party service security outsourcing. Trust your managed security service providers (MSSP) but verify their results to ensure you get the service level you were promised.

      Select a Security Outsourcing Partner

      A diagram that shows your organization responsibilities & accountabilities, framework for selecting a security outsourcing partner, and benefits.

      Blueprint benefits

      IT/InfoSec Benefits

      Reduces complexity within the MSSP selection process by highlighting all the key steps to a successful selection program.

      Introduces a roadmap to clearly educate about the do’s and don’ts of MSSP selection.

      Reduces costs and efforts related to managing MSSPs and other security partners.

      Business Benefits

      Assists with selecting outsourcing partners that are essential to your organization’s objectives.

      Integrates outsourcing into corporate culture, leveraging organizational requirements while maximizing value of outsourcing.

      Reduces security outsourcing risk.

      Insight summary

      Overarching insight: You can outsource your responsibilities but not your accountability.

      Determine what to outsource: Assess your responsibilities to determine which ones you can outsource. It is vital that an understanding of how outsourcing will affect the organization, and what cost savings, if any, to expect from outsourcing is clear in order to generate a list of responsibilities that can/should be outsourced.

      Select the right partner: Create a list of variables to evaluate the MSSPs and determine which features are important to you. Evaluate all potential MSSPs and determine which one is right for your organization

      Manage your MSSP: Align the MSSP to your organization. Adopt a program to monitor the MSSP which includes a long-term strategy to manage the MSSP.

      Identifying security needs and requirements = Effective outsourcing program: Understanding your own security needs and requirements is key. Ensure your RFP covers the entire scope of your requirements; work with your identified partner on updates and adaptation, where necessary; and always monitor alignment to business objectives.

      Measure the value of this blueprint

      Phase

      Purpose

      Measured Value
      Determine what to outsource Understand the value in outsourcing and determining what responsibilities can be outsourced. Cost of determining what you can/should outsource:
      • 120 FTE hours at $90K per year = $5,400
      Cost of determining the savings from outsourcing vs. insourcing:
      • 120 FTE hours at $90K per year = $5,400
      Select the right partner Select an outsourcing partner that will have the right skill set and solution to identified requirements. Cost of ranking and selecting your MSSPs:
      • 160 FTE hours at $90K per year = $7,200
      Cost of creating and distributing RFPs:
      • 200 FTE hours at $90K per year = $9,000
      Manage your third-party service security outsourcing Use Info-Tech’s methodology and best practices to manage the MSSP to get the best value. Cost of creating and implementing a metrics program to manage the MSSP:
      • 80 FTE hours at $90K per year = $3,600

      After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve.

      Overall Impact: 8.9 /10

      Overall Average Cost Saved: $22,950

      Overall Average Days Saved: 9

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit
      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation
      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

      Workshop
      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting
      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Info-Tech Quarterly Research Agenda Outcomes Q2-Q3 2023

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      • Parent Category Name: IT Strategy
      • Parent Category Link: /it-strategy

      At Info-Tech, we take pride in our research and have established the most rigorous publication standards in the industry. However, we understand that engaging with all our analysts to gauge the future may not always be possible. Hence, we have curated some compelling recently published research along with forthcoming research insights to assist you in navigating the next quarter.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      We offer a quarterly Research Agenda Outcomes deck that thoroughly summarizes our recently published research, supplying decision makers with valuable insights and best practices to make informed and effective decisions. Our research is supported by our team of seasoned analysts with decades of experience in the IT industry.

      By leveraging our research, you can stay updated with the latest trends and technologies, giving you an edge over the competition and ensuring the optimal performance of your IT department. This way, you can make confident decisions that lead to remarkable success and improved outcomes.

      Impact and Result

      • Enhance preparedness for future market trends and developments: Keep up to date with the newest trends and advancements in the IT sector to be better prepared for the future.
      • Enhance your decision making: Acquire valuable information and insights to make better-informed, confident decisions.
      • Promote innovation: Foster creativity, explore novel perspectives, drive innovation, and create new products or services.

      Info-Tech Quarterly Research Agenda Outcomes Q2/Q3 2023 Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Info-Tech Quarterly Research Agenda Q3 2023 Deck – An overview of our Research Agenda Outcome for Q2 and Q3 of 2023.

      A guide to our top research published to date for 2023 (Q2/Q3).

      • Info-Tech Quarterly Research Agenda Outcomes for Q2/Q3 2023
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Featured Research Projects 2023 (Q2/Q3)

      “Here are my selections for the top research projects of the last quarter.”

      Photo of Gord Harrison, Head of Research & Advisory, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Gord Harrison
      Head of Research & Advisory
      Info-Tech Research Group

      CIO

      01
      Build Your Generative AI Roadmap

      Generative AI is here, and it's time to find its best uses – systematically and responsibly.

      02
      CIO Priorities 2023

      Engage cross-functional leadership to seize opportunity while protecting the organization from volatility.

      03
      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy

      If integrated risk is your destination, your IT risk taxonomy is the road to get you there.

      04
      Navigate the Digital ID Ecosystem to Enhance Customer Experience

      Beyond the hype: How it can help you become more customer-focused?

      05
      Effective IT Communications

      Generative AI is here, and it's time to find its best uses – systematically and responsibly.

      06
      Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT

      Select flexible work options that balance organizational and employee needs to drive engagement and improve attraction and retention.

      07
      Effectively Manage CxO Relations

      Make relationship management a daily habit with a personalized action plan.

      08
      Establish High-Value IT Performance Dashboards and Metrics

      Spend less time struggling with visuals and more time communicating about what matters to your executives.

      Applications

      09
      Build Your Enterprise Application Implementation Playbook

      Your implementation doesn't start with technology but with an effective plan that the team can align on.

      10
      Develop Your Value-First Business Process Automation Strategy

      As you scale your business automations, focus on what matters most.

      11
      Manage Requirements in an Agile Environment

      Agile and requirements management are complementary, not competitors.

      Security

      12
      Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy

      Adapt to changes in the cyber insurance market.

      13
      Design and Implement a Business-Aligned Security Program

      Focus first on business value.

      Infrastructure & Operations

      14
      Automate IT Asset Data Collection

      Acquire and use discovery tools wisely to populate, update, and validate the data in your ITAM database.

      Industry | Retail

      15
      Leveraging AI to Create Meaningful Insights and Visibility in Retail

      AI prominence across the enterprise value chain.

      Industry | Education

      16
      Understand the Implications of Generative AI in Education

      Bans aren't the answer, but what is?

      Industry | Wholesale

      17
      Wholesale Industry Business Reference Architecture

      Business capability maps, value streams, and strategy maps for the wholesale industry.

      Industry | Retail Banking

      18
      Mainframe Modernization for Retail Banking

      A strategy for modernizing mainframe systems to meet the needs of modern retail banking.

      Industry | Utilities

      19
      Data Analytics Use Cases for Utilities

      Building upon the collective wisdom for the art of the possible.

      Build Your Generative AI Roadmap

      Generative AI is here, and it's time to find its best uses – systematically and responsibly.

      CIO
      Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Bill Wong, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Bill Wong
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Build Your Generative AI Roadmap' research.

      Sample of the 'Build Your Generative AI Roadmap' research.

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      CIO Priorities 2023

      Engage cross-functional leadership to seize opportunity while protecting the organization from volatility.

      CIO
      Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Brian Jackson, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Brian Jackson
      Principal Research Director

      Download this report or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'CIO Priorities 2023' report.

      Sample of the 'CIO Priorities 2023' report.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Build an IT Risk Taxonomy

      If integrated risk is your destination, your IT risk taxonomy is the road to get you there.

      CIO
      Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Donna Bales, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Donna Bales
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Build an IT Risk Taxonomy' research.

      Sample of the 'Build an IT Risk Taxonomy' research.

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      Navigate the Digital ID Ecosystem to Enhance Customer Experience

      Beyond the hype: How it can help you become more customer-focused?

      CIO
      Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Manish Jain, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Manish Jain
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Navigate the Digital ID Ecosystem to Enhance Customer Experience' research.

      Sample of the 'Navigate the Digital ID Ecosystem to Enhance Customer Experience' research.

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      Effective IT Communications

      Empower IT employees to communicate well with any stakeholder across the organization.

      CIO
      People & Leadership

      Photo of Brittany Lutes, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Brittany Lutes
      Research Director

      Photo of Diana MacPherson, Senior Research Analyst, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Diana MacPherson
      Senior Research Analyst

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Effective IT Communications' research.

      Sample of the 'Effective IT Communications' research.

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      Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT

      Select flexible work options that balance organizational and employee needs to drive engagement and improve attraction and retention.

      CIO
      People & Leadership

      Photo of Jane Kouptsova, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Jane Kouptsova
      Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT' research.

      Sample of the 'Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT' research.

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      Effectively Manage CxO Relations

      Make relationship management a daily habit with a personalized action plan.

      CIO
      Value & Performance

      Photo of Mike Tweedle, Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Mike Tweedle
      Practice Lead

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Effectively Manage CxO Relations' research.

      Sample of the 'Effectively Manage CxO Relations' research.

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      Establish High-Value IT Performance Dashboards and Metrics

      Spend less time struggling with visuals and more time communicating about what matters to your executives.

      CIO
      Value & Performance

      Photo of Diana MacPherson, Senior Research Analyst, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Diana MacPherson
      Senior Research Analyst

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Establish High-Value IT Performance Dashboards and Metrics' research.

      Sample of the 'Establish High-Value IT Performance Dashboards and Metrics' research.

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      Build Your Enterprise Application Implementation Playbook

      Your implementation doesn't start with technology but with an effective plan that the team can align on.

      Applications
      Business Processes

      Photo of Ricardo de Oliveira, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Ricardo de Oliveira
      Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Build Your Enterprise Application Implementation Playbook' research.

      Sample of the 'Build Your Enterprise Application Implementation Playbook' research.

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      Develop Your Value-First Business Process Automation Strategy

      As you scale your business automations, focus on what matters most.

      Applications
      Business Processes

      Photo of Andrew Kum-Seun, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Andrew Kum-Seun
      Research Director

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      Sample of the 'Develop Your Value-First Business Process Automation Strategy' research.

      Sample of the 'Develop Your Value-First Business Process Automation Strategy' research.

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      Manage Requirements in an Agile Environment

      Agile and requirements management are complementary, not competitors.

      Applications
      Application Development

      Photo of Vincent Mirabelli, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Vincent Mirabelli
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Manage Requirements in an Agile Environment' research.

      Sample of the 'Manage Requirements in an Agile Environment' research.

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      Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy

      Adapt to changes in the cyber insurance market.

      Security
      Security Risk, Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Logan Rohde, Senior Research Analyst, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Logan Rohde
      Senior Research Analyst

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy' research.

      Sample of the 'Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy' research.

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      Design and Implement a Business-Aligned Security Program

      Focus first on business value.

      Security
      Security Risk, Strategy & Governance

      Photo of Michel Hébert, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Michel Hébert
      Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Design and Implement a Business-Aligned Security Program' research.

      Sample of the 'Design and Implement a Business-Aligned Security Program' research.

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      Automate IT Asset Data Collection

      Acquire and use discovery tools wisely to populate, update, and validate the data in your ITAM database.

      Infrastructure & Operations
      I&O Process Management

      Photo of Andrew Sharp, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Andrew Sharp
      Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Automate IT Asset Data Collection' research.

      Sample of the 'Automate IT Asset Data Collection' research.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Leveraging AI to Create Meaningful Insights and Visibility in Retail

      AI prominence across the enterprise value chain.

      Industry Coverage
      Retail

      Photo of Rahul Jaiswal, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Rahul Jaiswal
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Leveraging AI to Create Meaningful Insights and Visibility in Retail' research.

      Sample of the 'Leveraging AI to Create Meaningful Insights and Visibility in Retail' research.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Understand the Implications of Generative AI in Education

      Bans aren't the answer, but what is?

      Industry Coverage
      Education

      Photo of Mark Maby, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Mark Maby
      Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Understand the Implications of Generative AI in Education' research.

      Sample of the 'Understand the Implications of Generative AI in Education' research.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Wholesale Industry Business Reference Architecture

      Business capability maps, value streams, and strategy maps for the wholesale industry.

      Industry Coverage
      Wholesale

      Photo of Rahul Jaiswal, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Rahul Jaiswal
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Wholesale Industry Business Reference Architecture' research.

      Sample of the 'Wholesale Industry Business Reference Architecture' research.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Mainframe Modernization for Retail Banking

      A strategy for modernizing mainframe systems to meet the needs of modern retail banking.

      Industry Coverage
      Retail Banking

      Photo of David Tomljenovic, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      David Tomljenovic
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Mainframe Modernization for Retail Banking' research.

      Sample of the 'Mainframe Modernization for Retail Banking' research.

      Logo for Info-Tech.

      Data Analytics Use Cases for Utilities

      Building upon the collective wisdom for the art of the possible.

      Industry Coverage
      Utilities

      Photo of Jing Wu, Principal Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Jing Wu
      Principal Research Director

      Download this research or book an analyst call on this topic

      Sample of the 'Data Analytics Use Cases for Utilities' research.

      Sample of the 'Data Analytics Use Cases for Utilities' research.

      Sneak Peaks: Research coming in next quarter!

      “Next quarter we have a big lineup of reports and some great new research!”

      Photo of Gord Harrison, Head of Research & Advisory, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Gord Harrison
      Head of Research & Advisory
      Info-Tech Research Group

      1. Build MLOps and Engineering for AI and ML

        Enabling you to develop your Engineering and ML Operations to support your current & planned use cases for AI and ML.

      2. Leverage Gen AI to Improve Your Test Automation Strategy

        Enabling you to embed Gen AI to assist your team during testing broader than Gen AI compiling code.

      3. Make Your IT Financial Data Accessible, Reliable, and Usable

        This project will provide a recipe for bringing IT's financial data to a usable state through a series of discovery, standardization, and policy-setting actions.

      4. Implement Integrated AI Governance

        Enabling you to implement best-practice governance principles when implementing Gen AI.

      5. Develop Exponential IT Capabilities

        Enabling you to understand and develop your strategic Exponential IT capabilities.

      6. Build Your AI Strategy and Roadmap

        This project will provide step-by-step guidance in development of your AI strategy with an AI strategy exemplar.

      7. Priorities for Data Leaders in 2024 and Beyond

        This report will detail the top five challenges expected in the upcoming year and how you as the CDAO can tackle them.

      8. Deploy AIOps More Effectively

        This research is designed to assess the process maturity of your IT operations and help identify pain pains and opportunities for AI deployment within your IT operations.

      9. Design Your Edge Computing Architecture

        This research will provide deployment guidelines and roadmap to address your edge computing needs.

      10. Manage Change in the AI-Enabled Enterprise

        Managing change is complex with the disruptive nature of emerging tech like AI. This research will assist you from an organizational change perspective.

      11. Assess the Security and Privacy Impacts of Your AI Vendors

        This research will allow you to enhance transparency, improve risk management, and ensure the security and privacy of data when working with AI vendors.

      12. Prepare Your Board for AI Disruption

        This research will arm you with tools to educate your board on the impact of Gen AI, addressing the potential risks and the potential benefits.

      Info-Tech Research Leadership Team

      “We have a world-class team of experts focused on providing practical, cutting-edge IT research and advice.”

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      Gord Harrison
      Head of Research & Advisory
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Photo of Jack Hakimian, Senior Vice President, Research Development, Info-Tech Research Group.

      Jack Hakimian
      Senior Vice President
      Research Development

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      Aaron Shum
      Vice President
      Security & Privacy Research

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      Larry Fretz
      Vice President
      Industry Research

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      Mark Tauschek
      Vice President
      Research Fellowships

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      Tom Zehren
      Chief Product Officer

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      Rick Pittman
      Vice President
      Advisory Quality & Delivery

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      Nora Fisher
      Vice President
      Shared Services

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      Becca Mackey
      Vice President
      Workshops

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      Geoff Nielson
      Senior Vice President
      Global Services & Delivery

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      Brett Rugroden
      Senior Vice President
      Global Market Programs

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      Hannes Scheidegger
      Senior Vice President
      Global Public Sector

      About Info-Tech Research Group

      Info-Tech Research Group produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with your teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for the organization.

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      Drive Measurable Results

      Our world-class leadership team is continually focused on building disruptive research and products that drive measurable results and save money.

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      Better Research Than Anyone

      Our team of experts is composed of the optimal mix of former CIOs, CISOs, PMOs, and other IT leaders and IT and management consultants as well as academic researchers and statisticians.

      Dramatically Outperform Your Peers

      Leverage Industry Best Practices

      We enable over 30,000 members to share their insights and best practices that you can use by having direct access to over 100 analysts as an extension of your team.

      Become an Info-Tech influencer:

      • Help shape our research by talking with our analysts.
      • Discuss the challenges, insights, and opportunities in your chosen areas.
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      Contact
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      jhakimian@infotech.com

      We interview hundreds of experts and practitioners to help ensure our research is practical and focused on key member challenges.

      Why participate in expert interviews?

      • Discuss market trends and stay up to date.
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      Thank you!

      Join us at our webinars to discuss more topics.

      For information on Info-Tech's products and services and to participate in our research process, please contact:

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      IT Organizational Design

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      • member rating overall impact: 9.1/10
      • member rating average dollars saved: $83,392
      • member rating average days saved: 21
      • Parent Category Name: People and Resources
      • Parent Category Link: /people-and-resources
      • byline: The structure follows strategy; design your IT organization to match the business strategy.

      The challenge

      • IT can ensure full business alignment through an organizational redesign.
      • Finding the best approach for your company is difficult due to many frameworks and competing priorities.
      • External competitive influences and technological trends exacerbate this.

      Our advice

      Insight

      • Your structure is the critical enabler of your strategic direction. Structure dictates how people work together and how they can fill in their roles to create the desired business value. 
      • Constant change is killing for an organization. You need to adapt, but you need a stable baseline and make sure the change is in line with the overall strategy and company context.
      • A redesign is only successful if it really happens. Shifting people into new positions is not enough to implement a redesign. 

      Impact and results 

      • Define your redesign principles. They will act as a manifesto to your change. It also provides for a checklist, ensuring that the structure does not deviate from the business strategy.
      • Visualize the new design with a customized operating model for your company. It must demonstrate how IT creates value and supports the business value creation chains.
      • Define the future-state roles, functions, and responsibilities to enable your IT department to support the business effectively.

      The roadmap

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      Get started

      Our concise executive brief explains to you the challenges associated with the organizational redesign. We'll show you our methodology and the ways we can help you in completing this.

      Define your organizational design principles and select your operating model

      The design principles will govern your organizational redesign; Align the principles with your business strategy.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure – Phase 1: Craft Organizational Design Principles and Select an IT Operating Model (ppt)
      • Organizational Design Communications Deck (ppt)

      Customize the selected IT operating model to your company

      Your operating model must account for the company's nuances and culture.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure – Phase 2: Customize the IT Operating Model (ppt)
      • Operating Models and Capability Definition List (ppt)

      Design the target-state of your IT organizational structure

      Go from an operating model to the structure fit for your company.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure – Phase 3: Architect the Target-State IT Organizational Structure (ppt)
      • Organizational Design Capability RACI Chart (xls)
      • Work Unit Reference Structures (Visio)
      • Work Unit Reference Structures (pdf)

      Communicate the benefits of the new structure

      Change does not come easy. People will be anxious. Craft your communications to address critical concerns and obtain buy-in from the organization. If the reorganization will be painful, be up-front on that, and limit the time in which people are uncertain.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure – Phase 4: Communicate the Benefits of the New Organizational Structure (ppt)

       

      Create a Buyer Persona and Journey

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}558|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: N/A
      • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
      • member rating average days saved: N/A
      • Parent Category Name: Marketing Solutions
      • Parent Category Link: /marketing-solutions
      • Contacts fail to convert to leads because messaging fails to resonate with buyers.
      • Products fail to reach targets given shallow understanding of buyer needs.
      • Sellers' emails go unopened and attempts at discovery fail due to no understanding of buyer challenges, pain points, and needs.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Marketing leaders in possession of well-researched and up-to-date buyer personas and journeys dramatically improve product market fit, lead gen, and sales results.
      • Success starts with product, marketing, and sales alignment on targeted personas.
      • Speed to deploy is enabled via initial buyer persona attribute discovery internally.
      • However, ultimate success requires buyer interviews, especially for the buyer journey.
      • Leading marketers update journey maps every six months as disruptive events such as COVID-19 and new media and tech platform advancements require continual innovation.

      Impact and Result

      • Reduce time and treasure wasted chasing the wrong prospects.
      • Improve product-market fit.
      • Increase open and click-through rates in your lead gen engine.
      • Perform more effective sales discovery and increase eventual win rates.

      Create a Buyer Persona and Journey Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Our Executive Brief summarizes the challenges faced when buyer persona and journeys are ill-defined. It describes the attributes of, and the benefits that accrue from, a well-defined persona and journey and the key steps to take to achieve success.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Drive an aligned initial draft of buyer persona

      Define and align your team on target persona, outline steps to capture and document a robust buyer persona and journey, and capture current team buyer knowledge.

      • Buyer Persona Creation Template
      • Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      2. Interview buyers and validate persona and journey

      Hold initial buyer interviews, test initial results, and continue with interviews.

      3. Prepare communications and educate stakeholders

      Consolidate interview findings, present to product, marketing, and sales teams. Work with them to apply to product design, marketing launch/campaigning, and sales and customer success enablement.

      • Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Create a Buyer Persona and Journey

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Align Team, Identify Persona, and Document Current Knowledge

      The Purpose

      Organize, drive alignment on target persona, and capture initial views.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Steering committee and project team roles and responsibilities clarified.

      Product, marketing, and sales aligned on target persona.

      Build initial team understanding of persona.

      Activities

      1.1 Outline a vision for buyer persona and journey creation and identify stakeholders.

      1.2 Identify buyer persona choices and settle on an initial target.

      1.3 Document team knowledge about buyer persona (and journey where possible).

      Outputs

      Documented steering committee and working team

      Executive Brief on personas and journey

      Personas and initial targets

      Documented team knowledge

      2 Validate Initial Work and Identify Buyer Interviewees

      The Purpose

      Build list of buyer interviewees, finalize interview guide, and validate current findings with analyst input.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Interview efficiently using 75-question interview guide.

      Gain analyst help in persona validation, reducing workload.

      Activities

      2.1 Share initial insights with covering industry analyst.

      2.2 Hear from industry analyst their perspectives on the buyer persona attributes.

      2.3 Reconcile differences; update “current understanding.”

      2.4 Identify interviewee types by segment, region, etc.

      Outputs

      Analyst-validated initial findings

      Target interviewee types

      3 Schedule and Hold Buyer Interviews

      The Purpose

      Validate current persona hypothesis and flush out those attributes only derived from interviews.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Get to a critical mass of persona and journey understanding quickly.

      Activities

      3.1 Identify actual list of 15-20 interviewees.

      3.2 Hold interviews and use interview guides over the course of weeks.

      3.3 Hold review session after initial 3-4 interviews to make adjustments.

      3.4 Complete interviews.

      Outputs

      List of interviewees; calls scheduled

      Initial review – “are you going in the right direction?”

      Completed interviews

      4 Summarize Findings and Provide Actionable Guidance to Colleagues

      The Purpose

      Summarize persona and journey attributes and provide activation guidance to team.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understanding of product market fit requirements, messaging, and marketing, and sales asset content.

      Activities

      4.1 Summarize findings.

      4.2 Create action items for supporting team, e.g. messaging, touch points, media spend, assets.

      4.3 Convene steering committee/executives and working team for final review.

      4.4 Schedule meetings with colleagues to action results.

      Outputs

      Complete findings

      Action items for team members

      Plan for activation

      5 Measure Impact and Results

      The Purpose

      Measure results, adjust, and improve.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Activation of outcomes; measured results.

      Activities

      5.1 Review final copy, assets, launch/campaign plans, etc.

      5.2 Develop/review implementation plan.

      5.3 Reconvene team to review results.

      Outputs

      Activation review

      List of suggested next steps

      Further reading

      Create a Buyer Persona and Journey

      Make it easier to market, sell, and achieve product-market fit with deeper buyer understanding.

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      B2B marketers without documented personas and journeys often experience the following:

      • Contacts fail to convert to leads because messaging fails to resonate with buyers.
      • Products fail to reach targets given shallow understanding of buyer needs.
      • Sellers’ emails go unopened, and attempts at discovery fail due to no understanding of buyer challenges, pain points, and needs.

      Without a deeper understanding of buyer needs and how they buy, B2B marketers will waste time and precious resources targeting the incorrect personas.

      Common Obstacles

      Despite being critical elements, organizations struggle to build personas due to:

      • A lack of alignment and collaboration among marketing, product, and sales.
      • An internal focus; or a lack of true customer centricity.
      • A lack of tools and techniques for building personas and buyer journeys.

      In today’s Agile development environment, combined with the pressure to generate revenues quickly, high tech marketers often skip the steps necessary to go deeper to build buyer understanding.

      SoftwareReviews’ Approach

      With a common framework and target output, clients will:

      • Align marketing, sales, and product, and collaborate together to share current knowledge on buyer personas and journeys.
      • Target 12-15 customers and prospects to interview and validate insights. Share that with customer-facing staff.
      • Activate the insights for more customer-centric lead generation, product development, and selling.

      Clients who activate findings from buyer personas and journeys will see a 50% results improvement.

      SoftwareReviews Insight:
      Buyer personas and buyer journeys are essential ingredients in go-to-market success, as they inform for product, marketing, sales, and customer success who we are targeting and how to engage with them successfully.

      Buyer personas and journeys: A go-to-market critical success factor

      Marketers – large and small – will fail to optimize product-market fit, lead generation, and sales effectiveness without well-defined buyer personas and a buyer journey.

      Critical Success Factors of a Successful G2M Strategy:

      • Opportunity size and business case
      • Buyer personas and journey
      • Competitively differentiated product hypothesis
      • Buyer-validated commercial concept
      • Sales revenue plan and program cost budget
      • Consolidated communications to steering committee

      Jeff Golterman, Managing Director, SoftwareReviews Advisory

      “44% of B2B marketers have already discovered the power of Personas.”
      – Hasse Jansen, Boardview.io!, 2016

      Documenting buyer personas enables success beyond marketing

      Documenting buyer personas has several essential benefits to marketing, sales, and product teams:

      • Achieve a better understanding of your target buyer – by building a detailed buyer persona for each type of buyer and keeping it fresh, you take a giant step toward becoming a customer-centric organization.
      • Team alignment on a common definition – will happen when you build buyer personas collaboratively and among those teams that touch the customer.
      • Improved lead generation – increases dramatically when messaging and marketing assets across your lead generation engine better resonate with buyers because you have taken the time to understand them deeply.
      • More effective selling – is possible when sellers apply persona development output to their interactions with prospects and customers.
      • Better product-market fit – increases when product teams more deeply understand for whom they are designing products. Documenting buyer challenges, pain points, and unmet needs gives product teams what they need to optimize product adoption.

      “It’s easier buying gifts for your best friend or partner than it is for a stranger, right? You know their likes and dislikes, you know the kind of gifts they’ll have use for, or the kinds of gifts they’ll get a kick out of. Customer personas work the same way, by knowing what your customer wants and needs, you can present them with content targeted specifically to their wants and needs.”
      – Emma Bilardi, Product Marketing Alliance, 2020

      Buyer understanding activates just about everything

      Without the deep buyer insights that persona and journey capture enables, marketers are suboptimized.

      Buyer Persona and Journey

      • Product design
      • Customer targeting
      • Personalization
      • Messaging
      • Content marketing
      • Lead gen & scoring
      • Sales Effectiveness
      • Customer retention

      “Marketing eutopia is striking the all-critical sweet spot that adds real value and makes customers feel recognized and appreciated, while not going so far as to appear ‘big brother’. To do this, you need a deep understanding of your audience coming from a range of different data sets and the capability to extract meaning.”
      – Plexure, 2020

      Does your organization need buyer persona and journey updating?

      “Yes,” if experiencing one or more key challenges:

      • Sales time is wasted on unqualified leads
      • Website abandon rates are high
      • Lead gen engine click-through rates are low
      • Ideal customer profile is ill defined
      • Marketing asset downloads are low
      • Seller discovery with prospects is ineffective
      • Sales win/loss rates drop due to poor product-market fit
      • Higher than desired customer churn

      SoftwareReviews Advisory Insight:
      Marketers developing buyer personas and journeys that lack agreement among Marketing, Sales, and Product of personas to target will squander precious time and resources throughout the customer targeting and acquisition process.

      Outcomes and benefits

      Building your buyer persona and journey using our methodology will enable:

      • Greater stakeholder alignment – when marketing, product, and sales agree on personas, less time is wasted on targeting alternate personas.
      • Improved product-market fit – when buyers see both pain-relieving features and value-based pricing, “because you asked vs. guessed,” win rates increase.
      • Greater open and click-through rates – because you understood buyer pain points and motivations for solution seeking, you’ll see higher visits and engagement with your lead gen engine, and because you asked “what asset types do you find most helpful” your CTAs become ”lead-gen magnets” because you’ve offered the right asset types in your content marketing strategy.
      • More qualified leads – because you defined a more accurate ideal customer profile (ICP) and your lead scoring algorithm has improved, sellers see more qualified leads.
      • Increased sales cycle velocity – since you learned from personas their content and engagement preferences and what collateral types they need during the down-funnel sales discussions, sales calls are more productive and sales cycles shrink.

      Our methodology for buyer persona and journey creation

      1. Document Team Knowledge of Buyer Persona and Drive Alignment 2. Interview Target Buyer Prospects and Customers 3. Create Outputs and Apply to Marketing, Sales, and Product
      Phase Steps
      1. Outline a vision for buyer persona and journey creation and identify stakeholders.
      2. Pull stakeholders together, identify initial buyer persona, and begin to document team knowledge about buyer persona (and journey where possible).
      3. Validate with industry and marketing analyst’s initial buyer persona, and identify list of buyer interviewees.
      1. Hold interviews and document and share findings.
      2. Validate initial drafts of buyer persona and create initial documented buyer journey. Review findings among key stakeholders, steering committee, and supporting analysts.
      3. Complete remaining interviews.
      1. Summarize findings.
      2. Convene steering committee/exec. and working team for final review.
      3. Communicate to key stakeholders in product, marketing, sales, and customer success for activation.
      Phase Outcomes
      1. Steering committee and team selection
      2. Team insights about buyer persona documented
      3. Buyer persona validation with industry and marketing analysts
      4. Sales, marketing, and product alignment
      1. Interview guide
      2. Target interviewee list
      3. Buyer-validated buyer persona
      4. Buyer journey documented with asset types, channels, and “how buyers buy” fully documented
      1. Education deck on buyer persona and journey ready for use with all stakeholders: product, field marketing, sales, executives, customer success, partners
      2. Activation will update product-market fit, optimize lead gen, and improve sales effectiveness

      Our approach provides interview guides and templates to help rebuild buyer persona

      Our methodology will enable you to align your team on why it’s important to capture the most important attributes of buyer persona including:

      • Functional – helps you find and locate your target personas
      • Emotive – deepens team understanding of buyer initiatives, motivations for seeking alternatives, challenges they face, pain points for your offerings to address, and terminology that describes the “space”
      • Solution – enables greater product market fit
      • Behavioral – clarifies how to communicate with personas and understand their content preferences
      Functional – “to find them”
      Job Role Title Org. Chart Dynamics Buying Center Firmographics
      Emotive – “what they do and jobs to be done”
      Initiatives: What programs/projects the persona is tasked with and their feelings and aspirations about these initiatives. Motivations? Build credibility? Get promoted? Challenges: Identify the business issues, problems, and pain points that impede attainment of objectives. What are their fears, uncertainties, and doubts about these challenges? Buyer Need: They may have multiple needs; which need is most likely met with the offering? Terminology: What are the keywords/phrases they organically use to discuss the buyer need or business issue?
      Decision Criteria – “how they decide”
      Buyer Role: List decision-making criteria and power level. The five common buyer roles are champion, influencer, decision maker, user, and ratifier (purchaser/negotiator). Evaluation and Decision Criteria: Which lens – strategic, financial, or operational – does the persona evaluate the impact of purchase through?
      Solution Attributes – “what does the ideal solution look like”
      Steps in “Jobs to Be Done” Elements of the “Ideal Solution” Business outcomes from ideal solution Opportunity scope; other potential users Acceptable price for value delivered Alternatives that see consideration Solution sourcing: channel, where to buy
      Behavioral Attributes – “how to approach them successfully”
      Content Preferences: List the persona’s content preferences – blog, infographic, demo, video – vs. long-form assets (e.g. white paper, presentation, analyst report). Interaction Preferences: Which are preferred among in-person meetings, phone calls, emails, videoconferencing, conducting research via Web, mobile, and social? Watering Holes: Which physical or virtual places do they go to network or exchange info with peers (e.g. LinkedIn)?

      Buyer journeys are constantly shifting

      If you didn’t remap buyer journeys in 2021, you may be losing to competitors that did. Leaders remap buyer journey frequently.

      • The multi-channel buyer journey is constantly changing. Today’s B2B buyer uses industry research sites, vendor content marketing assets, software reviews sites, contacts with vendor salespeople, events participation, peer networking, consultants, emails, social media sites, and electronic media to research purchasing decisions.
      • COVID-19 has dramatically decreased face-to-face interaction. We estimate a B2B buyer spent 20-25% more time online in 2021 than pre-COVID-19 researching software buying decisions. This has diminished the importance of face-to-face selling and given dramatic rise to digital selling and outbound marketing.
      • Content marketing has exploded, but without mapping the buyer journey and knowing where – by channel –and when – by buyer journey step – to offer content marketing assets, we will fail to convert prospects into buyers.

      “~2/3 of [B2B] buyers prefer remote human interactions or digital self-service.” And during Aug. ‘20 to Feb. ‘21, use of digital self-service to interact with sales reps leapt by more than 10% for both researching and evaluating new suppliers.”
      – Liz Harrison, Dennis Spillecke, Jennifer Stanley, and Jenny Tsai McKinsey & Company, 2021

      SoftwareReviews Advisory Insight:
      Marketers are advised to update their buyer journey annually and with greater frequency when the human vs. digital mix is affected due to events such as COVID-19 and as emerging media such as AR shifts asset-type usage and engagement options.

      Our approach helps you define the buyer journey

      Because marketing leaders need to reach buyers through the right channel with the right message at the right time during their decision cycle, you’ll benefit by using questionnaires that enable you to build the below easily and quickly.

      You’ll be more successful by following our overall guidance

      Overarching insight

      Buyer personas and buyer journeys are essential ingredients in go-to-market success, as they inform for product, marketing, sales, and customer success who we are targeting and how to engage with them successfully.

      Align Your Team

      Marketers developing buyer personas and journeys that lack agreement among Marketing, Sales, and Product of personas to target will squander precious time and resources throughout the customer targeting and acquisition process.

      Jump-Start Persona Development

      Marketing leaders leverage the buyer persona knowledge not only from in-house experts in areas such as sales and executives but from analysts that speak with their buyers each and every day.

      Buyer Interviews Are a Must

      While leaders will get a fast start by interviewing sellers, executives, and analysts, you will fail to craft the right messages, build the right marketing assets, and design the best buyer journey if you skip buyer interviews.

      Watch for Disruption

      Leaders will update their buyer journey annually and with greater frequency when the human vs. digital mix is effected due to events such as COVID-19 and as emerging media such as AR and VR shifts the way buyers engage.

      Advanced Buyer Journey Discovery

      Digital marketers that ramp up lead gen engine capabilities to capture “wins” and measure engagement back through the lead gen and nurturing engines will build a more data-driven view of the buyer journey. Target to build this advanced capability in your initial design.

      Tools and templates to speed your success

      This blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you gather team insights, interview customers and prospects, and summarize results for ease in communications.

      To support your buyer persona and journey creation, we’ve created the enclosed tools

      Buyer Persona Creation Template

      A PowerPoint template to aid the capture and summarizing of your team’s insights on the buyer persona.

      Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      For interviewing customers and prospects, this tool is designed to help you interview personas and summarize results for up to 15 interviewees.

      Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      A PowerPoint template into which you can drop your buyer persona and journey interviewees list and summary findings.

      SoftwareReviews offers two levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      The "do-it-yourself" step-by-step instructions begin with Phase 1.

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

      A Guided Implementation is a series of analysts inquiries with you and your team.

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout each option.

      Guided Implementation

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is series of calls with a SoftwareReviews Advisory analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      For guidance on marketing applications, we can arrange a discussion with an Info-Tech analyst.

      Your engagement managers will work with you to schedule analyst calls.

      What does our GI on buyer persona and journey mapping look like?

      Drive an Aligned Initial Draft of Buyer Persona

      • Call #1: Collaborate on vision for buyer persona and the buyer journey. Review templates and sample outputs. Identify your team.
      • Call #2: Review work in progress on capturing working team knowledge of buyer persona elements.
      • Call #3: (Optional) Review Info-Tech’s research-sourced persona insights.
      • Call #4: Validate the persona WIP with Info-Tech analysts. Review buyer interview approach and target list.

      Interview Buyers and Validate Persona and Journey

      • Call #5: Revise/review interview guide and final interviewee list; schedule interviews.
      • Call #6: Review interim interview finds; adjust interview guide.
      • Call #7: Use interview findings to validate/update persona and build journey map.
      • Call #8: Add supporting analysts to final stakeholder review.

      Prepare Communications and Educate Stakeholders

      • Call #9: Review output templates completed with final persona and journey findings.
      • Call #10: Add supporting analysts to stakeholder education meetings for support and help with addressing questions/issues.

      Workshop overview

      Contact your account representative for more information. workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
      Align Team, Identify Persona, and Document Current Knowledge Validate Initial Work and Identify Buyer Interviewees Schedule and Hold Buyer interviews Summarize Findings and Provide Actionable Guidance to Colleagues Measure Impact and Results
      Activities

      1.1 Outline a vision for buyer persona and journey creation and identify stakeholders.

      1.2 Identify buyer persona choices and settle on an initial target.

      1.3 Document team knowledge about buyer persona (and journey where possible).

      2.1 Share initial insights with covering industry analyst.

      2.2 Hear from industry analyst their perspectives on the buyer persona attributes.

      2.3 Reconcile differences; update “current understanding.”

      2.4 Identify interviewee types by segment, region, etc.

      3.1 Identify actual list of 15-20 interviewees.

      A gap of up to a week for scheduling of interviews.

      3.2 Hold interviews and use interview guides (over the course of weeks).

      3.3 Hold review session after initial 3-4 interviews to make adjustments.

      3.4 Complete interviews.

      4.1 Summarize findings.

      4.2 Create action items for supporting team, e.g. messaging, touch points, media spend, assets.

      4.3 Convene steering committee/exec. and working team for final review.

      4.4 Schedule meetings with colleagues to action results.

      5.1 Review final copy, assets, launch/campaign plans, etc.

      5.2 Develop/review implementation plan.

      A period of weeks will likely intervene to execute and gather results.

      5.3 Reconvene team to review results.

      Deliverables
      1. Documented steering committee and working team
      2. Executive Brief on personas and journey
      3. Personas and initial targets
      4. Documented team knowledge
      1. Analyst-validated initial findings
      2. Target interviewee types
      1. List of interviewees; calls scheduled
      2. Initial review – “are we going in the right direction?”
      3. Completed interviews
      1. Complete findings
      2. Action items for team members
      3. Plan for activation
      1. Activation review
      2. List of suggested next steps

      Phase 1
      Drive an Aligned Initial Draft of Buyer Persona

      This Phase walks you through the following activities:

      • Develop an understanding of what comprises a buyer persona and journey, including their importance to overall go-to-market strategy and execution.
      • Sample outputs.

      This Phase involves the following stakeholders:

      • Program leadership
      • Product Marketing
      • Product Management
      • Representative(s) from Sales
      • Executive Leadership

      1.1 Establish the team and align on shared vision

      Input

      • Typically a joint recognition that buyer personas have not been fully documented.
      • Identify working team members/participants (see below), and an executive sponsor.

      Output

      • Communication of team members involved and the make-up of steering committee and working team
      • Alignment of team members on a shared vision of “Why Build Buyer Personas and Journey” and what key attributes define both.

      Materials

      • N/A

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • CMO/Sponsoring Executive Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales
      • SoftwareReviews marketing analyst

      60 minutes

      1. Schedule inquiry with working team members and walk the team through the Buyer Persona and Journey Executive Brief PowerPoint presentation.
      2. Optional: Have the (SoftwareReviews Advisory) SRA analyst walk the team through the Buyer Persona and Journey Executive Brief PowerPoint presentation as part of your session.

      Review the Create a Buyer Persona Executive Brief (Slides 3-14)

      1.2 Document team knowledge of buyer persona

      Input

      • Working team member knowledge

      Output

      • Initial draft of your buyer persona

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona Creation Template

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • CMO/Sponsoring Executive (optional)
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales

      2-3 sessions of 60 minutes each

      1. Schedule meeting with working team members and, using the Buyer Persona Template, lead the team in a discussion that documents current team knowledge of the target buyer persona.
      2. Lead the team to prioritize an initial, single, most important persona and to collaborate to complete the template (and later, the buyer journey). Once the team learns the process for working on the initial persona, the development of additional personas will become more efficient.
      3. Place the PowerPoint template in a shared drive for team collaboration. Expect to schedule several 60-minute meets. Quicken collaboration by encouraging team to “do their homework” by sharing persona knowledge within the shared drive version of the template. Your goal is to get to an initial agreed upon version that can be shared for additional validation with industry analyst(s) in the next step.

      Download the Buyer Persona Creation Template

      1.3 Validate with industry analysts

      Input

      • Identify gaps in persona from previous steps

      Output

      • Further validated buyer persona

      Materials

      • Bring your Buyer Persona Creation Template to the meeting to share with analysts

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • CMO/Sponsoring Executive (Optional)
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales
      • Info-Tech analyst covering your product category and SoftwareReviews marketing analyst

      30 minutes

      1. Schedule meeting with working team members and discuss which persona areas require further validation from an Info-Tech analyst who has worked closely with those buyers within your persona.

      60 minutes

      1. Schedule an inquiry with the appropriate Info-Tech analyst and SoftwareReviews Advisory analyst to share current findings and see:
        1. Info-Tech analyst provide content feedback given what they know about your target persona and product category.
        2. SoftwareReviews Advisory analyst provide feedback on persona approach and to coach any gaps or important omissions.
      2. Tabulate results and update your persona summary. At this point you will likely require additional validation through interviews with customers and prospects.

      1.4 Identify interviewees and prepare for interviews

      Input

      • Identify segments within which you require persona knowledge
      • Understand your persona insight gaps

      Output

      • List of interviewees

      Materials

      • Interviewee recording template on following slide
      • Interview guide questions found within the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and data Capture Tool

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales

      1-2 weeks

      1. Identify the types of customers and prospects that will best represent your target persona. Choose interviewees that when interviewed will inform key differences among key segments (geographies, company size, mix of customers and prospects, etc.).
      2. Recruit interviewees and schedule interviews for 45 minutes.
      3. Keep track of Interviewees using the slide following this one.
      4. In preparation for interviews, review the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool. Review the two sets of questions:
        1. Buyer Persona-Related – use to validate areas where you still have gaps in your persona, OR if you are starting with a blank persona and wish to build your personas entirely based on customer and prospect interviews.
        2. Buyer-Journey Related, which we will focus on in the next phase.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      The image shows a table titled ‘Interviewee List.’ A note next to the title indicates: Here you will document your interviewee list and outreach plan. A note in the Segment column indicates: Ensure you are interviewing personas across segments that will give you the insights you need, e.g. by size, by region, mix of customers and prospects. A note in the Title column reads: Vary your title types up or down in the “buying center” if you are seeking to strengthen buying center dynamics understanding. A note in the Roles column reads: Vary your role types according to decision-making roles (decision maker, influencer, ratifier, coach, user) if you are seeking to strengthen decision-making dynamics understanding.

      Phase 2
      Interview Buyers and Validate Persona and Journey

      This Phase walks you through the following activities:

      • Developing final interview guide.
      • Interviewing buyers and customers.
      • Adjusting approach.
      • Validating buyer persona.
      • Crafting buyer journey
      • Gaining analyst feedback.

      This Phase involves the following stakeholders:

      • Program leadership
      • Product Marketing
      • Representative(s) from Sales

      2.1 Hold interviews

      Input

      • List of interviewees
      • Final list of questions

      Output

      • Buyer perspectives on their personas and buyer journeys

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and data Capture Tool

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales

      1-2 weeks

      1. Hold interviews and adjust your interviewing approach as you go along. Uncover where you are not getting the right answers, check with working team and analysts, and adjust.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      2.2 Use interview findings to validate what’s needed for activation

      Input

      • List of interviewees
      • Final list of questions

      Output

      • Buyer perspectives on their personas and buyer journeys
      • Stakeholder feedback that actionable insights are resulting from interviews

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona Creation Template
      • Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales
      • SoftwareReviews marketing analyst

      2 hours

      1. Convene your team, with marketing analysts, and test early findings: It’s wise to test initial interview results to check that you are getting the right insights to understand and validate key challenges, pain points, needs, and other vital areas pertaining to the buyer persona. Are the answers you are getting enabling you to complete the Summary slides for later communications and training for Sales?
      2. Check when doing buyer journey interviews that you are getting actionable answers that drive messaging, what asset types are needed, what the marketing channel mix is, and other vital insights to activate the results. Are the answers you are getting adequate to give guidance to campaigners, content marketers, and sales enablement?
      3. See the following slides for detailed questions that need to be answered satisfactorily by your team members that need to “activate” the results.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      2.2.1 Are you getting what you need from interviews to inform the buyer persona?

      Test that you are on the right track:

      1. Are you getting the functional answers so you can guide sellers to the right roles? Can you guide marketers/campaigners to the right “Ideal Customer Profile” for lead scoring?
      2. Are you capturing the right emotive areas that will support message crafting? Solutioning? SEM/SEO?
      3. Are you capturing insights into “how they decide” so sellers are well informed on the decision-making dynamics?
      4. Are you getting a strong understanding of content, interaction preferences, and news and information sources so sellers can outreach more effectively, you can pinpoint media spend, and content marketing can create the right assets?
      Functional – “to find them”
      Job Role Title Org. Chart Dynamics Buying Center Firmographics
      Emotive – “what they do and jobs to be done”
      Initiatives: What programs/projects the persona is tasked with and their feelings and aspirations about these initiatives. Motivations? Build credibility? Get promoted? Challenges: Identify the business issues, problems, and pain points that impede attainment of objectives. What are their fears, uncertainties, and doubts about these challenges? Buyer Need: They may have multiple needs; which need is most likely met with the offering? Terminology: What are the keywords/phrases they organically use to discuss the buyer need or business issue?
      Decision Criteria – “how they decide”
      Buyer Role: List decision-making criteria and power level. The five common buyer roles are champion, influencer, decision maker, user, and ratifier (purchaser/negotiator). Evaluation and Decision Criteria: Which lens – strategic, financial, or operational – does the persona evaluate the impact of purchase through?
      Solution Attributes – “what does the ideal solution look like”
      Steps in “Jobs to Be Done” Elements of the “Ideal Solution” Business outcomes from ideal solution Opportunity scope; other potential users Acceptable price for value delivered Alternatives that see consideration Solution sourcing: channel, where to buy
      Behavioral Attributes – “how to approach them successfully”
      Content Preferences: List the persona’s content preferences – blog, infographic, demo, video – vs. long-form assets (e.g. white paper, presentation, analyst report). Interaction Preferences: Which are preferred among in-person meetings, phone calls, emails, videoconferencing, conducting research via Web, mobile, and social? Watering Holes: Which physical or virtual places do they go to network or exchange info with peers (e.g. LinkedIn)?

      2.2.2 Are you getting what you need from interviews to support the buyer journey?

      Our approach helps you define the buyer journey

      Because marketing leaders need to reach buyers through the right channel with the right message at the right time during their decision cycle, you’ll benefit by using questionnaires that enable you to build the below easily and quickly.

      2.3 Continue interviews

      Input

      • Final adjustments to list of interview questions

      Output

      • Final buyer perspectives on their personas and buyer journeys

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona Creation Template
      • Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and data Capture Tool

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales

      1-2 weeks

      1. Continue customer and prospect interviews.
      2. Ensure you are gaining the segment perspectives needed.
      3. Complete the “Summary” columns within the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      Phase 3
      Prepare Communications and Educate Stakeholders

      This Phase walks you through the following activities:

      • Creating outputs for key stakeholders
      • Communicating final findings and supporting marketing, sales, and product activation.

      This Phase involves the following stakeholders:

      • Program leadership
      • Product Marketing
      • Product Management
      • Sales
      • Field Marketing/Campaign Management
      • Executive Leadership

      3.1 Summarize interview results and convene full working team and steering committee for final review

      Input

      • Buyer persona and journey interviews detail

      Output

      • Buyer perspectives on their personas and buyer journeys

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool
      • Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • CMO/Sponsoring Executive (Optional)
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales
      • SoftwareReviews marketing analyst

      1-2 hours

      1. Summarize interview results within the Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Interview Guide and Data Capture Tool

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      3.2 Convene executive steering committee and working team to review results

      Input

      • Buyer persona and journey interviews summary

      Output

      • Buyer perspectives on their personas and buyer journeys

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales

      1-2 hours

      1. Present final persona and journey results to the steering committee/executives and to working group using the summary slides interview results within the Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template to finalize results.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      3.3 Convene stakeholder meetings to activate results

      Input

      • Buyer persona and journey interviews summary

      Output

      Activation of key learnings to drive:

      • Better product –market fit
      • Lead gen
      • Sales effectiveness
      • Awareness

      Materials

      • Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      Participants

      • Initiative Manager – individual leading the buyer persona and journey initiative
      • Working Team – typically representatives in Product Marketing, Product Management, and Sales
      • Stakeholder team members (see left)

      4-5 hours

      Present final persona and journey results to each stakeholder team. Key presentations include:

      1. Product team to validate product market fit.
      2. Content marketing to provide messaging direction for the creation of awareness and lead gen assets.
      3. Campaigners/Field Marketing for campaign-related messaging and to identify asset types required to be designed and delivered to support the buyer journey.
      4. Social media strategists for social post copy, and PR for other awareness-building copy.
      5. Sales enablement/training to enable updating of sales collateral, proposals, and sales training materials. Sellers to help with their targeting, prospecting, and crafting of outbound messaging and talk tracks.

      Download the Buyer Persona and Journey Summary Template

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Problem Solved

      With the help of this blueprint, you have deepened your and your colleagues’ buyer understanding at both the persona “who they are” level and the buyer journey “how do they buy” level. You are among the minority of marketing leaders that have fully documented a buyer persona and journey – congratulations!

      The benefits of having led your team through the process are significant and include the following:

      • Better alignment of customer/buyer-facing teams such as in product, marketing, sales, and customer success.
      • Messaging that can be used by marketing, sales, and social teams that will resonate with buyer initiatives, pain points, sought-after “pain relief,” and value.
      • Places in the digital and physical universe where your prospects “hang out” so you can optimize your media spend.
      • More effective use of marketing assets and sales collateral that align with the way your prospect needs to consume information throughout their buyer journey to make a decision in your solution area.

      And by capturing and documenting your buyer persona and journey even for a single buyer type, you have started to build the “institutional strength” to apply the process to other roles in the decision-making process or for when you go after new and different buyer types for new products. And finally, by bringing your team along with you in this process, you have also led your team in becoming a more customer-focused organization – a strategic shift that all organizations should pursue.

      If you would like additional support, contact us and we’ll make sure you get the professional expertise you need.

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      info@softwarereviews.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Related Software Reviews Research

      Optimize Lead Generation With Lead Scoring

      • Save time and money and improve your sales win rates when you apply our methodology to score contacts with your lead gen engine more accurately and pass better qualified leads over to your sellers.
      • Our methodology teaches marketers to develop your own lead scoring approach based upon lead/contact profile vs. your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and scores contact engagement. Applying the methodology to arrive at your own approach to scoring will mean reduced lead gen costs, higher conversion rates, and increased marketing-influenced wins.

      Bibliography

      Bilardi, Emma. “How to Create Buyer Personas.” Product Marketing Alliance, July 2020. Accessed Dec. 2021.

      Harrison, Liz, Dennis Spillecke, Jennifer Stanley, and Jenny Tsai. “Omnichannel in B2B sales: The new normal in a year that has been anything but.” McKinsey & Company, 15 March 2021. Accessed Dec. 2021.

      Jansen, Hasse. “Buyer Personas – 33 Mind Blowing Stats.” Boardview.io!, 19 Feb. 2016. Accessed Jan. 2022.

      Raynor, Lilah. “Understanding The Changing B2B Buyer Journey.” Forbes Agency Council, 18 July 2021. Accessed Dec. 2021.

      Simpson, Jon. “Finding Your Audience: The Importance of Developing a Buyer Persona.” Forbes Agency Council, 16 May 2017. Accessed Dec. 2021.

      “Successfully Executing Personalized Marketing Campaigns at Scale.” Plexure, 6 Jan. 2020. Accessed Dec 2020.

      Ulwick, Anthony W. JOBS TO BE DONE: Theory to Practice. E-book, Strategyn, 1 Jan. 2017. Accessed Jan. 2022.

      Transform Your Field Technical Support Services

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      • Parent Category Name: Strategy and Organizational Design
      • Parent Category Link: /strategy-and-organizational-design
      • Redefine the role of deskside or field technicians as demand for service evolves and service teams are restructured.
      • Redefine the role of onsite technicians when the help desk is outsourced.
      • Define requirements when supplementing with outsourced field services teams.
      • Identify barriers to streamlining processes.
      • Look for opportunities to streamline processes and better use technical teams.
      • Communicate and manage change to support roles.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Service needs to be defined in a way that considers the organizational need for local, hands-on technicians, the need for customer service, and the need to make the best use of resources that you have.
      • Service level agreements will need to be refined and metrics will need to be analyzed for capacity and skilled planning.
      • Organizational change management will be key to persuade users to engage with the technical team in a way that supports the new structure.

      Impact and Result

      • Many IT teams are struggling to keep up with demand while trying to refocus on customer service. With more remote workers than ever, organizations who have traditionally provided desktop and field services have been revaluating the role of the field service technicians. Add in the price of fuel, and there is even more reason to assess the support model.
      • Often changes to the way IT does support, especially if moving centralized support to an outsourcer, is met with resistance by end users who don’t see the value of phoning someone else when their local technician is still available to problem solve. This speaks to the need to ensure the central group is providing value to end users as well as the technical team.
      • With the challenges of finding the right number of technicians with the right skills, it’s time to rethink remote support and how that can be used to train and upskill the people you have. And it’s time to think about how to use field services tools to make the best use of your technician’s time.

      Transform Your Field Technical Support Services Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Transform Field Services Guide – A brief deck that outlines key migration steps to improve our remote client support services.

      This blueprint will help you:

      • Transform Your Field Technical Services Storyboard

      2. Transform Field Services Template – A template to create a transformation proposal.

      This template will help you to build your proposal to transform your field services.

      • Proposal to Transform Field Technical Services Template
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Transform Your Field Technical Support Services

      Improve service and reduce costs through digital transformation.

      Analyst Perspective

      Improve staffing challenges through digital transformation.

      Many IT teams are struggling to keep up with demand while trying to refocus on customer service. With more remote workers than ever, organizations who have traditionally provided desktop and field services have been revaluating the role of the field service technicians. Add in the price of fuel, and there is even more reason to assess the support model. Often changes to the way IT does support, especially if moving centralized support to an outsourcer, is met with resistance by end users who don’t see the value of phoning someone else when their local technician is still available to problem solve. This speaks to the need to ensure the central group is providing value to end users as well as the technical team. With the challenges of finding the right number of technicians with the right skills, it’s time to rethink remote support and how that can be used to train and upskill the people you have. And it’s time to think about how to use field services tools to make the best use of your technician’s time.

      The image contains a picture of Sandi Conrad.

      Sandi Conrad

      Principal Research Director

      Infrastructure & Operations Practice

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      With remote work becoming a normal employee offering for many organizations, self-serve/self-solve becoming more prominent, and a common call out to improve customer service, there is a need to re-examine the way many organizations are supplying onsite support. For organizations with a small number of offices, a central desk with remote tools may be enough or can be combined with a concierge service or technical center, but for organizations with multiple offices it becomes difficult to provide a consistent level of service for all customers unless there is a team onsite for each location. This may not be financially possible if there isn’t enough work to keep a technical team busy full-time.

      Common Obstacles

      Where people have a choice between calling a central phone number or talking to the technician down the hall, the in-person experience often wins out. End users may resist changes to in-person support as work is rerouted to a centralized group by choosing to wait for their favorite technician to show up onsite rather than reporting issues centrally. This can make the job of the onsite technician more challenging as they need to schedule time in every visit for unplanned work. And where technicians need to support multiple locations, travel needs to be calculated into lost technician time and costs.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      • Service needs to be defined in a way that considers the organizational need for local, hands-on technicians, the need for customer service, and the need to make the best use of resources that you have.
      • Service-level agreements will need to be refined and metrics will need to be analyzed for capacity and skilled planning.
      • Organizational change management will be key to persuade users to engage with the technical team in a way that supports the new structure.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Improving process will be helpful for smaller teams, but as teams expand or work gets more complicated, investment in appropriate tools to support field services technicians will enable them to be more efficient, reduce costs, and improve outcomes when visits are warranted.

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations who are looking to:

      • Redefine the role of deskside or field technicians as demand for service evolves and service teams are restructured.
      • Redefine the role of onsite technicians when the help desk is outsourced.
      • Define requirements when supplementing with outsourced field services teams.
      • Identify barriers to streamlining processes.
      • Look for opportunities to streamline processes and better use technical teams.
      • Communicate and manage change to support roles.

      With many companies having new work arrangements for users, where remote work may be a permanent offering or if your digital transformation is well underway, this provides an opportunity to rethink how field support needs to be done.

      What is field services?

      Field services is in-person support delivered onsite at one or more locations. Management of field service technicians may include queue management, scheduling service and maintenance requests, triaging incidents, dispatching technicians, ordering parts, tracking job status, and billing.

      The image contains a diagram to demonstrate what may be supported by field services and what should be supported by field services.

      What challenges are you trying to solve within your field services offering?

      Focus on the reasons for the change to ensure the outcome can be met. Common goals include improved customer service, better technician utilization, and increased response time and stability.

      • Discuss specific challenges the team feels are contributing to less-than-ideal customer service.
      • Does the team have the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to be successful? Technicians may be solving issues with the customer looking over their shoulder. Having quick access to knowledge articles or to subject matter experts who can provide deeper expertise remotely may be the difference between a single visit to resolve or multiple or extended visits.
      • What percentage of tickets would benefit from triage and troubleshooting done remotely before sending a technician onsite? Where there are a high number of no-fault-found visits, this may be imperative to improving technician availability.
      • Review method for distribution of tickets, including batching criteria and dispatching of technicians. Are tickets being dispatched efficiently? By location and/or priority? Is there an attempt to solve more tickets centrally? Should there be? What SLA adjustment is reasonable for onsite visits?
      • Has the support value been defined?
      The image contains a graph to demonstrate Case Casuals in Field Services, where the highest at 55% is break/fix.

      Field services will see the biggest improvements through technology updates

      Customer Intake

      Provide tools for scheduling technicians, self-serve and self- or assisted-solve through ITSM or CRM-based portal and visual remote tools.

      		 The image contains a picture to demonstrate the different field services.

      Triage and Troubleshoot

      Upgrade remote tools to visual remote solutions to troubleshoot equipment as well as software. Eliminate no-fault-found visits and improve first-time fix rate by visually inspecting equipment before technician deployments.

      Improve Communications

      FSM GPS and SMS updates can be set to notify customers when a technician is close by and can be used for customer sign-off to immediately update service records and launch survey or customer billing where applicable.

      Schedule Technicians

      Field service management (FSM) ITSM modules will allow skills-based scheduling for remote technicians and determine best route for multi-site visits.

      Enable Work From Anywhere

      FSM mobile applications can provide technicians with daily schedules, turn-by-turn directions, access to inventory, knowledge articles, maintenance, and warranty and asset records. Visual remote captures service records and enables access to SMEs.

      Manage Expectations

      Know where technicians are for routing to emergency calls and managing workload using field service management solutions with GPS.

      Digital transformation can dramatically improve customer and technician experience

      The image contains an arrown that dips and rises dramatically to demonstrate how digital transformation can dramatically increase customer and technician experience.
      Sources: 1 - TechSee, 2019; 2 - Glartek; 3 - Geoforce; 4 - TechSee, 2020

      Improve technician utilization and scheduling with field services management software

      Field services management (FSM) software is designed to improve scheduling of technicians by skills and location while reducing travel time and mileage. When integrated with ITSM software, the service record is transferred to the field technician for continuity and to prepare for the job. FSM mobile apps will enable technicians to receive schedule updates through the day and through GPS update the dispatcher as technicians move from site to site.

      FSM solutions are designed to manage large teams of technicians, providing automated dispatch recommendations based on skills matching and proximity.

      Routes can be mapped to reduce travel time and mileage and adjusted to respond to emergency requests by technician skills or proximity. Automation will provide suggestions for work allocation.

      Spare parts management may be part of a field services solution, enabling technicians to easily identify parts needed and update real-time inventory as parts are deployed.

      Push notifications in real-time streamline communications from the field to the office, and enable technicians to close service records while in the field.

      Dispatchers can easily view availability, assign work orders, attach notes to work orders, and immediately receive updates if technicians acknowledge or reject a job.

      Maintenance work can be built into online checklists and forms to provide a technician with step-by-step instructions and to ensure a complete review.

      Skills and location-based routing allow dispatchers to be able to see closest tech for emergency deployments.

      Improve time to resolve while cutting costs by using visual remote support tools

      Visual remote support tools enable live video sessions to clearly see what the client or field service technician sees, enabling the experts to provide real-time assistance where the experts will provide guidance to the onsite person. Getting a view of the technology will reduce issues with getting the right parts, tools, and technicians onsite and dramatically reduce second visits.

      Visual remote tools can provide secure connections through any smartphone, with no need for the client to install an application.

      The technicians can take control of the camera to zoom in, turn on the flashlight for extra lighting, take photos, and save video directly to the tickets.

      Optical character recognition allows automatic text capture to streamline process to check warranty, recalls, and asset history.

      Visual, interactive workflows enhance break/fix and inspections, providing step-by-step guidance visual evidence and using AI and augmented reality to assess the images, and can provide next steps by connecting to a visual knowledgebase.

      Integration with field service management tools will allow information to easily be captured and uploaded immediately into the service record.

      Self-serve is available through many of these tools, providing step-by-step instructions using visual cues. These solutions are designed to work in low-bandwidth environments, using Wi-Fi or cellular service, and sessions can be started with a simple link sent through SMS.

      Human Resources Management

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      • Parent Category Name: people and Resources
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      • byline: Build a strategic IT workforce.
      Talent is the differentiator; availability is not.

      Cost and Budget Management

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      • Parent Category Name: Financial Management
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      • byline: Effective IT budgets tell a story.

      The challenge

      • IT is seen as a cost center in most organizations. Your IT spend is fuelled by negative sentiment instead of contributing to business value.

      • Budgetary approval is difficult, and in many cases, the starting point is lowering the cost-income ratio without looking at the benefits.
      • Provide the right amount of detail in your budgets to tell your investment and spending story. Align it with the business story. Too much detail only increases confusion, too little suspicion.

      Our advice

      Insight

      An effective IT budget complements the business story with how you will achieve the expected business targets.

      • Partner with the business to understand the strategic direction of the company and its future needs.
      • Know your costs and the value you will deliver.
      • Present your numbers and story clearly and credibly. Excellent delivery is part of good communication.
      • Guide your company by clearly explaining the implications of different choices they can make.

      Impact and results 

      • Get a head-start on your IT forecasting exercise by knowing the business strategy and what initiatives they will launch.
      • The coffee corner works! Pre-sell your ideas in quick chats.
      • Do not make innovation budgets bigger than they need to be. It undermines your credibility.
      • You must know your history to accurately forecast your IT operations cost and how it will evolve based on expected business changes.
      • Anticipate questions. IT discretionary proposals are often challenged. Think ahead of time about what areas your business partners will focus on and be ready with researched and credible responses.
      • When you have an optimized budget, tie further cost reductions to consequences in service delivery or deferred projects, or a changed operating model.

      The roadmap

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      Get started

      Our concise executive brief shows you why you should develop a budget based on value delivery. We'll show you our methodology and the ways we can help you in completing this.

      Plan for budget success

      • Build an IT Budget That Demonstrates Value Delivery – Phase 1: Plan (ppt)
      • IT Budget Interview Guide (doc)

      Build your budget.

      • Build an IT Budget That Demonstrates Value Delivery – Phase 2: Build (ppt)
      • IT Cost Forecasting Tool (xls)

      Sell your budget

      • Build an IT Budget That Demonstrates Value Delivery – Phase 3: Sell (ppt)
      • IT Budget Presentation (ppt)

       

      AI Trends 2023

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      As AI technologies are constantly evolving, organizations are looking for AI trends and research developments to understand the future applications of AI in their industries.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Understanding trends and the focus of current and future AI research helps to define how AI will drive an organization’s new strategic opportunities.
      • Understanding the potential application of AI and its promise can help plan the future investments in AI-powered technologies and systems.

      Impact and Result

      Understanding AI trends and developments enables an organization’s competitive advantage.

      AI Trends 2023 Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. AI Trends 2023 – An overview of trends that will continue to drive AI innovation.

      • AI Trends Report 2023
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      AI Trends Report 2023

      The eight trends:

      1. Design for AI
      2. Event-Based Insights
      3. Synthetic Data
      4. Edge AI
      5. AI in Science and Engineering
      6. AI Reasoning
      7. Digital Twin
      8. Combinatorial Optimization
      Challenges that slowed the adoption of AI

      To overcome the challenges, enterprises adopted different strategies

      Data Readiness

      • Lack of unified systems and unified data
      • Data quality issues
      • Lack of the right data required for machine learning
      • Improve data management capabilities, including data governance and data initiatives
      • Create data catalogs
      • Document data and information architecture
      • Solve data-related problems including data quality, privacy, and ethics

      ML Operations Capabilities

      • Lack of tools, technologies, and methodologies to operationalize models created by data scientists
      • Increase availability of cloud platforms, tools, and capabilities
      • Develop and grow machine learning operations (MLOps) tools, platforms, and methodologies to enable model operationalizing and monitoring in production

      Understanding of AI Role and Its Business Value

      • Lack of understanding of AI use cases – how AI/ML can be applied to solve specific business problems
      • Lack of understanding how to define the business value of AI investments
      • Identify AI C-suite toolkits (for example, Empowering AI Leadership from the World Economic Forum, 2022)
      • Document industry use cases
      • Use frameworks and tools to define business value for AI investments

      Design for AI

      Sustainable AI system design needs to consider several aspects: the business application of the system, data, software and hardware, governance, privacy, and security.

      It is important to define from the beginning how AI will be used by and for the application to clearly articulate business value, manage expectations, and set goals for the implementation.

      Design for AI will change how we store and manage data and how we approach the use of data for development and operation of AI systems.

      An AI system design approach should cover all stages of AI lifecycle, from design to maintenance. It should also support and enable iterative development of an AI system.

      To take advantage of different tools and technologies for AI system development, deployment, and monitoring, the design of an AI system should consider software and hardware needs and design for seamless and efficient integrations of all components of the system and with other existing systems within the enterprise.

      AI in Science and Engineering

      AI helps sequence genomes to identify variants in a person’s DNA that indicate genetic disorders. It allows researchers to model and calculate complicated physics processes, to forecast the genesis of the universe’s structure, and to understand planet ecosystem to help advance the climate research. AI drives advances in drug discovery and can assist with molecule synthesis and molecular property identification.

      AI finds application in all areas of science and engineering. The role of AI in science will grow and allow scientists to innovate faster.

      AI will further contribute to scientific understanding by assisting scientists in deriving new insights, generating new ideas and connections, generalizing scientific concepts, and transferring them between areas of scientific research.

      Using synthetic data and combining physical and machine learning models and other advances of AI/ML – such as graphs, use of unstructured data (language models), and computer vision – will accelerate the use of AI in science and engineering.

      Event- and Scenario-Driven AI

      AI-driven signal-gathering systems analyze a continuous stream of data to generate insights and predictions that enable strategic decision modeling and scenario planning by providing understanding of how and what areas of business might be impacted by certain events.

      AI enables the scenario-based approach to drive insights through pattern identification in addition to familiar pattern recognition, helping to understand how events are related.

      A system with anticipatory capabilities requires an event-driven architecture that enables gathering and analyzing different types of data (text, video, images) across multiple channels (social media, transactional systems, news feeds, etc.) for event-driven and event-sequencing modeling.

      ML simulation-based training of the model using advanced techniques under the umbrella of Reinforcement Learning in conjunction with statistically robust Bayesian probabilistic framework will aid in setting up future trends in AI.

      AI Reasoning

      Most of the applications of machine learning and AI today is about predicting future behaviors based on historical data and past behaviors. We can predict what product the customer would most likely buy or the price of a house when it goes on sale.

      Most of the current algorithms use the correlation between different parameters to make a prediction, for example, the correlation between the event and the outcome can look like “When X occurs, we can predict that Y will occur.” This, however, does not translate into “Y occurred because of X.”

      The development of a causal AI that uses causal inference to reason and identify the root cause and the causal relationships between variables without mistaking correlation and causation is still in its early stages but rapidly evolving.

      Some of the algorithms that the researchers are working with are casual graph models and algorithms that are at the intersection of causal inference with decision making and reinforcement learning (Causal Artificial Intelligence Lab, 2022).

      Synthetic Data

      Synthetic data is artificially generated data that mimics the structure of real-life data. It should also have the same mathematical and statistical properties as the real-world data that it is created to replicate.

      Synthetic data is used to train machine learning models when there is not enough real data or the existing data does not meet specific needs. It allows users to remove contextual bias from data sets containing personal data, prevent privacy concerns, and ensure compliance with privacy laws and regulations.

      Another application of synthetic data is solving data-sharing challenges.

      Researchers learned that quite often synthetic data sets outperform real-world data. Recently, a team of researchers at MIT built a synthetic data set of 150,000 video clips capturing human actions and used that data set to train the model. The researchers found that “the synthetically trained models performed even better than models trained on real data for videos that have fewer background objects” (MIT News Office, 2022).

      Today, synthetic data is used in language systems, in training self-driving cars, in improving fraud detection, and in clinical research, just to name a few examples.

      Synthetic data opens the doors for innovation across all industries and applications of AI by enabling access to data for any scenario and technology and business needs.

      Digital Twins

      Digital twins (DT) are virtual replicas of physical objects, devices, people, places, processes, and systems. In Manufacturing, almost every product and manufacturing process can have a complete digital replica of itself thanks to IoT, streaming data, and cheap cloud storage.

      All this data has allowed for complex simulations of, for example, how a piece of equipment will perform over time to predict future failures before they happen, reducing costly maintenance and extending equipment lifetime.

      In addition to predictive maintenance, DT and AI technologies have enabled organizations to design and digitally test complex equipment such as aircraft engines, trains, offshore oil platforms, and wind turbines before physically manufacturing them. This helps to improve product and process quality, manufacturing efficiency, and costs. DT technology also finds applications in architecture, construction, energy, infrastructure industries, and even retail.

      Digital twins combined with the metaverse provide a collaborative and interactive environment with immersive experience and real-time physics capabilities (as an example, Siemens presented an Immersive Digital Twin of a Plant at the Collision 2022 conference).

      Future trends include enabling autonomous behavior of a DT. An advanced DT can replicate itself as it moves into several devices, hence requiring the autonomous property. Such autonomous behavior of the DT will in turn influence the growth and further advancement of AI.

      Edge AI

      A simple definition for edge AI: A combination of edge computing and artificial intelligence, it enables the deployment of AI applications in devices of the physical world, in the field, where the data is located, such as IoT devices, devices on the manufacturing floor, healthcare devices, or a self-driving car.

      Edge AI integrates AI into edge computing devices for quicker and improved data processing and smart automation.

      The main benefits of edge AI include:

      • Real-time data processing capabilities to reduce latency and enable near real-time analytics and insights.
      • Reduced cost and bandwidth requirements as there is no need to transfer data to the cloud for computing.
      • Increased data security as the data is processed locally, on the device, reducing the risk of loss of sensitive data.
      • Improved automation by training machines to perform automated tasks.

      Edge AI is already used in a variety of applications and use cases including computer vision, geospatial intelligence, object detection, drones, and health monitoring devices.

      Combinatorial Optimization

      “Combinatorial optimization is a subfield of mathematical optimization that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite set of objects” (Wikipedia, retrieved December 2022).

      Applications of combinatorial optimization include:

      • Supply chain optimization
      • Scheduling and logistics, for example, vehicle routing where the trucks are making stops for pickup and deliveries
      • Operations optimization

      Classical combinatorial optimization (CO) techniques were widely used in operations research and played a major role in earlier developments of AI.

      The introduction of deep learning algorithms in recent years allowed researchers to combine neural network and conventional optimization algorithms; for example, incorporating neural combinatorial optimization algorithms in the conventional optimization framework. Researchers confirmed that certain combinations of these frameworks and algorithms can provide significant performance improvements.

      The research in this space continues and we look forward to learning how machine learning and AI (backtracking algorithms, reinforcement learning, deep learning, graph attention networks, and others) will be used for solving challenging combinatorial and decision-making problems.

      References

      “AI Can Power Scenario Planning for Real-Time Strategic Insights.” The Wall Street Journal, CFO Journal, content by Deloitte, 7 June 2021. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Ali Fdal, Omar. “Synthetic Data: 4 Use Cases in Modern Enterprises.” DATAVERSITY, 5 May 2022. Accessed
      11 Dec. 2022.
      Andrews, Gerard. “What Is Synthetic Data?” NVIDIA, 8 June 2021. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Bareinboim, Elias. “Causal Reinforcement Learning.” Causal AI, 2020. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Bengio, Yoshua, Andrea Lodi, and Antoine Prouvost. “Machine learning for combinatorial optimization: A methodological tour d’horizon.” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 290, no. 2, 2021, pp. 405-421, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.07.063. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Benjamins, Richard. “Four design principles for developing sustainable AI applications.” Telefónica S.A., 10 Sept. 2018. Accessed on 11 Dec. 2022.
      Blades, Robin. “AI Generates Hypotheses Human Scientists Have Not Thought Of.” Scientific American, 28 October 2021. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      “Combinatorial Optimization.” Wikipedia article, Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Cronholm, Stefan, and Hannes Göbel. “Design Principles for Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence.” University of Borås, Sweden, 11 Aug. 2022. Accessed on 11 Dec. 2022
      Devaux, Elise. “Types of synthetic data and 4 real-life examples.” Statice, 29 May 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Emmental, Russell. “A Guide to Causal AI.” ITBriefcase, 30 March 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      “Empowering AI Leadership: AI C-Suite Toolkit.” World Economic Forum, 12 Jan. 2022. Accessed 11 Dec 2022.
      Falk, Dan. “How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Science.” Quanta Magazine, 11 March 2019. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Fritschle, Matthew J. “The Principles of Designing AI for Humans.” Aumcore, 17 Aug. 2018. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
      Garmendia, Andoni I., et al. Neural Combinatorial Optimization: a New Player in the Field.” IEEE, arXiv:2205.01356v1, 3 May 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Gülen, Kerem. “AI Is Revolutionizing Every Field and Science is no Exception.” Dataconomy Media GmbH, 9 Nov. 9, 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022
      Krenn, Mario, et al. “On scientific understanding with artificial intelligence.” Nature Reviews Physics, vol. 4, 11 Oct. 2022, pp. 761–769. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-022-00518-3. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems. “The real promise of synthetic data.” MIT News, 16 Oct. 2020. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Lecca, Paola. “Machine Learning for Causal Inference in Biological Networks: Perspectives of This Challenge.” Frontiers, 22 Sept. 2021. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022. Mirabella, Lucia. “Digital Twin x Metaverse: real and virtual made easy.” Siemens presentation at Collision 2022 conference, Toronto, Ontario. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022. Mitchum, Rob, and Louise Lerner. “How AI could change science.” University of Chicago News, 1 Oct. 2019. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Okeke, Franklin. “The benefits of edge AI.” TechRepublic, 22 Sept. 2022, Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Perlmutter, Nathan. “Machine Learning and Combinatorial Optimization Problems.” Crater Labs, 31 July 31, 2019. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Sampson, Ovetta. “Design Principles for a New AI World.” UX Magazine, 6 Jan. 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Sgaier, Sema K., Vincent Huang, and Grace Charles. “The Case for Causal AI.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2020. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      “Synthetic Data.” Wikipedia article, Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Take, Marius, et al. “Software Design Patterns for AI-Systems.” EMISA Workshop 2021, CEUR-WS.org, Proceedings 30. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Toews, Rob. “Synthetic Data Is About To Transform Artificial Intelligence.” Forbes, 12 June 2022. Accessed
      11 Dec. 2022.
      Zewe, Adam. “In machine learning, synthetic data can offer real performance improvements.” MIT News Office, 3 Nov. 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
      Zhang, Junzhe, and Elias Bareinboim. “Can Humans Be out of the Loop?” Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, Columbia University, NY, June 2022. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.

      Contributors

      Irina Sedenko Anu Ganesh Amir Feizpour David Glazer Delina Ivanova

      Irina Sedenko

      Advisory Director

      Info-Tech

      Anu Ganesh

      Technical Counselor

      Info-Tech

      Amir Feizpour

      Co-Founder & CEO

      Aggregate Intellect Inc.

      David Glazer

      VP of Analytics

      Kroll

      Delina Ivanova

      Associate Director, Data & Analytics

      HelloFresh

      Usman Lakhani

      DevOps

      WeCloudData

      Modernize the Network

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      • Parent Category Name: Network Management
      • Parent Category Link: /network-management
      • Business units, functions, and processes are inextricably intertwined with less and less tolerance for downtime.
      • Business demands change rapidly but the refresh horizon for infrastructure remains 5-7 years.
      • The number of endpoint devices the network is expected to support is growing geometrically but historic capacity planning grew linearly.
      • The business is unable to clearly define requirements, paralyzing planning.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Build for your needs. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming what works for your neighbor, your peer, or your competitor will work for you.
      • Deliver on what your business knows it needs as well as what it doesn’t yet know it needs. Business leaders have business vision, but this vision won’t directly demand the required network capabilities to enable the business. This is where you come in.
      • Modern technologies are hampered by vintage processes. New technologies demand new ways of accomplishing old tasks.

      Impact and Result

      • Use a systematic approach to document all stakeholder needs and rely on the network technical staff to translate those needs into design constraints, use cases, features, and management practices.
      • Spend only on those emerging technologies that deliver features offering direct benefits to specific business goals and IT needs.
      • Solidify the business case for your network modernization project by demonstrating and quantifying the hard dollar value it provides to the business.

      Modernize the Network Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should modernize the enterprise network, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Assess the network

      Identify and prioritize stakeholder and IT/networking concerns.

      • Modernize the Network – Phase 1: Assess the Network
      • Network Modernization Workbook

      2. Envision the network of the future

      Learn about emerging technologies and identify essential features of a modernized network solution.

      • Modernize the Network – Phase 2: Envision Your Future Network
      • Network Modernization Technology Assessment Tool

      3. Communicate and execute the plan

      Compose a presentation for stakeholders and prepare the RFP for vendors.

      • Modernize the Network – Phase 3: Communicate and Execute the Plan
      • Network Modernization Roadmap
      • Network Modernization Executive Presentation Template
      • Network Modernization RFP Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Modernize the Network

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Assess the Network

      The Purpose

      Understand current stakeholder and IT needs pertaining to the network.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Prioritized lists of stakeholder and IT needs.

      Activities

      1.1 Assess and prioritize stakeholder concerns.

      1.2 Assess and prioritize design considerations.

      1.3 Assess and prioritize use cases.

      1.4 Assess and prioritize network infrastructure concerns.

      1.5 Assess and prioritize care and control concerns.

      Outputs

      Current State Register

      2 Analyze Emerging Technologies and Identify Features

      The Purpose

      Analyze emerging technologies to determine whether or not to include them in the network modernization.

      Identify and shortlist networking features that will be part of the network modernization.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An understanding of what emerging technologies are suitable for including in your network modernization.

      A prioritized list of features, aligned with business needs, that your modernized network must or should have.

      Activities

      2.1 Analyze emerging technologies.

      2.2 Identify features to support drivers, practices, and pain points.

      Outputs

      Emerging technology assessment

      Prioritize lists of modernized network features

      3 Plan for Future Capacity

      The Purpose

      Estimate future port, bandwidth, and latency requirements for all sites on the network.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Planning for capacity ensures the network is capable of delivering until the next refresh cycle and beyond.

      Activities

      3.1 Estimate port, bandwidth, and latency requirements.

      3.2 Group sites according to capacity requirements.

      3.3 Create standardized capacity plans for each group.

      Outputs

      A summary of capacity requirements for each site in the network

      4 Communicate and Execute the Plan

      The Purpose

      Create a presentation to pitch the project to executives.

      Compose key elements of RFP.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Communication to executives, summarizing the elements of the modernization project that business decision makers will want to know, in order to gain approval.

      Communication to vendors detailing the network solution requirements so that proposed solutions are aligned to business and IT needs.

      Activities

      4.1 Build the executive presentation.

      4.2 Compose the scope of work.

      4.3 Compose technical requirements.

      Outputs

      Executive Presentation

      Request for Proposal/Quotation

      Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization

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      • Parent Category Name: Requirements & Design
      • Parent Category Link: /requirements-and-design
      • CIOs have trouble integrating new technologies (e.g. mobile, cloud solutions) with legacy applications, and lack standards for using APIs across the organization.
      • Organizations produce APIs that are error-prone, not consistently configured, and not maintained effectively.
      • Organizations are looking for ways to increase application quality and code reusability to improve development throughput using web APIs.
      • Organizations are looking for opportunities to create an application ecosystem which can expose internal services across the organization and/or to external third parties and business partners.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Organizations are looking to go beyond current development practices to provide scalable and reusable web services.
      • Web API development is a tactical competency that is important to enabling speed of development, quality of applications, reusability, innovation, and business alignment.
      • Design your web API as a product that promotes speed of development and service reuse.
      • Optimize the design, development, testing, and monitoring of your APIs incrementally and iteratively to cover all use cases in the long term.

      Impact and Result

      • Create a repeatable process to improve the quality, reusability, and governance of your web APIs.
      • Define the purpose of your API and the common uses cases that it will service.
      • Understand what development techniques are required to develop an effective web API based on Info-Tech’s web API framework.
      • Continuously reiterate your web API to demonstrate to business stakeholders the value your web API provides.

      Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop APIs, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Examine the opportunities web APIs can enable

      Assess the opportunities of web APIs.

      • Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization – Phase 1: Examine the Opportunities Web APIs Can Enable

      2. Design and develop a web API

      Design and develop web APIs that support business processes and enable reusability.

      • Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization – Phase 2: Design and Develop a Web API
      • Web APIs High-Level Design Requirements Template
      • Web API Design Document Template

      3. Test the web API

      Accommodate web API testing best practices in application test plans.

      • Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization – Phase 3: Test the Web API
      • Web API Test Plan Template

      4. Monitor and continuously optimize the web API

      Monitor the usage and value of web APIs and plan for future optimizations and maintenance.

      • Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization – Phase 4: Monitor and Continuously Optimize the Web API
      • Web API Process Governance Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Develop APIs That Work Properly for the Organization

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Examine the Opportunities Web APIs Can Enable

      The Purpose

      Gauge the importance of web APIs for achieving your organizational needs.

      Understand how web APIs can be used to achieve below-the-line and above-the-line benefits.

      Be aware of web API development pitfalls. 

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understanding the revenue generation and process optimization opportunities web APIs can bring to your organization.

      Knowledge of the current web API landscape. 

      Activities

      1.1 Examine the opportunities web APIs can enable.

      Outputs

      2 Design & Develop Your Web API

      The Purpose

      Establish a web API design and development process.

      Design scalable web APIs around defined business process flows and rules.

      Define the web service objects that the web APIs will expose. 

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Reusable web API designs.

      Identification of data sets that will be available through web services.

      Implement web API development best practices. 

      Activities

      2.1 Define high-level design details based on web API requirements.

      2.2 Define your process workflows and business rules.

      2.3 Map the relationships among data tables through ERDs.

      2.4 Define your data model by mapping the relationships among data tables through data flow diagrams.

      2.5 Define your web service objects by effectively referencing your data model.

      Outputs

      High-level web API design.

      Business process flow.

      Entity relationship diagrams.

      Data flow diagrams.

      Identification of web service objects.

      3 Test Your Web API

      The Purpose

      Incorporate APIs into your existing testing practices.

      Emphasize security testing with web APIs.

      Learn of the web API testing and monitoring tool landscape.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Creation of a web API test plan.

      Activities

      3.1 Create a test plan for your web API.

      Outputs

      Web API Test Plan.

      4 Monitor and Continuously Optimize Your Web API

      The Purpose

      Plan for iterative development and maintenance of web APIs.

      Manage web APIs for versioning and reuse.

      Establish a governance structure to manage changes to web APIs. 

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Implement web API monitoring and maintenance best practices.

      Establishment of a process to manage future development and maintenance of web APIs. 

      Activities

      4.1 Identify roles for your API development projects.

      4.2 Develop governance for web API development.

      Outputs

      RACI table that accommodates API development.

      Web API operations governance structure.

      Business Process Controls and Internal Audit

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      • Parent Category Name: Security and Risk
      • Parent Category Link: security-and-risk
      • byline: Make sure you really have control, and not just the illusion of control.
      Establish an Effective System of Internal IT Controls to Mitigate Risks.

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP

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      • Parent Category Name: Optimization
      • Parent Category Link: /optimization
      • SAP systems are changed rarely and changing them has significant impact on an organization.
      • Research shows that even newly installed systems often fail to realize their full potential benefit to the organization.
      • Business process improvement is rarely someone’s day job.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      A properly optimized SAP business process will reduce costs and increase productivity.

      Impact and Result

      • Build an ongoing optimization team to conduct application improvements.
      • Assess your SAP application(s) and the environment in which they exist. Take a business first strategy to prioritize optimization efforts.
      • Validate SAP capabilities, user satisfaction, issues around data, vendor management, and costs to build out an optimization strategy.
      • Pull this all together to develop a prioritized optimization roadmap.

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Get the Most Out of Your SAP Storyboard – A guide to optimize your SAP.

      SAP is a core tool that the business leverages to accomplish its goals. Use this blueprint to strategically re-align business goals, identify business application capabilities, complete a process assessment, evaluate user adoption, and create an optimization plan that will drive a cohesive technology strategy that delivers results.

      • Get the Most Out of Your SAP – Phases 1-4

      2. Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook – A tool to document and assist with optimizing your SAP.

      The Get the Most out of Your SAP Workbook serves as the holding document for the different elements for the Get the Most out of Your SAP blueprint. Use each assigned tab to input the relevant information for the process of optimizing your SAP.

      • Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Infographic

      Workshop: Get the Most Out of Your SAP

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Define Your SAP Application Vision

      The Purpose

      Get the most out of your SAP.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Develop an ongoing SAP optimization team.

      Re-align SAP and business goals.

      Understand your current system state capabilities and processes.

      Validate user satisfaction, application fit, and areas of improvement to optimize your SAP.

      Take a 360-degree inventory of your SAP and related systems.

      Realign business and technology drivers. Assess user satisfaction.

      Review the SAP marketplace.

      Complete a thorough examination of capabilities and processes.

      Manage your vendors and data.

      Pull this all together to prioritize optimization efforts and develop a concrete roadmap.

      Activities

      1.1 Determine your SAP optimization team.

      1.2 Align organizational goals.

      1.3 Inventory applications and interactions.

      1.4 Define business capabilities.

      1.5 Explore SAP-related costs.

      Outputs

      SAP optimization team

      SAP business model

      SAP optimization goals

      SAP system inventory and data flow

      SAP process list

      SAP and related costs

      2 Map Current-State Capabilities

      The Purpose

      Map current-state capabilities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Complete an SAP process gap analysis to understand where the SAP is underperforming.

      Review the SAP application portfolio assessment to understand user satisfaction and data concerns.

      Undertake a software review survey to understand your satisfaction with the vendor and product.

      Activities

      2.1 Conduct gap analysis for SAP processes.

      2.2 Perform an application portfolio assessment.

      2.3 Review vendor satisfaction.

      Outputs

      SAP process gap analysis

      SAP application portfolio assessment

      ERP software reviews survey

      3 Assess SAP

      The Purpose

      Assess SAP.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Learn the processes that you need to focus on.

      Uncover underlying user satisfaction issues to address these areas.

      Understand where data issues are occurring so that you can mitigate this.

      Investigate your relationship with the vendor and product, including that relative to others.

      Identify any areas for cost optimization (optional).

      Activities

      3.1 Explore process gaps.

      3.2 Analyze user satisfaction.

      3.3 Assess data quality.

      3.4 Understand product satisfaction and vendor management.

      3.5 Look for SAP cost optimization opportunities (optional).

      Outputs

      SAP process optimization priorities

      SAP vendor optimization opportunities

      SAP cost optimization

      4 Build the Optimization Roadmap

      The Purpose

      Build the optimization roadmap.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understanding where you need to improve is the first step, now understand where to focus your optimization efforts.

      Activities

      4.1 SAP process gap analysis

      4.2 SAP application portfolio assessment

      4.3 SAP software reviews survey

      Outputs

      ERP optimization roadmap

      Further reading

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP

      In today’s connected world, the continuous optimization of enterprise applications to realize your digital strategy is key.

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Analyst Perspective

      Focus optimization on organizational value delivery.

      The image contains a picture of Chad Shortridge.

      Chad Shortridge

      Senior Research Director, Enterprise Applications

      Info-Tech Research Group
      The image contains a picture of Lisa Highfield.

      Lisa Highfield

      Research Director, Enterprise Applications

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a core tool that the business leverages to accomplish its goals. An ERP that is doing its job well is invisible to the business. The challenges come when the tool is no longer invisible. It has become a source of friction in the functioning of the business.

      SAP systems are expensive, benefits can be difficult to quantify, and issues with the products can be difficult to understand. Over time, technology evolves, organizational goals change, and the health of these systems is often not monitored. This is complicated in today’s digital landscape with multiple integrations points, siloed data, and competing priorities.

      Too often organizations jump into selecting replacement systems without understanding the health of their systems. We can do better than this.

      IT leaders need to take a proactive approach to continually monitor and optimize their enterprise applications. Strategically re-align business goals, identify business application capabilities, complete a process assessment, evaluate user adoption, and create an optimization plan that will drive a cohesive technology strategy that delivers results.

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Common Obstacles

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Your SAP ERP systems are critical to supporting the organization’s business processes. They are expensive. Direct benefits and ROI can be hard to measure.

      SAP application portfolios are often behemoths to support. With complex integration points and unique business processes, stabilization is the norm.

      Application optimization is essential to staying competitive and productive in today’s digital environment.

      Balancing optimization with stabilization is one of the most difficult decisions for ERP application leaders.

      Competing priorities and often unclear ERP strategies make it difficult to make decisions about what, how, and when to optimize.

      Enterprise applications involve large numbers of processes, users, and evolving vendor roadmaps.

      Teams do not have a framework to illustrate, communicate, and justify the optimization effort in the language your stakeholders understand.

      In today’s rapidly changing SAP landscape it is imperative to evaluate your applications for optimization, no matter what your strategy is moving forward.

      Assess your SAP applications and the environment in which they exist. Take a business-first strategy to prioritize optimization efforts.

      Validate ERP capabilities, user satisfaction, issues around data, vendor management, and costs to build out an overall roadmap and optimization strategy.

      Pull this all together to prioritize optimization efforts and develop a concrete roadmap.

      Info-Tech Insight

      SAP ERP environments are changing, but we cannot stand still on our optimization efforts. Understand your product(s), processes, user satisfaction, integration points, and the availability of data to business decision makers. Examine these areas to develop a personalized SAP optimization roadmap that fits the needs of your organization. Incorporate these methodologies into an ongoing optimization strategy aimed at enabling the business, increasing productivity, and reducing costs.

      The image contains an Info-Tech Thought model on get the most out of your ERP.

      Insight summary

      Continuous assessment and optimization of your SAP ERP systems is critical to the success of your organization.

      • Applications and the environments in which they live are constantly evolving.
      • This blueprint provides business and application managers with a method to complete a health assessment of their ERP systems to identify areas for improvement and optimization.
      • Put optimization practices into effect by:
        • Aligning and prioritizing key business and technology drivers.
        • Identifying ERP process classification and performing a gap analysis.
        • Measuring user satisfaction across key departments.
        • Evaluating vendor relations.
        • Understanding how data plays into the mix.
        • Pulling it all together into an optimization roadmap.

      SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems facilitate the flow of information across business units. It allows for the seamless integration of systems and creates a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making. In many organizations, the SAP system is considered the lifeblood of the enterprise. Problems with this key operational system will have a dramatic impact on the ability of the enterprise to survive and grow. ERP implementation should not be a one-and-done exercise. There needs to be ongoing optimization to enable business processes and optimal organizational results.

      SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP)

      The image contains a diagram of the SAP enterprise resource planning. The diagram includes a circle with smaller circles all around it. The inside of the circle contains SAP logos. The circles around the big circle are labelled: Human Resources Management, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Asset Management, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, R&D and Engineering, and Finance.

      What is SAP?

      SAP ERP systems facilitate the flow of information across business units. They allow for the seamless integration of systems and create a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making.

      In many organizations, the ERP system is considered the lifeblood of the enterprise. Problems with this key operational system will have a dramatic impact on the ability of the enterprise to survive and grow.

      An ERP system:

      • Automates processes, reducing the amount of manual, routine work.
      • Integrates with core modules, eliminating the fragmentation of systems.
      • Centralizes information for reporting from multiple parts of the value chain to a single point.

      SAP use cases:

      Product-Centric

      Suitable for organizations that manufacture, assemble, distribute, or manage material goods.

      Service-Centric

      Suitable for organizations that provide and manage field services and/or professional services.

      SAP Fast Facts

      Product Description

      • SAP has numerous ERP products. Products can be found under ERP, Finance, Customer Relations and Experience, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, and Technology Platforms.
      • SAP offers on-premises and cloud solutions for its ERP. In 2011, SAP released the HANA in-memory database. SAP ECC 6.0 reaches the end of life in 2027 (2030 extended support).
      • Many organizations are facing mandatory transformation. This is an excellent opportunity to examine ERP portfolios for optimization opportunities.
      • Now is the time to optimize to ensure you are prepared for the journey ahead.
      The image contains a timeline of the evolution of SAP ERP. The timeline is ordered: SAP R1-R3 1972-1992, SAP ECC 2003-2006, ERP Business Suite 2000+, SAP HANA In-Memory Database 2011, S/4 2015.

      Vendor Description

      • SAP SE was founded in 1972 by five former IBM employees.
      • The organization is focused on enterprise software that integrates all business processes and enables data processing in real-time.
      • SAP stands for Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing.
      • SAP offers more than 100 solutions covering all business functions.
      • SAP operates 65 data centers at 35 locations in 16 countries.

      Employees

      105,000

      Headquarters

      Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

      Website

      sap.com

      Founded

      1972

      Presence

      Global, Publicly Traded

      SAP by the numbers

      Only 72% of SAP S/4HANA clients were satisfied with the product’s business value in 2022. This was 9th out of 10 in the enterprise resource planning category.

      Source: SoftwareReviews

      As of 2022, 65% of SAP customers have not made the move to S/4HANA. These customers will continue to need to optimize the current ERP to meet the demanding needs of the business.

      Source: Statista

      Organizations will need to continue to support and optimize their SAP ERP portfolios. As of 2022, 42% of ASUG members were planning a move to S/4HANA but had not yet started to move.

      Source: ASUG

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations who need to:

      • Understand the multiple deployment models and the roadmap to successfully navigate a move to S/4HANA.
      • Build a business case to understand the value behind a move.
      • Map functionality to ensure future compatibility.
      • Understand the process required to commercially navigate a move to S/4HANA.
      • Avoid a costly audit due to missed requirements or SAP whiteboarding sessions.

      HANA used to be primarily viewed as a commercial vehicle to realize legacy license model discounts. Now, however, SAP has built a roadmap to migrate all customers over to S/4HANA. While timelines may be delayed, the inevitable move is coming.

      30-35% of SAP customers likely have underutilized assets. This can add up to millions in unused software and maintenance.

      – Upperedge

      SAP challenges and dissatisfaction

      Drivers of Dissatisfaction

      Organizational

      People and teams

      Technology

      Data

      Competing priorities

      Knowledgeable staff/turnover

      Integration issues

      Access to data

      Lack of strategy

      Lack of internal skills

      Selecting tools and technology

      Data hygiene

      Budget challenges

      Ability to manage new products

      Keeping pace with technology changes

      Data literacy

      Lack of training

      Update challenges

      One view of the customer

      Finance, IT, Sales, and other users of the ERP system can only optimize ERP with the full support of each other. The cooperation of the departments is crucial when trying to improve ERP technology capabilities and customer interaction.

      Info-Tech Insight

      While technology is the key enabler of building strong customer experiences, there are many other drivers of dissatisfaction. IT must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the business to develop a technology framework for ERP.

      Where are applications leaders focusing?

      Big growth numbers

      Year-over-year call topic requests

      Other changes

      Year-over-year call topic requests
      The image contains a graph to demonstrate year-over-year call topic requests. Year 1 has 79%, Year 2 76%, Year 3 65% requests, and Year 4 has 124% requests. The image contains a graph to demonstrate other changes in year-over-year call topic requests. Year 1 has -25%, Year 2 has 4%, and Year 3 has 13%.

      We are seeing applications leaders’ priorities change year over year, driven by a shift in their approach to problem solving. Leaders are moving from a process-centric approach to a collaborative approach that breaks down boundaries and brings teams together.

      Software development lifecycle topics are tactical point solutions. Organizations have been “shifting left” to tackle the strategic issues such as product vision and Agile mindset to optimize the whole organization.

      The S/4HANA journey

      Optimization can play a role in your transition to S/4HANA.

      • The business does not stop. Satisfy ongoing needs for business enablement.
      • Build out a collaborative SAP optimization team across the business and IT.
      • Engage the business to understand requirements.
      • Discover applications and processes.
      • Explore current-state capabilities and future-state needs.
      • Evaluate optimization opportunities. Are there short-term wins? What are the long-term goals?
      • Navigate the path to S/4HANA and develop some timelines and stage gates.
      • Set your course and optimization roadmap.
      • Capitalize on the methodologies for an ongoing optimization effort that can be continued after the S/4HANA go-live date.

      Many organizations may be coming up against changes to their SAP ERP application portfolio.

      Some challenges organizations may be dealing with include:

      • Heavily customized instances
      • Large volumes of data
      • Lack of documentation
      • Outdated business processes
      • Looming end of life

      Application optimization is risky without a plan

      Avoid these common pitfalls:

      • Not pursuing optimization because you are migrating to S/4HANA.
      • Not considering how this plays into the short-, medium-, and long-term ERP strategy.
      • Not considering application optimization as a business and IT partnership, which requires the continuous formal engagement of all participants.
      • Not having a good understanding of your current state, including integration points and data.
      • Not adequately accommodating feedback and changes after digital applications are deployed and employed.
      • Not treating digital applications as a motivator for potential future IT optimization efforts and incorporating digital assets in strategic business planning.
      • Not involving department leads, management, and other subject-matter experts to facilitate the organizational change digital applications bring.

      “[A] successful application [optimization] strategy starts with the business need in mind and not from a technological point of view. No matter from which angle you look at it, modernizing a legacy application is a considerable undertaking that can’t be taken lightly. Your best approach is to begin the journey with baby steps.”

      – Medium

      Info-Tech’s methodology for getting the most out of your ERP

      1. Map Current-State Capabilities

      2. Assess Your Current State

      3. Identify Key Optimization Areas

      4. Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      Phase Steps
      1. Identify stakeholders and build your SAP optimization team.
      2. Build an SAP strategy model.
      3. Inventory current system state.
      4. Define business capabilities.
      1. Conduct a gap analysis for ERP processes.
      2. Assess user satisfaction.
      3. Review your satisfaction with the vendor and product.
      1. Identify key optimization areas.
      2. Evaluate product sustainability over the short, medium, and long term.
      3. Identify any product changes anticipated over short, medium, and long term.
      1. Prioritize optimization opportunities.
      2. Identify key optimization areas.
      3. Compile optimization assessment results.

      Phase Outcomes
      1. Stakeholder map
      2. SAP optimization team
      3. SAP business model
      4. Strategy alignment
      5. Systems inventory and diagram
      6. Business capabilities map
      7. Key SAP processes list
      1. Gap analysis for SAP-related processes
      2. Understanding of user satisfaction across applications and processes
      3. Insight into SAP data quality
      4. Quantified satisfaction with the vendor and product
      5. Understanding SAP costs
      1. List of SAP optimization opportunities
      1. SAP optimization roadmap

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Identify and prioritize your SAP optimization goals.

      The image contains screenshots of the SAP Workbook.

      Application Portfolio Assessment

      Assess IT-enabled user satisfaction across your SAP portfolio.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Application Portfolio Assessment.

      Key deliverable:

      The image contains a screenshot of the SAP Organization Roadmap.

      SAP Optimization Roadmap

      Complete an assessment of processes, user satisfaction, data quality, and vendor management.

      The image contains screenshots further demonstrating SAP deliverables.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.

      Guided Implementation

      Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.

      Workshop

      We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.

      Consulting

      Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      		 Phase 3 Phase 4

      Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenge.

      Call #2:

      • Build the SAP team.
      • Align organizational goals.

      Call #3:

      • Map current state.
      • Inventory SAP capabilities and processes.
      • Explore SAP-related costs.

      Call #4: Understand product satisfaction and vendor management.

      Call #5: Review APA results.

      Call #6: Understand SAP optimization opportunities.

      Call #7: Determine the right SAP path for your organization.

      Call #8:

      Build out optimization roadmap and next steps.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization. A typical GI is 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com1-888-670-8889

      Day 1

      Day 2

      Day 3

      Day 4

      Day 5

      Define Your SAP Application Vision

      Map Current State

      Assess SAP

      Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)

      Activities

      1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      1.2 Build an SAP Strategy Model

      1.3 Inventory Current System State

      1.4 Define Optimization Timeframe

      1.5 Understand SAP Costs

      2.1 Assess SAP Capabilities

      2.2 Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      3.1 Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      3.2 Discover Optimization Initiatives

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

      Deliverables

      1. SAP optimization team
      2. SAP business model
      3. SAP optimization goals
      4. System inventory and data flow
      5. Application and business capabilities list
      6. SAP optimization timeline
      1. SAP capability gap analysis
      2. SAP user satisfaction (application portfolio assessment)
      3. SAP SoftwareReviews survey results
      4. SAP current costs
      1. Product and vendor satisfaction opportunities
      2. Capability and feature optimization opportunities
      3. Process optimization opportunities
      4. Integration optimization opportunities
      5. Data optimization opportunities
      6. SAP cost-saving opportunities
      1. SAP optimization roadmap

      Phase 1

      Map Current-State Capabilities

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      Phase 4

      1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      1.2 Build an SAP Strategy Model

      1.3 Inventory Current System State

      1.4 Define Optimization Timeframe

      1.5 Understand SAP Costs

      2.1 Assess SAP Capabilities

      2.2 Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      3.1 Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      3.2 Discover Optimization Initiatives

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      This phase will guide you through the following activities:

      • Align your organizational goals
      • Gain a firm understanding of your current state
      • Inventory ERP and related applications
      • Confirm the organization’s capabilities

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CFO
      • Department Leads – Finance, Procurement, Asset Management
      • Applications Director
      • Senior Business Analyst
      • Senior Developer
      • Procurement Analysts

      Step 1.1

      Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      Activities

      1.1.1 Identify stakeholders critical to success

      1.1.2 Map your SAP optimization stakeholders

      1.1.3 Determine your SAP optimization team

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Identify ERP drivers and objectives
      • Explore ERP challenges and pain points
      • Discover ERP benefits and opportunities
      • Align the ERP foundation with the corporate strategy

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Stakeholders
      • Project sponsors and leaders

      Outcomes of this step

      • Stakeholder map
      • SAP Optimization Team

      ERP optimization stakeholders

      • Understand the roles necessary to get the most out of your SAP.
      • Understand the role of each player within your project structure. Look for listed participants on the activities slides to determine when each player should be involved.

      Title

      Role Within the Project Structure

      Organizational Sponsor
      • Owns the project at the management/C-suite level
      • Responsible for breaking down barriers and ensuring alignment with your organizational strategy
      • CIO, CFO, COO, or similar

      Project Manager
      • The IT individual(s) that oversee day-to-day project operations
      • Responsible for preparing and managing the project plan and monitoring the project team’s progress
      • Applications Manager or other IT Manager, Business Analyst, Business Process Owner, or similar

      Business Unit Leaders
      • Works alongside the IT Project Manager to ensure the strategy is aligned with business needs
      • In this case, likely to be a marketing, sales, or customer service lead
      • Sales Director, Marketing Director, Customer Care Director, or similar

      Optimization Team
      • Comprised of individuals whose knowledge and skills are crucial to project success
      • Responsible for driving day-to-day activities, coordinating communication, and making process and design decisions; can assist with persona and scenario development for ERP
      • Project Manager, Business Lead, ERP Manager, Integration Manager, Application SMEs, Developers, Business Process Architects, and/or similar SMEs

      Steering Committee
      • Comprised of the C-suite/management-level individuals that act as the project’s decision makers
      • Responsible for validating goals and priorities, defining the project scope, enabling adequate resourcing, and managing change
      • Project Sponsor, Project Manager, Business Lead, CFO, Business Unit SMEs, or similar

      Info-Tech Insight

      Do not limit project input or participation. Include subject-matter experts and internal stakeholders at stages within the project. Such inputs can be solicited on a one-off basis as needed. This ensures you take a holistic approach to create your ERP optimization strategy.

      1.1.1 Identify SAP optimization stakeholders

      1 hour

      1. Hold a meeting to identify the SAP optimization stakeholders.
      2. Use next slide as a guide.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot from the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Understand how to navigate the complex web of stakeholders in ERP

      Identify which stakeholders to include and what their level of involvement should be during requirements elicitation based on relevant topic expertise.

      Sponsor

      End User

      IT

      Business

      Description

      An internal stakeholder who has final sign-off on the ERP project.

      Front-line users of the ERP technology.

      Back-end support staff who are tasked with project planning, execution, and eventual system maintenance.

      Additional stakeholders that will be impacted by any ERP technology changes.

      Examples
      • CEO
      • CIO/CTO
      • COO
      • CFO
      • Warehouse personnel
      • Sales teams
      • HR admins
      • Applications manager
      • Vendor relationship manager(s)
      • Director, Procurement
      • VP, Marketing
      • Manager, HR

      Value

      Executive buy-in and support is essential to the success of the project. Often, the sponsor controls funding and resource allocation.

      End users determine the success of the system through user adoption. If the end user does not adopt the system, the system is deemed useless and benefits realization is poor.

      IT is likely to be responsible for more in-depth requirements gathering. IT possesses critical knowledge around system compatibility, integration, and data.

      Involving business stakeholders in the requirements gathering will ensure alignment between HR and organizational objectives.

      Large-scale ERP projects require the involvement of many stakeholders from all corners and levels of the organization, including project sponsors, IT, end users, and business stakeholders. Consider the influence and interest of stakeholders in contributing to the requirements elicitation process and involve them accordingly.

      EXAMPLE: Stakeholder involvement during selection

      The image contains an example of stakeholder involvement during selection. The graph is comparing influence and interest. In the lowest section of both influence and interest, it is labelled Monitor. With low interest but high influence that is labelled Keep Satisfied. In low influence but high interest it is labelled Keep Informed. The section that is high in both interest and influence that is labelled Involve closely.

      Activity 1.1.2 Map your SAP optimization stakeholders

      1 hour

      1. Use the list of SAP optimization stakeholders.
      2. Map each stakeholder on the quadrant based on their expected influence and involvement in the project.
      3. [Optional] Color code the users using the scale below to quickly identify the group that the stakeholder belongs to.

      The image contains an example of a colour scheme. Sponsor is coloured blue, End user is purple, IT is yellow, and Business is light blue.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of an example map on organization's stakeholders.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Map the organization’s stakeholders

      The image contains a larger version of the image from the previous slide where there is a graph comparing influence and involvement and has a list of stakeholders in a legend on the side.

      The SAP optimization team

      Consider the core team functions when putting together the project team. Form a cross-functional team (i.e. across IT, Marketing, Sales, Service, Operations) to create a well-aligned ERP optimization strategy. Don’t let your project team become too large when trying to include all relevant stakeholders. Carefully limiting the size of the project team will enable effective decision making while still including functional business units such as Marketing, Sales, Service, and Finance as well as IT.

      Required Skills/Knowledge

      Suggested Project Team Members

      Business

      • Department leads
      • Business process leads
      • Business analysts
      • Subject matter experts
      • SMEs/Business process leads –All functional areas; example: Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, HR

      IT

      • Application development
      • Enterprise integration
      • Business processes
      • Data management
      • Product owner
      • ERP application manager
      • Business process manager
      • Integration manager
      • Application developer
      • Data stewards

      Other

      • Operations
      • Administrative
      • Change management
      • COO
      • CFO
      • Change management officer

      1.1.3 Determine your SAP optimization team

      1 hour

      1. Have the project manager and other key stakeholders discuss and determine who will be involved in the SAP optimization project.
      • The size of the team will depend on the initiative and size of your organization.
      • Key business leaders in key areas and IT representatives should be involved.

      Note: Depending on your initiative and the size of your organization, the size of this team will vary.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the section ERP Optimization Team in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Step 1.2

      Build an SAP Strategy Model

      Activities

      1.2.1 Explore environmental factors and technology drivers

      1.2.2 Consider potential barriers and challenges

      1.2.3 Discuss enablers of success

      1.2.4 Develop your SAP optimization goals

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Identify ERP drivers and objectives
      • Explore ERP challenges and pain points
      • Discover ERP benefits and opportunities
      • Align the ERP foundation with the corporate strategy

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • ERP business model
      • Strategy alignment

      Align your SAP strategy with the corporate strategy

      Corporate Strategy

      Unified ERP Strategy

      IT Strategy

      Your corporate strategy:

      • Conveys the current state of the organization and the path it wants to take.
      • Identifies future goals and business aspirations.
      • Communicates the initiatives that are critical for getting the organization from its current state to the desired future state.
      • The ideal ERP strategy is aligned with overarching organizational business goals and with broader IT initiatives.
      • Include all affected business units and departments in these conversations.
      • The ERP optimization can be and should be linked, with metrics, to the corporate strategy and ultimate business objectives

      Your IT strategy:

      • Communicates the organization’s budget and spending on ERP.
      • Identifies IT initiatives that will support the business and key ERP objectives.
      • Outlines staffing and resourcing for ERP initiatives.

      ERP projects are more successful when the management team understands the strategic importance and the criticality of alignment. Time needs to be spent upfront aligning business strategies with ERP capabilities. Effective alignment between IT and the business should happen daily. Alignment doesn’t just need to occur just at the executive level but at each level of the organization.

      ERP Business Model Template

      The image contains a screenshot of a ERP Business Model Template.

      Conduct interviews to elicit the business context

      Stakeholder Interviews

      Begin by conducting interviews of your executive team. Interview the following leaders:

      1. Chief Information Officer
      2. Chief Executive Officer
      3. Chief Financial Officer
      4. Chief Revenue Officer/Sales Leader
      5. Chief Operating Officer/Supply Chain & Logistics Leader
      6. Chief Technology Officer/Chief Product Officer

      INTERVIEWS MUST UNCOVER

      1. Your organization’s top three business goals
      2. Your organization’s top ten business initiatives
      3. Your organization’s mission and vision

      Understand the ERP drivers and organizational objectives

      Business Needs

      Business Drivers

      Technology Drivers

      Environmental Factors

      Definition

      A business need is a requirement associated with a particular business process.

      Business drivers can be thought of as business-level goals. These are tangible benefits the business can measure such as customer retention, operation excellence, and financial performance.

      Technology drivers are technological changes that have created the need for a new ERP enablement strategy. Many organizations turn to technology systems to help them obtain a competitive edge.

      These external considerations are factors that take place outside of the organization and impact the way business is conducted inside the organization. These are often outside the control of the business.

      Examples

      • Audit tracking
      • Authorization levels
      • Business rules
      • Data quality
      • Customer satisfaction
      • Branding
      • Time-to-resolution
      • Deployment model (i.e. SaaS)
      • Integration
      • Reporting capabilities
      • Fragmented technologies
      • Economic and political factors
      • Competitive influencers
      • Compliance regulations

      Info-Tech Insight

      One of the biggest drivers for ERP adoption is the ability to make quicker decisions from timely information. This driver is a result of external considerations. Many industries today are highly competitive, uncertain, and rapidly changing. To succeed under these pressures, there needs to be timely information and visibility into all components of the organization.

      1.2.1 Explore environmental factors and technology drivers

      30 minutes

      1. Identify business drivers that are contributing to the organization’s need for ERP.
      2. Understand how the company is running today and what the organization’s future will look like. Try to identify the purpose for becoming an integrated organization. Use a whiteboard or flip charts and markers to capture key findings.
      3. Consider external considerations, organizational drivers, technology drivers, and key functional requirements.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a diagram on exploring the environmental factors and technology drivers.

      External Considerations

      Organizational Drivers

      Technology Considerations

      Functional Requirements
      • Funding constraints
      • Regulations
      • Compliance
      • Scalability
      • Operational efficiency
      • Data accuracy
      • Data quality
      • Better reporting
      • Information availability
      • Integration between systems
      • Secure data

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Create a realistic ERP foundation by identifying the challenges and barriers the project will bestow

      There are several different factors that may stifle the success of an ERP implementation. Organizations that are creating an ERP foundation must scan their current environment to identify internal barriers and challenges.

      Common Internal Barriers

      Management Support

      Organizational Culture

      Organizational Structure

      IT Readiness

      Definition

      The degree of understanding and acceptance toward ERP systems.

      The collective shared values and beliefs.

      The functional relationships between people and departments in an organization.

      The degree to which the organization’s people and processes are prepared for a new ERP system.

      Questions
      • Is an ERP project recognized as a top priority?
      • Will management commit time to the project?
      • Are employees resistant to change?
      • Is the organization highly individualized?
      • Is the organization centralized?
      • Is the organization highly formalized?
      • Is there strong technical expertise?
      • Is there strong infrastructure?

      Impact
      • Funding
      • Resources
      • Knowledge sharing
      • User acceptance
      • Flow of knowledge
      • Quality of implementation
      • Need for reliance on consultants

      ERP Business Model

      Organizational Goals

      Enablers

      Barriers
      • Efficiency
      • Effectiveness
      • Integrity
      • One source of truth for data
      • One team
      • Customer service, external and internal
      • Cross-trained employees
      • Desire to focus on value-add activities
      • Collaborative
      • Top-level executive support
      • Effective change management process
      • Organizational silos
      • Lack of formal process documentation
      • Funding availability
      • What goes first? Organizational priorities

      What does success look like?

      Top 15 critical success factors for ERP system implementation

      The image contains a graph that demonstrates the top 15 critical success factors for ERP system implementation. The top 15 are: Top management support and commitment, Interdepartmental communication and cooperations throughout the institution, Commitment to business process re-engineering to do away with redundant processes, Implementation project management from initiation to closing, Change management program to ensure awareness and readiness for possible changes, Project team competence, Education and training for stakeholders, Project champion to lead implementation, Project mission and goals for the system with clear objectives agreed upon, ERP expert consultant use to guide the implementation process, Minimum level of customization to use ERP functionalities to maximum, Package selection, Understanding the institutional culture, Use involvement and participation throughout implementation, ERP vendor support and partnership.

      Source: Epizitone and Olugbara, 2020; CC BY 4.0

      Info-Tech Insight

      Complement your ability to deliver on your critical success factors with the capabilities of your implementation partner to drive a successful ERP implementation.

      “Implementation partners can play an important role in successful ERP implementations. They can work across the organizational departments and layers creating a synergy and a communications mechanism.” – Ayogeboh Epizitone, Durban University of Technology

      1.2.2 Consider potential barriers and challenges

      1-3 hours

      • Open tab “1.2 Strategy & Goals,” in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.
      • Identify barriers to ERP optimization success.
      • Review the ERP critical success factors and how they relate to your optimization efforts.
      • Discuss potential barriers to successful ERP optimization.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains the same diagram as shown previously, where it demonstrated the environmental factors in relation to the ERP strategy. The same diagram is used and highlights the barriers section.

      Functional Gaps

      Technical Gaps

      Process Gaps

      Barriers to Success
      • No online purchase order for requisitions
      • Inconsistent reporting – data quality concerns
      • Duplication of data
      • Lack of system integration
      • Cultural mindset
      • Resistance to change
      • Lack of training
      • Funding

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      1.2.3 Discuss enablers of success

      1-3 hours

      1. Open tab “1.2 Strategy & Goals,” in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.
      2. Identify barriers to ERP optimization success.
      3. Review the ERP critical success factors and how they relate to your optimization efforts.
      4. Discuss potential barriers to successful ERP optimization.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains the same diagram as shown previously, where it demonstrated the environmental factors in relation to the ERP strategy. The same diagram is used and highlights the enablers and organizational goals sections.

      Business Benefits

      IT Benefits

      Organizational Benefits

      Enablers of Success

      • Business-IT alignment
      • Compliance
      • Scalability
      • Operational efficiency
      • Data accuracy
      • Data quality
      • Better reporting
      • Change management
      • Training
      • Alignment with strategic objectives

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      The Business Value Matrix

      Rationalizing and quantifying the value of SAP

      Benefits can be realized internally and externally to the organization or department and have different drivers of value.

      • Financial benefits refer to the degree to which the value source can be measured through monetary metrics and are often quite tangible.
      • Human benefits refer to how an application can deliver value through a user’s experience.
      • Inward refers to value sources that have an internal impact and improve your organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in performing its operations.
      • Outward refers to value sources that come from your interaction with external factors, such as the market or your customers.

      Organizational Goals

      • Increased Revenue

        • Application functions that are specifically related to the impact on your organization’s ability to generate revenue and deliver value to your customers.

      • Reduced Costs

        • Reduction of overhead. The ways in which an application limits the operational costs of business functions.

      • Enhanced Services

        • Functions that enable business capabilities that improve the organization’s ability to perform its internal operations.

      • Reach Customers

        • Application functions that enable and improve the interaction with customers or produce market information and insights.

      Business Value Matrix

      The image contains a screenshot of a Business Value Matrix. It includes: Reach Customers, Increase Revenue or Deliver Value, Reduce Costs, and Enhance Services.

      Link SAP capabilities to organizational value

      The image contains screenshots that demonstrate linking SAP capabilities to organizational value.

      1.2.4 Define your SAP optimization goals

      30 minutes

      1. Discuss the ERP business model and ERP critical success factors.
      2. Through the lens of corporate goals and objectives think about supporting ERP technology. How can the ERP system bring value to the organization? What are the top things that will make this initiative a success?
      3. Develop five to ten optimization goals that will form the basis for the success of this initiative.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains an example of the activity describe above on defining your SAP optimization goals.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Step 1.3

      Inventory Current System State

      Activities

      1.3.1 Inventory SAP applications and interactions

      1.3.2 Draw your SAP system diagram

      1.3.3 Inventory your SAP modules and business capabilities (or business processes)

      1.3.4 Define your key SAP optimization modules and business capabilities

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Inventory of applications
      • Mapping interactions between systems

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team
      • Enterprise Architect
      • Data Architect

      Outcomes of this step

      • Systems inventory
      • Systems diagram

      1.3.1 Inventory SAP applications and interfaces

      1-3+ hours

      1. Enter your SAP systems, SAP extended applications, and integrated applications within scope.
      2. Include any abbreviated names or nicknames.
      3. List the application type or main function.
      4. List the modules the organization has licensed.
      5. List any integrations.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the SAP application inventory.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      ERP Data Flow

      The image contains an example ERP Data Flow with a legend.

      Be sure to include enterprise applications that are not included in the ERP application portfolio. Popular systems to consider for POIs include billing, directory services, content management, and collaboration tools.

      ERP – enterprise resource planning

      Email – email system such as Microsoft Exchange

      Calendar – calendar system such as Microsoft Outlook

      WEM – web experience management

      ECM – enterprise content management

      When assessing the current application portfolio that supports your ERP, the tendency will be to focus on the applications under the ERP umbrella. These relate mostly to marketing, sales, and customer service. Be sure to include systems that act as input to, or benefit due to outputs from, ERP or similar applications.

      1.3.2 Draw your SAP system diagram

      1-3+ hours

      1. From the SAP application inventory, diagram your network.

        2. Include:

      • Any internal or external systems
      • Integration points
      • Data flow

      The image contains a screenshot of the example ERP Systems Diagram.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Sample SAP and integrations map

      The image contains a screenshot of a sample SAP and integrations map.

      Business capability map (Level 0)

      The image contains a screenshot of the business capability map, level 0. The capability map includes: Products and Services Development, Revenue Generation, Demand Fulfillment, and Enterprise Management and Planning.

      In business architecture, the primary view of an organization is known as a business capability map. A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation, rather than how.

      Business capabilities:

      • Represent stable business functions.
      • Are unique and independent of each other.
      • Will typically have a defined business outcome.

      A business capability map provides details that help the business architecture practitioner direct attention to a specific area of the business for further assessment.

      ERP process mapping

      The image contains screenshots to demonstrate the ERP process mapping. One of the screenshots is of the business capability map, level 0, the second screenshot contains the objectives , value streams, capabilities, and processes. The third image contains a screenshot of the SAP screenshot with the circles around it as previously shown.

      The operating model

      An operating model is a framework that drives operating decisions. It helps to set the parameters for the scope of ERP and the processes that will be supported. The operating model will serve to group core operational processes. These groupings represent a set of interrelated, consecutive processes aimed at generating a common output. From your developed processes and your SAP license agreements you will be able to pinpoint the scope for investigation including the processes and modules.

      APQC Framework

      Help define your inventory of sales, marketing, and customer services processes.

      Operating Processes
      1. Develop vision and strategy 2. Develop and manage products and services 3. Market and sell products and services 4. Deliver physical products 5. Deliver services

      Management and Support Processes
      6.Manage customer service

      7. Develop and manage human capital
      8. Manage IT

      9. Manage financial resources

      10. Acquire, construct, and manage assets

      11. Manage enterprise risk, compliance, remediation, and resiliency

      12. Manage external relationships

      13. Develop and manage business capabilities

      Source: APQC

      If you do not have a documented process model, you can use the APQC Framework to help define your inventory of sales business processes. APQC’s Process Classification Framework is a taxonomy of cross-functional business processes intended to allow the objective comparison of organizational performance within and among organizations.

      APQC’s Process Classification Framework

      The value stream

      Value stream defined:

      Value Streams

      Design Product

      Produce Product

      Sell Product

      Customer Service
      • Manufacturers work proactively to design products and services that will meet consumer demand.
      • Products are driven by consumer demand and government regulations.
      • Production processes and labor costs are constantly analyzed for efficiencies and accuracies.
      • Quality of product and services are highly regulated through all levels of the supply chain.
      • Sales networks and sales staff deliver the product from the organization to the end consumer.
      • Marketing plays a key role throughout the value stream, connecting consumers’ wants and needs to the products and services offered.
      • Relationships with consumers continue after the sale of products and services.
      • Continued customer support and data mining is important to revenue streams.

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities in the marketplace. Those activities are dependent on the specific industry segment in which an organization operates.

      There are two types of value streams: core value streams and support value streams.

      • Core value streams are mostly externally facing. They deliver value to either an external or internal customer and they tie to the customer perspective of the strategy map.
      • Support value streams are internally facing and provide the foundational support for an organization to operate.

      An effective method for ensuring all value streams have been considered is to understand that there can be different end-value receivers.

      Process mapping hierarchy

      The image contains a screenshot of the PCF levels explained. The levels are 1-5. The levels are: Category, Process Group, Process, Activity, and Task.

      Source: APQC

      APQC provides a process classification framework. It allows organizations to effectively define their processes and manage them appropriately.

      APQC’s Process Classification Framework

      Cross-industry classification framework

      Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

      Market and sell products and services

      Understand markets, customers, and capabilities

      Perform customer and market intelligence analysis

      Conduct customer and market research

      Market and sell products and services

      Develop a sales strategy

      Develop a sales forecast

      Gather current and historic order information

      Deliver services

      Manage service delivery resources

      Manage service delivery resource demand

      Develop baseline forecasts
      ? ? ? ?

      Info-Tech Insight

      Focus your initial assessment on the level 1 processes that matter to your organization. This allows you to target your scant resources on the areas of optimization that matter most to the organization and minimize the effort required from your business partners. You may need to iterate the assessment as challenges are identified. This allows you to be adaptive and deal with emerging issues more readily and become a more responsive partner to the business.

      SAP modules and process enablement

      Cloud/Hardware

      Fiori

      Analytics

      Integrations

      Extended Solutions

      R&D Engineering

      • Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management
      • Product Development Foundation
      • Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management
      • Product Lifecycle Management
      • Product Compliance
      • Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management
      • Product Safety and Stewardship
      • Engineering Record

      Sourcing and Procurement

      • Procurement Analytics
      • Sourcing & Contract Management
      • Operational Procurement
      • Invoice Management
      • Supplier Management

      Supply Chain

      • Inventory
      • Delivery & Transportation
      • Warehousing
      • Order Promising

      Asset Management

      • Maintenance Operations
      • Resource Scheduling
      • Env, Health and Safety
      • Maintenance Management
      		 The image contains a diagram of the SAP enterprise resource planning. The diagram includes a circle with smaller circles all around it. The inside of the circle contains SAP logos. The circles around the big circle are labelled: Human Resources Management, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Asset Management, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, R&D and Engineering, and Finance.

      Finance

      • Financial Planning and Analysis
      • Accounting and Financial Close
      • Treasury Management
      • Financial Operations
      • Governance, Risk & Compliance
      • Commodity Management

      Human Resources

      • Core HR
      • Payroll
      • Timesheets
      • Organization Management
      • Talent Management

      Sales

      • Sales Support
      • Order and Contract Management
      • Agreement Management
      • Performance Management

      Service

      • Service Operations and Processes
      • Basic Functions
      • Workforce Management
      • Case Management
      • Professional Services
      • Service Master Data Management
      • Service Management

      Beyond the core

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram to demonstrate beyond the core. In the middle of the image is S/4 Core, and the BTP: Business Technology Platform. Surrounding it are: SAP Fieldglass, SAP Concur, SAP Success Factors, SAP CRM SAO Hybris, SAP Ariba. On the left side of the image are: Business Planning and Consolidations, Transportation Management System, Integrated Business Planning, Extended Warehouse Management.

      1.3.3 Inventory your SAP modules and business capabilities

      1-3+ hours

      1. Look at the major functions or processes within the scope of ERP.
      2. From the inventory of current systems, choose the submodules or processes that you want to investigate and are within scope for this optimization initiative.
      3. Use tab 1.3 “SAP Capabilities” in Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook for a list of common SAP Level 1 and Level 2 modules/business capabilities.
      4. List the top modules, capabilities, or processes that will be within the scope of this optimization initiative.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of an example of what to do for the activity 1.3.3.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      1.3.4 Define your key SAP optimization modules and business capabilities

      1-3+ hours

      1. Look at the major functions or processes within the scope of ERP.
      2. From the inventory of current systems, choose the submodules or processes for this optimization initiative. Base this on those that are most critical to the business, those with the lowest levels of satisfaction, or those that perhaps need more knowledge around them.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Key SAP Optimization Capabilities.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Step 1.4

      Define Optimization Timeframe

      Activities

      1.4.1 Define SAP key dates and SAP optimization roadmap timeframe and structure

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Defining key dates related to your optimization initiative
      • Identifying key building blocks for your optimization roadmap

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team
      • Vendor Management

      Outcomes of this step

      • Optimization Key Dates
      • Optimization Roadmap Timeframe and Structure

      1.4.1 Optimization roadmap timeframe and structure

      1-3+ hours

      1. Record key items and dates relevant to your optimization initiatives, such as any products reaching end of life or end of contract or budget proposal submission deadlines.
      2. Enter the expected Optimization Initiative Start Date.
      3. Enter the Roadmap Length. This is the total amount of time you expect to participate in the SAP optimization initiative.
      4. This includes short-, medium- and long-term initiatives.
      5. Enter your Roadmap Date markers: how you want dates displayed on the roadmap.
      6. Enter Column time values: what level of granularity will be helpful for this initiative?
      7. Enter the sprint or cycle timeframe; use this if following Agile.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Optimization Roadmap Timeframe and Structure.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Step 1.5

      Understand SAP Costs

      Activities

      1.5.1 Document costs associated with SAP

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Define your SAP direct and indirect costs
      • List your SAP expense line items

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Finance Representatives
      • SAP Optimization Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Current SAP and related costs

      1.5.1 Document costs associated with SAP

      1-3 hours

      Before you can make changes and optimization decisions, you need to understand the high-level costs associated with your current application architecture. This activity will help you identify the types of technology and people costs associated with your current systems.

      1. Identify the types of technology costs associated with each current system:
        1. System Maintenance
        2. Annual Renewal
        3. Licensing
      2. Identify the cost of people associated with each current system:
        1. Full-Time Employees
        2. Application Support Staff
        3. Help Desk Tickets

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the activity 1.5.1 on documenting costs associated with SAP.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Phase 2

      Assess Your Current State

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      Phase 4

      1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      1.2 Build an SAP Strategy Model

      1.3 Inventory Current System State

      1.4 Define Optimization Timeframe

      1.5 Understand SAP Costs

      2.1 Assess SAP Capabilities

      2.2 Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      3.1 Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      3.2 Discover Optimization Initiatives

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Determine process relevance
      • Perform a gap analysis
      • Perform a user satisfaction survey
      • Assess software and vendor satisfaction

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team
      • Users across functional areas of your ERP and related technologies

      Step 2.1

      Assess SAP Capabilities

      Activities

      2.1.1 Rate capability relevance to organizational goals

      2.1.2 Complete an SAP application portfolio assessment

      2.1.3 (Optional) Assess SAP process maturity

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Capability relevance
      • Process gap analysis
      • Application Portfolio Assessment

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Users

      Outcomes of this step

      • SAP Capability Assessment

      Benefits of the Application Portfolio Assessment

      The image contains a screenshot of the activity of assessing the health of the application portfolio.

      Assess the health of the application portfolio

      • Get a full 360-degree view of the effectiveness, criticality, and prevalence of all relevant applications to get a comprehensive view of the health of the applications portfolio.
      • Identify opportunities to drive more value from effective applications, retire nonessential applications, and immediately address at-risk applications that are not meeting expectations.
      The image contains a screenshot of the activity on providing targeted department feedback.

      Provide targeted department feedback

      • Share end-user satisfaction and importance ratings for core IT services, IT communications, and business enablement to focus on the right end-user groups or lines of business, and ramp up satisfaction and productivity.
      The image contains a screenshot of the activity on gaining insight into the state of data quality.

      Gain insight into the state of data quality

      • Data quality is one of the key issues causing poor CRM user satisfaction and business results. This can include the relevance, accuracy, timeliness, or usability of the organization’s data.
      • Targeted, open-ended feedback around data quality will provide insight into where optimization efforts should be focused.

      2.1.1 Complete a current-state assessment (via the Application Portfolio Assessment)

      3 hours

      Option 1: Use Info-Tech’s Application Portfolio Assessment to generate your user satisfaction score. This tool not only measures application satisfaction but also elicits great feedback from users regarding the support they receive from the IT team around SAP.

      1. Download the ERP Application Inventory Tool.
      2. Complete the “Demographics” tab (tab 2).
      3. Complete the “Inventory” tab (tab 3).
        1. Complete the inventory by treating each module within your SAP system as an application.
        2. Treat every department as a separate column in the department section. Feel free to add, remove, or modify department names to match your organization.
        3. Include data quality for all applications applicable.

      Option 2: Create a survey manually.

      1. Use tab (Reference) 2.1 “APA Questions” as a guide for creating your survey.
      2. Send out surveys to end users.
      3. Modify tab 2.1, “SAP Assessment,” if required.

      Record Results

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Application Portfolio Assessment.

      Download the ERP Application Inventory Tool

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Sample Report from Application Portfolio Assessment.

      The image contains a screenshot of a sample report from the Application Portfolio Assessment.

      2.1.2 (Optional) Assess SAP process and technical maturity

      1-3 hours

      1. As with any ERP system, the issues encountered may not be related to the system itself but processes that have developed over time.
      2. Use this opportunity to interview key stakeholders to learn about deeper capability processes.
      • Identify key stakeholders.
      • Hold sessions to document deeper processes.
      • Discuss processes and technical enablement in each area.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains an example of the process maturity activity.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Process Maturity Assessment

      The image contains a screenshot of the Process Maturity Assessment.

      Step 2.2

      Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      Activities

      2.2.1 Rate your vendor and product satisfaction

      2.2.2 Review SAP product scores (if applicable)

      2.2.3 Evaluate your product satisfaction

      2.2.4 Check your business process change tolerance

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Rate your vendor and product satisfaction
      • Compare with survey data from SoftwareReviews

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Product Owner(s)
      • Procurement Representative
      • Vendor Contracts Manager

      Outcomes of this step

      • Quantified satisfaction with vendor and product

      2.2.1 Rate your vendor and product satisfaction

      30 minutes

      Use Info-Tech’s vendor satisfaction survey to identify optimization areas with your ERP product(s) and vendor(s).

      1. Option 1 (recommended): Conduct a satisfaction survey using SoftwareReviews. This option allows you to see your results in the context of the vendor landscape.
      2. Option 2: Use the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook to review your satisfaction with your SAP software.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the activity Vendor Optimization.

      SoftwareReviews’ Enterprise Resource Planning Category

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      2.2.2 Review SAP product scores (if applicable)

      30 minutes

      1. Download the scorecard for your SAP product from the SoftwareReviews website. (Note: Not all products are represented or have sufficient data, so a scorecard may not be available.)
      2. Use the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook tab 2.2 “Vend. & Prod. Sat” to record the scorecard results.
      3. Use your Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook to flag areas where your score may be lower than the product scorecard. Brainstorm ideas for optimization.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of the activity 2.2.2 review SAP product scores.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      SoftwareReviews’ Enterprise Resource Planning Category

      2.2.3 How does your satisfaction compare with your peers?

      Use SoftwareReviews to explore product features, vendor experience, and capability satisfaction.

      The image contains two screenshots of SoftwareReviews. One is of the ERP Mid-Market, and the second is of the ERP Enterprise.

      Source: SoftwareReviews ERP Mid-Market, April 2022

      Source: SoftwareReviews ERP Enterprise, April 2022

      2.2.4 Check your business process change tolerance

      1 hours

      1. As a group, review the level 0 business capabilities on the previous slide.
      2. Assess the department’s willingness for change and the risk of maintaining the status quo.
      3. Color-code the level 0 business capabilities based on:
      • Green – Willing to follow best practices
      • Yellow – May be challenging or unique business model
      • Red – Low tolerance for change
    • For clarity, move to level 1 if specific areas need to be called out and use the same color code.
      • Input Output
      • Business process capability map
      • Heat map of risk areas that require more attention for validating best practices or minimizing customization
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook
      • Implementation team
      • CIO
      • Key stakeholders

      Download Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook for additional process levels

      Heat map representing desire for best practice or those having the least tolerance for change

      The image contains a screenshot of a heat map to demonstrate desire for best practice or those having the least tolerance for change.

      Determine the areas of risk to conform to best practice and minimize customization. These will be areas needing focus from the vendor supporting change and guiding best practice. For example: Must be able to support our unique process manufacturing capabilities and enhance planning and visibility to detailed costing.

      Phase 3

      Identify Key Optimization Opportunities

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      Phase 4

      1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      1.2 Build an SAP Strategy Model

      1.3 Inventory Current System State

      1.4 Define Optimization Timeframe

      1.5 Understand SAP Costs

      2.1 Assess SAP Capabilities

      2.2 Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      3.1 Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      3.2 Discover Optimization Initiatives

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify key optimization areas
      • Create an optimization roadmap

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team

      Assessing application business value

      In this context…business value is

      the value of the business outcome that the application produces. Additionally, it is how effective the application is at producing that outcome.

      Business value is not

      the user’s experience or satisfaction with the application.

      The image contains a screenshot of a Venn Diagram. In the left circle, labelled The Business it contains the following text: Keepers of the organization’s mission, vision, and value statements that define IT success. The business maintains the overall ownership and evaluation of the applications. In the right circle labelled IT, it contains the following text: Technical subject-matter experts of the applications they deliver and maintain. Each IT function works together to ensure quality applications are delivered to stakeholder expectations. The middle space is labelled: Business Value of Applications.

      First, the authorities on business value need to define and weigh their value drivers that describe the priorities of the organization. This will allow the applications team to apply a consistent, objective, and strategically aligned evaluation of applications across the organization.

      Brainstorm IT initiatives to enable high areas of opportunity to support the business

      Brainstorm ERP optimization initiatives in each area. Ensure you are looking for all-encompassing opportunities within the context of IT, the business, and SAP systems.

      Capabilities are what the system and business does that creates value for the organization. Optimization initiatives are projects with a definitive start and end date, and they enhance, create, maintain, or remove capabilities with the goal of increasing value.

      The image contains a Venn Diagram with 3 circles. The circles are labelled as: Process, Technology, and Organization.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Enabling a high-performing organization requires excellent management practices and continuous optimization efforts. Your technology portfolio and architecture are important, but we must go deeper. Taking a holistic view of ERP technologies in the environments in which they operate allows for the inclusion of people and process improvements – this is key to maximizing business results. Using a formal ERP optimization initiative will drive business-IT alignment, identify IT automation priorities, and dig deep into continuous process improvement.

      Address process gaps:

      • ERP and related technologies are invaluable to the goal of organizational enablement, but they must have supported processes driven by business goals.
      • Identify areas where capabilities need to be improved and work toward optimization.

      Support user satisfaction:

      • The best technology in the world won’t deliver business results if it’s not working for the users who need it.
      • Understand concerns, communicate improvements, and support users in all roles.

      Improve data quality:

      • Data quality is unique to each business unit and requires tolerance, not perfection.
      • Implement data quality initiatives that are aligned with overall business objectives and aimed at addressing data practices and the data itself.

      Proactively manage vendors:

      • Vendor management is a critical component of technology enablement and IT satisfaction.
      • Assess your current satisfaction against that of your peers and work toward building a process that is best fit for your organization.

      Step 3.1

      Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      Activities

      3.1.1 Prioritize optimization capability areas

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Explore existing process gaps
      • Identify the impact of processes on user satisfaction
      • Identify the impact of data quality on user satisfaction
      • Review your overall product satisfaction and vendor management

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Application optimization plan

      The Business Value Matrix

      Rationalizing and quantifying the value of SAP

      Benefits can be realized internally and externally to the organization or department and have different drivers of value.

      • Financial benefits refer to the degree to which the value source can be measured through monetary metrics and are often quite tangible.
      • Human benefits refer to how an application can deliver value through a user’s experience.
      • Inward refers to value sources that have an internal impact and improve your organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in performing its operations.
      • Outward refers to value sources that come from your interaction with external factors, such as the market or your customers.

      Organizational Goals

      • Increased Revenue

        • Application functions that are specifically related to the impact on your organization’s ability to generate revenue and deliver value to your customers.

      • Reduced Costs

        • Reduction of overhead. The ways in which an application limits the operational costs of business functions.

      • Enhanced Services

        • Functions that enable business capabilities that improve the organization’s ability to perform its internal operations.

      • Reach Customers

        • Application functions that enable and improve the interaction with customers or produce market information and insights.

      Business Value Matrix

      The image contains a screenshot of a Business Value Matrix. It includes: Reach Customers, Increase Revenue or Deliver Value, Reduce Costs, and Enhance Services.

      Prioritize SAP optimization areas that will bring the most value to the organization

      Review your ERP capability areas and rate them according to relevance to organizational goals. This will allow you to eliminate optimization ideas that may not bring value to the organization.

      The image contains a screenshot of a graph that compares satisfaction by relevance to organizational goals to demonstrate high priority.

      3.1.1 Prioritize and rate optimization capability areas

      1-3 hours

      1. From the SAP capabilities, discuss areas of scope for the SAP optimization initiative.
      2. Discuss the four areas of the business value matrix and identify how each module, along with organizational goals, can bring value to the organization.
      3. Rate each of your SAP capabilities for the level of importance to your organization. The levels of importance are:
      • Crucial
      • Important
      • Secondary
      • Unimportant
      • Not applicable

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of activity 3.1.1.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Step 3.2

      Discover Optimization Initiatives

      Activities

      3.2.1 Discover product and vendor satisfaction opportunities

      3.2.2 Discover capability and feature optimization opportunities

      3.2.3 Discover process optimization opportunities

      3.2.4 Discover integration optimization opportunities

      3.2.5 Discover data optimization opportunities

      3.2.6 Discover SAP cost-saving opportunities

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Explore existing process gaps
      • Identify the impact of processes on user satisfaction
      • Identify the impact of data quality on user satisfaction
      • Review your overall product satisfaction and vendor management

      This step involves the following participants:

      • SAP Optimization Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Application optimization plan

      Satisfaction with SAP product

      The image contains three screenshots to demonstrate satisfaction with sap product.

      Improving vendor management

      Create a right-size, right-fit strategy for managing the vendors relevant to your organization.

      The image contains a diagram to demonstrate lower strategic value, higher vendor spend/switching costs, higher strategic value, and lower vendor spend/switching costs.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A vendor management initiative (VMI) is an organization’s formalized process for evaluating, selecting, managing, and optimizing third-party providers of goods and services.

      The amount of resources you assign to managing vendors depends on the number and value of your organization’s relationships. Before optimizing your vendor management program around the best practices presented in Info-Tech’s Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative blueprint, assess your current maturity and build the process around a model that reflects the needs of your organization.

      Note: Info-Tech uses VMI interchangeably with the terms “vendor management office (VMO),” “vendor management function,” “vendor management process,” and “vendor management program.”

      Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative

      3.2.1 Discover product and vendor satisfaction

      1-2 hours

      1. Use tab 3.1 “Optimization Priorities” and tab 2.2 “Vend. & Prod. Sat” to review the capabilities and features of your SAP system.
      2. Answer the following questions:
        1. Document overall product satisfaction.
        2. How does your satisfaction compare with your peers?
        3. Is the overall system fit for use?
        4. Do you have a proactive vendor management strategy in place?
        5. Is the product dissatisfaction at the point that you need to evaluate if it is time to replace the product?
        6. Could your vendor or Systems Integrator help you achieve better results?
      3. Review the Value Effort Matrix for each initiative.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Examples from Application Portfolio Assessment

      The image contains screenshots from the Application Portfolio Assessment.

      3.2.2 Discover capability and feature optimization opportunities

      1-2 hours

      1. Use tab 3.1 “Optimization Priorities” and tab 2.2 “Vend. & Prod. Sat” to review the capabilities and features of your SAP system.
      2. Answer the following questions:
        1. What capabilities and features are performing the worst?
        2. Do other organizations and users struggle with these areas?
        3. Why is it not performing well?
        4. Is there an opportunity for improvement?
        5. What are some optimization initiatives that could be undertaken?
      3. Review the Value Effort Matrix for each initiative.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Process optimization: the hidden goldmine

      In ~90% of SAP business process analysis reports, SAP identified significant potential for improving the existing SAP implementation, i.e. the large majority of customers are not yet using their SAP Business Suite to the full extent.

      Goals of Process Improvement

      Process Improvement Sample Areas

      Improvement Possibilities
      • Optimize business and improve value drivers
      • Reduce TCO
      • Reduce process complexity
      • Eliminate manual processes
      • Increase efficiencies
      • Support digital transformation and enablement
      • Order to cash
      • Procure to pay
      • Order to replenish
      • Plan to produce
      • Request to settle
      • Make to order
      • Make to stock
      • Purchase to order
      • Increase number of process instances processed successfully end-to-end
      • Increase number of instances processed in time
      • Increase degree of process automation
      • Speed up cycle times of supply chain processes
      • Reduce number of process exceptions
      • Apply internal best practices across organizational units

      3.2.3 Discover process optimization opportunities

      1-2 hours

      1. Use exercise 2.13 and tab 2.1 “SAP Current State Assessment” to assess process optimization opportunities.
      2. List underperforming capabilities around process.
      3. Answer the following:
        1. What is the state of the current processes?
        2. Is there an opportunity for process improvement?
        3. What are some optimization initiatives that could be undertaken in this area?

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Integration provides long-term usability

      Balance the need for secure, compliant data availability with organizational agility.

      The Benefits of Integration

      The Challenges of Integration
      • The largest benefit is the extended use of data. The ERP data can be used in the enterprise-level business intelligence suite rather than the application-specific analytics.
      • Enhanced data security. Integrated approaches lend themselves to auditable processes such as sign-on and limiting the email movement of data.
      • Regulatory compliance. Large multi-site organizations have many layers of regulation. A clear understanding of where orders, deliveries, and payments were made streamlines the audit process.
      • Extending a single instance ERP to multiple sites. The challenge for data management is the same as any SaaS application. The connection and data replication present challenges.
      • Combining data from equally high-volume systems. For SAP it is recommended that one instance is set to primary and all other sites are read-only to maintain data integrity.
      • Incorporating data from the separate system(s). The proprietary and locked-in nature of the data collection and definitions for ERP systems often limit the movement of data between separate systems.

      Common integration and consolidation scenarios

      Financial Consolidation

      Data Backup

      Synchronization Across Sites

      Legacy Consolidation
      • Require a holistic view of data format and accounting schedules.
      • Use a data center as the main repository to ensure all geographic locations have equal access to the necessary data.
      • Set up synchronization schedules based on data usage, not site location.
      • Carefully define older transactions. Only active transactions should be brought in the ERP. Send older data to storage.
      • Problem: Controlling financial documentation across geographic regions.
        Most companies are required to report in each region where they maintain a presence. Stakeholders and senior management also need a holistic view. This leads to significant strain on the financial department to consolidate both revenue and budget allocations for cross-site projects across the various geographic locations on a regular basis.
      • Solution: For enterprises with a single vendor, SAP-only portfolios, SAP can offer integration tools. For those needing to integrate with other ERPs, the use of a connector may be required to send financial data to the main system. The format and accounting calendar for transactions should match the primary ERP system to allow consolidation. The local-specific format should be a role-based customization at the level of the site’s specific instance.
      • Problem: ERP systems generate high volumes of data. Most systems have a defined schedule of back-up during off-hours. Multi-instance brings additional issues through lack of defined off-hours, higher volume of data, and the potential for cross-site or instance data relationships. This leads to headaches for both the database administrator and business analysts.
      • Solution: The best solution is an off-site data center with high availability. This may include cloud storage or hosted data centers. Regardless of where the data is stored, centralize the data and replicate to each site. Ensure that the data center can mirror the database and binary large object (BLOB) storage that exists for each site.
      • Problem: Providing access to up-to-date transactions requires copying of both contextual information (permissions, timestamp, location, history) and the transaction itself across multiple sites to allow local copies to be used for analysis and audits. The sheer volume of information makes timely synchronization difficult.
      • Solution: Not all data needs to be synchronized in a timely fashion. In SAP, administrators can use NetWeaver to maintain and alter global data synchronization through the Master Data Management module. Permissions can be given to users to perform on-demand synchronization of data attached to that user.
      • The Problem: Subsidiaries and acquired companies often have a Tier 2 ERP product. Prior to fully consolidating the processes many enterprises will want to migrate data to their ERP system to build compliance and audit trails. Migration of data often breaks historical linkages between transactions.
      • Solution: SAP offers tools to integrate data across applications that can be used as part of a data migration strategy. The process of data migration should be combined with data warehousing to ensure a cost-effective process. For most enterprises, the lack of experience in data migration will necessitate the use of consultants and independent software vendors (ISV).

      For more information: Implement a Multi-site ERP

      3.2.4 Discover integration optimization opportunities

      1-2 hours

      1. Use tab 1.3.1 “SAP Application Inventory” to discuss integrations and how they are related to capability areas that are not performing well.
      2. List capabilities that might be affected by integration issues. Think about exercise 3.2.1 and discuss how integrations could be affecting overall product satisfaction.
      3. Answer the following:
        1. Are there some areas where integration could be improved?
        2. Is there an opportunity for process improvement?
        3. What are some optimization initiatives that could be undertaken in this area?

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      System and data optimization

      Consolidating your business and technology requires an overall system and data migration plan.

      The image contains a screenshot of a diagram that demonstrates three different integrations: system, organization, and data.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Have an overall data migration plan before beginning your systems consolidation journey to S/4HANA.

      Use a data strategy that fixes the enterprise-wide data management issues

      Your data management must allow for flexibility and scalability for future needs.

      IT has several concerns around ERP data and wide dissemination of that data across sites. Large organizations can benefit from building a data warehouse or at least adopting some of the principles of data warehousing. The optimal way to deal with the issue of integration is to design a metadata-driven data warehouse that acts as a central repository for all ERP data. They serve as the storage facility for millions of transactions, formatted to allow analysis and comparison.

      Key considerations:

      • Technical: At what stage does data move to the warehouse? Can processes be automated to dump data or to do a scheduled data movement?
      • Process: Data integration requires some level of historical context for all data. Ensure that all data has multiple metadata tags to future-proof the data.
      • People: Who will be accessing the data and what are the key items that users will need to adapt to the data warehouse process?

      Info-Tech Insight

      Data warehouse solutions can be expensive. See Info-Tech’s Build a Data Warehouse on a Solid Foundation for guidance on what options are available to meet your budget and data needs.

      Optimizing SAP data, additional considerations

      Data Quality Management

      Effective Data Governance

      Data-Centric Integration Strategy

      Extensible Data Warehousing
      • Prevention is ten times cheaper than remediation. Stop fixing data quality with band-aid solutions and start fixing at the source of the problem.
      • Data quality is unique to each business unit and requires tolerance, not perfection. If the data allows the business to operate at the desired level, don’t waste time fixing data that may not need to be fixed.
      • Implement a set of data quality initiatives that are aligned with overall business objectives and aimed at addressing data practices and the data itself.
      • Develop a prioritized data quality improvement project roadmap and long-term improvement strategy.
      • Build related practices with more confidence and less risk after achieving an appropriate level of data quality.
      • Data governance enables data-driven insight. Think of governance as a structure for making better use of data.
      • Collaboration is critical. The business may own the data, but IT understands the data. Data governance will not work unless the business and IT work together.
      • Data governance powers the organization up the data value chain through policies and procedures, master data management, data quality, and data architecture.
      • Create a roadmap to prioritize initiatives and delineate responsibilities among data stewards, data owners, and the data governance steering committee.
      • Ensure buy-in from business and IT stakeholders. Communicate initiatives to end users and executives to reduce resistance.
      • Every enterprise application involves data integration. Any change in the application and database ecosystem requires you to solve a data integration problem.
      • Data integration is becoming more and more critical for downstream functions of data management and for business operations to be successful. Poor integration holds back these critical functions.
      • Build your data integration practice with a firm foundation in governance and a reference architecture. Ensure that your process is scalable and sustainable.
      • Support the flow of data through the organization and meet the organization’s requirements for data latency, availability, and relevancy.
      • Data availability must be frequently reviewed and repositioned to continue to grow with the business.
      • A data warehouse is a project, but successful data warehousing is a program. An effective data warehouse requires planning beyond the technology implementation.
      • Governance, not technology, needs to be the core support system for enabling a data warehouse program.
      • Leverage an approach that focuses on constructing a data warehouse foundation that can address a combination of operational, tactical, and ad hoc business needs.
      • Invest time and effort to put together pre-project governance to inform and guide your data warehouse implementation.
      • Select the most suitable architecture pattern to ensure the data warehouse is “built right” at the very beginning.

      Restore Trust in Your Data Using a Business-Aligned Data Quality Management Approach

      Establish Data Governance

      Build a Data Integration Strategy

      Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation

      Data Optimization

      Organizations are faced with challenges associated with changing data landscapes.

      Data migrations should not be taken lightly. It requires an overall data governance to assure data integrity for the move to S/4HANA and beyond.

      Have a solid plan before engaging S/4HANA Migration Cockpit.

      Develop a Master Data Management Strategy and Roadmap

      • Master data management (MDM) is complex in practice and requires investments in governance, technology, and planning.
      • Develop a MDM strategy and initiative roadmap using Info-Tech’s MDM framework, which takes data governance, architecture, and other critical data capabilities into consideration.

      Establish Data Governance

      • Ensure your data governance program delivers measurable business value by aligning the associated data governance initiatives with the business architecture.
      • Data governance must continuously align with the organization’s enterprise governance function. It should not be perceived as a pet project of IT but rather as an enterprise-wide, business-driven initiative.
      The image contains a screenshot of the S/4HANA Migration Cockpit.

      3.2.5 Discover data optimization opportunities

      1-2 hours

      1. Use your APA or user satisfaction survey to understand issues related to data.
        Note: Data issues happen for a number of reasons:
      • Poor underlying data in the system
      • More than one source of truth
      • Inability to consolidate data
      • Inability to measure KPIs effectively
      • Reporting that is cumbersome or non-existent
    • List underperforming capabilities related to data.
    • Answer the following:
      1. What are some underlying issues?
      2. Is there an opportunity for data improvement?
      3. What are some optimization initiatives that could be undertaken in this area?

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      SAP cost savings

      SAP cost savings does not have to be complicated.

      Look for quick wins:

      • Evaluate user licensing:
        • Ensure you are not double paying for employees or paying for employees who are no longer with the organization.
        • Verify user activity – if users are accessing the system very infrequently it does not make sense to license them as full users.
        • Audit your user classifications – ensure title positions and associated licenses are up to date.
      • Curb data sprawl.
      • Consolidate applications.

      30-35% of SAP customers likely have underutilized assets. This can add up to millions in unused software and maintenance.

      -Riley et al.

      20% Only 20 percent of companies manage to capture more than half the projected benefits from ERP systems.

      -McKinsey
      The image contains a screenshot of the Explore the Secrets of SAP Software Contracts to Optimize Spend and Reduce Compliance Risk.

      Explore the Secrets of SAP Software Contracts to Optimize Spend and Reduce Compliance Risk
      The image contains a screenshot of Secrets of SAP S/4HANA Licensing.

      Secrets of SAP S/4HANA Licensing

      License Optimization

      With the relatively slow uptake of the S/4HANA platform, the pressure is immense for SAP to maintain revenue growth.

      SAP’s definitions and licensing rules are complex and vague, making it extremely difficult to purchase with confidence while remaining compliant.

      Without having a holistic negotiation strategy, it is easy to hit a common obstacle and land into SAP’s playbook, requiring further spend.

      Price Benchmarking & Negotiation

      • Use price benchmarking and negotiation intelligence to secure a market-competitive price.
      • Understand negotiation tactics that can be used to better your deal.

      Secrets of SAP S/4HANA Licensing:

      • Build a business case to evaluate S/4HANA.
      • Understand the S/4HANA roadmap and map current functionality to ensure compatibility.

      SAP’s 2025 Support End of Life Date Delayed…As Predicted Here First

      • The math simply did not add up for SAP.
      • Extended support post 2027 is a mixed bag.

      3.2.6 Discover SAP cost-saving opportunities

      1-2 hours

      1. Use tab 1.5 “Current Costs” as an input for this exercise.
      2. Look for opportunities to cut SAP costs, both quick-wins and long-term strategy.
      3. Review Info-Tech’s SAP vendor management resources to understand cost-saving strategies:
      4. List cost-savings initiatives and opportunities.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Other optimization opportunities

      There are many opportunities to improve your SAP portfolio. Choose the ones that are right for your business:

      • Artificial intelligence (AI) (and management of the AI lifecycle)
      • Machine learning (ML)
      • Augment business interactions
      • Automatically execute sales pipelines
      • Process mining
      • SAP application monitoring
      • Be aware of the SAP product roadmap
      • Implement and take advantage of SAP tools and product offerings

      Phase 4

      Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      Phase 4

      1.1 Identify Stakeholders and Build Your Optimization Team

      1.2 Build an SAP Strategy Model

      1.3 Inventory Current System State

      1.4 Define Optimization Timeframe

      1.5 Understand SAP Costs

      2.1 Assess SAP Capabilities

      2.2 Review Your Satisfaction With the Vendor/Product and Willingness for Change

      3.1 Prioritize Optimization Opportunities

      3.2 Discover Optimization Initiatives

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • Review the different options to solve the identified pain points
      • Build out a roadmap showing how you will get to those solutions
      • Build a communication plan that includes the stakeholder presentation

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP applications support team

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP

      Step 4.1

      4.1 Build Your Optimization Roadmap

      Activities

      4.1.1 Pick your path

      4.1.2 Pick the right SAP migration path

      4.1.3 Build a roadmap

      4.1.4 Build a visual roadmap

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Review the different options to solve the identified pain points then build out a roadmap of how to get to that solution.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Primary stakeholders in each value stream supported by the ERP
      • ERP applications support team

      Outcomes of this step

      • A strategic direction is set
      • An initial roadmap is laid out

      Choose the right path for your organization

      There are several different paths you can take to achieve your ideal future state. Make sure to pick the one that suits your needs as defined by your current state.

      The image contains a diagram to demonstrate the different paths that can be taken. The pathways are: Optimize current system, augment current system, consolidate current systems, upgrade system, and replace system.

      Explore the options for achieving your ideal future state

      CURRENT STATE

      STRATEGY

      There is significant evidence of poor user satisfaction, inefficient processes, lack of data usage, poor integrations, and little vendor management. Look for opportunities to improve the system.

      OPTIMIZE CURRENT SYSTEM

      Your existing application is, for the most part, functionally rich but may need some tweaking. Spend time and effort building and enhancing additional functionalities or consolidating and integrating interfaces.

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Your ERP application portfolio consists of multiple apps serving the same functions. Consolidating applications with duplicate functionality is more cost efficient and makes integration and data sharing simpler.

      CONSOLIDATE CURRENT SYSTEMS

      The current system is reaching end of life and the software vendor offers a fit-for-use upgrade or system to which you can migrate. Prepare your migration strategy to move forward on the product roadmap.

      UPGRADE SYSTEM

      The current SAP system and future SAP roadmap are not fit for use. Vendor satisfaction is at an all-time low. Revisit your ERP strategy as you move into requirements gathering and selection.

      REPLACE SYSTEM

      Option: Optimize your current system

      Look for process, workflow, data usage, and vendor relation improvements.

      MAINTAIN CURRENT SYSTEM

      Keep the system but look for optimization opportunities.

      Your existing application portfolio satisfies both functionality and integration requirements. The processes surrounding it likely need attention, but the system should be considered for retention.

      Maintaining your current system entails adjusting current processes and/or adding new ones and involves minimal cost, time, and effort.

      INDICATORS

      POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

      People

      • User satisfaction is in the mid-range
      • There is an opportunity to rectify problems
      • Contact vendor to inquire about employee training opportunities
      • Build a change management strategy

      Process

      • Processes are old and have not been optimized
      • There are many manual processes and workarounds
      • Low process maturity or undocumented inconsistent processes
      • Explore process reengineering and process improvement opportunities
      • Evaluate and standardize processes

      Technology

      • No major capability gaps
      • Supported for 5+ years
      • Explore opportunities outside of the core technology including workflows, integrations, and reporting

      Alternative 1: Optimize your current system

      MAINTAIN CURRENT SYSTEM

      • Keep your SAP system running
      • Invest in resolving current challenges
      • Automate manual processes where appropriate
      • Improve/modify current system
      • Evaluate current system against requirements/processes
      • Reimplement functionality

      Alternative Overview

      Initial Investment ($)

      Medium

      Risk

      Medium

      Change Management Required

      Medium

      Operating Costs ($)

      		 Low

      Alignment With Organizational Goals and ERP Strategy

      Medium-Low

      Key Considerations

      • Now that I know my needs, where is the current system underused?
      • Do we have specialized needs?
      • Which functions can best enable the business?

      Advantages
      • Less cost investment than upgrading or replacing the system
      • Less technology risk
      • The current system has several optimization initiatives that can be implemented
      • Familiarity with the system; IT and business users know the system well
      • Least amount of changes
      • Integrations will be able to be maintained and will mean less complexity
      • Will allow us to leverage current investments and build on our current confidence in the solution
      • Allow us to review processes and engineer some workflow and process improvements

      Disadvantages
      • The system may need some augmentation to handle some improvement areas
      • Build some items from scratch
      • Less user-friendly
      • Need to reimplement and reconfigure some modules
      • Lots of workarounds – more staff needed to support current processes
      • Increase customization (additional IT development investment)
      • System gaps would remain
      • System feels “hard” to use
      • Workarounds still needed
      • Hard to overcome “negative” experience with the current system
      • Some functional gaps will remain
      • Less system development and support from the vendor as the product ages.
      • May become a liability and risk area in the future

      For what time frame does this make sense?

      Short Term

      		 ✓

      Medium Term

      Long Term

      Option: Augment your current system

      Use augmentation to resolve your existing technology and data pain points.

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Add to the system.

      Your existing application is for the most part functionally rich but may need some tweaking. Spend time and effort enhancing your current system.

      You will be able to add functions by leveraging existing system features. Augmentation requires limited investment and less time and effort than a full system replacement.

      INDICATORS

      POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

      Technology Pain Points
      • Lack of reporting functions
      • Lacking functional depth in key process areas
      • Add point solutions or enable modules to address missing functionality

      Data Pain Points
      • Poor data quality
      • Lack of data for processing and reporting
      • Single-source data entry
      • Add modules or augment processes to capture data

      Alternative 2: Augment current solution

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Maintain core system.

      Invest in SAP modules or extended functionality.

      Add functionality with bolt-on targeted “best of breed” solutions.

      Invest in tools to make the SAP portfolio and ecosystem work better.

      Alternative Overview

      Initial Investment ($)

      High

      Risk

      High

      Change Management

      High

      Operating Costs ($)

      High

      Alignment With Organizational Goals and ERP Strategy

      High

      Key Considerations

      • Now that I know my needs, where is the current system underused?
      • Do we have specialized needs?
      • Which functions can best enable the business?

      Advantages

      • Meet specific business needs – right solution for each component
      • Well-aligned to specific business needs
      • Higher morale – best solution with improved user interface
      • Allows you to find the right solution for the unique needs of the organization
      • Allows you to incorporate a light change management strategy that can include training for the end users and IT
      • Incorporate best practice processes
      • Leverage out-of-the-box functionality

      Disadvantages

      • Multiple technological solutions
      • Lots of integrations
      • Out-of-sync upgrades
      • Extra costs – potential less negotiation leverage
      • Multiple solutions to support
      • Multiple vendors
      • Less control over upgrades – including timing (potential out of sync)
      • More training – multiple products, multiple interfaces
      • Confusion – which system to use when
      • Need more HR specialization
      • More complexity in reporting
      • More alignment with JDE E1 information

      For what time frame does this make sense?

      Short Term

      Medium Term

      		✓

      Long Term

      Option: Consolidate systems

      Consolidate and integrate your current systems to address your technology and data pain points.

      CONSOLIDATE AND INTEGRATE SYSTEMS

      Get rid of one system, combine two, or connect many.

      Your ERP application portfolio consists of multiple apps serving the same functions.

      Consolidating your systems eliminates the need to manage multiple pieces of software that provide duplicate functionality. Reducing the number of ERP applications makes integration and data sharing simpler.

      INDICATORS

      POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

      Technology Pain Points

      • Disparate and disjointed systems
      • Multiple systems supporting the same function
      • Unused software licenses
      • System consolidation
      • System and module integration
      • Assess usage and consolidate licensing

      Data Pain Points

      • Multiple versions of same data
      • Duplication of data entry in different modules or systems
      • Poor data quality
      • Centralize core records
      • Assign data ownership
      • Single-source data entry

      Alternative 3: Consolidate systems

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Get rid of old disparate on-premise solutions.

      Consolidate into an up-to-date ERP solution.

      Standardize across the organization.

      Alternative Overview

      Initial Investment ($)

      High

      Risk

      Med

      Change Management

      Med

      Operating Costs ($)

      Med

      Alignment With Organizational Goals and ERP Strategy

      High

      Key Considerations

      • Now that I know my needs, where is the current system underused?
      • Do we have specialized needs?
      • Which functions can best enable the business?

      Advantages

      • Aligns the technology across the organization
      • Streamlining of processes
      • Opportunity for decreased costs
      • Easier to maintain
      • Modernizes the SAP portfolio
      • Easier to facilitate training
      • Incorporate best practice processes
      • Leverage out-of-the-box functionality

      Disadvantages

      • Unique needs of some business units may not be addressed
      • Will require change management and training
      • Deeper investment in SAP

      For what time frame does this make sense?

      Short Term

      Medium Term

      		✓

      Long Term

      Option: Upgrade System

      Upgrade your system to address gaps in your existing processes and various pain points.

      REPLACE CURRENT SYSTEM

      Move to a new SAP solution

      You’re transitioning from an end-of-life legacy system. Your existing system offers poor functionality and poor integration. It would likely be more cost- and time-efficient to replace the application and its surrounding processes altogether. You are satisfied with SAP overall and want to continue to leverage your SAP relationships and investments.

      INDICATORS

      POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

      Technology Pain Points

      • Obsolete or end-of-life technology portfolio
      • Lack of functionality and poor integration
      • Not aligned with technology direction or enterprise architecture plans
      • Evaluate the ERP technology landscape
      • Determine if you need to replace the current system with a point solution or an all-in-one solution
      • Align ERP technologies with enterprise architecture

      Data Pain Points

      • Limited capability to store and retrieve data
      • Understand your data requirements

      Process Pains

      • Insufficient tools to manage workflow
      • Review end-to-end processes
      • Assess user satisfaction

      Alternative 4: Upgrade System

      UPGRADE SYSTEM

      Upgrade your current SAP systems with SAP product replacements.

      Invest in SAP with the appropriate migration path for your organization.

      Alternative Overview

      Initial Investment ($)

      High

      Risk

      Med

      Change Management

      Med

      Operating Costs ($)

      Med

      Alignment With Organizational Goals and ERP Strategy

      High

      Key Considerations

      • Now that I know my needs, where is the current system underused?
      • Do we have specialized needs?
      • Which functions can best enable the business?

      Advantages

      • Aligns the technology across the organization
      • Opportunity for business transformation
      • Allows you to leverage your SAP and SI relationships
      • Modernizes your ERP portfolio
      • May offer you advantages around business transformation and process improvement
      • Opportunity for new hosting options
      • May offer additional opportunities for consolidation or business enablement

      Disadvantages

      • Big initiative
      • Costly
      • Adds business risk during ERP upgrade
      • May require a high amount of change management
      • Organization will have to build resources to support the replacement and ongoing support of the new product
      • Training will be required across business and IT
      • Integrations with other applications may need to be rebuilt

      For what time frame does this make sense?

      Short Term

      Medium Term

      Long Term

      		✓

      Option: Replace your current system

      Replace your system to address gaps in your existing processes and various pain points.

      REPLACE CURRENT SYSTEM

      Start from scratch.

      You’re transitioning from an end-of-life legacy system. Your existing system offers poor functionality and poor integration. It would likely be more cost and time efficient to replace the application and its surrounding processes all together.

      INDICATORS

      POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

      Technology Pain Points

      • Lack of functionality and poor integration
      • Obsolete technology
      • Not aligned with technology direction or enterprise architecture plans
      • Dissatisfaction with SAP and SI
      • Evaluate the ERP technology landscape
      • Determine if you need to replace the current system with a point solution or an all-in-one solution
      • Align ERP technologies with enterprise architecture

      Data Pain Points

      • Limited capability to store and retrieve data
      • Understand your data requirements

      Process Pains

      • Insufficient tools to manage workflow
      • Review end-to-end processes
      • Assess user satisfaction

      Alternative 5: Replace SAP with another ERP solution

      AUGMENT CURRENT SYSTEM

      Get rid of old disparate on-premises solutions.

      Consolidate into an up-to-date ERP solution.

      Standardize across the organization.

      Alternative Overview

      Initial Investment ($)

      High

      Risk

      Med

      Change Management

      Med

      Operating Costs ($)

      Med

      Alignment With Organizational Goals and ERP Strategy

      High

      Key Considerations

      • Do we have the appetite to walk away from SAP?
      • What opportunities are we looking for?
      • Are other ERP solutions better for our business?

      Advantages

      • Allows you to explore ERP options outside of SAP
      • Aligns the technology across the organization
      • Opportunity for business transformation
      • Allows you to move away from SAP
      • Modernizes your ERP portfolio
      • May offer you advantages around business transformation and process improvement
      • Opportunity for new hosting options
      • May offer additional opportunities for consolidation or business enablement

      Disadvantages

      • Big initiative
      • Costly
      • Adds business risk during ERP replacement
      • Relationships will have to be rebuilt with ERP vendor and SIs
      • May require a high amount of change management
      • Organization will have to build resources to support the replacement and ongoing support of the new product
      • Training will be required across business and IT
      • Integrations with other applications may need to be rebuilt

      For what time frame does this make sense?

      Short Term

      Medium Term

      		✓

      Long Term

      Activity 4.1.1: Pick your path

      1.5 hours

      For each given path selected, identify:

      • Advantage
      • Disadvantages
      • Initial Investment ($)
      • Risk
      • Change Management
      • Operating Costs ($)
      • Alignment With ERP Objectives
      • Key Considerations
      • Timeframe

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      The image contains a screenshot of activity 4.1.1 pick your path.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Pick the right SAP migration path for your organization

      There are three S/4HANA paths you can take to achieve your ideal future state. Make sure to pick the one that suits your needs as defined by your current state and meets your overall long-term roadmap.

      The image contains a diagram of the pathways that can be take from current state to future state. The options are: BEST PRACTICE QUICK WIN (Public Cloud), AUGMENT BEST PRACTICE (Private Cloud), OWN FULL SOLUTION (On Premise)

      SAP S/4 HANA offerings can be confusing

      The image contains a screenshot that demonstrates the SAP S/4 Offerings.

      What is the cloud, how is it deployed, and how is service provided?

      The image contains a screenshot from the National Institute of Standards and Technology that describes the Cloud Characteristics, Service Model, and Delivery Model.

      A workload-first approach will allow you to take full advantage of the cloud’s strengths

      • Under all but the most exceptional circumstances good cloud strategies will incorporate different service models. Very few organizations are “IaaS shops” or “SaaS shops,” even if they lean heavily in a one direction.
      • These different service models (including non-cloud options like colocation and on-premises infrastructure) each have different strengths. Part of your cloud strategy should involve determining which of the services makes the most sense for you.
      • Own the cloud by understanding which cloud (or non-cloud!) offering makes the most sense for you, given your unique context.

      See Info-Tech’s Define Your Cloud Vision for more information.

      Cloud service models

      • This research focuses on five key service models, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses. Moving right from “on-prem” customers gradually give up more control over their environments to cloud service providers.
      • An entirely premises-based environment means that the customer is responsible for everything ranging from the dirt under the datacenter to application-level configurations. Conversely, in a SaaS environment, the provider is responsible for everything but those top-level application configurations.
      • A managed service provider or other third-party can manage any or of the components of the infrastructure stack. A service provider may, for example, build a SaaS solution on top of another provider’s IaaS or offer configuration assistance with a commercially available SaaS.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Not all workloads fit well in the cloud. Many environments will mix service models (e.g. SaaS for some workloads, some in IaaS, some on-premises) and this can be perfectly effective. It must be consistent and intentional, however.

      The image contains a screenshot of cloud service models: On-prem, CoLo, laaS, PaaS, and SaaS

      Option: Best Practice Quick Win

      S/4HANA Cloud, Essentials

      Updates

      4 times a year

      License Model

      Subscription

      Server Platform

      SAP

      Platform Management

      SAP only

      Pre-Set Templates (industries)

      Not allowed

      Single vs. Multi-Tenant

      Multi-client

      Maintenance ALM Tool

      SAP ALM

      New Implementation

      This is a public cloud solution for new clients adopting SAP that are mostly looking for full functionality within best practice.

      Consider a full greenfield approach. Even for mid-size existing customers looking for a best-practice overhaul.

      Functionality is kept to the core. Any specialties or unique needs would be outside the core.

      Regional localization is still being expanded and must be evaluated early if you are a global company.

      Option: Augment Best Practice

      S/4HANA Cloud, Extended Edition

      Updates

      Every 1-2 years or up to client’s schedule

      License Model

      Subscription

      Server Platform

      AZURE, AWS, Google

      Platform Management

      SAP only

      Pre-Set Templates (industries)

      Coded separately

      Single vs. Multi-Tenant

      Single tenant

      Maintenance ALM Tool

      SAP ALM or SAP Solution Manager

      New Implementation With Client Specifics

      No longer available to new customers from January 25, 2022, though available for renewals.

      Replacement is called SAP Extended Services for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.

      This offering is a grey area, and the extended offerings are being defined.

      New S/4HANA Cloud extensibility is being offered to early adopters, allowing for customization within a separate system landscape (DTP) and aiming for an SAP Central Business Configuration solution for the cloud. A way of fine-tuning to meet customer-specific needs.

      Option: Augment Best Practice (Cont.)

      S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition

      Updates

      Every 1-5 years or up to client’s schedule

      License Model

      Subscription

      Server Platform

      AZURE, AWS, Google

      Platform Management

      SAP only

      Pre-Set Templates (industries)

      Allowed

      Single vs. Multi-Tenant

      Single tenant

      Maintenance ALM Tool

      SAP ALM or SAP Solution Manager

      New Implementation With Client Specifics

      This is a private cloud solution for existing or new customers needing more uniqueness, though still looking to adopt best practice.

      Still considered a new implementation with data migration requirements that need close attention.

      This offering is trying to move clients to the S/4HANA Cloud with close competition with the Any Premise product offering. Providing client specific scalability while allowing for standardization in the cloud and growth in the digital strategy. All customizations and ABAP functionality must be revisited or revamped to fit standardization.

      Option: Own Full Solution

      S/4HANA Any Premise

      Updates

      Client decides

      License Model

      Perpetual or subscription

      Server Platform

      AZURE, AWS, Google, partner's or own server room

      Platform Management

      Client and/or partner

      Pre-Set Templates (industries)

      Allowed

      Single vs. Multi-Tenant

      Single tenant

      Maintenance ALM Tool

      SAP Solution Manager

      Status Quo Migration to S/4HANA

      This is for clients looking for a quick transition to S/4HANA with minimal risks and without immediate changes to their operations.

      Though knowing the direction with SAP is toward its cloud solution, this may be a long costly path to getting the that end state.

      The Any Premise version carries over existing critical ABAP functionalities, and the SAP GUI can remain as the user interface.

      Activity 4.1.2 (Optional) Evaluate optimization initiatives

      1 hour

      1. If there is an opportunity to optimize the current SAP environment or prepare for the move to a new platform, continue with this step.
      2. Valuate your optimization initiatives from tab 3.2 “Optimization Initiatives.”

      Consider: relevance to achieving goals, number of users, importance to role, satisfaction with features, usability, data quality

      Value Opportunities: increase revenue, decrease costs, enhanced services, reach customers

      Additional Factors:

      • Current to Future Risk Profile
      • Number of Departments to Benefit
      • Importance to Stakeholder Relations
      • Resources: Do we have resources available and the skillset?
      • Cost
      • Overall Effort Rating
      • "Gut Check: Is it achievable? Have we done it or something similar before? Are we willing to invest in it?"

      Prioritize

      • Relative priority
      • Determine if this will be included in your optimization roadmap
      • Decision to proceed
      • Next steps

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Activity 4.1.3 Roadmap building blocks: SAP migration

      1 hour

      Migration paths: Determine your migration path and next steps using the Activity 4.1.1 “SAP System Options.”

      1. Identify initiatives and next steps.
      2. For each item on your roadmap, assign an owner who will be accountable to the completion of the roadmap item.
      3. Wherever possible, assign a start date, month, or quarter. The more specific you can be the better.
      4. Identify completion dates to create a sense of urgency. If you are struggling with start dates, it can help to start with a finish date and “back in” to a start date based on estimated efforts.
      5. Include periphery tasks such as communication strategy.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Note: Your roadmap should be treated as a living document that is updated and shared with the stakeholders on a regular schedule.

      The image contains a diagram of the pathways that can be take from current state to future state. The options are: BEST PRACTICE QUICK WIN (Public Cloud), AUGMENT BEST PRACTICE (Private Cloud), OWN FULL SOLUTION (On Premise)

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      Activity 4.1.4 Roadmap building blocks: SAP optimization

      1 hour

      Optimization initiatives: Determine which if any to proceed with.

      1. Identify initiatives.
      2. For each item on your roadmap, assign an owner who will be accountable to the completion of the roadmap item.
      3. Wherever possible, assign a start date, month, or quarter. The more specific you can be the better.
      4. Identify completion dates to create a sense of urgency. If you are struggling with start dates, it can help to start with a finish date and “back in” to a start date based on estimated efforts.
      5. Include periphery tasks such as communication strategy.

      Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

      Note: Your roadmap should be treated as a living document that is updated and shared with the stakeholders on a regular schedule.

      The image contains a screenshot of activity 4.1.4 SAP optimization.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      SAP optimization roadmap

      Initiative

      Owner

      Start Date

      Completion Date

      Create final workshop deliverable

      Info-Tech

      16 September 2021

      Review final deliverable

      Workshop sponsor

      Present to executive team

      October 2021

      Build business case

      CFO, CIO, Directors

      3 weeks to build

      3-4 weeks process time

      Build an RFI for initial costings

      1-2 weeks

      Stage 1 approval for requirements gathering

      Executive committee

      Milestone

      Determine and acquire BA support for next step

      1 week

      Requirements gathering – level 2 processes

      Project team

      1 week

      Build RFP (based on informal approval)

      CFO, CIO, Directors

      4th calendar quarter 2022

      Possible completion: January 2023

      2-4 weeks

      Data strategy optimization

      The image contains a graph to demonstrate the data strategy optimization.

      Activity 4.1.5 (Optional) Build a visual SAP roadmap

      1 hour

      1. For some, a visual representation of a roadmap is easier to comprehend. Consider taking the roadmap built in 4.1.4 and creating a visual.

        2. Record this information in the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook.

        The image contains a screenshot of activity 4.1.5 build a visual SAP roadmap.

      Download the Get the Most Out of Your SAP Workbook

      SAP strategy roadmap

      The image contains a screenshot of the SAP strategy roadmap.

      Implementations Partners

      • Able to consult, migrate, implement, and manage the SAP S/4HANA business suite across industries.
      • Able to transform the enterprise’s core business system to achieve the desired outcome.
      • Capable in strategic planning, building business cases, developing roadmaps, cost and time analysis, deployment model (on-prem, cloud, hybrid model), database conversion, database and operational support, and maintenance services.

      Info-Tech Insight

      It is becoming a common practice for implementation partners to engage in a two- to three-month Discovery Phase or Phase 0 to prepare an implementation roadmap. It is important to understand how this effort is tied to the overall service agreement.

      The image contains several logos of the implementation partners: Atos, Accenture, Cognizant, EY, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, LTI, Capgemini, Wipro, IBM, tos.

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP

      ERP technology is critical to facilitating an organization’s flow of information across business units. It allows for seamless integration of systems and creates a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making. ERP implementation should not be a one-and-done exercise. There needs to be an ongoing optimization to enable business processes and optimal organizational results.

      Get the Most Out of Your SAP allows organizations to proactively implement continuous assessment and optimization of their enterprise resource planning system, including:

      • Alignment and prioritization of key business and technology drivers.
      • Identification of processes, including classification and gap analysis.
      • Measurement of user satisfaction across key departments.
      • Improved vendor relations.
      • Data quality initiatives.

      This formal SAP optimization initiative will drive business-IT alignment, identify IT automation priorities, and dig deep into continuous process improvement.

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors

      The image contains a picture of Ben Dickie.

      Ben Dickie

      Research Practice Lead

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Ben Dickie is a Research Practice Lead at Info-Tech Research Group. His areas of expertise include customer experience management, CRM platforms, and digital marketing. He has also led projects pertaining to enterprise collaboration and unified communications.

      The image contains a picture of Scott Bickley.

      Scott Bickley

      Practice Lead and Principal Research Director

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Scott Bickley is a Practice Lead and Principal Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group focused on vendor management and contract review. He also has experience in the areas of IT asset management (ITAM), software asset management (SAM), and technology procurement along with a deep background in operations, engineering, and quality systems management.

      The image contains a picture of Andy Neil.

      Andy Neil

      Practice Lead, Applications

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Andy is a Senior Research Director, Data Management and BI, at Info-Tech Research Group. He has over 15 years of experience in managing technical teams, information architecture, data modeling, and enterprise data strategy. He is an expert in enterprise data architecture, data integration, data standards, data strategy, big data, and the development of industry standard data models.

      Bibliography

      Armel, Kate. "New Article: Data-Driven Estimation, Management Lead to High Quality." QSM: Quantitative Software Management, 14 May 2013. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.

      Enterprise Resource Planning. McKinsey, n.d. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.

      Epizitone, Ayogeboh. Info-Tech Interview, 10 May 2021.

      Epizitone, Ayogeboh, and Oludayo O. Olugbara. “Principal Component Analysis on Morphological Variability of Critical Success Factors for Enterprise Resource Planning.” International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), vol. 11, no. 5, 2020. Web.

      Gheorghiu, Gabriel. "The ERP Buyer’s Profile for Growing Companies." Selecthub, 2018. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Karlsson, Johan. "Product Backlog Grooming Examples and Best Practices." Perforce, 18 May 2018. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.

      Lichtenwalter, Jim. “A look back at 2021 and a look ahead to 2022.” ASUG, 23 Jan. 2022. Web.

      “Maximizing the Emotional Economy: Behavioral Economics." Gallup, n.d. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Mell, Peter, and Timothy Grance. “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing.” National Institute of Standards and Technology. Sept. 2011. Web.

      Norelus, Ernese, Sreeni Pamidala, and Oliver Senti. "An Approach to Application Modernization: Discovery and Assessment Phase," Medium, 24 Feb 2020. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      “Process Frameworks." APQC, n.d. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      “Quarterly number of SAP S/4HANA subscribers worldwide, from 2015 to 2021.” Statista, n.d. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.

      Riley, L., C.Hanna, and M. Tucciarone. “Rightsizing SAP in these unprecedented times.” Upperedge, 19 May 2020.

      Rubin, Kenneth S. Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process. Pearson Education, 2012.

      “SAP S/4HANA Product Scorecard Report.” SoftwareReviews, n.d. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022.

      Saxena, Deepak, and Joe Mcdonagh. "Evaluating ERP Implementations: The Case for a Lifecycle-based Interpretive Approach." The Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, vol. 22, no. 1, 2019, pp. 29-37. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      Smith, Anthony. "How To Create A Customer-Obsessed Company Like Netflix." Forbes, 12 Dec. 2017. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

      In Case Of Emergency...

      • member rating overall impact: N/A
      • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
      • member rating average days saved: N/A
      1. Get people to safety efficiently by following the floor warden's information and get out if needed
        If there are no floor wardens, YOU take the initiative and alert people. Vacate the premises if you suspect danger.
        Err on the side of caution. Nobody ever got fired over keeping people safe.
      2. Get people to safety (yes! double check this)
      3. Check what is happening
      4. Stop the bleeding
      5. Check what you broke while stopping the bleeding
      6. Check if you need to go into DR mode
      7. Go into DR mode if that is the fastest way to restore the service
      8. Only now start to look deeper

      Notice what is missing in this list?

      • WHY did this happen?
      • WHO did what

      During the first reactions to an event, stick to the facts of what is happening and the symptoms. If the symptoms are bad, attend to people first, no matter the financial losses occurring.
      Remember that financial losses are typically insured. Human life is not. Only loss of income and ability to pay is insured! Not the person's life.

      The WHY, HOW, WHO and other root cause questions are asked in the aftermath of the incident and after you have stabilized the situation.
      In ITIL terms, those are Problem Management and Root Cause Analysis stage questions.

       

       

       

      Management, incident, reaction, emergency

      Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}255|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.1/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $33,656 Average $ Saved
      • member rating average days saved: 7 Average Days Saved
      • Parent Category Name: Governance, Risk & Compliance
      • Parent Category Link: /governance-risk-compliance
      • Organizations must adapt their information security programs to accommodate insurance requirements.
      • Organizations need to reduce insurance costs.
      • Some organizations must find alternatives to cyber insurance.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Shopping for insurance policies is not step one.
      • First and foremost, we must determine what the organization is at risk for and how much it would cost to recover.
      • The cyber insurance market is still evolving. As insurance requirements change, effectively managing cyber insurance requires that your organization proactively manages risk.

      Impact and Result

      Perform an insurance policy comparison with scores based on policy coverage and exclusions.

      Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy Storyboard - A step-by-step document that walks you through how to acquire cyber insurance, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Use this blueprint to score your potential cyber insurance policies and develop skills to overcome common insurance pitfalls.

      • Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Policy Storyboard

      2. Acquire cyber insurance with confidence – Learn the essentials of the requirements gathering, policy procurement, and review processes.

      Use these tools to gather cyber insurance requirements, prepare for the underwriting process, and compare policies.

      • Threat and Risk Assessment Tool
      • DRP Business Impact Analysis Tool
      • Legacy DRP Business Impact Analysis Tool
      • DRP BIA Scoring Context Example
      • Cyber Insurance Policy Comparison Tool
      • Cyber Insurance Controls Checklist

      Infographic

      Develop a Business Continuity Plan

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}411|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.1/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $37,093 Average $ Saved
      • member rating average days saved: 30 Average Days Saved
      • Parent Category Name: DR and Business Continuity
      • Parent Category Link: /business-continuity
      • Recent crises have increased executive awareness and internal pressure to create a business continuity plan (BCP).
      • Industry and government-driven regulations require evidence of sound business continuity practices.
      • Customers demand their vendors provide evidence of a workable BCP prior to signing a contract.
      • IT leaders, because of their cross-functional view and experience with incident management and DR, are often asked to lead BCP efforts.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • BCP requires input from multiple departments with different and sometimes conflicting objectives. There are typically few, if any, dedicated resources for BCP, so it can't be a full-time, resource-intensive project.
      • As an IT leader you have the skill set and organizational knowledge to lead a BCP project, but ultimately business leaders need to own the BCP – they know their processes, and therefore, their requirements to resume business operations better than anyone else.
      • The traditional approach to BCP is a massive project that most organizations can’t execute without hiring a consultant. To execute BCP in-house, carve up the task into manageable pieces as outlined in this blueprint.

      Impact and Result

      • Implement a structured and repeatable process that you apply to one business unit at a time to keep BCP planning efforts manageable.
      • Use the results of the pilot to identify gaps in your recovery plans and reduce overall continuity risk while continuing to assess specific risks as you repeat the process with additional business units.
      • Enable business leaders to own the BCP going forward. Develop a template that the rest of the organization can use.
      • Leverage BCP outcomes to refine IT DRP recovery objectives and achieve DRP-BCP alignment.

      Develop a Business Continuity Plan Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop a business continuity plan, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Identify BCP maturity and document process dependencies

      Assess current maturity, establish a team, and choose a pilot business unit. Identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives.

      • BCP Maturity Scorecard
      • BCP Pilot Project Charter Template
      • BCP Business Process Workflows Example (Visio)
      • BCP Business Process Workflows Example (PDF)

      2. Conduct a BIA to determine acceptable RTOs and RPOs

      Define an objective impact scoring scale, estimate the impact of downtime, and set recovery targets.

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      3. Document the recovery workflow and projects to close gaps

      Build a workflow of the current steps for business recovery. Identify gaps and risks to recovery. Brainstorm and prioritize solutions to address gaps and mitigate risks.

      • BCP Tabletop Planning Template (Visio)
      • BCP Tabletop Planning Template (PDF)
      • BCP Project Roadmap Tool
      • BCP Relocation Checklists

      4. Extend the results of the pilot BCP and implement governance

      Present pilot project results and next steps. Create BCMS teams. Update and maintain BCMS documentation.

      • BCP Pilot Results Presentation
      • BCP Summary
      • Business Continuity Teams and Roles Tool

      5. Appendix: Additional BCP tools and templates

      Use these tools and templates to assist in the creation of your BCP.

      • BCP Recovery Workflow Example (Visio)
      • BCP Recovery Workflow Example (PDF)
      • BCP Notification, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan
      • BCP Business Process Workarounds and Recovery Checklists
      • Business Continuity Management Policy
      • Business Unit BCP Prioritization Tool
      • Industry-Specific BIA Guidelines
      • BCP-DRP Maintenance Checklist
      • Develop a COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan Storyboard
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Develop a Business Continuity Plan

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Define BCP Scope, Objectives, and Stakeholders

      The Purpose

      Define BCP scope, objectives, and stakeholders.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Prioritize BCP efforts and level-set scope with key stakeholders.

      Activities

      1.1 Assess current BCP maturity.

      1.2 Identify key business processes to include in scope.

      1.3 Flowchart key business processes to identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives.

      Outputs

      BCP Maturity Scorecard: measure progress and identify gaps.

      Business process flowcharts: review, optimize, and allow for knowledge transfer of processes.

      Identify workarounds for common disruptions to day-to-day continuity.

      2 Define RTOs and RPOs Based on Your BIA

      The Purpose

      Define RTOs and RPOs based on your BIA.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Set recovery targets based business impact, and illustrate the importance of BCP efforts via the impact of downtime.

      Activities

      2.1 Define an objective scoring scale to indicate different levels of impact.

      2.2 Estimate the impact of downtime.

      2.3 Determine acceptable RTO/RPO targets for business processes based on business impact.

      Outputs

      BCP Business Impact Analysis: objective scoring scale to assess cost, goodwill, compliance, and safety impacts.

      Apply the scoring scale to estimate the impact of downtime on business processes.

      Acceptable RTOs/RPOs to dictate recovery strategy.

      3 Create a Recovery Workflow

      The Purpose

      Create a recovery workflow.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Build an actionable, high-level, recovery workflow that can be adapted to a variety of different scenarios.

      Activities

      3.1 Conduct a tabletop exercise to determine current recovery procedures.

      3.2 Identify and prioritize projects to close gaps and mitigate recovery risks.

      3.3 Evaluate options for command centers and alternate business locations (i.e. BC site).

      Outputs

      Recovery flow diagram – current and future state

      Identify gaps and recovery risks.

      Create a project roadmap to close gaps.

      Evaluate requirements for alternate business sites.

      4 Extend the Results of the Pilot BCP and Implement Governance

      The Purpose

      Extend the results of the pilot BCP and implement governance.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Outline the actions required for the rest of your BCMS, and the required effort to complete those actions, based on the results of the pilot.

      Activities

      4.1 Summarize the accomplishments and required next steps to create an overall BCP.

      4.2 Identify required BCM roles.

      4.3 Create a plan to update and maintain your overall BCP.

      Outputs

      Pilot BCP Executive Presentation

      Business Continuity Team Roles & Responsibilities

      3. Maintenance plan and BCP templates to complete the relevant documentation (BC Policy, BCP Action Items, Recovery Workflow, etc.)

      Further reading

      Develop a Business Continuity Plan

      Streamline the traditional approach to make BCP development manageable and repeatable.

      Analyst Perspective

      A BCP touches every aspect of your organization, making it potentially the most complex project you’ll take on. Streamline this effort or you won’t get far.

      None of us needs to look very far to find a reason to have an effective business continuity plan.

      From pandemics to natural disasters to supply chain disruptions to IT outages, there’s no shortage of events that can disrupt your complex and interconnected business processes. How in the world can anyone build a plan to address all these threats?

      Don’t try to boil the ocean. Use these tactics to streamline your BCP project and stay on track:

      • Focus on one business unit at a time. Keep the effort manageable, establish a repeatable process, and produce deliverables that provide a starting point for the rest of the organization.
      • Don’t start with an extensive risk analysis. It takes too long and at the end you’ll still need a plan to resume business operations following a disruption. Rather than trying to predict what could cause a disruption, focus on how to recover.
      • Keep your BCP documentation concise. Use flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams instead of traditional manuals.

      No one can predict every possible disruption, but by following the guidance in this blueprint, you can build a flexible continuity plan that allows you to withstand the threats your organization may face.

      Frank Trovato

      Research Director,
      IT Infrastructure & Operations Practice
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Andrew Sharp

      Senior Research Analyst,
      IT Infrastructure & Operations Practice
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      • Recent crises have increased executive awareness and internal pressure to create a BCP.
      • Industry- and government-driven regulations require evidence of sound business continuity practices.
      • Customers demand their vendors provide evidence of a workable BCP prior to signing a contract.

      IT leaders, because of their cross-functional view and experience with incident management and DR, are often asked to lead BCP efforts.

      Common Obstacles

      • IT managers asked to lead BCP efforts are dealing with processes and requirements beyond IT and outside of their control.
      • BCP requires input from multiple departments with different and sometimes conflicting objectives.
      • Typically there are few, if any, dedicated resources for BCP, so it can't be a full-time, resource-intensive project.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      • Focus on implementing a structured and repeatable process that can be applied to one business unit at a time to avoid BCP from becoming an overwhelming project.
      • Enable business leaders to own the BCP going forward by establishing a template that the rest of the organization can follow.
      • Leverage BCP outcomes to refine IT DRP recovery objectives and achieve DRP-BCP alignment.

      Info-Tech Insight

      As an IT leader you have the skill set and organizational knowledge to lead a BCP project, but you must enable business leaders to own their department’s BCP practices and outputs. They know their processes and, therefore, their requirements to resume business operations better than anyone else.

      Use this research to create business unit BCPs and structure your overall BCP

      A business continuity plan (BCP) consists of separate but related sub-plans, as illustrated below. This blueprint enables you to:

      • Develop a BCP for a selected business unit (as a pilot project), and thereby establish a methodology that can be repeated for remaining business units.
      • Through the BCP process, clarify requirements for an IT disaster recovery plan (DRP). Refer to Info-Tech’s Disaster Recovery Planning workshop for instructions on how to create an IT DRP.
      • Implement ongoing business continuity management to govern BCP, DRP, and crisis management.

      Overall Business Continuity Plan

      IT Disaster Recovery Plan

      A plan to restore IT application and infrastructure services following a disruption.

      Info-Tech’s disaster recovery planning blueprint provides a methodology for creating the IT DRP. Leverage this blueprint to validate and provide inputs for your IT DRP.

      BCP for Each Business Unit

      A set of plans to resume business processes for each business unit. This includes:

      • Identifying business processes and dependencies.
      • Defining an acceptable recovery timeline based on a business impact analysis.
      • Creating a step-by-step recovery workflow.

      Crisis Management Plan

      A plan to manage a wide range of crises, from health and safety incidents to business disruptions to reputational damage.

      Info-Tech’s Implement Crisis Management Best Practices blueprint provides a framework for planning a response to any crisis, from health and safety incidents to reputational damage.

      IT leaders asked to develop a BCP should start with an IT Disaster Recovery Plan

      It’s a business continuity plan. Why should you start continuity planning with IT?

      1. IT services are a critical dependency for most business processes. Creating an IT DRP helps you mitigate a key risk to continuity quicker than it takes to complete your overall BCP, and you can then focus on other dependencies such as people, facilities, and suppliers.
      2. A BCP requires workarounds for IT failures. But it’s difficult to plan workarounds without a clear understanding of the potential IT downtime and data loss. Your DRP will answer those questions, and without a DRP, BCP discussions can get bogged down in IT discussions. Think of payroll as an example: if downtime might be 24 hours, the business might simply wait for recovery; if downtime might be a week, waiting it out is not an option.
      3. As an IT manager, you can develop an IT DRP primarily with resources within your control. That makes it an easier starting point and puts IT in a better position to shift responsibility for BCP to business leaders (where it should reside) since essentially the IT portion is done.

      Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan today.

      Modernize the BCP

      If your BCP relies heavily on paper-based processes as workarounds, it’s time to update your plan.

      Back when transactions were recorded on paper and then keyed into the mainframe system later, it was easier to revert to deskside processes. There is very little in the way of paper-based processes anymore, and as a result, it is increasingly difficult to resume business processes without IT.

      Think about your own organization. What IT system(s) are absolutely critical to business operations? While you might be able to continue doing business without IT, this requires regular preparation and training. It’s likely a completely offline process and won’t be a viable workaround for long even if staff know how to do the work. If your data center and core systems are down, technology-enabled workarounds (such as collaboration via mobile technologies or cloud-based solutions) could help you weather the outage, and may be more flexible and adaptable for day-to-day work.

      The bottom line:

      Technology is a critical dependency for business processes. Consider the role IT systems play as process dependencies and as workarounds as part of continuity planning.

      Info-Tech’s approach

      The traditional approach to BCP takes too long and produces a plan that is difficult to use and maintain.

      The Problem: You need to create a BCP, but don’t know where to start.

      • BCP is being demanded more and more to comply with regulations, mitigate business risk, meet customer demands, and obtain insurance.
      • IT leaders are often asked to lead BCP.

      The Complication: A traditional BCP process takes longer to show value.

      • Traditional consultants don’t usually have an incentive to accelerate the process.
      • At the same time, self-directed projects with no defined process go months without producing useful deliverables.
      • The result is a dense manual that checks boxes but isn’t maintainable or usable in a crisis.

      A pie chart is separated into three segments, Internal Mandates 43%, Customer Demands 23%, and Regulatory Requirements 34%. The bottom of the image reads Source: Info-Tech Research Group.

      The Info-Tech difference:

      Use Info-Tech’s methodology to right-size and streamline the process.

      • Reduce required effort. Keep the work manageable and maintain momentum by focusing on one business unit at a time; allow that unit to own their BCP.
      • Prioritize your effort. Evaluate the current state of your BCP to identify the steps that are most in need of attention.
      • Get valuable results faster. Functional deliverables and insights from the first business unit’s BCP can be leveraged by the entire organization (e.g. communication, assessment, and BC site strategies).

      Expedite BCP development

      Info-Tech’s Approach to BCP:

      • Start with one critical business unit to manage scope, establish a repeatable process, and generate deliverables that become a template for remaining business units.
      • Resolve critical gaps as you identify them, generating early value and risk mitigation.
      • Create concise, practical documentation to support recovery.

      Embed training and awareness throughout the planning process.

      BCP for Business Unit A:

      Scope → Pilot BIA → Response Plan → Gap Analysis

      → Lessons Learned:

      • Leverage early results to establish a BCM framework.
      • Take action to resolve critical gaps as they are identified.
      • BCP for Business Units B through N.
      • Scope→BIA→Response Plan→Gap Analysis

      = Ongoing governance, testing, maintenance, improvement, awareness, and training.

      By comparison, a traditional BCP approach takes much longer to mitigate risk:

      • An extensive, upfront commitment of time and resources before defining incident response plans and mitigating risk.
      • A “big bang” approach that makes it difficult to predict the required resourcing and timelines for the project.

      Organizational Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis → Solution Design to Achieve Recovery Objectives → Create and Validate Response Plans

      Case Study

      Continuity Planning Supports COVID-19 Response

      Industry: Non-Profit
      Source: Info-Tech Advisory Services

      A charitable foundation for a major state university engaged Info-Tech to support the creation of their business continuity plan.

      With support from Info-Tech analysts and the tools in this blueprint, they worked with their business unit stakeholders to identify recovery objectives, confirm recovery capabilities and business process workarounds, and address gaps in their continuity plans.

      Results

      The outcome wasn’t a pandemic plan – it was a continuity plan that was applicable to pandemics. And it worked. Business processes were prioritized, gaps in work-from-home and business process workarounds had been identified and addressed, business leaders owned their plan and understood their role in it, and IT had clear requirements that they were able and ready to support.

      “The work you did here with us was beyond valuable! I wish I could actually explain how ready we really were for this…while not necessarily for a pandemic, we were ready to spring into action, set things up, the priorities were established, and most importantly some of the changes we’ve made over the past few years helped beyond words! The fact that the groups had talked about this previously almost made what we had to do easy.“ -- VP IT Infrastructure

      Download the BCP Case Study

      Project Overview: BCP

      Phases Phase 1: Identify BCP Maturity and Document Process Dependencies Phase 2: Conduct a BIA to Determine Acceptable RTOs and RPOs Phase 3: Document the Recovery Workflow and Projects to Close Gaps Phase 4: Extend the Results of the Pilot BCP and Implement Governance
      Steps 1.1 Assess current BCP maturity 2.1 Define an objective impact scoring scale 3.1 Determine current recovery procedures 4.1 Consolidate BCP pilot insights to support an overall BCP project plan
      1.2 Establish the pilot BCP team 2.2 Estimate the impact of downtime 3.2 Identify and prioritize projects to close gaps 4.2 Outline a business continuity management (BCM) program
      1.3 Identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives 2.3 Determine acceptable RTO/RPO targets 3.3 Evaluate BC site and command center options 4.3 Test and maintain your BCP
      Tools and Templates

      BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Results Presentation

      BCP Maturity Scorecard

      Tabletop Planning Template

      BCP Summary

      Pilot Project Charter

      Recovery Workflow Examples

      Business Continuity Teams and Roles

      Business Process Workflows Examples

      BCP Project Roadmap

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool: Conduct and document a business impact analysis using this document.

      BCP Recovery Workflows Example: Model your own recovery workflows on this example.

      BCP Project Roadmap: Use this tool to prioritize projects that can improve BCP capabilities and mitigate gaps and risks.

      BCP Relocation Checklists: Plan for and manage a site relocation – whether to an alternate site or work from home.

      Key deliverable:

      BCP Summary Document

      Summarize your organization's continuity capabilities and objectives in a 15-page, easy-to-consume template.

      This document consolidates data from the supporting documentation and tools to the right.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Summary Document

      Insight summary

      Focus less on risk, and more on recovery

      Avoid focusing on risk and probability analysis to drive your continuity strategy. You never know what might disrupt your business, so develop a flexible plan to enable business resumption regardless of the event.

      Small teams = good pilots

      Choose a small team for your BCP pilot. Small teams are better at trialing new techniques and finding new ways to think about problems.

      Calculate downtime impact

      Develop and apply a scoring scale to develop a more-objective assessment of downtime impact for the organization. This will help you prioritize recovery.

      It’s not no, but rather not now…

      You can’t address all the organization’s continuity challenges at once. Prioritize high value, low effort initiatives and create a long-term roadmap for the rest.

      Show Value Now

      Get to value quickly. Start with one business unit with continuity challenges, and a small, focused project team who can rapidly learn the methodology, identify continuity gaps, and define solutions that can also be leveraged by other departments right away.

      Lightweight Testing Exercises

      Outline recovery capabilities using lightweight, low risk tabletop planning exercises. Our research shows tabletop exercises increase confidence in recovery capabilities almost as much as live exercises, which carry much higher costs and risks.

      Blueprint benefits

      Demonstrate compliance with demands from regulators and customers

      • Develop a plan that satisfies auditors, customers, and insurance providers who demand proof of a continuity plan.
      • Demonstrate commitment to resilience by identifying gaps in current capabilities and projects to overcome those gaps.
      • Empower business users to develop their plans and perform regular maintenance to ensure plans don’t go stale.
      • Establish a culture of business readiness and resilience.

      Leverage your BCP to drive value (Business Benefits)

      • Enable flexible, mobile, and adaptable business operations that can overcome disruptions large and small. This includes making it easier to work remotely in response to pandemics or facility disruptions.
      • Clarify the risk of the status quo to business leaders so they can make informed decisions on where to invest in business continuity.
      • Demonstrate to customers your ability to overcome disruptions and continue to deliver your services.

      Info-Tech Advisory Services lead to Measurable Value

      Info-Tech members told us they save an average of $44,522 and 23 days by working with an Info-Tech analyst on BCP (source: client response data from Info-Tech's Measured Value Survey).

      Why do members report value from analyst engagement?

      1. Expert advice on your specific situation to overcome obstacles and speed bumps.
      2. Structure the project and stay on track.
      3. Review project deliverables and ensure the process is applied properly.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

      Workshop

      “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

      Consulting

      “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

      Diagnostic and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Guided Implementation

      Your Trusted Advisor is a call away.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is between eight to twelve calls over the course of four to six months.

      Scoping

      Call 1: Scope requirements, objectives, and stakeholders. Identify a pilot BCP project.

      Business Processes and Dependencies

      Calls 2 - 4: Assess current BCP maturity. Create business process workflows, dependencies, alternates, and workarounds.

      Conduct a BIA

      Calls 5 – 7: Create an impact scoring scale and conduct a BIA. Identify acceptable RTO and RPO.

      Recovery Workflow

      Calls 8 – 9: Create a recovery workflow based on tabletop planning.

      Documentation & BCP Framework

      Call 10: Summarize the pilot results and plan next steps. Define roles and responsibilities. Make the case for a wider BCP program.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com | 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
      Identify BCP Maturity, Key Processes, and Dependencies Conduct a BIA to Determine Acceptable RTOs and RPOs Document the Current Recovery Workflow and Projects to Close Gaps Identify Remaining BCP Documentation and Next Steps Next Steps and Wrap-Up (offsite)
      Activities

      1.1 Assess current BCP maturity.

      1.2 Identify key business processes to include in scope.

      1.3 Create a flowchart for key business processes to identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives.

      2.1 Define an objective scoring scale to indicate different levels of impact.

      2.2 Estimate the impact of a business disruption on cost, goodwill, compliance, and health & safety.

      2.3 Determine acceptable RTOs/RPOs for selected business processes based on business impact.

      3.1 Review tabletop planning – what is it, how is it done?

      3.2 Walk through a business disruption scenario to determine your current recovery timeline, RTO/RPO gaps, and risks to your ability to resume business operations.

      3.3 Identify and prioritize projects to close RTO/RPO gaps and mitigate recovery risks.

      4.1 Assign business continuity management (BCM) roles to govern BCP development and maintenance, as well as roles required to execute recovery.

      4.2 Identify remaining documentation required for the pilot business unit and how to leverage the results to repeat the methodology for remaining business units.

      4.3 Workshop review and wrap-up.

      5.1 Finalize deliverables for the workshop.

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop outputs and to discuss next steps.

      Deliverables
      1. Baseline BCP maturity status
      2. Business process flowcharts
      3. Business process dependencies and alternatives recorded in the BIA tool
      1. Potential impact of a business disruption quantified for selected business processes.
      2. Business processes criticality and recovery priority defined
      3. Acceptable RTOs/RPOs defined based on business impact
      1. Current-state recovery workflow and timeline.
      2. RTO/RPO gaps identified.
      3. BCP project roadmap to close gaps
      1. BCM roles and responsibilities defined
      2. Workshop results deck; use this to communicate pilot results and next steps
      1. Finalized deliverables

      Phase 1

      Identify BCP Maturity and Document Process Dependencies

      Phase 1

      1.1 Assess Current BCP Maturity

      1.2 Establish the pilot BCP team

      1.3 Identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives

      Insights & Outcomes

      Define the scope for the BCP project: assess the current state of the plan, create a pilot project team and pilot project charter, and map the business processes that will be the focus of the pilot.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • BCP Executive Sponsor
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager & Process SMEs

      Step 1.1

      Assess current BCP Maturity

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Complete Info-Tech’s BCP Maturity Scorecard

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Executive Sponsor
      • BCP Coordinator

      You'll use the following tools & templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Establish current BCP maturity using Info-Tech’s ISO 22301-aligned BCP Maturity Scorecard.

      Evaluate the current state of your continuity plan

      Use Info-Tech’s Maturity Scorecard to structure and accelerate a BCP maturity assessment.

      Conduct a maturity assessment to:

      • Create a baseline metric so you can measure progress over time. This metric can also drive buy-in from senior management to invest time and effort into your BCP.
      • Understand the scope of work to create a complete business continuity plan.
      • Measure your progress and remaining gaps by updating your assessment once you’ve completed the activities in this blueprint.

      This blueprint primarily addresses the first four sections in the scorecard, which align with the creation of the core components of your business continuity plan.

      Info-Tech’s BCP Maturity Scorecard

      Info-Tech’s maturity scorecard is aligned with ISO 22301, the international standard that describes the key elements of a functioning business continuity management system or program – the overarching set of documents, practices, and controls that support the ongoing creation and maintenance of your BCP. A fully functional BCMS goes beyond business continuity planning to include crisis management, BCP testing, and documentation management.

      Audit tools tend to treat every bullet point in ISO 22301 as a separate requirement – which means there’s almost 400 lines to assess. Info-Tech’s BCP Maturity Scorecard has synthesized key requirements, minimizing repetition to create a high-level self-assessment aligned with the standard.

      A high score is a good indicator of likely success with an audit.

      Download Info-Tech's BCP Maturity Scorecard

      Tool: BCP Maturity Scorecard

      Assess your organization’s BCP capabilities.

      Use Info-Tech’s BCP Maturity Scorecard to:

      • Assess the overall completeness of your existing BCP.
      • Track and demonstrate progress towards completion as you work through successive planning iterations with additional business units.
      1. Download a copy of the BCP Maturity Scorecard. On tab 1, indicate the percent completeness for each item using a 0-10 scale (0 = 0% complete, 10 = 100% complete).
      2. If you anticipate improvements in a certain area, make note of it in the “Comments” column.
      3. Review a visual representation of your overall scores on tab 2.

      Download Info-Tech's BCP Maturity Scorecard

      "The fact that this aligns with ISO is huge." - Dr. Bernard Jones MBCI, CBCP

      Step 1.2

      Establish the pilot BCP team

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Assign accountability, responsibility, and roles.
      • Develop a project charter.
      • Identify dependencies and alternates for those dependencies.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Executive Sponsor
      • BCP Coordinator

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Assign roles and responsibilities for the BCP pilot project. Set milestones and timelines for the pilot.

      Take a pilot approach for BCP

      Limit the scope of an initial BCP project to get to value faster.

      Pilot Project Goals

      • Establish a repeatable methodology that fits your organization and will accelerate BCP development, with tangible deliverables that provide a template for the rest of the business.
      • Identify high-priority business continuity gaps for the pilot business unit, many of which will also apply to the overall organization.
      • Identify initiatives to start addressing gaps now.
      • Enable business users to learn the BCP methodology and toolset so they can own and maintain their business unit BCPs.

      Accomplishments expected:

      • Define key business processes and process dependencies, and alternatives if dependencies are not available.
      • Classify key business processes by criticality for one business unit, using an objective impact scoring scale.
      • Set recovery objectives for these key processes.
      • Document workarounds and recovery plans.
      • Identify gaps in recovery plans and list action items to mitigate risks.
      • Develop a project plan to structure a larger continuity project.

      What not to expect from a pilot project:

      • A complete organizational BCP (the pilot is a strong starting point).
      • Implemented solutions to all BCP gaps (proposed solutions will need to be evaluated first).

      Structure IT’s role in continuity planning

      Clearly define IT’s role in the pilot BCP project to deliver a successful result that enables business units to own BCP in the future.

      Though IT is a critical dependency for most processes, IT shouldn’t own the business continuity plan. IT should be an internal BCP process consultant, and each business unit must own their plan.

      IT should be an internal BCP consultant.

      • IT departments interact with all business units, which gives IT leaders at least a high-level understanding of business operations across the organization.
      • IT leaders typically also have at least some knowledge of disaster recovery, which provides a foundation for tackling BCP.
      • By contrast, business leaders often have little or no experience with disaster recovery, and don’t have the same level of experience as IT when it comes to working with other business units.

      Why shouldn’t IT own the plan?

      • Business unit managers have the authority to direct resources in their department to participate in the BCP process.
      • Business users are the experts in their processes, and are in the best position to identify dependencies, downtime impacts, recovery objectives, and viable solutions (e.g., acceptable alternate sites or process workarounds).
      • Ultimately, business unit managers and executives must decide whether to mitigate, accept, or transfer risks.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A goal of the pilot is to seed success for further planning exercises. This is as much about demonstrating the value of continuity planning to the business unit, and enabling them to own it, as it is about implementing the methodology successfully.

      Create a RACI matrix for the pilot

      Assemble a small, focused team for the pilot project empowered to discover, report, and present possible solutions to continuity planning challenges in your organization.

      Outline roles and responsibilities on the pilot team using a “RACI” exercise. Remember, only one party can be ultimately accountable for the work being completed.

      Example Pilot BCP Project RACI

      Board Executive Team BCP Executive Sponsor BCP Team Leader BCP Coordinator Pilot Bus. Unit Manager Expert Bus. Unit Staff IT Manager
      Communicate BCP project status I I I A R C C I
      Assign resources to pilot BCP project A R C R C R
      Conduct continuity planning activities I A/R R R R R
      Create pilot BCP deliverables I A R R C C C
      Manage BCP documentation I A C R I C C
      Integrate results into BCMS I I A R R I C C
      Create overall BCP project plan I I A R C C

      R: Responsible for doing the work.

      A: Accountable to ensure the activity/work happens.

      C: Consulted prior to decision or action.

      I: Informed of the decision/action once it’s made.

      "Large teams excel at solving problems, but it is small teams that are more likely to come up with new problems for their more sizable counterparts to solve." – Wang & Evans, 2019

      Info-Tech Insight

      Small teams tend to be better at trialing new techniques and finding new ways to think about problems, both of which are needed for a BCP pilot project.

      Choose one business unit for the pilot

      Many organizations begin their BCP project with a target business unit in mind. It’s still worth establishing whether this business unit meets the criteria below.

      Good candidates for a pilot project:

      • Business processes are standardized and documented.
      • Management and staff are motivated to improve business continuity.
      • The business unit is sufficiently well resourced to spare time (e.g. a few hours a week) to dedicate to the BCP process.
      • If the business unit doesn’t meet these criteria, consider addressing shortfalls before the pilot (e.g. via stakeholder management or business process analysis) or selecting another unit.
      • Many of the decisions will ultimately require input and support from the business unit’s manager(s). It is critical that they are bought into and engaged with the project.
      • The leader of the first business unit will be a champion for BCP within the executive team.
      • Sometimes, there’s no clear place to start. If this is the case for you, consider using Info-Tech’s Business Unit BCP Prioritization Tool to determine the order in which business units should undergo BCP development.

      Create role descriptions for the pilot project

      Use these role descriptions and your RACI chart to define roles for the pilot.

      These short descriptions establish the functions, expectations, and responsibilities of each role at a more granular level.

      The Board and executives have an outsized influence on the speed at which the project can be completed. Ensure that communication with these stakeholders is clear and concise. Avoid involving them directly in activities and deliverable creation, unless it’s required by their role (e.g. as a business unit manager).

      Project Role Description
      Board & Executive Team
      • Will receive project status updates but are not directly involved in deliverable creation.
      Executive Sponsor
      • Liaison with the executive team.
      • Accountable to ensure the pilot BCP is completed.
      • Set project goals and approve resource allocation and funding.
      Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Drive the project and assign required resources.
      • Delegate day-to-day project management tasks to the BCP Coordinator.
      BCP Coordinator
      • Function as the project manager. This includes scheduling activities, coordinating resources, reporting progress, and managing deliverables.
      • Learn and apply the BCP methodology to achieve project goals.
      Expert Business Unit Staff
      • Pilot business unit process experts to assist with BCP development for that business unit.
      IT Manager
      • Provide guidance on IT capabilities and recovery options.
      Other Business Unit Managers
      • Consulted to validate or provide input to the business impact analysis and RTOs/RPOs.

      Identify a suitable BCP Coordinator

      A skilled and committed coordinator is critical to building an effective and durable BCP.

      • Coordinating the BC planning effort requires a perspective that’s informed by IT, but goes beyond IT.
      • For example, many IT professionals only see business processes where they intersect with IT. The BCP Coordinator needs to be able to ask the right questions to help the business units think through dependencies for critical processes.
      • Business analysts can thrive in this role, which requires someone effective at dissecting business processes, working with business users, identifying requirements, and managing large projects.

      Structure the role of the BCP Coordinator

      The BCP Coordinator works with the pilot business unit as well as remaining business units to provide continuity and resolve discrepancies as they come up between business units.

      Specifically, this role includes:

      • Project management tasks (e.g. scheduling, assigning tasks, coordinating resources, and reporting progress).
      • Learning the BCP methodology (through the pilot) so that this person can lead remaining business units through their BCP process. This enables the IT leader who had been assigned to guide BCP development to step back into a more appropriate consulting role.
      • Managing the BCP workflow.

      "We found it necessary to have the same person work with each business unit to pass along lessons learned and resolve contingency planning conflicts for common dependencies." – Michelle Swessel, PM and IT Bus. Analyst, Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB)

      Template: Pilot Project Charter

      Formalize participants, roles, milestones, risks for the pilot project.

      Your charter should:

      1. Define project parameters, including drivers, objectives, deliverables, and scope.
      2. Identify the pilot business unit.
      3. Assign a BCP pilot team, including a BCP Coordinator, to execute the methodology.
      4. Define before-and-after metrics to enable the team to measure pilot success.
      5. Set achievable, realistic target dates for specific project milestones.
      6. Document risks, assumptions, and constraints.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Pilot Project Charter Template

      Step 1.3

      Identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify key business processes.
      • Document the process workflow.
      • Identify dependencies and alternates for those dependencies.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      You'll use the following tools & templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Documented workflows, process dependencies, and workarounds when dependencies are unavailable.

      Flowchart business processes

      Workflows help you visually identify process dependencies and optimization opportunities.

      • Business continuity planning is business process focused. You need to document business processes, dependencies, and downtime workarounds.
      • Process documentation is a basic BCP audit requirement, but it will also:
        • Keep discussions about business processes well-scoped and focused – by documenting the process, you also clarify for everyone what you’re actually talking about.
        • Remind participants of process dependencies and workarounds.
        • Make it easier to spot possible process breakdowns or improvements.
        • Capture your work, which can be used to create or update SOP documentation.
      • Use flowcharts to capture process workflows. Flowcharts are often quicker to create, take less time to update, and are ultimately more usable than a dense manual.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Process review often results in discovering informal processes, previously unknown workarounds or breakdowns, shadow IT, or process improvement opportunities.

      1.3.1 Prioritize pilot business unit processes

      Input

      • List of key business unit processes.

      Output

      • List of key business unit processes, now prioritized (at a high-level)

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (leads the discussion)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager

      30 minutes

      1. Create a list of all formal and informal business processes executed by the pilot business unit.
      2. Discuss the impact of process downtime, and do a quick assessment whether impact of downtime for each process would be high, medium, or low across each of these criteria:
        • Revenue or costs (e.g. supports sales, billing, or productivity)
        • Goodwill (e.g. affects internal or external reputation)
        • Compliance (e.g. affects legal or industry requirements)
        • Health or safety (e.g. affects employee/public health & safety)

      Note: A more in-depth analysis will be conducted later to refine priorities. The goal here is a high-level order of priority for the next steps in the planning methodology (identify business processes and dependencies).

      1. In the BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool, Processes and Dependencies tab, record the following:
        • The business processes in rough order of criticality.
        • For each process, provide a brief description that focuses on purpose and impact.
        • For each process, name a process owner (i.e. accountable for process completion – could be a manager or senior staff, not necessarily those executing the process).

      1.3.2 Review process flows & identify dependencies

      Input

      • List of key business unit processes (prioritized at a high level in Activity 1.3.1).
      • Business process flowcharts.

      Output

      • Business process flowcharts

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Microsoft Visio, or other flowcharting software
      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Download Info-Tech’s Business Process Workflows Example

      1.5 hours

      1. Use a whiteboard to flowchart process steps. Collaborate to clarify process steps and dependencies. If processes are not documented, use this as an opportunity to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) to drive consistency and process optimization, as described in the Info-Tech blueprint, Create Visual SOP Documents that Drive Process Optimization, Not Just Peace of Mind.
      2. Record the dependencies in tab 1 of the BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool in the appropriate columns:
        • People – Anyone involved in the process, from providing guidance to executing the steps.
        • IT Applications – Core IT services (e.g. ERP, CRM) required for this process.
        • End-user devices & equipment – End-user devices, locally-installed apps, IoT, etc.
        • Facility – Any special requirements beyond general office space.
        • Suppliers & Service Providers – Third-parties who support this process.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Policies and procedures manuals, if they exist, are often out of date or incomplete. Use these as a starting point, but don’t stop there. Identify the go-to staff members who are well versed in how a process works.

      1.3.3 Document workarounds

      Input

      • Business process flowcharts.
      • List of process dependencies.

      Output

      • Workarounds and alternatives in the event dependencies aren’t available.

      Materials

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the activity)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

      1.5 hours

      Identify alternatives to critical dependencies to help you create contingency plans.

      1. For each business process, identify known alternatives for each primary dependency. Ignore for the moment how long the workaround or alternate would be feasible.
      2. Record alternatives in the Business Continuity Business Impact Analysis Tool, Processes and Dependencies tab, Alternatives columns (a separate column for each category of dependency):
        • People – Can other staff execute the process steps? (Example: managers can step in if needed.)
        • IT Applications – Is there a manual workaround or other alternative while enterprise technology services are unavailable? (Example: database is down, but data is stored on physical forms.)
        • End-User Devices and Equipment – What alternatives exist to the usual end-user technologies, such as workstations and desk phones? (Example: some staff have cell phones.)
        • Facility Location and Requirements – Is there an alternate location where this work can be conducted? (Example: work from home, or from another building on the campus.)
        • Suppliers and External Services – Is there an alternative source for key suppliers or other external inputs? (Example: find alternate suppliers for key inputs.)
        • Additional Inputs or Requirements – What workarounds exist for additional artifacts that enable process steps (e.g. physical inventory records, control lists)? (Example: if hourly pay information is missing, run the same payroll as the previous run and reconcile once that information is available.)

      Phase 2

      Conduct a BIA to Determine Acceptable RTOs and RPOs

      Phase 2

      2.1 Define an objective impact scoring scale

      2.2 Estimate the impact of downtime

      2.3 Determine acceptable RTO/RPO targets

      Insights & Outcomes

      Assess the impact of business process downtime using objective, customized impact scoring scales. Sort business processes by criticality and by assigning criticality tiers, recovery time, and recovery point objectives.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Business Process SMEs

      Step 2.1

      Define an objective scoring scale

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify impact criteria that are relevant to your business.
      • Create a scale that defines a range of impact for relevant criteria.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Define an impact scoring scale relevant to your business, which allows you to more-objectively assess the impact of business process downtime.

      Set appropriate recovery objectives

      Recovery time and recovery point objectives should align with business impact.

      The activities in Phase 2 will help you set appropriate, acceptable recovery objectives based on the business impact of process downtime.

      • The recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) are the recovery goals set for individual processes and dependencies to ensure your business unit meets its overall acceptable recovery timeline.

      For example:

      • An RTO of four hours means staff and other required resources must be available to support the business processes within four hours of an incident (e.g. relocate to an alternate worksite if necessary, access needed equipment, log-in to needed systems, get support for completing the process from alternate staff, etc.)
      • An RPO of four hours for a customer database means the most recent secondary copy of the data must never be more than four hours old – e.g. running a backup every four hours or less.

      Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

      Create Impact Scoring Scales→Assess the impact of process downtime→Review overall impact of process downtime→Set Criticality Tiers→Set Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives

      Create financial impact scales

      Identify maximum cost and revenue impacts to build financial impact scales to measure the financial impact of process downtime.

      Work with the Business Unit Manager and Executive Sponsor to identify the maximum impact in each category to the entire business. Use a worst-case scenario to estimate the maximum for each scale. In the future, you can use this scoring scale to estimate the impact of downtime for other business units.

      • Loss of Revenue: Estimate the upper bound for this figure from the previous year, and divide that by the number of business days in the year. Note: Some organizations may choose to exclude revenue as a category where it won’t be lost (e.g. public-sector organizations).
      • Loss of Productivity: Proxy for lost workforce productivity using payroll numbers. Use the fully loaded payroll for the company, divided by the number of working days in the year as the maximum.
      • Increased Operating Costs: Isolate this to known additional costs resulting from a disruption. Does the interruption itself increase operating costs (e.g. if using timesheets for hourly/contract employees and that information is lost or unavailable, do you assume a full work week)?
      • Financial Penalties: If there are known financial penalties (e.g. due to failure to meet SLAs or other contractual obligations), include those values in your cost estimates.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Cost estimates are like hand grenades and horseshoes: you don’t need to be exact. It’s much easier to get input and validation from other stakeholders when you have estimates. Even weak estimates are far better than a blank sheet.

      Create goodwill, compliance, and safety impact scales

      Create a quantitative, more-objective scoring scale for goodwill, compliance and safety by following the guidance below.

      • Impact on Customers: By default, the customer impact scale is based on the percent of your total customer base impacted. You can also modify this scale to include severity of impact or alter it to identify the maximum number of customers that would be impacted.
      • Impact on Staff: Consider staff that are directly employed by the organization or its subsidiaries.
      • Impact on Business Partners: Which business partners would be affected by a business disruption?
      • Impact on Health & Safety: Consider the extent to which process downtime could increase the risk of the health & safety of staff, customers, and the general public. In addition, degradation of health & safety services should be noted.
      • Impact on Compliance: Set up the scale so that you can capture the impact of any critical regulatory requirements that might not be met if a particular process was down for 24 hours. Consider whether you expect to receive leeway or a grace period from the governance body that requires evidence of compliance.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Use just the impact scales that are relevant to your organization.

      Tool: Impact Scoring Scales

      • Define 4-point scoring scales in the BCP business impact analysis tool for a more objective assessment than gut-feel rankings.
      • You don’t need to include every category, if they aren’t relevant to your organization.
      • Refine the scoring scale as needed through the pilot project.
      • Use the same scoring scale for impact analyses with additional business units in the future.

      An image depicting the Business Impact Analysis Tool. A note pointing to the Level of Impact and Direct Cost Impact Scales columns states: Add the maximum cost impacts across each of the four impact scales to the tool. The rest of the scale will auto-populate based on the criteria outlined in the “Level of Impact” column. A note pointing to the column headers states: Change the names of the column headers in this tab. The changes to column headers will populate across the rest of the tool. Indicate exclusions from the scale here. A note pointing to the Goodwill Impact Scales columns reads: Update the Goodwill impact scales. For example, perhaps a critical impact on customers could be defined as “a significant impact on all customers using the organization’s services in a 24-hour period.” A note pointing to the Compliance, Heath and Safety Impact Scales columns reads: Review the compliance and safety impact scales, and update as required.

      Step 2.2

      Estimate the impact of downtime

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Apply the scoring scale developed in step 2.1 to assess the impact of downtime for specific business processes.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Develop an objective view of the impact of downtime for key business processes.

      2.2.1 Estimate the impact of downtime

      1.5 hours

      Input

      • List of business processes, dependencies, and workarounds, all documented in the BIA tool.

      Output

      • Impact of downtime scores for key business unit processes.

      Materials

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the discussion)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      1. Print a copy of the Scoring Criteria tab to use as a reference, or have it open on another screen. In tab 3 of the BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool use the drop-down menu to assign a score of 0 to 4 based on levels of impact defined in the Scoring Criteria tab.
      2. Work horizontally across all categories for a single process. This will set a benchmark, familiarize you with the scoring system, and allow you to modify any scoring scales if needed. In general, begin with the process that you know to be most critical.
        • For example, if call center sales operations are down:
          • Loss of Revenue would be the portion of sales revenue generated through the call center. This might score a 2 or 3 depending on the proportion of sales generated through the call center.
          • The Impact on Customers might be a 1 or 2 depending on the extent that existing customers might be using the call center to purchase new products or services.
          • The Legal/Regulatory Compliance and Health or Safety Risk might be a 0.
      3. Next, work vertically across all processes within a single category. This will allow you to compare scores within the category as you create them.

      Tool: Impact Analysis

      • The goal of the exercise is to arrive at a defensible ranking of process criticality, based on the impact of downtime.
      • Make sure participants can see the scores you’re assigning during the exercise (e.g. by writing out the scores on a whiteboard, or displaying the tool on a projector or screen) and can reference the scoring scales tab to understand what the scores mean.
      • Take notes to record the rationale behind the impact scores. Consider assigning note-taking duties to one of the participants.

      An image of the Impact Analysis Tool. A note pointing to the column headings states: Any customized column headings from tab 2, Scoring Criteria are automatically ported to this tab. A note pointing to the Impact on Goodwill columns reads: Score each application across each scoring scale from 0 to 4. Be sure to refer back to the scoring scale defined in tab 2. Have the scoring scale printed out, written on a whiteboard, or displayed on a separate screen. A note pointing to the tool's dropdown boxes states: Score categories using the drop-down boxes. A note pointing to the centre columns reads: Ignore scoring for categories you choose to exclude. You can hide these columns to clean up the tool if needed.

      2.2.2 Sort processes into Criticality Tiers

      30 minutes

      Input

      • Processes, with assigned impact scores (financial impact, goodwill impact, compliance and safety impact).

      Output

      • Business processes sorted into criticality tiers, based on the impact of downtime.

      Materials

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the discussion)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      1. In general, consider the Total Impact on Goodwill, Compliance, and Safety first.
        • An effective tactic to start the process is to assign a tier 1 rating to all processes with a Goodwill, Compliance, and Safety score that’s 50% or more of the highest total score, tier 2 where scores are between 25% and 50%, and tier 3 where scores are below 25% (see table below for an example).
        • In step 2.3, you’ll align recovery time objectives with the criticality tiers. So, Tier 1 processes will target recovery before Tier 2 processes, and Tier 2 processes will target recovery before Tier 3 processes.
      2. Next, consider the Total Cost of Downtime.
      • The Total Cost is calculated by the tool based on the Scoring Criteria in tab 2 and the estimates in the BIA.
      • Consider whether the total cost impact justifies changing the criticality rating. “Smoke test” categorization with participants. Are there any surprises (processes more or less critical than expected)?
    • If the categorization doesn’t seem right, check that the scoring scale was applied consistently.

      • Example: Highest total Goodwill, Compliance, and Safety impact score is 18.

      Tier Score Range % of high score
      Tier 1 - Gold 9-18 50-100%
      Tier 2 - Silver 5 to 9 25-50%
      Tier 3 - Bronze 0 to 5 0-25%

      Step 2.3

      Determine acceptable RTO and RPO targets

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify acceptable Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for business processes.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes and Insights

      Right-size recovery objectives based on business impact.

      Right-size recovery objectives

      Acceptable RTOs and RPOs must be right-sized to the impact of downtime.

      Rapid recovery typically requires more investment.

      The impact of downtime for most business processes tends to look something like the increasing impact curve in the image to the right.

      In the moments after a disruption, impact tends to be minimal. Imagine, for example, that your organization was suddenly unable to pay its suppliers (don’t worry about the reason for the disruption, for the moment). Chances are, this disruption wouldn’t affect many payees if it lasted just a few minutes, or even a few hours. But if the disruption were to continue for days, or weeks, the impact of downtime would start to spiral out of control.

      In general, we want to target recovery somewhere between the point where impact begins, and the point where impact is intolerable. We want to balance the impact of downtime with the investment required to make processes more resilient.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Account for hard copy files as well as electronic data. If that information is lost, is there a backup? BCP can be the driver to remove the last resistance to paperless processes, allowing IT to apply appropriate data protection.

      Set recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives in the “Debate Space”

      A graph with the X axis labelled as: Increasing downtime/data loss and the Y-axis labelled Increasing Impact. The graph shows a line rising as impact and downtime/data loss increase, with the lowest end of the line (on the left) labelled as minimal impact, and the highest point of the line (on the right) labelled maximum tolerance. The middle section of the line is labelled as the Debate Space, and a note reads: Acceptable RTO/RPO must be between Low Impact and Maximum Tolerance

      2.3.1 Define process-level recovery objectives

      1 hour

      Input

      • Processes, ranked by criticality.

      Output

      • Initial business-defined recovery objectives for each process.

      Materials

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the discussion)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      1. Review the “Debate Space” diagram (shown in previous section) with all participants.
      2. Ask business participants for each process: how much downtime is tolerable, acceptable, or appropriate? How much data loss is tolerable?
        • If participants aren’t yet comfortable setting recovery objectives, identify the point at which downtime and data loss first becomes noticeable and the point at which downtime and data loss becomes intolerable.
        • Choose an RTO and RPO for each process that falls within the range set by these two extremes.

      RTOs and RPOs are business-defined, impact-aligned objectives that you may not be able to achieve today. It may require significant investments of time and capital to enable the organization to meet RTO and RPO.

      2.3.2 Align RTOs within and across criticality tiers

      1 hour

      Input

      • Results from pilot BCP impact analysis.

      Output

      • Initial business-defined recovery objectives for each process.

      Materials

      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool
      • Whiteboard/ flipchart

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • BCP Project Sponsor
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager (optional)

      Set a range for RTO for each Tier.

      1. Start with your least critical/Tier 3 processes. Use the filter in the “Criticality Rating” column in the Impact Analysis tab of the BIA tool to show only Tier 3 processes.
        • What range of RTOs did the group assign for processes in this Tier? Does the group agree that these targets are appropriate for these processes?
        • Record the range of RTOs on the whiteboard or flipchart.
      2. Next, look at Tier 2 processes. Use the same filter to show just Tier 2 processes.
        • Record the range of RTOs, confirm the range with the group, and ensure there’s no overlap with the Tier 3 range.
        • If the RTOs in one Tier overlap with RTOs in another, you’ll need to adjust RTOs or move processes between Tiers (if the impact analysis justifies it).
      Tier RTO
      Tier 1 4 hrs- 24 hrs
      Tier 2 24 hrs - 72 hrs
      Tier 3 72 hrs - 120 hrs

      Phase 3

      Document the Recovery Workflow and Projects to Close Gaps

      3.1 Determine current recovery procedures

      3.2 Identify and prioritize projects to close gaps

      3.3 Evaluate business continuity site and command center options

      Insights & Outcomes

      Outline business recovery processes. Highlight gaps and risks that could hinder business recovery. Brainstorm ideas to address gaps and risks. Review alternate site and business relocation options.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Business Process SMEs

      Step 3.1

      Determine current recovery procedures

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Create a step-by-step, high-level recovery workflow.
      • Highlight gaps and risks in the recovery workflow.
      • Test the workflow against multiple scenarios.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Crisis Management Team
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Establish steps required for business recovery and current recovery timelines.

      Identify risks & gaps that could delay or obstruct an effective recovery.

      Conduct a tabletop planning exercise to draft business recovery plans

      Tabletop exercises are the most effective way to test and increase business confidence in business recovery capabilities.

      Why is tabletop planning so effective?

      • It enables you play out a wider range of scenarios than technology-based testing (e.g. full-scale, parallel) due to cost and complexity factors.
      • It is non-intrusive, so it can be executed more frequently than other testing methodologies.
      • It provides a thorough test of your recovery workflow since the exercise is, essentially, paper-based.
      • After you have a BCP in place, this exercise can continue to be a valuable testing exercise for BCP to capture changes in your recovery process.

      A graph titled: Tabletop planning had the greatest impact on respondent confidence in meeting recovery objectives. The graph shows that the relative importance of Tabletop Planning is 57%, compared to 33% for Unit Testing, 3% for Simulation Testing, 6% for Parallel Testing, and 2% for Full-Scale Testing. The source for the graph is Info-Tech Research Group.

      Step 2 - 2 hours
      Establish command center.

      Step 2: Risks

      • Command center is just 15 miles away from primary site.

      Step 2: Gaps

      • Confirm what’s required to set up the command center.
      • Who has access to the EOC?
      • Does the center have sufficient bandwidth, workstations, phones, telephone lines?

      3.1.1 Choose a scenario for your first tabletop exercise

      30 minutes

      Input

      • List of past incidents.
      • Risks to business continuity that are of high concern.

      Output

      • Scenario for the tabletop exercise.

      Materials

      • N/A

      Participant

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the exercise)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot business unit manager

      At the business unit level, the goal is to define a plan to resume business processes after an incident.

      A good scenario is one that helps the group focus on the goal of tabletop planning – to discuss and document the steps required to recover business processes. We suggest choosing a scenario for your first exercise that:

      • Disrupts many process dependencies (i.e. facilities, staff, IT services, suppliers).
      • Does not result in major property damage, harm, or loss of life. Business resumption is the focus of this exercise, not emergency response.
      • Has happened in the past, or is of concern to the business.

      An example: a gas leak at company HQ that requires the area to be cordoned off and power to be shut down. The business must resume processes from another location without access to materials, equipment, or IT services at the primary location.

      A plan that satisfies the gas leak scenario should meet the needs of other scenarios that affect your normal workspace. Then use BCP testing to validate that the plan meets a wider range of incidents.

      3.1.2 Define the BCP activation process

      1 hour

      Input

      • Any existing crisis management, incident response or emergency response plans.
      • BC Scenario.

      Output

      • High level incident notification, assessment, and declaration workflow.

      Materials

      • Cue cards, sticky notes, whiteboard and markers, or Visio template.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Crisis Management Team (if one exists)
      • Business Process SMEs
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager

      Answer the questions below to structure your notification, assessment, and BCP activation procedures.

      Notification

      How will you be notified of a disaster event? How will this be escalated to leadership? How will the team responsible for making decisions coordinate (if they can’t meet on-site)? What emergency response plans are in place to protect health and safety? What additional steps are involved if there’s a risk to health and safety?

      Assessment

      Who’s in charge of the initial assessment? Who may need to be involved in the assessment? Who will coordinate if multiple teams are required to investigate and assess the situation? Who needs to review the results of the assessment, and how will the results of the assessment be communicated (e.g. phone bridge, written memo)? What happens if your primary mode of communication is unavailable (e.g. phone service is down)?

      Declaration

      Who is responsible today for declaring a disaster and activating business continuity plans? What are the organization’s criteria for activating continuity plans, and how will BCP activation be communicated? Establish a crisis management team to guide the organization through a wide range of crises by Implementing Crisis Management Best Practices.

      3.1.3 Document the business recovery workflow

      1 hour

      Input

      • Pilot BIA.
      • Any existing crisis management, incident response, or emergency response plans.
      • BC Scenario

      Output

      • Outline of your BCP declaration and business recovery plan.

      Materials

      • Cue cards, sticky notes, whiteboard and markers, or Visio template.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the exercise)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager

      Do the following:

      1. Create separate flows for facility, IT, and staff disruptions. Include additional workflows as needed.
        • We suggest you outline the recovery process at least to the point where business processes are restored to a minimum viable functional level.
      2. On white cue cards:
        1. Record the step.
        2. Indicate the task owner.
        3. Estimate how long the step will take.
      3. On yellow cue cards, document gaps in people, process, and technology requirements to complete the step.
      4. On red cue cards, indicate risks (e.g. no backup person for a key staff member).

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Tabletop planning is most effective when you keep it simple.

      • Be focused; stay on task and on time.
      • Revisit each step and record risks and mitigation strategies.
      • Discuss each step from start to finish.
      • Revise the plan with key task owners.
      • Don’t get weighed down by tools.
      • Simple tools, like cue cards or whiteboards, can be very effective.

      Tool: BCP Recovery Workflow

      Document the steps you identified in the tabletop to create your draft recovery workflow.

      Why use a flowchart?

      • Flowcharts provide an at-a-glance view, are ideal for crisis scenarios where pressure is high and effective, and where timely communication is necessary.
      • For experienced managers and staff, a high-level reminder of process flows or key steps is sufficient.
      • Where more detail is required, include links to supporting documentation (which could include checklists, vendor documentation/contracts, other flowcharts, etc.)

      Create one recovery workflow for all scenarios.

      Traditional planning calls for separate plans for different “what-if” scenarios. This is challenging not just because it’s a lot more documentation – and maintenance – but because it’s impossible to predict every possible incident. Use the template, aligned to recovery of process dependencies, to create one recovery workflow for each business unit that can be used in and tested against different scenarios.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Recovery Workflow Example

      "We use flowcharts for our declaration procedures. Flowcharts are more effective when you have to explain status and next steps to upper management." – Assistant Director-IT Operations, Healthcare Industry

      "Very few business interruptions are actually major disasters. It’s usually a power outage or hardware failure, so I ensure my plans address ‘minor’ incidents as well as major disasters."- BCP Consultant

      3.1.4 Document achievable recovery metrics (RTA/RPA)

      30 minutes

      Input

      • Pilot BCP BIA.
      • Draft recovery workflow.

      Output

      • RTA and RPA for each business process.

      Materials

      • Pilot BCP BIA.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the exercise)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager

      Add the following data to your copy of the BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool.

      1. Estimate the recovery time achievable (RTA) for each process based on the required time for the process to be restored to a minimum acceptable functional level. Review your recovery workflow to identify this timeline. For example, if the full process from notification, assessment, and declaration to recovery and relocation would take a full day, set the RTA to 24 hours.
      2. Estimate the recovery point achievable (RPA) for each process based on the maximum amount of data that could be lost. For example, if data on a particular system is backed up offsite once per day, and the onsite system was destroyed just before that backup began, the entire day’s data could be lost and the achievable RPO is 24 hours. Note: Enter a value of 9999 to indicate that data is unrecoverable.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Operating at a minimum acceptable functional level may not be feasible for more than a few days or weeks. Develop plans for immediate continuity first, then develop further plans for long-term continuity processes as required. Recognize that for longer term outages, you will evolve your plans in the crisis to meet the needs of the situation.

      3.1.5 Test the workflow of other scenarios

      1 hour

      Input

      • Draft recovery workflow.

      Output

      • Updated draft recovery workflow.

      Materials

      • Draft recovery workflow.
      • Projector or screen.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the exercise)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager

      Work from and update the soft copy of your recovery workflow.

      1. Would any steps change if the scenario changes? If yes, capture the different flow with a decision diamond. See the example Recovery Workflow for a workflow that uses decision diamonds. Identify any new gaps or risks you encounter with red and yellow cards.
      2. Make sure the decision diamonds are as generalized as possible. For example, instead of creating a separate response plan for each scenario that would require you to relocate from your existing building, create one response plan for relocation and one response plan for remaining in place.
      3. See the next section for some examples of different types of scenarios that you may include in your recovery workflow.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Remember that health and safety risks must be dealt with first in a crisis. The business unit recovery workflow will focus on restoring business operations after employees are no longer at risk (e.g. the risk has been resolved or employees have been safely relocated). See Implement Crisis Management Best Practices for ideas on how to respond to and assess a wide range of crises.

      Not all scenarios will have full continuity plans

      Risk management is a business decision. Business continuity planning can help decision makers understand and decide on whether to accept or mitigate high impact, low probability risks.

      For some organizations, it’s not practical or possible to invest in the redundancy that would be necessary to recover in a timely manner from certain major events.

      Leverage existing risk management practices to identify key high impact events that could present major business continuity challenges that could cause catastrophic disruptions to facility, IT, staffing, suppliers, or equipment. If you don’t have a risk register, review the scenarios on the next slide and brainstorm risks with the working group.

      Work through tabletop planning to identify how you might work through an event like this, at a high level. In step 3.2, you can estimate the effort, cost, and benefit for different ideas that can help mitigate the damage to the business to help decision makers choose between investment in mitigation or accepting the risk.

      Document any scenarios that you identify as outside the scope of your continuity plans in the “Scope” section of your BCP Summary document.

      For example:

      A single location manufacturing company is creating a BCP.

      The factory is large and contains expensive equipment; it’s not possible to build a second factory for redundancy. If the factory is destroyed, operations can’t be resumed until the factory is rebuilt. In this case, the BCP outlines how to conduct an orderly business shutdown while the factory is rebuilt.

      Contingency planning to resume factory operations after less destructive events, as well as a BCP for corporate services, is still practical and necessary.

      Considerations for other BCP scenarios

      Scenario Type Considerations
      Local hazard (gas leak, chemical leak, criminal incident, etc.)
      • Systems might be accessible remotely, but hands-on maintenance will be required eventually. “Work from home” won’t be a long-term solution.
      • An alternate site is required for service continuity. Can be within normal commuting distance.
      Equipment/building damage (fire, roof collapse, etc.)
      • Equipment will need repair or replacement (vendor involvement).
      • An alternate site is required for service continuity. Can be nearby.
      Regional natural disasters
      • Utilities may be affected (power, running water, etc.).
      • Expect staff to take care of their families first before work.
      • A geographically distant alternate site is required for service continuity.
      Supplier failure (IT provider outage, disaster at supplier, etc.)
      • Service-level agreements are important to establish recovery timelines. Review contracts and master services agreements.
      Staff (lottery win, work stoppage, pandemic/quarantine)
      • Staff are suddenly unavailable. Expect that no warm handoff to alternates is possible and that time to ramp up on the process is accounted for.
      • In a pandemic scenario, work from home, remote toolsets, and digital/contactless workflows become critical.

      Step 3.2

      Identify and prioritize projects to close gaps

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Brainstorm solutions to identified gaps and risks.
      • Prioritize projects and action items to close gaps and risks.
      • Assess the impact of proposed projects on the recovery workflow.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Identify and prioritize projects and action items that can improve business continuity capabilities.

      3.2.1 Brainstorm solutions to address risks and gaps

      1 hour

      Input

      • Draft recovery workflow.
      • Known continuity risks and gaps.

      Output

      • Ideas for action items and projects to improve business continuity.

      Materials

      • Flipchart

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator (facilitates the exercise)
      • Business Process Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      1. Review each of the risk and gap cards from the tabletop exercise.
      2. As a group, brainstorm ideas to address gaps, mitigate risks, and improve resiliency. Write the list of ideas on a whiteboard or flip chart paper. The solutions can range from quick-wins and action items to major capital investments. The following slides can help you seed ideas to support brainstorming and idea generation.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Try to avoid debates about feasibility at this point. The goal is to get ideas on the board.

      When you’re brainstorming solutions to problems, don’t stop with the first idea, even if the solution seems obvious. The first idea isn’t always the best or only solution – other ideas can expand on it and improve it.

      Step 4: No formal process to declare a disaster and invoke business continuity.

      Step 7: Alternate site could be affected by the same regional event as the main office.

      Step 12: Need to confirm supplier service-level agreements (SLAs).

      1. Continue to create BCP documentation.
      2. Identify a third location for regional disasters.
      3. Contact suppliers to confirm SLAs and validate alignment with RTOs/RPOs.
      4. Add BCP requirements collection to service procurement process?

      Discuss your remote work capabilities

      With COVID-19, most organizations have experience with mass work-from-home.

      Review the following case studies. Do they reflect your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic?

      Unacceptable risk

      • A small insurance company provided laptops to staff so they could work remotely.
      • Complication: Cheque and print stock is a dependency and no plan was made to store check stock offsite in a secure fashion.

      Key dependencies missing

      • A local government provided laptops to key staff so they could work remotely.
      • Complication: The organization didn’t currently own enough Citrix licenses for every user to be online concurrently.

      Unable to serve customers

      • The attestation and land services department of a local government agency provided staff with remote access to key apps.
      • Complication: Their most critical business processes were designed to be in-person – they had no plan to execute these processes from home.

      Consider where your own work-from-home plans fell short.

      • Were your collaboration and communication solutions too difficult for users to use effectively?
      • Did legacy infrastructure affect performance or limit capabilities? Were security concerns appropriately addressed?
      • What challenges did IT face supporting business users on break-fix and new requests?
      • Were there logistical needs (shipping/receiving, etc.) that weren’t met?
      • Develop an updated plan to support work-from-home using Info-Tech’s BCP Relocation Checklists and Home Office Survey template, and integrate these into your overall BCP documentation. Stakeholders can easily appreciate the value of this plan since it’s relevant to recent experience.

      Identify opportunities to improve continuity plans

      What gaps in your continuity response could be addressed with better planning?

      People

      • Alternates are not identified
      • Roles in a disaster are not formalized
      • No internal/external crisis comm. strategy

      →

      Site & Facilities

      • No alternate place of business or command center identified
      • No formal planning or exercises to test alternate site viability

      →

      • Identify a viable secondary site and/or work-from-home plan, and develop a schedule for testing activities. Review in Step 3.3 of the Develop a Business Continuity Plan blueprint.

      External Services & Suppliers

      • Contingency plans for a disruption not planned or formalized
      • No formal review of service-level agreements (SLAs)

      →

      • Contact key suppliers and vendors to establish SLAs, and ensure they meet requirements.
      • Review supplier continuity plans.

      Technology & Physical Assets

      • No secondary site or redundancy for critical IT systems
      • No documented end-to-end IT DR plan

      →

      Tool: BCP Project Roadmap

      Prioritize and visualize BCP projects to present options to decision makers.

      Not all BCP projects can be tackled at once. Enable decision makers to defer, rather than outright reject, projects that aren’t feasible at this time.

      1. Configure the tool in Tab 1. Setup. Adjust criteria and definitions for criteria. Note that shaded columns are required for reporting purposes and can’t be modified.
      2. Add projects and action items in Tab 2. Data Entry. Fields highlighted in red are all required for the dashboard to populate. All other fields are optional but will provide opportunities to track more detailed data on project ideas.
      3. To generate the dashboard in Tab 3. Roadmap, open the Data ribbon and under Queries and Connections click Refresh All. You can now use the slicers on the right of the sheet.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Project Roadmap Tool

      Demonstrate BCP project impacts

      Illustrate the benefits of proposed projects.

      1. Review your recovery workflow.
      2. Make updates to a second copy of the high-level outline to illustrate how the business response to a disaster scenario will change once proposed projects are complete.
      • Remove steps that have been made unnecessary.
      • Remove any risks or gaps that have been mitigated or addressed.
      • Verify that proposed projects close gaps between acceptable and achievable recovery capabilities in the BIA tool.
    • The visual impact of a shorter, less-risky recovery workflow can help communicate the benefits of proposed projects to decision makers.

      • Step 3.3

      Evaluate business continuity site and command center options

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Take a deep dive on the requirements for working from an alternate location.
      • Assess different options for an alternate location.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • Expert Business Unit Staff

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Identify requirements for an alternate business site.

      Tool: Relocation Checklists

      An alternate site could be another company building, a dedicated emergency operations center, or work-from-home. Use this tool to guide and prepare for any relocation exercise.

      • Coordinate your response with the pre-populated checklists in Tabs 1 & 2, identify who’s responsible for items on the checklists, and update your recovery workflows to reflect new steps. When reviewing the checklist, consider what can be done to prepare ahead of a crisis.
        • For example, you may wish to create crisis communication templates to streamline crisis communications during a disaster.
      • Calculate the effort required to provision equipment for relocated users in Tabs 3 & 4.
      • Evaluate your options for alternate sites with the requirements matrix in Tab 5. Use your evaluation to identify how the organization could address shortcomings of viable options either ahead of time or at the time of an incident.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Relocation Checklists

      Create a checklist of requirements for an alternate site

      Leverage the roll-up view, in tab 3, of dependencies required to create a list of requirements for an alternate site in tab 4.

      1. The table on Tab 5 of the relocation checklists is pre-populated with some common requirements. Modify or replace requirements to suit your needs for an alternate business/office site. Be sure to consider distance, transportation, needed services, accessibility, IT infrastructure, security, and seating capacity at a minimum.
      2. Don’t assume. Verify. Confirm anything that requires permissions from the site owner. What network providers have a presence in the building? Can you access the site 24/7 and conduct training exercises? What facilities and services are available? Are you guaranteed the space if needed?

      "There are horror stories about organizations that assumed things about their alternate site that they later found out they weren’t true in practice." – Dr. Bernard Jones, MBCI CBCP

      Info-Tech Insight

      If you choose a shared location as a BCP site, a regional disaster may put you in competition with other tenants for space.

      Identify a command center

      For command center and alternate worksite selection, remember that most incidents are local and short term. Identify an onsite and an offsite command center.

      1. For events where the building is not compromised, identify an onsite location, ideally with remote conferencing capabilities and planning and collaboration tools (projectors, whiteboards, flipcharts). The onsite location can also be used for BCM and crisis management meetings. Remember, most business continuity events are not regional or massively destructive.
      2. For the offsite command center, select a location that is sufficiently far away from your normal business location to maintain separation from local incidents while minimizing commute time. However, consider a geographically distant option (e.g. more than 50 miles away) identified for those scenarios where it is a regional disaster, or plan to leverage online tools to create a virtual command center (see the Insight box below).
      3. The first members of the Emergency Response Team to be notified of the incident will determine which location to use or whether a third alternative is required.

      Info-Tech Insight

      For many organizations, a dedicated command center (TVs on the wall, maps and charts in filing cabinets) isn’t necessary. A conference bridge and collaboration tools allowing everyone to work remotely can be an acceptable offsite command center as long as digital options can meet your command center requirements.

      Create a plan for a return to normal

      Operating in continuity mode for an extended period of time tends to result in higher costs and reduced business capabilities. It’s important to restore normal operations as soon as possible.

      Advance planning can minimize risks and delays in returning to normal operations.

      Leverage the methodology and tools in this blueprint to define your return to normal (repatriation) procedures:

      1. Repeat the tabletop planning exercise to determine the repatriation steps and potential gaps. How will you return to the primary site from your alternate site? Does data need to be re-entered into core systems if IT services are down? Do you need to transfer job duties back to primary staff?
      2. What needs to be done to address the gaps in the return to normal workflow? Are there projects or action items that could make return to normal easier?

      For more on supporting a business move back to the office from the IT perspective, see Responsibly Resume IT Operations in the Office

      Potential business impacts of ongoing operations at a failover site

      • The cost of leasing alternate business worksites.
      • Inability to deliver on strategic initiatives while in emergency/interim operations mode, resulting in lost business opportunities.
      • A growing backlog of work that falls outside of emergency operations mode.
      • Travel and accommodation costs if the alternate site is geographically remote.
      • Additional vendor licensing and contract costs.

      Phase 4

      Extend the Results of the Pilot BCP and Implement Governance

      Phase 4

      4.1 Consolidate BCP pilot insights to support an overall BCP project plan

      4.2 Outline a business continuity management (BCM) program

      4.3 Test and maintain your BCP

      Insights & Outcomes

      Summarize and consolidate your initial insights and documentation. Create a project plan for overall BCP. Identify teams, responsibilities, and accountabilities, and assign documentation ownership. Integrate BCP findings in DR and crisis management practices. Set guidelines for testing, plan maintenance, training, and awareness.

      Participants

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • BCP Executive Sponsor

      Step 4.1

      Consolidate BCP pilot insights to support an overall BCP project plan

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Summarize and consolidate outputs and key insights from the BCP pilot.
      • Identify outputs from the pilot that can be re-used for the overall BCP.
      • Create a project charter for an overall BCP.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Pilot Business Unit Manager
      • BCP Executive Sponsor

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Present results from the pilot BCP, and outline how you’ll use the pilot process with other business units to create an overall continuity program.

      Structure the overall BCP program.

      Template: BCP Pilot Results Presentation

      Highlight key findings from the BCP pilot to make the case for next steps.

      • Highlight critical gaps or risks identified, any potential process improvements, and progress made toward improving overall BCP maturity through the pilot project. Summarize the benefits of the pilot project for an executive audience.
      • Review process recovery objectives (RTO/RPO). Provide an overview of recovery capabilities (RTA/RPA). Highlight any significant gaps between objectives and capabilities.
      • Propose next steps, including an overall BCP project and program, and projects and action items to remediate gaps and risks.
      • Develop a project plan to estimate resource requirements for an overall BCP project prior to delivering this presentation. Quantifying required time and resources is a key outcome as it enables the remaining business units to properly scope and resource their BCP development activities and can help managers overcome the fear of the unknown.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Pilot Results Presentation

      Tool: BCP Summary

      Sum up information from completed BCP documents to create a high-level BCP overview for auditors and executives.

      The BCP Summary document is the capstone to business unit continuity planning exercises. It consolidates your findings in a short overview of your business continuity requirements, capabilities, and maintenance procedures.

      Info-Tech recommends embedding hyperlinks within the Summary to the rest of your BCP documentation to allow the reader to drill down further as needed. Leverage the following documents:

      • Business Impact Analysis
      • BCP Recovery Workflows
      • Business Process Workflows
      • BCP Project Roadmap
      • BCP Relocation Checklists
      • Business Continuity Policy

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Summary Document

      Reuse templates for additional exercises

      The same methodology described in this blueprint can be repeated for each business unit. Also, many of the artifacts from the BCP pilot can be reused or built upon to give the remaining business units a head start. For example:

      • BCP Pilot Project Charter Template. Make a copy to use as a base for the next business unit’s BCP project charter, and update the stakeholders/roles and milestone dates. The rest of the content can remain the same in most cases.
      • BCP Reference Workbook. This tool contains information common to all business units and can be updated as needed.
      • BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool. You may need to start a separate copy for each business unit to allow enough space to capture all business processes. However, use the same scoring scale to drive consistent assessments. In addition, the scoring completed by the pilot business unit provides an example and benchmark for assessing other business processes.
      • BCP Recovery Workflow. The notification, assessment, and declaration steps can be standardized so remaining business units can focus primarily on recovery after a disaster is declared. Similarly, many of the steps related to alternate sites and IT workarounds will also apply to other business units.
      • BCP Project Roadmap Tool. Many of the projects identified by the pilot business unit will also apply to other business units – update the list as needed.
      • The Business Unit BCP Prioritization Tool, BCP Executive Presentation, and Business Continuity Policy Template do not need to be updated for each business unit.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      You may need to create some artifacts that are site specific. For example, relocation plans or emergency plans may not be reusable from one site to another. Use your judgement to reuse as much of the templates as you can – similar templates simplify audit, oversight, and plan management.

      Create an Overall BCP Project Charter

      Modify the pilot project charter to encompass the larger BCP project.

      Adjust the pilot charter to answer the following questions:

      • How much time and effort should the rest of the project take, based on findings from the pilot? When do you expect to meet certain milestones? What outputs and outcomes are expected?
      • In what order should additional business units complete their BCP? Who needs to be involved?
      • What projects to address continuity gaps were identified during the pilot? What investments will likely be required?
      • What additional documentation is required? This section and the appendix include templates to document your BCM Policy, Teams & Contacts, your notification procedures, and more.
      • How does this integrate with the other areas of business resilience and continuity (IT disaster recovery planning and crisis management planning)?
      • What additional activities, such as testing, are required?

      Prioritize business units for further BCP activities.

      As with the pilot, choose a business unit, or business units, where BCP will have the greatest impact and where further BCP activities will have the greatest likelihood of success. Prioritize business units that are critical to many areas of the business to get key results sooner.

      Work with one business unit at a time if:

      • Required resources from the business unit are available to focus on BCP full-time over a short period (one to two weeks).
      • More hands-on guidance (less delegation) is needed.
      • The business unit is large or has complex processes.

      Work with several business units at the same time if:

      • Required resources are only available sporadically over a longer period of time.
      • Less guidance (more delegation) is possible.
      • All business units are small and have well-documented processes.

      Download Info-Tech’s Business Unit BCP Prioritization Tool

      Step 4.2

      Outline a Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify teams and roles for BCP and business continuity management.
      • Identify individuals to fill key roles.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator
      • Executive Sponsor

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Document BCP teams, roles, and responsibilities.

      Document contact information, alternates, and succession rules.

      Outline a Business Continuity Management Program

      A BCM program, also known as a BCM system, helps structure business continuity activities and practices to deliver long-term benefits to your business.

      A BCM program should:

      • Establish who is responsible and accountable for BCP practices, activities, and documentation, and set documentation management practices.
      • Define a process to improve plans. Review and update continuity requirements, suggest enhancements to recovery capabilities, and measure progress and improvements to the plan over time.
      • Coordinate disaster recovery, business continuity, and crisis management planning outputs and practices.
      • Communicate the value of the continuity program to the organization.

      Develop a Business Continuity Management Program

      Phase 4 of this blueprint will focus on the following elements of a business continuity management program:

      • BCM Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities
      • BCM Document Management Practices
      • Integrate BC, IT DR, Crisis Management, and Emergency Management
      • Business Continuity Plan maintenance and testing
      • Training and awareness

      Schedule a call with an Info-Tech Analyst for help building out these core elements, and for advice on developing the rest of your BCM program.

      Create BCM teams

      Include a mix of strong leaders and strong planners on your BC management teams.

      BC management teams (including the secondary teams such as the emergency response team) have two primary roles:

      1. Preparation, Planning, and Governance: Conduct and consolidate business impact analyses. Review, and support the development of recovery workflows, including emergency response plans and business unit recovery workflows. Organize testing and training. Report on the state of the continuity plan.
      2. Leadership During a Crisis: Coordinate and support the execution of business recovery processes. To meet these goals, each team needs a mix of skill sets.

      Crisis leaders require strong crisis management skills:

      • Ability to make quick decisions under pressure with incomplete information.
      • Excellent verbal communication skills.
      • Strong leadership skills. Calm in stressful situations.
      • Team leaders are ideally, but not necessarily, those with the most senior title on each team. It’s more important that the team leader has the appropriate skill set.

      Collectively, the team must include a broad range of expertise as well as strong planning skills:

      • Diverse expertise to be able to plan for and respond to a wide range of potential incidents, from health and safety to reputational damage.
      • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
      • Excellent written communication skills.

      Note: For specific BC team roles and responsibilities, including key resources such as Legal, HR, and IT SMEs required to prepare for and execute crisis management plans, see Implement Crisis Management Best Practices.

      Structure the BCM Team

      Create a hierarchy of teams to govern and coordinate business continuity planning and crisis management.

      BCM Team: Govern business continuity, DR, and crisis management planning. Support the organization’s response to a crisis, including the decision to declare a disaster or emergency.

      Emergency Response Teams: Assist staff and BC teams during a crisis, with a focus first on health and safety. There’s usually one team per location. Develop and maintain emergency response plans.

      Emergency Response Teams: Assist staff and BC teams during a crisis, with a focus first on health and safety. There’s usually one team per location. Develop and maintain emergency response plans.

      IT Disaster Recovery Team: Manage the recovery of IT services and data following an incident. Develop and maintain the IT DRP.

      Business Unit BCP Teams: Coordinate business process recovery at the business unit level. Develop and maintain business unit BCPs.

      “Planning Mode”

      Executive Team → BC Management Team ↓

      • Emergency Response Teams (ERT)
      • Crisis Management Team
      • IT DR Management Team
      • Business Unit BCP Teams

      “Crisis Mode”

      Executive Team ↔Crisis Management Team↓ ↔ Emergency Response Teams (ERT)

      • BC Management Team
      • IT DR Management Team
      • Business Unit BCP Teams

      For more details on specific roles to include on these teams, as well as more information on crisis management, review Info-Tech’s blueprint, Implement Crisis Management Best Practices.

      Tool: BCM Teams, Roles, Contacts, and Vendors

      Track teams, roles, and contacts in this template. It is pre-populated with roles and responsibilities for business continuity, crisis management, IT disaster recovery, emergency response, and vendors and suppliers critical to business operations.

      • Expect overlap across teams. For example, the BC Management Team will include representation from each secondary team to ensure plans are in sync. Similarly, both the Crisis Communication Team and BC Management Team should include a representative from your legal team to ensure legal issues are considered in communications as well as overall crisis management.
      • Clarify spending and decision authority for key members of each team during a crisis.

      Track contact information in this template only if you don’t have a more streamlined way of tracking it elsewhere.

      Download Info-Tech’s Business Continuity Teams and Roles Tool

      Manage key vendors

      Review supplier capabilities and contracts to ensure they meet your requirements.

      Suppliers and vendors might include:

      • Material shipments
      • IT/telecoms service providers
      • Integrators and business process outsourcing providers
      • Independent contractors
      • Utilities (power, water, etc.)

      Supplier RTOs and RPOs should align with the acceptable RTOs and RPOs defined in the BIA. Where they do not, explore options for improvement.

      Confirm the following:

      1. The supplier’s own BC/DR capabilities – how they would recover their own operations in a disaster scenario.
      2. Any continuity services the supplier provides – how they can help you recover your operations in a disaster scenario.
      3. Their existing contractual obligations for service availability (e.g. SLAs).

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Supplier Evaluation Questionnaire

      Organize your BCMS documentation

      Your BCP isn’t any one document. It’s multiple documents that work together.

      Continue to work through any additional required documentation. Build a repository where master copies of each document will reside and can be updated as required. Assign ownership of document management to someone with an understanding of the process (e.g. the BCP Coordinator).

      Governance Recovery
      BCMS Policy BCP Summary Core BCP Recovery Workflows
      Business Process Workflows Action Items & Project Roadmap BCP Recovery Checklists
      BIA Teams, Roles, Contact Information BCP Business Process Workarounds and Recovery Checklists
      BCP Maturity Scorecard BCP Project Charter Additional Recovery Workflows
      Business Unit Prioritization Tool BCP Presentation

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Recovery documentation has a different audience, purpose, and lifecycle than governance documentation, and keeping the documents separate can help with content management. Disciplined document management keeps the plan current and accessible.

      Align your IT DRP with your BCP

      Use the following BCP outputs to inform your DRP:

      • Business process technology dependencies. This includes technology not controlled by IT (e.g. cloud-based services).
      • RTOs and RPOs for business processes.
      • Technology projects identified by the business to improve resilience (e.g. improved mobility support).
      PCP Outputs DRP Activities
      Business processes defined Identify critical applications

      Dependencies identified:

      • People
      • Enterprise tech
      • Personal devices
      • Workspace and facilities
      • Services and other inputs

      ↗

      →

      Identify IT dependencies:

      • Infrastructure
      • Secondary applications

      Recovery objectives defined:

      • BIA and RTOs/RPOs
      • Recovery workflows
      		→

      Identify recovery objectives:

      • BIA and RTOs/RPOs
      • IT Recovery workflows

      Projects identified to close gaps:

      • Resourcing changes (e.g. training secondary staff)
      • Process changes (e.g. optimize processes and define interim processes)
      • Technology changes (e.g. improving mobility)
      		→

      Identify projects to close gaps:

      • Projects to improve DR capability (e.g. data replication, standby systems).
      • Projects to improve resiliency (e.g. redundant components)

      Info-Tech Insight

      Don’t think of inconsistencies between your DRP and BCP as a problem. Discrepancies between the plans are part of the discovery process, and they’re an opportunity to have a conversation that can improve alignment between IT service capabilities and business needs. You should expect that there will be discrepancies – managing discrepancies is part of the ongoing process to refine and improve both plans.

      Schedule activities to keep BC and DR in sync

      BC/DR Planning Workflow

      1. Collect BCP outputs that impact IT DRP (e.g. technology RTOs/RPOs).

      2. As BCPs are done, BCP Coordinator reviews outputs with IT DRP Management Team.

      3. Use the RTOs/RPOs from the BCPs as a starting point to determine IT recovery plans.

      4. Identify investments required to meet business-defined RTOs/RPOs, and validate with the business.

      5. Create a DR technology roadmap to meet validated RTOs/RPOs.

      6. Review and update business unit BCPs to reflect updated RTOs/RPOs.

      Find and address shadow IT

      Reviewing business processes and dependencies can identify workarounds or shadow IT solutions that weren’t visible to IT and haven’t been included in IT’s DR plan.

      • If you identify technology process dependencies that IT didn’t know about, it can be an opportunity to start a conversation about service support. This can be a “teachable moment” to highlight the risks of adopting and implementing technology solutions without consulting IT.
      • Highlight the possible impact of using technology services that aren’t supported by IT. For example:
        • RTOs and RPOs may not be in line with business requirements.
        • Costs could be higher than supported solutions.
        • Security controls may not be in line with compliance requirements.
        • IT may not be able to offer support when the service breaks or build new features or functionality that might be required in the future.
      • Make sure that if IT is expected to support shadow IT solutions, these systems are included in the IT DRP and that the risks and costs of supporting the non-core solution are clear to all parties and are compared to an alternative, IT-recommended solutions.

      Shadow IT can be a symptom of larger service support issues. There should be a process for requesting and tracking non-standard services from IT with appropriate technical, security, and management oversight.

      Review and reprioritize BC projects to create an overall BC project roadmap

      Assign the BCP Coordinator the task of creating a master list of BC projects, and then work with the BC management team to review and reprioritize this list, as described below:

      1. Build a list of BC projects as you work with each business unit.
        1. Add proposed projects to a master copy of the BCP Project Roadmap Tool
        2. For each subsequent business unit, copy project names, scoring, and timelines into the master roadmap tool.
      2. Work with the Executive Sponsor, the IT BCM representative, and the BCM team to review and reprioritize projects.
        1. In the master BCP Project Roadmap Tool, review and update project scoring, taking into account the relative importance of each project within the overall list. Rationalize the list (e.g. eliminate duplicate projects).
      3. The project roadmap is a suggested list of projects at this stage. Assign a project sponsor and project manager (from the BC management team or appropriate delegates) to each project to take it through your organization’s normal project scoping and approval process.

      Improving business continuity capabilities is a marathon, not a sprint. Change for the better is still change and introduces risk – massive changes introduce massive risk. Incremental changes help minimize disruption. Use Info-Tech research to deliver organizational change.

      "Developing a BCP can be like solving a Rubik’s Cube. It’s a complex, interdepartmental concern with multiple and sometimes conflicting objectives. When you have one side in place, another gets pushed out of alignment." – Ray Mach, BCP Expert

      Step 4.3

      Test and maintain your BCP

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Create additional documentation to support your business continuity plan.
      • Create a repository for documentation, and assign ownership for BCP documentation.

      This step involves the following participants:

      • BCP Coordinator

      In this step, you’ll use these tools and templates:

      Outcomes & Insights

      Create a plan to maintain the BCP.

      Iterate on your plan

      Tend your garden, and pull the weeds.

      Mastery comes through practice and iteration. Iterating on and testing your plan will help you keep up to date with business changes, identify plan improvements, and help your organization’s employees develop a mindset of continuity readiness. Maintenance drives continued success; don’t let your plan become stagnant, messy, and unusable.

      Your BCM program should structure BCP reviews and updates by answering the following:

      1. When do we review the plan?
      2. What are the goals of a review?
      3. Who must lead reviews and update BCP documents?
      4. How do we track reviews, tests, and updates?

      Structure plan reviews

      There are more opportunities for improvements than just planned reviews.

      At a minimum, review goals should include:

      1. Identify and document changes to BCP requirements.
      2. Identify and document changes to BCP capabilities.
      3. Identify gaps and risks and ways to remediate risks and close gaps.

      Who leads reviews and updates documents?

      The BCP Coordinator is likely heavily involved in facilitating reviews and updating documentation, at least at first. Look for opportunities to hand off document ownership to the business units over time.

      How do we track reviews, tests, and updates?

      Keep track of your good work by keeping a log of document changes. If you don’t have one, you can use the last tab on the BCP-DRP Maintenance Checklist.

      When do we review the plan?

      1. Scheduled reviews: At a minimum, plan reviews once a year. Plan owners should review the documents, identify needed updates, and notify the coordinator of any changes to their plan.
      2. As-needed reviews: Project launches, major IT upgrades, office openings or moves, organizational restructuring – all of these should trigger a BCP review.
      3. Testing exercises: Schedule controlled exercises to test and improve different aspects of your continuity plan, and ensure that lessons learned become part of plan documentation.
      4. Retrospectives: Take the opportunity to learn from actual continuity events and crises by conducting retrospectives to evaluate your response and brainstorm improvements.

      Conduct a retrospective after major incidents

      Use a retrospective on your COVID-19 response as a starting point. Build on the questions below to guide the conversation.

      • If needed, how did we set up remote work for our users? What worked, and what didn’t?
      • Did we discover any long-term opportunities to improve business processes?
      • Did we use any continuity plans we have documented?
      • Did we effectively prioritize business processes for recovery?
      • Were expectations from our business users in line with our plans?
      • What parts of our plan worked, and where can we improve the plan?
      1. Gather stakeholders and team members
      2. Ask:
        1. What happened?
        2. What did we learn?
        3. What did we do well?
        4. What should we have done differently?
        5. What gaps should we take action to address?
      3. Prepare a plan to take action

      Outcomes and benefits

      • Confirm business priorities.
      • Validate that business recovery solutions and procedures are effective in meeting business requirements (i.e. RTOs and RPOs).
      • Identify gaps in continuity resources, procedures, or documentation, and options to close gaps.
      • Build confidence in the response team and recovery capabilities.

      Tool: Testing and Maintenance Schedule

      Build a light-weight maintenance schedule for your BCP and DRP plans.

      This tool helps you set a schedule for plan update activities, identify document and exercise owners, and log updates for audit and governance purposes.

      • Add the names of your documents and brainstorm update activities.
      • Activities (document updates, testing, etc.) might be scheduled regularly, as-needed, or both. If they happen “as needed,” identify the trigger for the activity.
      • Start tracking past activities and resulting changes in Tab 3. You can also track crises that tested your continuity capabilities on this tab.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Everyone gets busy. If there’s a meeting you can schedule months in advance, schedule it months in advance! Then send reminders closer to the date. As soon as you’re done the pilot BCP, set aside time in everyone’s calendar for your first review session, whether that’s three months, six months, or a year from now.

      Appendix

      Additional BCP Tools and Templates

      Template Library: Business Continuity Policy

      Create a high-level policy to govern BCP and clarify BCP requirements.

      Use this template to:

      • Outline the organizational commitment to BCM.
      • Clarify the mandate to prepare, validate, and maintain continuity plans that align with business requirements.
      • Define specific policy statements that signatories to the policy are expected to uphold.
      • Require key stakeholders to review and sign off on the template.

      Download Info-Tech’s Business Continuity Policy template

      Template Library: Workarounds & Recovery Checklists

      Capture the step-by-step details to execute workarounds and steps in the business recovery process.

      If you require more detail to support your recovery procedures, you can use this template to:

      • Record specific steps or checklists to support specific workarounds or recovery procedures.
      • Identify prerequisites for workarounds or recovery procedures.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Process Workarounds & Recovery Checklists Template

      Template Library: Notification, Assessment, Declaration

      Create a procedure that outlines the conditions for assessing a disaster situation and invoking the business continuity plan.

      Use this template to:

      • Guide the process whereby the business is notified of an incident, assesses the situation, and declares a disaster.
      • Set criteria for activating business continuity plans.
      • Review examples of possible events, and suggest options on how the business might proceed or react.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Notification, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan template

      Template Library: BCP Recovery Workflow Example

      Review an example of BCP recovery workflows.

      Use this template to:

      • Generate ideas for your own recovery processes.
      • See real examples of recovery processes for warehousing, supply, and distribution operations.
      • Review an example of working BCP documentation.

      Download Info-Tech’s BCP Recovery Workflows Example

      Create a Pandemic Response Plan

      If you’ve been asked to build a pandemic-specific response plan, use your core BCP findings to complete these pandemic planning documents.

      • At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, IT departments were asked to rapidly ramp up work-from-home capabilities and support other process workarounds.
      • IT managers already knew that obstacles to working from home would go beyond internet speed and needing a laptop. Business input is critical to uncover unexpected obstacles.
      • IT needed to address a range of issues from security risk to increased service desk demand from users who don’t normally work from home.
      • Workarounds to speed the process up had to be balanced with good IT practices and governance (Asset Management, Security, etc.)
      • If you’ve been asked to update your Pandemic Response Plan, use this template and your core BCP deliverables to deliver a set of streamlined documentation that draws on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Structure HR’s role in the pandemic plan

      Leverage the following materials from Info-Tech’s HR-focused sister company, McLean & Company.

      These HR research resources live on the website of Info-Tech’s sister company, McLean & Company. Contact your Account Manager to gain access to these resources.

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Knowledge Gained

      This blueprint outlined:

      • The streamlined approach to BCP development.
      • A BIA process to identify acceptable, appropriate recovery objectives.
      • Tabletop planning exercises to document and validate business recovery procedures.

      Processes Optimized

      • Business continuity development processes were optimized, from business impact analysis to incident response planning.
      • In addition, pilot business unit processes were identified and clarified to support BCP development, which also provided the opportunity to review and optimize those processes.

      Key Deliverables Completed

      • Core BCP deliverables for the pilot business unit, including a business impact analysis, recovery workflows, and a project roadmap.
      • BCP Executive Presentation to communicate pilot results as well as a summary of the methodology to the executive team.
      • BCP Summary to provide a high-level view of BCP scope, objectives, capabilities, and requirements.

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors and Experts

      Dr. Bernard A. Jones, MBCI, CBCP

      Professor and Continuity Consultant Berkeley College

      Dr. Jones is a professor at Berkeley College within the School of Professional Studies teaching courses in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He is a member of the National Board of Directors for the Association of Continuity Professionals (ACP) as well as the Information & Publications Committee Chair for the Garden State Chapter of the ACP. Dr. Jones earned a doctorate degree in Civil Security Leadership, Management & Policy from New Jersey City University where his research focus was on organizational resilience.

      Kris L. Roberson

      Disaster Recovery Analyst Veterans United Home Loans

      Kris Roberson is the Disaster Recovery Analyst for Veterans United Home Loans, the #1 VA mortgage lender in the US. Kris oversees the development and maintenance of the Veterans United Home Loans DR program and leads the business continuity program. She is responsible for determining the broader strategies for DR testing and continuity planning, as well as the implementation of disaster recovery and business continuity technologies, vendors, and services. Kris holds a Masters of Strategic Leadership with a focus on organizational change management and a Bachelors in Music. She is a member of Infragard, the National Association of Professional Women, and Sigma Alpha Iota, and holds a Project+ certification.

      Trevor Butler

      General Manager of Information Technology City of Lethbridge

      As the General Manager of Information Technology with the City of Lethbridge, Trevor is accountable for providing strategic management and advancement of the city’s information technology and communications systems consistent with the goals and priorities of the corporation while ensuring that corporate risks are appropriately managed. He has 15+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, including 10+ years with public sector organizations. He holds a B.Mgt. and PMP certification along with masters certificates in both Project Management and Business Analysis.

      Robert Miller

      Information Services Director Witt/Kieffer

      Bob Miller is the Information Services Director at Witt/Kieffer. His department provides end-user support for all company-owned devices and software for Oak Brook, the regional offices, home offices, and traveling employees. The department purchases, implements, manages, and monitors the infrastructure, which includes web hosting, networks, wireless solutions, cell phones, servers, and file storage. Bob is also responsible for the firm’s security planning, capacity planning, and business continuity and disaster preparedness planning to ensure that the firm has functional technology to conduct business and continue business growth.

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan

      Close the gap between your DR capabilities and service continuity requirements.

      Create Visual SOP Documents that Drive Process Optimization, Not Just Peace of Mind

      Go beyond satisfying auditors to drive process improvement, consistent IT operations, and effective knowledge transfer.

      Select the Optimal Disaster Recovery Deployment Model

      Determine which deployment models, including hybrid solutions, best meet your DR requirements.

      Bibliography

      “Business Continuity Planning.” IT Examination HandBook. The Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC), February 2015. Web.

      “Business Continuity Plans and Emergency Contact Information.” FINRA, 12 February 2015. Web.

      “COBIT 5: A Business Framework for the Governance and Management of Enterprise IT.” ISACA, n.d. Web.

      Disaster Resource GUIDE. Emergency Lifeline Corporation, n.d. Web.

      “DR Rules & Regulations.” Disaster Recovery Journal, March 2017. Web.

      “Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).” Homeland Security, 2014. Web.

      FEMA. “Planning & Templates.” FEMA, n.d. Web.

      “FINRA-SEC-CFTC Joint Advisory (Regulatory Notice 13-25).” FINRA, August 2013. Web.

      Gosling, Mel and Andrew Hiles. “Business Continuity Statistics: Where Myth Meets Fact.” Continuity Central, 24 April 2009. Web.

      Hanwacker, Linda. “COOP Templates for Success Workbook.” The LSH Group, 2016. Web.

      Potter, Patrick. “BCM Regulatory Alphabet Soup – Part Two.” RSA Link, 28 August 2012. Web.

      The Good Practice Guidelines. Business Continuity Institute, 2013. Web.

      Wang, Dashun and James A. Evans. “When Small Teams are Better than Big Ones.” Harvard Business Review, 21 February 2019. Web.

      Understand and Apply Internet-of-Things Use Cases to Drive Organizational Success

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      • Parent Category Name: Customer Relationship Management
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      • The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly proliferating technology – connected devices have experienced unabated growth over the last ten years.
      • The business wants to capitalize on the IoT and move the needle forward for proactive customer service and operational efficiency.
      • Moreover, IT wants to maintain its reputation as forward-thinking, and the business wants to be innovative.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Leverage Info-Tech’s comprehensive three-phase approach to IoT projects: understand the fundamentals of IoT capabilities, assess where the IoT will drive value within the organization, and present findings to stakeholders.
      • Conduct a foundational IoT discussion with stakeholders to level set expectations about the technology’s capabilities.
      • Determine your organization’s approach to the IoT in terms of both hardware and software.
      • Determine which use case your organization fits into: three of the use cases highlighted in this report include predictive customer service, smart offices, and supply chain applications.

      Impact and Result

      • Our methodology addresses the possible issues by using a case-study approach to demonstrate the “Art of the Possible” for the IoT.
      • With an understanding of the IoT, it is possible to find applicable use cases for this emerging technology and get a leg up on competitors.

      Understand and Apply Internet-of-Things Use Cases to Drive Organizational Success Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why your organization should care about the IoT’s potential to transform the service and the workplace, and how Info-Tech will support you as you identify and build your IoT use cases.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Understand core IoT use cases

      Analyze the scope of the IoT and the three most prominent enterprise use cases.

      • Understand and Apply Internet-of-Things Use Cases to Drive Organizational Success – Phase 1: Understand Core IoT Use Cases

      2. Build the business case for IoT applications

      Develop and prioritize use cases for the IoT using Info-Tech’s IoT Initiative Framework.

      • Understand and Apply Internet-of-Things Use Cases to Drive Organizational Success – Phase 2: Build the Business Case for IoT Initiatives

      3. Present IoT initiatives to stakeholders

      Present the IoT initiative to stakeholders and understand the way forward for the IoT initiative.

      • Understand and Apply Internet-of-Things Use Cases to Drive Organizational Success – Phase 3: Present IoT Initiatives to Stakeholders
      • Internet of Things Stakeholder Presentation Template
      [infographic]

      Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure

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      • Parent Category Name: Organizational Design
      • Parent Category Link: /organizational-design

      Most organizations go through an organizational redesign to:

      • Better align to the strategic objectives of the organization.
      • Increase the effectiveness of IT as a function.
      • Provide employees with clarity in their roles and responsibilities.
      • Support new capabilities.
      • Better align IT capabilities to suit the vision.
      • Ensure the IT organization can support transformation initiatives.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Organizational redesign is only as successful as the process leaders engage in. It shapes a story framed in a strong foundation of need and a method to successfully implement and adopt the new structure.
      • Benchmarking your organizational redesign to other organizations will not work. Other organizations have different strategies, drivers, and context. It’s important to focus on your organization, not someone else's.
      • You could have the best IT employees in the world, but if they aren’t structured well your organization will still fail in reaching its vision.

      Impact and Result

      • We are often unsuccessful in organizational redesign because we lack an understanding of why this initiative is required or fail to recognize that it is a change initiative.
      • Successful organizational design requires a clear understanding of why it is needed and what will be achieved by operating in a new structure.
      • Additionally, understanding the impact of the change initiative can lead to greater adoption by core stakeholders.

      Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Deck – A defined method of redesigning your IT structure that is founded by clear drivers and consistently considering change management practices.

      The purpose of this storyboard is to provide a four-phased approach to organizational redesign.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure – Phases 1-4

      2. Communication Deck – A method to communicate the new organizational structure to critical stakeholders to gain buy-in and define the need.

      Use this templated Communication Deck to ensure impacted stakeholders have a clear understanding of why the new organizational structure is needed and what that structure will look like.

      • Organizational Design Communications Deck

      3. Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Executive Summary Template – A template to secure executive leadership buy-in and financial support for the new organizational structure to be implemented.

      This template provides IT leaders with an opportunity to present their case for a change in organizational structure and roles to secure the funding and buy-in required to operate in the new structure.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Executive Summary

      4. Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Workbook – A method to document decisions made and rationale to support working through each phase of the process.

      This Workbook allows IT and business leadership to work through the steps required to complete the organizational redesign process and document key rationale for those decisions.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Workbook

      5. Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Operating Models and Capability Definitions – A tool that can be used to provide clarity on the different types of operating models that exist as well as the process definitions of each capability.

      Refer to this tool when working through the redesign process to better understand the operating model sketches and the capability definitions. Each capability has been tied back to core frameworks that exist within the information and technology space.

      • Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure Operating Models and Capability Definitions

      Infographic

      Workshop: Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Establish the Organizational Design Foundation

      The Purpose

      Lay the foundation for your organizational redesign by establishing a set of organizational design principles that will guide the redesign process.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Clearly articulate why this organizational redesign is needed and the implications the strategies and context will have on your structure.

      Activities

      1.1 Define the org design drivers.

      1.2 Document and define the implications of the business context.

      1.3 Align the structure to support the strategy.

      1.4 Establish guidelines to direct the organizational design process.

      Outputs

      Clear definition of the need to redesign the organizational structure

      Understanding of the business context implications on the organizational structure creation.

      Strategic impact of strategies on organizational design.

      Customized Design Principles to rationalize and guide the organizational design process.

      2 Create the Operating Model Sketch

      The Purpose

      Select and customize an operating model sketch that will accurately reflect the future state your organization is striving towards. Consider how capabilities will be sourced, gaps in delivery, and alignment.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A customized operating model sketch that informs what capabilities will make up your IT organization and how those capabilities will align to deliver value to your organization.

      Activities

      2.1 Augmented list of IT capabilities.

      2.2 Capability gap analysis

      2.3 Identified capabilities for outsourcing.

      2.4 Select a base operating model sketch.

      2.5 Customize the IT operating model sketch.

      Outputs

      Customized list of IT processes that make up your organization.

      Analysis of which capabilities require dedicated focus in order to meet goals.

      Definition of why capabilities will be outsourced and the method of outsourcing used to deliver the most value.

      Customized IT operating model reflecting sourcing, centralization, and intended delivery of value.

      3 Formalize the Organizational Structure

      The Purpose

      Translate the operating model sketch into a formal structure with defined functional teams, roles, reporting structure, and responsibilities.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A detailed organizational chart reflecting team structures, reporting structures, and role responsibilities.

      Activities

      3.1 Categorize your IT capabilities within your defined functional work units.

      3.2 Create a mandate statement for each work unit.

      3.3 Define roles inside the work units and assign accountability and responsibility.

      3.4 Finalize your organizational structure.

      Outputs

      Capabilities Organized Into Functional Groups

      Functional Work Unit Mandates

      Organizational Chart

      4 Plan for the Implementation & Change

      The Purpose

      Ensure the successful implementation of the new organizational structure by strategically communicating and involving stakeholders.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A clear plan of action on how to transition to the new structure, communicate the new organizational structure, and measure the effectiveness of the new structure.

      Activities

      4.1 Identify and mitigate key org design risks.

      4.2 Define the transition plan.

      4.3 Create the change communication message.

      4.4 Create a standard set of FAQs.

      4.5 Align sustainment metrics back to core drivers.

      Outputs

      Risk Mitigation Plan

      Change Communication Message

      Standard FAQs

      Implementation and sustainment metrics.

      Further reading

      Redesign Your IT Organizational Structure

      Designing an IT structure that will enable your strategic vision is not about an org chart – it’s about how you work.

      EXECUTIVE BRIEF

      Analyst Perspective

      Structure enables strategy.

      The image contains a picture of Allison Straker.

      Allison Straker

      Research Director,

      Organizational Transformation

      The image contains a picture of Brittany Lutes.

      Brittany Lutes

      Senior Research Analyst,

      Organizational Transformation

      An organizational structure is much more than a chart with titles and names. It defines the way that the organization operates on a day-to-day basis to enable the successful delivery of the organization’s information and technology objectives. Moreover, organizational design sees beyond the people that might be performing a specific role. People and role titles will and often do change frequently. Those are the dynamic elements of organizational design that allow your organization to scale and meet specific objectives at defined points of time. Capabilities, on the other hand, are focused and related to specific IT processes.

      Redesigning an IT organizational structure can be a small or large change transformation for your organization. Create a structure that is equally mindful of the opportunities and the constraints that might exist and ensure it will drive the organization towards its vision with a successful implementation. If everyone understands why the IT organization needs to be structured that way, they are more likely to support and adopt the behaviors required to operate in the new structure.

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Your organization needs to reorganize itself because:

      • The current IT structure does not align to the strategic objectives of the organization.
      • There are inefficiencies in how the IT function is currently operating.
      • IT employees are unclear about their role and responsibilities, leading to inconsistencies.
      • New capabilities or a change in how the capabilities are organized is required to support the transformation.

      Common Obstacles

      Many organizations struggle when it comes redesigning their IT organizational structure because they:

      • Jump right into creating the new organizational chart.
      • Do not include the members of the IT leadership team in the changes.
      • Do not include the business in the changes.
      • Consider the context in which the change will take place and how to enable successful adoption.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Successful IT organization redesign includes:

      • Understanding the drivers, context, and strategies that will inform the structure.
      • Remaining objective by focusing on capabilities over people or roles.
      • Identifying gaps in delivery, sourcing strategies, customers, and degrees of centralization.
      • Remembering that organizational design is a change initiative and will require buy-in.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A successful redesign requires a strong foundation and a plan to ensure successful adoption. Without these, the organizational chart has little meaning or value.

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations who are looking to:

      • Redesign the IT structure to align to the strategic objectives of the enterprise.
      • Increase the effectiveness in how the IT function is operating in the organization.
      • Provide clarity to employees around their roles and responsibilities.
      • Ensure there is an ability to support new IT capabilities and/or align capabilities to better support the direction of the organization.
      • Align the IT organization to support a business transformation such as becoming digitally enabled or engaging in M&A activities.

      Organizational design is a challenge for many IT and digital executives

      69% of digital executives surveyed indicated challenges related to structure, team silos, business-IT alignment, and required roles when executing on a digital strategy.

      Source: MIT Sloan, 2020

      Common obstacles

      These barriers make IT organizational redesign difficult to address for many organizations:

      • Confuse organizational design and organizational charts as the same thing.
      • Start with the organizational chart, not taking into consideration the foundational elements that will make that chart successful.
      • Fail to treat organizational redesign as a change management initiative and follow through with the change.
      • Exclude impacted or influential IT leaders and/or business stakeholders from the redesign process.
      • Leverage an operating model because it is trending.

      To overcome these barriers:

      • Understand the context in which the changes will take place.
      • Communicate the changes to those impacted to enable successful adoption and implementation of a new organizational structure.
      • Understand that organizational design is for more than just HR leaders now; IT executives should be driving this change.

      Succeed in Organizational Redesign

      75% The percentage of change efforts that fail.

      Source: TLNT, 2019

      55% The percentage of practitioners who identify how information flows between work units as a challenge for their organization.

      Source: Journal of Organizational Design, 2019

      Organizational design defined

      If your IT strategy is your map, your IT organizational design represents the optimal path to get there.

      IT organizational design refers to the process of aligning the organization’s structure, processes, metrics, and talent to the organization’s strategic plan to drive efficiency and effectiveness.

      Why is the right IT organizational design so critical to success?

      Adaptability is at the core of staying competitive today

      Structure is not just an organizational chart

      Organizational design is a never-ending process

      Digital technology and information transparency are driving organizations to reorganize around customer responsiveness. To remain relevant and competitive, your organizational design must be forward looking and ready to adapt to rapid pivots in technology or customer demand.

      The design of your organization dictates how roles function. If not aligned to the strategic direction, the structure will act as a bungee cord and pull the organization back toward its old strategic direction (ResearchGate.net, 2014). Structure supports strategy, but strategy also follows structure.

      Organization design is not a one-time project but a continuous, dynamic process of organizational self-learning and continuous improvement. Landing on the right operating model will provide a solid foundation to build upon as the organization adapts to new challenges and opportunities.

      Understand the organizational differences

      Organizational Design

      Organizational design the process in which you intentionally align the organizational structure to the strategy. It considers the way in which the organization should operate and purposely aligns to the enterprise vision. This process often considers centralization, sourcing, span of control, specialization, authority, and how those all impact or are impacted by the strategic goals.

      Operating Model

      Operating models provide an architectural blueprint of how IT capabilities are organized to deliver value. The placement of the capabilities can alter the culture, delivery of the strategic vision, governance model, team focus, role responsibility, and more. Operating model sketches should be foundational to the organizational design process, providing consistency through org chart changes.

      Organizational Structure

      The organizational structure is the chosen way of aligning the core processes to deliver. This can be strategic, or it can be ad hoc. We recommend you take a strategic approach unless ad hoc aligns to your culture and delivery method. A good organizational structure will include: “someone with authority to make the decisions, a division of labor and a set of rules by which the organization operates” (Bizfluent, 2019).

      Organizational Chart

      The capstone of this change initiative is an easy-to-read chart that visualizes the roles and reporting structure. Most organizations use this to depict where individuals fit into the organization and if there are vacancies. While this should be informed by the structure it does not necessarily depict workflows that will take place. Moreover, this is the output of the organizational design process.

      Sources: Bizfluent, 2019; Strategy & Business, 2015; SHRM, 2021

      The Technology Value Trinity

      The image contains a diagram of the Technology Value Trinity as described in the text below.

      All three elements of the Technology Value Trinity work in harmony to delivery business value and achieve strategic needs. As one changes, the others need to change as well.

      How do these three elements relate?

      • Digital and IT strategy tells you what you need to achieve to be successful.
      • Operating model and organizational design align resources to deliver on your strategy and priorities. This is done by strategically structuring IT capabilities in a way that enables the organizations vision and considers the context in which the structure will operate.
      • I&T governance is the confirmation of IT’s goals and strategy, which ensures the alignment of IT and business strategy and is the mechanism by which you continuously prioritize work to ensure that what is delivered is in line with the strategy.

      Too often strategy, organizational design, and governance are considered separate practices – strategies are defined without teams and resources to support. Structure must follow strategy.

      Info-Tech’s approach to organizational design

      Like a story, a strategy without a structure to deliver on it is simply words on paper.

      Books begin by setting the foundation of the story.

      Introduce your story by:

      • Defining the need(s) that are driving this initiative forward.
      • Introducing the business context in which the organizational redesign must take place.
      • Outlining what’s needed in the redesign to support the organization in reaching its strategic IT goals.

      The plot cannot thicken without the foundation. Your organizational structure and chart should not exist without one either.

      The steps to establish your organizational chart - with functional teams, reporting structure, roles, and responsibilities defined – cannot occur without a clear definition of goals, need, and context. An organizational chart alone won’t provide the insight required to obtain buy-in or realize the necessary changes.

      Conclude your story through change management and communication.

      Good stories don’t end without referencing what happened before. Use the literary technique of foreshadowing – your change management must be embedded throughout the organizational redesign process. This will increase the likelihood that the organizational structure can be communicated, implemented, and reinforced by stakeholders.

      Info-Tech uses a capability-based approach to help you design your organizational structure

      Once your IT strategy is defined, it is critical to identify the capabilities that are required to deliver on those strategic initiatives. Each initiative will require a combination of these capabilities that are only supported through the appropriate organization of roles, skills, and team structures.

      The image contains a diagram of the various services and blueprints that Info-Tech has to offer.

      Embed change management into organizational design

      Change management practices are needed from the onset to ensure the implementation of an organizational structure.

      For each phase of this blueprint, its important to consider change management. These are the points when you need to communicate the structure changes:

      • Phase 1: Begin to socialize the idea of new organizational structure with executive leadership and explain how it might be impactful to the context of the organization. For example, a new control, governance model, or sourcing approach could be considered.
      • Phase 2: The chosen operating model will influence your relationships with the business and can create/eliminate silos. Ensure IT and business leaders have insight into these possible changes and a willingness to move forward.
      • Phase 3: The new organizational structure could create or eliminate teams, reduce or increase role responsibilities, and create different reporting structures than before. It’s time to communicate these changes with those most impacted and be able to highlight the positive outcomes of the various changes.
      • Phase 4: Should consider the change management practices holistically. This includes the type of change and length of time to reach the end state, communication, addressing active resistors, acquiring the right skills, and measuring the success of the new structure and its adoption.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Do not undertake an organizational redesign initiative if you will not engage in change management practices that are required to ensure its successful adoption.

      Measure the value of the IT organizational redesign

      Given that the organizational redesign is intended to align with the overall vision and objectives of the business, many of the metrics that support its success will be tied to the business. Adapt the key performance indicators (KPIs) that the business is using to track its success and demonstrate how IT can enable the business and improve its ability to reach those targets.

      Strategic Resources

      The percentage of resources dedicated to strategic priorities and initiatives supported by IT operating model. While operational resources are necessary, ensuring people are allocating time to strategic initiatives as well will drive the business towards its goal state. Leverage Info-Tech’s IT Staffing Assessment diagnostic to benchmark your IT resource allocation.

      Business Satisfaction

      Assess the improvement in business satisfaction overall with IT year over year to ensure the new structure continues to drive satisfaction across all business functions. Leverage Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision diagnostic to see how your IT organization is perceived.

      Role Clarity

      The degree of clarity that IT employees have around their role and its core responsibilities can lead to employee engagement and retention. Consider measuring this core job driver by leveraging Info-Tech’s Employee Engagement Program.

      Customer & User Satisfaction

      Measure customer satisfaction with technology-enabled business services or products and improvements in technology-enabled client acquisition or retention processes. Assess the percentage of users satisfied with the quality of IT service delivery and leverage Info-Tech’s End-User Satisfaction Survey to determine improvements.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for Redesigning Your IT Organization

      Phase

      1. Establish the Organizational Design Foundation

      2. Create the Operating Model Sketch

      3. Formalize the Organizational Structure

      4. Plan for Implementation and Change

      Phase Outcomes

      Lay the foundation for your organizational redesign by establishing a set of organizational design principles that will guide the redesign process.

      Select and customize an operating model sketch that will accurately reflect the future state your organization is striving towards. Consider how capabilities will be sourced, gaps in delivery, and alignment.

      Translate the operating model sketch into a formal structure with defined functional teams, roles, reporting structure, and responsibilities.

      Ensure the successful implementation of the new organizational structure by strategically communicating and involving stakeholders.

      Insight summary

      Overarching insight

      Organizational redesign processes focus on defining the ways in which you want to operate and deliver on your strategy – something an organizational chart will never be able to convey.

      Phase 1 insight

      Focus on your organization, not someone else's’. Benchmarking your organizational redesign to other organizations will not work. Other organizations have different strategies, drivers, and context.

      Phase 2 insight

      An operating model sketch that is customized to your organization’s specific situation and objectives will significantly increase the chances of creating a purposeful organizational structure.

      Phase 3 insight

      If you follow the steps outlined in the first three phases, creating your new organizational chart should be one of the fastest activities.

      Phase 4 insight

      Throughout the creation of a new organizational design structure, it is critical to involve the individuals and teams that will be impacted.

      Tactical insight

      You could have the best IT employees in the world, but if they aren’t structured well your organization will still fail in reaching its vision.

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:


      Communication Deck

      Communicate the changes to other key stakeholders such as peers, managers, and staff.

      Workbook

      As you work through each of the activities, use this workbook as a place to document decisions and rationale.

      Reference Deck

      Definitions for every capability, base operating model sketches, and sample organizational charts aligned to those operating models.

      Job Descriptions

      Key deliverable:

      Executive Presentation

      Leverage this presentation deck to gain executive buy-in for your new organizational structure.

      Blueprint benefits

      IT Benefits

      • Create an organizational structure that aligns to the strategic goals of IT and the business.
      • Provide IT employees with clarity on their roles and responsibilities to ensure the successful delivery of IT capabilities.
      • Highlight and sufficiently staff IT capabilities that are critical to the organization.
      • Define a sourcing strategy for IT capabilities.
      • Increase employee morale and empowerment.

      Business Benefits

      • IT can carry out the organization’s strategic mission and vision of all technical and digital initiatives.
      • Business has clarity on who and where to direct concerns or questions.
      • Reduce the likelihood of turnover costs as IT employees understand their roles and its importance.
      • Create a method to communicate how the organizational structure aligns with the strategic initiatives of IT.
      • Increase ability to innovate the organization.

      Executive Brief Case Study

      IT design needs to support organizational and business objectives, not just IT needs.

      INDUSTRY: Government

      SOURCE: Analyst Interviews and Working Sessions

      Situation

      IT was tasked with providing equality to the different business functions through the delivery of shared IT services. The government created a new IT organizational structure with a focus on two areas in particular: strategic and operational support capabilities.

      Challenge

      When creating the new IT structure, an understanding of the complex and differing needs of the business functions was not reflected in the shared services model.

      Outcome

      As a result, the new organizational structure for IT did not ensure adequate meeting of business needs. Only the operational support structure was successfully adopted by the organization as it aligned to the individual business objectives. The strategic capabilities aspect was not aligned to how the various business lines viewed themselves and their objectives, causing some partners to feel neglected.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs.

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

      Workshop

      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting

      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization. A typical GI is 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

      Phase 1

      Call #1: Define the process, understand the need, and create a plan of action.

      Phase 2

      Call #2: Define org. design drivers and business context.

      Call #3: Understand strategic influences and create customized design principles.

      Call #4: Customize, analyze gaps, and define sourcing strategy for IT capabilities.

      Call #5: Select and customize the IT operating model sketch.

      Phase 3

      Call #6: Establish functional work units and their mandates.

      Call #7: Translate the functional organizational chart to an operational organizational chart with defined roles.

      Phase 4

      Call #8: Consider risks and mitigation tactics associated with the new structure and select a transition plan.

      Call #9: Create your change message, FAQs, and metrics to support the implementation plan.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1

      Day 2

      Day 3

      Day 4

      Day 5

      Establish the Organizational Redesign Foundation

      Create the Operating Model Sketch

      Formalize the Organizational Structure

      Plan for Implementation and Change

      Next Steps and
      Wrap-Up (offsite)

      Activities

      1.1 Define the org. design drivers.

      1.2 Document and define the implications of the business context.

      1.3 Align the structure to support the strategy.

      1.4 Establish guidelines to direct the organizational design process.

      2.1 Augment list of IT capabilities.

      2.2 Analyze capability gaps.

      2.3 Identify capabilities for outsourcing.

      2.4 Select a base operating model sketch.

      2.5 Customize the IT operating model sketch.

      3.1 Categorize your IT capabilities within your defined functional work units.

      3.2 Create a mandate statement for each work unit.

      3.3 Define roles inside the work units and assign accountability and responsibility.

      3.4 Finalize your organizational structure.

      4.1 Identify and mitigate key org. design risks.

      4.2 Define the transition plan.

      4.3 Create the change communication message.

      4.4 Create a standard set of FAQs.

      4.5 Align sustainment metrics back to core drivers.

      5.1 Complete in-progress deliverables from previous four days.

      5.2 Set up review time for workshop deliverables and to discuss next steps.

      Deliverables
      1. Foundational components to the organizational design
      2. Customized design principles
      1. Heat mapped IT capabilities
      2. Defined outsourcing strategy
      3. Customized operating model
      1. Capabilities organized into functional groups
      2. Functional work unit mandates
      3. Organizational chart
      1. Risk mitigation plan
      2. Change communication message
      3. Standard FAQs
      4. Implementation and sustainment metrics
      1. Completed organizational design communications deck

      This blueprint is part one of a three-phase approach to organizational transformation

      PART 1: DESIGN

      PART 2: STRUCTURE

      PART 3: IMPLEMENT

      IT Organizational Architecture

      Organizational Sketch

      Organizational Structure

      Organizational Chart

      Transition Strategy

      Implement Structure

      1. Define the organizational design drivers, business context, and strategic alignment.

      2. Create customized design principles.

      3. Develop and customize a strategically aligned operating model sketch.

      4. Define the future-state work units.

      5. Create future-state work unit mandates.

      6. Define roles by work unit.

      7. Turn roles into jobs with clear capability accountabilities and responsibilities.

      8. Define reporting relationships between jobs.

      9. Assess options and select go-forward organizational sketch.

      11. Validate organizational sketch.

      12. Analyze workforce utilization.

      13. Define competency framework.

      14. Identify competencies required for jobs.

      15. Determine number of positions per job

      16. Conduct competency assessment.

      17. Assign staff to jobs.

      18. Build a workforce and staffing plan.

      19. Form an OD implementation team.

      20. Develop change vision.

      21. Build communication presentation.

      22. Identify and plan change projects.

      23. Develop organizational transition plan.

      24. Train managers to lead through change.

      25. Define and implement stakeholder engagement plan.

      26. Develop individual transition plans.

      27. Implement transition plans.

      Risk Management: Create, implement, and monitor risk management plan.

      HR Management: Develop job descriptions, conduct job evaluation, and develop compensation packages.

      Monitor and Sustain Stakeholder Engagement

      Phase 1

      Establish the Organizational Redesign Foundation

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      1.1 Define the organizational redesign driver(s)

      1.2 Create design principles based on the business context

      1.3a (Optional Exercise) Identify the capabilities from your value stream

      1.3b Identify the capabilities required to deliver on your strategies

      1.4 Finalize your list of design principles

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Embed change management into the organizational design process

      Articulate the Why

      Changes are most successful when leaders clearly articulate the reason for the change – the rationale for the organizational redesign of the IT function. Providing both staff and executive leaders with an understanding for this change is imperative to its success. Despite the potential benefits to a redesign, they can be disruptive. If you are unable to answer the reason why, a redesign might not be the right initiative for your organization.

      Employees who understand the rationale behind decisions made by executive leaders are 3.6 times more likely to be engaged.

      McLean & Company Engagement Survey Database, 2021; N=123,188

      Info-Tech Insight

      Successful adoption of the new organizational design requires change management from the beginning. Start considering how you will convey the need for organizational change within your IT organization.

      The foundation of your organizational design brings together drivers, context, and strategic implications

      All aspects of your IT organization’s structure should be designed with the business’ context and strategic direction in mind.

      Use the following set of slides to extract the key components of your drivers, business context, and strategic direction to land on a future structure that aligns with the larger strategic direction.

      REDESIGN DRIVERS

      Driver(s) can originate from within the IT organization or externally. Ensuring the driver(s) are easy to understand and articulate will increase the successful adoption of the new organizational structure.

      BUSINESS CONTEXT

      Defines the interactions that occur throughout the organization and between the organization and external stakeholders. The context provides insight into the environment by both defining the purpose of the organization and the values that frame how it operates.

      STRATEGY IMPLICATIONS

      The IT strategy should be aligned to the overall business strategy, providing insight into the types of capabilities required to deliver on key IT initiatives.

      Understand IT’s desired maturity level, alignment with business expectations, and capabilities of IT

      Where are we today?

      Determine the current overall maturity level of the IT organization.

      Where do we want to be as an organization?

      Use the inputs from Info-Tech’s diagnostic data to determine where the organization should be after its reorganization.

      How can you leverage these results?

      The result of these diagnostics will inform the design principles that you’ll create in this phase.

      Leverage Info-Tech’s diagnostics to provide an understanding of critical areas your redesign can support:

      CIO Business Vision Diagnostic

      Management & Governance Diagnostic

      IT Staffing Diagnostic

      The image contains a picture of Info-Tech's maturity ladder.

      Consider the organizational design drivers

      Consider organizational redesign if …

      Effectiveness is a concern:

      • Insufficient resources to meet demand
      • Misalignment to IT (and business) strategies
      • Lack of clarity around role responsibility or accountability
      • IT functions operating in silos

      New capabilities are needed:

      • Organization is taking on new capabilities (digital, transformation, M&A)
      • Limited innovation
      • Gaps in the capabilities/services of IT
      • Other external environmental influences or changes in strategic direction

      Lack of business understanding

      • Misalignment between business and IT or how the organization does business
      • Unhappy customers (internal or external)

      Workforce challenges

      • Frequent turnover or inability to attract new skills
      • Low morale or employee empowerment

      These are not good enough reasons …

      • New IT leader looking to make a change for the sake of change or looking to make their legacy known
      • To work with specific/hand-picked leaders over others
      • To “shake things up” to see what happens
      • To force the organization to see IT differently

      Info-Tech Insight

      Avoid change for change’s sake. Restructuring could completely miss the root cause of the problem and merely create a series of new ones.

      1.1 Define the organizational redesign driver(s)

      1-2 hours

      1. As a group, brainstorm a list of current pain points or inhibitors in the current organizational structure, along with a set of opportunities that can be realized during your restructuring. Group these pain points and opportunities into themes.
      2. Leverage the pain points and opportunities to help further define why this initiative is something you’re driving towards. Consider how you would justify this initiative to different stakeholders in the organization.
      3. Questions to consider:
        1. Who is asking for this initiative?
        2. What are the primary benefits this is intended to produce?
        3. What are you optimizing for?
        4. What are we capable of achieving as an IT organization?
        5. Are the drivers coming from inside or outside the IT organization?
      4. Once you’ve determined the drivers for redesigning the IT organization, prioritize those drivers to ensure there is clarity when communicating why this is something you are focusing time and effort on.

      Input

      Output
      • Knowledge of the current organization
      • Pain point and opportunity themes
      • Defined drivers of the initiative

      Materials

      		 Participants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts (physical or electronic)
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Communications Deck

      Frame the organizational design within the context of the business

      Workforce Considerations:

      • How does your organization view its people resources? Does it have the capacity to increase the number of resources?
      • Do you currently have sufficient staff to meet the demands of the organization? Are you able to outsource resources when demand requires it?
      • Are the members of your IT organization unionized?
      • Is your workforce distributed? Do time zones impact how your team can collaborate?

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org. Design Implication

      Culture:

      Culture, "the way we do things here,” has huge implications for executing strategy, driving engagement, and providing a guiding force that ensures organizations can work together toward common goals.

      • What is the culture of your organization? Is it cooperative, traditional, competitive, or innovative? (See appendix for details.)
      • Is this the target culture or a stepping-stone to the ideal culture?
      • How do the attitudes and behaviors of senior leaders in the organization reinforce this culture?

      Consider whether your organization’s culture can accept the operating model and organizational structure changes that make sense on paper.

      Certain cultures may lean toward particular operating models. For example, the demand-develop-service operating model may be supported by a cooperative culture. A traditional organization may lean towards the plan-build-run operating model.

      Ensure you have considered your current culture and added exercises to support it.

      If more capacity is required to accomplish the goals of the organization, you’ll want to prepare the leaders and explain the need in your design principles (to reflect training, upskilling, or outsourcing). Unionized environments require additional consideration. They may necessitate less structural changes, and so your principles will need to reflect other alternatives (hiring additional resources, creative options) to support organizational needs. Hybrid or fully remote workforces may impact how your organization interacts.

      Business context considerations

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org. Design Implication

      Control & Governance:

      It is important to consider how your organization is governed, how decisions are made, and who has authority to make decisions.

      Strategy tells what you do, governance validates you’re doing the right things, and structure is how you execute on what’s been approved.

      • How do decisions get considered and approved in your organization? Are there specific influences that impact the priorities of the organization?
      • Are those in the organization willing to release decision-making authority around specific IT components?
      • Should the organization take on greater accountability for specific IT components?

      Organizations that require more controls may lean toward more centralized governance. Organizations that are looking to better enable and empower their divisions (products, groups, regions, etc.) may look to embed governance in these parts of the organization.

      For enterprise organizations, consider where IT has authority to make decisions (at the global, local, or system level). Appropriate governance needs to be built into the appropriate levels.

      Business context considerations

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org. Design Implication

      Financial Constraints:

      Follow the money: You may need to align your IT organization according to the funding model.

      • Do partners come to IT with their budgets, or does IT have a central pool that they use to fund initiatives from all partners?
      • Are you able to request finances to support key initiatives/roles prioritized by the organization?
      • How is funding aligned: technology, data, digital, etc.? Is your organization business-line funded? Pooled?
      • Are there special products or digital transformation initiatives with resources outside IT? Product ownership funding?
      • How are regulatory changes funded?
      • Do you have the flexibility to adjust your budget throughout the fiscal year?
      • Are chargebacks in place? Are certain services charged back to business units

      Determine if you can move forward with a new model or if you can adjust your existing one to suit the financial constraints.

      If you have no say over your funding, pre-work may be required to build a business case to change your funding model before you look at your organizational structure – without this, you might have to rule out centralized and focus on hybrid/centralized. If you don’t control the budget (funding comes from your partners), it will be difficult to move to a more centralized model.

      A federated business organization may require additional IT governance to help prioritize across the different areas.

      Budgets for digital transformation might come from specific areas of the business, so resources may need to be aligned to support that. You’ll have to consider how you will work with those areas. This may also impact the roles that are going to exist within your IT organization – product owners or division owners might have more say.

      Business context considerations

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org. Design Implication

      Business Perspective of IT:

      How the business perceives IT and how IT perceives itself are sometimes not aligned. Make sure the business’ goals for IT are well understood.

      • Are your business partners satisfied if IT is an order taker? Do they agree with the need for IT to become a business partner? Is IT expected to innovate and transform the organization?
      • Is what the business needs from IT the same as what IT is providing currently?

      Business Organization Structure and Growth:

      • How is the overall organization structured: Centralized/decentralized? Functionally aligned? Divided by regions?
      • In what areas does the organization prioritize investments?
      • Is the organization located across a diverse geography?
      • How big is the organization?
      • How is the organization growing and changing – by mergers and acquisitions?

      If IT needs to become more of a business partner, you’ll want to define what that means to your organization and focus on the capabilities to enable this. Educating your partners might also be required if you’re not aligned.

      For many organizations, this will include stakeholder management, innovation, and product/project management. If IT and its business partners are satisfied with an order-taker relationship, be prepared for the consequences of that.

      A global organization will require different IT needs than a single location. Specifically, site reliability engineering (SRE) or IT support services might be deployed in each region. Organizations growing through mergers and acquisitions can be structured differently depending on what the organization needs from the transaction. A more centralized organization may be appropriate if the driver is reuse for a more holistic approach, or the organization may need a more decentralized organization if the acquisitions need to be handled uniquely.

      Business context considerations

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org. Design Implication

      Sourcing Strategy:

      • What are the drivers for sourcing? Staff augmentation, best practices, time zone support, or another reason?
      • What is your strategy for sourcing?
      • Does IT do all of your technology work, or are parts being done by business or other units?
      • Are we willing/able to outsource, and will that place us into non-compliance (regulations)?
      • Do you have vendor management capabilities in areas that you might outsource?
      • How cloud-driven is your organization?
      • Do you have global operations?

      Change Tolerance:

      • What’s your organization’s tolerance to make changes around organizational design?
      • What's the appetite and threshold for risk?

      Your sourcing strategy affects your organizational structure, including what capabilities you group together. Since managing outsourced capabilities also includes the need for vendor management, you’ll need to ensure there aren’t too many capabilities required per leader. Look closely at what can be achieved through your operating model if IT is done through other groups. Even though these groups may not be in scope of your organization changes, you need to ensure your IT team works with them effectively.

      If your organization is going to push back if there are big structural changes, consider whether the changes are truly necessary. It may be preferred to take baby steps – use an incremental versus big-bang approach.

      A need for incremental change might mean not making a major operating model change.

      Business context considerations

      Business Context Consideration

      IT Org Design. Implication

      Stakeholder Engagement & Focus:

      Identify who your customers and stakeholders are; clarify their needs and engagement model.

      • Who is the customer for IT products and services?
      • Is your customer internal? External? Both?
      • How much of a priority is customer focus for your organization?
      • How will IT interact with customers, end users, and partners? What is the engagement model desired?

      Business Vision, Services, and Products:

      Articulate what your organization was built to do.

      • What does the organization create or provide?
      • Are these products and services changing?
      • What are the most critical capabilities to your organization?
      • What makes your organization a success? What are critical success factors of the organization and how are they measuring this to determine success?

      For a customer or user focus, ensure capabilities related to understanding needs (stakeholder, UX, etc.) are prioritized. Hybrid, decentralized, or demand-develop-service models often have more of a focus on customer needs.

      Outsourcing the service desk might be a consideration if there’s a high demand for the service. A differentiation between these users might mean there’s a different demand for services.

      Think broadly in terms of your organizational vision, not just the tactical (widget creation). You might need to choose an operating model that supports vision.

      Do you need to align your organization with your value stream? Do you need to decentralize specific capabilities to enable prioritization of the key capabilities?

      1.2 Create design principles based on the business context

      1-3 hours

      1. Discuss the business context in which the IT organizational redesign will be taking place. Consider the following standard components of the business context; include other relevant components specific to your organization:
      • Culture
      • Workforce Considerations
      • Control and Governance
      • Financial Constraints
      • Business Perspective of IT
      • Business Organization Structure and Growth
      • Sourcing Strategy
      • Change Tolerance
      • Stakeholder Engagement and Focus
      • Business Vision, Services, and Products
    • Different stakeholders can have different perspectives on these questions. Be sure to consider a holistic approach and engage these individuals.
    • Capture your findings and use them to create initial design principles.
      • Input

      Output

      • Business context
      • Design principles reflecting how the business context influences the organizational redesign for IT

      Materials

      Participants

      • Whiteboard/flip charts (physical or electronic)
      • List of Context Questions
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Communications Deck

      How your IT organization is structured needs to reflect what it must be built to do

      Structure follows strategy – the way you design will impact what your organization can produce.

      Designing your IT organization requires an assessment of what it needs to be built to do:

      • What are the most critical capabilities that you need to deliver, and what does success look like in those different areas?
      • What are the most important things that you deliver overall in your organization?

      The IT organization must reflect your business needs:

      • Understand your value stream and/or your prioritized business goals.
      • Understand the impact of your strategies – these can include your overall digital strategy and/or your IT strategy

      1.3a (Optional Exercise) Identify the capabilities from your value stream

      1 hour

      1. Identify your organization’s value stream – what your overall organization needs to do from supplier to consumer to provide value. Leverage Info-Tech’s industry reference architectures if you haven’t identified your value stream, or use the Document Your Business Architecture blueprint to create yours.
      2. For each item in your value stream, list capabilities that are critical to your organizational strategy and IT needs to further invest in to enable growth.
      3. Also, list those that need further support, e.g. those that lead to long wait times, rework time, re-tooling, down-time, unnecessary processes, unvaluable processes.*
      4. Capture the IT capabilities required to enable your business in your draft principles.
      The image contains a screenshot of the above activity: Sampling Manufacturing Business Capabilities.
      Source: Six Sigma Study Guide, 2014
      Input Output
      • Organization’s value stream
      • List of IT capabilities required to support the IT strategy
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts (physical or electronic)
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Communications Deck

      Your strategy will help you decide on your structure

      Ensure that you have a clear view of the goals and initiatives that are needed in your organization. Your IT, digital, business, and/or other strategies will surface the IT capabilities your organization needs to develop. Identify the goals of your organization and the initiatives that are required to deliver on them. What capabilities are required to enable these? These capabilities will need to be reflected in your design principles.

      Sample initiatives and capabilities from an organization’s strategies

      The image contains a screenshot of sample initiatives and capabilities from an organization's strategies.

      1.3b Identify the capabilities required to deliver on your strategies

      1 hour

      1. For each IT goal, there may be one or more initiatives that your organization will need to complete in order to be successful.
      2. Document those goals and infinitives. For each initiative, consider which core IT capabilities will be required to deliver on that goal. There might be one IT capability or there might be several.
      3. Identify which capabilities are being repeated across the different initiatives. Consider whether you are currently investing in those capabilities in your current organizational structure.
      4. Highlight the capabilities that require IT investment in your design principles.
      InputOutput
      • IT goals
      • IT initiatives
      • IT, digital, and business strategies
      • List of IT capabilities required to support the IT strategy
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts (physical or electronic)
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Communications Deck

      Create your organizational design principles

      Your organizational design principles should define a set of loose rules that can be used to design your organizational structure to the specific needs of the work that needs to be done. These rules will guide you through the selection of the appropriate operating model that will meet your business needs. There are multiple ways you can hypothetically organize yourself to meet these needs, and the design principles will point you in the direction of which solution is the most appropriate as well as explain to your stakeholders the rationale behind organizing in a specific way. This foundational step is critical: one of the key reasons for organizational design failure is a lack of requisite time spent on the front-end understanding what is the best fit.

      The image contains an example of organizing design principles as described above.

      1.4 Finalize your list of design principles

      1-3 hours

      1. As a group, review the key outputs from your data collection exercises and their implications.
      2. Consider each of the previous exercises – where does your organization stand from a maturity perspective, what is driving the redesign, what is the business context, and what are the key IT capabilities requiring support. Identify how each will have an implication on your organizational redesign. Leverage this conversation to generate design principles.
      3. Vote on a finalized list of eight to ten design principles that will guide the selection of your operating model. Have everyone leave the meeting with these design principles so they can review them in more detail with their work units or functional areas and elicit any necessary feedback.
      4. Reconvene the group that was originally gathered to create the list of design principles and make any final amendments to the list as necessary. Use this opportunity to define exactly what each design principle means in the context of your organization so everyone has the same understanding of what this means moving forward.
      InputOutput
      • Organizational redesign drivers
      • Business context
      • IT strategy capabilities
      • Organizational design principles to help inform the selection of the right operating model sketch
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts (physical or electronic)
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Communications Deck

      Example design principles

      Your eight to ten design principles will be those that are most relevant to YOUR organization. Below are samples that other organizations have created, but yours will not be the same.

      Design Principle

      Description

      Decision making

      We will centralize decision making around the prioritization of projects to ensure that the initiatives driving the most value for the organization as a whole are executed.

      Fit for purpose

      We will build and maintain fit-for-purpose solutions based on business units’ unique needs.

      Reduction of duplication

      We will reduce role and application duplication through centralized management of assets and clearly differentiated roles that allow individuals to focus within key capability areas.

      Managed security

      We will manage security enterprise-wide and implement compliance and security governance policies.

      Reuse > buy > build

      We will maximize reuse of existing assets by developing a centralized application portfolio management function and approach.

      Managed data

      We will create a specialized data office to provide data initiatives with the focus they need to enable our strategy.

      Design Principle

      Description

      Controlled technical diversity

      We will control the variety of technology platforms we use to allow for increased operability and reduction of costs.

      Innovation

      R&D and innovation are critical – we will build an innovation team into our structure to help us meet our digital agenda.

      Resourcing

      We will separate our project and maintenance activities to ensure each are given the dedicated support they need for success and to reduce the firefighting mentality.

      Customer centricity

      The new structure will be directly aligned with customer needs – we will have dedicated roles around relationship management, requirements, and strategic roadmapping for business units.

      Interoperability

      We will strengthen our enterprise architecture practices to best prepare for future mergers and acquisitions.

      Cloud services

      We will move toward hosted versus on-premises infrastructure solutions, retrain our data center team in cloud best practices, and build roles around effective vendor management, cloud provisioning, and architecture.

      Phase 2

      Create the Operating Model Sketch

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      2.1 Augment the capability list

      2.2 Heatmap capabilities to determine gaps in service

      2.3 Identify the target state of sourcing for your IT capabilities

      2.4 Review and select a base operating model sketch

      2.5 Customize the selected overlay to reflect the desired future state

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Embed change management into the organizational design process

      Gain Buy-In

      Obtain desire from stakeholders to move forward with organizational redesign initiative by involving them in the process to gain interest. This will provide the stakeholders with assurance that their concerns are being heard and will help them to understand the benefits that can be anticipated from the new organizational structure.

      “You’re more likely to get buy-in if you have good reason for the proposed changes – and the key is to emphasize the benefits of an organizational redesign.”

      Source: Lucid Chart

      Info-Tech Insight

      Just because people are aware does not mean they agree. Help different stakeholders understand how the change in the organizational structure is a benefit by specifically stating the benefit to them.

      Info-Tech uses capabilities in your organizational design

      We differentiate between capabilities and competencies.

      Capabilities

      • Capabilities are focused on the entire system that would be in place to satisfy a particular need. This includes the people who are competent to complete a specific task and also the technology, processes, and resources to deliver.
      • Capabilities work in a systematic way to deliver on specific need(s).
      • A functional area is often made up of one or more capabilities that support its ability to deliver on that function.
      • Focusing on capabilities rather then the individuals in organizational redesign enables a more objective and holistic view of what your organization is striving toward.

      Competencies

      • Competencies on the other hand are specific to an individual. It determines if the individual poses the skills or ability to perform.
      • Competencies are rooted in the term competent, which looks to understand if you are proficient enough to complete the specific task at hand.
        • Source: The People Development Magazine, 2020

      Use our IT capabilities to establish your IT organization design

      The image contains a diagram of the various services and blueprints that Info-Tech has to offer.

      2.1 Augment the capability list

      1-3 hours

      1. Using the capability list on the previous slide, go through each of the IT capabilities and remove any capabilities for which your IT organization is not responsible and/or accountable. Refer to the Operating Model and Capability Definition List for descriptions of each of the IT capabilities.
      2. Augment the language of specific capabilities that you feel are not directly reflective of what is being done within your organizational context or that you feel need to be changed to reflect more specifically how work is being done in your organization.
      • For example, some organizations may refer to their service desk capability as help desk or regional support. Use a descriptive term that most accurately reflects the terminology used inside the organization today.
    • Add any core capabilities from your organization that are missing from the provided IT capability list.
      • For example, organizations that leverage DevOps capabilities for their product development may desire to designate this in their operating model.
    • Document the rationale for decisions made for future reference.
      • Input Output
      • Baseline list of IT capabilities
      • IT capabilities required to support IT strategy
      • Customized list of IT capabilities
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Gaps in delivery

      Identify areas that require greater focus and attention.

      Assess the gaps between where you currently are and where you need to be. Evaluate how critical and how effective your capabilities are:

      • Criticality = Importance
        • Try to focus on those which are highly critical to the organization.
        • These may be capabilities that have been identified in your strategies as areas to focus on.
      • Effectiveness = Performance
        • Identify those where the process or system is broken or ineffective, preventing the team from delivering on the capability.
        • Effectiveness could take into consideration how scalable, adaptable, or sustainable each capability is.
        • Focus on the capabilities that are low or medium in effectiveness but highly critical. Addressing the delivery of these capabilities will lead to the most positive outcomes in your organization.

      Remember to identify what allows the highly effective capabilities to perform at the capacity they are. Leverage this when increasing effectiveness elsewhere.

      High Gap

      There is little to no effectiveness (high gap) and the capability is highly important to your organization.

      Medium Gap

      Current ability is medium in effectiveness (medium gap) and there might be some priority for that capability in your organization.

      Low Gap

      Current ability is highly effective (low gap) and the capability is not necessarily a priority for your organization.

      2.2 Heatmap capabilities to determine gaps in delivery

      1-3 hours

      1. At this point, you should have identified what capabilities you need to have to deliver on your organization's goals and initiatives.
      2. Convene a group of the key stakeholders involved in the IT organizational design initiative.
      3. Review your IT capabilities and color each capability border according to the effectiveness and criticality of that capability, creating a heat map.
      • Green indicates current ability is highly effective (low gap) and the capability is not necessarily a priority for your organization.
      • Yellow indicates current ability is medium in effectiveness (medium gap) and there might be some priority for that capability in your organization.
      • Red indicates that there is little to no effectiveness (high gap) and the capability is highly important to your organization.
      Input Output
      • Selected capabilities from activity 2.1
      • Gap analysis in delivery of capabilities currently
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Don’t forget the why: why are you considering outsourcing?

      There are a few different “types” of outsourcing:

      1. Competitive Advantage – Working with a third-party organization for the knowledge, insights, and best practices they can bring to your organization.
      2. Managed Service– The third party manages a capability or function for your organization.
      3. Staff Augmentation – Your organization brings in contractors and third-party organizations to fill specific skills gaps.

      Weigh which sourcing model(s) will best align with the needed capabilities to deliver effectively

      Insourcing

      Staff Augmentation

      Managed Service

      Competitive Advantage

      Description

      The organization maintains full responsibility for the management and delivery of the IT capability or service.

      Vendor provides specialized skills and enables the IT capability or service together with the organization to meet demand.

      Vendor completely manages the delivery of value for the IT capability, product or service.

      Vendor has unique skills, insights, and best practices that can be taught to staff to enable insourced capability and competency.

      Benefits
      • Retains in-house control over proprietary knowledge and assets that provide competitive or operational advantage.
      • Gains efficiency due to integration into the organization’s processes.
      • Provision of unique skills.
      • Addresses variation in demand for resources.
      • Labor cost savings.
      • Improves use of internal resources.
      • Improves effectiveness due to narrow specialization.
      • Labor cost savings.
      • Gain insights into aspects that could provide your organization with advantages over competitors.
      • Long-term labor cost savings.
      • Short-term outsourcing required.
      • Increase in-house competencies.

      Drawbacks
      • Quality of services/capabilities might not be as high due to lack of specialization.
      • No labor cost savings.
      • Potentially inefficient distribution of labor for the delivery of services/capabilities.
      • Potential conflicts in management or delivery of IT services and capabilities.
      • Negative impact on staff morale.
      • Limited control over services/capabilities.
      • Limited integration into organization’s processes.
      • Short-term labor expenses.
      • Requires a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

      Your strategy for outsourcing will vary with capability and capacity

      The image contains a diagram to show the Develop Vendor Management Capabilities, as described in the text below.

      Capability

      Capacity

      Outsourcing Model

      Low

      Low

      Your solutions may be with you for a long time, so it doesn’t matter whether it is a strategic decision to outsource development or if you are not able to attract the talent required to deliver in your market. Look for a studio, agency, or development shop that has a proven reputation for long-term partnership with its clients.

      Low

      High

      Your team has capacity but needs to develop new skills to be successful. Look for a studio, agency, or development shop that has a track record of developing its customers and delivering solutions.

      High

      Low

      Your organization knows what it is doing but is strapped for people. Look at “body shops” and recruiting agencies that will support short-term development contracts that can be converted to full-time staff or even a wholesale development shop acquisition.

      High

      High

      You have capability and capacity for delivering on your everyday demands but need to rise to the challenge of a significant, short-term rise in demand on a critical initiative. Look for a major system integrator or development shop with the specific expertise in the appropriate technology.

      Use these criteria to inform your right sourcing strategy

      Sourcing Criteria

      Description

      Determine whether you’ll outsource using these criteria

      1. Critical or commodity

      Determine whether the component to be sourced is critical to your organization or if it is a commodity. Commodity components, which are either not strategic in nature or related to planning functions, are likely candidates for outsourcing. Will you need to own the intellectual property created by the third party? Are you ok if they reuse that for their other clients?

      2. Readiness to outsource

      Identify how easy it would be to outsource a particular IT component. Consider factors such as knowledge transfer, workforce reassignment or reduction, and level of integration with other components.

      Vendor management readiness – ensuring that you have sufficient capabilities to manage vendors – should also be considered here.

      3. In-house capabilities

      Determine if you have the capability to deliver the IT solutions in-house. This will help you establish how easy it would be to insource an IT component.

      4. Ability to attract resources (internal vs. outsourced)

      Determine if the capability is one that is easily sourced with full-time, internal staff or if it is a specialty skill that is best left for a third-party to source.

      Determine your sourcing model using these criteria

      		5. Cost

      Consider the total cost (investment and ongoing costs) of the delivery of the IT component for each of the potential sourcing models for a component.

      6. Quality

      Define the potential impact on the quality of the IT component being sourced by the possible sourcing models.

      7. Compliance

      Determine whether the sourcing model would fit with regulations in your industry. For example, a healthcare provider would only go for a cloud option if that provider is HIPAA compliant.

      8. Security

      Identify the extent to which each sourcing option would leave your organization open to security threats.

      9. Flexibility

      Determine the extent to which the sourcing model will allow your organization to scale up or down as demand changes.

      2.3 Identify capabilities that could be outsourced

      1-3 hours

      1. For each of the capabilities that will be in your future-state operating model, determine if it could be outsourced. Review the sourcing criteria available on the previous slide to help inform which sourcing strategy you will use for each capability.
      2. When looking to outsource or co-source capabilities, consider why that capability would be outsourced:
      • Competitive Advantage – Work with a third-party organization for the knowledge, insights, and best practices they can bring to your organization.
      • Managed Service – The third party manages a capability or function for your organization.
      • Staff Augmentation – Your organization brings in contractors and third-party organizations to fill specific skills gaps.
    • Place an asterisk (*) around the capabilities that will be leveraging one of the three previous sourcing options.
      • InputOutput
      • Customized IT capabilities
      • Sourcing strategy for each IT capability
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      What is an operating model?

      Leverage a cohesive operating model throughout the organizational design process.

      An IT operating model sketch is a visual representation of the way your IT organization needs to be designed and the capabilities it requires to deliver on the business mission, strategic objectives, and technological ambitions. It ensures consistency of all elements in the organizational structure through a clear and coherent blueprint.

      The visual should be the optimization and alignment of the IT organization’s structure to deliver the capabilities required to achieve business goals. Additionally, it should clearly show the flow of work so that key stakeholders can understand where inputs flow in and outputs flow out of the IT organization. Investing time in the front end getting the operating model right is critical. This will give you a framework to rationalize future organizational changes, allowing you to be more iterative and your model to change as the business changes.

      The image contains an example of an operating model as described in the text above.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Every structure decision you make should be based on an identified need, not on a trend.Build your IT organization to enable the priorities of the organization.

      Each IT operating model is characterized by a variety of advantages and disadvantages

      Centralized

      Hybrid

      Decentralized
      Advantages
      • Maximum flexibility to allocate IT resources across business units.
      • Low-cost delivery model and greatest economies of scale.
      • Control and consistency offers opportunity for technological rationalization and standardization and volume purchasing at the highest degree.
      • Centralizes processes and services that require consistency across the organization.
      • Decentralizes processes and services that need to be responsive to local market conditions.
      • Eliminates duplication and redundancy by allowing effective use of common resources (e.g. shared services, standardization).
      • Goals are aligned to the distinct business units or functions.
      • Greater flexibility and more timely delivery of services.
      • Development resources are highly knowledgeable about business-unit-specific applications.
      • Business unit has greatest control over IT resources and can set and change priorities as needed.

      Disadvantages
      • Less able to respond quickly to local requirements with flexibility.
      • IT can be resistant to change and unwilling to address the unique needs of end users.
      • Business units can be frustrated by perception of lack of control over resources.
      • Development of special business knowledge can be limited.
      • Requires the most disciplined governance structure and the unwavering commitment of the business; therefore, it can be the most difficult to maintain.
      • Requires new processes as pooled resources must be staffed to approved projects.
      • Redundancies, conflicts, and incompatible technologies can result from business units having differentiated services and applications – increasing cost.
      • Ability to share IT resources is low due to lack of common approaches.
      • Lack of integration limits the communication of data between businesses and reduces common reporting.

      Decentralization can take many forms – define what it means to your organization

      Decentralization can take a number of different forms depending on the products the organization supports and how the organization is geographically distributed. Use the following set of explanations to understand the different types of decentralization possible and when they may make sense for supporting your organizational objectives.

      Line of Business

      Decentralization by lines of business (LoB) aligns decision making with business operating units based on related functions or value streams. Localized priorities focus the decision making from the CIO or IT leadership team. This form of decentralization is beneficial in settings where each line of business has a unique set of products or services that require specific expertise or flexible resourcing staffing between the teams.

      Product Line

      Decentralization by product line organizes your team into operationally aligned product families to improve delivery throughput, quality, and resource flexibility within the family. By adopting this approach, you create stable product teams with the right balance between flexibility and resource sharing. This reinforces value delivery and alignment to enterprise goals within the product lines.

      Geographical

      Geographical decentralization reflects a shift from centralized to regional influences. When teams are in different locations, they can experience a number of roadblocks to effective communication (e.g. time zones, regulatory differences in different countries) that may necessitate separating those groups in the organizational structure, so they have the autonomy needed to make critical decisions.

      Functional

      Functional decentralization allows the IT organization to be separated by specialty areas. Organizations structured by functional specialization can often be organized into shared service teams or centers of excellence whereby people are grouped based on their technical, domain, or functional area within IT (Applications, Data, Infrastructure, Security, etc.). This allows people to develop specialized knowledge and skills but can also reinforce silos between teams.

      2.4 Review and select a base operating model sketch

      1 hour

      1. Review the set of base operating model sketches available on the following slides.
      2. For each operating model sketch, there are benefits and risks to be considered. Make an informed selection by understanding the risks that your organization might be taking on by adopting that particular operating model.
      3. If at any point in the selection process the group is unsure about which operating model will be the right fit, refer back to your design principles established in activity 1.4. These should guide you in the selection of the right operating model and eliminate those which will not serve the organization.
      InputOutput
      • Organizational design principles
      • Customized list of IT capabilities
      • Operating model sketch examples
      • Selected operating model sketch
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Centralized Operating Model #1: Plan-Build-Run

      I want to…

      • Establish a formalized governance process that takes direction from the organization on which initiatives should be prioritized by IT.
      • Ensure there is a clear separation between teams that are involved in strategic planning, building solutions, and delivering operational support.
      • Be able to plan long term by understanding the initiatives that are coming down the pipeline and aligning to an infrequent budgeting plan.

      BENEFITS

      • Effective at implementing long-term plans efficiently; separates maintenance and projects to allow each to have the appropriate focus.
      • More oversight over financials; better suited for fixed budgets.
      • Works across centralized technology domains to better align with the business’ strategic objectives – allows for a top-down approach to decision making.
      • Allows for economies of scale and expertise pooling to improve IT’s efficiency.
      • Well-suited for a project-driven environment that employs waterfall or a hybrid project management methodology that is less iterative.

      RISKS

      • Creates artificial silos between the build (developers) and run (operations staff) teams, as both teams focus on their own responsibilities and often fail to see the bigger picture.
      • Miss opportunities to deliver value to the organization or innovate due to an inability to support unpredictable/shifting project demands as decision making is centralized in the plan function.
      • The portfolio of initiatives being pursued is often determined before requirements analysis takes place, meaning the initiative might be solving the wrong need or problem.
      • Depends on strong hand-off processes to be defined and strong knowledge transfer from build to run functions in order to be successful.
      The image contains an example of a Centralized Operating Model: Plan-Build-Run.

      Centralized Operating Model #2: Demand-Develop-Service

      I want to…

      • Listen to the business to understand new initiatives or service enhancements being requested.
      • Enable development and operations to work together to seamlessly deliver in a DevOps culture.
      • Govern and confirm that initiatives being requested by the business are still aligned to IT’s overarching strategy and roadmap before prioritizing those initiatives.

      BENEFITS

      • Aligns well with an end-to-end services model; constant attention to customer demand and service supply.
      • Centralizes service operations under one functional area to serve shared needs across lines of business.
      • Allows for economies of scale and expertise pooling to improve IT’s efficiency.
      • Elevates sourcing and vendor management as its own strategic function; lends well to managed service and digital initiatives.
      • Development and operations housed together; lends well to DevOps-related initiatives and reduces the silos between these two core groups.

      RISKS

      • IT prioritizes the initiatives it thinks are a priority to the business based on how well it establishes good stakeholder relations and communications.
      • Depends on good governance to prevent enhancements and demands from being prioritized without approval from those with accountability and authority.
      • This model thrives in a DevOps culture but does not mean it ensures your organization is a “DevOps” organization. Be sure you're encouraging the right behaviors and attitudes.

      The image contains an example of a Centralized Operating Model: Demand, Develop, Service.

      Hybrid Operating Model #1: LOB/Functional Aligned

      I want to…

      • Better understand the various needs of the organization to align IT priorities and ensure the right services can be delivered.
      • Keep all IT decisions centralized to ensure they align with the overarching strategy and roadmap that IT has set.
      • Organize your shared services in a strategic manner that enables delivery of those services in a way that fits the culture of the organization and the desired method of operating.

      BENEFITS

      • Best of both worlds of centralization and decentralization; attempts to channel benefits from both centralized and decentralized models.
      • Embeds key IT functions that require business knowledge within functional areas, allowing for critical feedback and the ability to understand those business needs.
      • Places IT in a position to not just be “order takers” but to be more involved with the different business units and promote the value of IT.
      • Achieves economies of scale where necessary through the delivery of shared services that can be requested by the function.
      • Shared services can be organized to deliver in the best way that suits the organization.

      RISKS

      • Different business units may bypass governance to get their specific needs met by functions – to alleviate this, IT must have strong governance and prioritize amongst demand.
      • Decentralized role can be viewed as an order taker by the business if not properly embedded and matured.
      • No guaranteed synergy and integration across functions; requires strong communication, collaboration, and steering.
      • Cannot meet every business unit’s needs – can cause tension from varying effectiveness of the IT functions.

      The image contains an example of a Hybrid Operating Model: LOB/Functional Aligned.

      Hybrid Model #2: Product-Aligned Operating Model

      I want to…

      • Align my IT organization into core products (services) that IT provides to the organization and establish a relationship with those in the organization that have alignment to that product.
      • Have roles dedicated to the lifecycle of their product and ensure the product can continuously deliver value to the organization.
      • Maintain centralized set of standards as it applies to overall IT strategy, security, and architecture to ensure consistency across products and reduce silos.

      BENEFITS

      • Focus is on the full lifecycle of a product – takes a strategic view of how technology enables the organization.
      • Promotes centralized backlog around a specific value creator, rather than a traditional project focus that is more transactional.
      • Dedicated teams around the product family ensure you have all of the resources required to deliver on your product roadmap.
      • Reduces barriers between IT and business stakeholders; focuses on technology as a key strategic enabler.
      • Delivery is largely done through frequent releases that can deliver value.

      RISKS

      • If there is little or no business involvement, it could prevent IT from truly understanding business demand and prioritizing the wrong work.
      • A lack of formal governance can create silos between the IT products, causing duplication of efforts, missed opportunities for collaboration, and redundancies in application or vendor contracts.
      • Members of each product can interpret the definition of standards (e.g. architecture, security) differently.

      The image contains an example of the Hybrid Operating Model: Product-Aligned Operating Model.

      Hybrid Operating Model #3: Service-Aligned Operating Model

      I want to…

      • Decentralize the IT organization by the various IT services it offers to the organization while remaining centralized with IT strategy, governance, security and operational services.
      • Ensure IT services are defined and people resources are aligned to deliver on those services.
      • Enable each of IT’s services to have the autonomy to understand the business needs and be able to manage the operational and new project initiatives with a dedicated service owner or business relationship manager.

      BENEFITS

      • Strong enabler of agility as each service has the autonomy to make decisions around operational work versus project work based on their understanding of the business demand.
      • Individuals in similar roles that are decentralized across services are given coaching to provide common direction.
      • Allows teams to efficiently scale with service demand.
      • This is a structurally baseline DevOps model. Each group will have services built within that have their own dedicated teams that will handle the full gambit of responsibilities, from new features to enhancements and maintenance.

      RISKS

      • Service owners require a method to collaborate to avoid duplication of efforts or projects that conflict with the efforts of other IT services.
      • May result in excessive cost through role redundancies across different services, as each will focus on components like integration, stakeholder management, project management, and user experiences.
      • Silos cause a high degree of specialization, making it more difficult for team members to imagine moving to another defined service group, limiting potential career advancement opportunities.
      • The level of complex knowledge required by shared services (e.g. help desk) is often beyond what they can provide, causing them to rely on and escalate to defined service groups more than with other operating models.

      The image contains an example of the Hybrid Operating Model: Service-Aligned Operating Model.

      Decentralized Model: Division Decentralization (LoB, Geography, Function, Product)

      I want to…

      • Decentralize the IT organization to enable greater autonomy within specific groups that have differing customer demands and levels of support.
      • Maintain a standard level of service that can be provided by IT for all divisions.
      • Ensure each division has access to critical data and reports that supports informed decision making.

      BENEFITS

      • Organization around functions allows for diversity in approach in how areas are run to best serve a specific business unit’s needs.
      • Each functional line exists largely independently, with full capacity and control to deliver service at the committed SLAs.
      • Highly responsive to shifting needs and demands with direct connection to customers and all stages of the solution development lifecycle.
      • Accelerates decision making by delegating authority lower into the function.
      • Promotes a flatter organization with less hierarchy and more direct communication with the CIO.

      RISKS

      • Requires risk and security to be centralized and have oversight of each division to prevent the decisions of one division from negatively impacting other divisions or the enterprise.
      • Less synergy and integration across what different lines of business are doing can result in redundancies and unnecessary complexity.
      • Higher overall cost to the IT group due to role and technology duplication across different divisions.
      • It will be difficult to centralize aspects of IT in the future, as divisions adopt to a culture of IT autonomy.

      The image contains an example of the Decentralized Model: Division Decentralization.

      Enterprise Model: Multi-Modal

      I want to…

      • Have an organizational structure that leverages several different operating models based on the needs and requirements of the different divisions.
      • Provide autonomy and authority to the different divisions so they can make informed and necessary changes as they see fit without seeking approval from a centralized IT group.
      • Support the different initiatives the enterprise is focused on delivering and ensure the right model is adopted based on those initiatives.

      BENEFITS

      • Allows for the organization to work in ways that best support individual areas; for example, areas that support legacy systems can be supported through traditional operating models while areas that support digital transformations may be supported through more flexible operating models.
      • Enables a specialization of knowledge related to each division.

      RISKS

      • Inconsistency across the organization can lead to confusion on how the organization should operate.
      • Parts of the organization that work in more traditional operating models may feel limited in career growth and innovation.
      • Cross-division initiatives may require greater oversight and a method to enable operations between the different focus areas.

      The image contains an example of the Enterprise Model: Multi-Modal.

      Create enabling teams that bridge your divisions

      The following bridges might be necessary to augment your divisions:

      • Specialized augmentation: There might not be a sufficient number of resources to support each division. These teams will be leveraged across the divisions; this means that the capabilities needed for each division will exist in this bridge team, rather than in the division.
      • Centers of Excellence: Capabilities that exist within divisions can benefit from shared knowledge across the enterprise. Your organization might set up centers of excellence to support best practices in capabilities organization wide. These are Forums in the unfix model, or communities of practice and support capability development rather than deliveries of each division.
      • Facilitation teams might be required to support divisions through coaching. This might include Agile or other coaches who can help teams adopt practices and embed learnings.
      • Holistic teams provide an enterprise view as they work with various divisions. This can include capabilities like user experience, which can benefit from the holistic perspective rather than a siloed one. People with these capabilities augment the divisions on an as-needed basis.
      The image contains a diagram to demonstrate the use of bridges on divisions.

      2.5 Customize the selected sketch to reflect the desired future state

      1-3 hours

      1. Using the baseline operating model sketch, walk through each of the IT capabilities. Based on the outputs from activity 2.1:
        1. Remove any capabilities for which your IT organization is not responsible and/or accountable.
        2. Augment the language of specific capabilities that you feel are not directly reflective of what is being done within your organizational context or that you feel need to be changed to reflect more specifically how work is being done in your organization.
        3. Add any core capabilities from your organization that are missing from the provided IT capability list.
      2. Move capabilities to the right places in the operating model to reflect how each of the core IT processes should interact with one another.
      3. Add bridges as needed to support the divisions in your organization. Identify which capabilities will sit in these bridges and define how they will enable the operating model sketch to deliver.
      InputOutput
      • Selected base operating model sketch
      • Customized list of IT capabilities
      • Understanding of outsourcing and gaps
      • Customized operating model sketch
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/flip charts
      • Operating model sketch examples
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Document the final operating model sketch in the Communications Deck

      Phase 3

      Formalize the Organizational Structure

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      3.1 Create work units

      3.2 Create work unit mandates

      3.3 Define roles inside the work units

      3.4 Finalize the organizational chart

      3.5 Identify and mitigate key risks

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Embed change management into the organizational design process

      Enable adoption of the new structure.

      You don’t have to make the change in one big bang. You can adopt alternative transition plans such as increments or pilots. This allows people to see the benefits of why you are undergoing the change, allows the change message to be repeated and applied to the individuals impacted, and provides people with time to understand their role in making the new organizational structure successful.

      “Transformational change can be invigorating for some employees but also highly disruptive and stressful for others.”

      Source: OpenStax, 2019

      Info-Tech Insight

      Without considering the individual impact of the new organizational structure on each of your employees, the change will undoubtedly fail in meeting its intended goals and your organization will likely fall back into old structured habits.

      Use a top-down approach to build your target-state IT organizational sketch

      The organizational sketch is the outline of the organization that encompasses the work units and depicts the relationships among them. It’s important that you create the structure that’s right for your organization, not one that simply fits with your current staff’s skills and knowledge. This is why Info-Tech encourages you to use your operating model as a mode of guidance for structuring your future-state organizational sketch.

      The organizational sketch is made up of unique work units. Work units are the foundational building blocks on which you will define the work that IT needs to get done. The number of work units you require and their names will not match your operating model one to one. Certain functional areas will need to be broken down into smaller work units to ensure appropriate leadership and span of control.

      Use your customized operating model to build your work units

      WHAT ARE WORK UNITS?

      A work unit is a functional group or division that has a discrete set of processes or capabilities that it is responsible for, which don’t overlap with any others. Your customized list of IT capabilities will form the building blocks of your work units. Step one in the process of building your structure is grouping IT capabilities together that are similar or that need to be done in concert in the case of more complex work products. The second step is to iterate on these work units based on the organizational design principles from Phase 1 to ensure that the future-state structure is aligned with enablement of the organization’s objectives.

      Work Unit Examples

      Here is a list of example work units you can use to brainstorm what your organization’s could look like. Some of these overlap in functionality but should provide a strong starting point and hint at some potential alternatives to your current way of organizing.

      • Office of the CIO
      • Strategy and Architecture
      • Architecture and Design
      • Business Relationship Management
      • Projection and Portfolio Management
      • Solution Development
      • Solution Delivery
      • DevOps
      • Infrastructure and Operations
      • Enterprise Information Security
      • Security, Risk & Compliance
      • Data and Analytics

      Example of work units

      The image contains an example of work units.

      3.1 Create functional work units

      1-3 hours

      1. Using a whiteboard or large tabletop, list each capability from your operating model on a sticky note and recreate your operating model. Use one color for centralized activities and a second color for decentralized activities.
      2. With the group of key IT stakeholders, review the operating model and any important definitions and rationale for decisions made.
      3. Starting with your centralized capabilities, review each in turn and begin to form logical groups of compatible capabilities. Review the decentralized capabilities and repeat the process, writing additional sticky notes for capabilities that will be repeated in decentralized units.
      4. Note: Not all capabilities need to be grouped. If you believe that a capability has a high enough priority, has a lot of work, or is significantly divergent from others put this capability by itself.
      5. Define a working title for each new work unit, and discuss the pros and cons of the model. Ensure the work units still align with the operating model and make any changes to the operating model needed.
      6. Review your design principles and ensure that they are aligned with your new work units.
      InputOutput
      • Organizational business objectives
      • Customized operating model
      • Defined work units
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Group formation

      Understand the impact of the functional groups you create.

      A group consists of two or more individuals who are working toward a common goal. Group formation is how those individuals are organized to deliver on that common goal. It should take into consideration the levels of hierarchy in your structure, the level of focus you give to processes, and where power is dispersed within your organizational design.

      Importance: Balance highly important capabilities with lower priority capabilities

      Specialization: The scope of each role will be influenced by specialized knowledge and a dedicated leader

      Effectiveness: Group capabilities that increase their efficacy

      Span of Control: Identify the right number of employees reporting to a single leader

      Choose the degree of specialization required

      Be mindful of the number of hats you’re placing on any one role.

      • Specialization exists when individuals in an organization are dedicated to performing specific tasks associated with a common goal and requiring a particular skill set. Aligning the competencies required to carry out the specific tasks based on the degree of complexity associated with those tasks ensures the right people and number of people can be assigned.
      • When people are organized by their specialties, it reduces the likelihood of task switching, reduces the time spent training or cross-training, and increases the focus employees can provide to their dedicated area of specialty.
      • There are disadvantages associated with aligning teams by their specialization, such as becoming bored and seeing the tasks they are performing as monotonous. Specialization doesn’t come without its problems. Monitor employee motivation

      Info-Tech Insight

      Smaller organizations will require less specialization simply out of necessity. To function and deliver on critical processes, some people might be asked to wear several hats.

      Avoid overloading the cognitive capacity of employees

      Cognitive load refers to the number of responsibilities that one can successfully take on.

      • When employees are assigned an appropriate number of responsibilities this leads to:
        • Engaged employees
        • Less task switching
        • Increased effectiveness on assigned responsibilities
        • Reduced bottlenecks
      • While this cognitive load can differ from employee to employee, when assigning role responsibilities, ensure each role isn’t being overburdened and spreading their focus thin.
      • Moreover, capable does not equal successful. Just because someone has the capability to take on more responsibilities doesn’t mean they will be successful.
      • Leverage the cognitive load being placed on your team to help create boundaries between teams and demonstrate clear role expectations.
      Source: IT Revolution, 2021

      Info-Tech Insight

      When you say you are looking for a team that is a “jack of all trades,” you are likely exceeding appropriate cognitive loads for your staff and losing productivity to task switching.

      Factors to consider for span of control

      Too many and too few direct reports have negative impacts on the organization.

      Complexity: More complex work should have fewer direct reports. This often means the leader will need to provide lots of support, even engaging in the work directly at times.

      Demand: Dynamic shifts in demand require more managerial involvement and therefore should have a smaller span of control. Especially if this demand is to support a 24/7 operation.

      Competency Level: Skilled employees should require less hands-on assistance and will be in a better position to support the business as a member of a larger team than those who are new to the role.

      Purpose: Strategic leaders are less involved in the day-to-day operations of their teams, while operational leaders tend to provide hands-on support, specifically when short-staffed.

      Group formation will influence communication structure

      Pick your poison…

      It’s important to understand the impacts that team design has on your services and products. The solutions that a team is capable of producing is highly dependent on how teams are structured. For example, Conway’s Law tells us that small distributed software delivery teams are more likely to produce modular service architecture, where large collocated teams are better able to create monolithic architecture. This doesn’t just apply to software delivery but also other products and services that IT creates. Note that small distributed teams are not the only way to produce quality products as they can create their own silos.

      Sources: Forbes, 2017

      Create mandates for each of your identified work units

      WHAT ARE WORK UNIT MANDATES?

      The work unit mandate should provide a quick overview of the work unit and be clear enough that any reader can understand why the work unit exists, what it does, and what it is accountable for.

      Each work unit will have a unique mandate. Each mandate should be distinguishable enough from your other work units to make it clear why the work is grouped in this specific way, rather than an alternative option. The mandate will vary by organization based on the agreed upon work units, design archetype, and priorities.

      Don’t just adopt an example mandate from another organization or continue use of the organization’s pre-existing mandate – take the time to ensure it accurately depicts what that group is doing so that its value-added activities are clear to the larger organization.

      Examples of Work Unit Mandates

      The Office of the CIO will be a strategic enabler of the IT organization, driving IT organizational performance through improved IT management and governance. A central priority of the Office of the CIO is to ensure that IT is able to respond to evolving environments and challenges through strategic foresight and a centralized view of what is best for the organization.

      The Project Management Office will provide standardized and effective project management practices across the IT landscape, including an identified project management methodology, tools and resources, project prioritization, and all steps from project initiation through to evaluation, as well as education and development for project managers across IT.

      The Solutions Development Group will be responsible for the high-quality development and delivery of new solutions and improvements and the production of customized business reports. Through this function, IT will have improved agility to respond to new initiatives and will be able to deliver high-quality services and insights in a consistent manner.

      3.2 Create work unit mandates

      1-3 hours

      1. Break into teams of three to four people and assign an equal number of work units to each team.
      2. Have each team create a set of statements that describe the overall purpose of that working group. Each mandate statement should:
      • Be clear enough that any reader can understand.
      • Explain why the work unit exists, what it does, and what it is accountable for.
      • Be distinguishable enough from your other work units to make it clear why the work is grouped in this specific way, rather than an alternative option.
    • Have each group present their work unit mandates and make changes wherever necessary.
      • InputOutput
      • Work units
      • Work unit mandates
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Identify the key roles and responsibilities for the target IT organization

      Now that you have identified the main units of work in the target IT organization, it is time to identify the roles that will perform that work. At the end of this step, the key roles will be identified, the purpose statement will be built, and accountability and responsibility for roles will be clearly defined. Make sure that accountability for each task is assigned to one role only. If there are challenges with a role, change the role to address them (e.g. split roles or shift responsibilities).

      The image contains an example of two work units: Enterprise Architecture and PMO. It then lists the roles of the two work units.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Do not bias your role design by focusing on your existing staff’s competencies. If you begin to focus on your existing team members, you run the risk of artificially narrowing the scope of work or skewing the responsibilities of individuals based on the way it is, rather than the way it should be.

      3.3 Define roles inside the work units

      1-3 hours

      1. Select a work unit from the organizational sketch.
      2. Describe the most senior role in that work unit by asking, “what would the leader of this group be accountable or responsible for?” Define this role and move the capabilities they will be accountable for under that leader. Repeat this activity for the capabilities this leader would be responsible for.
      3. Continue to define each role that will be required in that work unit to deliver or provide oversight related to those capabilities.
      4. Continue until key roles are identified and the capabilities each role will be accountable or responsible for are clarified.
      5. Remember, only one role can have accountability for each capability but several can have responsibility.
      6. For each role, use the list of capabilities that the position will be accountable, responsible, or accountable and responsible for to create a job description. Leverage your own internal job descriptions or visit our Job Descriptions page.
      InputOutput
      • Work units
      • Work unit mandates
      • Responsibilities
      • Accountabilities
      • Roles with clarified responsibilities and accountabilities
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Delivery model for product or solution development

      Can add additional complexity or clarity

      • Certain organizational structures will require a specific type of resourcing model to meet expectations and deliver on the development or sustainment of core products and solutions.
      • There are four common methods that we see in IT organizations:
        • Functional Roles: Completed work is handed off from functional team to functional team sequentially as outlined in the organization’s SDLC.
        • Shared Service & Resource Pools (Matrix): Resources are pulled whenever the work requires specific skills or pushed to areas where product demand is high.
        • Product or System: Work is directly sent to the teams who are directly managing the product or directly supporting the requestor.
        • Skills & Competencies: Work is directly sent to the teams who have the IT and business skills and competencies to complete the work.
      • Each of these will lead to a difference in how the functional team is skilled. They could have a great understanding of their customer, the product, the solution, or their service.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Despite popular belief, there is no such thing as the Spotify model, and organizations that structured themselves based on the original Spotify drawing might be missing out on key opportunities to obtain productivity from employees.

      Sources: Indeed, 2020; Agility Scales

      There can be different patterns to structure and resource your product delivery teams

      The primary goal of any product delivery team is to improve the delivery of value for customers and the business based on your product definition and each product’s demand. Each organization will have different priorities and constraints, so your team structure may take on a combination of patterns or may take on one pattern and then transform into another.

      Delivery Team Structure Patterns

      How Are Resources and Work Allocated?

      Functional Roles

      Teams are divided by functional responsibilities (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk) and arranged according to their placement in the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

      Completed work is handed off from team to team sequentially as outlined in the organization’s SDLC.

      Shared Service and Resource Pools

      Teams are created by pulling the necessary resources from pools (e.g. developers, testers, business analysts, operations, help desk).

      Resources are pulled whenever the work requires specific skills or pushed to areas where product demand is high.

      Product or System

      Teams are dedicated to the development, support, and management of specific products or systems.

      Work is directly sent to the teams who are directly managing the product or directly supporting the requester.

      Skills and Competencies

      Teams are grouped based on skills and competencies related to technology (e.g. Java, mobile, web) or familiarity with business capabilities (e.g. HR, Finance).

      Work is directly sent to the teams who have the IT and business skills and competencies to complete the work.

      Delivery teams will be structured according to resource and development needs

      Functional Roles

      Shared Service and Resource Pools

      Product or System

      Skills and Competencies

      When your people are specialists versus having cross-functional skills

      Leveraged when specialists such as Security or Operations will not have full-time work on the product

      When you have people with cross-functional skills who can self-organize around a product’s needs

      When you have a significant investment in a specific technology stack

      The image contains a diagram of functional roles.The image contains a diagram of shared service and resource pools.The image contains a diagram of product or system.The image contains a diagram of skills and competencies.

      For more information about delivering in a product operating model, refer to our Deliver Digital Products at Scale blueprint.

      3.4 Finalize the organizational chart

      1-3 hours

      1. Import each of your work units and the target-state roles that were identified for each.
      2. In the place of the name of each work unit in your organizational sketch, replace the work unit name with the prospective role name for the leader of that group.
      3. Under each of the leadership roles, import the names of team members that were part of each respective work unit.
      4. Validate the final structure as a group to ensure each of the work units includes all the necessary roles and responsibilities and that there is clear delineation of accountabilities between the work units.

      Input

      Output

      • Work units
      • Work unit mandates
      • Roles with accountabilities and responsibilities
      • Finalized organizational chart

      Materials

      Participants

      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook & Executive Communications Deck

      Proactively consider and mitigate redesign risks

      Every organizational structure will include certain risks that should have been considered and accepted when choosing the base operating model sketch. Now that the final organizational structure has been created, consider if those risks were mitigated by the final organizational structure that was created. For those risks that weren’t mitigated, have a tactic to control risks that remain present.

      3.5 Identify and mitigate key risks

      1-3 hours

      1. For each of the operating model sketch options, there are specific risks that should have been considered when selecting that model.
      2. Take those risks and transfer them into the correct slide of the Organizational Design Workbook.
      3. Consider if there are additional risks that need to be considered with the new organizational structure based on the customizations made.
      4. For each risk, rank the severity of that risk on a scale of low, medium, or high.
      5. Determine one or more mitigation tactic(s) for each of the risks identified. This tactic should reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk event happening.
      InputOutput
      • Final organizational structure
      • Operating model sketch benefits and risks
      • Redesign risk mitigation plan
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Phase 4

      Plan for Implementation & Change

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      4.1 Select a transition plan

      4.2 Establish the change communication messages

      4.3 Be consistent with a standard set of FAQs

      4.4 Define org. redesign resistors

      4.5 Create a sustainment plan

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership
      • HR Business Partners

      All changes require change management

      Change management is:

      Managing a change that requires replanning and reorganizing and that causes people to feel like they have lost control over aspects of their jobs.

      – Padar et al., 2017
      People Process Technology

      Embedding change management into organizational design

      PREPARE A

      Awareness: Establish the need for organizational redesign and ensure this is communicated well.

      This blueprint is mostly focused on the prepare and transition components.

      D

      Desire: Ensure the new structure is something people are seeking and will lead to individual benefits for all.

      TRANSITION K

      Knowledge: Provide stakeholders with the tools and resources to function in their new roles and reporting structure.

      A

      Ability: Support employees through the implementation and into new roles or teams.

      FUTURE R

      Reinforcement: Emphasize and reward positive behaviors and attitudes related to the new organizational structure.

      Implementing the new organizational structure

      Implementing the organizational structure can be the most difficult part of the process.

      • To succeed in the process, consider creating an implementation plan that adequately considers these five components.
      • Each of these are critical to supporting the final organizational structure that was established during the redesign process.

      Implementation Plan

      Transition Plan: Identify the appropriate approach to making the transition, and ensure the transition plan works within the context of the business.

      Communication Strategy: Create a method to ensure consistent, clear, and concise information can be provided to all relevant stakeholders.

      Plan to Address Resistance: Given that not everyone will be happy to move forward with the new organizational changes, ensure you have a method to hear feedback and demonstrate concerns have been heard.

      Employee Development Plan: Provide employees with tools, resources, and the ability to demonstrate these new competencies as they adjust to their new roles.

      Monitor and Sustain the Change: Establish metrics that inform if the implementation of the new organizational structure was successful and reinforce positive behaviors.

      Define the type of change the organizational structure will be

      As a result, your organization must adopt OCM practices to better support the acceptance and longevity of the changes being pursued.

      Incremental Change

      Transformational Change

      Organizational change management is highly recommended and beneficial for projects that require people to:

      • Adopt new tools and workflows.
      • Learn new skills.
      • Comply with new policies and procedures.
      • Stop using old tools and workflows.

      Organizational change management is required for projects that require people to:

      • Move into different roles, reporting structures, and career paths.
      • Embrace new responsibilities, goals, reward systems, and values.
      • Grow out of old habits, ideas, and behaviors.
      • Lose stature in the organization.

      Info-Tech Insight

      How you transition to the new organizational structure can be heavily influenced by HR. This is the time to be including them and leveraging their expertise to support the transition “how.”

      Transition Plan Options

      Description

      Pros

      Cons

      Example

      Big Bang Change

      Change that needs to happen immediately – “ripping the bandage off.”

      • It puts an immediate stop to the current way of operating.
      • Occurs quickly.
      • More risky.
      • People may not buy into the change immediately.
      • May not receive the training needed to adjust to the change.

      A tsunami in Japan stopped all imports and exports. Auto manufacturers were unable to get parts shipped and had to immediately find an alternative supplier.

      Incremental Change

      The change can be rolled out slower, in phases.

      • Can ensure that people are bought in along the way through the change process, allowing time to adjust and align with the change.
      • There is time to ensure training takes place.
      • It can be a timely process.
      • If the change is dragged on for too long (over several years) the environment may change and the rationale and desired outcome for the change may no longer be relevant.

      A change in technology, such as HRIS, might be rolled out one application at a time to ensure that people have time to learn and adjust to the new system.

      Pilot Change

      The change is rolled out for only a select group, to test and determine if it is suitable to roll out to all impacted stakeholders.

      • Able to test the success of the change initiative and the implementation process.
      • Able to make corrections before rolling it out wider, to aid a smooth change.
      • Use the pilot group as an example of successful change.
      • Able to gain buy-in and create change champions from the pilot group who have experienced it and see the benefits.
      • Able to prevent an inappropriate change from impacting the entire organization.
      • Lengthy process.
      • Takes time to ensure the change has been fully worked through.

      A retail store is implementing a new incentive plan to increase product sales. They will pilot the new incentive plan at select stores, before rolling it out broadly.

      4.1 Select a transition plan approach

      1-3 hours

      1. List each of the changes required to move from your current structure to the new structure. Consider:
        1. Changes in reporting structure
        2. Hiring new members
        3. Eliminating positions
        4. Developing key competencies for staff
      2. Once you’ve defined all the changes required, consider the three different transition plan approaches: big bang, incremental, and pilot. Each of the transition plan approaches will have drawbacks and benefits. Use the list of changes to inform the best approach.
      3. If you are proceeding with the incremental or the pilot, determine the order in which you will proceed with the changes or the groups that will pilot the new structure first.
      InputOutput
      • Customized operating model sketch
      • New org. chart
      • Current org. chart
      • List of changes to move from current to future state
      • Transition plan to support changes
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • HR Business Partners

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Make a plan to effectively manage and communicate the change

      Success of your new organizational structure hinges on adequate preparation and effective communication.

      The top challenge facing organizations in completing the organizational redesign is their organizational culture and acceptance of change. Effective planning for the implementation and communication throughout the change is pivotal. Make sure you understand how the change will impact staff and create tailored plans for communication.

      65% of managers believe the organizational change is effective when provided with frequent and clear communication.

      Source: SHRM, 2021

      Communicate reasons for organizational structure changes and how they will be implemented

      Leaders of successful change spend considerable time developing a powerful change message, i.e. a compelling narrative that articulates the desired end state, and that makes the change concrete and meaningful to staff.

      The organizational change message should:

      • Explain why the change is needed.
      • Summarize what will stay the same.
      • Highlight what will be left behind.
      • Emphasize what is being changed.
      • Explain how change will be implemented.
      • Address how change will affect various roles in the organization.
      • Discuss the staff’s role in making the change successful.

      Five elements of communicating change

      • What is the change?
      • Why are we doing it?
      • How are we going to go about it?
      • How long will it take us to do it?
      • What will the role be for each department and individual?
      Source: Cornelius & Associates, 2010

      4.2 Establish the change communication messages

      2 hours

      1. The purpose of this activity is to establish a change communication message you can leverage when talking to stakeholders about the new organizational structure.
      2. Review the questions in the Organizational Design Workbook.
      3. Establish a clear message around the expected changes that will have to take place to help realize the new organizational structure.
      InputOutput
      • Customized operating model sketch
      • New org. chart
      • Current org. chart
      • List of changes
      • Transition plan
      • Change communication message for new organizational structure
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Apply the following communication principles to make your IT organization redesign changes relevant to stakeholders

      Be Clear
      • Say what you mean and mean what you say.
      • Choice of language is important: “Do you think this is a good idea? I think we could really benefit from your insights and experience here.” Or do you mean: “I think we should do this. I need you to do this to make it happen.”
      • Don’t use jargon.

      Be Consistent
      • The core message must be consistent regardless of audience, channel, or medium.
      • Test your communication with your team or colleagues to obtain feedback before delivering to a broader audience.
      • A lack of consistency can be interpreted as an attempt at deception. This can hurt credibility and trust.

      Be Concise
      • Keep communication short and to the point so key messages are not lost in the noise.
      • There is a risk of diluting your key message if you include too many other details.

      Be Relevant
      • Talk about what matters to the stakeholder.
      • Talk about what matters to the initiative.
      • Tailor the details of the message to each stakeholder’s specific concerns.
      • IT thinks in processes but stakeholders only care about results: talk in terms of results.
      • IT wants to be understood but this does not matter to stakeholders. Think: “what’s in it for them?”
      • Communicate truthfully; do not make false promises or hide bad news.

      Frequently asked questions (FAQs) provide a chance to anticipate concerns and address them

      As a starting point for building an IT organizational design implementation, look at implementing an FAQ that will address the following:

      • The what, who, when, why, and where
      • The transition process
      • What discussions should be held with clients in business units
      • HR-centric questions

      Questions to consider answering:

      • What is the objective of the IT organization?
      • What are the primary changes to the IT organization?
      • What does the new organizational structure look like?
      • What are the benefits to our IT staff and to our business partners?
      • How will the IT management team share new information with me?
      • What is my role during the transition?
      • What impact is there to my reporting relationship within my department?
      • What are the key dates I should know about?

      4.3 Be consistent with a standard set of FAQs

      1 hour

      1. Beyond the completed communications plans, brainstorm a list of answers to the key “whats” of your organizational design initiative:
      • What is the objective of the IT organization?
      • What are the primary changes to the IT organization?
      • What does the new organizational structure look like?
      • What are the benefits to our IT staff and to our business partners?
    • Think about any key questions that may rise around the transition:
      • How will the IT management team share new information with me?
      • What is my role during the transition?
      • What impact is there to my reporting relationship within my department?
      • What are the key dates I should know about?
    • Determine the best means of socializing this information. If you have an internal wiki or knowledge-sharing platform, this would be a useful place to host the information.
      • InputOutput
      • Driver(s) for the new organizational structure
      • List of changes to move from current to future state
      • Change communication message
      • FAQs to provide to staff about the organizational design changes
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      The change reaction model

      The image contains a picture of the change reaction model. The model includes a double arrow pointing in both directions of left and right. On top of the arrow are 4 circles spread out on the arrow. They are labelled: Active Resistance, Detachment, Questioning, Acceptance.

      (Adapted from Cynthia Wittig)

      Info-Tech Insight

      People resist changes for many reasons. When it comes to organizational redesign changes, some of the most common reasons people resist change include a lack of understanding, a lack of involvement in the process, and fear.

      Include employees in the employee development planning process

      Prioritize

      Assess employee to determine competency levels and interests.

      Draft

      Employee drafts development goals; manager reviews.

      Select

      Manager helps with selection of development activities.

      Check In

      Manager provides ongoing check-ins, coaching, and feedback.

      Consider core and supplementary components that will sustain the new organizational structure

      Supplementary sustainment components:

      • Tools & Resources
      • Structure
      • Skills
      • Work Environment
      • Tasks
      • Disincentives

      Core sustainment components:

      • Empowerment
      • Measurement
      • Leadership
      • Communication
      • Incentives

      Sustainment Plan

      Sustain the change by following through with stakeholders, gathering feedback, and ensuring that the change rationale and impacts are clearly understood. Failure to so increases the potential that the change initiative will fail or be a painful experience and cost the organization in terms of loss of productivity or increase in turnover rates.

      Support sustainment with clear measurements

      • Measurement is one of the most important components of monitoring and sustaining the new organizational structure as it provides insight into where the change is succeeding and where further support should be added.
      • There should be two different types of measurements:
      1. Standard Change Management Metrics
      2. Organizational Redesign Metrics
    • When gathering data around metrics, consider other forms of measurement (qualitative) that can provide insights on opportunities to enhance the success of the organizational redesign change.
      1. Every measurement should be rooted to a goal. Many of the goals related to organizational design will be founded in the driver of this change initiative
      2. Once the goals have been defined, create one or more measurements that determines if the goal was successful.
      3. Use specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that contain a metric that is being measured and the frequency of that measurement.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Obtaining qualitative feedback from employees, customers, and business partners can provide insight into where the new organizational structure is operating optimally versus where there are further adjustments that could be made to support the change.

      4.4 Consider sustainment metrics

      1 hour

      1. Establish metrics that bring the entire process together and that will ensure the new organizational design is a success.
      2. Go back to your driver(s) for the organizational redesign. Use these drivers to help inform a particular measurement that can be used to determine if the new organizational design will be successful. Each measurement should be related to the positive benefits of the organization, an individual, or the change itself.
      3. Once you have a list of measurements, use these to determine the specific KPI that can be qualified through a metric. Often you are looking for an increase or decrease of a particular measurement by a dollar or percentage within a set time frame.
      4. Use the example metrics in the workbook and update them to reflect your organization’s drivers.
      InputOutput
      • Driver(s) for the new organizational structure
      • List of changes to move from current to future state
      • Change communication message
      • Sustainment metrics
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Whiteboard/Flip Charts
      • CIO
      • IT Leadership
      • Business Leadership

      Record the results in the Organizational Design Workbook

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Build a Strategic IT Workforce Plan

      • Continue into the second phase of the organizational redesign process by defining the required workforce to deliver.
      • Leveraging trends, data, and feedback from your employees, define the competencies needed to deliver on the defined roles.

      Implement a New IT Organizational Structure

      • Organizational design implementations can be highly disruptive for IT staff and business partners.
      • Without a structured approach, IT leaders may experience high turnover, decreased productivity, and resistance to the change.

      Define the Role of Project Management in Agile and Product-Centric Delivery

      • There are many voices with different opinions on the role of project management. This causes confusion and unnecessary churn.
      • Project management and product management naturally align to different time horizons. Harmonizing their viewpoints can take significant work.

      Research Contributors and Experts

      The image contains a picture of Jardena London.

      Jardena London

      Transformation Catalyst, Rosetta Technology Group

      The image contains a picture of Jodie Goulden.

      Jodie Goulden

      Consultant | Founder, OrgDesign Works

      The image contains a picture of Shan Pretheshan.

      Shan Pretheshan

      Director, SUPA-IT Consulting

      The image contains a picture of Chris Briley.

      Chris Briley

      CIO, Manning & Napier

      The image contains a picture of Dean Meyer.

      Dean Meyer

      President N. Dean Meyer and Associates Inc.

      The image contains a picture of Jimmy Williams.

      Jimmy Williams

      CIO, Chocktaw Nation of Oklahoma

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Cole Cioran, Managing Partner

      Dana Daher, Research Director

      Hans Eckman, Principal Research Director

      Ugbad Farah, Research Director

      Ari Glaizel, Practice Lead

      Valence Howden, Principal Research Director

      Youssef Kamar, Senior Manager, Consulting

      Carlene McCubbin, Practice Lead

      Baird Miller, Executive Counsellor

      Josh Mori, Research Director

      Rajesh Parab, Research Director

      Gary Rietz, Executive Counsellor

      Bibliography

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      Acharya, Ashwin, Roni Lieber, Lissa Seem, and Tom Welchman. “How to identify the right ‘spans of control’ for your organization.” McKinsey, 21 December 2017. Web.

      Anand. N., and Jean-Louis Barsoux. “What everyone gets wrong about change management. Harvard Business Review, December 2017. Web.

      Atiken, Chris. “Operating model design-first principles.” From Here On, 24 August 2018. Web.

      “Avoid common digital transformation challenges: Address your IT Operating Model Now.” Sofigate, 5 May 2020. Web.

      Baumann, Oliver, and Brian Wu. “The many dimensions of research on designing flat firms.” Journal of Organizational Design, no. 3, vol. 4. 09 May 2022.Web.

      Bertha, Michael. “Cross the project to product chasm.” CIO, 1 May 2020. Web.

      Blenko, Marcia, and James Root. “Design Principles for a Robust Operating Model.” Bain & Company, 8 April 2015. Web.

      Blenko, Marcia, Leslie Mackrell, and Kevin Rosenberg. “Operating models: How non-profits get from strategy to results.” The Bridge Span Group, 15 August 2019. Web.

      Boulton, Clint. “PVH finds perfect fit in hybrid IT operating model amid pandemic.” CIO, 19 July 2021. Web.

      Boulton, Clint. “Why digital disruption leaves no room for bimodal IT.” CIO, 11 May 2017. Web.

      Bright, David, et al. “Chapter 10: Organizational Structure & Change.” Principles of Management, OpenStax, Rice University, 20 March 2019. Book.

      Campbell, Andrew. “Design Principles: How to manage them.” Ashridge Operating Models. 1 January 2022. Web.

      D., Maria. “3 Types of IT Outsourcing Models and How to Choose Between Them.” Cleveroad, 29 April 2022. Web.

      Devaney, Eric. “9 Types of Organizational Structure Every Company Should Consider.” HubSpot, 11 February 2022. Web.

      Devaney, Erik. “The six building blocks of organizational structure.” Hubspot, 3 June 2020. Web.

      Eisenman, M., S. Paruchuri, and P. Puranam. “The design of emergence in organizations.” Journal of Organization Design, vol. 9, 2020. Web.

      Forbes Business Development Council. “15 Clear Signs It’s Time to Restructure the Business.” Forbes, 10 February 2020. Web.

      Freed, Joseph. “Why Cognitive Load Could Be The Most Important Employee Experience Metric In The Next 10 Years.” Forbes, 30 June 2020. Web.

      Galibraith, Jay. “The Star Model.” JayGalbraith.com, n.d. Web.

      Girod, Stéphane, and Samina Karim. “Restructure or reconfigure?” Harvard Business Review, April 2017. Web.

      Goldman, Sharon. “The need for a new IT Operating Model: Why now?” CIO, 27 August 2019. Web.

      Halapeth, Milind. “New age IT Operating Model: Creating harmony between the old and the new.” Wirpo, n.d. Web.

      Harvey, Michelle. “Why a common operating model is efficient for business productivity.” CMC, 10 May 2020. Web.

      Helfand, Heidi. “Dynamic Reteaming.” O’Reilly Media, 7 July 2020. Book.

      JHeller, Martha. “How Microsoft CIO Jim DuBois changed the IT Operating Model.” CIO, 2 February 2016. Web.

      Heller, Martha. “How Stryker IT Shifted to a global operating model.” CIO, 19 May 2021. Web.

      Heller, Michelle. “Inside blue Shields of California’s IT operating model overhaul.” CIO, 24 February 2021. Web.

      Hessing, Ted. “Value Stream Mapping.” Six Sigma Study Guide, 11 April 2014. Web.

      Huber, George, P. “What is Organization Design.” Organizational Design Community, n.d. Web.

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      Indeed Editorial Team. “How to plan an effective organization restructure.” Indeed, 10 June 2021. Web.

      “Insourcing vs Outsourcing vs Co-Sourcing.” YML Group, n.d. Web.

      “Investing in more strategic roles.” CAPS Research, 3 February 2022. Web.

      Jain, Gagan. “Product IT Operating Model: The next-gen model for a digital work.” DevOps, 22 July 2019. Web.

      Kane, Gerald, D. Plamer, and Anh Phillips. “Accelerating Digital Innovation Inside and Out.” Deloitte Insights, 4 June 2019. Web.

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      Meyer, Dean N. “Analysis: Common symptoms of organizational structure problems.” NDMA, n.d. Web.

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      Morales Pedraza, Jorge. Answer to posting, “What is the relationship between structure and strategy?” ResearchGate.net, 5 March 2014. Web.

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      Appendix

      IT Culture Framework

      This framework leverages McLean & Company’s adaptation of Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s Competing Values Approach.

      The image contains a diagram of the IT Culture Framework. The framework is divided into four sections: Competitive, Innovative, Traditional, and Cooperative, each with their own list of descriptors.

      Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page

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      • Parent Category Name: IT Strategy
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      • Digital investments often under deliver on expectations of return, and there is no cohesive approach to managing the flow of capital into digital.
      • The focus of the business has historically been to survive technological disruption rather than to thrive in it.
      • Strategy is based mostly on opinion rather than an objective analysis of the outcomes customers want from the organization.
      • Digital is considered a buzzword – nobody has a clear understanding of what it is and what it means in the organization’s context.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • The purpose of going digital is getting one step closer to the customer. The mark of a digital organization lies in how they answer the question, “How does what we’re doing contribute to what the customer wants from us?”
      • The goal of digital strategy is digital enablement. An organization that is digitally enabled no longer needs a digital strategy, it’s just “the strategy.”

      Impact and Result

      • Focus strategy making on delivering the digital outcomes that customers want.
        • Leverage the talent, expertise, and perspectives within the organization to build a customer-centric digital strategy.
      • Design a balanced digital strategy that creates value across the five digital value pools:
        • Digital marketing, digital channels, digital products, digital supporting capabilities, and business model innovation.
      • Ask how disruption can be leveraged, or even become the disruptor.
        • Manage disruption through quick-win approaches and empowering staff to innovate.
      • Use a Digital Strategy-on-a-Page to spark the digital transformation.
        • Drive awareness and alignment on the digital vision and spark your organization’s imagination around digital.

      Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to understand how digital disruption is driving the need for transformation, and how Info-Tech’s methodology can help.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Scope the digital transformation

      Learn how to apply the Digital Value Pools thought model and scope strategy around them.

      • Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page – Phase 1: Scope the Digital Transformation

      2. Design the digital future state vision

      Identify business imperatives, define digital outcomes, and define the strategy’s guiding principles.

      • Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page – Phase 2: Design the Digital Future State Vision
      • Digital Strategy on a Page

      3. Define the digital roadmap

      Define, prioritize, and roadmap digital initiatives and plan contingencies.

      • Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page – Phase 3: Define the Digital Roadmap

      4. Sustain digital transformation

      Create, polish, and socialize the Digital Strategy-on-a-Page.

      • Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page – Phase 4: Sustain Digital Transformation
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Plan Your Digital Transformation on a Page

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Scope the Digital Transformation

      The Purpose

      Identify the need for and use of digital strategy and determine a realistic scope for the digital strategy.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      The digital strategy project is planned and scoped around a subset of the five digital value pools.

      Activities

      1.1 Introduction to digital strategy.

      1.2 Establish motivation for digital.

      1.3 Discuss in-flight digital investments.

      1.4 Define the scope of digital.

      1.5 Identify stakeholders.

      1.6 Perform discovery interviews.

      1.7 Select two value pools to focus day 2, 3, and 4 activities.

      Outputs

      Business model canvas

      Stakeholder power map

      Discovery interview results

      Two value pools for focus throughout the workshop

      2 Design the Digital Future State Vision

      The Purpose

      Create guiding principles to help define future digital initiatives. Generate the target state with the help of strategic goals.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Establish the basis for planning out the initiatives needed to achieve the target state from the current state.

      Activities

      2.1 Identify digital imperatives.

      2.2 Define key digital outcomes.

      2.3 Create a digital investment thesis.

      2.4 Define digital guiding principles.

      Outputs

      Corporate strategy analysis, PESTLE analysis, documented operational pain points (value streams)

      Customer needs assessment (journey maps)

      Digital investment thesis

      Digital guiding principles

      3 Define the Digital Roadmap

      The Purpose

      Understand the gap between the current and target state. Create transition options and assessment against qualitative and quantitative metrics to generate a list of initiatives the organization will pursue to reach the target state. Build a roadmap to plan out when each transition initiative will be implemented.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Finalize the initiatives the organization will use to achieve the target digital state. Create a roadmap to plan out the timing of each initiative and generate an easy-to-present document for digital strategy approval.

      Activities

      3.1 Identify initiatives to achieve digital outcomes.

      3.2 Align in-flight initiatives to digital initiatives.

      3.3 Prioritize digital initiatives.

      3.4 Document architecturally significant requirements for high-priority initiatives.

      Outputs

      Digital outcomes and KPIs

      Investment/value pool matrix

      Digital initiative prioritization

      Architecturally significant requirements for high-priority initiatives

      4 Define the Digital Roadmap

      The Purpose

      Plan your approach to socializing the digital strategy to help facilitate the cultural changes necessary for digital transformation.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Plant the seed of digital and innovation to start making digital a part of the organization’s DNA.

      Activities

      4.1 Review and refine Digital Strategy on a Page.

      4.2 Assess company culture.

      4.3 Define high-level cultural changes needed for successful transformation.

      4.4 Define the role of the digital transformation team.

      4.5 Establish digital transformation team membership and desired outcomes.

      Outputs

      Digital Strategy on a Page

      Strategyzer Culture Map

      Digital transformation team charter

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs

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      The rapid technological evolution in platforms, processes, and applications is leading to gaps in the skills needed to manage and use data. Some common obstacles that could prevent you from identifying and building the data & analytics skills your organization needs include:

      • Lack of resources and knowledge to secure professionals with the right mix of D&A skills and right level of experience/skills
      • Lack of well-formulated and robust data strategy
      • Underestimation of the value of soft skills

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      Skill deficiency is frequently stated as a roadblock to realizing corporate goals for data & analytics. Soft skills and technical skills are complementary, and data & analytics teams need a combination of both to perform effectively. Identify the essential skills and the gap with current skills that fit your organization’s data strategy to ensure the right skills are available at the right time and minimize pertinent risks.

      Impact and Result

      Follow Info-Tech's advice on the roles and skills needed to support your data & analytics strategic growth objectives and how to execute an actionable plan:

      • Define the skills required for each essential data & analytics role.
      • Identify the roles and skills gaps in alignment with your current data strategy.
      • Establish an action plan to close the gaps and reduce risks.

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs Deck – Use this research to assist you in identifying and building roles and skills that are aligned with the organization’s data strategy.

      To generate business value from data, data leaders must first understand what skills are required to achieve these goals, identify the current skill gaps, and then develop skills development programs to enhance the relevant skills. Use Info-Tech's approach to identify and fill skill gaps to ensure you have the right skills at the right time.

      • Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs Storyboard

      2. Data & Analytics Skills Assessment and Planning Tool – Use this tool to help you identify the current and required level of competency for data & analytics skills, analyze gaps, and create an actionable plan.

      Start with skills and roles identified as the highest priority through a high-level maturity assessment. From there, use this tool to determine whether the organization’s data & analytics team has the key role, the right combination of skill sets, and the right level competency for each skill. Create an actionable plan to develop skills and fill gaps.

      • Data & Analytics Skills Assessment and Planning Tool
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs

      Blending soft skills with deep technical expertise is essential for building successful data & analytics teams.

      Analyst Perspective

      Blending soft skills with deep technical expertise is essential for building successful data & analytics teams.

      In today's changing environment, data & analytics (D&A) teams have become an essential component, and it is critical for organizations to understand the skill and talent makeup of their D&A workforce. Chief data & analytics officers (CDAOs) or other equivalent data leaders can train current data employees or hire proven talent and quickly address skills gaps.

      While developing technical skills is critical, soft skills are often left underdeveloped, yet lack of such skills is most likely why the data team would face difficulty moving beyond managing technology and into delivering business value.

      Follow Info-Tech's methodology to identify and address skills gaps in today's data workplace. Align D&A skills with your organization's data strategy to ensure that you always have the right skills at the right time.

      Ruyi Sun
      Research Specialist,
      Data & Analytics, and Enterprise Architecture
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      The rapid technological evolution in platforms, processes, and applications is leading to gaps in the skills needed to manage and use data. Some critical challenges organizations with skills deficiencies might face include:

      • Time loss due to delayed progress and reworking of initiatives
      • Poor implementation quality and low productivity
      • Reduced credibility of data leader and data initiatives

      Common Obstacles

      Some common obstacles that could prevent you from identifying and building the data and analytics (D&A) skills your organization needs are:

      • Lack of resources and knowledge to secure professionals with the right mixed D&A skills and the right experience/skill level
      • Lack of well-formulated and robust data strategy
      • Neglecting the value of soft skills and placing all your attention on technical skills

      Info-Tech's Approach

      Follow Info-Tech's guidance on the roles and skills required to support your D&A strategic growth objectives and how to execute an actionable plan:

      • Define skills required for each essential data and analytics role
      • Identify roles and skills gap in alignment with your current data strategy
      • Establish action plan to close the gaps and reduce risks

      Info-Tech Insight

      Skills gaps are a frequently named obstacle to realizing corporate goals for D&A. Soft skills and technical skills are complementary, and a D&A team needs both to perform effectively. Identify the essential skills and the gap with current skills required by your organization's data strategy to ensure the right skill is available at the right time and to minimize applicable risks.

      The rapidly changing environment is impacting the nature of work

      Scarcity of data & analytics (D&A) skills

      • Data is one of the most valuable organizational assets, and regardless of your industry, data remains the key to informed decision making. More than 75% of businesses are looking to adopt technologies like big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years (World Economic Forum, 2023). As organizations pivot in response to industry disruptions and technological advancements, the nature of work is changing, and the demand for data expertise has grown.
      • Despite an increasing need for data expertise, organizations still have trouble securing D&A roles due to inadequate upskilling programs, limited understanding of the skills required, and more (EY, 2022). Notably, scarce D&A skills have been critical. More workers will need at least a base level of D&A skills to adequately perform their jobs.

      Stock image of a data storage center.

      Organizations struggle to remain competitive when skills gaps aren't addressed

      Organizations identify skills gaps as the key barriers preventing industry transformation:

      60% of organizations identify skills gaps as the key barriers preventing business transformation (World Economic Forum, 2023)

      43% of respondents agree the business area with the greatest need to address potential skills gaps is data analytics (McKinsey & Company, 2020)

      Most organizations are not ready to address potential role disruptions and close skills gaps:

      87% of surveyed companies say they currently experience skills gaps or expect them within a few years (McKinsey & Company, 2020)

      28% say their organizations make effective decisions on how to close skills gaps (McKinsey & Company, 2020)

      Neglecting soft skills development impedes CDOs/CDAOs from delivering value

      According to BearingPoint's CDO survey, cultural challenges and limited data literacy are the main roadblocks to a CDO's success. To drill further into the problem and understand the root causes of the two main challenges, conduct a root cause analysis (RCA) using the Five Whys technique.

      Bar Chart of 'Major Roadblocks to the Success of a CDO' with 'Limited data literacy' at the top.
      (Source: BearingPoint, 2020)

      Five Whys RCA

      Problem: Poor data literacy is the top challenge CDOs face when increasing the value of D&A. Why?

      • People that lack data literacy find it difficult to embrace and trust the organization's data insights. Why?
      • Data workers and the business team don't speak the same language. Why?
      • No shared data definition or knowledge is established. Over-extensive data facts do not drive business outcomes. Why?
      • Leaders fail to understand that data literacy is more than technical training, it is about encompassing all aspects of business, IT, and data. Why?
      • A lack of leadership skills prevents leaders from recognizing these connections and the data team needing to develop soft skills.

      Problem: Cultural challenge is one of the biggest obstacles to a CDO's success. Why?

      • Decisions are made from gut instinct instead of data-driven insights, thus affecting business performance. Why?
      • People within the organization do not believe that data drives operational excellence, so they resist change. Why?
      • Companies overestimate the organization's level of data literacy and data maturity. Why?
      • A lack of strategies in change management, continuous improvement & data literacy for data initiatives. Why?
      • A lack of expertise/leaders possessing these relevant soft skills (e.g. change management, etc.).

      As organizations strive to become more data-driven, most conversations around D&A emphasize hard skills. Soft skills like leadership and change management are equally crucial, and deficits there could be the root cause of the data team's inability to demonstrate improved business performance.

      Data cannot be fully leveraged without a cohesive data strategy

      Business strategy and data strategy are no longer separate entities.

      • For any chief data & analytics officer (CDAO) or equivalent data leader, a robust and comprehensive data strategy is the number one tool for generating measurable business value from data. Data leaders should understand what skills are required to achieve these goals, consider the current skills gap, and build development programs to help employees improve those skills.
      • Begin your skills development programs by ensuring you have a data strategy plan prepared. A data strategy should never be formulated independently from the business. Organizations with high data maturity will align such efforts to the needs of the business, making data a major part of the business strategy to achieve data centricity.
      • Refer to Info-Tech's Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy blueprint to ensure data can be leveraged as a strategic asset of the organization.

      Diagram of 'Data Strategy Maturity' with two arrangements of 'Data Strategy' and 'Business Strategy'. One is 'Aligned', the other is 'Data Centric.'

      Info-Tech Insight

      The process of achieving data centricity requires alignment between the data and business teams, and that requires soft skills.

      Follow Info-Tech's methodology to identify the roles and skills needed to execute a data strategy

      1. Define Key Roles and Skills

        Digital Leadership Skills, Soft Skills, Technical Skills
        Key Output
        • Defined essential competencies, responsibilities for some common data roles

      2. Uncover the Skills Gap

        Data Strategy Alignment, High-Level Data Maturity Assessment, Skills Gap Analysis
        Key Output
        • Data roles and skills aligned with your current data strategy
        • Identified current and target state of data skill sets

      3. Build an Actionable Plan

        Initiative Priority, Skills Growth Feasibility, Hiring Feasibility
        Key Output
        • Identified action plan to address the risk of data skills deficiency

      Info-Tech Insight

      Skills gaps are a frequently named obstacle to realizing corporate goals for D&A. Soft skills and technical skills are complementary, and a D&A team needs both to perform effectively. Identify the essential skills and the gap with current skills that fit your organization's data strategy to ensure the right skill is available at the right time and to minimize applicable risks.

      Research benefits

      Member benefits

      • Reduce time spent defining the target state of skill sets.
      • Gain ability to reassess the feasibility of execution on your data strategy, including resources and timeline.
      • Increase confidence in the data leader's ability to implement a successful skills development program that is aligned with the organization's data strategy, which correlates directly to successful business outcomes.

      Business benefits

      • Reduce time and cost spent hiring key data roles.
      • Increase chance of retaining high-quality data professionals.
      • Reduce time loss for delayed progress and rework of initiatives.
      • Optimize quality of data initiative implementation.
      • Improve data team productivity.

      Insight summary

      Overarching insight

      Skills gaps are a frequently named obstacle to realizing corporate goals for D&A. Soft skills and technical skills are complementary, and a D&A team needs both to perform effectively. Identify the essential skills and the gap with current skills that fit your organization's data strategy to ensure the right skill is available at the right time and to minimize applicable risks.

      Phase 1 insight

      Technological advancements will inevitably require new technical skills, but the most in-demand skills go beyond mastering the newest technologies. Soft skills are essential to data roles as the global workforce navigates the changes of the last few years.

      Phase 2 insight

      Understanding and knowing your organization's data maturity level is a prerequisite to assessing your current skill and determining where you must align in the future.

      Phase 3 insight

      One of the misconceptions that organizations have includes viewing skills development as a one-time effort. This leads to underinvestment in data team skills, risk of falling behind on technological changes, and failure to connect with business partners. Employees must learn to continuously adapt to the changing circumstances of D&A.

      While the program must be agile and dynamic to reflect technological improvements in the development of technical skills, the program should always be anchored in soft skills because data management is fundamentally about interaction, collaboration, and people.

      Tactical insight

      Seeking input and support across your business units can align stakeholders to focus on the right data analytics skills and build a data learning culture.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Guided Implementation

      Workshop

      Consulting
      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is four to six calls over the course of two to three months.

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3
      Call #1: Understand common data & analytics roles and skills, and your specific objectives and challenges. Call #2: Assess the current data maturity level and competency of skills set. Identify the skills gap. Call #3: Identify the relationship between current initiatives and capabilities. Initialize the corresponding roadmap for the data skills development program.

      Call #4: (follow-up call) Touching base to follow through and ensure that benefits have received.

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs

      Phase 1

      Define Key Roles and Skills

      Define Key Roles and Skills Uncover the Skills Gap Build an Actionable Plan

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • 1.1 Review D&A Skill & Role List in Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data leads

      Key resources for your data strategy: People

      Having the right role is a key component for executing effective data strategy.

      D&A Common Roles

      • Data Steward
      • Data Custodian
      • Data Owner
      • Data Architect
      • Data Modeler
      • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Specialist
      • Database Administrator
      • Data Quality Analyst
      • Security Architect
      • Information Architect
      • System Architect
      • MDM Administrator
      • Data Scientist
      • Data Engineer
      • Data Pipeline Developer
      • Data Integration Architect
      • Business Intelligence Architect
      • Business Intelligence Analyst
      • ML Validator

      AI and ML Specialist is projected to be the fastest-growing occupation in the next five years (World Economic Forum, 2023).

      While tech roles take an average of 62 days to fill, hiring a senior data scientist takes 70.5 days (Workable, 2019). Start your recruitment cycle early for this demand.

      D&A Leader Roles

      • Chief Data Officer (CDO)/Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO)
      • Data Governance Lead
      • Data Management Lead
      • Information Security Lead
      • Data Quality Lead
      • Data Product Manager
      • Master Data Manager
      • Content and Record Manager
      • Data Literacy Manager

      CDOs act as impactful change agents ensuring that the organization's data management disciplines are running effectively and meeting the business' data needs. Only 12.0% of the surveyed organizations reported having a CDO as of 2012. By 2022, this percentage had increased to 73.7% (NewVantage Partners, 2022).

      Sixty-five percent of respondents said lack of data literacy is the top challenge CDOs face today (BearingPoint, 2020). It has become imperative for companies to consider building a data literacy program which will require a dedicated data literacy team.

      Key resources for your data strategy: Skill sets

      Distinguish between the three skills categories.

      • Soft Skills

        Soft skills are described as power skills regarding how you work, such as teamwork, communication, and critical thinking.

      • Digital Leadership Skills

        Not everyone working in the D&A field is expected to perform advanced analytical tasks. To thrive in increasingly data-rich environments, however, every data worker, including leaders, requires a basic technological understanding and skill sets such as AI, data literacy, and data ethics. These are digital leadership skills.

      • Technical Skills

        Technical skills are the practical skills required to complete a specific task. For example, data scientists and data engineers require programming skills to handle and manage vast amounts of data.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Technological advancements will inevitably require new technical skills, but the most in-demand skills go beyond mastering the newest technologies. Soft skills are essential to data roles as the global workforce navigates the changes of the last few years.

      Soft skills aren't just nice to have

      They're a top asset in today's data workplace.

      Leadership

      • Data leaders with strong leadership abilities can influence the organization's strategic execution and direction, support data initiatives, and foster data cultures. Organizations that build and develop leadership potential are 4.2 times more likely to financially outperform those that do not (Udemy, 2022).

      Business Acumen

      • The process of deriving conclusions and insights from data is ultimately utilized to improve business decisions and solve business problems. Possessing business acumen helps provide the business context and perspectives for work within data analytics fields.

      Critical Thinking

      • Critical thinking allows data leaders at every level to objectively assess a problem before making judgment, consider all perspectives and opinions, and be able to make decisions knowing the ultimate impact on results.

      Analytical Thinking

      • Analytical thinking remains the most important skill for workers in 2023 (World Economic Forum, 2023). Data analytics expertise relies heavily on analytical thinking, which is the process of breaking information into basic principles to analyze and understand the logic and concepts.

      Design Thinking & Empathy

      • Design thinking skills help D&A professionals understand and prioritize the end-user experience to better inform results and assist the decision-making process. Organizations with high proficiency in design thinking are twice as likely to be high performing (McLean & Company, 2022).

      Learning Focused

      • The business and data analytics fields continue to evolve rapidly, and the skills, especially technical skills, must keep pace. Learning-focused D&A professionals continuously learn, expanding their knowledge and enhancing their techniques.

      Change Management

      • Change management is essential, especially for data leaders who act as change agents developing and enabling processes and who assist others with adjusting to changes with cultural and procedural factors. Organizations with high change management proficiency are 2.2 times more likely to be high performing (McLean & Company, 2022).

      Resilience

      • Being motivated and adaptable is essential when facing challenges and high-pressure situations. Organizations highly proficient in resilience are 1.8 times more likely to be high performing (McLean & Company, 2022).

      Managing Risk & Governance Mindset

      • Risk management ability is not limited to highly regulated institutions. All data workers must understand risks from the larger organizational perspective and have a holistic governance mindset while achieving their individual goals and making decisions.

      Continuous Improvement

      • Continuously collecting feedback and reflecting on it is the foundation of continuous improvement. To uncover and track the lessons learned and treat them as opportunities, data workers must be able to discover patterns and connections.

      Teamwork & Collaboration

      • Value delivery in a data-centric environment is a team effort, requiring collaboration across the business, IT, and data teams. D&A experts with strong collaborative abilities can successfully work with other teams to achieve shared objectives.

      Communication & Active Listening

      • This includes communicating with relevant stakeholders about timelines and expectations of data projects and associated technology and challenges, paying attention to data consumers, understanding their requirements and needs, and other areas of interest to the organization.

      Technical skills for everyday excellence

      Digital Leadership Skills

      • Technological Literacy
      • Data and AI Literacy
      • Cloud Computing Literacy
      • Data Ethics
      • Data Translation

      Data & Analytics Technical Competencies

      • Data Mining
      • Programming Languages (Python, SQL, R, etc.)
      • Data Analysis and Statistics
      • Computational and Algorithmic Thinking
      • AI/ML Skills (Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, etc.)
      • Data Visualization and Storytelling
      • Data Profiling
      • Data Modeling & Design
      • Data Pipeline (ETL/ELT) Design & Management
      • Database Design & Management
      • Data Warehouse/Data Lake Design & Management

      1.1 Review D&A Skill & Role List in the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      Sample of Tab 2 in the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool.

      Tab 2. Skill & Role List

      Objective: Review the library of skills and roles and customize them as needed to align with your organization's language and specific needs.

      Download the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs

      Phase 2

      Uncover the Skills Gap

      Define Key Roles and Skills Uncover the Skills Gap Build an Actionable Plan

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • 2.1 High-level assessment of your present data management maturity
      • 2.2 Interview business and data leaders to clarify current skills availability
      • 2.3 Use the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool to Identify your skills gaps

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data leads
      • Business leads and subject matter experts (SMEs)
      • Key business stakeholders

      Identify skills gaps across the organization

      Gaps are not just about assigning people to a role, but whether people have the right skill sets to carry out tasks.

      • Now that you have identified the essential skills and roles in the data workplace, move to Phase 2. This phase will help you understand the required level of competency, assess where the organization stands today, and identify gaps to close.
      • Using the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool, start with areas that are given the highest priority through a high-level maturity assessment. From there, three levels of gaps will be found: whether people are assigned to a particular position, the right combination of D&A skill sets, and the right competency level for each skill.

      • Lack of talent assigned to a position

      • Lack of the right combination of D&A skill sets

      • Lack of appropriate competency level

      Info-Tech Insight

      Understanding your organization's data maturity level is a prerequisite to assessing the skill sets you have today and determining where you need to align in the future.

      2.1 High-level assessment of your present data management maturity

      Identifying and fixing skills gaps takes time, money, and effort. Focus on bridging the gap in high-priority areas.

      Input: Current state capabilities, Use cases (if applicable), Data culture diagnostic survey results (if applicable)
      Output: High-level maturity assessment, Prioritized list of data management focused area
      Materials: Data Management Assessment and Planning Tool (optional), Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool
      Participants: Data leads, Business leads and subject matter experts (SMEs), Key business stakeholders

      Objectives:

      Prioritize these skills and roles based on your current maturity levels and what you intend to accomplish with your data strategy.

      Steps:

      1. (Optional Step) Refer to the Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy blueprint. You can assess your data maturity level using the following frameworks and methods:
        • Review current data strategy and craft use cases that represent high-value areas that must be addressed for their teams or functions.
        • Use the data culture assessment survey to determine your organization's data maturity level.
      2. (Optional Step) Refer to the Create a Data Management Roadmap blueprint and Data Management Assessment and Planning Tool to dive deep into understanding and assessing capabilities and maturity levels of your organization's data management enablers and understanding your priority areas and specific gaps.
      3. If you have completed Data Management Assessment and Planning Tool, fill out your maturity level scores for each of the data management practices within it - Tab 3 (Current-State Assessment). Skip Tab 4 (High-Level Maturity Assessment).
      4. If you have not yet completed Data Management Assessment and Planning Tool, skip Tab 3 and continue with Tab 4. Assign values 1 to 3 for each capability and enabler.
      5. You can examine your current-state data maturity from a high level in terms of low/mid/high maturity using either Tabs 3 or 4.
      6. Suggested focus areas along the data journey:
        • Low Maturity = Data Strategy, Data Governance, Data Architecture
        • Mid Maturity = Data Literacy, Information Management, BI and Reporting, Data Operations Management, Data Quality Management, Data Security/Risk Management
        • High Maturity = MDM, Data Integration, Data Product and Services, Advanced Analytics (ML & AI Management).

      Download the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      2.2 Interview business and data leaders to clarify current skills availability

      1-2 hours per interview

      Input: Sample questions targeting the activities, challenges, and opportunities of each unit
      Output: Identified skills availability
      Materials: Whiteboard/Flip charts, Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool
      Participants: Data leads, Business leads and subject matter experts (SMEs), Key business stakeholders

      Instruction:

      1. Conduct a deep-dive interview with each key data initiative stakeholder (data owners, SMEs, and relevant IT/Business department leads) who can provide insights on the skill sets of their team members, soliciting feedback from business and data leaders about skills and observations of employees as they perform their daily tasks.
      2. Populate a current level of competency for each skill in the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool in Tabs 5 and 6. Having determined your data maturity level, start with the prioritized data management components (e.g. if your organization sits at low data maturity level, start with identifying relevant positions and skills under data governance, data architecture, and data architecture elements).
      3. More detailed instructions on how to utilize the workbook are at the next activity.

      Key interview questions that will help you :

      1. Do you have personnel assigned to the role? What are their primary activities? Do the personnel possess the soft and technical skills noted in the workbook? Are you satisfied with their performance? How would you evaluate their degree of competency on a scale of "vital, important, nice to have, or none"? The following aspects should be considered when making the evaluation:
        • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Business unit data will show where the organization is challenged and will help identify potential areas for development.
        • Project Management Office: Look at successful and failed projects for trends in team traits and competencies.
        • Performance Reviews: Look for common themes where employees excel or need to improve.
        • Focus Groups: Speak with a cross section of employees to understand their challenges.
      2. What technology is currently used? Are there requirements for new technology to be bought and/or optimized in the future? Will the workforce need to increase their skill level to carry out these activities with the new technology in place?

      Download the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      2.3 Use the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool to identify skills gaps

      1-3 hours — Not everyone needs the same skill levels.

      Input: Current skills competency, Stakeholder interview results and findings
      Output: Gap identification and analysis
      Materials: Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool
      Participants: Data leads

      Instruction:

      1. Select your organization's data maturity level in terms of Low/Mid/High in cell A6 for both Tab 5 (Soft Skills Assessment) and Tab 6 (Technical Skills Assessment) to reduce irrelevant rows.
      2. Bring together key business stakeholders (data owners, SMEs, and relevant IT custodians) to determine whether the data role exists in the organization. If yes, assign a current-state value from “vital, important, nice to have, or none” for each skill in the assessment tool. Info-Tech has specified the desired/required target state of each skill set.
      3. Once you've assigned the current-state values, the tool will automatically determine whether there is a gap in skill set.

      Download the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      Identify and Build the Data & Analytics Skills Your Organization Needs

      Phase 3

      Build an Actionable Plan

      Define Key Roles and Skills Uncover the Skills Gap Build an Actionable Plan

      This phase will walk you through the following activities:

      • 3.1 Use the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool to build your actionable roadmap

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data leads
      • Business leads and subject matter experts (SMEs)
      • Key business stakeholders

      Determine next steps and decision points

      There are three types of internal skills development strategies

      • There are three types of internal skills development strategies organizations can use to ensure the right people with the right abilities are placed in the right roles: reskill, upskill, and new hire.

      1. Reskill

        Reskilling involves learning new skills for a different or newly defined position.

      2. Upskill

        Upskilling involves building a higher level of competency in skills to improve the worker's performance in their current role.

      3. New hire

        New hire involves hiring workers who have the essential skills to fill the open position.

      Info-Tech Insight

      One of the misconceptions that organizations have includes viewing skills development as a one-time effort. This leads to underinvestment in data team skills, risk of falling behind on technological changes, and failure to connect with business partners. Employees must learn to continuously adapt to the changing circumstances of D&A. While the program must be agile and dynamic to reflect technological improvements in the development of technical skills, the program should always be anchored in soft skills because data management is fundamentally about interaction, collaboration, and people.

      How to determine when to upskill, reskill, or hire to meet your skills needs

      Reskill

      Reskilling often indicates a change in someone's career path, so this decision requires a goal aligned with both individuals and the organization to establish a mutually beneficial situation.

      When making reskilling decisions, organizations should also consider the relevance of the skill for different positions. For example, data administrators and data architects have similar skill sets, so reskilling is appropriate for these employees.

      Upskill

      Upskilling tends to focus more on the soft skills necessary for more advanced positions. A data strategy lead, for example, might require design thinking training, which enables leaders to think from different perspectives.

      Skill growth feasibility must also be considered. Some technical skills, particularly those involving cutting-edge technologies, require continual learning to maintain operational excellence. For example, a data scientist may require AI/ML skills training to incorporate use of modern automation technology.

      New Hire

      For open positions and skills that are too resource-intensive to reskill or upskill, it makes sense to recruit new employees. Consider, however, time and cost feasibility of hiring. Some positions (e.g. senior data scientist) take longer to fill. To minimize risks, coordinate with your HR department and begin recruiting early.

      Data & Analytics skills training

      There are various learning methods that help employees develop priority competencies to achieve reskilling or upskilling.

      Specific training

      The data team can collaborate with the human resources department to plan and develop internal training sessions aimed at specific skill sets.

      This can also be accomplished through external training providers such as DCAM, which provides training courses on data management and analytics topics.

      Formal education program

      Colleges and universities can equip students with data analytics skills through formal education programs such as MBAs and undergraduate or graduate degrees in Data Science, Machine Learning, and other fields.

      Certification

      Investing time and effort to obtain certifications in the data & analytics field allows data workers to develop skills and gain recognition for continuous learning and self-improvement.

      AWS Data Analytics and Tableau Data Scientist Certification are two popular data analytics certifications.

      Online learning from general providers

      Some companies offer online courses in various subjects. Coursera and DataCamp are two examples of popular providers.

      Partner with a vendor

      The organization can partner with a vendor who brings skills and talents that are not yet available within the organization. Employees can benefit from the collaboration process by familiarizing themselves with the project and enhancing their own skills.

      Support from within your business

      The data team can engage with other departments that have previously done skills development programs, such as Finance and Change & Communications, who may have relevant resources to help you improve your business acumen and change management skills.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Seeking input and support across your business units can align stakeholders to focus on the right data analytics skills and build a data learning culture.

      Data & Analytics skills reinforcement

      Don't assume learners will immediately comprehend new knowledge. Use different methods and approaches to reinforce their development.

      Innovation Space

      • Skills development is not a one-time event, but a continuous process during which innovation should be encouraged. A key aspect of being innovative is having a “fail fast” mentality, which means collecting feedback, recognizing when something isn't working, encouraging experimentation, and taking a different approach with the goal of achieving operational excellence.
      • Human-centered design (HCD) also yields innovative outcomes with a people-first focus. When creating skills development programs for various target groups, organizations should integrate a human-centered approach.

      Commercial Lens

      • Exposing people to a commercial way of thinking can add long-term value by educating people to act in the business' best interest and raising awareness of what other business functions contribute. This includes concepts such as project management, return on investment (ROI), budget alignment, etc.

      Checklists/Rubrics

      • Employees should record what they learn so they can take the time to reflect. A checklist is an effective technique for establishing objectives, allowing measurement of skills development and progress.

      Buddy Program

      • A buddy program helps employees gain and reinforce knowledge and skills they have learned through mutual support and information exchange.

      Align HR programs to support skills integration and talent recruitment

      With a clear idea of skills needs and an executable strategy for training and reinforcing of concepts, HR programs and processes can help the data team foster a learning environment and establish a recruitment plan. The links below will direct you to blueprints produced by McLean & Company, a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

      Workforce Planning

      When integrating the skills of the future into workforce planning, determine the best approach for addressing the identified talent gaps – whether to build, buy, or borrow.

      Integrate the future skills identified into the organization's workforce plan.

      Talent Acquisition

      In cases where employee development is not feasible, the organization's talent acquisition strategy must focus more on buying or borrowing talent. This will impact the TA process. For example, sourcing and screening must be updated to reflect new approaches and skills.

      If you have a talent acquisition strategy, assess how to integrate the new roles/skills into recruiting.

      Competencies/Succession Planning

      Review current organizational core competencies to determine if they need to be modified. New skills will help inform critical roles and competencies required in succession talent pools.

      If no competency framework exists, use McLean & Company's Develop a Comprehensive Competency Framework blueprint.

      Compensation

      Evaluate modified and new roles against the organization's compensation structure. Adjust them as necessary. Look at market data to understand compensation for new roles and skills.

      Reassess your base pay structure according to market data for new roles and skills.

      Learning and Development

      L&D plays a huge role in closing the skills gap. Build L&D opportunities to support development of new skills in employees.

      Design an Impactful Employee Development Program to build the skills employees need in the future.

      3.1 Use the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool to build an actionable plan

      1-3 hours

      Input: Roles and skills required, Key decision points
      Output: Actionable plan
      Materials: Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool
      Participants: Data leads, Business leads and subject matter experts (SMEs), Key business stakeholders

      Instruction:

      1. On Tab 7 (Next Steps & Decision Points), you will find a list of tasks that correspond to roles that where there is a skills gap.
      2. Customize this list of tasks initiatives according to your needs.
      3. The Gantt chart, which will be generated automatically after assigning start and finish dates for each activity, can be used to structure your plan and guarantee that all the main components of skills development are addressed.

      Sample of Tab 7 in the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool.

      Download the Data & Analytics Assessment and Planning Tool

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Sample of the Create a Data Management Roadmap blueprint.

      Create a Data Management Roadmap

      • This blueprint will help you design a data management practice that will allow your organization to use data as a strategic enabler.

      Stock image of a person looking at data dashboards on a tablet.

      Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy

      • Put a strategy in place to ensure data is available, accessible, well-integrated, secured, of acceptable quality, and suitably visualized to fuel organization-wide decision making. Start treating data as strategic and corporate asset.

      Sample of the Foster Data-Driven Culture With Data Literacy blueprint.

      Foster Data-Driven Culture With Data Literacy

      • By thoughtfully designing a data literacy training program appropriate to the audience's experience, maturity level, and learning style, organizations build a data-driven and engaged culture that helps them unlock their data's full potential and outperform other organizations.

      Research Authors and Contributors

      Authors:

      Name Position Company
      Ruyi Sun Research Specialist Info-Tech Research Group

      Contributors:

      Name Position Company
      Steve Wills Practice Lead Info-Tech Research Group
      Andrea Malick Advisory Director Info-Tech Research Group
      Annabel Lui Principal Advisory Director Info-Tech Research Group
      Sherwick Min Technical Counselor Info-Tech Research Group

      Bibliography

      2022 Workplace Learning Trends Report.” Udemy, 2022. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Agrawal, Sapana, et al. “Beyond hiring: How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps.” McKinsey & Company, 12 Feb. 2020. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Bika, Nikoletta. “Key hiring metrics: Useful benchmarks for tech roles.” Workable, 2019. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Chroust, Tomas. “Chief Data Officer – Leaders of data-driven enterprises.” BearingPoint, 2020. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      “Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey 2022.” NewVantage Partners, Jan 2022. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Dondi, Marco, et al. “Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work.” McKinsey & Company, June 2021. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Futschek, Gerald. “Algorithmic Thinking: The Key for Understanding Computer Science.” Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4226, 2006.

      Howard, William, et al. “2022 HR Trends Report.” McLean & Company, 2022. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      “Future of Jobs Report 2023.” World Economic Forum, May 2023. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Knight, Michelle. “What is Data Ethics?” Dataversity, 19 May 2021. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Little, Jim, et al. “The CIO Imperative: Is your technology moving fast enough to realize your ambitions?” EY, 22 Apr. 2022. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      “MDM Roles and Responsibilities.” Profisee, April 2019. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      “Reskilling and Upskilling: A Strategic Response to Changing Skill Demands.” TalentGuard, Oct. 2019. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Southekal, Prashanth. “The Five C's: Soft Skills That Every Data Analytics Professional Should Have.” Forbes, 17 Oct. 2022. Accessed 20 June 2023.

      Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}267|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 10.0/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $20,799 Average $ Saved
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      • Parent Category Name: Security Processes & Operations
      • Parent Category Link: /security-processes-and-operations
      • IT and security leaders across all industries must determine what and how many resources are needed to support the information security program.
      • Estimating current usage and future demand for security resources can be a difficult and time-consuming exercise.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      Not all security programs need to be the same. A service-aligned security resourcing strategy will put organizations in the best position to respond to current and future service demands and address business needs as they evolve over time.

      Impact and Result

      • Info-Tech’s approach to resource planning focuses less on benchmarks and more on estimating actual demand for security services to ensure that there are enough resources to deliver them.
      • A well-designed security services portfolio is the first step towards determining resourcing needs.
      • When planning resource allocations, plan for both mandatory and discretionary demand to optimize utilization.

      Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan – A blueprint to help you define security roles, build a service portfolio, estimate demand, and determine resourcing needs.

      This storyboard will help you to determine your security resourcing needs using a service-based approach.

      • Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan – Phases 1-3

      2. Security Resources Planning Workbook – This tool will result in a defined security service portfolio and a three-year resourcing plan.

      Use this tool to build your security service portfolio and to determine resourcing needs to meet your service demand.

      • Security Resources Planning Workbook

      Infographic

      Workshop: Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Define Roles and Select Services

      The Purpose

      Identify the roles needed to implement and deliver your organization’s security services.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A security services portfolio allows you to assign job roles to each service, which is the first step towards determining resourcing needs. Improve employee engagement and satisfaction with clearly defined job roles, responsibilities, and service levels.

      Activities

      1.1 Assess security needs and business pressures.

      1.2 Define security job roles.

      1.3 Define security services and assign ownership.

      Outputs

      Security Roles Definition

      Security Services Portfolio

      2 Estimate Current and Future Demand

      The Purpose

      Estimate the actual demand for security resources and determine how to allocate resources accordingly.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Allocate resources more effectively across your Security and Risk teams.

      Raise the profile of your security team by aligning security service offerings with the demands of the business.

      Activities

      2.1 Estimate current and future demand.

      2.2 Review demand summary.

      2.3 Allocate resources where they are needed the most.

      Outputs

      Demand Estimates

      Resourcing Plan

      3 Identify Required Skills

      The Purpose

      When defining roles, consider the competencies needed to deliver your security services. Make sure to account for this need in your resource planning.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Leverage the NCWF to establish the building blocks of a capable and ready cybersecurity workforce to effectively identify, recruit, develop and maintain cybersecurity talent.

      Activities

      3.1 Identify skills needed for planned initiatives.

      3.2 Prioritize your skill requirements.

      3.3 Assign work roles to the needs of your target environment.

      3.4 Discuss the NICE cybersecurity workforce framework.

      3.5 Develop technical skill requirements for current and future work roles.

      Outputs

      Prioritized Skill Requirements and Associated Roles

      4 Future Planning

      The Purpose

      Create a development plan to train and upskill your employees to address current and future service requirements.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Skill needs are based on the strategic requirements of a business-aligned security program.

      Activities

      4.1 Continue developing technical skill requirements for current and future work roles.

      4.2 Conduct current workforce skills assessment.

      4.3 Develop a plan to acquire skills.

      4.4 Discuss training and certification opportunities for staff.

      4.5 Discuss next steps for closing the skills gap.

      4.6 Debrief.

      Outputs

      Role-Based Skills Gaps

      Workforce Development Plan

      Further reading

      Build a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan

      Every security program is unique; resourcing allocations should reflect this.

      Analyst Perspective

      Start by looking inward.

      The image is a picture of Logan Rohde.The image is a picture of Isabelle Hertanto.

      Organizations have a critical need for skilled cybersecurity resources as the cyberthreat landscape becomes more complex. This has put a strain on many security teams who must continue to meet demand for an increasing number of security services. To deliver services well, we first need to determine what are the organization’s key security requirements. While benchmarks can be useful for quick peer-to-peer comparisons to determine if we are within the average range, they tend to make all security programs seem the same. This can lead to misguided investments in security services and personnel that might be better used elsewhere.

      Security teams will be most successful when organizations take a personalized approach to security, considering what must be done to lower risk and operate more efficiently and effectively.

      Logan Rohde

      Senior Research Analyst, Security

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Isabelle Hertanto

      Principal Research Director, Security

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Common Obstacles

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      • IT and Security leaders across all industries must determine what and how many resources are needed to support the information security program.
      • Estimating current usage, the right allocations, and future demand for security resources can be a difficult and time-consuming exercise.
      • Needing to provide a benchmark to justify increasing headcount.
      • Absence of formally defined security service offerings and service owners.
      • Lack of skills needed to provide necessary security services.
      • Info-Tech’s approach to resource planning focuses less on benchmarks and more on estimating actual demand for security services to ensure that there are enough resources to deliver them.
      • A well-designed security services portfolio is the first step toward determining resourcing needs.
      • When allocating resources, plan for both mandatory and discretionary demand to position yourself for greatest success.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Not all security programs need to be the same. A service-aligned security resourcing strategy will put organizations in the best position to respond to current and future service demands and address business needs as they evolve over time.

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations who are looking to:

      • Determine what and how many resources are needed to support the information security program.
      • Identify the organization's key service offerings and the required resourcing to support delivery of such services.
      • Estimate current staff utilization and required allocations to satisfy future demand for services.

      Every organization is unique and will need different security research allocations aligned with their business needs.

      “The number of priorities that CISOs have continues to grow, but if everything is a priority, nothing is. It’s important to focus on the ones that deliver the most value to your organization and that are synchronized with the overall business strategy.”

      Paige H. Adams

      Global CISO at Zurich

      Insurance

      Source: Proofpoint, 2021

      Common obstacles

      These barriers make this challenge difficult to address for many organizations:

      • Security leaders sometimes try to cut to the chase and lean on staffing benchmarks to justify their requests for resources. However, while staffing benchmarks are useful for quick peer-to-peer validation and decision making, they tend to reduce security programs down to a set of averages, which can be misleading when used out of context.
      • A more effective approach is to determine what security services need to be provided, the level of demand, and what it will take to meet that demand currently and in the coming years.
      • With these details available, it becomes much easier to predict what roles need to be hired, what skills need to be developed, and whether outsourcing is an option.

      Hiring delays and skills gaps can fuel resourcing challenges

      59% of organizations report taking 3-6+ months to fill a vacant cybersecurity position.

      Source: ISACA, 2020

      30% report IT knowledge as the most prevalent skills gap in today’s cybersecurity professionals.

      Source: ISACA, 2020

      Info-Tech’s methodology for Building a Service-Based Security Resourcing Plan

      1. Determine Security Service Portfolio Offerings

      2. Plan for Mandatory Versus Discretionary Demand

      3. Define Your Resourcing Model

      Phase Steps

      1 Gather Requirements and Define Roles

      1.2 Choose Security Service Offerings

      2.1 Assess Demand

      3.1 Review Demand Summary

      3.2 Develop an Action Plan

      Phase Outcomes

      Security requirements

      Security service portfolio

      Service demand estimates

      Service hour estimates

      Three-year resourcing plan

      Stay on top of resourcing demands with a security service portfolio

      Security programs should be designed to address unique business needs.

      A service-aligned security resourcing strategy will put organizations in the best position to respond to current and future service demands and address business needs as they evolve over time.

      Watch out for role creep.

      It may be tempting to assign tasks to the people who already know how to do them, but we should consider which role is most appropriate for each task. If all services are assigned to one or two people, we’ll quickly use up all their time.

      Time estimates will improve with practice.

      It may be difficult to estimate exactly how long it takes to carry out each service at first. But making the effort to time your activities each quarter will help you to improve the accuracy of your estimates incrementally.

      Start recruiting well in advance of need.

      Security talent can be difficult to come by, so make sure to begin your search for a new hire three to six months before your demand estimates indicate the need will arise.

      People and skills are both important.

      As the services in your portfolio mature and become more complex, remember to consider the skills you will need to be able to provide that service. Make sure to account for this need in your resource planning and keep in mind that we can only expect so much from one role. Therefore, hiring may be necessary to keep up with the diverse skills your services may require.

      Make sure your portfolio reflects reality.

      There’s nothing wrong with planning for future state, but we should avoid using the portfolio as a list of goals.

      Blueprint deliverable

      Use this tool to build your security services portfolio, estimate demand and hours needed, and determine FTE requirements.

      The image contains screenshots of the Security Resources Planning Workbook.

      Key deliverable:

      Security Resources Planning Workbook

      The Security Resources Planning Workbook will be used to:

      • Build a security services portfolio.
      • Estimate demand for security services and the efforts to deliver them.
      • Determine full-time equivalent (FTE) requirements for each service.
      The image contains a thought model to demonstrate the benchmarks that lead to a one-size-fits-all approach to security.

      Blueprint benefits

      IT Benefits

      Business Benefits

      • Allocate resources more effectively across your security and risk teams.
      • Improve employee engagement and satisfaction with clearly defined job roles, responsibilities, and service levels.
      • Raise the profile of your security team by aligning security service offerings with the demands of the business.
      • Ensure that people, financial, knowledge, and technology resources are appropriately allocated and leveraged across the organization.
      • Improve your organization’s ability to satisfy compliance obligations and reduce information security risk.
      • Increase customer and business stakeholder satisfaction through reliable service delivery.

      Measure the value of this blueprint

      Use these metrics to realize the value of completing this blueprint.

      Metric

      Expected Improvement

      Level of business satisfaction with IT security

      You can expect to see a 20% improvement in your IT Security Business Satisfaction Diagnostic.

      Reports on key performance indicators and service level objectives

      Expect to see a 40% improvement in security service-related key performance indicators and service level objectives.

      Employee engagement scores

      You can expect to see approximately a 10% improvement in employee engagement scores.

      Changes in rates of voluntary turnover

      Anticipating demand and planning resources accordingly will help lower employee turnover rates due to burnout or stress leave by as much as 10%.

      47% of cybersecurity professionals said that stress and burnout has become a major issue due to overwork, with most working over 41 hours a week, and some working up to 90.

      Source: Security Boulevard, 2021

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Guided Implementation

      Workshop

      Consulting
      “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.” “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.” “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.” “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

      Call #1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific drivers.

      Call #2: Discuss roles and duties.

      Call #3: Build service portfolio and assign ownership.

      Call #4: Estimate required service hours.

      Call #5: Review service demand and plan for future state.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is 4 to 6 calls over the course of 2 to 3 months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information.
      workshops@infotech.com1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

      Define Roles and Select Services

      Estimate Current and Future Demand

      Identify Required Skills

      Future Planning

      Next Steps and
      Wrap-Up (offsite)

      Activities

      1.1 Assess Security Needs and Business Pressures.

      1.2 Define Security Job Roles.

      1.3 Define Security Services and Assign Ownership.

      2.1 Estimate Current and Future Demand.

      2.2 Review Demand Summary.

      2.3 Allocate Resources Where They Are Needed the Most.

      3.1 Identify Skills Needed Skills for Planned Initiatives.

      3.2 Prioritize Your Skill Requirements.

      3.3 Assign Work Roles to the Needs of Your Target Environment.

      3.4 Discuss the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework.

      3.5 Develop Technical Skill Requirements for Current and Future Work Roles.

      4.1 Continue Developing Technical Skill Requirements for Current and Future Work Roles.

      4.2 Conduct Current Workforce Skills Assessment.

      4.3 Develop a Plan to Acquire Skills.

      4.4 Discuss Training and Certification Opportunities for Staff.

      4.5 Discuss Next Steps for Closing the Skills Gap.

      4.6 Debrief.

      5.1 Complete In-Progress Deliverables From Previous Four Days.

      5.2 Set Up Review Time for Workshop Deliverables and to Discuss Next steps.

      Deliverables
      1. FTE-Hours Calculation
      2. Security Roles Definition
      3. Security Services Portfolio
      1. Demand Estimates
      2. Resourcing Plan
      1. Skills Gap Prioritization Tool
      2. Technical Skills Tool
      1. Technical Skills Tool
      2. Current Workforce Skills Assessment
      3. Skills Development Plan

      Phase 1

      Determine Security Service Portfolio Offerings

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      1.1 Gather Requirements and Define Roles

      1.2 Choose Security Service Offerings

      2.1 Assess Demand

      3.1 Determine Resourcing Status

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Core Security Team
      • Business Representative (optional)

      Step 1.1

      Gather Requirements and Define Roles

      Activities

      1.1.1 Assess Business Needs and Pressures

      1.1.2 Define Security Roles

      This step involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Core Security Team
      • Business Representative (optional)

      Outcomes of this step

      • Security program requirements
      • Security roles definitions

      1.1.1 Assess security needs and pressures

      1 hour

      1. As a group, brainstorm the security requirements for your organization and any business pressures that exist within your industry (e.g. compliance obligations).
      • To get started, consider examples of typical business pressures on the next slides. Determine how your organization must respond to these points (note: this is not an exhaustive list).
      • You will likely notice that these requirements have already influenced the direction of your security program and the kinds of services it needs to provide to the business side of the organization.
    • There may be some that have not been well addressed by current service offerings (e.g. current service maturity, under/over definition of a service). Be sure to make a note of these areas and what the current challenge is and use these details in Step 1.2.
    • Document the results for future use in Step 1.2.1.
      • Input Output
      • List of key business requirements and industry pressures
      • Prioritized list of security program requirements
      Materials Participants
      • Whiteboard
      • Sticky notes
      • CISO
      • Core Security Team
      • Business Representative (optional)

      Typical business pressures examples

      The security services you will provide to the organization should be based on its unique business requirements and pressures, which will make certain services more applicable than others. Use this exercise to get an idea of what those business drivers might be.

      The image contains a screenshot of Typical business pressures examples.

      1.1.2 Define security roles

      1-2 hours

      1. Using the link below, download the Security Resources Planning Workbook and review the examples provided on the next slide.
      2. On tab 1 (Roles), review the example roles and identify which roles you have within your security team.
      • If necessary, customize the roles and descriptions to match your security team’s current make up.
      • If you have roles within your security team that do not appear in the examples, you can add them to the bottom of the table.
    • For each role, use columns D-F to indicate how many people (headcount) you have, or plan to have, in that role.
    • Use columns H-J to indicate how many hours per year each role has available to deliver the services within your service catalog.
      • Input Output
      • Full-time hours worked per week Weeks worked per year Existing job descriptions/roles
      • Calculated full-time equivalents (FTE) Defined security roles
      Materials Participants
      • Security Resources Planning Workbook
      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Download the Security Resources Planning Workbook

      Calculating FTEs and defining security roles

      The image contains a screenshot of the workbook demonstrating calculating FTEs and defining security roles.

      1. Start by entering the current and planned headcount for each role
      2. Then enter number of hours each role works per week
      3. Estimate the number of administrative hours (e.g. team meetings, training) per week
      4. Enter the average number of weeks per year that each role is available for service delivery
      5. The tool uses the data from steps 2-4 to calculate the average number of hours each role has for service delivery per year (FTE)

      Info-Tech Insight

      Watch out for role creep. It may be tempting to assign tasks to the people who already know how to do them, but we should consider which role is most appropriate for each task. If all services are assigned to one or two people, we’ll quickly use up all their time.

      Other considerations

      Address your skills gap.

      Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving discipline and security teams from all over are reporting challenges related to training and upskilling needed to keep pace with the developments of the threat landscape.

      95% Security leaders who agree the cybersecurity skills gap has not improved over the last few years.*

      44% Security leaders who say the skills gap situation has only gotten worse.*

      When defining roles, consider the competencies needed to deliver your security services. Use Info-Tech’s blueprint Close the InfoSec Skills Gap: Develop a Technical Skills Sourcing Plan to help you determine the required skillsets for each role.

      * Source: ISSA, 2021

      Info-Tech Insight

      As the services in your portfolio mature and become more complex, remember to consider the skills you need and will need to be able to provide that service. Make sure to account for this need in your resource planning and keep in mind that we can only expect so much from one role. Therefore, hiring may be necessary to keep up with the diverse skills your services may require.

      Download blueprint Close the InfoSec Skills Gap: Develop a Technical Skills Sourcing Plan

      Step 1.2

      Choose Security Service Offerings

      Activities

      1.2.1 Define Security Services and Role Assignments

      This step involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Service portfolio
      • Service pipeline status
      • Service ownership

      1.2.1 Define security services and role assignments

      2-4 hours

      1. As a group, review the outputs from Step 1.1.1. These requirements will serve as the basis to prioritize the service offerings of your security portfolio.
      2. Take these outputs, as well as any additional notes you’ve made, and put them side by side with the example service offerings on tab 3 of the Security Resources Planning Workbook so each service can be considered alongside these requirements (i.e. to determine if that service should be included in the security service portfolio at this time).
      3. Using the following slides as a guide, work your way down the list of example services and choose the services for your portfolio. For each service selected, be sure to customize the definition of the service and state its outcome (i.e. what time is spent when providing this service, indicate if it is outsourced, which role is responsible for delivering it, and the service pipeline status (in use, plan to use, plan to retire)).
      InputOutput
      • Business and security requirements gathered in Step 1.1.1
      • Defined security service portfolio
      • Service ownership assigned to role
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Security Resources Planning Workbook
      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Download the Security Resources Planning Workbook

      Service needs aligned with your control framework

      Use Info-Tech's best-of-breed Security Framework to develop a comprehensive baseline set of security service areas.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Security Framework.

      Prioritize your security services

      Example of a custom security services portfolio definition

      Security Strategy and Governance Model

      • Aligned Business Goals
      • Security Program Objectives
      • Centralized vs. Decentralized Governance Model

      Compliance Obligations

      • Penetration testing
      • Annual security audits
      • Data privacy and protection laws

      CISO Accountabilities

      • Security Policy
      • Risk Management
      • Application & Infrastructure Security
      • Program Metrics and Reporting

      Consider each of the requirement categories developed in Step 1.1.1 against the taxonomy and service domain here. If there is a clear need to add this service, use the drop-down list in the “Include in Catalog” column to indicate “Yes.” Mark un-needed services as “No.”

      The image contains a screenshot of the security services portfolio definition.

      Assigning roles to services

      The image contains an example of assigning roles to services.

      1. If the service is being outsourced, use the drop-down list to select “Yes.” This will cause the formatting to change in the neighboring cell (Role), as this cell does not need to be completed.
      2. For all in-sourced services, indicate the role assigned to perform the service.
      3. Indicate the service-pipeline status for each of the services you include. The selection you make will affect the conditional formatting on the next tab, similar to what is described in step 1.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Make sure your portfolio reflects current state and approved plans. There’s nothing wrong with planning for the future, but we should avoid using the portfolio as a list of goals.

      Phase 2

      Plan for Mandatory Versus Discretionary Demand

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      1.1 Gather Requirements and Define Roles

      1.2 Choose Security Service Offerings

      2.1 Assess Demand

      3.1 Determine Resourcing Status

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Step 2.1

      Assess Demand

      Activities

      2.1.1 Estimate Current and Future Demand

      This step involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Outcomes of this step

      • Service demand estimates
      • Total service hours required
      • FTEs required per service

      2.1.1 Estimate current and future demand

      2-4 hours

      1. Estimate the number of hours required to complete each of the services in your portfolio and how frequently it is performed. Remember the service-hour estimates should be based on the outcome of the service (see examples on the next slide).
      • To do this effectively, think back over the last quarter and count how many times the members of your team performed each service and how many hours it took to complete.
      • Then, think back over the last year and consider if the last quarter represents typical demand (i.e. you may notice that certain services have a greater demand at different parts of the year, such as annual audit) and arrive at your best estimate for both service hours and demand.
      • See examples on next slide.

      Note: For continuous services (i.e. 24/7 security log monitoring), use the length of the work shift for estimating the Hours to Complete and the corresponding number of shifts per year for Mandatory Demand estimates. Example: For an 8-hour shift, there are 3 shifts per day at 365 days/year, resulting in 1,095 total shifts per year.

      Download the Security Resources Planning Workbook

      InputOutput
      • Service-hour estimations
      • Expected demand for service
      • Discretionary demand for service
      • Total hours required for service
      • FTEs required for service
      MaterialsParticipants
      • Security Resources Planning Workbook
      • CISO
      • Core Security Team

      Info-Tech Insight

      Time estimates will improve over time. It may be difficult to estimate exactly how long it takes to carry out each service at first. But making the effort to time your activities each quarter will help you to improve the accuracy of your estimates incrementally.

      Understanding mandatory versus discretionary demand

      Every service may have a mix of mandatory and discretionary demands. Understanding and differentiating between these types of demand is critical to developing an efficient resourcing plan.

      The image contains a picture used to represent mandatory demand.

      Mandatory Demand

      Mandatory demand refers to the amount of work that your team must perform to meet compliance obligations and critical business and risk mitigation requirements.

      Failure to meet mandatory demand levels will have serious consequences, such as regulatory fines or the introduction of risks that far exceed risk tolerances. This is work you cannot refuse.

      		The image contains a diagram to demonstrate the relationship between Mandatory and Discretionary demand.

      The image contains a picture used to represent discretionary demand.

      Discretionary Demand

      Discretionary demand refers to the amount of work the security team is asked to perform that goes above and beyond your mandatory demand. Discretionary demand often comes in the form of ad hoc requests from business units or the IT department.

      Failure to meet discretionary demand levels usually has limited consequences, allowing you more flexibility to decide how much of this type of work you can accept.

      Mandatory versus discretionary demand examples

      Service Name

      Mandatory Demand Example

      Discretionary Demand Example

      Penetration Testing

      PCI compliance requires penetration testing against all systems within the cardholder data environment annually (currently 2 systems per year).

      Business units request ad hoc penetration testing against non-payment systems (expected 2-3 systems per year).

      Vendor Risk Assessments

      GDPR compliance requires vendor security assessments against all third parties that process personal information on our behalf (expected 1-2 per quarter).

      IT department has requested that the security team conduct vendor security assessments for all cloud services, regardless of whether they store personal information (expected 2-3 assessments per quarter).

      e-Discovery and Evidence Handling

      There is no mandatory demand for this service.

      The legal department occasionally asks the security team to assist with e-Discovery requests (expected demand 1-2 investigations per quarter).

      Example of service demand estimations

      The image contains a screenshot example of service demand estimations.

      1. For each service, describe the specific outcome or deliverable that the service produces. Modify the example deliverables as required.
      2. Enter the number of hours required to produce one instance of the service deliverable. For example, if the deliverable for your security training service is an awareness campaign, it may require 40 person hours to develop and deliver.
      3. Enter the number of mandatory and discretionary demands expected for each service within a given year. For instance, if you are delivering quarterly security awareness campaigns, enter 4 as the demand.

      Phase 3

      Build Your Resourcing Plan

      Phase 1

      Phase 2

      Phase 3

      1.1 Gather Requirements and Define Roles

      1.2 Choose Security Service Offerings

      2.1 Assess Demand

      3.1 Determine Resourcing Status

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Security Manager

      Step 3.1

      Determine Resourcing Status

      Activities

      3.1.1 Review Demand Summary

      3.1.2 Fill Resource Gaps

      This step involves the following participants:

      • CISO
      • Security Manager

      Outcomes of this step

      • The number of FTEs required to meet demand
      • Resourcing gaps

      3.1.1 Review demand summary

      1-2 hours

      1. On tab 5 of the Security Resourcing Planning Tool (Demand Summary), review the results. This tab will show you if you have enough FTE hours per role to meet the demand level for each service.
      • Green indicates that there is a surplus of FTEs and the number displayed shows how many extra FTEs there are.
      • Yellow text that you have adequate FTEs to meet all of your mandatory demand but may not have enough to meet all of your discretionary demand.
      • Red text indicates that there are too few FTEs available, and the number displayed shows how many additional FTEs you will require.
    • Take note of how many FTEs you will need to meet expected and discretionary demand in each of the years you’ve planned for.
      • Input Output
      • Current staffing
      • Resourcing model
      Materials Participants
      • Security Resources Planning Workbook
      • CISO
      • HR Representative

      Download the Security Resources Planning Workbook

      Info-Tech Insight

      Start recruiting well in advance of need. Security talent can be difficult to come by, so make sure to begin your search for a new hire three to six months before your demand estimates indicate the need will arise.

      Example of demand planning summary (1/2)

      The image contains a screenshot of an example of demand planning summary.

      Example of demand planning summary (2/2)

      The image contains a screenshot of an example of demand planning. This image has a screenshot of the dashboard.

      3.1.2 Fill resource gaps

      2-4 hours

      1. Now that you have a resourcing model for your security services, you will need to plan to close the gaps between available FTEs and required service hours. For each role that has been under/over committed to service delivery, review the services assignments on tab 3 and determine the viability of the following gap closure actions:
        1. Reassign service responsibility to another role with fewer commitments
        2. Create efficiencies to reduce required hours
        3. Hire to meet the service demand
        4. Outsource the service
      2. Your resourcing shortages may not all be apparent at once. Therefore, build a roadmap to determine which needs must be addressed immediately and which can be scheduled for years two and three.

      Consider outsourcing

      Outsourcing provides access to tools and talent that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. Typical reasons for outsourcing security operations include:

      • Difficulty finding or retaining security staff with advanced and often highly specialized skillsets.
      • The desire to transfer liability for high-risk operational activities such as 24/7 security monitoring.
      • Workforce scalability to accommodate irregular or infrequent events such as incident response and incident-related forensic investigations.

      Given the above, three different models have emerged for the operational security organization:

      1. Outsourced SecOps

      A fully outsourced Security Operations Center, managed and governed by a smaller in-house team

      2. Balanced Hybrid

      In-house operational security staff with some reliance on managed services

      3. In-House SecOps

      A predominantly in-house security team, augmented by a small managed services contract

      Once you have determined that further outsourcing is needed, go back and adjust the status in your service portfolio. Use Info-Tech's blueprint Develop Your Security Outsourcing Strategy to determine the right approach for your business needs.

      “The workforce of the future needs to be agile and adaptable, enabled by strong partnerships with third-party providers of managed security services. I believe these hybrid models really are the security workforce of the future.”

      – Senior Manager, Cybersecurity at EY

      Download blueprint Develop Your Security Outsourcing Strategy

      Info-Tech Insight

      Choose the right model for your organization’s size, risk tolerance, and process maturity level. For example, it might make more sense for larger enterprises with low risk tolerance to grow their internal teams and build in-house capability.

      Create efficiencies

      Resourcing challenges are often addressed more directly by increased spending. However, for a lot of organizations, this just isn’t possible. While there is no magic solution to resolve resource constraints and small budgets, the following tactics should be considered as a means to reduce the hours required for the services your team provides.

      Upskill Your Staff

      If full-scale training is not an option, see if there are individual skills that could be improved to help improve time to completion for your services. Use Info-Tech's blueprint Close the InfoSec Skills Gap to determine which skills are needed for your security team.

      Improve Process Familiarity

      In some organizations, especially low-maturity ones, problems can arise simply because there is a lack of familiarity with what needs to be done. Review the process, socialize it, and make sure your staff can execute in within the target time allotment.

      Add Technology

      Resourcing crunch or not, technology can help us do things better. Investigate whether automation software might help to shave a few hours off a given service. Use Info-Tech's blueprint Build a Winning Business Process Automation Playbook to optimize and automate your business processes with a user-centric approach.

      Download the blueprint Close the InfoSec Skills Gap: Develop a Technical Skills Sourcing Plan

      Download the blueprint Build a Winning Business Process Automation Playbook

      Info-Tech Insight

      Every minute counts. While using these strategies may not solve every resourcing crunch you have, they can help put you in the best position possible to deliver on your commitments for each service.

      Plan for employee turnover

      Cybersecurity skills are in high demand; practitioners are few. The reality is that experienced security personnel have a lot of opportunities. While we cannot control for the personal reasons employees leave jobs, we can address the professional reasons that cause them to leave.

      Fair wage

      Reasonable expectations

      Provide training

      Defined career path

      It’s a sellers’ market for cybersecurity skills these days. Higher-paying offers are one of the major reasons security leaders leave their jobs (ISSA, 2021).

      Many teams lose out on good talent simply because they have unrealistic expectations, seeking 5+ years experience for an entry-level position, due to misalignment with HR (TECHNATION, 2021).

      Technology is changing (and being adopted) faster than security professionals can train on it. Ongoing training is needed to close these gaps (ISO, 2021).

      People want to see where they are now, visualize where they will be in the future, and understand what takes to get there. This helps to determine what types of training and specialization are necessary (DigitalGuardian, 2020).

      Use Info-Tech’s blueprint Build a Strategic IT Workforce Plan to help staff your security organization for success.

      The image contains a screenshot of the Build a Strategic IT Workforce Plan.

      Download blueprint Build a Strategic IT Workforce Plan

      Summary of Accomplishment

      Problem Solved

      You have now successfully identified your business and security drivers, determined what services your security program will provide, and determined your resourcing plan to meet these demands over the next three years.

      As needs change at your organization, don’t forget to re-evaluate the decisions you’ve made. Don’t forget that outsourcing a service may be the most reliable way to provide and resource it. However, this is just one tool among many that should be considered, along with upskilling, process improvement/familiarity, and process automation.

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com

      1-888-670-8889

      Research Contributors and Experts

      The image contains a picture of George Al-Koura.

      George Al-Koura

      CISO

      Ruby Life

      		The image contains a picture of Brian Barniner.

      Brian Barniner

      Head of Decision Science and Analytics

      ValueBridge Advisors

      The image contains a picture of Tracy Dallaire.

      Tracy Dallaire

      CISO / Director of Information Security

      McMaster University

      		The image contains a picture of Ricardo Johnson.

      Ricardo Johnson

      Chief Information Security Officer

      Citrix

      Research Contributors and Experts

      The image contains a picture of Ryan Rodriguez.

      Ryan Rodriguez

      Senior Manager, Cyber Threat Management

      EY

      		The image contains a picture of Paul Townley.

      Paul Townley

      VP Information Security and Personal Technology

      Owens Corning

      13 Anonymous Contributors

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Cost-Optimize Your Security Budget

      Develop Your Security Outsourcing Strategy

      Close the InfoSec Skills Gap: Develop a Technical Skills Sourcing Plan

      Bibliography

      2021 Voice of the CISO Report.” Proofpoint, 2021. Web.

      “2022 Voice of the CISO.” Proofpoint, 2022. Web.

      Brook, Chris. “How to Find and Retain Skilled Cybersecurity Talent.” DigitalGuardian, 17 Sep. 2020. Web.

      “Canadian Cybersecurity Skills Framework” TECHNATION Canada, April 2020. Web.

      “Cybersecurity Skills Crisis Continues for Fifth Year, Perpetuated by Lack of Business Investment.” ISSA, 28 July 2021. Web.

      “Cybersecurity Workforce, National Occupational Standard.” TECHNATION Canada, April 2020. Web.

      Naden, Clare. “The Cybersecurity Skills Gap: Why Education Is Our Best Weapon against Cybercrime.” ISO, 15 April 2021. Web.

      Purse, Randy. “Four Challenges in Finding Cybersecurity Talent And What Companies Can Do About It.” TECHNATION Canada, 29 March 2021. Web.

      Social-Engineer. “Burnout in the Cybersecurity Community.” Security Boulevard, 8 Dec. 2021. Web.

      “State of Cybersecurity 2020.” ISACA, 2020. Web.

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      Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}302|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 10.0/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $129,999 Average $ Saved
      • member rating average days saved: 35 Average Days Saved
      • Parent Category Name: Asset Management
      • Parent Category Link: /asset-management
      • Shadow IT: The IT team is regularly surprised to discover new products within the organization, often when following up on help desk tickets or requests for renewals from business users or vendors.
      • Renewal Management: The contracts and asset teams need to be aware of upcoming renewals and have adequate time to review renewals.
      • Over-purchasing: Contracts may be renewed without a clear picture of usage, potentially renewing unused applications.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      There is a direct correlation between service delivery dissatisfaction and increases in shadow IT. Whether the goal is to reduce shadow IT or gain control, improved customer service and fast delivery are key to making lasting changes.

      Impact and Result

      Our blueprint will help you design a service that draws the business to use it. If it is easier for them to buy from IT than it is to find their own supplier, they will use IT.

      A heavy focus on customer service, design optimization, and automation will provide a means for the business to get what they need, when they need it, and provide visibility to IT and security to protect organizational interests.

      This blueprint will help you:

      • Design the request service
      • Design the request catalog
      • Build the request catalog
      • Market the service

      Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog – A step-by-step document that walks you through creation of a request service management program.

      Use this blueprint to create a service request management program that provides immediate value.

      • Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog Storyboard

      2. Nonstandard Request Assessment – A template for documenting requirements for vetting and onboarding new applications.

      Use this template to define what information is needed to vet and onboard applications into the IT environment.

      • Nonstandard Request Assessment

      3. Service Request Workflows – A library of workflows used as a starting point for creating and fulfilling requests for applications and equipment.

      Use this library of workflows as a starting point for creating and fulfilling requests for applications and equipment in a service catalog.

      • Service Request Workflows

      4. Application Portfolio – A template to organize applications requested by the business and identify which items are published in the catalog.

      Use this template as a starting point to create an application portfolio and request catalog.

      • Application Portfolio

      5. Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog Communications Template – A presentation and communications plan to announce changes to the service and introduce a catalog.

      Use this template to create a presentation and communications plan for launching the new service and service request catalog.

      • Reduce Shadow IT with a Service Request Catalog Communications Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Design the Service

      The Purpose

      Collaborate with the business to determine service model.

      Collaborate with IT teams to build non-standard assessment process.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Designed a service for service requests, including new product intake.

      Activities

      1.1 Identify challenges and obstacles.

      1.2 Complete customer journey map.

      1.3 Design process for nonstandard assessments.

      Outputs

      Nonstandard process.

      2 Design the Catalog

      The Purpose

      Design the service request catalog management process.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Ensure the catalog is kept current and is integrated with IT service catalog if applicable.

      Activities

      2.1 Determine what will be listed in the catalog.

      2.2 Determine process to build and maintain the catalog, including roles, responsibilities, and workflows.

      2.3 Define success and determine metrics.

      Outputs

      Catalog scope.

      Catalog design and maintenance plan.

      Defined success metrics

      3 Build and Market the Catalog

      The Purpose

      Determine catalog contents and how requests will be fulfilled.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Catalog framework and service level agreements will be defined.

      Create communications documents.

      Activities

      3.1 Determine how catalog items will be displayed.

      3.2 Complete application categories for catalog.

      3.3 Create deployment categories and SLAs.

      3.4 Design catalog forms and deployment workflows.

      3.5 Create roadmap.

      3.6 Create communications plan.

      Outputs

      Catalog workflows and SLAs.

      Roadmap.

      Communications deck.

      4 Breakout Groups – Working Sessions

      The Purpose

      Create an applications portfolio.

      Prepare to populate the catalog.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Portfolio and catalog contents created.

      Activities

      4.1 Using existing application inventory, add applications to portfolio and categorize.

      4.2 Determine which applications should be in the catalog.

      4.3 Determine which applications are packaged and can be easily deployed.

      Outputs

      Application Portfolio.

      List of catalog items.

      Further reading

      Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog

      Foster business partnerships with sourcing-as-a-service.

      Analyst Perspective

      Improve the request management process to reduce shadow IT.

      In July 2022, Ivanti conducted a study on the state of the digital employee experience, surveying 10,000 office workers, IT professionals, and C-suite executives. Results of this study indicated that 49% of employees are frustrated by their tools, and 26% of employees were considering quitting their jobs due to unsuitable tech. 42% spent their own money to gain technology to improve their productivity. Despite this, only 21% of IT leaders prioritized user experience when selecting new tools.

      Any organization’s workers are expected to be productive and contribute to operational improvements or customer experience. Yet those workers don’t always have the tools needed to do the job. One option is to give the business greater control, allowing them to choose and acquire the solutions that will make them more productive. Info-Tech's blueprint Embrace Business-Managed Applications takes you down this path.

      However, if the business doesn’t want to manage applications, but just wants have access to better ones, IT is positioned to provide services for application and equipment sourcing that will improve the employee experience while ensuring applications and equipment are fully managed by the asset, service, and security teams.

      Improving the request management and deployment practice can give the business what they need without forcing them to manage license agreements, renewals, and warranties.

      Photo of Sandi Conrad

      Sandi Conrad
      ITIL Managing Professional
      Principal Research Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations,
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations that are looking to improve request management processes and reduce shadow IT.

      Shadow IT: The IT team is regularly surprised to discover new products within the organization, often when following up on help desk tickets or requests for renewals from business users or vendors.

      Renewal management: The contracts and asset teams need to be aware of upcoming renewals and have adequate time to review renewals.

      Over-purchasing and over-spending: Contracts may be renewed without a clear picture of utilization, potentially renewing unused applications. Applications or equipment may be purchased at retail price where corporate, government, or educational discounts exist.

      Info-Tech Insight

      To increase the visibility of the IT environment, IT needs to transform the request management process to create a service that makes it easier for the business to access the tools they need rather than seeking them outside of the organization.

      609
      Average number of SaaS applications in large enterprises

      40%
      On average, only 60% of provisioned SaaS licenses are used, with the remaining 40% unused.

      — Source: Zylo, SaaS Trends for IT Leaders, 2022

      Common obstacles

      Too many layers of approvals and a lack of IT workers makes it difficult to rethink service request fulfillment.

      Delays: The business may not be getting the applications they need from IT to do their jobs or must wait too long to get the applications approved.

      Denials: Without IT’s support, the business is finding alternative options, including SaaS applications, as they can be bought and used without IT’s input or knowledge.

      Threats: Applications that have not been vetted by security or installed without their knowledge may present additional threats to the organization.

      Access: Self-serve isn’t mature enough to support an applications catalog.

      A diagram that shows the number of SaaS applications being acquired outside of IT is increasing year over year, and that business units are driving the majority of SaaS spend.

      8: average number of applications entering the organization every 30 days

      — Source: Zylo, SaaS Trends for Procurement, 2022

      Info-Tech’s approach

      Improve the request management process to create sourcing-as-a-service for the business.

      • Improve customer service
      • Reduce shadow IT
      • Gain control in a way that keeps the business happy

      1. Design the service

      Collaborate with the business

      Identify the challenges and obstacles

      Gain consensus on priorities

      Design the service

      2. Design the catalog

      Determine catalog scope

      Create a process to build and maintain the catalog

      Define metrics for the request management process

      3. Build the catalog

      Determine descriptions for catalog items

      Create definitions for license types, workflows, and SLAs

      Create application portfolio

      Design catalog forms and workflows

      4. Market the service

      Create a roadmap

      Determine messaging

      Build a communications plan

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      Communications Presentation

      Photo of Communications Presentation

      Application Portfolio

      Photo of Application Portfolio

      Visio Library

      Photo of Visio Library

      Nonstandard Request Assessment

      Photo of Nonstandard Request Assessment

      Create a request management process and service catalog to improve delivery of technology to the business

      Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud

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      • Parent Category Name: Cloud Strategy
      • Parent Category Link: /cloud-strategy
      • The organization is planning to move resources to cloud or devise a networking strategy for their existing cloud infrastructure to harness value from cloud.
      • The right topology needs to be selected to deploy network level isolation, design the cloud for management efficiencies and provide access to shared services on cloud.
      • A perennial challenge for infrastructure on cloud is planning for governance vs flexibility which is often overlooked.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      Don’t wait until the necessity arises to evaluate your networking in the cloud. Get ahead of the curve and choose the topology that optimizes benefits and supports organizational needs in the present and the future.

      Impact and Result

      • Define organizational needs and understand the pros and cons of cloud network topologies to strategize for the networking design.
      • Consider the layered complexities of addressing the governance vs. flexibility spectrum for your domains when designing your networks.

      Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud Deck – A document to guide you through designing your network in the cloud.

      What cloud networking topology should you use? How do you provide access to shared resources in the cloud or hybrid infrastructure? What sits in the hub and what sits in the spoke?

      • Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud Storyboard
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud

      Don't revolve around a legacy design; choose a network design that evolves with the organization.

      Analyst Perspective

      Cloud adoption among organizations increases gradually across both the number of services used and the amount those services are used. However, network builders tend to overlook the vulnerabilities of network topologies, which leads to complications down the road, especially since the structures of cloud network topologies are not all of the same quality. A network design that suits current needs may not be the best solution for the future state of the organization.

      Even if on-prem network strategies were retained for ease of migration, it is important to evaluate and identify the cloud network topology that can not only elevate the performance of your infrastructure in the cloud, but also that can make it easier to manage and provision resources.

      An "as the need arises" strategy will not work efficiently since changing network designs will change the way data travels within your network, which will then need to be adopted to existing application architectures. This becomes more complicated as the number of services hosted in the cloud grows.

      Keep a network strategy in place early on and start designing your infrastructure accordingly. This gives you more control over your networks and eliminates the need for huge changes to your infrastructure down the road.

      This is a picture of Nitin Mukesh

      Nitin Mukesh
      Senior Research Analyst, Infrastructure and Operations
      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      The organization is planning to move resources to the cloud or devise a networking strategy for their existing cloud infrastructure to harness value from the cloud.

      The right topology needs to be selected to deploy network level isolation, design the cloud for management efficiencies, and provide access to shared services in the cloud.

      A perennial challenge for infrastructure in the cloud is planning for governance vs. flexibility, which is often overlooked.

      Common Obstacles

      The choice of migration method may result in retaining existing networking patterns and only making changes when the need arises.

      Networking in the cloud is still new, and organizations new to the cloud may not be aware of the cloud network designs they can consider for their business needs.

      Info-Tech's Approach

      Define organizational needs and understand the pros and cons of cloud network topologies to strategize for the networking design.

      Consider the layered complexities of addressing the governance vs. flexibility spectrum for your domains when designing your networks.

      Insight Summary

      Don't wait until the necessity arises to evaluate your networking in the cloud. Get ahead of the curve and choose the topology that optimizes benefits and supports organizational needs in the present and future.

      Your challenge

      Selecting the right topology: Many organizations migrate to the cloud retaining a mesh networking topology from their on-prem design, or they choose to implement the mesh design leveraging peering technologies in the cloud without a strategy in place for when business needs change. While there may be many network topologies for on-prem infrastructure, the network design team may not be aware of the best approach in cloud platforms for their requirements, or a cloud networking strategy may even go overlooked during the migration.

      Finding the right cloud networking infrastructure for:

      • Management efficiencies
      • Network-level isolation of resources
      • Access to shared services

      Deciding between governance and flexibility in networking design: In the hub and spoke model, if a domain is in the hub, the greater the governance over it, and if it sits in the spoke, the higher the flexibility. Having a strategy for the most important domains is key. For example, some security belongs in the hub and some security belongs in the spoke. The tradeoff here is if it sits completely in the spoke, you give it a lot of freedom, but it becomes harder to standardize across the organization.

      Mesh network topology

      A mesh is a design where virtual private clouds (VPCs) are connected to each other individually creating a mesh network. The network traffic is fast and can be redirected since the nodes in the network are interconnected. There is no hierarchical relationship between the networks, and any two networks can connect with each other directly.

      In the cloud, this design can be implemented by setting up peering connections between any two VPCs. These VPCs can also be set up to communicate with each other internally through the cloud service provider's network without having to route the traffic via the internet.

      While this topology offers high redundancy, the number of connections grows tremendously as more networks are added, making it harder to scale a network using a mesh topology.

      Mesh Network on AWS

      This is an image of a Mesh Network on AWS

      Source: AWS, 2018

      Constraints

      The disadvantages of peering VPCs into a mesh quickly arise with:

      • Transitive connections: Transitive connections are not supported in the cloud, unlike with on-prem networking. This means that if there are two networks that need to communicate, a single peering link can be set up between them. However, if there are more than two networks and they all need to communicate, they should all be connected to each other with separate individual connections.
      • Cost of operation: The lack of transitive routing requires many connections to be set up, which adds up to a more expensive topology to operate as the number of networks grows. Cloud providers also usually limit the number of peering networks that can be set up, and this limit can be hit with as few as 100 networks.
      • Management: Mesh tends to be very complicated to set up, owing to the large number of different peering links that need to be established. While this may be manageable for small organizations with small operations, for larger organizations with robust cybersecurity practices that require multiple VPCs to be deployed and interconnected for communications, mesh opens you up to multiple points of failure.
      • Redundancy: With multiple points of failure already being a major drawback of this design, you also cannot have more than one peered connection between any two networks at the same time. This makes designing your networking systems for redundancy that much more challenging.
      Number of virtual networks 10 20 50 100
      Peering links required
      [(n-1)*n]/2             		45 190 1225 4950

      Proportional relationship of virtual networks to required peering links in a mesh topology

      Case study

      INDUSTRY: Blockchain
      SOURCE: Microsoft

      An organization with four members wants to deploy a blockchain in the cloud, with each member running their own virtual network. With only four members on the team, a mesh network can be created in the cloud with each of their networks being connected to each other, adding up to a total of 12 peering connections (four members with three connections each). While the members may all be using different cloud accounts, setting up connections between them will still be possible.

      The organization wants to expand to 15 members within the next year, with each new member being connected with their separate virtual networks. Once grown, the organization will have a total of 210 peering connections since each of the virtual networks will then need 14 peering connections. While this may still be possible to deploy, the number of connections makes it harder to manage and would be that much more difficult to deploy if the organization grows to even 30 or 40 members. The new scale of virtual connections calls for an alternative networking strategy that cloud providers offer – the hub and spoke topology.

      This is an image of the connections involved in a mesh network with four participants.

      Source: Microsoft, 2017

      Hub and spoke network topology

      In hub and spoke network design, each network is connected to a central network that facilitates intercommunication between the networks. The central network, also called the hub, can be used by multiple workloads/servers/services for hosting services and for managing external connectivity. Other networks connected to the hub through network peering are called spokes and host workloads.

      Communications between the workloads/servers/services on spokes pass in or out of the hub where they are inspected and routed. The spokes can also be centrally managed from the hub with IT rules and processes.

      A hub and spoke design enable a larger number of virtual networks to be interconnected as each network only needs one peered connection (to the hub) to be able to communicate with any other network in the system.

      Hub and Spoke Network on AWS

      This is an image of the Hub and Spoke Network on AWS

      What hub and spoke networks do better

      1. Ease of connectivity: Hub and spoke decreases the liabilities of scale that come from a growing business by providing a consistent connection that can be scaled easily. As more networks are added to an organization, each will only need to be connected once – to the hub. The number of connections is considerably lower than in a mesh topology and makes it easier to maintain and manage.
      2. Business agility and scalability: It is easier to increase the number of networks than in mesh, making it easier to grow your business into new channels with less time, investment, and risk.
      3. Data collection: With a hub and spoke design, all data flows through the hub – depending on the design, this includes all ingress and egress to and from the system. This makes it an excellent central network to collect all business data.
      4. Network-level isolation: Hub and spoke enables separation of workloads and tiers into different networks. This is particularly useful to ensure an issue affecting a network or a workload does not affect the rest.
      5. Network changes: Changes to a separated network are much easier to carry out knowing the changes made will not affect all the other connected networks. This reduces work-hours significantly when systems or applications need to be altered.
      6. Compliance: Compliance requirements such as SOC 1 and SOC 2 require separate environments for production, development, and testing, which can be done in a hub and spoke model without having to re-create security controls for all networks.

      Hub and spoke constraints

      While there are plenty of benefits to using this topology, there are still a few notable disadvantages with the design.

      Point-to-point peering

      The total number of total peered connections required might be lower than mesh, but the cost of running independent projects is cheaper on mesh as point-to-point data transfers are cheaper.

      Global access speeds with a monolithic design

      With global organizations, implementing a single monolithic hub network for network ingress and egress will slow down access to cloud services that users will require. A distributed network will ramp up the speeds for its users to access these services.

      Costs for a resilient design

      Connectivity between the spokes can fail if the hub site dies or faces major disruptions. While there are redundancy plans for cloud networks, it will be an additional cost to plan and build an environment for it.

      Leverage the hub and spoke strategy for:

      Providing access to shared services: Hub and spoke can be used to give workloads that are deployed on different networks access to shared services by placing the shared service in the hub. For example, DNS servers can be placed in the hub network, and production or host networks can be connected to the hub to access it, or if the central network is set up to host Active Directory services, then servers in other networks can act as spokes and have full access to the central VPC to send requests. This is also a great way to separate workloads that do not need to communicate with each other but all need access to the same services.

      Adding new locations: An expanding organization that needs to add additional global or domestic locations can leverage hub and spoke to connect new network locations to the main system without the need for multiple connections.

      Cost savings: Apart from having fewer connections than mesh that can save costs in the cloud, hub and spoke can also be used to centralize services such as DNS and NAT to be managed in one location rather than having to individually deploy in each network. This can bring down management efforts and costs considerably.

      Centralized security: Enterprises can deploy a center of excellence on the hub for security, and the spokes connected to it can leverage a higher level of security and increase resilience. It will also be easier to control and manage network policies and networking resources from the hub.

      Network management: Since each spoke is peered only once to the hub, detecting connectivity problems or other network issues is made simpler in hub and spoke than on mesh. A network manager deployed on the cloud can give access to network problems faster than on other topologies.

      Hub and spoke – mesh hybrid

      The advantages of using a hub and spoke model far exceed those of using a mesh topology in the cloud and go to show why most organizations ultimately end up using the hub and spoke as their networking strategy.

      However, organizations, especially large ones, are complex entities, and choosing only one model may not serve all business needs. In such cases, a hybrid approach may be the best strategy. The following slides will demonstrate the advantages and use cases for mesh, however limited they might be.

      Where it can be useful:

      An organization can have multiple network topologies where system X is a mesh and system Y is a hub and spoke. A shared system Z can be a part of both systems depending on the needs.

      An organization can have multiple networks interconnected in a mesh and some of the networks in the mesh can be a hub for a hub-spoke network. For example, a business unit that works on data analysis can deploy their services in a spoke that is connected to a central hub that can host shared services such as Active Directory or NAT. The central hub can then be connected to a regional on-prem network where data and other shared services can be hosted.

      Hub and spoke – mesh hybrid network on AWS

      This is an image of the Hub and spoke – mesh hybrid network on AWS

      Why mesh can still be useful

      Benefits Of Mesh

      Use Cases For Mesh

      Security: Setting up a peering connection between two VPCs comes with the benefit of improving security since the connection can be private between the networks and can isolate public traffic from the internet. The traffic between the networks never has to leave the cloud provider's network, which helps reduce a class of risks.

      Reduced network costs: Since the peered networks communicate internally through the cloud's internal networks, the data transfer costs are typically cheaper than over the public internet.

      Communication speed: Improved network latency is a key benefit from using mesh because the peered traffic does not have to go over the public internet but rather the internal network. The network traffic between the connections can also be quickly redirected as needed.

      Higher flexibility for backend services: Mesh networks can be desirable for back-end services if egress traffic needs to be blocked to the public internet from the deployed services/servers. This also helps avoid having to set up public IP or network address translation (NAT) configurations.

      Connecting two or more networks for full access to resources: For example, consider an organization that has separate networks for each department, which don't all need to communicate with each other. Here, a peering network can be set up only between the networks that need to communicate with full or partial access to each other such as finance to HR or accounting to IT.

      Specific security or compliance need: Mesh or VPC peering can also come in handy to serve specific security needs or logging needs that require using a network to connect to other networks directly and in private. For example, global organizations that face regulatory requirements of storing or transferring data domestically with private connections.

      Systems with very few networks that do not need internet access: Workloads deployed in networks that need to communicate with each other but do not require internet access or network address translation (NAT) can be connected using mesh especially when there are security reasons to keep them from being connected to the main system, e.g. backend services such as testing environments, labs, or sandboxes can leverage this design.

      Designing for governance vs. flexibility in hub and spoke

      Governance and flexibility in managing resources in the cloud are inversely proportional: The higher the governance, the less freedom you have to innovate.

      The complexities of designing an organization's networks grow with the organization as it becomes global and takes on more services and lines of business. Organizations that choose to deploy the hub and spoke model face a dilemma in choosing between governance and flexibility for their networks. Organizations need to find that sweet spot to find the right balance between how much they want to govern their systems, mainly for security- and cost-monitoring, and how much flexibility they want to provide for innovation and other operations, since the two usually tend to have an inverse relationship.

      This decision in hub and spoke usually means that the domains chosen for higher governance must be placed in the hub network, and the domains that need more flexibility in a spoke. The key variables in the following slide will help determine the placement of the domain and will depend entirely on the organization's context.

      The two networking patterns in the cloud have layered complexities that need to be systematically addressed.

      Designing for governance vs. flexibility in hub and spoke

      If a network has more flexibility in all or most of these domains, it may be a good candidate for a spoke-heavy design; otherwise, it may be better designed in a hub-centric pattern.

      • Function: The function the domain network is assigned to and the autonomy the function needs to be successful. For example, software R&D usually requires high flexibility to be successful.
      • Regulations: The extent of independence from both internal and external regulatory constraints the domain has. For example, a treasury reporting domain typically has high internal and external regulations to adhere to.
      • Human resources: The freedom a domain has to hire and manage its resources to perform its function. For example, production facilities in a huge organization have the freedom to manage their own resources.
      • Operations: The freedom a domain has to control its operations and manage its own spending to perform its functions. For example, governments usually have different departments and agencies, each with its own budget to perform its functions.
      • Technology: The independence and the ability a domain has to manage its selection and implementation of technology resources in the cloud. For example, you may not want a software testing team to have complete autonomy to deploy resources.

      Optimal placement of services between the hub and spoke

      Shared services and vendor management

      Resources that are shared between multiple projects or departments or even by the entire organization should be hosted on the hub network to simplify sharing these services. For example, e-learning applications that may be used by multiple business units to train their teams, Active Directory accessed by most teams, or even SAAS platforms such as O365 and Salesforce can leverage buying power and drive down the costs for the organization. Shared services should also be standardized across the organization and for that, it needs to have high governance.

      Services that are an individual need for a network and have no preexisting relationship with other networks or buying power and scale can be hosted in a spoke network. For example, specialized accounting software used exclusively by the accounting team or design software used by a single team. Although the services are still a part of the wider network, it helps separate duties from the shared services network and provides flexibility to the teams to customize and manage their services to suit their individual needs.

      Network egress and interaction

      Network connections, be they in the cloud or hybrid-cloud, are used by everyone to either connect to the internet, access cloud services, or access the organization's data center. Since this is a shared service, a centralized networking account must be placed in the hub for greater governance. Interactions between the spokes in a hub and spoke model happens through the hub, and providing internet access to the spokes through the hub can help leverage cost benefits in the cloud. The network account will perform routing duties between the spokes, on-prem assets, and egress out to the internet.

      For example, NAT gateways in the cloud that are managed services are usually charged by the hour, and deploying NAT on each spoke can be harder to manage and expensive to maintain. A NAT gateway deployed in a central networking hub can be accessed by all spokes, so centralizing it is a great option.

      Note that, in some cases, when using edge locations for data transfers, it may be cost effective to deploy a NAT in the spoke, but such cases usually do not apply to most organizational units.

      A centralized network hub can also be useful to configure network policies and network resources while organizational departments can configure non-network resources, which helps separate responsibilities for all the spokes in the system. For example, subnets and routes can be controlled from the central network hub to ensure standardized network policies across the network.

      Security

      While there needs to be security in the hub and the spokes individually, finding the balance of operation can make the systems more robust. Hub and spoke design can be an effective tool for security when a principal security hub is hosted in the hub network. The central security hub can collect data from the spokes as well as non-spoke sources such as regulatory bodies and threat intelligence providers, and then share the information with the spokes.

      Threat information sharing is a major benefit of using this design, and the hub can take actions to analyze and enrich the data before sharing it with spokes. Shared services such as threat intelligence platforms (TIP) can also benefit from being centralized when stationed in the hub. A collective defense approach between the hub and spoke can be very successful in addressing sophisticated threats.

      Compliance and regulatory requirements such as HIPAA can also be placed in the hub, and the spokes connected to it can make use of it instead of having to deploy it in each spoke individually.

      Cloud metering

      The governance vs. flexibility paradigm usually decides the placement of cloud metering, i.e. if the organization wants higher control over cloud costs, it should be in the central hub, whereas if it prioritizes innovation, the spokes should be allowed to control it. Regardless of the placement of the domain, the costs can be monitored from the central hub using cloud-native monitoring tools such as Azure Monitor or any third-party software deployed in the hub.

      For ease of governance and since resources are usually shared at a project level, most cloud service providers suggest that an individual metering service be placed in the spokes. The centralized billing system of the organization, however, can make use of scale and reserved instances to drive down the costs that the spokes can take advantage of. For example, billing and access control resources are placed in the lower levels in GCP to enable users to set up projects and perform their tasks. These billing systems in the lower levels are then controlled by a centralized billing system to decide who pays for the resources provisioned.

      Don't get stuck with your on-prem network design. Design for the cloud.

      1. Peering VPCs into a mesh design can be an easy way to get onto the cloud, but it should not be your networking strategy for the long run.
      2. Hub and spoke network design offers more benefits than any other network strategy to be adopted only when the need arises. Plan for the design early on and keep a strategy in place to deploy it as early as possible.
      3. Hybrid of mesh and hub and spoke will be very useful in connecting multiple large networks especially when they need to access the same resources without having to route the traffic over the internet.
      4. Governance vs. flexibility should be a key consideration when designing for hub and spoke to leverage the best out of your infrastructure.
      5. Distribute domains across the hub or spokes to leverage costs, security, data collection, and economies of scale, and to foster secure interactions between networks.

      Cloud network design strategy

      This is an image of the framework for developing a Cloud Network Design Strategy.

      Bibliography

      Borschel, Brett. "Azure Hub Spoke Virtual Network Design Best Practices." Acendri Solutions, 13 Jan. 2022. Web.
      Singh, Garvit. "Amazon Virtual Private Cloud Connectivity Options." AWS, January 2018. Web.
      "What Is the Hub and Spoke Information Sharing Model?" Cyware, 16 Aug. 2021. Web.
      Youseff, Lamia. "Mesh and Hub-and-Spoke Networks on Azure." Microsoft, Dec. 2017. Web.

      Tech Trend Update: If Biosecurity Then Autonomous Edge

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      • Parent Category Name: Innovation
      • Parent Category Link: /innovation

      COVID-19 has created new risks to physical encounters among workers and customers. New biosecurity processes and ways to effectively enforce them – in the least intrusive way possible – are required to resume these activities.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      New biosecurity standards will be imposed on many industries, and the autonomous edge will be part of the solution to manage that new reality.

      Impact and Result

      There are some key considerations for businesses considering new biosecurity measures:

      1. If prevention, then ID-based access control
      2. If intervention, then alerts based on data
      3. If investigation, then contact tracing

      Tech Trend Update: If Biosecurity Then Autonomous Edge Research & Tools

      Tech Trend Update: If Biosecurity Then Autonomous Edge

      Understand how new biosecurity requirements could affect your business and why AI at the edge could be part of the solution.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      • Tech Trend Update: If Biosecurity Then Autonomous Edge Storyboard
      [infographic]

      Design Data-as-a-Service

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      • Parent Category Name: Data Management
      • Parent Category Link: /data-management
      • Lack of a consistent approach in accessing internal and external data within the organization and sharing data with third parties.
      • Data consumed by most organizations lacks proper data quality, data certification, standards tractability, and lineage.
      • Organizations are looking for guidance in terms of readily accessible data from others and data that can be shared with others or monetized.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Despite data being everywhere, most organizations struggle to find accurate, trustworthy, and meaningful data when required.
      • Connecting to data should be as easy as connecting to the internet. This is achievable if all organizations start participating in the data marketplace ecosystem by leveraging a Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) framework.

      Impact and Result

      • Data marketplaces facilitate data sharing between the data producer and the data consumer. The data product must be carefully designed to truly benefit in today’s connected data ecosystem.
      • Follow Info-Tech’s step-by-step approach to establish your DaaS framework:
        1. Understand Data Ecosystem
        2. Design Data Products
        3. Establish DaaS framework

      Design Data-as-a-Service Research & Tools

      Start here – Read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should design Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Understand data ecosystem

      Provide clear benefits of adopting the DaaS framework and solid rationale for moving towards a more connected data ecosystem and avoiding data silos.

      • Design Data-as-a-Service – Phase 1: Understand Data Ecosystem

      2. Design data product

      Leverage design thinking methodology and templates to document your most important data products.

      • Design Data-as-a-Service – Phase 2: Design Data Product

      3. Establish a DaaS framework

      Capture internal and external data sources critical to data products success for the organization and document an end-to-end DaaS framework.

      • Design Data-as-a-Service – Phase 3: Establish a DaaS Framework
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Design Data-as-a-Service

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Data Marketplace and DaaS Explained

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to provide a clear understanding of the key concepts such as data marketplace, data sharing, and data products.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      This module will provide clear benefits of adopting the DaaS framework and solid rationale for moving towards a more connected data ecosystem and avoiding data silos.

      Activities

      1.1 Review the business context

      1.2 Understand the data ecosystem

      1.3 Draft products ideas and use cases

      1.4 Capture data product metrics

      Outputs

      Data product ideas

      Data sharing use cases

      Data product metrics

      2 Design Data Product

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to leverage design thinking methodology and templates to document the most important data products.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Data products design that incorporates end-to-end customer journey and stakeholder map.

      Activities

      2.1 Create a stakeholder map

      2.2 Establish a persona

      2.3 Data consumer journey map

      2.4 Document data product design

      Outputs

      Data product design

      3 Assess Data Sources

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to capture internal and external data sources critical to data product success.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Break down silos by integrating internal and external data sources

      Activities

      3.1 Review the conceptual data model

      3.2 Map internal and external data sources

      3.3 Document data sources

      Outputs

      Internal and external data sources relationship map

      4 Establish a DaaS Framework

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to document end-to-end DaaS framework.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      End-to-end framework that breaks down silos and enables data product that can be exchanged for long-term success.

      Activities

      4.1 Design target state DaaS framework

      4.2 Document DaaS framework

      4.3 Assess the gaps between current and target environments

      4.4 Brainstorm initiatives to develop DaaS capabilities

      Outputs

      Target DaaS framework

      DaaS initiative

      Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

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      • Parent Category Name: Service Management
      • Parent Category Link: /service-management
      • Business users don’t know what breadth of services are available to them.
      • It is difficult for business users to obtain useful information regarding services because they are often described in technical language.
      • Business users have unrealistic expectations of what IT can do for them.
      • There is no defined agreement on what is available, so the business assumes everything is.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Define services from the business user’s perspective, not IT’s perspective.
        • A service catalog is of no use if a user looks at it and sees a significant amount of information that doesn’t apply to them.
      • Separate the enterprise services from the Line of Business (LOB) services.
        • This will simplify the process of documenting your service definitions and make it easier for users to navigate, which leads to a higher chance of user acceptance.

      Impact and Result

      • Our program helps you organize your services in a way that is relevant to the users, and practical and manageable for IT.
      • Our approach to defining and categorizing services ensures your service catalog remains a living document. You may add or revise your service records with ease.
      • Our program creates a bridge between IT and the business. Begin transforming IT’s perception within the organization by communicating the benefits of the service catalog.

      Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise executive brief to understand why building a Service Catalog is a good idea for your business, and how following our approach will help you accomplish this difficult task.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Launch the project

      The Launch the Project phase will walk through completing Info-Tech's project charter template. This phase will help build a balanced project team, create a change message and communication plan, and achieve buy-in from key stakeholders.

      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog – Phase 1: Launch the Project
      • Service Catalog Project Charter

      2. Identify and define enterprise services

      The Identify and Define Enterprise Services phase will help to target enterprise services offered by the IT team. They are offered to everyone in the organization, and are grouped together in logical categories for users to access them easily.

      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog – Phase 2: Identify and Define Enterprise Services
      • Sample Enterprise Services

      3. Identify and define Line of Business (LOB) services

      After completing this phase, all services IT offers to each LOB or functional group should have been identified. Each group should receive different services and display only these services in the catalog.

      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog – Phase 3: Identify and Define Line of Business Services
      • Sample LOB Services – Industry Specific
      • Sample LOB Services – Functional Group

      4. Complete the Services Definition Chart

      Completing the Services Definition Chart will help the business pick which information to include in the catalog. This phase also prepares the catalog to be extended into a technical service catalog through the inclusion of IT-facing fields.

      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog – Phase 4: Complete Service Definitions
      • Services Definition Chart
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Launch the Project

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to help engage IT with business decision making.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      This module will help build a foundation for the project to begin. The buy-in from key stakeholders is key to having them take onus on the project’s completion.

      Activities

      1.1 Assemble the project team.

      1.2 Develop a communication plan.

      1.3 Establish metrics for success.

      1.4 Complete the project charter.

      Outputs

      A list of project members, stakeholders, and a project leader.

      A change message, communication strategy, and defined benefits for each user group.

      Metrics used to monitor the usefulness of the catalog, both from a performance and monetary perspective.

      A completed project charter to engage users in the initiative.

      2 Identify and Define Enterprise Services

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to review services which are offered across the entire organization.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      A complete list of enterprise services defined from the user’s perspective to help them understand what is available to them.

      Activities

      2.1 Identify enterprise services used by almost everyone across the organization.

      2.2 Categorize services into logical groups.

      2.3 Define the services from the user’s perspective.

      Outputs

      A complete understanding of enterprise services for both IT service providers and business users.

      Logical groups for organizing the services in the catalog.

      Completed definitions in business language, preferably reviewed by business users.

      3 Identify and Define Line of Business (LOB) Services

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to define the remaining LOB services for business users, and separate them into functional groups.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Business users are not cluttered with LOB definitions that do not pertain to their business activities.

      Business users are provided with only relevant IT information.

      Activities

      3.1 Identify the LOBs.

      3.2 Determine which one of two methodologies is more suitable.

      3.3 Identify LOB services using appropriate methodology.

      3.4 Define services from a user perspective.

      Outputs

      A structured view of the different functional groups within the business.

      An easy to follow process for identifying all services for each LOB.

      A list of every service for each LOB.

      Completed definitions in business language, preferably reviewed by business users.

      4 Complete the Full Service Definitions

      The Purpose

      The purpose of this module is to guide the client to completing their service record definitions completely.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      This module will finalize the deliverable for the client by defining every user-facing service in novice terms.

      Activities

      4.1 Understand the components to each service definition (information fields).

      4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition.

      4.3 Complete the service definitions.

      Outputs

      A selection of information fields to be included in the service catalog.

      A selection of information fields to be included in the service catalog.

      A completed service record design, ready to be implemented with the right tool.

      Further reading

      Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Improve user satisfaction with IT with a convenient menu-like catalog.

      Our understanding of the problem

      This Research Is Designed For:

      • CIOs
      • Directors and senior managers within IT and the business

      This Research Will Help You:

      • Articulate all of the services IT provides to the business in a language the business users understand.
      • Improve IT and business alignment through a common understanding of service features and IT support.

      This Research Will Help Them

      • Standardize and communicate how users request access to services.
      • Standardize and communicate how users obtain support for services.
      • Clearly understand IT’s role in providing each service.

      What is a service catalog?

      The user-facing service catalog is the go-to place for IT service-related information.

      The catalog defines, documents, and organizes the services that IT delivers to the organization. The catalog also describes the features of the services and how the services are intended to be used.

      The user-facing service catalog creates benefits for both the business and IT.

      For business users, the service catalog:

      1. Documents how to request access to the service, hours of availability, delivery timeframes, and customer responsibilities.
      2. Specifies how to obtain support for the services, support hours, and documentation.

      For IT, the service catalog:

      1. Identifies who owns the services and who is authorized to use the services.
      2. Specifies IT support requirements for the services, including support hours and documentation.

      What is the difference between a user-facing service catalog and a technical service catalog?

      This blueprint is about creating a user-facing service catalog written and organized in a way that focuses on the services from the business’ view.

      User facing

      User-friendly, intuitive, and simple overview of the services that IT provides to the business.

      The items you would see on the menu at a restaurant are an example of User Facing. The content is relatable and easy to understand.

      Technical

      Series of technical workflows, supporting services, and the technical components that are required to deliver a service.

      The recipe book with cooking instructions is an example of Technical Facing. This catalog is intended for the IT teams and is “behind the scene.”

      What is a service and what does it mean to be service oriented?

      The sum of the people, processes, and technologies required to enable users to achieve a business outcome is a Service.

      A service is used directly by the end users and is perceived as a coherent whole.

      Business Users →Service = Application & Systems + People & Processes

      Service Orientation is…

      • A focus on business requirements and business value, rather than IT driven motives.
      • Services are designed to enable required business activities.
      • Services are defined from the business perspective using business language.

      In other words, put on your user hat and leave behind the technical jargons!

      A lack of a published user-facing service catalog could be the source of many pains throughout your organization

      IT Pains

      • IT doesn’t understand all the services they provide.
      • Business users would go outside of IT for solutions, proliferating shadow IT.
      • Business users have a negative yet unrealistic perception of what IT is capable of.
      • IT has no way of managing expectations for their users, which tend to inflate.
      • There is often no defined agreement on services; the business assumes everything is available.

      Business Pains

      • Business users don’t know what services are available to them.
      • It is difficult to obtain useful information regarding a service because IT always talks in technical language.
      • Without a standard process in place, business users don’t know how to request access to a service with multiple sources of information available.
      • Receiving IT support is a painful, long process and IT doesn’t understand what type of support the business requires.

      An overwhelming majority of IT organizations still need to improve how they demonstrate their value to the business

      This image contains a pie chart with a slice representing 23% of the circle This image contains a pie chart with a slice representing 47% of the circle This image contains a pie chart with a slice representing 92% of the circle

      23% of IT is still viewed as a cost center.

      47% of business executives believe that business goals are going unsupported by IT.

      92% of IT leaders see the need to prove the business value of IT’s contribution.

      How a Service Catalog can help:

      Use the catalog to demonstrate how IT is an integral part of the organization and IT services are essential to achieve business objectives.

      Source: IT Communication in Crisis Report

      Transform the perception of IT by articulating all the services that are provided through the service catalog in a user-friendly language.

      Source: Info-Tech Benchmarking and Diagnostic Programs

      Increase IT-business communication and collaboration through the service catalog initiative. Move from technology focused to service-oriented.

      Source: IT Communication in Crisis Report

      Project Steps

      Phase 1 – Project Launch

      1.2 Project Team

      The team must be balanced between representatives from the business and IT.

      1.2 Communication Plan

      Communication plan to facilitate input from both sides and gain adoption.

      1.3 Identify Metrics

      Metrics should reflect the catalog benefits. Look to reduced number of service desk inquiries.

      1.4 Project Charter

      Project charter helps walk you through project preparation.

      This blueprint separates enterprise service from line of business service.

      This image contains a comparison between Enterprise IT Service and Line of Business Service, which will be discussed in further detail later in this blueprint.

      Project steps

      Phase 2 – Identify and Define Enterprise Services

      2.1 Identify the services that are used across the entire organization.

      2.2 Users must be able to identify with the service categories.

      2.3 Create basic definitions for enterprise services.

      Phase 3 – Identify and Define Line of Business Services

      3.1 Identify the different lines of business (LOBs) in the organization.

      3.2 Understand the differences between our two methodologies for identifying LOB services.

      3.3 Use methodology 1 if you have thorough knowledge of the business.

      3.4 Use methodology 2 if you only have an IT view of the LOB.

      Phase 4 – Complete Service Definitions

      4.1 Understand the different components to each service definition, or the fields in the service record.

      4.2 Identify which information to include for each service definition.

      4.3 Define each enterprise service according to the information and field properties.

      4.3 Define each LOB service according to the information and field properties.

      Define your service catalog in bundles to achieve better catalog design in the long run

      Trying to implement too many services at once can be overwhelming for both IT and the users. You don’t have to define and implement all of your services in one release of the catalog.

      Info-Tech recommends implementing services themselves in batches, starting with enterprise, and then grouping LOB services into separate releases. Why? It benefits both IT and business users:

      • It enables a better learning experience for IT – get to test the first release before going full-scale. In other words, IT gets a better understanding of all components of their deliverable before full adoption.
      • It is easier to meet customer agreements on what is to be delivered early, and easier to be able to meet those deadlines.
      This image depicts how you can use bundles to simplify the process of catalog design using bundles. The cycle includes the steps: Identify Services; Select a Service Bundle; Review Record Design; followed by a cycle of: Pick a service; Service X; Service Data Collection; Create Service Record, followed by Publish the bundle; Communicate the bundle; Rinse and Repeat.

      After implementing a service catalog, your IT will be able to:

      Use the service catalog to communicate all the services that IT provides to the business.

      Improve IT’s visibility within the organization by creating a single source of information for all the value creating services IT has to offer. The service catalog helps the business understand the value IT brings to each service, each line of business, and the overall organization.

      Concentrate more on high-value IT services.

      The service catalog contains information which empowers business users to access IT services and information without the help of IT support staff. The reduction in routine inquiries decreases workload and increases morale within the IT support team, and allows IT to concentrate on providing higher value services.

      Reduce shadow IT and gain control of services.

      Service catalog brings more control to your IT environment by reducing shadow IT activities. The service catalog communicates business requests responsively in a language the business users understand, thus eliminating the need for users to seek outside help.

      After implementing a service catalog, your business will be able to:

      Access IT services with ease.

      The language of IT is often confusing for the business and the users don’t know what to do when they have a concern. With a user-facing service catalog, business users can access information through a single source of information, and better understand how to request access or receive support for a service through clear, consistent, and business-relevant language.

      Empower users to self-serve.

      The service catalog enables users to “self-serve” IT services. Instead of calling the service desk every time an issue occurs, the users can rely on the service catalog for information. This simplified process not only reduces routine service requests, but also provides information in a faster, more efficient manner that increases productivity for both IT and the business.

      Gain transparency on the IT services provided.

      With every service clearly defined, business users can better understand the current support level, communicate their expectation for IT accountability, and help IT align services with critical business strategies.

      Leverage the different Info-Tech deliverable tools to help you along the way

      1. Project Charter

      A project charter template with a few samples completed. The project charter helps you govern the project progress and responsibilities.

      2. Enterprise Service Definitions

      A full list of enterprise definitions with features and descriptions pre-populated. These are meant to get you on your feet defining your own enterprise services, or editing the ones already there.

      3. Basic Line of Business Service Definitions

      Similar to the enterprise services deliverable, but with two separate deliverables focusing on different perspectives – functional groups services (e.g. HR and finance) and industry-specific services (e.g. education and government).

      Service Definitions & Service Record Design

      Get a taste of a completed service catalog with full service definitions and service record design. This is the final product of the service catalog design once all the steps and activities have been completed.

      The service catalog can be the foundation of your future IT service management endeavors

      After establishing a catalog of all IT services, the following projects are often pursued for other objectives. Service catalog is a precursor for all three.

      1. Technical Service Catalog

      Need an IT-friendly breakdown of each service?
      Keep better record of what technical components are required to deliver a service. The technical service catalog is the IT version of a user-facing catalog.

      2. Service-Based Costing

      Want to know how much each IT service is costing you?
      Get a better grip on the true cost of IT. Using service-based costing can help justify IT expenses and increase budgetary allotment.

      3. Chargeback

      Want to hold each business unit accountable for the IT services they use?
      Some business units abuse their IT services because they are thought to be free. Keep them accountable and charge them for what they use.

      The service catalog need not be expensive – organizations of all sizes (small, medium, large) can benefit from a service catalog

      No matter what size organization you may be, every organization can create a service catalog. Small businesses can benefit from the catalog the same way a large organization can. We have an easy step-by-step methodology to help introduce a catalog to your business.

      It is common that users do not know where to go to obtain services from IT… We always end up with a serious time-crunch at the beginning of a new school year. With automated on- and off-boarding services, this could change for the better. – Dean Obermeyer, Technology Coordinator, Los Alamos Public Schools

      CIO Call to Action

      As the CIO and the project sponsor, you need to spearhead the development of the service catalog and communicate support to drive engagement and adoption.

        Start

      1. Select an experienced project leader
      2. Identify stakeholders and select project team members with the project leader

        3. Throughout the project

      3. Attend or lead the project kick-off meeting
      4. Create checkpoints to regularly touch base with the project team

        5. Service catalog launch

      5. Communicate the change message from beginning to implementation

      Identify a project leader who will drive measurable results with this initiative

      The project leader acts on behalf of the CIO and must be a senior level staff member who has extensive knowledge of the organization and experiences marshalling resources.

      Influential & Impactful

      Developing a service catalog requires dedication from many groups within IT and outside of IT.
      The project leader must hold a visible, senior position and can marshal all the necessary resources to ensure the success of the project. Ability to exert impact and influence around both IT and the business is a must.

      Relationship with the Business

      The user-facing service catalog cannot be successful if business input is not received.
      The project leader must leverage his/her existing relationship with the business to test out the service definitions and the service record design.

      Results Driven

      Creating a service catalog is not an easy job and the project leader must continuously engage the team members to drive results and efficiency.
      The highly visible nature of the service catalog means the project leader must produce a high-quality outcome that satisfies the business users.

      Info-Tech’s methodology helps organization to standardize how to define services

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Municipal Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Municipal Government
      The IT department of a large municipal government in the United States provides services to a large number of customers in various government agencies.
      Service Catalog Initiative
      The municipal government allocated a significant amount of resources to answer routine inquiries that could have been avoided through user self-service. The government also found that they do not organize all the services IT provides, and they could not document and publish them to the customer. The government has already begun the service catalog initiative, but was struggling with how to identify services. Progress was slow because people were arguing amongst themselves – the project team became demoralized and the initiative was on the brink of failure.
      Results
      With Info-Tech’s onsite support, the government was able to follow a standardized methodology to identify and define services from the user perspective. The government was able to successfully communicate the initiative to the business before the full adoption of the service catalog.

      We’re in demos with vendors right now to purchase an ITSM tool, and when the first vendor looked at our finished catalog, they were completely impressed.- Client Feedback

      [We feel] very confident. The group as a whole is pumped up and empowered – they're ready to pounce on it. We plan to stick to the schedule for the next three months, and then review progress/priorities. - Client Feedback

      CASE STUDY B
      Industry Healthcare
      Source Onsite engagement

      Healthcare Provider
      The organization is a healthcare provider in Canada. It treats patients with medical emergencies, standard operations, and manages a faculty of staff ranging from nurses and clerks, to senior doctors. This organization is run across several hospitals, various local clinics, and research centers.
      Service Catalog Initiative
      Because the organization is publicly funded, it is subject to regular audit requirements – one of which is to have a service catalog in place.
      The organization also would like to charge back its clients for IT-related costs. In order to do this, the organization must be able to trace it back to each service. Therefore, the first step would be to create a user-facing service catalog, followed by the technical service catalog, which then allows the organization to do service-based costing and chargeback.
      Results
      By leveraging Info-Tech’s expertise on the subject, the healthcare provider was able to fast-track its service catalog development and establish the groundwork for chargeback abilities.

      "There is always some reticence going in, but none of that was apparent coming out. The group dynamic was very good. [Info-Tech] was able to get that response, and no one around the table was silent.
      The [expectation] of the participants was that there was a purpose in doing the workshop. Everybody knew it was for multiple reasons, and everyone had their own accountability/stakes in the development of it. Highly engaged."       - Client Feedback

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      “Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

      Guided Implementation

      “Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

      Workshop

      “We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

      Consulting

      “Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Launch the Project

      Identify Enterprise Services

      Identify Line of Business Services

      Complete Service Definitions

      Best-Practice Toolkit

      1.1 Assemble the project team.

      1.2 Develop a communication plan.

      1.3 Establish metrics for success.

      1.4 Complete the project charter.

      2.1 Identify services available organization-wide.

      2.2 Categorize services into logical groups.

      2.3 Define the services.

      3.1 Identify different LOBs.

      3.2 Pick one of two methodologies.

      3.3 Use method to identify LOB services.

      4.1 Learn components to each service definition.

      4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition.

      4.3 Define each service accordingly.

      Guided Implementations Identify the project leader with the appropriate skills.

      Assemble a well-rounded project team.

      Develop a mission statement and change messages.

      		Create a comprehensive list of enterprise services that are used across the organization.

      Create a categorization scheme that is based on the needs of the business users.

      Walk through the two Info-Tech methodologies and understand which one is applicable.

      Define LOB services using the appropriate methodology.

      Decide what should be included and what should be kept internal for the service record design.

      Complete the full service definitions.

      Onsite Workshop Phase 1 Results:

      Clear understanding of project objectives and support obtained from the business.

      		Phase 2 Results:

      Enterprise services defined and categorized.

      		Phase 3 Results:

      LOB services defined based on user perspective.

      		Phase 4 Results:

      Service record designed according to how IT wishes to communicate to the business.

      Workshop overview

      Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4
      Activities

      Launch the Project

      Identify Enterprise Services

      Identify Line of Business Services

      Complete Service Definitions

      1.1 Assemble the project team.

      1.2 Develop a communication plan.

      1.3 Establish metrics for success.

      1.4 Complete the project charter.

      2.1 Identify services available organization-wide.

      2.2 Categorize services into logical groups.

      2.3 Define the services.

      3.1 Identify different LOBs.

      3.2 Pick one of two methodologies.

      3.3 Use method to identify LOB services.

      4.1 Learn components to each service definition.

      4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition.

      4.3 Define each service accordingly.

      Deliverables
      • Service Catalog Project Charter
      • Enterprise Service Definitions
      • LOB Service Definitions – Functional groups
      • LOB Service Definitions – Industry specific
      • Service Definitions Chart

      PHASE 1

      Launch the Project

      Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Step 1 – Create a project charter to launch the initiative

      1. Complete the Project Charter
      2. Create Enterprise Services Definitions
      3. Create Line of Business Services Definitions
      4. Complete Service Definitions

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Develop a mission statement to obtain buy-ins from both IT and business stakeholders.
      • Assemble a well-rounded project team to increase the success of the project.
      • Identify and obtain support from stakeholders.
      • Create an impactful change message to the organization to promote the service catalog.
      • Determine project metrics to measure the effectiveness and value of the initiative.

      Step Insights

      • The project leader must have a strong relationship with the business, the ability to garner user input, and the authority to lead the team in creating a user-facing catalog that is accessible and understandable to the user.
      • Having two separate change messages prepared for IT and the business is a must. The business change message advocates how the catalog will make IT more accessible to users, and the IT message centers around how the catalog will make IT’s life easier through a standardized request process.

      Phase 1 outline

      Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 1: Launch the project
      Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks
      Step 1.2: Create change messages

      Step 1.2: Create change messages

      Start with an analyst kick off call:

      • Identify the key objectives of creating a user-facing service catalog.
      • Identify the necessary members of the project team.

      Review findings with analyst:

      • Prioritize project stakeholders according to their involvement and influence.
      • Create a change message for IT and the business articulating the benefits.

      Then complete these activities…

    • Assemble a team with representatives from all areas of IT.
    • Identify the key project stakeholders.
    • Create a project mission statement.
      		•

      Then complete these activities…

    • Create a separate change message for IT and the business.
    • Determine communication methods and channels.
      		•

      With these tools & templates: Service

      Catalog Project Charter

      With these tools & templates:

      Service Catalog Project Charter

      Use Info-Tech’s Service Catalog Project Charter to begin your initiative

      1.1 Project Charter

      The following section of slides outline how to effectively use Info-Tech’s sample project charter.

      The Project Charter is used to govern the initiative throughout the project. IT should provide the foundation for project communication and monitoring.

      It has been pre-populated with information appropriate for Service Catalog projects. Please review this sample text and change, add, or delete information as required.

      Building the charter as a group will help you to clarify your key messages and help secure buy-in from critical stakeholders upfront.

      You may feel like a full charter isn’t necessary, and depending on your organizational size, it might not be. However, the exercise of building the charter is important none-the-less. No matter your current climate, some elements of communicating the value and plans for implementing the catalog will be necessary.

      The Charter includes the following sections:

      • Mission Statement
      • Project team members
      • Project stakeholders
      • Change message
      • Communication and organizational plan
      • Metrics

      Use Info-Tech’s Service Catalog Project Charter.

      Create a mission statement to articulate the purpose of this project

      The mission statement must be compelling because embarking on creating a service catalog is no easy task. It requires significant commitment from different people in different areas of the business.

      Good mission statements are directive, easy to understand, narrow in focus, and favor substance over vagueness.

      While building your mission statement, think about what it is intended to do, i.e. keep the project team engaged and engage others to adopt the service catalog. Included in the project charter’s mission statement section is a brief description of the goals and objectives of the service catalog.

      Ask yourself the following questions:

      1. What frustrations does your business face regarding IT services?
      2. f our company continues growing at this rate, will IT be able to manage service levels?
      3. How has IT benefited from consolidating IT services into a user perspective?

      Project Charter

      Info-Tech’s project charter contains two sample mission statements, along with additional tips to help you create yours.

      Tackle the project with a properly assembled team to increase the speed and quality in which the catalog will be created

      Construct a well-balanced project team to increase your chances of success.

      Project Leader

      Project leader will be the main catalyst for the creation of the catalog. This person is responsible for driving the whole initiative.

      Project Participants

      IT project participants’ input and business input will be pivotal to the creation of the catalog.

      Project Stakeholders

      The project stakeholders are the senior executives who have a vested interest in the service catalog. IT must produce periodic and targeted communication to these stakeholders.

      Increase your chances of success by creating a dynamic group of project participants

      Your project team will be a major success factor for your service catalog. Involvement from IT management and the business is a must.

      IT Team Member

      IT Service Desk Manager

      • The Service Desk team will be an integral part of the service catalog creation. Because of their client-facing work, service desk technicians can provide real feedback about how users view and request services.

      Senior Manager/Director of Application

      • The Application representative provides input on how applications are used by the business and supported by IT.

      Senior Manager/Director of Infrastructure

      • The infrastructure representative provides input on services regarding data storage, device management, security, etc.

      Business Team Member

      Business IT Liaison

      • This role is responsible for bridging the communication between IT and the business. This role could be fulfilled by the business relationship manager, service delivery manager, or business analyst. It doesn’t have to be a dedicated role; it could be part of an existing role.

      Business representatives from different LOBs

      • Business users need to validate the service catalog design and ensure the service definitions are user facing and relevant.

      Project Charter

      Input your project team, their roles, and relevant contact information into your project charter, Section 2.

      Identify the senior managers who are the stakeholders for the service catalog

      Obtain explicit buy-in from both IT and business stakeholders.

      The stakeholders could be your biggest champions for the service catalog initiative, or they could pull you back significantly. Engage the stakeholders at the start of the project and communicate the benefits of the service catalog to them to gain their approval.

      Stakeholders

      Benefits

      CIO
      • Improved visibility and perception for IT
      • Ability to better manage business expectation

      Manager of Service Desk

      • Reduced number of routine inquires
      • Respond to business needs faster and uniformly

      Senior Manager/Director of Application & Infrastructure

      • Streamlined and standardized request/support process
      • More effective communication with the business

      Senior Business Executives from Major LOBs

      • Self-service increases user productivity for business users
      • Better quality of services provided by IT

      Project Charter

      Document a list of stakeholders, their involvement in the process (why they are stakeholders), and their contact information in Section 3.

      Articulate the creation of the service catalog to the organization

      Spread the word of service catalog implementation. Bring attention to your change message through effective mediums and organizational changes.

      Key aspects of a communication plan

      The methods of communication (e.g. newsletters, email broadcast, news of the day, automated messages) notify users of implementation.

      In addition, it is important to know who will deliver the message (delivery strategy). Talking to the business leaders is very important, and you need IT executives to deliver the message. Work hard on obtaining their support as they are the ones communicating to their staff and could be your project champions.

      Recommended organizational changes

      The communication plan should consist of changes that will affect the way users interact with the catalog. Users should know of any meetings pertinent to the maintenance and improvement of the catalog, and ways to access the catalog (e.g. link on desktop/start menu).

      This image depicts the cycle of communicating change. the items in the cycle include: What is the change?; Why are we doing it?; How are we going to go about it?; What are we trying to achieve?; How often will we be updated?

      The Qualities of Leadership: Leading Change

      Project Charter

      Your communication plan should serve as a rough guide. Communication happens in several unpredictable happenstances, but the overall message should be contained within.

      Ensure you get the whole company on board for the service catalog with a well practiced change message

      The success of your catalog implementation hinges on the business’ readiness.

      One of the top challenges for organizations that are implementing a service catalog is the acceptance and adoption of the change. Effective planning for implementation and communication is pivotal. Ensure you create tailored plans for communication and understand how the change will impact staff.

      1. Draft your change message

        2. “Better Service, Better Value.” It is important to have two change messages prepared: one for the IT department and one for business users.
        Outline a few of the key benefits each user group will gain from adopting the service catalog (e.g. Faster, ease of use, convenient, consistent…)

      2. Address feedback

        3. Anticipate some resistances of service catalog adoption and prepare responses. These may be the other benefits which were not included in the change message (e.g. IT may be reluctant to think in business language.)

      3. Conduct training sessions

        4. Host lunch & learns to demonstrate the value of the service catalog to both business and IT user groups.
        These training sessions also serve as a great way to gather feedback from users regarding style and usability.

      Project Charter

      Pick your communication medium, and then identify your target audience. You should have a change message for each: the IT department and the business users. Pay careful consideration to wording and phrasing with regard for each.

      Track metrics throughout the project to keep stakeholders informed

      In order to measure the success of your service catalog, you must establish baseline metrics to determine how much value the catalog is creating for your business.

      1. Number of service requests via the service catalog

        2. The number of service catalog requests should be carefully monitored so that it does not fluctuate too greatly. In general, the number of requests via the service catalog should increase, which indicates a higher level of self-serve.

      2. Number of inquiry calls to the service desk

        3. The number of inquiry calls should decrease because customers are able to self-serve routine IT inquiries that would otherwise have gone through the service desk.

      3. Customer satisfaction – specific questions

        4. The organization could adopt the following sample survey questions:
        From 0-5: How satisfied are you with the functionality of the service catalog? How often do you turn to the service catalog first to solve IT problems?

      4. Number of non-standard requests

        5. The number of non-standard requests should decrease because a majority of services should eventually be covered in the service catalog. Users should be able to solve nearly any IT related problem through navigating the service catalog.

      Metric Description Current Metric Future Goal
      Number of service requests via the Service Catalog
      Number of inquiry calls to the service desk
      Customer Satisfaction – specific question
      Number of non-standard requests

      Use metrics to monitor the monetary improvements the service catalog creates for the business

      When measuring against your baseline, you should expect to see the following two monetary improvements:

      1. Improved service desk efficiency

        2. (# of routine inquiry calls reduced) x (average time for a call) x (average service desk wage)

        Routine inquiries often take up a significant portion of the service desk’s effort, and the majority of them can be answered via the service catalog, thus reducing the amount of time required for a service desk employee to engage in routine solutions. The reduction in routine inquiries allows IT to allocate resources to high-value services and provide higher quality of support.

      Example

      Originally, the service desk of an organization answers 850 inquiries per month, and around 540 of them are routine inquiries requesting information on when a service is available, who they can contact if they want to receive a service, and what they need to do if they want access to a service, etc.

      IT successfully communicated the introduction of the service catalog to the business and 3 months after the service catalog was implemented, the number of routine inquiries dropped to 60 per month. Given that the average time for IT to answer the inquiry is 10 minutes (0.167 hour) and the hourly wage of a service desk technician is $25, the monthly monetary cost saving of the service catalog is:

      (540 – 60) x 0.167 x 25 = $2004.00

      • Reduced expense by eliminating non-standard requests

      (Average additional cost of non-standard request) x (Reduction of non-standard request)
      +
      (Extra time IT spends on non-standard request fulfilment) x (Average wage)

      Non-standard requests require a lot of time, and often a lot of money. IT frequently incurs additional cost because the business is not aware of how to properly request service or support. Not only can the service catalog standardize and streamline the service request process, it can also help IT define its job boundary and say no to the business if needed.

      Example

      The IT department of an organization often finds itself dealing with last-minute, frustrating service requests from the business. For example, although equipment requests should be placed a week in advance, the business often requests equipment to be delivered the next day, leaving IT to pay for additional expedited shipping costs and/or working fanatically to allocate the equipment. Typically, these requests happen 4 times a month, with an additional cost of $200.00. IT staff work an extra 6 hours per each non-standard request at an hourly wage of $30.00.

      With the service catalog, the users are now aware of the rules that are in place and can submit their request with more ease. IT can also refer the users to the service catalog when a non-standard request occurs, which helps IT to charge the cost to the department or not meet the terms of the business.

      The monthly cost saving in this case is:

      $200.00 x 4 + 6 hours x 30 = $980.00

      Create your project charter for the service catalog initiative to get key stakeholders to buy in

      1.1 2-3 hours

      The project charter is an important document to govern your project process. Support from the project sponsors is important and must be documented. Complete the following steps working with Info-Tech’s sample Project Charter.

      1. The project leader and the core project team must identify key reasons for creating a service catalog. Document the project objectives and benefits in the mission statement section.
      2. Identify and document your project team. The team must include representatives from the Infrastructure, Applications, Service desk, and a Business-IT Liaison.
      3. Identify and document your project stakeholders. The stakeholders are those who have interest in seeing the service catalog completed. Stakeholders for IT are the CIO and management of different IT practices. Stakeholders for the business are executives of different LOBs.
      4. Identify your target audience and choose the communication medium most effective to reach them. Draft a communication message hitting all key elements.
        Info-Tech’s project charter contains sample change messages for the business and IT.
      5. Develop a strategy as to how the change message will be distributed, i.e. the communication and organizational change plan.
      6. Use the metrics identified as a base to measure your service catalog’s implementation. If you have identified any other objectives, add new metrics to monitor your progress from the baseline to reaching those objectives.
      7. Sign and date the project charter to officiate commitment to completing the project and reaching your objectives. Have the signed and dated charter available to members of the project team.

      INPUT

      • A collaborative discussion between team members

      OUTPUT

      • Thorough briefing for project launch
      • A committed team

      Materials

      • Communication message and plan
      • Metric tracking

      Participants

      • Project leader
      • Core project team

      Obtain buy-in from business users at the beginning of the service catalog initiative

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      The nature of government IT is quite complex: there are several different agencies located in a number of different areas. It is extremely important to communicate the idea of the service catalog to all the users, no matter the agency or location.

      The IT department had yet to let business leaders of the various agencies know about the initiative and garner their support for the project. This has proven to be prohibitive for gaining adoption from all users.

      Solution

      The IT leaders met and identified all the opportunities to communicate the service catalog to the business leaders and end users.

      To meet with the business leaders, IT leaders hosted a service level meeting with the business directors and managers. They adopted a steering committee for the continuation of the project.

      To communicate with business users, IT leaders published announcements on the intranet website before releasing the catalog there as well.

      Results

      Because IT communicated the initiative, support from business stakeholders was obtained early and business leaders were on board shortly after.

      IT also managed to convince key business stakeholders to become project champions, and leveraged their network to communicate the initiative to their employees.

      With this level of adoption, it meant that it was easier for IT to garner business participation in the project and to obtain feedback throughout.

      Info-Tech assists project leader to garner support from the project team

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      The project received buy-in from the CIO and director of infrastructure. Together they assembled a team and project leader.

      The two struggled to get buy-in from the rest of the team, however. They didn’t understand the catalog or its benefits and objectives. They were reluctant to change their old ways. They didn’t know how much work was required from them to accomplish the project.

      Solution

      With the Info-Tech analyst on site, the client was able to discuss the benefits within their team as well as the project team responsibilities.

      The Info-Tech analyst convinced the group to move towards focusing on a business- and service-oriented mindset.

      The workshop discussion was intended to get the entire team on board and engaged with meeting project objectives.

      Results

      The project team had experienced full buy-in after the workshop. The CIO and director relived their struggles of getting project members on-board through proper communication and engagement.

      Engaging the members of the project team with the discussion was key to having them take ownership in accomplishing the project.

      The business users understood that the service catalog was to benefit their long-term IT service development.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
      1.1 this image contains a screenshot from section 1.1 of this blueprint. Begin your project with a mission statement
      A strong mission statement that outlines the benefits of the project is needed to communicate the purpose of the project. The onsite Info-Tech analysts will help you customize the message and establish the foundation of the project charter.
      1.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 1.2 of this blueprint.

      Identify project team members

      Our onsite analysts will help you identify high-value team members to contribute to this project.

      1.3 This image contains a screenshot from section 1.3 of this blueprint.

      Identify important business and IT stakeholders

      Buy-in from senior IT and business management is a must. Info-Tech will help you identify the stakeholders and determine their level of influence and impact.

      1.4 This image contains a screenshot from section 1.4 of this blueprint.

      Create a change message for the business and IT

      It is important to communicate changes early and the message must be tailored for each target audience. Our analysts will help you create an effective message by articulating the benefits of the service catalog to the business and to IT.

      1.5 This image contains a screenshot from section 1.5 of this blueprint.

      Determine service project metrics

      To demonstrate the value of the service catalog, IT must come up with tangible metrics. Info-Tech’s analysts will provide some sample metrics as well as facilitate a discussion around which metrics should be tracked and monitored.

      PHASE 2

      Identify and Define Enterprise Services

      Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Step 2 – Create Enterprise Services Definitions

      1. Complete the Project Charter
      2. Create Enterprise Services Definitions
      3. Create Line of Business Services Definitions
      4. Complete Service Definitions

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify and define enterprise services that are commonly used across the organization.
      • Create service descriptions and features to accurately sum up the functionality of each service.
      • Create service categories and assign each service to a category.

      Step Insights

      • When defining services, be sure to carefully distinguish between what is a feature and what is a service. Often, separate services are defined in situations when they would be better off as features of existing services, and vice versa.
      • When coming up with enterprise services categories, ensure the categories group the services in a way that is intuitive. The users should be able to find a service easily based on the names of the categories.

      Phase 2 outline

      Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 2: Define Enterprise Services
      Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks

      Step 2.1: Identify enterprise services

      Step 2.2: Create service categories

      Start with an analyst kick off call:

      • Identify enterprise services that are commonly used.
      • Ensure the list is comprehensive and capture common IT needs.
      • Create service descriptions and features.

      Review findings with analyst:

      • Review full list of identified enterprise services.
      • Identify service categories that are intuitive to the users.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Use Info-Tech’s sample enterprise service definitions as a guide, and change/add/delete the service definitions to customize them to your organization.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Group identified services into categories that are intuitive to the users.

      With these tools & templates: Service

      Sample Enterprise Services

      With these tools & templates:

      Sample Enterprise Services

      Identify enterprise services in the organization apart from the services available to lines of business

      Separating enterprise services from line of business services helps keep things simple to organize the service catalog. -

      Documentation of all business-facing IT services is an intimidating task, and a lack of parameters around this process often leads to longer project times and unsatisfactory outcomes.

      To streamline this process, separating enterprise services from line of business services allows IT to effectively and efficiently organize these services. This method increases the visibility of the service catalog through user-oriented communication plans.

      Enterprise Services are common services that are used across the organization.

      1. Common Services for all users within the organization (e.g. Email, Video Conferencing, Remote Access, Guest Wireless)
      2. Service Requests organized into Service Offerings (e.g. Hardware Provisioning, Software Deployment, Hardware Repair, Equipment Loans)
      3. Consulting Services (e.g. Project Management, Business Analysis, RFP Preparation, Contract Negotiation)

      All user groups access Enterprise Services

      Enterprise Services

      • Finance
      • IT
      • Sales
      • HR

      Ensure your enterprise services are defined from the user perspective and are commonly used

      If you are unsure whether a service is enterprise wide, ask yourself these two questions:

      This image contains an example of how you would use the two questions: Does the user directly use the service themselves?; and; Is the service used by the entire organization (or nearly everyone)?. The examples given are: A. Video Conferencing; B. Exchange Server; C. Email & Fax; D. Order Entry System

      Leverage Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definition

      2.1 Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definitions

      Included with this blueprint is Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definitions.

      The sample contains dozens of services common across most organizations; however, as a whole, they are not complete for every organization. They must be modified according to the business’ needs. Phase two will serve as a guide to identifying an enterprise service as well as how to fill out the necessary fields.

      This image contains a screenshot of definitions from Info-Tech's Sample Enterprises services

      Info-Tech Insight

      Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.

      The next slide will introduce you to the information for each service record that can be edited.

      Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definitions is designed to be easily customized

      2.1 Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definitions

      Below is an example of a service record and its necessary fields of information. This is information that can be kept, deleted, or expanded upon.

      Name the service unambiguously and from the user’s perspective.

      Brief description of how the service allows users to perform tasks.

      Describe the functionality of the service and how it helps users to achieve their business objectives.

      Cluster the services into logical groups.

      Service Name Description Features Category
      Email Email communication to connect with other employees, suppliers, and customers
      • Inbox
      • Calendar
      • Resource Scheduling (meeting rooms)
      • Access to shared mailboxes
      • Limit on mailbox size (‘x’ GB)
      • Address book/external contacts
      • Spam filtering, virus protection
      • Archiving and retrieval of older emails
      • Web/browser access to email
      • Mass email/notification (emergency, surveys, reporting)
      • Setting up a distribution list
      • Setting up Active Sync for email access on mobile devices
      		Communications

      Distinguish between a feature and a unique service

      It can be difficult to determine what is considered a service itself, and what is a feature of another service. Use these tips and examples below to help you standardize this judgement.

      Example 1

      Web Conferencing has already been defined as a service. Is Audio Conferencing its own service or a feature of Web Conferencing?

      Info-Tech Tip: Is Audio Conferencing run by the same application as the Web Conferencing? Does it use the same equipment? If not, Audio Conferencing is probably its own service.

      Example 2

      Web Conferencing has already been defined as a service. Is “Screen Sharing” its own service or a feature of Web Conferencing?

      Info-Tech Tip: It depends on how the user interacts with Screen Sharing. Do they only screen share when engaged in a Web Conference? If so, Screen Sharing is a feature and not a service itself.

      Example 3

      VoIP is a popular alternative to landline telephone nowadays, but should it be part of the telephony service or a separate service?

      Info-Tech Tip: It depends on how the VoIP phone is set up.

      If the user uses the VoIP phone the same way they would use a landline phone – because the catalog is user facing – consider the VoIP as part of the telephone service.

      If the user uses their computer application to call and receive calls, consider this a separate service on its own.

      Info-Tech Insight

      While there are some best practices for coming up with service definitions, it is not an exact science and you cannot accommodate everyone. When in doubt, think how most users would perceive the service.

      Change or delete Info-Tech’s enterprise services definitions to make them your own

      2.1 3 hours

      You need to be as comprehensive as possible and try to capture the entire breadth of services IT provides to the business.

      To achieve this, a three-step process is recommended.

      1. First, assemble your project team. It is imperative to have representatives from the service desk. Host two separate workshops, one with the business and one with IT. These workshops should take the form of focus groups and should take no more than 1-2 hours.
      2. Business Focus Group:
      • In an open-forum setting, discuss what the business needs from IT to carry out their day-to-day activities.
      • Engage user-group representatives and business relationship managers.

      IT Focus Group:

      • In a similar open-forum setting, determine what IT delivers to the business. Don’t think about it from a support perspective, but from an “ask” perspective – e.g. “Service Requests.”
      • Engage the following individuals: team leads, managers, directors.
    • Review results from the focus groups and compare with your service desk tickets – are there services users inquire about frequently that are not included? Finalize your list of enterprise services as a group.

      • INPUT

      • Modify Info-Tech’s sample services

      OUTPUT

      • A list of some of your business’ enterprise services

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/marker
      • Info-Tech sample enterprise services

      Participants

      • Key members of the project team
      • Service desk rep
      • Business rep

      Using Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services, expand upon the services to add those that we did not include

      2.2 1-3 hours (depending on size and complexity of the IT department)

      Have your user hat on when documenting service features and descriptions. Try to imagine how the users interact with each service.

      1. Once you have your service name, start with the service feature. This field lists all the functionality the service provides. Think from the user’s perspective and document the IT-related activities they need to complete.
      2. Review the service feature fields with internal IT first to make sure there isn’t any information that IT doesn’t want to publish. Afterwards, review with business users to ensure the language is easy to understand and the features are relatable.
      3. Lastly, create a high-level service description that defines the nature of the service in one or two sentences.

      INPUT

      • Collaborate and discuss to expand on Info-Tech’s example

      OUTPUT

      • A complete list of your business’ enterprise services

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/marker
      • Info-Tech sample enterprise services

      Participants

      • Key members of the project team
      • Service desk rep
      • Business rep

      Follow Info-Tech’s guidelines to establish categories for the enterprise services that IT provides to the business

      Similar to the services and their features, there is no right or wrong way to categorize. The best approach is to do what makes sense for your organization and understand what your users think.

      What are Service Categories?

      Categories organize services into logical groups that the users can identify with. Services with similar functions are grouped together in a common category.

      When deciding your categories, think about:

      • What is best for the users?
      • Look at the workflows from the user perspective: how and why do they use the service?
      • Will the user connect with the category name?
      • Will they think about the services within the category?
      Enterprise Service Categories
      Accounts and Access
      Collaboration
      Communication
      Connectivity
      Consulting
      Desktop, Equipment, & Software
      Employee Services
      Files and Documents
      Help & Support
      Training

      Sample categories

      Categorize the services from the list below; how would you think to group them?

      There is no right or wrong way to categorize services; it is subjective to how they are provided by IT and how they are used by the business. Use the aforementioned categories to group the following services. Sample solutions are provided on the following slide.

      Service Name
      Telephone
      Email
      Remote access
      Internet
      BYOD (wireless access)
      Instant Messaging
      Video Conferencing
      Audio Conferencing
      Guest Wi-Fi
      Document Sharing

      Tips and tricks:

      1. Think about the technology behind the service. Is it the same application that provides the services? For example: is instant messaging run by the same application as email?
      2. Consider how the service is used by the business. Are two services always used together? If instant messaging is always used during video conferencing, then they belong in the same category.
      3. Consider the purpose of the services. Do they achieve the same outcomes? For example, document sharing is different from video conferencing, though they both support a collaborative working environment.

      This is a sample of different categorizations – use these examples to think about which would better suit your business

      Example 1 Example 2

      Desktop, Equipment, & Software Services

      Connectivity

      Mobile Devices

      Communications

      Internet

      Telephone

      BYOD (wireless access)

      Telephone

      Guest Wi-Fi

      Internet

      Email

      Remote Access

      Instant Messaging

      Video Conferencing

      Audio Conferencing

      Communications

      Collaboration

      Storage and Retrieval

      Accounts and Access

      Telephone

      Email

      Document Sharing

      Remote access

      Email

      Instant Messaging

      Connectivity

      Mobile Devices

      Video Conferencing

      		Internet

      BYOD (wireless access)

      Audio Conferencing

      Guest Wi-Fi

      Guest Wi-Fi

      Document Sharing

      Info-Tech Insight

      Services can have multiple categories only if it means the users will be better off. Try to limit this as much as possible.

      Neither of these two examples are the correct answer, and no such thing exists. The answers you came up with may well be better suited for the users in your business.

      With key members of your project team, categorize the list of enterprise services you have created

      2.3 1 hour

      Before you start, you must have a modified list of all defined enterprise services and a modified list of categories.

      1. Write down the service names on sticky notes and write down the categories either on the whiteboard or on the flipchart.
      2. Assign the service to a category one at a time. For each service, obtain consensus on how the users would view the service and which category would be the most logical choice. In some cases, discuss whether a service should be included in two categories to create better searchability for the users.
      3. If a consensus could not be reached on how to categorize a service, review the service features and category name. In some cases, you may go back and change the features or modify or create new categories if needed.

      INPUT

      • Collaborate and discuss to expand on Info-Tech’s example

      OUTPUT

      • A complete list of your business’ enterprise services

      Materials

      • Whiteboard/marker
      • Info-Tech sample enterprise services

      Participants

      • Key members of the project team
      • Service desk rep
      • Business rep

      Accounts & Access Services

      • User ID & Access
      • Remote Access
      • Business Applications Access

      Communication Services

      • Telephone
      • Email
      • Mobile devices

      Files & Documents

      • Shared Folders
      • File Storage
      • File Restoration
      • File Archiving

      Collaboration

      • Web Conferencing
      • Audio Conferencing
      • Video Conferencing
      • Chat
      • Document Sharing

      Employee Services

      • Onboarding & Off Boarding
      • Benefits Self Service
      • Time and Attendance
      • Employee Records Management

      Help & Support

      • Service Desk
      • Desk Side Support
      • After Hours Support

      Desktop, Equipment, & Software

      • Printing
      • Hardware Provisioning
      • Software Provisioning
      • Software Support
      • Device Move
      • Equipment Loaner

      Education & Training Services

      • Desktop Application Training
      • Corporate Application Training
      • Clinical Application Training
      • IT Training Consultation

      Connectivity

      • BYOD (wireless access)
      • Internet
      • Guest Wi-Fi

      IT Consulting Services

      • Project Management
      • Analysis
      • RFP Reviews
      • Solution Development
      • Business Analysis/Requirements Gathering
      • RFI/RFP Evaluation
      • Security Consulting & Assessment
      • Contract Management
      • Contract Negotiation

      IT department identifies a comprehensive list of enterprise services

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      Because of the breadth of services IT provides across several agencies, it was challenging to identify what was considered enterprise beyond just the basic ones (email, internet, etc.)

      IT recognized that although the specific tasks of service could be different, there are many services that are offered universally across the organization and streamlining the service request and delivery process would reduce the burden on IT.

      Solution

      The client began with services that users interact with on a daily basis; this includes email, wireless, telephone, internet, printing, etc.

      Then, they focused on common service requests from the users, such as software and hardware provisioning, as well as remote access.

      Lastly, they began to think of other IT services that are provided across the organization, such as RFP/RFI support, project management analysis, employee onboarding/off-boarding, etc.

      Results

      By going through the lists and enterprise categories, the government was able to come up with a comprehensive list of all services IT provides to the business.

      Classifying services such as onboarding meant that IT could now standardize IT services for new recruits and employee termination.

      By capturing all enterprise services offered to the organization, IT centralized its management of services instead of having scattered request processes.

      Organization distinguishes features from services using Info-Tech’s tips and techniques

      CASE STUDY B
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      For some services, the project team had difficulty deciding on what was a service and what was a feature. They found it hard to distinguish between a service with features or multiple services.

      For example, the client struggled to define the Wi-Fi services because they had many different user groups and different processes to obtain the service. Patients, visitors, doctors, researchers, and corporate employees all use Wi-Fi, but the service features for each user group were different.

      Solution

      The Info-Tech analyst came on-site and engaged the project team in a discussion around how the users would view the services.

      The analyst also provided tips and techniques on identifying services and their features.

      Because patients and visitors do not access Wi-Fi or receive support for the service in the same way as clinical or corporate employees, Wi-Fi was separated into two services (one for each user group).

      Results

      Using the tips and techniques that were provided during the onsite engagement, the project team was able to have a high degree of clarity on how to define the services by articulating who the authorized users are, and how to access the process.

      This allowed the group to focus on the users’ perspective and create clear, unambiguous service features so that users could clearly understand eligibility requirements for the service and how to request them.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

      this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
      2.1 This image contains a screenshot from section 2.1 of this blueprint.

      Understand what enterprise services are

      The project team must have a clear understanding of what qualifies as an enterprise service. The onsite analysts will also promote a user-oriented mindset so the catalog focuses on business needs.

      2.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 2.2 of this blueprint.

      Identify enterprise services

      The Info-Tech analysts will provide a list of ready-to-use services and will work with the project team to change, add, and delete service definitions and to customize the service features.

      2.3 this image contains a screenshot from section 2.3 of this blueprint.

      Identify categories for enterprise services

      The Info-Tech analyst will again emphasize the importance of being service-oriented rather than IT-oriented. This will allow the group to come up with categories that are intuitive to the users.

      PHASE 3

      Identify and Define Line of Business Services

      Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Step 3 – Create Line of Business Services Definitions

      1. Complete the Project Charter
      2. Create Enterprise Services Definitions
      3. Create Line of Business Services Definitions
      4. Complete Service Definitions

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify lines of business (LOB) within the organization as well as the user groups within the different LOBs.
      • Determine which one of Info-Tech’s two approaches is more suitable for your IT organization.
      • Define and document LOB services using the appropriate approach.
      • Categorize the LOB services based on the organization’s functional structure.

      Step Insights

      • Collaboration with the business significantly strengthens the quality of line of business service definitions. A significant amount of user input is crucial to create impactful and effective service definitions.
      • If a strong relationship with the business is not in place, IT can look at business applications and the business activities they support in order to understand how to define line of business services.

      Phase 3 outline

      Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 3: Define LOB Services

      Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks

      Step 3.1: Identify LOB services

      Step 3.2: Define LOB services

      Start with an analyst kick off call:

      • Identify enterprise services that are commonly used.
      • Ensure the list is comprehensive and capture common IT needs.
      • Create service descriptions and features.

      Review findings with analyst:

      • Use either the business view or the IT view methodology to identify and define LOB services.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Select one of the methodologies and either compile a list of business applications or a list of user groups/functional departments.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Validate the service definitions and features with business users.

      With these tools & templates: Service

      LOB Services – Functional Group
      LOB Services – Industry Specific

      With these tools & templates:

      LOB Services – Functional Group
      LOB Services – Industry Specific

      Communicate with your business users to get a clear picture of each line of business

      Within a business unit, there are user groups that use unique applications and IT services to perform business activities. IT must understand which group is consuming each service to document to their needs and requirements. Only then is it logical to group services into lines of business.

      Covering every LOB service is a difficult task. Info-Tech offers two approaches to identifying LOB services, though we recommend working alongside business user groups to have input on how each service is used directly from the users. Doing so makes the job of completing the service catalog easier, and the product more detailed and user friendly.

      Some helpful questions to keep in mind when characterizing user groups:

      • Where do they fall on the organizational chart?
      • What kind of work do they do?
      • What is included in their job description?
      • What are tasks that they do in addition to their formal responsibilities?
      • What do they need from IT to do their day-to-day tasks?
      • What does their work day look like?
      • When, why, and how do they use IT services?

      Info-Tech Insight

      With business user input, you can answer questions as specific as “What requirements are necessary for IT to deliver value to each line of business?” and “What does each LOB need in order to run their operation?”

      Understand when it is best to use one of Info-Tech’s two approaches to defining LOB services

      1. Business View

      Business View is the preferred method for IT departments with a better understanding of business operations. This is because they can begin with input from the user, enabling them to more successfully define every service for each user group and LOB.

      In addition, IT will also have a chance to work together with the business and this will improve the level of collaboration and communication. However, in order to follow this methodology, IT needs to have a pre-established relationship with the business and can demonstrate their knowledge of business applications.

      2. IT View

      The IT view begins with considering each business application used within the organization’s lines of business. Start with a broad view, following with a process of narrowing down, and then iterate for each business application.

      This process leads to each unique service performed by every application within the business’ LOBs.

      The IT view does not necessarily require a substantial amount of information about the business procedures. IT staff are capable of deducing what business users often require to maintain their applications’ functionality.

      Use one of Info-Tech’s two methodologies to help you identify each LOB service

      Choose the methodology that fits your IT organization’s knowledge of the business.

      This image demonstrates a comparison between the business view of service and the IT View of Service. Under the Business View, the inputs are LOB; User Groups; and Business Activity. Under the IT View, the inputs are Business Application and Functionality, and the outputs are Business Activity; User Groups; and LOB.

      1. Business View

      If you do have knowledge of business operations, using the business view is the better option and the service definition will be more relatable to the users.

      2. IT View

      For organizations that don’t have established relationships with the business or detailed knowledge of business activities, IT can decompose the application into services. They have more familiarity and comfort with the business applications than with business activities.

      It is important to continue after the service is identified because it helps confirm and solidify the names and features. Determining the business activity and the user groups can help you become more user-oriented.

      Identifying LOB services using Info-Tech’s Business View method

      We will illustrate the two methodologies with the same example.

      If you have established an ongoing relationship with the business and you are familiar with their business operations, starting with the LOB and user groups will ensure you cover all the services IT provides to the business and create more relatable service names.

      This is a screenshot of an example of the business view of Service.

      Identifying LOB services using Info-Tech’s IT View method

      If you want to understand what services IT provides to the Sales functional group, and you don’t have comprehensive knowledge of the department, you need to start with the IT perspective.

      This is a screenshot of an example of the business view of Service.

      Info-Tech Insight

      If you are concerned about the fact that people always associate a service with an application, you can include the application in the service name or description so users can find the service through a search function.

      Group LOB services into functional groups as you did enterprise services into categories

      3.1 Sample Line of Business Services Definitions – Functional Groups & Industry Examples

      Like categories for enterprise services in Phase Two, LOB services are grouped into functional groups. Functional groups are the components of an organizational chart (HR, Finance, etc.) that are found in a company’s structure.

      Functional Groups

      Functional groups enable a clear view for business users of what services they need, while omitting services that do not apply to them. This does not overwhelm them, and provides them with only relevant information.

      Industry Services

      To be clear, industry services can be put into functional groups.

      Info-Tech provides a few sample industry services (without their functional group) to give an idea of what LOB service is specific to these industries. Try to extrapolate from these examples to create LOB services for your business.

      Use Info-Tech’s Sample LOB Services – Functional Group and Sample LOB Services – Industry Specific documents.

      This is a screenshot of Info-Tech's Functional Group Services

      Info-Tech Insight

      Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.

      Identify the user group and business activity within each line of business – Business view

      3.1 30-45 minutes per line of business

      Only perform this activity if you have a relationship with the business that can enable you to generate business input on service identifications and definitions.

      In a group of your project participants, repeat the sequence for each LOB.

      1. Brainstorm each user group within the LOB that is creating value for the business by performing functional activities.
      2. Think of what each individual end user must do to create their value. Think of the bigger picture rather than specifics at this point. For example, sales representatives must communicate with clients to create value.
      3. Now that you have each user group and the activities they perform, consider the specifics of how they go about doing that activity. Consider each application they use and how much they use that application. Think of any and all IT services that could occur as a result of that application usage.

      INPUT

      • A collaborative discussion (with a business relationship)

      OUTPUT

      • LOB services defined from the business perspective

      Materials

      • Sticky notes
      • Whiteboard/marker

      Participants

      • Members of the project team
      • Representatives from the LOBs

      Identify the user group and business activity within each line of business – IT view

      3.1 30-45 minutes per application

      Only perform this activity if you cannot generate business input through your relationships, and must begin service definitions with business applications.

      In a group of your project participants, repeat the sequence for each application.

      1. Brainstorm all applications that the business provides through IT. Cross out the ones that provide enterprise services.
      2. In broad terms, think about what the application is accomplishing to create value for the business from IT’s perspective. What are the modules? Is it recording interactions with the clients? Each software can have multiple functionalities.
      3. Narrow down each functionality performed by the application and think about how IT helps deliver that value. Create a name for the service that the users can relate to and understand.

        4. → Optional

      4. Now go beyond the service and think about the business activities. They are always similar to IT’s application functionality, but from the user perspective. How would the user think about what the application’s functionality to accomplish that particular service is? At this point, focus on the service, not the application.
      5. Determine the user groups for each service. This step will help you complete the service record design in phase 4. Keep in mind that multiple user groups may access one service.

      INPUT

      • A collaborative discussion (without a business relationship)

      OUTPUT

      • LOB services defined from the IT perspective

      Materials

      • Sticky notes
      • Whiteboard/marker

      Participants

      • Members of the project team

      You must review your LOB service definitions with the business before deployment

      Coming up with LOB service definitions is challenging for IT because it requires comprehension of all lines of business within the organization as well as direct interaction with the business users.

      After completing the LOB service definitions, IT must talk to the business to ensure all the user groups and business activities are covered and all the features are accurate.

      Here are some tips to reviewing your LOB Service Catalog generated content:

      • If you plan to talk to a business SME, plan ahead to help complete the project in time for rollout.
      • Include a business relationship manager on the project team to facilitate discussion if you do not have an established relationship with the business.

      Sample Meeting Agenda

      Go through the service in batches. Present 5-10 related services to the business first. Start with the service name and then focus on the features.

      In the meeting, discuss whether the service features accurately sum up the business activities, or if there are missing key activities. Also discuss whether certain services should be split up into multiple services or combined into one.

      Organization identifies LOB services using Info-Tech’s methodologies

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      There were many users from different LOBs, and IT provided multiple services to all of them. Tracking them and who had access to what was difficult.

      IT didn’t understand who provided the services (service owner) and who the customers were (business owner) for some of the services.

      Solution

      After identifying the different Lines of Business, they followed the first approach (Business View) for those that IT had sufficient knowledge of in terms of business operations:

      1. Identified lines of business
      2. Identified user groups
      3. Identified business activities

      For the LOBs they weren’t familiar with, they used the IT view method, beginning with the application:

      1. Identified business apps
      2. Deduced the functionalities of each application
      3. Traced the application back to the service and identified the service owner and business owner

      Results

      Through these two methodologies, IT was able to define services according to how the users both perceive and utilize them.

      IT was able to capture all the services it provides to each line of business effectively without too much help from the business representatives.

      By capturing all enterprise services offered to the organization, IT centralized its management of services instead of having scattered request processes.

      Info-Tech helps organization to identify LOB services using the IT View

      CASE STUDY B
      Industry Healthcare
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge
      The organization uses a major application containing several modules used by different users for various business activities.

      The challenge was to break down the application into multiple services in a way that makes sense to the business users. Users should be able to find services specific to them easily.

      Therefore, the project team must understand how to map the modules to different services and user groups.


      Solution
      The project team identified the major lines of business and took various user groups such as nurses and doctors, figured out their daily tasks that require IT services, and mapped each user-facing service to the functionality of the application.

      The project team then went back to the application to ensure all the modules and functionalities within the application were accounted for. This helped to ensure that services for all user groups were covered and prepared to be released in the catalog.


      Results
      Once the project team had come up with a comprehensive list of services for each line of business, they were able to sit with the business and review the services.

      IT was also able to use this opportunity to demonstrate all the services it provides. Having all the LOB services demonstrates IT has done its preparation and can show the value they help create for the business in a language the users can understand. The end result was a strengthened relationship between the business and the IT department.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

      This is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
      3.1 this image contains a screenshot from section 3.1 of this blueprint.

      Understand what Line of Business services are

      The onsite analysts will provide a clear distinction between enterprise services and LOB services. The analysts will also articulate the importance of validating LOB services with the business.

      3.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 3.2 of this blueprint.

      Identify LOB services using the business’ view

      There are two methods for coming up with LOB services. If IT has comprehensive knowledge of the business, they can identify the services by outlining the user groups and their business activities.

      3.3 This image contains a screenshot from section 3.3 of this blueprint.

      Identify LOB services using IT’s view

      If IT does not understand the business and cannot obtain business input, Info-Tech’s analysts will present the second method, which allows IT to identify services with more comfortability through business applications/systems.

      3.4 This image contains a screenshot from section 3.4 of this blueprint.

      Categorize the LOB services into functional groups

      The analysts will help the project team categorize the LOB services based on user groups or functional departments.

      PHASE 4

      Complete Service Definitions

      Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Step 4: Complete service definitions and service record design

      1. Complete the Project Charter
      2. Create Enterprise Services Definitions
      3. Create Line of Business Services Definitions
      4. Complete Service Definitions

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Select which fields of information you would like to include in your service catalog design.
      • Determine which fields should be kept internal for IT use only.
      • Complete the service record design with business input if possible.

      Step Insights

      • Don’t overcomplicate the service record design. Only include the pieces of information the users really need to see.
      • Don’t publish anything that you don’t want to be held accountable for. If you are not ready, keep the metrics and costs internal.
      • It is crucial to designate a facilitator and a decision maker so confusions and disagreements regarding service definitions can be resolved efficiently.

      Phase 3 outline

      Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 4: Complete service definitions
      Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 4 weeks

      Step 4.1: Design service record

      Step 4.2: Complete service definitions

      Start with an analyst kick off call:

      • Review Info-Tech’s sample service record and determine which fields to add/change/delete.
      • Determine which fields should be kept internal.

      Review findings with analyst:

      • Complete all fields in the service record for each identified service.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Finalize the design of the service record and bring over enterprise services and LOB services.

      Then complete these activities…

      • Test the service definitions with business users prior to catalog implementation.

      With these tools & templates: Service

      Services Definition Chart

      With these tools & templates:

      Services Definition Chart

      Utilize Info-Tech’s Services Definition Chart to map out your final service catalog design

      Info-Tech’s Sample Services Definition Chart

      Info-Tech has provided a sample Services Definition Chart with standard service definitions and pre-populated fields. It is up to you throughout this step to decide which fields are necessary to your business users, as well as how much detail you wish to include in each of them.

      This image contains a screenshot from Info-Tech's Services Definition Chart.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.

      Tips and techniques for service record design

      The majority of the fields in the service catalog are user facing, which means they must be written in business language that the users can understand.

      If there is any confusion or disagreement in filling out the fields, a facilitator is required to lead the working groups in coming up with a definitive answer. If a decision is still not reached, it should be escalated to the decision maker (usually the service owner).

      IT-Facing Fields

      There are IT facing fields that should not be published to the business users – they are for the benefit of IT. For example, you may want to keep Performance Metrics internal to IT until you are ready to discuss it with the business.

      If the organization is interested in creating a Technical Service Catalog following this initiative, these fields will provide a helpful starting place for IT to identify the people, process, and technology required to support user-facing services.

      Info-Tech Insight

      It is important for IT-facing fields to be kept internal. If business users are having trouble with a service and the service owner’s name is available to them, they will phone them for support even if they are not the support owner.

      Design your service catalog with business input: have the user in mind

      When completing the service record, adopt the principle that “Less is More.” Keep it simple and write the service description from the user’s perspective, without IT language. From the list below, pick which fields of information are important to your business users.

      What do the users need to access the service quickly and with minimal assistance?

      The depicted image contains an example of an analysis of what users need to access the service quickly and with minimal assistance. The contents are as follows. Under Service Overview, Name; Description; Features; Category; and Supporting Services. Under Owners, are Service Owner; Business Owner. Under Access Policies and Procedures, are Authorized Users; Request Process; Approval Requirements/Process; Turnaround Time; User Responsibility. Under Availability and Service Levels are Support Hours; Hours of Availability; Planned Downtime; and Metrics. Under Support Policies & Procedures are Support Process; Support Owner; Support Documentation. Under Costs are Internal Cost; Customer Cost. The items which are IT Facing are coloured Red. These include Supporting Services; Service Owner; Business Owner; Metrics; Support Owner; and Internal Cost.

      Identify service overview

      “What information must I have in each service record? What are the fundamentals required to define a service?”

      Necessary Fields – Service Description:

      • Service name → a title for the service that gives a hint of its purpose.
      • Service description → what the service does and expected outcomes.
      • Service features → describe functionality of the service.
      • Service category → an intuitive way to group the service.
      • Support services → applications/systems required to support the service.

      Description: Delivers electronic messages to and from employees.

      Features:

      • Desk phone
      • Teleconference phones (meeting rooms)
      • Voicemail
      • Recover deleted voicemails
      • Team line: call rings multiple phones/according to call tree
      • Employee directory
      • Caller ID, Conference calling

      Category: Communications

      This image contains an example of a Service overview table. The headings are: Description; Features; Category; Supporting Services (Systems, Applications).

      Identify owners

      Who is responsible for the delivery of the service and what are their roles?

      Service Owner and Business Owner

      Service owner → the IT member who is responsible and accountable for the delivery of the service.

      Business owner → the business partner of the service owner who ensures the provided service meets business needs.

      Example: Time Entry

      Service Owner: Manager of Business Solutions

      Business Owner: VP of Human Resources

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings Service Owner, and Business Owner

      Info-Tech Insight

      For enterprise services that are used by almost everyone in the organization, the business owner is the CIO.

      Identify access policies and procedures

      “Who is authorized to access this service? How do they access it?”

      Access Policies & Procedures

      Authorized users → who can access the service.

      Request process → how to request access to the service.

      Approval requirement/process → what the user needs to have in place before accessing the service.

      Example: Guest Wi-Fi

      Authorized Users: All people on site not working for the company

      Request Process: Self-Service through website for external visitors

      Approval Requirement/Process: N/A

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings: Authorized Users; Request Process; Approval Requirement/Process

      Info-Tech Insight

      Clearly defining how to access a service saves time and money by decreasing calls to the service desk and getting users up and running faster. The result is higher user productivity.

      Identify access policies and procedures

      “Who is authorized to access this service? How do they access it?”

      Access Policies & Procedures

      Requirements & pre-requisites → details of what must happen before a service can be provided.

      Turnaround time → how much time it will take to grant access to the service.

      User responsibility → What the user is expected to do to acquire the service.

      Example: Guest Wi-Fi

      Requirements & Pre-requisites: Disclaimer of non-liability and acceptance

      Turnaround time: Immediate

      User Responsibility: Adhering to policies outlined in the disclaimer

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings: Authorized Users; Request Process; Approval Requirement/Process

      Info-Tech Insight

      Clearly defining how to access a service saves time and money by decreasing calls to the service desk and getting users up and running faster. The result is higher user productivity.

      Identify availability and service levels

      “When is this service available to users? What service levels can the user expect?”

      Availability & Service Levels

      Support hours → what days/times is this service available to users?

      Hours of availability/planned downtime → is there scheduled downtime for maintenance?

      Performance metrics → what level of performance can the user expect for this service?

      Example: Software Provisioning

      Support Hours: Standard business hours

      Hours of Availability/Planned Downtime: Standard business hours; can be agreed to work beyond operating hours either earlier or later

      Performance Metrics: N/A

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings: Support hours; Hours of availability/planned downtime; Performance Metrics.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Manage user expectations by clearly documenting and communicating service levels.

      Identify support policies and procedures

      “How do I obtain support for this service?”

      Support Policies & Procedures

      Support process → what is the process for obtaining support for this service?

      Support owner → who can users contact for escalations regarding this service?

      Support documentation → where can users find support documentation for this service?

      Example: Shared Folders

      Support Process: Contact help desk or submit a ticket via portal

      Support Owner: Manager, client support

      Support Documentation: .pdf of how-to guide

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings: Support Process; Support Owner; Support Documentation

      Info-Tech Insight

      Clearly documenting support procedures enables users to get the help they need faster and more efficiently.

      Identify service costs and approvals

      “Is there a cost for this service? If so, how much and who is expensing it?”

      Costs

      Internal Cost → do we know the total cost of the service?

      Customer Cost → a lot of services are provided without charge to the business; however, certain service requests will be charged to a department’s budget.

      Example: Hardware Provisioning

      Internal Cost: For purposes of audit, new laptops will be expensed to IT.

      Customer Cost: Cost to rush order 10 new laptops with retina displays for the graphics team. Charged for extra shipment cost, not for cost of laptop.

      This image depicts a blank table with the headings: Internal Costs; Customer costs

      Info-Tech Insight

      Set user expectations by clearly documenting costs associated with a service and how to obtain approval for these costs if required.

      Complete the service record design fields for every service

      4.1 3 Hours

      This is the final activity to completing the service record design. It has been a long journey to make it here; now, all that is left is completing the fields and transferring information from previous activities.

      1. Organize the services however you think is most appropriate. A common method of organization is alphabetically by enterprise category, and then each LOB functional group.
      2. Determine which fields you would like to keep or edit to be part of your design. Also add any other fields you can think of which will add value to the user or IT. Remember to keep them IT facing if necessary.
      3. Complete the fields for each service one by one. Keep in mind that for some services, a field or two may not apply to the nature of that service and may be left blank or filled with a null value (e.g. N/A).

      INPUT

      • A collaborative discussion

      OUTPUT

      • Completed service record design ready for a catalog

      Materials

      • Info-Tech sample service record design.

      Participants

      • Project stakeholders, business representatives

      Info-Tech Insight

      Don’t forget to delete or bring over the edited LOB and Enterprise services from the phase 2 and 3 deliverables.

      Complete the service definitions and get them ready for publication

      Now that you have completed the first run of service definitions, you can go back and complete the rest of the identified services in batches. You should observe increased efficiency and effectiveness in filling out the service definitions.

      This image depicts how you can use bundles to simplify the process of catalog design using bundles. The cycle includes the steps: Identify Services; Select a Service Bundle; Review Record Design; followed by a cycle of: Pick a service; Service X; Service Data Collection; Create Service Record, followed by Publish the bundle; Communicate the bundle; Rinse and Repeat.

      This blueprint’s purpose is to help you design a service catalog. There are a number of different platforms to build the catalog offered by application vendors. The sophistication of the catalog depends on the size of your business. It may be as simple as an Excel book, or something as complex as a website integrated with your service desk.

      Determine how you want to publish the service catalog

      There are various levels of maturity to consider when you are thinking about how to deploy your service catalog.

      1. Website/User Portal 2. Catalog Module Within ITSM Tool

      3. Homegrown Solution

      Prerequisite

      An internet website, or a user portal

      An existing ITSM tool with a built-in service catalog module

      Database development capabilities

      Website development capabilities

      Pros

      Low cost

      Low effort

      Easy to deploy

      Customized solution tailored for the organization

      High flexibility regarding how the service catalog is published

      Cons

      Not aesthetically appealing

      Lacking sophistication

      Difficult to customize to organization’s needs

      Limitation on how the service catalog info is published

      High effort

      High cost

      →

      → Maturity Level →

      		→

      Organization uses the service catalog to outline IT’s and users’ responsibilities

      CASE STUDY A
      Industry Government
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      The client had collected a lot of good information, but they were not sure about what to include to ensure the users could understand the service clearly.

      They were also not sure what to keep internal so the service catalog did not increase IT’s workload. They want to help the business, but not appear as if they are capable of solving everything for everyone immediately. There was a fear of over-commitment.

      Solution

      The government created a Customer Responsibility field for each service, so it was not just IT who was providing solutions. Business users needed to understand what they had to do to receive some services.

      The Service Owner and Business Owner fields were also kept internal so users would go through the proper request channel instead of calling Service Owners directly.

      Lastly, the Performance Metrics field was kept internal until IT was ready to present service metrics to the business.

      Results

      The business was provided clarity on their responsibility and what was duly owed to them by IT staff. This established clear boundaries on what was to be expected of IT services projected into the future.

      The business users knew what to do and how to obtain the services provided to them. In the meantime, they didn’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of information provided by the service catalog.

      Organization leverages the service catalog as a tool to define IT workflows and business processes

      CASE STUDY B
      Industry Healthcare
      Source Onsite engagement

      Challenge

      There is a lack of clarity and a lack of agreement between the client’s team members regarding the request/approval processes for certain services. This was an indication that there is a level of ambiguity around process. Members were not sure what was the proper way to access a service and could not come up with what to include in the catalog.

      Different people from different teams had different ways of accessing services. This could be true for both enterprise and LOB services.

      Solution

      The Info-Tech analyst facilitated a discussion about workflows and business processes.

      In particular, the discussion focused around the approval/authorization process, and IT’s workflows required to deliver the service. The Info-Tech analyst on site walked the client through their different processes to determine which one should be included in the catalog.

      Results

      The discussion brought clarity to the project team around both IT and business process. Using this new information, IT was able to communicate to the business better, and create consistency for IT and the users of the catalog.

      The catalog design was a shared space where IT and business users could confer what the due process and responsibilities were from both sides. This increased accountability for both parties.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech workshop

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts

      this is a picture of an Info-Tech Analyst

      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:
      4.1 this image contains a screenshot from section 4.1 of this blueprint.

      Determine which fields should be included in the record design

      The analysts will present the sample service definitions record and facilitate a discussion to customize the service record so unique business needs are captured.

      4.2 this image contains a screenshot from section 4.2.1 of this blueprint.

      Determine which fields should be kept internal

      The onsite analysts will explain why certain fields are used but not published. The analysts will help the team determine which fields should be kept internal.

      4.3 this image contains a screenshot from section 4.3 of this blueprint.

      Complete the service definitions

      The Info-Tech analysts will help the group complete the full service definitions. This exercise will also provide the organization with a clear understanding of IT workflows and business processes.

      Summary of accomplishment

      Knowledge Gained

      • Understanding why it is important to identify and define services from the user’s perspective.
      • Understand the differences between enterprise services and line of business services.
      • Distinguish service features from services.
      • Involve the business users to define LOB services using either IT’s view or LOB’s view.

      Processes Optimized

      • Enterprise services identification and documentation.
      • Line of business services identification and documentation.

      Deliverables Completed

      • Service catalog project charter
      • Enterprise services definitions
      • Line of business service definitions – functional groups
      • Line of business service definitions – industry specific
      • Service definition chart

      Project step summary

      Client Project: Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      1. Launch the Project – Maximize project success by assembling a well-rounded team and managing all important stakeholders.
      2. Identify Enterprise Services – Identify services that are used commonly across the organization and categorize them in a user-friendly way.
      3. Identify Line of Business Services – Identify services that are specific to each line of business using one of two Info-Tech methodologies.
      4. Complete the Service Definitions – Determine what should be presented to the users and complete the service definitions for all identified services.

      Info-Tech Insight

      This project has the ability to fit the following formats:

      • Onsite workshop by Info-Tech Research Group consulting analysts.
      • Do-it-yourself with your team.
      • Remote delivery (Info-Tech Guided Implementation).

      Related Info-Tech research

      Establish a Service-Based Costing Model

      Develop the right level of service-based costing capability by applying our methodology.

      Implement Software Asset Management

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}313|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.3/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $107,154 Average $ Saved
      • member rating average days saved: 39 Average Days Saved
      • Parent Category Name: Asset Management
      • Parent Category Link: /asset-management
      • Organizations are aware of the savings that result from implementing software asset management (SAM), but are unsure of where to start the process.
      • Poor data capture procedures and lack of a centralized repository produce an incomplete picture of software assets and licenses, preventing accurate forecasting and license optimization.
      • Audit protocols are ad hoc, resulting in sloppy reporting and time-consuming work and lack of preparedness for external software audits.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • A strong SAM program will benefit all aspects of the business. Data and reports gained through SAM will enable data-driven decision making for all areas of the business.
      • Don’t just track licenses; manage them to create value from data. Gathering and monitoring license data is just the beginning. What you do with that data is the real test.
      • Win the audit battle without fighting. Conduct internal audits to minimize surprises when external audits are requested.

      Impact and Result

      • Conduct a current state assessment of existing SAM processes to form an appropriate plan for implementing or improving your SAM program.
      • Define standard policies, processes, and procedures for each stage of the software asset lifecycle, from procurement through to retirement.
      • Develop an internal audit policy to mitigate the risk of costly external audits.

      Implement Software Asset Management Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should implement software asset management, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Assess & plan

      Assess current state and plan the scope of the SAM program, team, and budget.

      • Implement Software Asset Management – Phase 1: Assess & Plan
      • SAM Maturity Assessment
      • SAM Standard Operating Procedures
      • SAM Budget Workbook

      2. Procure, receive & deploy

      Define processes for software requests, procurement, receiving, and deployment.

      • Implement Software Asset Management – Phase 2: Procure, Receive & Deploy
      • SAM Process Workflows (Visio)
      • SAM Process Workflows (PDF)

      3. Manage, redeploy & retire

      Define processes for software inventory, maintenance, harvest and redeployment, and retirement.

      • Implement Software Asset Management – Phase 3: Manage, Redeploy & Retire
      • Patch Management Policy

      4. Build supporting processes

      Build processes for audits and plan the implementation.

      • Implement Software Asset Management – Phase 4: Build Supporting Processes & Tools
      • Software Audit Scoping Email Template
      • Software Audit Launch Email Template
      • SAM Communication Plan
      • SAM FAQ Template
      • Software Asset Management Policy
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Implement Software Asset Management

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Assess & Plan

      The Purpose

      Assess current state and plan the scope of the SAM program, team, and budget.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Current state assessment

      Defined roles and responsibilities

      SAM budget plan

      Activities

      1.1 Outline SAM challenges and objectives.

      1.2 Assess current state.

      1.3 Identify roles and responsibilities for SAM team.

      1.4 Identify metrics and reports.

      1.5 Identify SAM functions to centralize vs. decentralize.

      1.6 Plan SAM budget process.

      Outputs

      Current State Assessment

      RACI Chart

      Defined metrics and reports

      SAM Budget Workbook

      2 Procure, Receive & Deploy

      The Purpose

      Define processes for software requests, procurement, receiving, and deployment.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Defined standards for software procurement

      Documented processes for software receiving and deployment

      Activities

      2.1 Determine software standards.

      2.2 Define procurement process for new contracts.

      2.3 Define process for contract renewals and additional procurement scenarios.

      2.4 Design process for receiving software.

      2.5 Design deployment workflow.

      2.6 Define process for non-standard software requests.

      Outputs

      Software standards

      Standard Operating Procedures

      SAM Process Workflows

      3 Manage, Redeploy & Retire

      The Purpose

      Define processes for software inventory, maintenance, harvest and redeployment, and retirement.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Defined process for conducting software inventory

      Maintenance and patch policy

      Documented workflows for software harvest and redeployment as well as retirement

      Activities

      3.1 Define process for conducting software inventory.

      3.2 Define policies for software maintenance and patches.

      3.3 Map software license harvest and reallocation process.

      3.4 Define policy for retiring software.

      Outputs

      Standard Operating Procedures

      Patch management policy

      SAM Process Workflows

      4 Build Supporting Processes & Tools

      The Purpose

      Build processes for audits, identify tool requirements, and plan the implementation.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Defined process for internal and external audits

      Tool requirements

      Communication and implementation plan

      Activities

      4.1 Define and document the internal audit process.

      4.2 Define and document the external audit process.

      4.3 Document tool requirements.

      4.4 Develop a communication plan.

      4.5 Prepare an FAQ list.

      4.6 Identify SAM policies.

      4.7 Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation.

      Outputs

      Audit response templates

      Tool requirements

      Communication plan

      End-user FAQ list

      Software Asset Management Policy

      Implementation roadmap

      Further reading

      Implement Software Asset Management

      Go beyond tracking licenses to proactively managing software throughout its lifecycle.

      Table of contents

      1. Title
      2. Executive Brief
      3. Execute the Project/DIY Guide
      4. Next Steps
      5. Appendix

      Analyst Perspective

      “Organizations often conflate software asset management (SAM) with license tracking. SAM is not merely knowing how many licenses you require to be in compliance; it’s asking the deeper budgetary questions to right-size your software spend.

      Software audits are a growing concern for businesses, but proactive reporting and decision making supported by quality data will mitigate audit risks. Value is left on the table through underused or poor-quality data, so active data management must be in play. A dedicated ITAM tool can assist with extracting value from your license data.

      Achieving an optimized SAM program is a transformative effort, but the people, processes, and technology need to be in place before that can happen.” (Sandi Conrad, Senior Director, Infrastructure & Operations Practice, Info-Tech Research Group)

      Software license complexity and audit frequency are increasing: are you prepared to manage the risk?

      This Research Is Designed For:

      • CIOs that want to improve IT’s reputation with the business.
      • CIOs that want to eliminate the threat of a software audit.
      • Organizations that want proactive reporting that benefits the entire business.
      • IT managers who want visibility into their software usage.

      This Research Will Help You:

      • Establish a standardized software management process.
      • Track and manage software throughout its lifecycle, from procurement through to retirement or redeployment.
      • Rationalize your software license estate.
      • Improve your negotiations with software vendors.
      • Improve the quality of your SAM data gathering and reporting.

      Executive summary

      Situation

      • Organizations are aware of the savings that result from implementing software asset management (SAM), but are unsure of where to start the process. With no formal standards in place for managing licenses, organizations are constantly at risk for costly software audits and poorly executed software spends.

      Complication

      • Poor data-capture procedures produce an incomplete picture of software lifecycles.
      • No centralized repository exists, resulting in fragmented reporting.
      • Audit protocols are ad hoc, resulting in sloppy reporting and time-consuming work.

      Resolution

      • Conduct a current state assessment of existing SAM processes to form an appropriate plan for implementing or improving your SAM program.
      • Build and involve a SAM team in the process from the beginning to help embed the change.
      • Define standard policies, processes, and procedures for each stage of the software asset lifecycle, from procurement through to retirement. Pace yourself; a staged implementation will make your ITAM program a success.
      • Develop an internal audit program to mitigate the risk of costly audits.
      • Once a standardized SAM program and data are in place, you will be able to use the data to optimize and rationalize your software licenses.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A strong SAM program will benefit all aspects of the business.
      Data and reports gained through SAM will enable data-driven decision making for all areas of the business.

      Don’t just track licenses; manage them to create value from data.
      Gathering and monitoring license data is just the beginning. What you do with that data is the real test.

      Win the audit battle without fighting.
      Conduct internal audits to minimize surprises when external audits are requested.

      Build the business case for SAM on cost and risk avoidance

      You can estimate the return even without tools or data.

      Benefit Calculate the return
      Compliance

      How many audits did you have in the past three years?

      How much time did you spend in audit response?

      		Suppose you had two audits each year for the last three years, each with an average $250,000 in settlements.

      A team of four with an average salary of $75,000 each took six months to respond each year, allocating 20% of their work time to the audit.

      You could argue annual audits cost on average $530,000. Increasing ITAM maturity stands to reduce that cost significantly.

      Efficiency

      How much do you spend on software and maintenance by supplier?

      		Suppose you spent $1M on software last year. What if you could reduce the spend by just 10% through better practices?

      SAM can help reduce the annual spend by simplifying support, renegotiating contracts based on asset data, reducing redundancy, and reducing spend.

      The Business Benefits of SAM

      • Compliance: Managing audits and meeting legal, contractual, and regulatory obligations.
      • Efficiency: Reducing costs and making the best use of assets while maintaining service.
      • Agility: Anticipate requirements using asset data for business intelligence and analytics.

      Poor software asset management practices increase costs and risks

      Failure to implement SAM can lead to:

      High cost of undiscovered IT assets
      • Needless procurement of software for new hires can be costly.
      Licensing, liability, and legal violations
      • Legal actions and penalties that result from ineffective SAM processes and license incompliance can severely impact an organization’s financial performance and corporate brand image.
      Compromised security
      • Not knowing what assets you have, who is using them and how, can compromise the security of sensitive information.
      Increased management costs
      • Not having up-to-date software license information impacts decision making, with many management teams failing to respond quickly and efficiently to operational demands.
      Increased disruptions
      • Vendors seek out organizations who don’t manage their software assets effectively; it is likely that you could be subject to major operational disruptions as a result of an audit.
      Poor supplier/vendor relationship
      • Most organizations fear communicating with vendors and are anxious about negotiating new licenses.

      54% — A study by 1E found that only 54% of organizations believe they can identify all unused software in their organization.

      28% — On average, 28% of deployed software is unused, with a wasted cost of $224 per PC on unused software (1E, 2014).

      53% — Express Metrix found that 53% of organizations had been audited within the past two years. Of those, 72% had been audited within the last 12 months.

      SAM delivers cost savings beyond the procurement stage

      SAM delivers cost savings in several ways:

      • Improved negotiating position
        • Certainty around software needs and licensing terms can put the organization in a better negotiating position for new contracts or contract renewals.
      • Improved purchasing position
        • Centralized procurement can allow for improved purchasing agreements with better pricing.
      • More accurate forecasting and spend
        • With accurate data on what software is installed vs. used, more accurate decisions can be made around software purchasing needs and budgeting.
      • Prevention of over deployment
        • Deploy software only where it is needed based on what end users actively use.
      • Software rationalization
        • SAM data may reveal multiple applications performing similar functions that can be rationalized into a single standard software that is used across the enterprise.
      • License harvesting
        • Identify unused licenses that can be harvested and redeployed to other users rather than purchasing new licenses.

      SAM delivers many benefits beyond cost savings

      Manage risk. If licensing terms are not properly observed, the organization is at risk of legal and financial exposure, including illegal software installation, loss of proof of licenses purchased, or breached terms and conditions.

      Control and predict spend. Unexpected problems related to software assets and licenses can significantly impact cash flow.

      Less operational interruptions. Poor software asset management processes could lead to failed deployments, software update interruptions, viruses, or a shutdown of unlicensed applications.

      Avoid security breaches. If data is not secure through software patches and security, confidential information may be disclosed.

      More informed decisions. More accurate data on software assets improves transparency and informs decision making.

      Improved contract management. Automated tools can alert you to when contracts are up for renewal to allow time to plan and negotiate, then purchase the right amount of licenses.

      Avoid penalties. Conduct internal audits and track compliance to avoid fees or penalties if an external audit occurs.

      Reduced IT support. Employees should require less support from the service desk with proper, up to date, licensed software, freeing up time for IT Operations to focus on other work.

      Enhanced productivity. By rationalizing and standardizing software offerings, more staff should be using the same software with the same versioning, allowing for better communication and collaboration.

      Asset management is especially correlated with the following processes

      Being highly effective at asset management means that you are more likely to be highly effective at almost all IT processes, especially:

      Icon for process 'BAI10 Configuration Management'. Configuration Management
      76% more effective             		Icon for process 'ITRG03 Manage Service Catalogs'. Service Catalog
      74% more effective
      Icon for process 'APO11 Quality Management'. Quality Management
      63% more effective             		Icon for process 'ITRG08 Data Quality'. Data Quality
      62% more effective
      Icon for process 'MEA01 Performance Measurement'. Performance Measurement
      61% more effective             		Icon for process 'BAI05 Organizational Change Management'. Organizational Change Management
      60% more effective
      Icon for process 'APO05 Portfolio Management'. Portfolio Management
      59% more effective             		Icon for process 'APO03 Enterprise Architecture'. Enterprise Architecture
      58% more effective

      Why? Good SAM processes are integral to both service management and configuration management

      (Source: Info-Tech Research Group, IT Management and Governance Diagnostic; N=972 organizations) (High asset management effectiveness was defined as those organizations with an effectiveness score of 8 or above.)

      To accelerate progress, Info-Tech Research Group parses software asset management into its essential processes

      Focus on software asset management essentials

      Software Procurement:

      • Define procurement standards for software and related warranties and support options.
      • Develop processes and workflows for purchasing and work out financial implications to inform budgeting later.

      Software Deployment and Maintenance:

      • Define policies, processes, and workflows for software receiving, deployment, and maintenance practices.
      • Develop processes and workflows for managing imaging, harvests and redeployments, service requests, and large-scale rollouts.

      Software Harvest and Retirement:

      • Manage the employee termination and software harvest cycle.
      • Develop processes, policies, and workflows for software security and retirement.

      Software Contract and Audit Management:

      • Develop processes for data collection and validation to prepare for an audit.
      • Define metrics and reporting processes to keep asset management processes on track.
      A diagram that looks like a tier circle with 'Implement SAM' at the center. The second ring has 'Request & Procure', 'Receive & Deploy', 'Manage & Maintain', and 'Harvest & Retire'. The third ring seems to be a cycle beginning with 'Plan', 'Request', 'Procure', 'Deploy', 'Manage', 'Retire', and back to 'Plan'.

      Asset management is a key piece of Info-Tech’s COBIT-based IT Management and Governance Framework

      The Info-Tech / COBIT5 IT Management & Governance Framework, a number of IT process icons arranged like a periodic table. A magnifying glass highlights process 'BAI09 Asset Management' in the 'Infrastructure & Operations' category.

      Follow Info-Tech's methodology to build a plan to implement software asset management

      Phase 1
      Assess & Plan       		Phase 2
      Procure, Receive & Deploy       		Phase 3
      Manage, Redeploy & Retire       		Phase 4
      Build supporting processes

      1.1

      		 Assess current state

      2.1

      		 Request & procure

      3.1

      		 Manage & maintain contracts

      4.1

      		 Compliance & audits

      1.2

      		 Build team and define metrics

      2.2

      		 Receive & deploy

      3.2

      		 Harvest or retire

      4.2

      		 Communicate & build roadmap

      1.3

      		 Plan & budget
      Deliverables
      Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
      SAM maturity assessment Process workflows Process workflows Audit response templates
      RACI chart Software standards Patch management policy Communication plan & FAQ template
      SAM metrics SAM policies
      SAM budget workbook

      Thanks to SAM, Visa saved $200 million in three years

      Logo for VISA.

      Case Study

      Industry: Financial Services
      Source: International Business Software Managers Association

      Visa, Inc.

      Visa, Inc. is the largest payment processing company in the world, with a network that can handle over 40,000 transactions every minute.

      Software Asset Management Program

      In 2006, Visa launched a formal IT asset management program, but it was not until 2011 that it initiated a focus on SAM. Joe Birdsong, the SAM director, first addressed four major enterprise license agreements (ELAs) and compliance issues. The SAM team implemented a few dedicated SAM tools in conjunction with an aggressive approach to training.

      Results

      The proactive approach taken by Visa used a three-pronged strategy: people, process, and tools. The process included ELA negotiations, audit responses, and software license rationalization exercises.

      According to Birdsong, “In the past three years, SAM has been credited with saving Visa over $200 million.”

      An timeline arrow with benchmarks, in order: 'Tool purchases', 'ELA negotiations', 'License rationalization', 'Audit responses', '$200 million in savings in just three years thanks to optimized SAM processes'.

      Info-Tech delivers: Use our tools and templates to accelerate your project to completion

      Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)'.
      SAM Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM Maturity Assessment'.
      SAM Maturity Assessment       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM Visio Process Workflows'.
      SAM Visio Process Workflows       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM Budget Workbook'.
      SAM Budget Workbook
      Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'Additional SAM Policy Templates'.
      Additional SAM Policy Templates       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'Software Asset Management Policy'.
      Software Asset Management Policy       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM Communication Plan'.
      SAM Communication Plan       		Thumbnail of Info-Tech's 'SAM FAQ Template'.
      SAM FAQ Template

      Use these insights to help guide your understanding of the project

      • SAM provides value to other processes in IT.
        Data, reports, and savings gained through SAM will enable data-driven decision making for all areas of the business.
      • Don’t just track licenses; manage them to create value from data.
        Gathering and monitoring license data is just the beginning. What you do with that data is the real test.
      • SAM isn’t about managing costs; it’s about understanding your environment to make better decisions.
        Capital tied up in software can impact the progress of other projects.
      • Managing licenses can impact the entire organization.
        Gain project buy-in from stakeholders by articulating the impact that managing licenses can have on other projects and the prevalence of shadow IT.

      Measure the value of a guided implementation (GI)

      Engaging in GIs doesn’t just offer valuable project advice, it also results in significant cost savings.

      GI Measured Value (Assuming 260 workdays in a year)
      Phase 1: Assess & Plan
      • Time, value, and resources saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology to assess current state and create a defined SAM team with actionable metrics
      • For example, 2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year = $6,400
      Phase 2: Procure, Receive & Deploy
      • Time, value, and resources saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology to streamline request, procurement, receiving, and deployment processes for software assets.
      • For example, 2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year = $6,400
      Phase 3: Manage, Redeploy & Retire
      • Time, value, and resources saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology to streamline the maintenance, inventory, license redeployment, and software retiring processes.
      • For example, 2 FTEs * 5 days * $80,000/year = $6,400
      Phase 4: Build Supporting Processes and Tools
      • Time, resources, and potential audit fines saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology to improve audit defense processes ($298,325 average audit penalty (Based on the results of Cherwell Software’s 2013 Software Audit Industry Report)) and design a communication and implementation plan.
      • For example, 2 FTEs * 5days * $80,000/year = $6,400 + $298,325 = $304,725
      Total savings $330,325

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Guided Implementation

      Workshop

      Consulting
      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Implement Software Asset Management – project overview

      Phase 1: Assess & plan Phase 2: Procure, receive & deploy Phase 3: Manage, redeploy & retire Phase 4: Build supporting processes
      Supporting Tool icon Best-Practice Toolkit

      Step 1.1: Assess current state

      Step 1.2: Build team and define metrics

      Step 1.3: Plan and budget

      Step 2.1: Request and procure

      Step 2.2: Receive and deploy

      Step 3.1: Manage and maintain contracts

      Step 3.2: Harvest, redeploy, or retire

      Step 4.1: Compliance and audits

      Step 4.2: Communicate and build roadmap

      Guided Implementations
      • Assess current state and challenges.
      • Define roles and responsibilities as well as metrics.
      • Discuss SAM budgeting.
      • Define software standards and procurement process.
      • Build processes for receiving software and deploying software.
      • Define process for conducting software inventory and maintenance and patches.
      • Build software harvest and redeployment processes and retirement.
      • Define process for internal and external audits.
      • Develop communication and implementation plan.
      Associated Activity icon Onsite Workshop Module 1:
      Assess & Plan       		Module 2:
      Map Core Processes: Procure, Receive & Deploy       		Module 3:
      Map Core Processes: Manage, Redeploy & Retire       		Module 4:
      Prepare for audit, build roadmap and communications

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4
      Activities
      Assess & Plan

      1.1 Outline SAM challenges and objectives

      1.2 Assess current state

      1.3 Identify roles and responsibilities for SAM team

      1.4 Identify metrics and reports

      1.5 Identify SAM functions to centralize vs. decentralize

      1.6 Plan SAM budget process

      Map Core Processes: Procure, Receive & Deploy

      2.1 Determine software standards

      2.2 Define procurement process for new contracts

      2.3 Define process for contract renewals and additional procurement scenarios

      2.4 Design process for receiving software

      2.5 Design deployment workflow

      2.6 Define process for non-standard software requests

      Map Core Processes: Manage, Redeploy & Retire

      3.1 Define process for conducting software inventory

      3.2 Define policies for software maintenance and patches

      3.3 Map software license harvest and reallocation process

      3.4 Define policy for retiring software

      Build Supporting Processes

      4.1 Define and document the internal audit process

      4.2 Define and document the external audit process

      4.3 Develop a communication plan

      4.4 Prepare an FAQ list

      4.5 Identify SAM policies

      4.6 Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation

      Deliverables
      • SAM maturity assessment
      • RACI chart
      • Defined metrics and reports
      • Budget workbook
      • Process workflows
      • Software standards
      • Process workflows
      • Patch management policy
      • Standard operating procedures
      • Audit response templates
      • Communication plan
      • FAQ template
      • Additional policy templates
      • Roadmap of initiatives

      Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

      Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

      A small monochrome icon of a wrench and screwdriver creating an X.

      This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.

      A small monochrome icon depicting a person in front of a blank slide.

      This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.

      Phase 1: Assess Current State

      VISA fought fire with fire to combat costly software audits

      Logo for VISA.

      Case Study

      Industry: Financial Services
      Source: SAM Summit 2014

      Challenge

      Visa implemented an IT asset management program in 2006. After years of software audit teams from large firms visiting and leaving expensive software compliance bills, the world’s leading payment processing company decided it was time for a change.

      Upper management recognized that it needed to combat audits. It had the infrastructure in place and the budget to purchase SAM tools that could run discovery and tracking functions, but it was lacking the people and processes necessary for a mature SAM program.

      Solution

      Visa decided to fight fire with fire. It initially contracted the same third-party audit teams to help build out its SAM processes. Eventually, Visa formed a new SAM team that was led by a group of former auditors.

      The former auditors recognized that their role was not technology based, so a group of technical individuals were hired to help roll out various SAM tools.

      The team rolled out tools like BDNA Discover and Normalize, Flexera FlexNet Manager, and Microsoft SCCM.

      Results

      To establish an effective SAM team, diverse talent is key. Visa focused on employees that were consultative but also technical. Their team needed to build relationships with teams within the organization and externally with vendors.

      Most importantly, the leaders of the team needed to think like auditors to better prepare for audits. According to Joe Birdsong, SAM Director at Visa, “we want to be viewed as a team that can go in and help right-size their environment and better understand licensing to help teams make better decisions.”

      The SAM team was only the beginning.

      Step 1.1 Assess current state and plan scope

      Phase 1:
      Assess & Plan      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      1.1

      		Assess current state
      • 1.1.1 Outline the organization’s SAM challenges
      • 1.1.2 Identify objectives of SAM program
      • 1.1.3 Determine the maturity of your SAM program
      • Project Sponsor
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager

      1.2

      		Build team and define metrics

      1.3

      		Plan & budget

      Step Outcomes

      • An outline of the challenges related to SAM
      • A clear direction for the program based on drivers, anticipated benefits, and goals
      • A completed maturity assessment of current SAM processes

      Sketch out challenges related to software asset management to shape the direction of the project

      Common SAM challenges

      • Audits are disruptive, time-consuming, and costly
      • No audit strategy and response in place
      • Software non-compliance risk is too high
      • Lacking data to forecast software needs
      • No central repository of software licenses
      • Untracked or unused software licenses results in wasted spend
      • Software license and maintenance costs account for a large percentage of the budget
      • Lacking data to know what software is purchased and deployed across the organization
      • Lack of software standards make it difficult to collect consistent information about software products
      • New software licenses are purchased when existing licenses remain on the shelf or multiple similar software products are purchased
      • Employees or departments make ad hoc purchases, resulting in overspending and reduced purchasing power
      • License renewal dates come up unexpectedly without time for adequate decision making
      • No communication between departments to coordinate software purchasing
      • Difficult to stay up to date with software licensing rule changes to remain in compliance
      • Processes and policies are unstandardized and undocumented

      Outline the organization’s SAM challenges

      Associated Activity icon 1.1.1 Brainstorm SAM challenges

      Participants: CIO/CFO, IT Director, Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Security (optional), Operations (optional)

      1. Distribute sticky notes to participants. Have everyone start by identifying challenges they face as a result of poor software asset management.
      2. As group, discuss and outline the software asset management challenges facing the organization. These may be challenges caused by poor SAM processes or simply by a lack of process. Group the challenges into key pain points to inform the current state discussion and assessment to follow.

      To be effective with software asset management, understand the drivers and potential impact to the organization

      Drivers of effective SAM Results of effective SAM
      Contracts and vendor licensing programs are complex and challenging to administer without data related to assets and their environment. → Improved access to accurate data on contracts, licensing, warranties, installed software for new contracts, renewals, and audit requests.
      Increased need to meet compliance requires a formal approach to tracking and managing assets. → Encryption, software application controls, and change notifications all contribute to better asset controls and data security.
      Cost cutting is on the agenda, and management is looking to reduce overall IT spend in the organization in any possible way. → Reduction of software spend through data for better forecasting, planning, and licensing rationalization and harvesting.
      Audits are time consuming, disruptive to project timelines and productivity, and costly. → Respond to audits with a formalized process, accurate data, and minimal disruption using always-available reporting.

      Determine goals to focus the direction of your SAM program

      Associated Activity icon 1.1.2 Identify objectives of the SAM program

      Participants: CIO/CFO, IT Director, Asset Manager, Service Manager (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Identify the drivers behind the software asset management implementation or improvement project. List on a whiteboard or flip chart.
      2. Using the project drivers as input, brainstorm the goals of the SAM project. Discuss the goals as a group and finalize into a list of objectives for the SAM program.
      3. Record the objectives in the SOP and keep them in mind as you work through the rest of the project.

      Sample Objectives:

      1. A single data repository to efficiently manage assets for their entire lifecycle.
      2. Formalizing a methodology for documenting assets to make data retrieval easy and accurate.
      3. Defining and documenting processes to determine where improvements can be made.
      4. Improving customer experience in accessing, using, and maintaining assets.
      5. Centralizing contract information.
      6. Providing access to information for all technical teams as needed.

      Implementing SAM processes will support other IT functions

      By improving how you manage your licenses and audit requests, you will not only provide benefits through a mature SAM program, you will also improve your service desk and disaster recovery functions.

      Service Desk Disaster Recovery
      • Effective service desk tickets require a certain degree of technical detail for completion that a SAM program often provides.
      • Many tools are available that can handle both ITSM and ITAM functions. Your SAM data can be integrated into many of your service desk functions.
      • For example, if a particular application is causing a high number of tickets, SAM data could show the application’s license is almost expired and its usage has decreased due to end-user frustrations. The SAM team could review the application and decide to purchase software that better meets end-user needs.
      • If you don’t know what you have, you don’t know what needs to be back online first.
      • The ability to restore system functionality is heavily dependent on the ability to locate or reproduce master media documentation and system configuration information.
      • If systems/software are permanently lost, the ability to recover software licensing information is crucial to preserving compliance.
      • License agreement and software are needed to demonstrate software ownership. Unless the proof of ownership is present, there is no proof of compliance.
      Short description of Info-Tech blueprint 'Standardize the Service Desk'. Short description of Info-Tech blueprint 'Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan'.

      Each level of SAM maturity comes with its own unique challenges

      Maturity People & Policies Processes Technology
      Chaos
      • No dedicated staff
      • No policies published
      • Procedures not documented or standardized
      • Licenses purchased randomly
      • Help desk images machines, but users can buy and install software
      • Minimal tracking tools in place
      Reactive
      • Semi-focused SAM manager
      • No policies published
      • Reliance on suppliers to provide reports for software purchases
      • Buy licenses as needed
      • Software installations limited to help desk
      • Discovery tools and spreadsheets used to manage software
      Controlled
      • Full-time SAM manager
      • End-user policies published and requiring sign-off
      • License reviews with maintenance and support renewals
      • SAM manager involved in budgeting and planning sessions
      • Discovery and inventory tools used to manage software
      • Compliance reports run as needed
      Proactive
      • Extended SAM team, including help desk and purchasing
      • Corporate anti-piracy statement in place and enforced
      • Quarterly license reviews
      • Centralized view into software licenses
      • Software requests through service catalog with defined standard and non-standard software
      • Product usage reports and alerts in place to harvest and reuse licenses
      • Compliance and usage reports used to negotiate software contracts
      Optimized
      • SAM manager trained and certified
      • Working with HR, Legal, Finance, and IT to enforce policies
      • Full support and maintenance analysis for all license reviews
      • Quarterly meetings with SAM team to review policies, procedures, upcoming contracts, and rollouts
      • Software deployed automatically through service catalog/apps store
      • Detailed savings reports provided to executive team annually
      • Automated policy enforcement and process workflows

      Determine the maturity of your SAM program

      Supporting Tool icon 1.1.3 Use the SAM Maturity Assessment Tool
      1. Download the SAM Maturity Assessment Tool and go to tab 2.
      2. Complete the self-assessment in all seven categories:
        1. Control Environment
        2. Roles & Responsibilities
        3. Policies & Procedures
        4. Competence
        5. Planning & Implementation Process
        6. Monitoring & Review
        7. Inventory Processes
      3. Go to tab 3 and examine the graphs produced. Identify the areas in your SAM program that require the most attention and which are already relatively mature.
      4. Use the results of this maturity assessment to focus the efforts of the project moving forward. Return to the assessment after a pre-determined time (e.g. one year later) to track improvement in maturity over time.
      Screenshot of the results page from the SAM Maturity Assessment Tool. Screenshot of the processes page from the SAM Maturity Assessment Tool.

      Step 1.2 Build team and define metrics

      Phase 1:
      Assess & Plan      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      1.1

      		Assess current state
      • 1.2.1 Identify roles and responsibilities for SAM team
      • 1.2.2 Identify metrics and KPIs to track the success of your SAM program
      • 1.2.3 Define SAM reports to track metrics
      • CIO/CFO
      • IT Director
      • SAM Manager
      • SAM Team
      • Service Desk Manager

      1.2

      		Build team and define metrics

      1.3

      		Plan & budget

      Step Outcomes

      • A description of the roles and responsibilities of IT staff involved in SAM
      • A list of metrics and reports to track to measure the success of the software asset management program

      Define roles and responsibilities for the SAM program

      Roles and responsibilities should be adapted to fit specific organizational requirements based on its size, structure, and distribution and the scope of the program. Not all roles are necessary and in small organizations, one or two people may fulfill multiple roles.

      Senior Management Sponsor – Ensures visibility and support for the program.

      IT Asset Manager – Responsible for management of all assets and maintaining asset database.

      Software Asset Manager – Responsible for management of all software assets (a subset of the overall responsibility of the IT Asset Manager).

      SAM Process Owner – Responsible for overall effectiveness and efficiency of SAM processes.

      Asset Analyst – Maintains up-to-date records of all IT assets, including software version control.

      Additional roles that interact with SAM:

      • Security Manager
      • Auditors
      • Procurement Manager
      • Legal Council
      • Change Manager
      • Configuration Manager
      • Release and Deployment Manager
      • Service Desk Manager

      Form a software asset management team to drive project success

      Many organizations simply do not have a large enough staff to hire a full-time software asset manager. The role will need to be championed by an internal employee.

      Avoid filling this position with a temporary contract; one of the most difficult operational factors in SAM implementation and continuity is constant turnover and organizational shifts. Hiring a software asset manager on contract might get the project going faster, but without the knowledge gained by doing the processes, the program won’t have enough momentum to sustain itself.

      Software Asset Manager Duties

      • Gather proof of license.
      • Record and track all assets within the SAM repository.
      • Produce compliance reports.
      • Preparation of budget requests.
      • Administration of software renewal process.
      • Contract and support analysis.
      • Document procedures.
      • Ensure project is on track.

      SAM Team Member Duties

      • Record license and contract data in SAM tool.
      • Assist in production of SAM reports.
      • Data analysis.
      • Match tickets to SAM data.
      • Assist in documentation.
      • Assist in compliance reports.
      • Gather feedback from end users.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Make sure your SAM team is diverse. The SAM team will need to be skilled at achieving compliance, but there is also a need for technically skilled individuals to maximize the function of the SAM tool(s) at your organization.

      Identify roles and responsibilities for SAM

      Associated Activity icon 1.2.1 Complete a RACI chart for your organization

      Participants: CIO/CFO, IT Director, SAM Manager, SAM Team, Service Desk Manager

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Determine the roles and responsibilities for your SAM program. Record the results in a RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) chart such as the example below.

      SAM Processes and Tasks CIO CFO SAM Manager IT Director Service Management Team IT Ops Security Finance Legal Project Manager
      Policies/Governance A C R R I I C I R I
      Strategy A C R R I I I I C
      Risk Management/Asset Security A C R R C R C C C
      Data Entry/Quality I I A R R
      Compliance Auditing R C A R I I I I
      Education & Training R I A C I I
      Contract Lifecycle Management R R A R C C C C R C
      Workflows R C A R I I I R I C/I
      Budgeting R R R A C R
      Software Acquisition R I A R I C R C C
      Controls/Reporting R I A R I I C I
      Optimize License Harvesting I I A R I C C

      Identify metrics to form the framework of the project

      Trying to achieve goals without metrics is like trying to cook without measuring your ingredients. You might succeed, but you’ll have no idea how to replicate it.

      SAM metrics should measure one of five categories:

      • Quantity → How many do we have? How many do we want?
      • Compliance → What is the level of compliance in a specific area?
      • Duration → How long does it take to achieve the desired result?
      • Financial → What is the cost/value? What is our comparative spend?
      • Quality → How good was the end result? E.g. Completeness, accuracy, timeliness

      The metrics you track depend on your maturity level. As your organization shifts in maturity, the metrics you prioritize for tracking will shift to reflect that change. Example:

      Metric category Low maturity metric High maturity metric
      Compliance % of software installed that is unauthorized % of vendors in effective licensing position (ELP) report
      Quantity % of licenses documented in ITAM tool % of requests made through unauthorized channels

      Associate KPIs and metrics with SAM goals

      • Identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for your software asset management program based on strategic goals.
      • For each success factor, identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success, as well as specific metrics that will be tracked and reported on.
      • Sample metrics are below:

      CSF = Goal, or what success looks like

      KPI = How achievement of goal will be defined

      Metric = Numerical measure to determine if KPI has been achieved

      CSF/Goal KPI Metrics
      Improve accuracy of software budget and forecasting
      • Reduce software spend by 5%
      • Total software asset spending
      • Budgeted software spend vs. actual software spend
      Avoid over purchasing software licenses and optimize use of existing licenses
      • Reduce number of unused and underused licenses by 10%
      • Number of unused licenses
      • Money saved from harvesting licenses instead of purchasing new ones
      Improve accuracy of data
      • Data in SAM tool matches what is deployed with 95% accuracy
      • Percentage of entitlements recorded in SAM tool
      • Percentage of software titles recognized by SAM tool
      Improved service delivery
      • Reduce time to deploy new software by 10%
      • Mean time to purchase new software
      • Mean time to fulfill new software requests

      Identify metrics and KPIs to track the success of your SAM program

      Associated Activity icon 1.2.2 Brainstorm metrics and KPIs

      Participants: CIO, IT Director, SAM Manager, SAM Team

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Discuss the goals and objectives of implementing or improving software asset management, based on challenges identified earlier.
      2. From the goals, identify the critical success factors for the SAM program.
      3. For each CSF, identify one to three key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate achievement of the success factor.
      4. For each KPI, identify one to three metrics that can be tracked and reported on to measure success. Ensure that the metrics are tangible and measurable.

      Use the table below as an example.

      Goal/CSF KPI Metric
      Improve license visibility Increase accuracy and completeness of SAM data
      • % of total titles included in ITAM tool
      • % of licenses documented in ITAM tool
      Reduce software costs Reduce number of unused software licenses by 20%
      • % of licenses assigned to ex-employees
      • % of deployed licenses that have not been used in the past six months
      Reduce shadow IT Reduce number of unauthorized software purchases and installations by 10%
      • % of software requests made through unauthorized channels
      • % of software installed that is unauthorized

      Tailor metrics and reports to specific stakeholders

      Asset Managers

      Asset managers require data to manage how licenses are distributed throughout the organization. Are there multiple versions of the same application deployed? What proportion of licenses deployed are assigned to employees who are no longer at the organization? What are the usage patterns for applications?

      Service Desk Technicians

      Service desk technicians need real-time data on licenses currently available to deploy to machines that need to be imaged/updated, otherwise there is a risk of breaching a vendor agreement.

      Business Managers and Executives

      Business managers and executives need reports to make strategic decisions. The reports created for business stakeholders need to help them align business projects or business processes with SAM metrics. To determine which reports will provide the most value, start by looking at business goals and determining the tactical data that will help inform and support these goals and their progress.

      Additional reporting guidelines:

      • Dashboards should provide quick-glance information for daily maintenance.
      • Alerts should be set for all contract renewals to provide enough advanced notice (e.g. 90 days).
      • Reports should be automated to provide actionable information to appropriate stakeholders as needed.

      Define SAM reports to track metrics

      Associated Activity icon 1.2.3 Identify reports and metrics to track regularly

      Participants: CIO, IT Director, SAM Manager, SAM Team

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Identify key stakeholders requiring SAM reports. For each audience, identify their goals and requirements from reporting.
      2. Using the list of metrics identified previously, sort metrics into reports for each audience based on their requirements and goals. Add any additional metrics required.
      3. Identify a reporting frequency for each report.

      Example:

      Stakeholder Purpose Report Frequency
      Asset Manager
      • Manage budget
      • Manage contracts and cash flow
      • Ensure processes are being followed
      		 Operational budget spent to date Monthly
      Capital budget spent to date Monthly
      Contracts coming due for renewal Quarterly
      Software harvested for redeployment Quarterly
      Number of single applications being managed Annually
      CFO
      • Manage budget
      • Manage cash flow
      		 Software purchased, operational & capital Monthly
      Software accrued for future purchases Monthly
      Contracts coming due for renewal
      • Include dollar value, savings/spend
      		 Quarterly
      CIO
      • Resource planning
      • Progress reporting
      		 Software deployments and redeployments Monthly
      Software rollouts planned Quarterly
      % of applications patched Quarterly
      Money saved Annually
      Number of contracts & apps managed Quarterly

      Step 1.3 Plan the SAM program and budget

      Phase 1:
      Assess & Plan      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      1.1

      		Assess current state
      • 1.3.1 Identify SAM functions to centralize vs. decentralize
      • 1.3.2 Complete the SAM budget tool
      • Project Sponsor
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • CFO

      1.2

      		Build team and define metrics

      1.3

      		Plan & budget

      Step Outcomes

      • Defined scope for the SAM program in terms of the degree of centralization of core functions and contracts
      • A clearer picture of software spend through the use of a SAM budgeting tool.

      Asset managers need to be involved in infrastructure projects at the decision-making stage

      Ensure that your software asset manager is at the table when making key IT decisions.

      Many infrastructure managers and business managers are unaware of how software licensing can impact projects. For example, changes in core infrastructure configuration can have big impacts from a software licensing perspective.

      Mini Case Study

      • When a large healthcare organization’s core infrastructure team decided to make changes to their environment, they failed to involve their asset manager in the decision-making process.
      • When the healthcare organization decided to make changes to their servers, they were running Oracle software on their servers, but the licenses were not being tracked.
      • When the change was being made to the servers, the business contacted Oracle to notify them of the change. What began as a tech services call quickly devolved into a licensing error; the vendor determined that the licenses deployed in the server environment were unauthorized.
      • For breaching the licensing agreement, Oracle fined the healthcare organization $250,000.
      • Had the asset manager been involved in the process, they would have understood the implications that altering the hardware configuration would have on the licensing agreement and a very expensive mistake could have been avoided.

      Decide on the degree of centralization for core SAM functions

      • Larger organizations with multiple divisions or business units will need to decide which SAM functions will be centralized and which, if any, will be decentralized as they plan the scope of their SAM program. Generally, certain core functions should be centralized for the SAM program to deliver the greatest benefits.
      • The degree of centralization may also be broken down by contract, with some contracts centralized and some decentralized.
      • A centralized SAM database gives needed visibility into software assets and licenses across the organization, but operation of the database may also be done locally.

      Centralization

      • Allows for more strategic planning
      • Visibility into software licenses across the organization promotes rationalization and cost savings
      • Ensure common products are used
      • More strategic sourcing of vendors and resellers
      • Centrally negotiate pricing for better deals
      • Easier to manage risk and prepare for audits
      • Greater coordination of resources

      Decentralization

      • May allow for more innovation
      • May be easier to demonstrate local compliance if the organization is geographically decentralized
      • May be easier to procure software if offices are in different countries
      • Deployment and installation of software on user devices may be easier

      Identify SAM functions to centralize vs. decentralize

      Associated Activity icon 1.3.1 Identify functions for centralization

      Participants: CIO, IT Director, SAM Manager, SAM Team

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. If applicable, identify SAM functions that will need to be centralized and evaluate the implications of centralization to ensure it is feasible.
      2. If applicable, identify SAM functions that will be decentralized, if resources are available to manage those functions locally.

      Example:

      Centralized Functions
      • Operation of SAM database
      • SAM budget
      • Vendor selection
      • Contract negotiation and purchasing
      • Data analysis
      • Software receiving and inventory
      • Audits and risk management
      Decentralized functions
      • Procurement
      • Deployment and installation

      Software comprises the largest part of the infrastructure and operations budget

      After employee salaries (38%), the four next largest spend buckets have historically been infrastructure related. Adding salaries and external services, the average annual infrastructure and operations spend is over 50% of all IT spend.

      The largest portion of that spend is on software license and maintenance. As of 2016, software accounted for the roughly the same budget total as voice communications, data communications, and hardware combined. Managing software contracts is a crucial part of any mature budgeting process.

      Graph showing the percentage of all IT spend used for 'Ongoing software license and maintenance' annually. In 2010 it was 17%; in 2018 it was 21%. Graph showing the percentage of all IT spend used for 'Hardware maintenance / upgrades' annually. In 2010 it was 7%; in 2018 it was 8%. Graph showing the percentage of all IT spend used for 'Data communications' annually. In 2010 it was 7%; in 2018 it was 7%. Graph showing the percentage of all IT spend used for 'Voice communications' annually. In 2010 it was 5%; in 2018 it was 7%.

      Gain control of the budget to increase the success of SAM

      A sophisticated software asset management program will be able to uncover hidden costs, identify opportunities for rationalization, save money through reharvesting unused licenses, and improve forecasting of software usage to help control IT spending.

      While some asset managers may not have experience managing budgets, there are several advantages to the ITAM function owning the budget:

      • Be more involved in negotiating pricing with vendors.
      • Build better relationships with stakeholders across the business.
      • Gain greater purchasing power and have a greater influence on purchasing decisions.
      • Forecast software requirements more accurately.
      • Inform benchmarks and metrics with more data.
      • Directly impact the reduction in IT spend.
      • Manage the asset database more easily and have a greater understanding of software needs.
      • Identify opportunities for cost savings through rationalization.

      Examine your budget from a SAM perspective to optimize software spend

      How does examining your budget from a SAM perspective benefit the business?

      • It provides a chance to examine vendor contracts as they break down contracts by projects and services, which gives a clearer picture of where software fits into the budget.
      • It also gives organizations a chance to review vendor agreements and identify any redundancies present in software supporting services.

      Review the budget:

      • When reviewing your budget, implement a contingency fund to mitigate risk from a possible breach of compliance.
      • If your organization incurs compliance issues that relate to specific services, these fines may be relayed back to the departments that own those services, affecting how much money each department has.
      • The more sure you are of your compliance position, the less likely you are to need a contingency fund, and vice versa.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Finance needs to be involved. Their questions may cover:

      • Where are the monthly expenditures? Where are our financial obligations? Do we have different spending amounts based on what time of year it is?

      Use the SAM Budget Workbook to uncover insights about your software spend

      Supporting Tool icon 1.3.2 Complete the SAM budget tool

      The SAM Budget Workbook is designed to assist in developing and justifying the budget for software assets for the upcoming year.

      Instructions

      1. Work through tabs 2-6, following the instructions as you go.
      2. Tab 2 involves selecting software vendors and services provided by software.
      3. Tab 3 involves classifying services by vendor and assigning a cost to them. Tab 3 also allows you to classify the contract status.
      4. Tab 4 is a cost variance tracking sheet for software contracts.
      5. Tabs 5 and 6 are monthly budget sheets that break down software costs by vendor and service, respectively.
      6. Tab 7 provides graphs to analyze the data generated by the tool.
      7. Use the results found on tab 7 to analyze your budget: are you spending too much with one service? Is there vendor overlap based on what project or service that software is reporting?
      Screenshots of the 'Budget of Services Supported by Software Vendors' and 'Software Expense cashflow reports by Vendor' pages from the SAM Budget Workbook. Screenshot of the 'Analysis of Data' page from the SAM Budget Workbook.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

      Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

      1.1.3

      		 Sample of activity 1.1.3 'Determine the maturity of your SAM program'. Determine the maturity of your SAM program

      Using the SAM Maturity Assessment Tool, fill out a series of questions in a survey to assess the maturity of your current SAM program. The survey assesses seven categories that will allow you to align your strategy to your results.

      1.2.3

      		 Sample of activity 1.2.3 'Define SAM reports to track metrics'. Define SAM reports to track metrics

      Identify key stakeholders with reporting needs, metrics to track to fulfill reporting requirements, and a frequency for producing reports.

      Phase 1 outline

      Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 1: Assess and Plan

      Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 4
      Step 1.1: Assess current state Step 1.2: Build team and define metrics Step 1.3: Plan and budget
      Start with an analyst kick-off call:
      • Outline SAM challenges
      • Overview of the project
      • Assess current maturity level
      		 Review findings with analyst:
      • Define roles and responsibilities of SAM staff
      • Identify metrics and reports to track
      		 Review findings with analyst:
      • Plan centralization of SAM program
      • Discuss SAM budgeting
      Then complete these activities…
      • Identify challenges
      • Identify objectives of SAM program
      • Assess maturity of current state
      		 Then complete these activities…
      • Define roles and responsibilities
      • Identify metrics and KPIs
      • Plan reporting
      		 Then complete these activities…
      • Identify SAM functions to centralize
      • Complete the SAM budgeting tool
      With these tools & templates:
      • SAM Maturity Assessment
      • Standard Operating Procedures
      		 With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures
      		 With these tools & templates:
      • SAM Budget Workbook

      Phase 2: Procure, Receive, and Deploy

      VISA used high-quality SAM data to optimize its software licensing

      Logo for VISA.

      Case Study

      Industry: Financial Services
      Source: SAM Summit 2014

      Challenge

      Visa formed a SAM team in 2011 to combat costly software audits.

      The team’s first task was to use the available SAM data and reconcile licenses deployed throughout the organization.

      Organizations as large as Visa constantly run into issues where they are grossly over or under licensed, causing huge financial risk.

      Solution

      Data collection and analysis were used as part of the license rationalization process. Using a variety of tools combined with a strong team allowed Visa to perform the necessary steps to gather license data and analyze usage.

      One of the key exercises was uniting procurement and deployment data and the teams responsible for each.

      End-to-end visibility allowed the data to be uniform. As a result, better decisions about license rationalization can be made.

      Results

      By improving its measurement of SAM data, Visa was able to dedicate more time to analyze and reconcile its licenses. This led to improved license management and negotiations that reflected actual usage.

      By improving license usage through rationalization, Visa reduced the cost of supporting additional titles.

      The SAM team also performed license reclamation to harvest and redistribute licenses to further improve usage. The team’s final task was to optimize audit responses.

      Step 2.1 Request and procure software

      Phase 2:
      Procure, Receive & Deploy      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      2.1

      		Request & Procure
      • 2.1.1 Determine which software contracts should be centralized vs. localized
      • 2.1.2 Determine your software standards
      • 2.1.3 Define procurement policy
      • 2.1.4 Identify approvals and requests for authorization thresholds
      • 2.1.5 Build software procurement workflow for new contracts
      • 2.1.6 Define process for contract renewals and additional procurement scenarios
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team

      2.2

      		Receive & Deploy

      Step Outcomes

      • Defined standards for software requests
      • A documented policy for software procurement including authorization thresholds
      • Documented process workflows for new contracts and contract renewals

      Procurement and SAM teams must work together to optimize purchasing

      Procurement and SAM must collaborate on software purchases to ensure software purchases meet business requirements and take into account all data on existing software and licenses to optimize the purchase and contract. Failure to work together can lead to unnecessary software purchases, overspending on purchases, and undesirable contract terms.

      SAM managers must collaborate with Procurement when purchasing software.

      SAM managers should:

      • Receive requests for software licenses
      • Ensure a duplicate license isn’t already purchased before going through with purchase
      • Ensure the correct license is purchased for the correct individuals
      • Ensure the purchasing information is tracked in the ITAM/SAM tool
      • Report on software usage to inform purchases
      		 Two cartoon people in work attire each holding a piece of a puzzle that fits with the other. Procurement must commit to be involved in the asset management process.

      Procurement should:

      • Review requests and ensure all necessary approvals have been received before purchasing
      • Negotiate optimal contract terms
      • Track and manage purchasing information and invoices and handle financial aspects
      • Use data from SAM team on software usage to decide on contract terms and optimize value

      Centralize procurement to decrease the likelihood of overspending

      Centralized negotiation and purchasing of software can ensure that the SAM team has visibility and control over the procurement process to help prevent overspending and uncontrolled agreements.

      Benefits of centralized procurement

      • Ability to easily manage software demand.
      • Provides capability to effectively manage your relationships with suppliers.
      • Allows for decreased contract processing times.
      • Provides easy access to data with a single consolidated system for tracking assets at an early stage.
      • Reduces number of rogue purchases by individual departments.
      • Efficiency through automation and coordinated effort to examine organization’s compliance and license position.
      • Higher degree of visibility and transparency into asset usage in the organization.

      Info-Tech Insights

      It may be necessary to procure some software locally if organizations have multiple locations, but try to centrally procure and manage the biggest contracts from vendors that are likely to audit the organization. Even with a decentralized model, ensure all teams communicate and that contracts remain visible centrally even if managed locally.

      Standards for software procurement help prevent overspending

      Software procurement is often more difficult for organizations than hardware procurement because:

      • Key departments that need to be involved in the purchasing process do not communicate or interact enough.
      • A fear of software auditing causes organizations to overspend to mitigate risk.
      • Standards are often not in place, with most purchases being made outside of the gold imaging standard.
      • A lack of discovery results in gross overspending on software licenses that are already present and underused.

      Info-Tech Insight

      One of the major challenges involved in implementing SAM is uniting multiple datasets and data sources across the enterprise. A conversation with each major business unit will help with the creation of software procurement standards that are acceptable to all.

      Determine which software contracts should be centralized vs. localized (optional)

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.1 Identify central standard enterprise offerings

      Participants: CIO, IT Director, SAM Manager, SAM Team

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. As a group, list as many software contracts that are in place across the organization as can easily be identified, focusing on top vendors.
      2. Identify which existing software contracts are standard enterprise offerings that are procured and managed centrally and which are non-standard or localized applications.
      3. Looking at the list of non-standard software, identify if any can or should be rationalized or replaced with a standard offering.
      Standard enterprise offerings
      • Microsoft
      • IBM
      • Adobe
      • Dell
      • Cisco
      • VMware
      • Barracuda
      Localized or non-standard software

      Classify your approved software into tiers to improve workflow efficiency

      Not all titles are created equal; classifying your pre-approved and approved software titles into a tiered system will provide numerous benefits for your SAM program.

      The more prestigious the asset tier, the higher the degree of data capture, support, and maintenance required.

      • Mission-critical, high-priority applications are classified as gold standard.
      • Secondary applications or high priority are silver standard.
      • Low-usage applications or normal priority are bronze standard.

      E.g. An enterprise application that needs to be available 24/7, such as a learning management system, should be classified as a gold tier to ensure it has 24/7 support.

      Creating tiers assists stakeholders in justifying the following set of decision points:

      • Which assets will require added maintenance (e.g. software assurance for Microsoft)
      • Technical support requirements to meet business requirements
      • Lifecycle and upgrade cycle of the software assets.
      • Monitoring usage to determine whether licenses can be harvested
      • Authorizations required for purchase requests

      Determine your software standards

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.2 Identify standard software images for your organization

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. As a group, discuss and identify the relevant software asset tiers and number of tiers.
      2. For each tier, define:
        • Support requirements (hours and payments)
        • Maintenance requirements (mandatory or optional)
        • Lifecycle (when to upgrade, when to patch)
        • Financial requirements (CapEx/OpEx expenses)
        • Request authorizations (requestors and approvers)
      3. Sort the software contracts identified in the previous category into tiers, for example:
        • Mission-critical software (gold tier)
        • High-priority software (silver tier)
        • Normal-priority software (bronze tier)
      4. Use the SOP as an example.

      Determine which licensing options and methodologies fit into future IT strategy

      Not everyone is ready to embrace the cloud for all solutions; make sure to align cloud strategy to business requirements. Work closely with IT executives to determine appropriate contract terms, licensing options, and tracking processes.

      Vendors make changes to bundles and online services terms on a regular basis. Ensure you document your agreed upon terms to save your required functionality as vendor standard offerings change.

      • Any contracts getting moved to the cloud will need to undergo a contract comparison first.
      • The contract you signed last month could be completely different this month. Many cloud contracts are dynamic in nature.
      • Keep a copy of the electronic contract that you signed in a secure, accessible location.
      • Consider reaching a separate agreement with the vendor that they will ensure you maintain the results of the original agreement to prevent scope creep.

      Not all on-premises to cloud options transition linearly:

      • Features of perpetual licenses may not map to subscriptions
      • Product terms may differ from online services terms
      • Licensing may change from per device to per user
      • Vendor migrations may be more complex than anticipated

      Download the Own the Cloud: Strategy and Action Plan blueprint for more guidance

      Understand the three primary models of software usage agreements

      Licensed Open Source Shareware
      License Structure A software supplier is paid for the permission to use their software. The software is provided free of charge, but is still licensed. The software is provided free of charge, but is still licensed. Usage may be on a trial basis, with full usage granted after purchase.
      Source Code The source code is still owned by the supplier. Source code is provided, allowing users to change and share the software to suit their needs. Source code is property of the original developer/supplier.
      Technical Support Technical support is included in the price of the contract. Technical support may be provided, often in a community-based format from other developers of the open-source software in question. Support may be limited during trial of software, but upgraded once a purchase is made.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Open-source software should be managed in the same manner as commercial software to understand licensing requirements and be aware of any changes to these agreements, such as commercialization of such products, as well as any rules surrounding source code.

      Coordinate with purchasing department to define software procurement policy

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.3 Define procurement policy

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Define and document policies that will apply to IT software purchases, including policies around:

      • Software purchase approvals
      • Licenses for short-term contractors
      • On-premises vs. SaaS purchases
      • Shareware and freeware fees
      • Open-source software

      Use the example below as guidance and document in the SOP.

      • Software will not be acquired through user corporate credit cards, office supply, petty cash, or personal expense budgets. Purchases made outside of the acceptable processes will not be reimbursed and will be removed from company computers.
      • Contractors who are short term and paid through vendor contracts and invoices will supply their own licenses.
      • Software may be purchased as on-premises or as-a-service solutions as IT deems appropriate for the solution.
      • Shareware and freeware authors will be paid the fee they specify for use of their products.
      • Open-source software will be managed in the same manner as commercial software to understand licensing requirements and be aware of any changes to these agreements, such as commercialization of such products.

      Identify approvals and requests for authorization thresholds

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.4 Identify financial thresholds for approvals and requests

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, CIO, CFO, IT Director

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Identify and classify financial thresholds for contracts requiring approval. For each category of contract value, identify who needs to authorize the request. Discuss and document any other approvals necessary. An example is provided below.

      Example:
      Requests for authorization will need to be directed based on the following financial thresholds:

      Contract value Authorization
      <$50,000 IT Director
      $50,000 to $250,000 CIO
      $250,000 to $500,000 CIO and CFO
      >$500,000 Legal review

      Develop a defined process for software procurement

      A poorly defined software procurement workflow can result in overspending on unnecessary software licensing throughout the year. This can impact budgeting and any potential software refreshes, as businesses will often rely on purchasing what they can afford, not what they need.

      Benefits of a defined workflow

      • Standardized understanding of the authorization processes results in reduced susceptibility to errors and quicker processing times.
      • Compliance with legal regulations.
      • Protection from compliance violations.
      • Transparency with the end user by communicating the process of software procurement to the business.

      Elements to include in procurement workflows:

      • RFP
      • Authorizations and approvals
      • Contract review
      • Internal references to numbers, cost centers, locations, POs, etc.

      Four types of procurement workflows:

      1. New contract – Purchasing brand new software
      2. Add to contract – Adding new POs or line items to an existing contract
      3. Contract renewal – Renewing an existing contract
      4. No contract required – Smaller purchases that don’t require a signed contract

      Outline the procurement process for new contracts

      The procurement workflow may involve the Service Desk, procurement team, and asset manager.

      The following elements should be accounted for:

      • Assignee
      • Requestor
      • Category
      • Type
      • Model or version
      • Requisition number
      • Purchase order number
      • Unit price
      A flowchart outlining the procurement process for new contracts. There are three levels, at the top is 'Tier 2 or Tier 3', the middle is 'IT Procurement', the bottom is 'Asset Manager'. It begins in 'Tier 2 or Tier 3' with 'Approved request received', and if it is not declined it moves on to 'Purchasing request forwarded to Procurement' on the 'IT Procurement' level. If an RFP is required, it eventually moves to 'Receives contract' on the 'Asset Manager' level and ends with 'Document license requirements, notify IT Product Owner'.

      Build software procurement workflow for new contracts

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.5 Build new contract procurement workflow

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. As a team, outline each of the tasks in the process of procuring a new software asset using cue cards, sticky notes, or a whiteboard.
      2. Use the sample procurement workflow on the previous slide as an example if needed.
      3. Ensure the following elements required for the asset procurement process have been accounted for:
        • Assignee
        • Requestor
        • Category
        • Type
        • Model or version
        • Requisition number
        • Purchase order number
        • Unit price
      4. Review the workflow and make any adjustments necessary to improve the process. Document using Visio and add to the SOP.

      Review vendor contracts to right-size licensing procurement

      Many of your applications come from the same vendor, and a view into the business services provided by each software vendor contract will prove beneficial to the business.

      • You may uncover overlaps in services provided by software across departments.
      • The same service may be purchased from different vendors simply because two departments never compared notes!
      • This leaves a lot of money on the table from a lack of volume discounts.
      A graphic depicting a Venn diagram in which the 'Software' and 'Services' circles overlap, both of which stem from a 'Vendor Contract'.
      • Be cautious about approaching license budgeting strictly from a cost perspective. SAM is designed to right-size your licenses to properly support your organization.
      • One trap organizations often fall into is bundling discounts. Vendors will offer steep discounts if clients purchase multiple titles. On the surface, this might seem like a great offer.
      • However, what often happens is that organizations will bundle titles to get a steep discount on their prize title of the group.
      • The other titles become shelfware, and when the time comes to renew the contract, the maintenance fees on the shelfware titles will often make the contract more expensive than if only the prize title was purchased.

      Additionally, information regarding what licenses are being used for certain services may yield insight into potential redundancies. For example, two separate departments may have each have a different application deployed that supports the same service. This presents an opportunity for savings based on bulk licensing agreements, not to mention a simplified support environment by reducing the number of titles deployed in your environment.

      Define a procedure for tracking and negotiating contract renewals

      Participants: IT Director/CIO, Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Discuss and document a policy for tracking and negotiating contract renewals. Answer the following questions as guides:

      • How will renewal dates be tracked and monitored?
      • How soon should contracts be reviewed prior to renewal to determine appropriateness for use and compliance?
      • What criteria will be used to determine if the product should be renewed?
      • Who will be consulted for contract renewal decisions for major contracts?
      • How will licensing and support decisions be made?

      Optional contract review:

      1. Take a sample contract to renew. Create a list of services that are supported by the software. Look for overlaps, redundancies, shelfware, and potential bundling opportunities. Recall the issues outlined when purchasing bundled software.
      2. Create a list of action items to bring into the next round of contract negotiations with that vendor and identify a start date to begin reviewing these items.

      Define process for contract renewals and additional procurement scenarios

      Associated Activity icon 2.1.6 Build additional procurement workflows

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Build procurement workflows and define policies and procedures for additional purchasing scenarios beyond new contracts.

      This may include:

      1. Contract renewals
      2. Single purchase, non-contract procurement
      3. Adding to contracts

      Use the sample workflows in the Standard Operating Procedures as a guide.

      A flowchart outlining the procurement process for 'Software Contract Renewal'.

      A flowchart outlining the procurement process for 'Software single purchase, non-contract'.

      Negotiate for value to ensure quality license agreements

      Approach negotiating from a value-first, price-second perspective.

      Contract negotiations too often come down to a question of price. While you want to avoid overpaying for licenses, a worse offense is getting a steep discount for a bundle of applications where the majority will go unused.

      Vendors will try to sell a full stack of software at a steep discount to give the illusion of value. Often organizations bite off more than they can chew. → When auditors come knocking, the business may be in compliance, but being over-licensed is a dangerous state to be in. → Organizations end up over-licensed and in possession of numerous “shelfware” apps that sit on the proverbial shelf collecting dust while drawing expensive maintenance and licensing fees from the business.
      • Pressure from the business is also an issue. Negotiations can be rushed in an effort to fulfill an immediate need.
      • Make sure you clearly outline the level of compliance expected from the vendor.
      • Negotiate reduced-fee software support services. Your Service Desk can already handle the bulk of requests, and investing in a mature Service Desk will provide more lasting value than paying for expensive maintenance and support services that largely go unused.

      Learn to negotiate effectively to optimize contract renewals

      Leverage Info-Tech’s research, Master Contract Review and Negotiation for Software Agreements, to review your software contracts to leverage your unique position during negotiations and find substantial cost savings.

      This blueprint includes the following tools and templates:

      • RASCI Chart
      • Vendor Communication Management Plan
      • Software Business Use Case Template
      • SaaS TCO Calculator
      • Software Terms & Conditions Evaluation Tool
      • Software Buyer’s Checklist
      • Controlled Vendor Communications Letter
      • Key Vendor Fiscal Year End Calendar
      • Contract Negotiation Tactics Playbook

      Step 2.2 Receive and deploy software

      Phase 2:
      Procure, Receive & Deploy      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      2.1

      		Request & Procure
      • 2.2.1 Identify storage locations for software information and media
      • 2.2.2 Design the workflow for receiving software
      • 2.2.3 Design and document the deployment workflow(s)
      • 2.2.4 Create a list of pre-approved, approved, and unapproved software titles
      • 2.2.5 Document the request and deployment process for non-standard software requests
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team
      • Purchasing (optional)
      • Service Desk Manager (optional)
      • Operations (optional)
      • Release & Deployment manager (optional)

      2.2

      		Receive & Deploy

      Step Outcomes

      • A strategy for storing software information and media in the ITAM database and DML
      • A documented workflow for the software receiving process
      • Documented process workflows for software requests and deployment, including for large quantities of software
      • A list of pre-approved, approved, and unapproved software titles for deployment
      • A process for responding to non-standard software requests

      Verify product and information upon receipt

      Upon receipt of procured software:

      • Verify that the product is correct
      • Reconcile with purchase record to ensure the order has been completed
      • Verify that the invoice is correct
      • Update financial information such as budget and accounting records
      • Update ITAM database to show status as received
      • Record/attach license keys and software codes in ITAM database
      • Attach relevant documents to record in the ITAM database (license reports, invoices, end-user agreement, etc.)
      • Download and store any installation files, DVDs, and CDs
      • Once software has been installed, verify license is matched to discovered installed software within the ITAM database

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      While most software will be received through email and download, in some cases physical software may be received through courier or mail. Ensure processes and procedures are defined for both cases.

      Establish a secure repository for licenses and documentation

      All licenses, documentation, and digital media for authorized and supported software should be collected and stored in a central, secure location to minimize risk of theft, loss, or unauthorized installation or duplication of software.

      Where to store software data?

      The ITAM database should contain an up-to-date record of all software assets, including their associated:

      • Serial numbers
      • License keys and codes
      • Contracts and agreements

      The database allows you to view software that is installed and associated licenses.

      A definitive media library (DML) is a single logical storage area, which may consist of one or more locations in which definitive authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored and protected.

      The DML consists of file storage as well as physical storage of CDs and DVDs and must be continually updated to contain the latest information about each configuration item.

      The DML is used to organize content and link to automated deployment to easily install software.

      Use a definitive media library (DML) to assist in storage of software packages for deployment

      The DML will usually contain the most up-to-date versions to minimize errors created by having unauthorized, old, or problematic software releases being deployed into the live IT environment. The DML can be used for both full-packed product (FPP) software and in-house developed software, providing formalized data around releases of in-house software.

      The DML should consist of two main storage areas:

      1. Secure file storage
      2. Secure physical storage for any master CD/DVDs

      Additional Recommendations:

      • The process of building, testing, adapting, and final pre-production testing should provide your IT department with a solid final deployment package, but the archive will enable you to quickly pull in a previous version if necessary.
      • When upgrading software packages to include new patches or configurations, use the DML to ensure you're referencing a problem-free version.
      • Include the DML in your disaster recovery plan (DRP) and include testing of the DML as part of your DRP testing. If you need to rebuild servers from these files, offsite, you'll want to know your backup DML is sound.

      Ensure you have a strategy to create and update your DML

      Your DML should have a way to separate archived, new, and current software to allow for optimal organization of files and code, to ensure the correct software is installed, and to prepare for automated deployment through the service catalog.

      New software hasn’t been tested yet. Make it available for testing, but not widely available.

      Keep a record for archived software, but do not make it available for install.

      Current software is regularly used and should be available for install.

      Deployment

      • Are you using tools to integrate with the DML for deployment?
      • Store files that are ready for automated deployment in a separate location.

      Identify storage locations for software information and media

      Associated Activity icon 2.2.1 Identify software storage locations

      Participants: Asset Manager, IT Director

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Identify storage locations for asset data that is received (i.e. ITAM database, DML).
      2. Identify information that should be stored with each asset (i.e. license, serial number, invoice, end-user license agreement) and where this information should be stored.
      3. Identify fields that should be populated in the DML for each record:
        • Product name
        • Version
        • Description
        • Authorized by
        • Received by/date
        • Configuration item on which asset is installed
        • Media
        • Physical and backup locations
        • Verified by/date

      Define the standard process for receiving software

      Define the following in your receiving process:

      • Process for software received by email/download
      • Process for physical material received at Service Desk
      • Information to be recorded and where
      • Process following discrepancy of received software
      A flowchart outlining the standard process for receiving software. There are two levels, at the top is 'Desktop Support Team' and the bottom is 'Procurement'. It begins in 'Desktop Support Team' with 'Received at Service Desk' or 'Receive by email/download'. If the reconciliation is correct it eventually moves on to 'Fulfill service request, deliver and close ticket'. If the reconciliation is not correct it moves to 'Contact vendor with discrepancy details' in 'Procurement'. If a return is required 'Repackage and ship', or if not 'Notify Desktop Support Team of resolution'.

      Design the workflow for receiving software

      Associated Activity icon 2.2.2 Design the workflow for receiving software

      Participants: Asset Manager, Purchasing, Service Desk Manager, Operations (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Option 1: Whiteboard

      1. Discuss the workflow and draw it on the whiteboard.
      2. Assess whether you are using the best workflow. Modify it if necessary.
      3. Use the sample workflow from this step as a guide if starting from scratch.
      4. Engage the team in refining the process workflow.
      5. Transfer data to Visio and add to the SOP.

      Option 2: Tabletop Exercise

      1. Distribute index cards to each member of the team.
      2. Have each person write a single task they perform on the index card. Be granular. Include the title or the name of the person responsible.
      3. Mark cards that are decision points. Use a card of a different color or use a marker to make a colored dot.
      4. Arrange the index cards in order, removing duplicates.
      5. Assess whether you are using the best workflow. Engage the team to refine it if necessary.
      6. Transfer data to Visio and add to the SOP.

      Build release management into your software deployment process

      A sound software deployment process is tied to sound release management practices.

      Releases: A collection of authorized changes to an IT service. Releases are divided into:

      • Major software releases/upgrades: Normally containing large areas of new functionality, some of which may make intervening fixes to redundant problems.
      • Minor software releases/upgrades: Normally containing small enhancements and fixes, some of which may have already been issued as emergency fixes.
      • Emergency software fixes: Contain the corrections to a small number of known problems.

      Ensure that release management processes work with SAM processes:

      • If a release will impact licensing, the SAM manager must be made aware to make any necessary adjustments.
      • Deployment models should be in line with SAM strategy (i.e. is software rolled out to everyone or individually when upgrades are needed?).
      • How will user requests for upgrades be managed?
      • Users should be on the same software version to ensure file compatibility and smooth patch management.
      • Ideally, software should be no more than two versions back.

      Document the process workflow for software deployment

      Define the process for deploying software to users.

      Include the following in your workflow:

      • All necessary approvals
      • Source of software
      • Process for standard vs. non-standard software requests
      • Update ITAM database once software has been installed with license data and install information
      A flowchart outlining the process workflow for software deployment. There are four levels, at the top is 'Business', then 'Desktop Support Team', 'Procurement', and the bottom is 'Asset Manager'. It begins in 'Business' with 'Request for software', and if it is approved by the manager it moves to 'Check DB: Can a volume serial # be used?' in 'Desktop Support Team'. If yes, it eventually moves on to 'Close ticket' on the same level, if not it eventually moves to 'Initiate procurement process' in 'Procurement', 'Initiate receiving process' in 'Asset Manager', and finally to 'Run quarterly license review to purchase volume licenses'.

      Large-scale software rollouts should be run as projects

      Rollouts or upgrades of large quantities of software will likely be managed as projects.

      These projects should include project plans, including resources, timelines, and detailed procedures.

      Define the process for large-scale deployment if it will differ from the regular deployment process.

      A flowchart outlining large-scale software rollouts. There are three levels, at the top is 'IT Procurement', then 'Asset Manager', and the bottom is 'Software Packager'. It begins in 'IT Procurement' with 'Project plan approved', and if a bid is not required it skips to 'Sign contract/Create purchase order'. This eventually moves to 'Receive access to eLicense site/receive access to new product' in 'Asset Manager', and either to 'Approve invoice for payment, forward to accounting' on the same level or to 'Download software, license keys' in 'Software Packager' then eventually to 'Deploy'.

      Design and document the deployment workflow(s)

      Associated Activity icon 2.2.3 Document deployment workflows for desktop and large-scale deployment

      Participants: Asset Manager, Service Desk Manager, Release & Deployment Manager

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Outline each step in the process of software deployment using notecards or on a whiteboard. Be as granular as possible. On each card, describe the step and the individual responsible for each step.
        • Be sure to identify the type of release for standard software releases and patches.
        • Additionally, identify how additional software outside the scope of the base image will be addressed.
      2. When you are satisfied that each step is accurately captured, use a second color of notecard to document any challenges, inefficiencies, or pains associated with each step. Consider further documenting the time on each task.
      3. Examine each challenge or pain point. Discuss whether there is a clear solution to the problem. If so, document the solution and amend the workflow. If not, engage in a broader discussion of possible solutions, considering people, processes, and available technology.
      4. Document separately the process for large-scale software deployment if required.

      Develop standards to streamline your software estate

      Software should be approved and deployed based on approved standards to minimize over-deployed software and manage costs appropriately. A list of standard software improves the efficiency of the software approval process.

      • Pre-approved titles include basic platforms like Office or Adobe Reader that are often available in enterprise-wide license packages.
      • Approved titles include popular titles with license numbers that need to be managed on a role-by-role basis. For example, if most of your marketing team uses the Adobe Creative Suite, a user still needs to get approval before they can get a license.
      • Unapproved titles are managed on a case-by-case basis and are up to the discretion of the asset manager and other involved parties.

      Additionally, create a list of unauthorized software including titles not to be installed under any circumstances. This list should be designed with feedback from your end users and technical support staff. Front-line knowledge is crucial to identifying which titles are causing major problems.

      Create a list of pre-approved, approved, and unapproved software titles

      Associated Activity icon 2.2.4 Determine software categories for deployment

      Participants: IT Director, Asset Manager, Purchasing (optional), Service Desk Manager (optional), Release & Deployment Manager (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Define software categories that will be used to build software standards.
      2. Include definitions of each category.
      3. Add examples of software to each category to begin building list of approved software titles for deployment.

      Use the following example as a guide.

      Category Definition Software titles
      Pre-approved/standard
      • Supported and approved for install for all end users
      • Included on most, if not all devices
      • Typically installed as a base image
      • Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
      • Adobe Reader
      • Windows
      Approved by role
      • Supported and approved for install, but only for certain groups of end users
      • Popular titles with license numbers that need to be managed on a role-by-role basis
      • Pre-approved for purchase with business manager’s approval
      • Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
      • Adobe Acrobat Pro
      • Microsoft Visio
      Unapproved/requires review
      • Not previously approved or installed by IT
      • Special permission required for installation based on demonstrable business need
      • Managed on a case-by-case basis
      • Up to the discretion of the asset manager and other involved parties
      • Dynamics
      • Zoom Text
      • Adaptive Insights
      Unauthorized
      • Not to be installed under any circumstances
      • Privately owned software
      • Pirated copies of any software titles
      • Internet downloads

      Define the review and approval process for non-standard software

      Software requiring review will need to be managed on a case-by-case basis, with approval dependent on software evaluation and business need.

      The evaluation and approval process may require input from several parties, including business analysts, Security, technical team, Finance, Procurement, and the manager of the requestor’s department.

      A flowchart outlining the review and approval process for non-standard software. There are five levels, at the top is 'Business Analyst/Project Manager', then 'Security Team', 'Technical Team', 'Financial & Contract Review' and the bottom is 'Procurement'. It begins in 'Business Analyst/Project Manager' with 'Request for non-standard software', and if the approved product is available it moves to 'Evaluate tool for security, data, and privacy compliance' in 'Security Team'. If more evaluation is necessary it moves to 'Evaluate tool for infrastructure and integration requirements' in 'Technical Team', and then 'Evaluate terms and conditions' in 'Financial & Contract Review'. At any point in the evaluation process it can move back to the 'Business Analyst/Project Manager' level for 'Assemble requirements details', and finally down to the 'Procurement' level for 'Execute purchase'.

      Document the request and deployment process for non-standard software

      Associated Activity icon 2.2.5 Document process for non-standard software requests

      Participants: Asset Manager, Service Desk Manager, Release & Deployment Manager

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Define the review and approval process for non-standard software requests.

      Use the workflow on the previous slide as a guide to map your own workflow process and document the steps in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      The following assessments may need to be included in the process:

      • Functionality and use requirements: May include suggestion back to the business before proceeding any further to see if similar, already approved software could be used in its place.
      • Technical specifications: Cloud, data center, hardware, backups, integrations (Active Directory, others), file, and program compatibility.
      • Security: Security team may need to assess to ensure nothing will install that will compromise data or systems security.
      • Privacy policy: Security and compliance team may need to evaluate the solution to ensure data will be secured and accessed only by authorized users.
      • Terms and conditions: The contracts team may evaluate terms and conditions to ensure contracts and end-user agreements do not violate existing standards.
      • Accessibility and compliance: Software may be required to meet accessibility requirements in accordance with company policies.

      BMW deployed a global data centralization program to achieve 100% license visibility

      Logo for BMW.

      Case Study

      Industry: Financial Services
      Source: SAM Summit 2014

      Challenge

      BMW is a large German automotive manufacturer that employs over 100,000 people. It has over 7,000 software products deployed across 106,000 clients and servers in over 150 countries.

      When the global recession hit in 2008, the threat of costly audits increased, so BMW decided to boost its SAM program to cut licensing costs. It sought to centralize inventory data from operations across the globe.

      Solution

      A new SAM office was established in 2009 in Germany. The SAM team at BMW began by processing all the accumulated license and installation data from operations in Germany, Austria, and the UK. Within six months, the team had full visibility of all licenses and software assets.

      Compliance was also a priority. The team successfully identified where they could make substantial reductions in support and maintenance costs as well as remove surplus costs associated with duplicate licensing.

      Results

      BMW overcame a massive data centralization project to achieve 100% visibility of its global licensing estate, an incredible achievement given the scope of the operation.

      BMW experienced efficiency gains due to transparency and centralized management of licenses through the new SAM office.

      Additionally, internal investment in training and technical knowledge has helped BMW continuously improve the program. This has resulted in ongoing cost reductions for the manufacturer.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

      Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

      2.1.5

      		 Sample of activity 2.1.5 'Build software procurement workflow for new contracts'. Build software procurement workflow for new contracts

      Use the sample workflow to document your own process for procurement of new software contracts.

      2.2.4

      		 Sample of activity 2.2.4 'Create a list of pre-approved, approved, and unapproved software titles'. Create a list of pre-approved, approved, and unapproved software titles

      Build definitions of software categories to inform software standards and brainstorm examples of each category.

      Phase 2 outline

      Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 2: Procure, receive, and deploy

      Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 6
      Step 2.1: Request and procureStep 2.2: Receive and deploy
      Start with an analyst kick-off call:
      • Define standards for software requests
      • Build procurement policy
      • Define procurement processes
      		Review findings with analyst:
      • Build processes for software receiving
      • Build processes for software requests and deployment
      • Define process for non-standard requests
      Then complete these activities…
      • Determine software standards
      • Define procurement policy
      • Identify authorization thresholds
      • Build procurement workflows for new contracts and renewals
      		Then complete these activities…
      • Identify storage locations for software information
      • Design workflow for receiving software
      • Design workflow for software deployment
      • Create a list of approved and non-standard requests
      • Define process for non-standard requests
      With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures
      		With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures

      Phase 3: Manage, Redeploy, and Retire

      Step 3.1 Manage and maintain software contracts

      Phase 3:
      Manage, Redeploy & Retire      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      3.1

      		Manage & Maintain Software
      • 3.1.1 Define process for conducting software inventory
      • 3.1.2 Define policies for software maintenance and patches
      • 3.1.3 Document your patch management policy
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team
      • Release Manager (optional)
      • Security (optional)

      3.2

      		Harvest, Redeploy, or Retire

      Step Outcomes

      • A process for conducting regular software inventory checks and analyzing the data to continually manage software assets and license compliance.
      • An understanding of software maintenance requirements
      • A policy for conducting regular software maintenance and patching
      • A documented patch management policy

      Manage your software licenses to decrease your risk of overspending

      Many organizations fail to track their software inventory effectively; the focus often remains on hardware due to its more tangible nature. However, annual software purchases often account for a higher IT spend than annual hardware purchases, so it’s important to track both.

      Benefits of managing software licenses

      • Better control of the IT footprint. Many companies already employ hardware asset management, but when they employ SAM, there is potential to save millions of dollars through optimal use of all technology assets.
      • Better purchasing decisions and negotiating leverage. Enhanced visibility into actual software needs means not only can companies procure and deploy the right increments of software in the right areas, but they can also do so more cost-effectively through tools such as volume purchase agreements or bundled services.
      • No refund policy combined with shelfware (software that sits unused “on the shelf”) is where software companies make their money.
      • Managing licenses will help prevent costly audit penalties. Special attention should be paid to software purchased from large vendors such as Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, SAP, or IBM.

      Maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date software inventory to manage licenses effectively

      A clearly defined process for inventory management will reduce the risk of over buying licenses and falling out of compliance.

      • A detailed software inventory and tracking system should act as a single point of contact for all your license data.
      • Maintain a comprehensive inventory of installed software through complete and accurate records of all licenses, certifications, and software purchase transactions, storing these in a secure repository.
      • Periodically review installed software and accompanying licenses to ensure only legal and supported software is in use and to ensure ongoing compliance with the software management policy.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Have and maintain a list of supported software to guide what new software will be approved for purchase and what current software should be retained on the desktops, servers, and other processing devices.

      Conduct a baseline inventory of deployed software to know what you have

      You have to know what you have before you can manage it.

      A baseline inventory tells you exactly what software you have deployed and where it is being used. This can help to determine how to best optimize software and license usage.

      A software inventory will allow you to:

      • Identify all software residing on computers.
      • Compare existing software to the list of supported software.
      • Identify and delete illegal or unsupported software.
      • Identify and stop software use that violates license agreements, copyright law, or organizational policies.

      Two methods for conducting a software inventory:

      1. If you have several computers to analyze, use automated tools to conduct inventory for greater accuracy and efficiency. Software inventory or discovery tools scan installed software and generate inventory reports, while asset management tools will help you manage that data.
      2. Manual inventory may be possible if your organization has few computers.

      How to conduct a manual software inventory:

      1. Record serial number of device being analyzed.
      2. Record department and employee to whom the computer is assigned.
      3. Inspect contents of hard drive and/or server to identify software as well as hidden files and directories.
      4. Record licensing information for software found on workstation and server.
      5. Compare findings with list of supported software and licenses stored in repository.

      Keep the momentum going through regular inventory and licensing checks

      Take preventive action to avoid unauthorized software usage through regular software inventory and license management:

      • Regularly update the list of supported software and authorized use.
      • Monitor and optimize software license usage.
      • Continually communicate with and train employees around software needs and policies.
      • Maintain a regular inventory schedule to keep data up to date and remain compliant with licensing requirements – your specific schedule will depend on the size of the company and procurement schedule.
      • Conduct random spot inventories – even if you are using a tool, periodic spot checks should still be performed to ensure accuracy of inventory.
      • Periodically review software procurement records and ensure procurement process is being followed.
      • Continuously monitor software installations on networked computers through automated tools.
      • Ensure software licensing documentation and data is secure.

      Define process for conducting software inventory

      Associated Activity icon 3.1.1 Define process for regular software inventory

      Participants: IT Director, Asset Manager

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. If a baseline software inventory has not been conducted, discuss and document a plan for completing the inventory.
        • Will the inventory be conducted manually or through automated tools?
        • If manually, what information will be collected and recorded? Which devices will be analyzed? Where will data be stored?
        • If automatically, which tools will be used? Will any additional information need to be collected? Who will have access to the inventory?
        • When will the inventory be conducted and by whom?
          • Monthly inventory may be required if there is a lot of change and movement, otherwise quarterly is usually sufficient.
      2. Document how inventory data will be analyzed.
        • How will data be compared against supported software?
        • How will software violations be addressed?
      3. Develop a plan for continual inventory spot checks and maintenance.
        • How often will inventory be conducted and/or analyzed?
        • How often will spot checks be performed?

      Don’t forget that software requires maintenance

      While maintenance efforts are typically focused around hardware, software maintenance – including upgrades and patches – must be built into the software asset management process to ensure software remains compliant with security and regulatory requirements.

      Software maintenance guidelines:

      • Maintenance agreements should be stored in the ITAM database.
      • Software should be kept as current as possible. It is recommended that software remain no more than two versions off.
      • Unsupported software should be uninstalled or upgraded as required.
      • Upgrades should be tested, especially for high-priority or critical applications or if integrated with other applications.
      • Change and release management best practices should be applied for all software upgrades and patches.
      • A process should be defined for how often patches will be applied to end-user devices.

      Integrate patch management with your SAM practice to improve security and reduce downtime

      The integration between patch management and asset management is incredibly valuable from a technology point of view. IT asset management (ITAM) tools create reports on the characteristics of deployed software. By combining these reports with a generalized software updater, you can automate most simple patches to save your team’s efforts for more-critical incidents. Usage reports can also help determine which applications should be reviewed and removed from the environment.

      • In recent years, patch management has grown in popularity due to widespread security threats, the resultant downtime, and expenses associated with them.
      • The main objective of patch management is to create a consistently configured environment that is secure against known vulnerabilities in operating systems and application software.

      Assessing new patches should include questions such as:

      • What’s the risk of releasing the patch? What is the criticality of the system? What end users will be affected?
      • How will we manage business disruption during an incident caused by a failed patch deployment?
      • In the event of service outage as a result of a failed patch deployment, how will we recover services effectively in business priority order?
      • What’s the risk of expediting the patch? Of not releasing the patch at all?

      Define policies for software maintenance and patches

      Associated Activity icon 3.1.2 Define software maintenance and patching policies

      Participants: IT Director, Asset Manager, Release Manager (optional), Security (optional)

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Software maintenance:

      Review the software maintenance guidelines in this section and in the SOP template. Discuss each policy and revise and document in accordance with your policies.

      Patch management:

      Discuss and document patch management policies:

      1. How often will end-user devices receive patches?
      2. How often will servers be patched?
      3. How will patches be prioritized? See example below.
        • Critical patches will be applied within two days of release, with testing prioritized to meet this schedule.
        • High-priority patches will be applied within 30 days of release, with testing scheduled to meet this requirement.
        • Normal-priority patches will be evaluated for appropriateness and will be installed as needed.

      Document your patch management policy

      Supporting Tool icon 3.1.3 Use the Patch Management Policy template to document your policy

      The patch management policy helps to ensure company computers are properly patched with the latest appropriate updates to reduce system vulnerability and to enhance repair application functionality. The policy aids in establishing procedures for the identification of vulnerabilities and potential areas of functionality enhancements, as well as the safe and timely installation of patches. The patch management policy is key to identifying and mitigating any system vulnerabilities and establishing standard patch management practices.

      Use Info-Tech’s Patch Management Policy template to get started.

      Sample of the 'Patch Management Policy' template.

      Step 3.2 Harvest, Redeploy, or Retire Software

      Phase 3:
      Manage, Redeploy & Retire      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      3.1

      		Manage & Maintain Software
      • 3.2.1 Map your software license harvest and reallocation process
      • 3.2.2 Define the policy for retiring software
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team

      3.2

      		Harvest, Redeploy, or Retire

      Step Outcomes

      • A defined process for harvesting and reallocating unused software licenses
      • A defined policy for how and when to retire unused or outdated software

      Harvest and reallocate software to optimize license usage

      Using a defined process for harvesting licenses will yield a crop of savings throughout the organization.

      Unused software licenses are present in nearly every organization and result in wasted resources and software spend. Recycling and reharvesting licenses is a critical process within software asset management to save your organization money.

      Licensing Recycling

      When computers are no longer in use and retired, the software licenses installed on the machines may be able to be reused.

      License recycling involves reusing these licenses on machines that are still in use or for new employees.

      License Harvesting

      License harvesting involves more actively identifying machines with licenses that are either not in use or under utilized, and recovering them to be used elsewhere, thus reducing overall software spend on new licenses.

      Use software monitoring data to identify licenses for reallocation in alignment with policies and agreements

      1. Monitor software usage
        Monitor and track software license usage to gain a clear picture of where and how existing software licenses are being used and identify any unused or underused licenses.
      2. Identify licenses for reharvesting
        Identify software licenses that can be reharvested and reallocated according to your policy.
      3. Uninstall software
        Notify user, schedule a removal time if approved, uninstall software, and confirm it has been removed.
      4. Reallocate license when needed

      Sources of surplus licenses for harvest:

      • Projects that required a license during a particular time period, but now do not require a license (i.e. the free version of the software will suffice)
      • Licenses assigned to users no longer with the organization
      • Software installed on decommissioned hardware
      • Installed software that hasn’t been used by the user in the last 90 days (or other defined period)
      • Over-purchased software due to poorly controlled software request, approval, or provisioning processes

      Info-Tech Insight

      Know the stipulations of your end-user license agreement (EULA) before harvesting and reallocating licenses. There may be restrictions on how often a license can be recycled in your agreement.

      Create a defined process for software license harvesting

      Define a standard reharvest timeline. For example, every 90 days, your SAM team can perform an internal audit using your SAM tool to gather data on software usage. If a user has not used a title in that time period, your team can remove that title from that user’s machine. Depending on the terms and conditions of the contract, the license can either be retired or harvested and reallocated.

      Ensure you have exception rules built in for software that’s cyclical in its usage. For example, Finance may only use tax software during tax season, so there’s no reason to lump it under the same process as other titles.

      It’s important to note that in addition to this process, you will need a software usage policy that supports your license harvest process.

      The value of license harvesting

      • Let’s say you paid for 1,000 licenses of a software title at a price of $200 per license.
      • Of this total, 950 have been deployed, and of that total, 800 are currently being used.
      • This means that 16% of deployed licenses are not in use – at a cost of $30,000.
      • With a defined license harvest process, this situation would have been prevented.

      Build a workflow to document the software harvest process

      Include the following in your process:

      • How will unused software be identified?
      • How often will usage reports be reviewed?
      • How will the user be notified of software to be removed?
      • How will the software be removed?
      A flowchart documenting the software harvest process. There are two levels, at the top is 'IT Asset Manager', and the bottom is 'Desktop Support Team'. It begins in 'IT Asset Manager' with 'Create/Review Usage Report', and if the client agrees to removal it moves to 'License deactivation required?' in 'Desktop Support Team'. Eventually you 'Close ticket' and it moves back up to 'Discovery tool will register change automatically' in 'IT Asset Manager'.

      Map your software license harvest and reallocation process

      Associated Activity icon 3.2.1 Build license harvest and reallocation workflow

      Participants: IT Director, Asset Manager, Service Desk Manager

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Outline each step in the process of software harvest and reallocation using notecards or a whiteboard. Be as granular as possible. On each card, describe the step and the individual responsible for each step.
      2. When you are satisfied that each step is accurately captured, use a second color of notecard to document any challenges, inefficiencies, or pains associated with each step. Consider further documenting the time on each task.
      3. Examine each challenge or pain point. Discuss whether there is a clear solution to the problem. If so, document the solution and amend the workflow. If not, engage in a broader discussion of possible solutions, considering people, processes, and available technology.
      4. Use the sample workflow on the previous slide as a guide if needed.

      The same flowchart documenting the software harvest process from the previous section.

      Improve your software retirement process to drive savings for the whole business

      Business Drivers for Software Disposal

      • Cost Reduction
        • Application retirement allows the application and the supporting hardware stack to be decommissioned.
        • This eliminates recurring costs such as licensing, maintenance, and application administration costs, representing potentially significant savings
      • Consolidation
        • Many legacy applications are redundant systems. For example, many companies have ten or more legacy financial systems from mergers/acquisitions.
        • Systems can be siloed, running incompatible software. Moving data to a common accessible repository streamlines research, audits, and reporting.
      • Compliance
        • An increased focus on regulations places renewed emphasis on e-discovery policies. Keeping legacy applications active just to retain data is an expensive proposition.
        • During application retirement, data is classified, assigned retention policies, and disposed of according to data/governance initiatives.
      • Risk Mitigation
        • Relying on IT to manage legacy systems is problematic. The lack of IT staff familiar with the application increases the potential risk of delayed responses to audits and e-discovery.
        • Retiring application data to a common platform lets you leverage skills you have current investments in. This enables you to be responsive to audit or litigation results.

      Retire your outdated software to decrease IT spend on redundant applications

      Benefits of software retirement:

      1. Assists the service desk in not having to support every release, version, or edition of software that your company might have used in the past.
      2. Stay current with product releases so your company is better placed to take advantage of improvements built-in to such products, rather than being limited by the lack of a newly introduced function.
      3. Removing software that is no longer of commercial benefit can offer a residual value through assets.

      Consequences of continuing to support outdated software:

      • Budgets are tied up to support existing applications and infrastructure, which leaves little room to invest in new technologies that would otherwise help grow business.
      • Much of this software includes legacy systems that were acquired or replaced when new applications were deployed. The value of these outdated systems decreases with every passing year, yet organizations often continue to support these applications.
        • Fear of compliance and data access are the most common reasons.
      • Unfortunately, the cost of doing so can consume over 50% of an overall IT budget.

      The solution to this situation is to retire outdated software.

      “Time and time again, I keep hearing stories from schools on how IT budgets are constantly being squeezed, but when I dig a little deeper, little or no effort is being made on accounting for software that might be on the kit we are taking away.” (Phil Goldsmith, Managing Director – ScrumpyMacs)

      Define the policy for retiring software

      Associated Activity icon 3.2.2 Document process for software retirement

      Participants: IT Director, Asset Manager, Operations

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      1. Discuss and document the process for retiring software that has been deemed redundant due to changing business needs or an improvement in competitive options.
      2. Consider the following:
        • What criteria will determine when software is suited for retirement?
        • The contract should always be reviewed before making a decision to ensure proper notice is given to the vendor.
        • Notice should be provided as soon as possible to ensure no additional billing arrives for renewals.
        • How will software be removed from all devices? How soon must the software be replaced, if applicable?
        • How long will records be archived in the ITAM database?
      3. Document decisions in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

      Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

      3.1.2

      		 Sample of activity 3.1.2 'Define policies for software maintenance and patches'. Define policies for software maintenance and patches

      Discuss best practices and define policies for conducting regular software maintenance and patching.

      3.2.1

      		 Sample of activity 3.3.1 'Assess the maturity of audit management processes and policies'. Map your software license harvest and reallocation process

      Build a process workflow for harvesting and reallocating unused software licenses.

      Phase 3 outline

      Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 3: Manage, redeploy, and retire

      Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 4
      Step 3.1: Manage and maintain softwareStep 3.2: Harvest, redeploy, or retire
      Start with an analyst kick-off call:
      • Define a process for conducting software inventory
      • Define a policy for software maintenance
      • Build a patch management policy
      		Review findings with analyst:
      • Build a process for harvesting and reallocating software licenses
      • Define a software retirement policy
      Then complete these activities…
      • Define process for conducting software inventory
      • Define policies for software maintenance
      • Document patch management policy
      		Then complete these activities…
      • Map software harvest and reallocation process
      • Define software retirement policy
      With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures
      • Patch Management Policy
      		With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures

      Phase 4: Build Supporting Processes & Tools

      Visa used an internal SAM strategy to win the audit battle

      Logo for VISA.

      Case Study

      Industry: Financial Services
      Source: SAM Summit 2014

      Challenge

      The overarching goal of any SAM program is compliance to prevent costly audit fines. The SAM team at Visa was made up of many individuals who were former auditors.

      To deal with audit requests from vendors, “understand how auditors do things and understand their approach,” states Joe Birdsong, SAM Director at Visa.

      Vendors are always on the lookout for telltale signs of a lucrative audit. For Visa, the key was to understand these processes and learn how to prepare for them.

      Solution

      Vendors typically look for the following when evaluating an organization for audit:

      1. A recent decrease in customer spend
      2. How easy the licensed software is to audit
      3. Organizational health

      Ultimately, an audit is an attack on the relationship between the vendor and organization. According to Birdsong: “Maybe they haven’t really touched base with your teams and had good contact and relationship with them, and they don’t really know what’s going on in your enterprise.”

      Results

      By understanding the motivations behind potential audits, Visa was able to form a strategy to increase transparency with the vendor.

      Regular data collection, almost real-time reporting, and open, quick communication with the vendor surrounding audits made Visa a low-risk client for vendors.

      Buy-in from management is also important, and the creation of an official SAM strategy helps maintain support. Thanks to its proactive SAM program, Visa saved $200 million in just three years.

      Step 4.1 Ensure compliance for audits

      Phase 4:
      Build supporting processes & tools      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      4.1

      		Compliance & audits
      • 4.1.1 Define and document the internal audit process
      • 4.1.2 Define and document the external audit process
      • 4.1.3 Prepare an audit scoping email template
      • 4.1.4 Prepare an audit launch email template
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team

      4.2

      		Communicate & build roadmap

      Step Outcomes

      • An understanding of the audit process and importance of audit preparation
      • A defined process for conducting regular internal audits to prepare for and defend against external audits
      • A strategy and documented process for responding to external audit requests

      Take a lifecycle approach to your software compliance process

      Internal audits are an effective way for organizations to regularly assess their licensing position in preparation for an audit.

      1. Gather License Data
        Use your SAM tool to run a discovery check to determine the current state of your software estate.
      2. Improve Data Quality
        Scan the data for red flags. Improve its completeness, consistency, and quality.
      3. Identify Audit Risks
        Using corrected license data, examine your reports and identify areas of risk within the organization.
      4. Identify priority titles
        Determine which titles need attention first by using the output of the license rationalization step.
      5. Reconcile to eliminate gaps
        Ensure that the correct number of licenses are deployed for each title.
      6. Draft Vendor Response
        Prepare response to vendor for when an audit has been requested.

      Improve audit response maturity by leveraging technology and contract data

      By improving your software asset management program’s maturity, you will drive savings for the business that go beyond the negotiating table.

      Recognize the classic signs of each stage of audit response maturity to identify where your organization currently stands and where it can go.

      • Optimized: Automated tools generate compliance, usage, and savings reports. Product usage reports and alerts in place to harvest and reuse licenses. Detailed savings reports provided to executive team.
      • Proactive: Best practices enforced. Compliance positions are checked quarterly, and compliance reports are used to negotiate software contracts.
      • Reactive: Best practices identified but unused. Manual tools still primarily in use. Compliance reports are time-consuming and often inaccurate.
      • Chaotic: Purchases are ad hoc and transaction based. Minimal tracking in place, leading to time-consuming manual processes.

      Implement a proactive internal audit strategy to defend against external audits

      Audits – particularly those related to software – have been on the rise as vendors attempt to recapture revenue.

      Being prepared for an audit is critical. Internal preparation will not only help your organization reduce the risk associated with an audit but will also improve daily operations through focusing on diligent documentation and data collection.

      Conducting routine internal audits will help prepare your organization for the real deal and may even prevent the audit from happening altogether. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved through a proactive audit strategy with routine documentation in place.

      In addition to the fines incurred from a failed audit, numerous other negative consequences can arise:

      • Multiple audits: Failing an audit makes the organization more likely to be audited again.
      • Poor perception of IT: Unless non-compliance was previously disclosed to the business, IT can be deemed responsible.
      • Punitive injunctions: If a settlement is not reached, vendors will apply for an injunction, inhibiting use of their software.
      • Inability to justify purchases: IT can have difficulty justifying the purchase of additional resources after a failed audit.
      • Disruption to business: Precious time and resources will be spent dealing with the results of the audit.

      Perform routine internal compliance reports to decrease audit risk

      The intent of an internal audit is to stop the battle from happening before it starts. Waiting for a knock at the door from a vendor can be stressful, and it can do harm beyond a costly fine.

      • Internal audits help to ensure you’re keeping track of any software changes to keep your data and licensing up to date and avoid costly surprises if an external audit is requested.
      • Identify areas where processes are breaking down and address them before there’s a potential negative impact.
      • Identify control points in processes ahead of time to more easily identify access points where information should be verified.

      “You want to get [the] environment to a level where you’re comfortable sharing information with [a] vendor. Inviting them in to have a chat and exposing numbers means there’s no relationship there where they’re coming to audit you. They only come to audit you when they know there’s a gain to be had, otherwise what’s the point of auditing?
      I want customers to get comfortable with licensing and what they’re spending, and then there’s no problem exposing that to vendors. Vendors actually appreciate that.”       (Ben Brand, SAM Practice Manager, Insight)

      Info-Tech Insight

      “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu

      Performing routine checks on your license compliance will drastically reduce the risk that your organization gets hit with a costly fine. Maintaining transparency and demonstrating compliance will fend off audit-hungry vendors.

      Define and document the internal audit process

      Associated Activity icon 4.1.1 Document process and procedures for internal audits

      Participants: CIO and/or IT Director, Asset Manager, IT Managers

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Define and document a process for conducting internal software audits.
      Include the following:

      1. How often will audits be completed for each software published?
      2. When will audits be conducted?
      3. Who will conduct the audit? Who will be consulted?
      4. What will be included in the scope of the audit?

      Example:

      • Annual audits will be completed for each software publisher, scheduled as part of the license or maintenance agreement renewals.
      • Where annual purchases are not required, vendor audits for compliance will be conducted annually, with a date predetermined based on minimizing scheduling conflicts with larger audits.
      • Audit will be completed with input from product managers.
      • Audit will include:
        • Software compliance review: Licenses owned compared to product installed.
        • Version review: Determine if installed versions match company standards. If there is a need for upgrades, does the license permit upgrading?
        • Maintenance review: Does the maintenance match requirements for the next year’s plans and licenses in use?
        • Support review: Is the support contract appropriate for use?
        • Budget: Has budget been allocated; is there an adjustment required due to increases?

      Identify organizational warning signs to decrease audit risk

      Being prepared for an audit is critical. Internal preparation will not only help your organization reduce the risk associated with an audit but will also improve daily operations through focusing on diligent documentation and data collection.

      Certain triggers exist that indicate a higher risk of an audit occurring. It is important to recognize these warning signs so you can prepare accordingly.

      Health of organization
      If your organization is putting out fires and a vendor can sense it, they’ll see an audit as a highly lucrative exercise.

      Decrease in customer spend
      A decrease in spend means that an organization has a high chance of being under-licensed.

      License complexity
      The more complex the license, the harder it is to remain in compliance. Some vendors are infamous for their complex licensing agreements.

      Audit Strategy

      • Audits should neither be feared nor embraced.
      • An audit is an attack on your relationship with your vendor; your vendor needs to defend its best interests, but it would also rather maintain a satisfied relationship with its client.
      • A proactive approach to audits through routine reporting and transparency with vendors will alleviate all fear surrounding the audit process. It provides your vendor with compliance assurance and communicates that an audit won’t net the vendor enough revenue to justify the effort.

      Focus on three key tactics for success before responding to an audit

      Taking these due diligence steps will pay dividends downstream, reducing the risk of negative results such as release of confidential information.

      Form an Audit Team

      • Once an audit letter is received from a vendor or third party, a virtual team needs to be formed.
      • The team should be cross-functional, representing various core areas of the business.
      • Don’t forget legal counsel: they will assist in the review of audit provision(s) to determine your contractual rights and obligations with respect to the audit.

      Sign an NDA

      • An NDA should be signed by all parties, the organization, the vendor, and the auditor.
      • Don’t wait on a vendor to provide its NDA. The organization should have its own and provide it to both parties.
      • If the auditor is a third party, negotiate a three-way NDA. This will prevent data being shared with other third parties.

      Examine Contract History

      • Vendors will attempt to alter terms of contracts when new products are purchased.
      • Maintain your current agreement if they are more favorable by “grandfathering” your original agreement.
      • Oracle master level agreements are an example: master level agreements offer more favorable terms than more recent versions.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Even if you cannot get a third-party NDA signed, the negotiation process should delay the overall audit process by at least a month, buying your organization valuable time to gather license data.

      Be prepared for external audit requests with a defined process for responding

      1. Vendor-initiated audit request received and brought to attention of IT Asset Manager and CIO.
      2. Acknowledge receipt of audit notice.
      3. Negotiate timing and scope of the audit (including software titles, geographic locations, entities, and completion date).
      4. Notify staff not to remove or acquire licenses for software under audit.
      5. Gather documentation and create report of all licensed software within audit scope.
        • Include original contract, most recent contract, and any addendums, purchase receipts, or reseller invoices, and publisher documentation such as manuals or electronic media.
      6. Compare documentation to installed software according to ITAM database.
      7. Validate any unusual or non-compliant software.
      8. Complete documentation requested by auditor and review results.

      Define and document the external audit process

      Associated Activity icon 4.1.2 Define external audit process

      Participants: CIO and/or IT Director, Asset Manager, IT Managers

      Document: Document in the Standard Operating Procedures.

      Define and document a process for responding to external software audit requests.
      Include the following:

      1. Who must be notified of the audit request when it is received?
      2. When must acknowledgement of the notice be sent and by whom?
      3. What must be defined under the scope of the audit (e.g. software titles, geographic locations, entities, completion date)?
      4. What communications must be sent to IT staff and end users to ensure compliance?
      5. What documentation should be gathered to review?
      6. How will documentation be verified against data?
      7. How will unusual or non-compliant software be identified and validated?
      8. Who needs to be informed of the results?

      Control audit scope with an audit response template

      Supporting Tool icon 4.1.3 Prepare an audit scoping email template

      Use the Software Audit Scoping Email Template to create an email directed at your external (or internal) auditors. Send the audit scoping email several weeks before an audit to determine the audit’s scope and objectives. The email should include:

      • Detailed questions about audit scope and objectives.
      • Critical background information on your organization/program.

      The email will help focus your preparation efforts and initiate your relationship with the auditors.

      Control scope by addressing the following:

      • Products covered by a properly executed agreement
      • Geographic regions
      • User groups
      • Time periods
      • Specific locations
      • A subset of users’ computers
      Sample of the 'Software Audit Scoping Email Template'.

      Keep leadership informed with an audit launch email

      Supporting Tool icon 4.1.4 Prepare an audit launch email template

      Approximately a week before the audit, you should email the internal leadership to communicate information about the start of the audit. Use the Software Audit Launch Email Template to create this email, including:

      • Staffing
      • Functional requirements
      • Audit contact person information
      • Scheduling details
      • Audit report estimated delivery time

      For more guidance on preparing for a software audit, see Info-Tech’s blueprint: Prepare and Defend Against a Software Audit.

      Sample of the 'Software Audit Launch Email Template'.

      A large bank employed proactive, internal audits to experience big savings

      Case Study

      Industry: Banking
      Source: Pomeroy

      Challenge

      A large American financial institution with 1,300 banking centers in 12 states, 28,000 end users, and 108,000 assets needed to improve its asset management program.

      The bank had employed numerous ITAM tools, but IT staff identified that its asset data was still fragmented. There was still incomplete insight into what assets the banked owned, the precise value of those assets, their location, and what they’re being used for.

      The bank decided to establish an asset management program that involved internal audits to gather more-complete data sets.

      Solution

      With the help of a vendor, the bank implemented cradle-to-grave asset tracking and lifecycle management, which provided discovery of almost $80 million in assets.

      The bank also assembled an ITAM team and a dedicated ITAM manager to ensure that routine internal audits were performed.

      The team was instrumental in establishing standardization of IT policies, hardware configuration, and service requirements.

      Results

      • The bank identified and now tracks over 108,000 assets.
      • The previous level of 80% accuracy in inventory tracking was raised to 96%.
      • Nearly $500,000 was saved through asset recovery and repurposing of 600 idle assets.
      • There are hundreds of thousands of dollars in estimated savings as the result of avoiding costly penalties from failed audits thanks to proactive internal audits.

      Step 4.2 Build communication plan and roadmap

      Phase 4:
      Build supporting processes & tools      		This step will walk you through the following activities:This step involves the following participants:

      4.1

      		Compliance & audits
      • 4.2.1 Develop a communication plan to convey the right messages
      • 4.2.2 Anticipate end-user questions by preparing an FAQ list
      • 4.2.3 Build a software asset management policy
      • 4.2.4 Build additional SAM policies
      • 4.2.5 Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation
      • IT Director, CIO
      • IT Managers and SAM Manager
      • SAM Team

      4.2

      		Communicate & build roadmap

      Step Outcomes

      • A documented communications plan for relevant stakeholders to understand the benefits and changes the SAM program will bring
      • A list of anticipated end-user questions with responses
      • Documented software asset management policies
      • An implementation roadmap

      Communicate SAM processes to gain acceptance and support

      Communication is crucial to the integration and overall implementation of your SAM program. If staff and users do not understand the purpose of processes and policies, they will fail to provide the desired value.

      An effective communication plan will:

      • Gain support from management at the project proposal phase.
      • Create end-user buy-in once the program is set to launch.
      • Maintain the presence of the program throughout the business.
      • Instill ownership throughout the business from top-level management to new hires.

      Communicate the following:

      1. Advertise successes

        • Regularly demonstrate the value of the SAM program with descriptive statistics focused on key financial benefits.
        • Share data with the appropriate personnel; promote success to obtain further support from senior management.

      2. Report and share asset data

        • Sharing detailed asset-related reports frequently gives decision makers useful data to aid in their strategy.
        • These reports can help your organization prepare for audits, adjust budgeting, and detect unauthorized software.

      3. Communicate the value of SAM

        • Educate management and end users about how they fit into the bigger picture.
        • Individuals need to know which behaviors may put the organization at risk or adversely affect data quality.

      Educate staff and end users through SAM training to increase program success

      As part of your communication plan and overall SAM implementation, training should be provided to both staff and end users within the organization.

      • ITAM solutions are complex by nature with both business process and technical knowledge required to use them correctly.
      • All facets of the business, from management to new hires, should be provided with training to help them understand their role in the program’s success.
      • Keep the message appropriate to the audience – end users don’t need to know the complete process, but will need to know policy and how to request.
      • Even after the SAM program has been fully implemented, keep employees up to date with policies and processes through ongoing training sessions for both new hires and existing employees:
        • New hires: Provide new hires with all relevant SAM policies and ensure they understand the importance of software asset management.
        • Existing employees: Continually remind them of how SAM is involved in their daily operations and inform them of any changes to policies.

      Create your communications plan to anticipate challenges, remove obstacles, and ensure buy-in

      Provide separate communications to key stakeholder groups

      Why:
      • What problems are you trying to solve?
      What:
      • What processes will it affect (that will affect me)?
      Who:
      • Who will be affected?
      • Who do I go to if I have issues with the new process?
      		 Three circular arrows each linking t the next in a downward daisy chain. The type arrow has 'IT Staff' in the middle, the second 'Management', and the third 'End Users' When:
      • When will this be happening?
      • When will it affect me?
      How:
      • How will these changes manifest themselves?
      Goal:
      • What is the final goal?
      • How will it benefit me?

      Develop a communication plan to convey the right messages

      Associated Activity icon 4.2.1 Develop a communication plan to convey the right messages

      Participants: CIO, IT Director, Asset Manager, Service Desk Manager

      Document: Document in the SAM Communication Plan.

      1. Identify the groups that will be affected by the SAM program.
      2. For each group requiring a communication plan, identify the following:
      3. Benefits of SAM for that group of individuals (e.g. more efficient software requests).
      4. The impact the change will have on them (e.g. change in the way a certain process will work).
      5. Communication method (i.e. how you will communicate).
      6. Timeframe (i.e. when and how often you will communicate the changes).
      7. Complete this information in a table like the one below and document in the Communication Plan.
      Group Benefits Impact Method Timeline
      Executives
      • Improved audit compliance
      • Improved budgeting and forecasting
      • Review and sign off on policies
      End Users
      • Streamlined software request process
      • Follow software installation and security policies
      IT
      • Faster access to data and one source of truth
      • Modified processes
      • Ensure audits are completed regularly

      Anticipate end-user questions by preparing an FAQ list

      Associated Activity icon 4.2.2 Prepare an FAQ list

      Document: Document FAQ questions and answers in the SAM FAQ Template.

      ITAM imposes changes to end users throughout the business and it’s normal to expect questions about the new program. Prepare your team ahead of time by creating a list of FAQs.

      Some common questions include:

      • Why are you changing from the old processes?
      • Why now?
      • What are you going to ask me to do differently?
      • Will I lose any of my software?

      The benefits of preparing a list of answers to FAQs include:

      • A reduction in time spent creating answers to questions. If you focus on the most common questions, you will make efficient use of your team’s time.
      • Consistency in your team’s responses. By socializing the answers to FAQs, you ensure that no one on your team is out of the loop and the message remains consistent across the board.

      Include policy design and enforcement in your communication plan

      • Software asset management policies should define the actions to be taken to support software asset management processes and ensure the effective and efficient management of IT software assets across the asset lifecycle.
      • Implementing asset management policies enforces the notion that the organization takes its IT assets and the management of them seriously and will help ensure the benefits of SAM are achieved.
      • Designing, approving, documenting, and adopting one set of standard SAM policies for each department to follow will ensure the processes are enforced equally across the organization.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Use policy templates to jumpstart your policy development and ensure policies are comprehensive, but be sure to modify and adapt policies to suit your corporate culture or they will not gain buy-in from employees. For a policy to be successful, it must be a living document and have participation and involvement from the committees and departments to whom it will pertain.

      Build a software asset management policy

      Supporting Tool icon 4.2.3 Document a SAM policy

      Use Info-Tech’s Software Asset Management Policy template to define and document the purpose, scope, objectives, and roles and responsibilities for your organization's software asset management program.

      The template allows you to customize policy requirements for:

      • Procurement
      • Installation and Removal
      • Maintenance
      • Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Company Divestitures
      • Audits

      …as well as consequences for non-compliance.

      Sample of the 'Software Asset Management Policy' template.

      Use Info-Tech’s policy templates to build additional policies

      Supporting Tool icon 4.2.4 Build additional SAM policies

      Asset Security Policy
      The IT asset security policy will describe your organization's approach to ensuring the physical and digital security of your IT assets throughout their entire lifecycle.

      End-User Devices Acceptable Use Policy
      This policy should describe how business tools provided to employees are to be used in a responsible, ethical, and compliant manner, as well as the consequences of non-compliance.

      Purchasing Policy
      The purchasing policy helps to establish company standards, guidelines, and procedures for the purchase of all information technology hardware, software, and computer-related components as well as the purchase of all technical services.

      Release Management Policy
      Use this policy template to define and document the purpose, scope, objectives, and roles and responsibilities for your organization's release management program.

      Internet Acceptable Use Policy
      Use this template to help keep the internet use policy up to date. This policy template includes descriptions of acceptable and unacceptable use, security provisions, and disclaimers on the right of the organization to monitor usage and liability.

      		Samples of additional SAM policies, listed to the left.

      Implement SAM in a phased, constructive approach

      One of the most difficult decisions to make when implementing a SAM program is: “where do we start?”

      It’s not necessary to deploy a comprehensive SAM program to start. Build on the essentials to become more mature as you grow.

      SAM Program Maturity (highest to lowest)

      • Audits and reporting
        Gather and analyze data about software assets to ensure compliance for audits and to continually improve the business.
      • Contracts and budget
        Analyze contracts and licenses for software across the enterprise and optimize planning to enable cost reduction.
      • Lifecycle standardization
        Define standards and processes for all asset lifecycle phases from request and procurement through to retirement and redistribution.
      • Inventory and tracking
        Define assets you will procure, distribute, and track. Know what you have, where it is deployed, and keep track of contracts and all relevant data.

      Integrate your SAM program with the organization to assist its implementation

      SAM cannot perform on its own – it must be integrated with other functional areas of the organization to maintain its stability and support.

      • Effective SAM is supported by a comprehensive set of processes as part of its implementation.
      • For example, integration with the procurement team’s processes and tools is required to track software purchases to mitigate software license compliance risk.
      • Integration with Finance is required to support internal cost allocations and chargebacks.
      • Integration with the service desk is required to track and deploy software requests.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      To integrate SAM effectively, a clear implementation roadmap needs to be designed. Prioritize “quick wins” to demonstrate success to the business early and to gain buy-in from your team. Short-term gains should be designed to support long-term goals of your SAM program.

      Sample short-term goals
      • Identify inventory classification and tool
      • Create basic SAM policies and processes
      • Implement SAM auto-discovery tools
      Sample long-term goals
      • Software contract data integration
      • Continual improvement through review and revision
      • Software compliance reports, internal audits

      Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation

      Associated Activity icon 4.2.5 Build a project roadmap
      1. Identify and review all initiatives that will be taken to implement or improve the software asset management program. These may fall under people, process, or technology-related tasks.
      2. Assign a priority level to each task (Quick Win, Low, Medium, High).
      3. Use the priority to sort tasks into start dates, breaking down by:
        1. Short, medium, or long-term
        2. 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12+ months
        3. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
      4. Review tasks and adjust start dates for some, if needed to set realistic and achievable timelines.
      5. Transfer tasks to a project plan or Gantt chart to formalize.
      Examples:
      Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
      • Hire software asset manager
      • Document SOP
      • Define policies
      • Select a SAM tool
      • Create list of approved services and software
      • Define metrics
      • Inventory existing software and contracts
      • Build a patch policy
      • Build a service catalog
      • Contract renewal alignment
      • Run internal audit
      • Security review

      Review and maintain the SAM program to reach optimal maturity

      • SAM is a dynamic process. It must adapt to keep pace with the direction of the organization. New applications, different licensing needs, and a constant stream of new end users all contribute to complicating the licensing process.
      • As part of your organization’s journey to an optimized SAM program, put in place continual improvement practices to maintain momentum.

      A suggested cycle of review and maintenance for your SAM: 'Plan', 'Do', 'Check', 'Act'.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Advertising the increased revenue that is gained from good SAM practices is a powerful way to gain project buy-in.

      Keep the momentum going:

      • Clearly define ongoing responsibilities for each role.
      • Develop a training and awareness program for new employees to be introduced to SAM processes and policies.
      • Continually review and revise existing processes as necessary.
      • Measure the success of the program to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate successes.
      • Measure adherence to process and policies and enforce as needed.

      Reflect on the outcomes of implementing SAM to target areas for improvement and share knowledge gained within and beyond the SAM team. Some questions to consider include:

      1. How did the data compare to our expectations? Was the project a success?
      2. What obstacles were present that impacted the project?
      3. How can we apply lessons learned through this project to others in the future?

      If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop Associated Activity icon

      Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

      Photo of an Info-Tech analyst.
      • To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team.
      • Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.
      • Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

      4.2.1

      		 Sample of activity 4.2.1 'Develop a communication plan to convey the right messages'. Develop a communication plan to convey the right messages

      Identify stakeholders requiring communication and formulate a message and delivery method for each.

      4.2.5

      		 Sample of activity 4.2.5 'Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation'. Develop a SAM roadmap to plan your implementation

      Outline the tasks necessary for the implementation of this project and prioritize to build a project roadmap.

      Phase 4 outline

      Associated Activity icon Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

      Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

      Guided Implementation 4: Build supporting processes & tools

      Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 4
      Step 4.1: Compliance & audits Step 4.2: Communicate & build roadmap
      Start with an analyst kick-off call:
      • Discuss audit process
      • Define a process for internal audits
      • Define a process for external audit response
      		 Review findings with analyst:
      • Build communication plan
      • Discuss policy needs
      • Build a roadmap
      Then complete these activities…
      • Document internal audit process
      • Document external audit process
      • Prepare audit templates
      		 Then complete these activities…
      • Develop communication plan
      • Prepare an FAQ list for end users
      • Build SAM policies
      • Develop a roadmap
      With these tools & templates:
      • Standard Operating Procedures
      • Software Audit Scoping Email Template
      • Software Audit Launch Email Template
      		 With these tools & templates:
      • SAM Communication Plan
      • Software Asset Management FAQ Template
      • Software Asset Management Policy
      • Additional Policy Templates

      Bibliography

      2013 Software Audit Industry Report.” Express Metrix, 2013. Web.

      7 Vital Trends Disrupting Today’s Workplace: Results and Data from 2013 TINYpulse Employee Engagement Survey.” TINYpulse, 2013. Web.

      Beaupoil, Christof. “How to measure data quality and protect against software audits.” Network World, 6 June 2011.

      Begg, Daniel. “Effective Licence Position (ELP) – What is it really worth?” LinkedIn, 19 January 2016.

      Boehler, Bernhard. “Advanced License Optimization: Go Beyond Compliance for Maximum Cost Savings.” The ITAM Review, 24 November 2014.

      Bruce, Warren. “SAM Baseline – process & best practice.” Microsoft. 2013 Australia Partner Conference.

      Case Study Top 20 U.S. Bank Tackles Asset Management.” Pomeroy, 2012. Web.

      Cherwell Software Software Audit Industry Report.” Cherwell Software, 2015. Web.

      Conrad, Sandi. “SAM starter kit: everything you need to get started with software asset management. Conrad & Associates, 2010.

      Corstens, Jan, and Diederik Van der Sijpe. “Contract risk & compliance software asset management (SAM).” Deloitte, 2012.

      Deas, A., T. Markowitzm and E. Black. “Software asset management: high risk, high reward.” Deloitte, 2014.

      Doig, Chris. “Why you should always estimate ROI before buying enterprise software” CIO, 13 August 2015.

      Fried, Chuck. “America Needs An Education On Software Asset Management (SAM).” LinkedIn. 16 June 2015.

      Lyons, Gwen. “Understanding the Drivers Behind Application Rationalization Critical to Success.” Flexera Software Blog, 31 October 2012.

      Bibliography

      Metrics to Measure SAM Success: eight ways to prove your SAM program is delivering business benefits.” Snow Software White Paper, 2015.

      Microsoft. “The SAM Optimization Model.” Microsoft Corporation White Paper, 2010.

      Miller, D. and M. Oliver. “Engaging Stakeholders for Project Success.” Project Management Institute White Paper, 2015.

      Morrison, Dan. “5 Common Misconceptions of Software Asset Management.” SoftwareOne. 12 May 2015.

      O’Neill, Leslie T. “Visa Case Study: SAM in the 21st Century.” International Business Software Managers Association (IBSMA), 30 July 2014.

      Reducing Hidden Operating Costs Through IT Asset Discovery.” NetSupport Inc., 2011.

      SAM Summit 2014, 23-25 June 2014, University of Chicago Gleacher Center Conference Facilities, Chicago, MI.

      Saxby, Heather. “20 Things Every CIO Needs to Know about Software Asset Management.” Crayon Software Experts, 13 May 2015.

      The 2016 State of IT: Managing the money monsters for the coming year.” Spiceworks, 2016.

      The Hidden Cost of Unused Software.” A 1E Report, 1E.com: 2014. Web.

      What does it take to achieve software license optimization?” Flexera White Paper, 2013.

      Research contributors and experts

      Photo of Michael Dean, Director, User Support Services, Des Moines University Michael Dean
      Director, User Support Services
      Des Moines University       		Simon Leuty
      Co-Founder
      Livingstone Tech       		Photo of Simon Leuty, Co-Founder, Livingstone Tech
      Photo of Clare Walsh, PR Consultant, Adesso Tech Ltd. Clare Walsh
      PR Consultant
      Adesso Tech Ltd.       		Alex Monaghan
      Director, Presales EMEA
      Product Support Solutions       		Photo of Alex Monaghan, Director, Presales EMEA, Product Support Solutions

      Research contributors and experts

      Photo of Ben Brand, SAM Practice Manager, Insight Ben Brand
      SAM Practice Manager
      Insight       		Michael Swanson
      President
      ISAM       		Photo of Michael Swanson, President, ISAM
      Photo of Bruce Aboudara, SVP, Marketing & Business Development, Scalable Software Bruce Aboudara
      SVP, Marketing & Business Development
      Scalable Software       		Will Degener
      Senior Solutions Consultant
      Scalable Software       		Photo of Will Degener, Senior Solutions Consultant, Scalable Software

      Research contributors and experts

      Photo of Peter Gregorowicz, Associate Director, Network & Client Services, Vancouver Community College Peter Gregorowicz
      Associate Director, Network & Client Services
      Vancouver Community College       		Peter Schnitzler
      Operations Team Lead
      Toyota Canada       		Photo of Peter Schnitzler, Operations Team Lead, Toyota Canada
      Photo of David Maughan, Head of Service Transition, Mott MacDonald Ltd. David Maughan
      Head of Service Transition
      Mott MacDonald Ltd.       		Brian Bernard
      Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      Lee County Clerk of Court       		Photo of Brian Bernard, Infrastructure & Operations Manager, Lee County Clerk of Court

      Research contributors and experts

      Photo of Leticia Sobrado, IT Data Governance & Compliance Manager, Intercept Pharmaceuticals Leticia Sobrado
      IT Data Governance & Compliance Manager
      Intercept Pharmaceuticals

      DORA - Article 7 — Explained

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      • byline: Be open for business via your ICT

      Intro

      While this text is about DORA requirements, it is really about resilient availability of your service. Even if you are not bound to this regulation, maybe you are not a financial services provider, the requirements and tips on how to get there are invaluable to your client satisfaction.

      Legal text

      In order to address and manage ICT risk, financial entities shall use and maintain updated ICT systems, protocols and tools that are:
      (a) appropriate to the magnitude of operations supporting the conduct of their activities, in accordance with the
      proportionality principle as referred to in Article 4;
      (b) reliable;
      (c) equipped with sufficient capacity to accurately process the data necessary for the performance of activities and the timely provision of services, and to deal with peak orders, message or transaction volumes, as needed, including where new technology is introduced;
      (d) technologically resilient in order to adequately deal with additional information processing needs as required under
      stressed market conditions or other adverse situations.

      What do you need to do?

      • Determine what systems you need.
      • Inventory the systems you have.
      • Make sure your systems and applications are sized right for your business
        • and made resilient according to the business functions they support
          in relation to the size of the business functions they support (proportionality)
        • and are reliable, meaning they produce consistent results
        • and are resilient, meaning they can withstand adverse effects where needed 

      How do you do this?

      For requirement (a)

      • Identify the capacity requirements for your services
      • Also identify the capacity requirements in case of serious decapacitating events (Business continuity)
      • Detail your capacity management plan so that you can meet the requirements
      • Test your systems for compliamce with these requirements

      For requirement (b)

      • Show the parts of your IT policy that deals with availability, 
      • Show the technical Disaster recovery plans and their execution reports (ideally over a number of years)
      • Show the availability reports for your systems.
      • Show the vulnerability management reports for your systems (optional)

      For requirement (C)

      • Show the availability reports for your systems: this is really the end-result: if you can show that your systems are available even under heavy load, you have won half the battle.
      • Show the capacity requirements for your systems. This is where you can prove you really thought about demad for your service.
      • Show the capacity monitoring plans, plans and roadmaps and reports for your systems
      •  Show the load testing reports executed on your systems

       For requirement (d)

      • Show the identified attacks scenarios and you defend against them
      •  Show the results of your resilience test plans: talk about High availability, Disaster recovery, and manual workaround or alternative workflows (that is business continuity.)

      Many of these solutions will depend on the the solutions and responses to other DORA requirements.

       

      dora

      Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy

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      • member rating overall impact: 9.3/10 Overall Impact
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      • Parent Category Name: End-User Computing Applications
      • Parent Category Link: /end-user-computing-applications
      • Communication and collaboration portfolios are overburdened with redundant and overlapping services. Between Office 365, Slack, Jabber, and WebEx, IT is supporting a collection of redundant apps. This redundancy takes a toll on IT, and on the user.
      • Shadow IT is easier than ever, and cheap sharing tools are viral. Users are literally carrying around computers in their pockets (in the form of smartphones). IT often has no visibility into how these devices – and the applications on them – are used for work.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • You don’t know what you don’t know. Unstructured conversations with users will uncover insights.
      • Security is meaningless without usability. If security controls make a tool unusable, then users will rush to adopt something that’s free and easy.
      • Training users on a new tool once isn’t effective. Engage with users throughout the collaboration tool’s lifecycle.

      Impact and Result

      • Few supported apps and fewer unsupported apps. This will occur by ensuring that your collaboration tools will be useful to and used by users. Give users a say through surveys, focus groups, and job shadowing.
      • Lower total cost of ownership and greater productivity. Having fewer apps in the workplace, and better utilizing the functionality of those apps, will mean that IT can be much more efficient at managing your ECS.
      • Higher end-user satisfaction. Tools will be better suited to users’ needs, and users will feel heard by IT.

      Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop a new approach to communication and collaboration apps, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Create a shared vision on the future of communication and collaboration

      Identify and validate goals and collaboration tools that are used by your users, and the collaboration capabilities that must be supported by your desired ECS.

      • Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy – Phase 1: Create a Shared Vision on the Future of Communication and Collaboration
      • Enterprise Collaboration Strategy Template
      • Building Company Communication and Collaboration Technology Improvement Plan Executive Presentation
      • Communications Infrastructure Stakeholder Focus Group Guide
      • Enterprise Communication and Collaboration System Business Requirements Document

      2. Map a path forward

      Map a path forward by creating a collaboration capability map and documenting your ECS requirements.

      • Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy – Phase 2: Map a Path Forward
      • Collaboration Capability Map

      3. Build an IT and end-user engagement plan

      Effectively engage everyone to ensure the adoption of your new ECS. Engagement is crucial to the overall success of your project.

      • Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy – Phase 3: Proselytize the Change
      • Collaboration Business Analyst
      • Building Company Exemplar Collaboration Marketing One-Pager Materials
      • Communication and Collaboration Strategy Communication Plan
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Identify What Needs to Change

      The Purpose

      Create a vision for the future of your ECS.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Validate and bolster your strategy by involving your end users.

      Activities

      1.1 Prioritize Components of Your ECS Strategy to Improve

      1.2 Create a Plan to Gather Requirements From End Users

      1.3 Brainstorm the Collaboration Services That Are Used by Your Users

      1.4 Focus Group

      Outputs

      Defined vision and mission statements

      Principles for your ECS

      ECS goals

      End-user engagement plan

      Focus group results

      ECS executive presentation

      ECS strategy

      2 Map Out the Change

      The Purpose

      Streamline your collaboration service portfolio.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Documented the business requirements for your collaboration services.

      Reduced the number of supported tools.

      Increased the effectiveness of training and enhancements.

      Activities

      2.1 Create a Current-State Collaboration Capability Map

      2.2 Build a Roadmap for Desired Changes

      2.3 Create a Future-State Capability Map

      2.4 Identify Business Requirements

      2.5 Identify Use Requirements and User Processes

      2.6 Document Non-Functional Requirements

      2.7 Document Functional Requirements

      2.8 Build a Risk Register

      Outputs

      Current-state collaboration capability map

      ECS roadmap

      Future-state collaboration capability map

      ECS business requirements document

      3 Proselytize the Change

      The Purpose

      Ensure the system is supported effectively by IT and adopted widely by end users.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Unlock the potential of your ECS.

      Stay on top of security and industry good practices.

      Greater end-user awareness and adoption.

      Activities

      3.1 Develop an IT Training Plan

      3.2 Develop a Communications Plan

      3.3 Create Initial Marketing Material

      Outputs

      IT training plan

      Communications plan

      App marketing one-pagers

      Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation

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      • Parent Category Name: Big Data
      • Parent Category Link: /big-data
      • Data warehouse implementation is a costly and complex undertaking, and can end up not serving the business' needs appropriately.
      • Too heavy a focus on technology creates a data warehouse that isn’t sustainable and ends up with poor adoption.
      • Emerging data sources and technologies add complexity to how the appropriate data is made available to business users.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • A data warehouse is a project; but successful data warehousing is a program. An effective data warehouse requires planning beyond the technology implementation.
      • Governance, not technology needs to be the core support system for enabling a data warehouse program.
      • Understand business processes at the operational, tactical, and ad hoc levels to ensure a fit-for-purpose DW is built.

      Impact and Result

      • Leverage an approach that focuses on constructing a data warehouse foundation that is able to address a combination of operational, tactical, and ad hoc business needs.
      • Invest time and effort to put together pre-project governance to inform and provide guidance to your data warehouse implementation.
      • Develop “Rosetta Stone” views of your data assets to facilitate data modeling.
      • Select the most suitable architecture pattern to ensure the data warehouse is “built right” at the very beginning.

      Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why the data warehouse is becoming an important tool for driving business value, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Prepare for the data warehouse foundation project

      Begin the data warehouse foundation by defining the project and governance teams, as well as reviewing supporting data management practices.

      • Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation – Phase 1: Prepare for the Data Warehouse Foundation Project
      • Data Warehouse Foundation Project Plan Template
      • Data Warehouse Work Breakdown Structure Template
      • Data (Warehouse) Architect
      • Data Integration Specialist
      • Business Intelligence Specialist
      • Director of Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence
      • Data Warehouse Program Charter Template
      • Data Warehouse Steering Committee Charter Template

      2. Establish the business drivers and data warehouse strategy

      Using the business activities as a guide, develop a data model, data architecture, and technology plan for a data warehouse foundation.

      • Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation – Phase 2: Establish the Business Drivers and Data Warehouse Strategy
      • Business Data Catalog
      • Data Classification Inventory Tool
      • Data Warehouse Architecture Planning Tool
      • Master Data Mapping Tool

      3. Plan for data warehouse governance

      Start developing a data warehouse program by defining how users will interact with the new data warehouse environment.

      • Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation – Phase 3: Plan for Data Warehouse Governance
      • Data Warehouse Standard Operating Procedures Template
      • Data Warehouse Service Level Agreement
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Build an Extensible Data Warehouse Foundation

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Prepare for the Data Warehouse Foundation Project

      The Purpose

      Identify the members of the foundation project team.

      Define overarching statements and define success factors/risks.

      Outline basic project governance.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Defined membership, roles, and responsibilities involved in the foundation project.

      Establishment of a steering committee as a starting point for the data warehouse program.

      Activities

      1.1 Identify foundation project team and create a RACI chart.

      1.2 Understand what a data warehouse can and cannot enable.

      1.3 Define critical success factors, key performance metrics, and project risks.

      1.4 Develop rough timelines for foundation project completion.

      1.5 Define the current and future states for key data management practices.

      Outputs

      Job Descriptions and RACI

      Data Warehouse Steering Committee Charter

      Data Warehouse Foundation Project Plan

      Work Breakdown Structure

      2 Establish the Business Drivers and Data Warehouse Strategy

      The Purpose

      Define the information needs of the business and its key processes.

      Create the components that will inform an appropriate data model.

      Design a data warehouse architecture model.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Clear definition of business needs that will directly inform the data and architecture models.

      Activities

      2.1 Understand the most fundamental needs of the business.

      2.2 Define the data warehouse vision, mission, purpose, and goals.

      2.3 Detail the most important operational, tactical, and ad hoc activities the data warehouse should support.

      2.4 Link the processes that will be central to the data warehouse foundation.

      2.5 Walk through the four-column model and business entity modeling as a starting point for data modeling.

      2.6 Create data models using the business data glossary and data classification.

      2.7 Identify master data elements to define dimensions.

      2.8 Design lookup tables based on reference data.

      2.9 Create a fit-for-purpose data warehousing model.

      Outputs

      Data Warehouse Program Charter

      Data Warehouse Vision and Mission

      Documentation of Business Processes

      Business Entity Map

      Business Data Glossary

      Data Classification Scheme

      Data Warehouse Architecture Model

      3 Plan for Data Warehouse Governance

      The Purpose

      Create a plan for governing your data warehouse efficiently and effectively.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Documentation of current standard operating procedures.

      Identified members of a data warehouse center of excellence.

      Activities

      3.1 Develop a technology capability map to visualize your desired state.

      3.2 Establish a data warehouse center of excellence.

      3.3 Create a data warehouse foundation roadmap.

      3.4 Define data warehouse service level agreements.

      3.5 Create standard operating procedures.

      Outputs

      Technology Capability Map

      Project Roadmap

      Service Level Agreement

      Data Warehouse Standard Operating Procedure Workbook

      Measure IT Project Value

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      • Parent Category Name: Portfolio Management
      • Parent Category Link: /portfolio-management
      • People treat benefits as a box to tick on the business case, deflating or inflating them to facilitate project approval.
      • Even if benefits are properly defined, they are usually forgotten once the project is underway.
      • Subsequent changes to project scope may impact the viability of the project’s business benefits, resulting in solutions that do not deliver expected value.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • It is rare for project teams or sponsors to be held accountable for managing and/or measuring benefits. The assumption is often that no one will ask if benefits have been realized after the project is closed.
      • The focus is largely on the project’s schedule, budget, and scope, with little attention paid to the value that the project is meant to deliver to the organization.
      • Without an objective stakeholder to hold people accountable for defining benefits and demonstrating their delivery, benefits will continue to be treated as red tape.
      • Sponsors will not take the time to define benefits properly, if at all. The project team will not take the time to ensure they are still achievable as the project progresses. When the project is complete, no one will investigate actual project success.

      Impact and Result

      • The project sponsor and business unit leaders must own project benefits; IT is only accountable for delivering the solution.
      • IT can play a key role in this process by establishing and supporting a benefits realization process. They can help business unit leaders and sponsors define benefits properly, identify meaningful metrics, and report on benefits realization effectively.
      • The project management office is ideally suited to facilitate this process by providing tools and templates, and a consistent and comparable view across projects.
      • Project managers are accountable for delivering the project, not for delivering the benefits of the project itself. However, they must ensure that changes to project scope are assessed for impact on benefits viability.

      Measure IT Project Value Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should establish a benefits legitimacy practice, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Establish benefits legitimacy during portfolio Intake

      This phase will help you define a benefits management process to help support effective benefits definition during portfolio intake.

      • Deliver Project Value With a Benefits Legitimacy Initiative – Phase 1: Establish Benefits Legitimacy During Portfolio Intake
      • Project Sponsor Role Description Template
      • Benefits Commitment Form Template
      • Right-Sized Business Case Template

      2. Maintain benefits legitimacy throughout project planning and execution

      This phase will help you define a process for effective benefits management during project planning and the execution intake phase.

      • Deliver Project Value With a Benefits Legitimacy Initiative – Phase 2: Maintain Benefits Legitimacy Throughout Project Planning and Execution
      • Project Benefits Documentation Workbook
      • Benefits Legitimacy Workflow Template (PDF)
      • Benefits Legitimacy Workflow Template (Visio)

      3. Close the deal on project benefits

      This phase will help you define a process for effectively tracking and reporting on benefits realization post-project.

      • Deliver Project Value With a Benefits Legitimacy Initiative – Phase 3: Close the Deal on Project Benefits
      • Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool
      • Benefits Lag Report Template
      • Benefits Legitimacy Handbook Template
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Measure IT Project Value

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Analyze the Current State of Benefits Management

      The Purpose

      Assess the current state of benefits management at your organization and establish a realistic target state.

      Establish project and portfolio baselines for benefits management.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Set achievable workshop goals and align stakeholder expectations.

      Establish a solid foundation for benefits management success.

      Activities

      1.1 Introductions and overview.

      1.2 Discuss attendee expectations and goals.

      1.3 Complete Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard.

      1.4 Perform right-wrong-confusing-missing analysis.

      1.5 Define target state for benefits management.

      1.6 Refine project levels.

      Outputs

      Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard report

      Right-wrong-confusing-missing analysis

      Stakeholder alignment around workshop goals and target state

      Info-Tech’s Project Intake Classification Matrix

      2 Establish Benefits Legitimacy During Portfolio Intake

      The Purpose

      Establish organizationally specific benefit metrics and KPIs.

      Develop clear roles and accountabilities for benefits management.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      An articulation of project benefits and measurements.

      Clear checkpoints for benefits communication during the project are defined.

      Activities

      2.1 Map the current portfolio intake process.

      2.2 Establish project sponsor responsibilities and accountabilities for benefits management.

      2.3 Develop organizationally specific benefit metrics and KPIs.

      2.4 Integrate intake legitimacy into portfolio intake processes.

      Outputs

      Info-Tech’s Project Sponsor Role Description Template

      Info-Tech’s Benefits Commitment Form Template

      Intake legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart

      Intake legitimacy SOP

      3 Maintain Benefits Legitimacy Throughout Project Planning and Execution

      The Purpose

      Develop a customized SOP for benefits management during project planning and execution.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Ensure that all changes to the project have been recorded and benefits have been updated in preparation for deployment.

      Updated benefits expectations are included in the final sign-off package.

      Activities

      3.1 Map current project management process and audit project management documentation.

      3.2 Identify appropriate benefits control points.

      3.3 Customize project management documentation to integrate benefits.

      3.4 Develop a deployment legitimacy process flow.

      Outputs

      Customized project management toolkit

      Info-Tech’s Project Benefits Documentation Workbook

      Deployment of legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart

      Deployment of legitimacy SOP

      4 Close the Deal on Project Benefits

      The Purpose

      Develop a post-project benefits realization process.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Clear project sponsorship accountabilities for post-project benefits tracking and reporting.

      A portfolio level benefits tracking tool for reporting on benefits attainment.

      Activities

      4.1 Identify appropriate benefits control points in the post-project process.

      4.2 Configure Info-Tech’s Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool.

      4.3 Define a post-project benefits reporting process.

      4.4 Formalize protocol for reporting on, and course correcting, benefit lags.

      4.5 Develop a post-project legitimacy process flow.

      Outputs

      Info-Tech’s Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool

      Post-Project legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart

      Post-Project Legitimacy SOP

      Info-Tech’s Benefits Legitimacy Handbook

      Info-Tech’s Benefits Legitimacy Workflow Template

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}452|cart{/j2store}
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      • Parent Category Name: Operations Management
      • Parent Category Link: /i-and-o-process-management
      • Time and money are wasted dealing with mistakes or missteps that should have been addressed by procedures or policies.
      • Standard operating procedures are less effective without a policy to provide a clear mandate and direction.
      • Adhering to policies is rarely a priority, as compliance often feels like an impediment to getting work done.
      • Processes aren’t measured or audited to assess policy compliance, which makes enforcing the policies next to impossible.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Document what you need to document and forget the rest. Always check to see if you can use a previously approved policy before you create a new one. You may only need to create new guidelines or standards rather than approve a new policy.

      Impact and Result

      • Start with a comprehensive policy framework to help you identify policy gaps. Prioritize and address those policy gaps.
      • Create effective policies that are reasonable, measurable, auditable, and enforceable.
      • Create and document procedures to support policy changes.

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should change your approach to developing Infrastructure & Operations policies and procedures, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Identify policy and procedure gaps

      Create a prioritized action plan for documentation based on business need.

      • Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures – Phase 1: Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps

      2. Develop policies

      Adapt policy templates to meet your business requirements.

      • Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures – Phase 2: Develop Policies
      • Availability and Capacity Management Policy
      • Business Continuity Management Policy
      • Change Control – Freezes & Risk Evaluation Policy
      • Change Management Policy
      • Configuration Management Policy
      • Firewall Policy
      • Hardware Asset Management Policy
      • IT Triage and Support Policy
      • Release Management Policy
      • Software Asset Management Policy
      • System Maintenance Policy – NIST
      • Internet Acceptable Use Policy

      3. Document effective procedures

      Improve policy adherence and service effectiveness through procedure standardization and documentation.

      • Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures – Phase 3: Document Effective Procedures
      • Capacity Plan Template
      • Change Management Standard Operating Procedure
      • Configuration Management Standard Operation Procedures
      • Incident Management and Service Desk SOP
      • DRP Summary Template
      • Service Desk Standard Operating Procedure
      • HAM Standard Operating Procedures
      • SAM Standard Operating Procedures
      [infographic]

      Further reading

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures

      Document what you need to document and forget the rest.

      Table of contents

      Project Rationale

      Project Outlines

      • Phase 1: Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps
      • Phase 2: Develop Policies
      • Phase 3: Document Effective Procedures

      Bibliography

      ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

      Document what you need to document now and forget the rest.

      "Most IT organizations struggle to create and maintain effective policies and procedures, despite known improvements to consistency, compliance, knowledge transfer, and transparency.

      The numbers are staggering. Fully three-quarters of IT professionals believe their policies need improvement, and the same proportion of organizations don’t update procedures as required.

      At the same time, organizations that over-document and under-document perform equally poorly on key measures such as policy quality and policy adherence. Take a practical, step-by-step approach that prioritizes the documentation you need now. Leave the rest for later."

      (Andrew Sharp, Research Manager, Infrastructure & Operations Practice, Info-Tech Research Group)

      Our understanding of the problem

      This Research Is Designed For:

      • Infrastructure Managers
      • Chief Technology Officers
      • IT Security Managers

      This Research Will Help You:

      • Address policy gaps
      • Develop effective procedures and procedure documentation to support policy compliance

      This Research Will Also Assist:

      • Chief Information Officers
      • Enterprise Risk and Compliance Officers
      • Chief Human Resources Officers
      • Systems Administrators and Engineers

      This Research Will Help Them:

      • Understand the importance of a coherent approach to policy development
      • Understand the importance of Infrastructure & Operations policies
      • Support Infrastructure & Operations policy development and enforcement

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      This blueprint supports templates for key policies and procedures that help Infrastructure & Operations teams to govern and manage internal operations. For security policies, see the NIST SP 800-171 aligned Info-Tech blueprint, Develop and Deploy Security Policies.

      Executive Summary

      Situation

      • Time and money are wasted dealing with mistakes or missteps that should have been addressed by procedures or policies.
      • Standard operating procedures are less effective without a policy to provide a clear mandate and direction.

      Complication

      • Existing policies were written, approved, signed – and forgotten for years because no one has time to maintain them.
      • Adhering to policies is rarely a priority, as compliance often feels like an impediment to getting work done.
      • Processes aren’t measured or audited to assess policy compliance, which makes enforcing the policies next to impossible.

      Resolution

      • Start with a comprehensive policy framework to help you identify policy gaps. Prioritize and address those policy gaps.
      • Create effective policies that are reasonable, measurable, auditable, and enforceable.
      • Create and document procedures to support policy changes.

      Info-Tech Insight

      1. Document what you need to document and forget the rest.
        Always check if a previously approved policy exists before you create a new one. You may only need to create new guidelines or standards rather than approve a new policy.
      2. Support policies with documented procedures.
        Build procedures that embed policy adherence in daily operations. Find opportunities to automate policy adherence (e.g. removing local admin rights from user computers).

      What are policies, procedures, and processes?

      A policy is a governing document that states the long-term goals of the organization and in broad strokes outlines how they will be achieved (e.g. a Data Protection Policy).

      In the context of policies, a procedure is composed of the steps required to complete a task (e.g. a Backup and Restore Procedure). Procedures are informed by required standards and recommended guidelines. Processes, guidelines, and standards are three pillars that support the achievement of policy goals.

      A process is higher level than a procedure – a set of tasks that deliver on an organizational goal.

      Better policies and procedures reduce organizational risk and, by strengthening the ability to execute processes, enhance the organization’s ability to execute on its goals.

      Visualization of policies, procedures, and processes using pillars. Two separate structures, 'Policy A' and 'Policy B', are each held up by three pillars labelled 'Standards', 'Procedures', and 'Guidelines'. Two lines pass through the pillars of both structures and are each labelled 'Value-creating process'.

      Document to improve governance and operational processes

      Deliver value

      Build, deliver, and support Infrastructure assets in a consistent way, which ultimately reduces costs associated with downtime, errors, and rework. A good manual process is the foundation for a good automated process.

      Simplify Training

      Use documentation for knowledge transfer. Routine tasks can be delegated to less-experienced staff.

      Maintain compliance

      Comply with laws and regulations. Policies are often required for compliance, and formally documented and enforced policies help the organization maintain compliance by mandating required due diligence, risk reduction, and reporting activities.

      Provide transparency

      Build an open kitchen. Other areas of the organization may not understand how Infra & Ops works. Your documentation can provide the answer to the perennial question: “Why does that take so long?”

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Governance goals must be supported with effective, well-aligned procedures and processes. Use Info-Tech’s research to support the key Infrastructure & Operations processes that enable your business to create value.

      Document what you need to document – and forget the rest

      Half of all organizations believe their policy suite is insufficient. (Info-Tech myPolicies Survey Data (N=59))

      Pie chart with three sections labelled 'Too Many Policies and Procedures 14%', 'Adequate Policies and Procedures 37%', 'Insufficient Policies and Procedures 49%'

      Too much documentation and a lack of documentation are both ineffective. (Info-Tech myPolicies Survey Data (N=59))

      Two bar charts labelled 'Policy Adherence' and 'Policy Quality' each with three bars representing 'Too Many Policies and Procedures', 'Insufficient Policies and Procedures', and 'Adequate Policies and Procedures'. The values shown are an average score out of 5. For Policy Adherence: Too Many is 2.4, Insufficient is 2.1, and Adequate is 3.2. For Policy Quality: Too Many is 2.9, Insufficient is 2.6, and Adequate is 4.1.

      77% of IT professionals believe their policies require improvement. (Kaspersky Lab)

      Presenting: A COBIT-aligned policy suite

      We’ve developed a suite of effective policy templates for every Infra & Ops manager based on Info-Tech’s IT Management & Governance Framework.

      Policy templates and the related aspects of Info-Tech's IT Management & Governance Framework

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Look for these symbols as you work through the deck. Prioritize and focus on the policies you work on first based on the value of the policy to the enterprise and the existing gaps in your governance structure.

      Project outline

      Phases

      		 1. Identify policy and procedure gaps 2. Develop policies 3. Document effective procedures

      Steps
      • Review and right-size the existing policy set
      • Create an action plan to address policy gaps
      • Modify policy templates and gather feedback
      • Implement, enforce, measure, and maintain new policies
      • Scope and outline procedures
      • Document and maintain procedures

      Outcomes

      		 Action list of policy and procedure gaps New or updated Infrastructure & Operations policies Procedure documentation

      Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

      Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

      A small monochrome icon of a wrench and screwdriver creating an X.

      This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.

      A small monochrome icon depicting a person in front of a blank slide.

      This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      Guided Implementation

      Workshop

      Consulting
      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

      Accelerate policy development with a Guided Implementation

      Your trusted advisor is just a call away.

      • Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps (Calls 1-2)
        Assess current policies, operational challenges, and gaps. Mitigate significant risks first.
      • Create and Review Policies (Calls 2-4)
        Modify and review policy templates with an Info-Tech analyst.
      • Create and Review Procedures (Calls 4-6)
        Workflow procedures, using templates wherever possible. Review documentation best practices.

      Contact Info-Tech to set up a Guided Implementation with a dedicated advisor who will walk you through every stage of your policy development project.

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures

      Phase 1

      Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps

      PHASE 1: Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps

      Step 1.1: Review and right-size the existing policy set

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify gaps in your existing policy suite
      • Document challenges to core Infrastructure & Operations processes
      • Identify documentation that can close gaps
      • Prioritize your documentation effort

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      • Infrastructure Supervisors

      Results & Insights

      • Results: A review of the existing policy suite and identification of opportunities for improvement.
      • Insights: Not all gaps necessarily require a fresh policy. Repurpose, refresh, or supplement existing documentation wherever appropriate.

      Conduct a policy review

      Associated Activity icon 1(a) 30 minutes per policy

      You’ve got time to review your policy suite. Make the most of it.

      1. Start with organizational requirements.
        • What initiatives are on the go? What policies or procedures do you have a mandate to create?
      2. Weed out expired and dated policies.
        • Gather your existing policies. Identify when each one was published or last reviewed.
        • Decide whether to retire, merge, or update expired or obviously dated policy.
      3. Review policy statements.
        • Check that the organization is adequately supporting policy statements with SOPs, standards, and guidelines. Ensure role-related information is up to date.
      4. Document and bring any gaps forward to the next activity. If no action is required, indicate that you have completed a review and submit the findings for approval.

      But they just want one policy...

      A review of your policy suite is good practice, especially when it hasn’t been done for a while. Why?
      • Existing policies may address what you’re trying to do with a new policy. Using or modifying an existing policy avoids overlap and contradiction and saves you the effort required to create, communicate, approve, and maintain a new policy.
      • Review the suite to validate that you’re addressing the most important challenges first.

      Brainstorm improvements for core Infrastructure & Operations processes

      Associated Activity icon 1(b) 1 hour

      Supplement the list of gaps from your policy review with process challenges.

      1. Write out key Infra & Ops–related processes – one piece of flipchart paper per process. You can work through all of these processes or cherry-pick the processes you want to improve first.
      2. With participants, write out in point form how you currently execute on these processes (e.g. for Asset Management, you might be tagging hardware, tracking licenses, etc.)
      3. Work through a “Start – Stop – Continue” exercise. Ask participants: What should we start doing? What must we stop doing? What do we do currently that’s valuable and must continue? Write ideas on sticky notes.
      4. Once you’ve worked through the “Start – Stop – Continue” exercise for all processes, group similar suggestions for improvements.

      Asset Management: Manage hardware and software assets across their lifecycle to protect assets and manage costs.

      Availability and Capacity Management: Balance current and future availability, capacity, and performance needs with cost-to-serve.

      Business Continuity Management: Continue operation of critical business processes and IT services.

      Change Management: Deliver technical changes in a controlled manner.

      Configuration Management: Define and maintain relationships between technical components.

      Problem Management: Identify incident root cause.

      Operations Management: Coordinate operations.

      Release and Patch Management: Deliver updates and manage vulnerabilities in a controlled manner.

      Service Desk: Respond to user requests and all incidents.

      PHASE 1: Identify Policy and Procedure Gaps

      Step 1.2: Create an action plan to address policy gaps

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Identify challenges and gaps that can be addressed via documentation
      • Prioritize high-value, high-risk gaps

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      • Infrastructure Supervisors

      Results & Insights

      • Results: An action plan to tackle policy and procedures gaps, aligned with business requirements and business value.
      • Insights: Not all documentation is equally valuable. Prioritize documentation that delivers value and mitigates risk.

      Support policies with procedures, standards, and guidelines

      Use a working definition for each type of document.

      Policy: Directives, rules, and mandates that support the overarching, long-term goals of the organization.

      • Standards: Prescriptive, uniform requirements.
      • Procedures: Specific, detailed, step-by-step instructions for completing a task.
      • Guidelines: Non-enforceable, recommended best practices.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Take advantage of your Info-Tech advisory membership by scheduling review sessions with an analyst. We provide high-level feedback to ensure your documentation is clear, concise, and consistent and aligns with the governance objectives you’ve identified.

      Answer the following questions to decide if governance documentation can help close gaps

      Associated Activity icon 1(c) 30 minutes

      Documentation supports knowledge sharing, process consistency, compliance, and transparency. Ask the following questions:

      1. What is the purpose of the documentation?
        Procedures support task completion. Policies set direction and manage organizational risk.
      2. Should it be enforceable?
        Policies and standards are enforceable; guidelines are not. Procedures are enforceable in that they should support policy enforcement.
      3. What is the scope?
        To document a task, create a procedure. Set overarching rules with policies. Use standards and guidelines to set detailed rules and best practices.
      4. What’s the expected cadence for updates?
        Policies should be revisited and revised less frequently than procedures.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Reinvent the wheel? I don’t think so!

      Always check to see if a gap can be addressed with existing tools before drafting a new policy

      • Is there an existing policy that could be supported with new or updated procedures, technical standards, or guidelines?
      • Is there a technical control you can deploy that would enforce the terms of an existing, approved policy?
      • It may be simpler to amend an existing policy instead of creating a new one.

      Some problems can’t be solved by better documentation (or by documentation alone). Consider additional strategies that address people, process, and technology.

      Tackle high-value, high-risk gaps first

      Associated Activity icon 1(d) 30 minutes

      Prioritize your documentation effort.

      1. List each proposed piece of documentation on the board.
      2. Assign a score to the risk posed to the business by the lack of documentation and to the expected benefit of completing the documentation. Use a scoring scale between 1 and 3 such as the one on the right.
      3. Prioritize documentation that mitigates risks and maximizes benefits.
      4. If you need to break ties, consider effort required to develop, implement, and enforce policies or procedures.

      Example Scoring Scale

      Score Business risk of missing documentation Business benefit of value of documentation

      1

      		 Low: Affects ad hoc activities or non-critical data. Low: Minimal impact.

      2

      		 Moderate: Impacts productivity or internal goodwill. Moderate: Required periodically; some cross-training opportunities.

      3

      		 High: Impacts revenue, safety, or external goodwill. High: Save time for common or ongoing processes; extensive improvement to training/knowledge transfer.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Documentation pulls resources away from other important programs and projects, so ultimately it must be a demonstrably higher priority than other work. This exercise is designed to align documentation efforts with business goals.

      Phase 1: Review accomplishments

      Policy pillars: Standards, Procedures, Guidelines

      Summary of Accomplishments

      • Identified gaps in the existing policy suite and identified pain points in existing Infra & Ops processes.
      • Developed a list of policies and procedures that can address existing gaps and prioritized the documentation effort.

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures

      Phase 2

      Develop Policies

      PHASE 2: Develop Policies

      Step 2.1: Modify policy templates and gather feedback

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Modify policy templates

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      • Technical Writer

      Results & Insights

      • Results: Your own COBIT-aligned policies built by modifying Info-Tech templates.
      • Insights: Effective policies are easy to read and navigate.

      Write Good-er: Be Clear, Consistent, and Concise

      Effective policies adhere to the three Cs of documentation.

      1. Be clear. Make it as easy as possible for a user to learn how to comply with your policy.
      2. Be consistent. Write policies that complement each other, not contradict each other.
      3. Be concise. Make it as quick and easy as possible to read and understand your policy.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      To download the full suite of templates all at once, click the “Download Research” button on the research landing page on the website.

      Use the three Cs: Be Clear

      Understanding makes compliance possible. Create policy with the goal of making compliance as easy as possible. Use positive, simple language to convey your intentions and rationale to your audience. Staff will make an effort adhere to your policy when they understand the need and are able to comply with the terms.

      1. Choose a skilled writer. Select a writer who can write clearly and succinctly.
      2. Default to simple language and define key terms. Define scope and key terms upfront. Avoid using technical terms outside of technical documentation; if they’re necessary be sure to define them as well.
      3. Use active, positive language. Where possible, tell people what they can do, not what they can’t.
      4. Keep the structure simple. Complicated documents are less likely to be understood and read. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Lists are a helpful way to summarize important information. Guide your reader through the document with appropriately named section headers, tables of contents, and numeration.
      5. Add a process for handling exceptions. Refer to procedures, standards, and guidelines documentation. Try to keep these links as static as possible. Also, refer to a process for handling exceptions.
      6. Manage the integrity of electronic documents. When published electronically, the policy should have restricted editing access or should be published in a non-editable format. Access to the procedure and policy storage database for employees should be read-only.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Highly effective policies are easy to navigate. Your policies should be “skimmable.” Very few people will fully read a policy before accepting it. Make it easy to navigate so the reader can easily find the policy statements that apply to them.

      Use the three Cs: Be Consistent

      Ensure that policies are aligned with other organizational policies and procedures. It detracts from compliance if different policies prescribe different behavior in the same situation. Moreover, your policies should reflect the corporate culture and other company standards. Use your policies to communicate rules and get employees aligned with how your company works.

      1. Use standard sentences and paragraphs. Policies are usually expressed in short, standard sentences. Lists should also be used when necessary or appropriate.
      2. Remember the three Ws. When writing a policy, always be sure to clearly state what the rule is, when it should be applied, and who needs to follow it. Policies should clearly define their scope of application and whether directives are mandatory or recommended.
      3. Use an outline format. Using a numbered or outline format will make a document easier to read and will make content easier to look up when referring back to the document at a later time.
      4. Avoid amendments. Avoid the use of information that is quickly outdated and requires regular amendment (e.g. names of people).
      5. Reference a set of supplementary documents. Codify your tactics outside of the policy document, but make reference to them within the text. This makes it easier to ensure consistency in the behavior prescribed by your policies.

      "One of the issues is the perception that policies are rules and regulations. Instead, your policies should be used to say ‘this is the way we do things around here.’" (Mike Hughes CISA CGEIT CRISC, Principal Director, Haines-Watts GRC)

      Use the three Cs: Be Concise

      Reading and understanding policies shouldn’t be challenging, and it shouldn’t significantly detract from productive time. Long policies are more difficult to read and understand, increasing the work required for employees to comply with them. Put it this way: How often do you read the Terms and Conditions of software you’ve installed before accepting them?

      1. Be direct. The quicker you get to the point, the easier it is for the reader to interpret and comply with your policy.
      2. Your policy is a rule, not a recipe. Your policy should outline what needs to be accomplished and why – your standards, guidelines, and SOPs address the how.
      3. Keep policies short. Nobody wants to read a huge policy book, so keep your policies short.
      4. Use additional documentation where needed. In addition to making consistency easier, this shortens the length of your policies, making them easier to read.
      5. Policy still too large? Modularize it. If you have an extremely large policy, it’s likely that it’s too widely scoped or that you’re including statements that should be part of procedure documentation. Consider breaking your policy into smaller, focused, more digestible documents.

      "If the policy’s too large, people aren’t going to read it. Why read something that doesn’t apply to me?" (Carole Fennelly, Owner and Principal, cFennelly Consulting)

      "I always try to strike a good balance between length and prescriptiveness when writing policy. Your policies … should be short and describe the problem and your approach to solving it. Below policies, you write standards, guidelines, and SOPs." (Michael Deskin, Policy and Technical Writer, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission)

      Customize policy documents

      Associated Activity icon 2(a) 1-2 hours per policy

      Use the policies templates to support key Infrastructure & Operations programs.

      INPUT: List of prioritized policies

      OUTPUT: Written policy drafts ready for review

      Materials: Policy templates

      Participants: Policy writer, Signing authority

      No policy template will be a perfect fit for your organization. Use Info-Tech’s research to develop your organization’s program requirements. Customize the policy templates to support those requirements.

      1. Work through policies from highest to lowest priority as defined in Phase 1.
      2. Follow the instructions written in grey text to customize the policy. Follow the three Cs when you write your policy.
      3. When your draft is finished, prepare to request signoff from your signing authority by reviewing the draft with an Info-Tech analyst.
      4. Complete the highest ranked three or four draft policies. Review all these policies with relevant stakeholders and include all relevant signing authorities in the signoff process.
      5. Rinse and repeat. Iterate until all relevant polices are complete.

      Request, Incident, and Problem Management

      An effective, timely service desk correlates with higher overall end-user satisfaction across all other IT services. (Info-Tech Research Group, 2016 (N=25,998))

      An icon for the 'DSS02 Service Desk' template. An icon for the 'DSS03 Incident and Problem Management' template.

      Use the following template to create a policy that outlines the goals and mandate for your service and support organization:

      • IT Triage and Support Policy

      Support the program and associated policy statements using Info-Tech’s research:

      • Standardize the Service Desk
      • Incident and Problem Management
      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Embrace Standardization

      • Outline the support and service mandate with the policy. Support the policy with the methodology in Info-Tech’s research.
      • Over time, organizations without standardized processes face confusion, redundancies, and cost overruns. Standardization avoids wasting energy and effort building new solutions to solved issues.
      • Standard processes for IT services define repeatable approaches to work and sandbox creative activities.
      • Create tickets for every task and categorize them using a standard classification system. Use the resulting data to support root-cause analysis and long-term trend management.
      • Create a single point of contact for users for all incidents and requests. Escalate and resolve tickets faster.
      • Empower end users and technicians with knowledge bases that help them solve problems without intervention.

      Change, Release, and Patch Management

      Slow turnaround, unauthorized changes, and change-related incidents are all too familiar to many managers.

      An icon for the 'BAI06 Change Management' template. An icon for the 'BAI07 Release Management' template.

      Use the following templates to create policies that define effective patch, release, and change management:

      • Change Management Policy
      • Release and Patch Management Policy
      • Change Control – Freezes & Risk Evaluation Policy

      Ensure the policy is supported by using the following Info-Tech research:

      • Optimize Change Management

      Embrace Change

      • IT system owners resist change management when they see it as slow and bureaucratic.
      • At the same time, an increasingly interlinked technical environment may cause issues to appear in unexpected places. Configuration management systems are often not kept up to date, so preventable conflicts get missed.
      • No process exists to support the identification and deployment of critical security patches. Tracking down users to find a maintenance window takes significant, dedicated effort and intervention from the management team.
      • Create a unified change management process that reduces risk and is balanced in its approach toward deploying changes, while also maintaining throughput of patches, fixes, enhancements, and innovation.

      IT Asset Management (ITAM)

      A proactive, dynamic ITAM program will pay dividends in support, contract management, appropriate provisioning, and more.

      An icon for the 'BAI09 Asset Management' template.

      Start by outlining the requirements for effective asset management:

      • Hardware Asset Management Policy
      • Software Asset Management Policy

      Support ITAM policies with the following Info-Tech research:

      • Implement IT Asset Management

      Leverage Asset Data

      • Create effective, directional policies for your asset management program that provide a mandate for action. Support the policies with robust procedures, capable staff, and right-fit technology solutions.
      • Poor management of assets generally leads to higher costs due to duplicated purchases, early replacement, loss, and so on.
      • Visibility into asset location and ownership improves security and accountability.
      • A centralized repository of asset data supports request fulfilment and incident management.
      • Asset management is an ongoing program, not a one-off project, and must be resourced accordingly. Organizations often implement an asset management program and let it stagnate.

      "Many of the large data breaches you hear about… nobody told the sysadmin the client data was on that server. So they weren’t protecting and monitoring it." (Carole Fennelly, Owner and Principal, cFennelly Consulting)

      Business Continuity Management (BCM)

      Streamline the traditional approach to make BCM practical and repeatable.

      An icon for the 'DSS04 DR and Business Continuity' template.

      Set the direction and requirements for effective BCM:

      • Business Continuity Management Policy

      Support the BCM policy with the following Info-Tech research:

      • Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan
      • Develop a Business Continuity Plan

      Build Organizational Resilience

      • Evidence of disaster recovery and business continuity planning is increasingly required to comply with regulations, mitigate business risk, and meet customer demands.
      • IT leaders are often asked to take the lead on business continuity, but overall accountability for business continuity rests with the board of directors, and each business unit must create and maintain its business continuity plan.
      • Set an organizational mandate for BCM with the policy.
      • Divide the business continuity mandate into manageable parcels of work. Follow Info-Tech’s practical methodology to tackle key disaster recovery and business continuity planning activities one at a time.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Governance goals must be supported with effective, well-aligned procedures and processes. Use Info-Tech’s research to support the key Infrastructure & Operations processes that enable your business to create value.

      Availability, Capacity, and Operations Management

      What was old is new again. Use time-tested techniques to manage and plan cloud capacity and costs.

      An icon for the 'BAI04 Availability and Capacity Management' template. An icon for the 'DSS01 Operations Management' template. An icon for the 'BAI10 Configuration Management' template.

      Set the direction and requirements for effective availability and capacity management:

      • Availability and Capacity Management Policy
      • System Maintenance Policy – NIST

      Support the policy with the following Info-Tech research:

      • Develop an Availability and Capacity Management Plan
      • Improve IT Operations Management
      • Develop an IT Infrastructure Services Playbook

      Mature Service Delivery

      • Hybrid IT deployments – managing multiple locations, delivery models, and service providers – are the future of IT. Hybrid deployments significantly complicate capacity planning and operations management.
      • Effective operations management practices develop structured processes to automate activities and increase process consistency across the IT organization, ultimately improving IT efficiency.
      • Trying to add mature service delivery can feel like playing whack-a-mole. Systematically improve your service capabilities using the tactical, iterative approach outlined in Improve IT Operations Management.

      Enhance your overall security posture with a defensible, prescriptive policy suite

      Align your security policy suite with NIST Special Publication 800-171.

      Security policies support the organization’s larger security program. We’ve created a dedicated research blueprint and a set of templates that will help you build security policies around a robust framework.

      • Start with a security charter that aligns the security program with organizational objectives.
      • Prioritize security policies that address significant risks.
      • Work with technical and business stakeholders to adapt Info-Tech’s NIST SP 800-171–aligned policy templates (at right) to reflect your organizational objectives.

      A diagram listing all the different elements in a 'Security Charter': 'Access Control', 'Audit & Acc.', 'Awareness and Training', 'Config. Mgmt.', 'Identification and Auth.', 'Incident Response', 'Maintenance', 'Media Protection', 'Personnel Security', 'Physical Protection', 'Risk Assessment', 'Security Assessment', 'System and Comm. Protection', and 'System and Information Integrity'.

      Review and download Info-Tech's blueprint Develop and Deploy Security Policies.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Customize Info-Tech’s policy framework to align your policy suite to NIST SP 800-171. Given NIST’s requirements for the control of confidential information, organizations that align their policies to NIST standards will be in a strong governance position.

      PHASE 2: Develop Policies

      Step 2.2: Implement, enforce, measure, and maintain new policies

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Gather stakeholder feedback
      • Identify preventive and detective controls
      • Identify required supports
      • Seek policy approval
      • Establish roles and responsibilities for policy maintenance

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      • Infrastructure Supervisors
      • Technical Writer
      • Policy Stakeholders

      Results & Insights

      • Results: Well-supported policies that have received signoff.
      • Insights: If you’re not prepared to enforce the policy, you might not actually need a policy. Use the policy statements as guidelines or standards, create and implement procedures, and build a culture of compliance. Once you can confidently execute on required controls, seek signoff.

      Gather feedback from users to assess the feasibility of the new policies

      Associated Activity icon 2(b) Review period: 1-2 weeks

      Once the policies are drafted, roundtable the drafts with stakeholders.

      INPUT: Draft policies

      OUTPUT: Reviewed policy drafts ready for approval

      Materials: Policy drafts

      Participants: Policy stakeholders

      1. Form a test group of users who will be affected by the policy in different ways. Keep the group to around five staff.
      2. Present new policies to the testers. Allow them to read the documents and attempt to comply with the new policies in their daily routines.
      3. Collect feedback from the group.
        • Consider using interviews, email surveys, chat channels, or group discussions.
        • Solicit ideas on how policy statements could be improved or streamlined.
      4. Make reasonable changes to the first draft of the policies before submitting them for approval. Policies will only be followed if they’re realistic and user friendly.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Allow staff the opportunity to provide input on policy development. Giving employees a say in policy development helps avoid obstacles down the road. This is especially true if you’re trying to change behavior rather than lock it in.

      Develop mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement

      Associated Activity icon 2(c) 20 minutes per policy

      Brainstorm preventive and detective controls.

      INPUT: Draft policies

      OUTPUT: Reviewed policy drafts ready for approval

      Materials: Policy drafts

      Participants: Policy stakeholders

      Preventive controls are designed to discourage or pre-empt policy breaches before they occur. Training, approvals processes, and segregation of duties are examples of preventive controls. (Ohio University)

      Detective controls help enforce the policy by identifying breaches after they occur. Forensic analysis and event log auditing are examples of detective controls. (Ohio University)

      Not all policies require the same level of enforcement. Policies that are required by law or regulation generally require stricter enforcement than policies that outline best practices or organizational values.

      Identify controls and enforcement mechanisms that are in line with policy requirements. Build control and enforcement into procedure documentation as needed.

      Suggestions:

      1. Have staff sign off on policies. Disclose any monitoring/surveillance.
      2. Ensure consequences match the severity of the infraction. Document infractions and ensure that enforcement is applied consistently across all infractions.
      3. Automatic controls shouldn’t get in the way of people’s ability to do their jobs. Test controls with users before you roll them out widely.

      Support the policy before seeking approval

      A policy is only as strong as its supporting pillars.

      Create Standards

      Standards are requirements that support policy adherence. Server builds and images, purchase approval criteria, and vulnerability severity definitions can all be examples of standards that improve policy adherence.

      Where reasonable, use automated controls to enforce standards. If you automate the control, consider how you’ll handle exceptions.

      Create Guidelines

      If no standards exist – or best practices can’t be monitored and enforced, as standards require – write guidelines to help users remain in compliance with the policy.

      Create Procedures: We’ll cover procedure development and documentation in Phase 3.

      Info-Tech Insight

      In general, failing to follow or strictly enforce a policy creates a risk for the business. If you’re not confident a policy will be followed or enforced, consider using policy statements as guidelines or standards as an interim measure as you update procedures and communicate and roll out changes that support adherence and enforcement.

      Seek approval and communicate the policy

      Policies ultimately need to be accepted by the business.

      • Once the drafts are completed, identify who is in charge of approving the policies.
      • Ensure all stakeholders understand the importance, context, and repercussions of the policies.
      • The approvals process is about appropriate oversight of the drafted policies. For example:
        • Do the policies satisfy compliance and regulatory requirements?
        • Do the policies work with the corporate culture?
        • Do the policies address the underlying need?

      If the draft is rejected:

      • Acquire feedback and make revisions.
      • Resubmit for approval.

      If the draft is approved:

      • Set the effective date and a review date.
      • Begin communication, training, and implementation.
      • Employees must know that there are new policies and understand the steps they must take to comply with the policies in their work.
      • Employees must be able to interpret, understand, and know how to act upon the information they find in the policies.
      • Employees must be informed on where to get help or ask questions and from whom to request policy exceptions.

      "A lot of board members and executive management teams… don’t understand the technology and the risks posed by it." (Carole Fennelly, Owner and Principal, cFennelly Consulting)

      Identify policy management roles and responsibilities

      Associated Activity icon 2(d) 30 minutes

      Discuss and assign roles and responsibilities for ongoing policy management.

      Role

      Responsibilities

      Executive sponsor
    • Supports the program at the highest levels of the business, as needed
      		•

      Program lead
    • Leads the Infrastructure & Operations policy management program
    • Identifies and communicates status updates to the executive sponsor and the project team
    • Coordinates business demands and interviews and organizes stakeholders to identify requirements
    • Manages the work team and coordinates policy rollout
      		•

      Policy writer
    • Authors and updates policies based on requirements
    • Coordinates with outsourced editor for completion of written documents
      		•

      IT infrastructure SMEs
    • Provide technical insight into capabilities and limitations of infrastructure systems
    • Provide advice on possible controls that can aid policy rollout, monitoring, and enforcement
      		•

      Legal expert
    • Provides legal advice on the policy’s legal terms and enforceability
      		•

      "Whether at the level of a government, a department, or a sub-organization: technology and policy expertise complement one another and must be part of the conversation." (Peter Sheingold, Portfolio Manager, Cybersecurity, MITRE Corporation)

      Phase 2: Review accomplishments

      Effective Policies: Clear, Consistent, and Concise

      An icon for the 'DSS02 Service Desk' template.

      An icon for the 'DSS03 Incident and Problem Management' template.

      An icon for the 'BAI06 Change Management' template.

      An icon for the 'BAI07 Release Management' template.

      An icon for the 'BAI09 Asset Management' template.

      An icon for the 'DSS04 DR and Business Continuity' template.

      An icon for the 'BAI04 Availability and Capacity Management' template.

      An icon for the 'DSS01 Operations Management' template.

      An icon for the 'BAI10 Configuration Management' template.

      Summary of Accomplishments

      • Built priority policies based on templates aligned with the IT Management & Governance Framework and COBIT 5.
      • Reviewed controls and policy supports.
      • Assigned roles and responsibilities for ongoing policy maintenance.

      Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures

      Phase 3

      Document Effective Procedures

      PHASE 3: Document Effective Procedures

      Step 3.1: Scope and outline procedures

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Prioritize SOP documentation
      • Draft workflows using a tabletop exercise
      • Modify templates, as applicable

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure & Operations Manager
      • Technical Writer
      • Infrastructure Supervisors

      Results & Insights

      • Results: An action plan for SOP documentation and an outline of procedure workflows.
      • Insights: Don’t let tools get in the way of documentation – low-tech solutions are often the most effective way to build and analyze workflows.

      Prioritize your SOP documentation effort

      Associated Activity icon 3(a) 1-2 hours

      Build SOP documentation that gets used and doesn’t just check a box.

      1. Review the list of procedure gaps from Phase 1. Are any other procedures needed? Are some of the procedures now redundant?
      2. Establish the scope of the proposed procedures. Who are the stakeholders? What policies do they support?
      3. Run a basic prioritization exercise using a three-point scale. Higher scores mean greater risks or greater benefits. Score the risk of the undocumented procedure to the business (e.g. potential effect on data, productivity, goodwill, health and safety, or compliance). Score the benefit to the business of documenting the procedure (e.g. throughput improvements or knowledge transfer).
      4. Different procedures require different formats. Decide on one or more formats that can help you effectively document the procedure:
        • Flowcharts: Depict workflows and decision points. Provide an at-a-glance view that is easy to follow. Can be supported by checklists and diagrams where more detail is required.
        • Checklists: A reminder of what to do, rather than how to do it. Keep instructions brief.
        • Diagrams: Visualize objects, topologies, and connections for reference purposes.
        • Tables: Establish relationships between related categories.
        • Prose: Use full-text instructions where other documentation strategies are insufficient.

      Modify the following Info-Tech templates for larger SOPs

      Support these processes...

      ...with these blueprints...

      ...to create SOPs using these templates.
      An icon for the 'DSS04 DR and Business Continuity' template. Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan DRP Summary
      An icon for the 'BAI09 Asset Management' template. Implement IT Asset Management HAM SOP and SAM SOP
      An icon for the 'BAI06 Change Management' template. An icon for the 'BAI07 Release Management' template. Optimize Change Management Change Management SOP
      An icon for the 'DSS02 Service Desk' template. An icon for the 'DSS03 Incident and Problem Management' template. Standardize the Service Desk Service Desk SOP

      Use tabletop planning or whiteboards to draft workflows

      Associated Activity icon 3(b) 30 minutes

      Tabletop planning is a paper-based exercise in which your team walks through a particular process and maps out what happens at each stage.

      OUTPUT: Steps in the current process for one SOP

      Materials: Tabletop, pen, and cue cards

      Participants: Process owners, SMEs

      1. For this exercise, choose one particular process to document.
      2. Document each step of the process on cue cards, which can be arranged on the table in sequence.
      3. Be sure to include task ownership in your steps.
      4. Map out the process as it currently happens – we’ll think about how to improve it later.
      5. Keep focused. Stay on task and on time.

      Example:

      • Step 3: PM reviews new defects daily
      • Step 4: PM assigns defects to tech leads
      • Step 5: Assigned resource updates status – frequency is based on ticket priority

      Info-Tech Insight

      Don’t get weighed down by tools. Relying on software or other technological tools can detract from the exercise. Use simple tools such as cue cards to record steps so that you can easily rearrange steps or insert steps based on input from the group.

      Collaborate to optimize the SOP

      Associated Activity icon 3(c) 30 minutes

      Review the tabletop exercise. What gaps exist in current processes?
      How can the processes be made better? What are the outputs and checkpoints?

      OUTPUT: Identify steps to optimize the SOP

      Materials: Tabletop, pen, and cue cards

      Participants: Process owners, SMEs

      Example:

      • Step 3: PM reviews new defects daily
      • NEW STEP: Schedule 10-minute daily defect reviews with PM and tech leads to evaluate ticket priority
      • Step 4: PM assigns defects to tech leads
      • Step 5: Assigned resource updates status – frequency is based on ticket priority
        • Step 5 Subprocess: Ticket status update
        • Step 5 Output: Ticket status moved to OPEN by assigned resource – acknowledges receipt by assigned resource

      A note on colors: Use white cards to record steps. Record gaps on yellow cards (e.g. a process step not documented) and risks on red cards (e.g. only one person knows how to execute a step) to highlight your gaps/to-dos and risks to be mitigated or accepted.

      If it’s necessary to clarify complex process flows during the exercise, you can also use green cards for decision diamonds, purple for document/report outputs, and blue for subprocesses.

      PHASE 3: Document Effective Procedures

      Step 3.2: Document effective procedures

      This step will walk you through the following activities:

      • Document workflows, checklists, and diagrams
      • Establish a cadence for document review and updates

      This step involves the following participants:

      • Infrastructure Manager
      • Technical Writer

      Results & Insights

      • Results: Improved SOP documentation and document management practices.
      • Insights: It’s possible to keep up with changes if you put the right cues and accountabilities in place. Include document review in project and change management procedures and hold staff accountable for completion.

      Document workflows with flowcharting software

      Suggestions for workflow documentation

      • Whether you draft the workflow on a whiteboard or using cue cards, the first iteration is usually messy. Clean up the flow as you document the results of the exercise.
      • Make the workflow as simple as possible and no simpler. Eliminate any decision points that aren’t strictly necessary to complete the procedure.
      • Use standard flowchart shapes (see next slide).
      • Use links to connect to related documentation.
      • Review the documented workflow with participants.

      Download the following workflow examples:

      Establish flowcharting standards

      If you don’t have existing flowchart standards, then keep it simple and stick to basic flowcharting conventions as described below.

      Basic flowcharting convention: a circle can be used for 'Start, End, and Connector'. Start, End, and Connector: Traditional flowcharting standards reserve this shape for connectors to other flowcharts or other points in the existing flowchart. Unified Modeling Language (UML) also uses the circle for start and end points.
      Basic flowcharting convention: a rounded rectangle can be used for 'Start and End'. Start and End: Traditional flowcharting standards use this for start and end. However, Info-Tech recommends using the circle shape to reduce the number of shapes and avoid confusion with other similar shapes.
      Basic flowcharting convention: a rectangle can be used for 'Process Step'. Process Step: Individual process steps or activities (e.g. create ticket or escalate ticket). If it’s a series of steps, then use the subprocess symbol and flowchart the subprocess separately.
      Basic flowcharting convention: a rectangle with double-line on the ends can be used for 'Subprocess'. Subprocess: A series of steps. For example, a critical incident SOP might reference a recovery process as one of the possible actions. Marking it as a subprocess, rather than listing each step within the critical incident SOP, streamlines the flowchart and avoids overlap with other flowcharts (e.g. the recovery process).
      Basic flowcharting convention: a diamond can be used for 'Decision'. Decision: Represents decision points, typically with Yes/No branches, but you could have other branches depending on the question (e.g. a “Priority?” question could branch into separate streams for Priority 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 issues).
      Basic flowcharting convention: a rectangle with a wavy bottom can be used for 'Document/Report Output'. Document/Report Output: For example, the output from a backup process might include an error log.

      Support workflows with checklists and diagrams

      Diagrams

      • Diagrams are a visual representation of real-world phenomena and the connections between them.
      • Be sure to use standard shapes. Clearly label elements of the diagram. Use standard practices, including titles, dates, authorship, and versioning.
      • IT systems and interconnections are layered. Include physical, logical, protocol, and data flow connections.

      Examples:

      • XMPL Recovery Workflows
      • Workflow Library

      Checklists

      • Checklists are best used as short-form reminders on how to complete a particular task.
      • Remember the audience. If the process will be carried out by technical staff, there’s technical background material you won’t need to spell out in detail.

      Examples:

      • Employee Termination Process Checklist
      • XMPL Systems Recovery Playbook

      Establish a cadence for documentation review and maintenance

      Lock-in the work with strong document management practices.

      • Identify documentation requirements as part of project planning.
      • Require a manager or supervisor to review and approve SOPs.
      • Check documentation status as part of change management.
      • Hold staff accountable for documentation.

      "It isn’t unusual for us to see infrastructure or operations documentation that is wildly out of date. We’re talking months, even years. Often it was produced as one big effort and then not reliably maintained." (Gary Patterson, Consultant, Quorum Resources)

      Only a quarter of organizations update SOPs as needed

      A bar chart representing how often organizations update SOPs. Each option has two bars, one representing 'North America', the other representing 'Europe and Asia'. 'Never or rarely' is 11% in North America and 3% in Europe and Asia. 'Ad-hoc approach' is 38% in North America and 28% in Europe and Asia. 'For audits/annual reviews' is 33% in North America and 45% in Europe and Asia. 'As needed/via change management' is 18% in North America and 25% in Europe and Asia. Source: Info-Tech Research Group (N=104)

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Use Info-Tech’s research Create Visual SOP Documents to further evaluate document management practices and toolsets.

      Phase 3: Review accomplishments

      Workflow documentation: Cue cards into flowcharts

      Summary of Accomplishments

      • Identified priority procedures for documentation activities.
      • Created procedure documentation in the appropriate format and level of granularity to support Infra & Ops policies.
      • Published and maintained procedure documentation.

      Research contributors and experts

      Carole Fennelly, Owner
      cFennelly Consulting

      Picture of Carole Fennelly, Owner, cFennelly Consulting.

      Carole Fennelly provides pragmatic cyber security expertise to help organizations bridge the gap between technical and business requirements. She authored the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Solaris and Red Hat benchmarks, which are used globally as configuration standards to secure IT systems. As a consultant, Carole has defined security strategies, and developed policies and procedures to implement them, at numerous Fortune 500 clients. Carole is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Security Compliance Specialist (CSCS), and Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP).

      Marko Diepold, IT Audit Manager
      audit2advise

      Picture of Marko Diepold, IT Audit Manager, audit2advise.

      Marko is an IT Audit Manager at audit2advise, where he delivers audit, risk advisory, and project management services. He has worked as a Security Officer, Quality Manager, and Consultant at some of Germany’s largest companies. He is a CISA and is ITIL v3 Intermediate and ITGCP certified.

      Research contributors and experts

      Martin Andenmatten, Founder & Managing Director
      Glenfis AG

      Picture of Martin Andenmatten, Founder and Managing Director, Glenfis AG.

      Martin is a digital transformation enabler who has been involved in various fields of IT for more than 30 years. At Glenfis, he leads large Governance and Service Management projects for various customers. Since 2002, he has been the course manager for ITIL® Foundation, ITIL® Service Management, and COBIT training. He has published two books on ISO 20000 and ITIL.

      Myles F. Suer, CIO Chat Facilitator
      CIO.com/Dell Boomi

      Picture of Myles F. Suer, CIO Chat Facilitator, CIO.com/Dell Boomi.

      Myles Suer, according to LeadTails, is the number 9 influencer of CIOs. He is also the facilitator for the CIOChat, which has executive-level participants from around the world in such industries as banking, insurance, education, and government. Myles is also the Industry Solutions Marketing Manager at Dell Boomi.

      Research contributors and experts

      Peter Sheingold, Portfolio Manager
      Cybersecurity, Homeland Security Center, The MITRE Corporation

      Picture of Peter Sheingold, Portfolio Manager, Cybersecurity, Homeland Security Center, The MITRE Corporation.

      Peter leads tasks that involve collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sponsors and MITRE colleagues and connect strategy, policy, organization, and technology. He brings a deep background in homeland security and strategic analysis to his work with DHS in the immigration, border security, and cyber mission spaces. Peter came to MITRE in 2005 but has worked with DHS from its inception.

      Robert D. Austin, Professor
      Ivey Business School

      Picture of Robert D. Austin, Professor, Ivey Business School.

      Dr. Austin is a professor of Information Systems at Ivey Business School and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Before his appointment at Ivey, he was a professor of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Copenhagen Business School, and, before that, a professor of Technology and Operations Management at the Harvard Business School.

      Research contributors and experts

      Ron Jones, Director of IT Infrastructure and Service Management
      DATA Communications

      Picture of Ron Jones, Director of IT Infrastructure and Service Management, DATA Communications.

      Ron is a senior IT leader with over 20 years of management experiences from engineering to IT Service Management and operations support. He is known for joining organizations and leading enhanced process efficiency and has improved software, hardware, infrastructure, and operations solution delivery and support. Ron has worked for global and Canadian firms including BlackBerry, DoubleClick, Cogeco, Infusion, Info-Tech Research Group, and Data Communications Management.

      Scott Genung, Executive Director of Networking, Infrastructure, and Service Operations
      University of Chicago

      Picture of Scott Genung, Executive Director of Networking, Infrastructure, and Service Operations, University of Chicago.

      Scott is an accomplished IT executive with 26 years of experience in technical and leadership roles. In his current role, Scott provides strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for an IT portfolio supporting 31,000 users consisting of services utilized by campuses located in North America, Asia, and Europe; oversees the University’s Command Center; and chairs the UC Cyberinfrastructure Alliance (UCCA), a group of research IT providers that collectively deliver services to the campus and partners.

      Research contributors and experts

      Steve Weil, CISSP, CISM, CRISC, Information Security Director, Cybersecurity Principal Consultant
      Point B

      Picture of Steve Weil, CISSP, CISM, CRISC, Information Security Director, Cybersecurity Principal Consultant, Point B.

      Steve has 20 years of experience in information security design, implementation, and assessment. He has provided information security services to a wide variety of organizations, including government agencies, hospitals, universities, small businesses, and large enterprises. With his background as a systems administrator, security consultant, security architect, and information security director, Steve has a strong understanding of both the strategic and tactical aspects of information security. Steve has significant hands-on experience with security controls, operating systems, and applications. Steve has a master's degree in Information Science from the University of Washington.

      Tony J. Read, Senior Program/Project Lead & Interim IT Executive
      Read & Associates

      Picture of Tony J. Read, Senior Program/Project Lead and Interim IT Executive, Read and Associates.

      Tony has over 25 years of international IT leadership experience, within high tech, computing, telecommunications, finance, banking, government, and retail industries. Throughout his career, Tony has led and successfully implemented key corporate initiatives, contributing millions of dollars to the top and bottom line. He established Read & Associates in 2002, an international IT management and program/project delivery consultancy practice whose aim is to provide IT value-based solutions, realizing stakeholder economic value and network advantage. These key concepts are presented in his new book: The IT Value Network: From IT Investment to Stakeholder Value, published by J. Wiley, NJ.

      Related Info-Tech research

      • Develop and Deploy Security Policies
      • Develop an Availability and Capacity Management Plan
      • Improve IT Operations Management
      • Develop an IT Infrastructure Services Playbook
      • Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan
      • Develop a Business Continuity Plan
      • Implement IT Asset Management
      • Optimize Change Management
      • Standardize the Service Desk
      • Incident and Problem Management
      • Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog

      Bibliography

      “About Controls.” Ohio University, ND. Web. 2 Feb 2018.

      England, Rob. “How to implement ITIL for a client?” The IT Skeptic. Two Hills Ltd, 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 2018.

      “Global Corporate IT Security Risks: 2013.” Kaspersky Lab, May 2013. Web. 2018.

      “Information Security and Technology Policies.” City of Chicago, Department of Innovation and Technology, Oct. 2014. Web. 2018.

      ISACA. COBIT 5: Enabling Processes. International Systems Audit and Control Association. Rolling Meadows, IL.: 2012.

      “IT Policy & Governance.” NYC Information Technology & Telecommunications, ND. Web. 2018.

      King, Paula and Kent Wada. “IT Policy: An Essential Element of IT Infrastructure”. EDUCAUSE Review. May-June 2001. Web. 2018.

      Luebbe, Max. “Simplicity.” Site Reliability Engineering. O’Reilly Media. 2017. Web. 2018.

      Swartout, Shawn. “Risk assessment, acceptance, and exception with a process view.” ISACA Charlotte Chapter September Event, 2013. Web. 2018.

      “User Guide to Writing Policies.” Office of Policy and Efficiency, University of Colorado, ND. Web. 2018.

      “The Value of Policies and Procedures.” New Mexico Municipal League, ND. Web. 2018.

      Reinforce End-User Security Awareness During Your COVID-19 Response

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}311|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: N/A
      • member rating average dollars saved: N/A
      • member rating average days saved: N/A
      • Parent Category Name: Endpoint Security
      • Parent Category Link: /endpoint-security

      Without the control over the areas in which employees are working, businesses are opening themselves up to a greater degree of risk during the pandemic. How does a business raise awareness for employees who are going to be working remotely?

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • An expanding remote workforce requires training efforts to evolve to include the unique security threats that face remote end users.
      • By presenting security as a personal and individualized issue, you can make this new personal focus a driver for your organizational security awareness and training program.

      Impact and Result

      • Teach remote end users how to recognize current cyberattacks before they fall victim and turn them into active barriers against cyberattacks.
      • Use Info-Tech’s blueprint and materials to build a customized training program that uses best practices.

      Reinforce End-User Security Awareness During Your COVID-19 Response Research & Tools

      Start here

      COVID-19 is forcing many businesses to expand their remote working capabilities further than before. Using this blueprint, see how to augment your existing training or start from scratch during a remote work situation.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      • Reinforce End-User Security Awareness During Your COVID-19 Response Storyboard
      • Security Awareness and Training Program Development Tool
      • Security Awareness and Training Metrics Tool
      • End-User Security Knowledge Test Template

      1. Training Materials

      Use Info-Tech’s training materials to get you started on remote training and awareness.

      • Training Materials – Phishing
      • Training Materials – Incident Response
      • Training Materials – Cyber Attacks
      • Training Materials – Web Usage
      • Training Materials – Physical Computer Security
      • Training Materials – Mobile Security
      • Training Materials – Passwords
      • Training Materials – Social Engineering
      • Security Training Email Templates
      [infographic]

      Establish Data Governance

      • Buy Link or Shortcode: {j2store}123|cart{/j2store}
      • member rating overall impact: 9.3/10 Overall Impact
      • member rating average dollars saved: $48,494 Average $ Saved
      • member rating average days saved: 31 Average Days Saved
      • Parent Category Name: Data Management
      • Parent Category Link: /data-management
      • Organizations are faced with challenges associated with changing data landscapes, evolving business models, industry disruptions, regulatory and compliance obligations, as well as changing and maturing user landscapes and demands for data.
      • Although the need for a data governance program is often evident, organizations often miss the mark.
      • Your data governance efforts should be directly aligned to delivering measurable business value by supporting key strategic initiatives, value streams, and underlying business capabilities.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Your organization’s value streams and their associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you may experience elevated operational costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, and exposure to increased business risk.
      • Ensure your data governance program delivers measurable business value by aligning the associated data governance initiatives with the business architecture.
      • Data governance must continuously align with the organization’s enterprise governance function. It should not be perceived as a pet project of IT, but rather as an enterprise-wide, business-driven initiative.

      Impact and Result

      Info-Tech’s approach to establishing and sustaining effective data governance is anchored in the strong alignment of organizational value streams and their business capabilities with key data governance dimensions and initiatives. Info-Tech's approach will help you:

      • Align your data governance with enterprise governance, business strategy, and the organizational value streams to ensure the program delivers measurable business value.
      • Understand your current data governance capabilities and build out a future state that is right-sized and relevant.
      • Define data governance leadership, accountability, and responsibility.
      • Ensure data governance is supported by an operating model that effectively manages change and communication and fosters a culture of data excellence.

      Establish Data Governance Research & Tools

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Data Governance Research – A step-by-step document to ensure that the people handling the data are involved in the decisions surrounding data usage, data quality, business processes, and change implementation.

      Data governance is a strategic program that will help your organization control data by managing the people, processes, and information technology needed to ensure that accurate and consistent data policies exist across varying lines of the business, enabling data-driven insight. This research will provide an overview of data governance and its importance to your organization, assist in making the case and securing buy-in for data governance, identify data governance best practices and the challenges associated with them, and provide guidance on how to implement data governance best practices for a successful launch.

      • Establish Data Governance – Phases 1-3

      2. Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook – A structured tool to assist with establishing effective data governance practices.

      This workbook will help your organization understand the business and user context by leveraging your business capability map and value streams, develop data use cases using Info-Tech's framework for building data use cases, and gauge the current state of your organization's data culture.

      • Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook

      3. Data Use Case Framework Template – An exemplar template to highlight and create relevant use cases around the organization’s data-related problems and opportunities.

      This business needs gathering activity will highlight and create relevant use cases around data-related problems or opportunities that are clear and contained and, if addressed, will deliver value to the organization. This template provides a framework for data requirements and a mapping methodology for creating use cases.

      • Data Use Case Framework Template

      4. Data Governance Initiative Planning and Roadmap Tool – A visual roadmapping tool to assist with establishing effective data governance practices.

      This tool will help your organization plan the sequence of activities, capture start dates and expected completion dates, and create a roadmap that can be effectively communicated to the organization.

      • Data Governance Initiative Planning and Roadmap Tool

      5. Business Data Catalog – A comprehensive template to help you to document the key data assets that are to be governed based on in-depth business unit interviews, data risk/value assessments, and a data flow diagram for the organization.

      Use this template to document information about key data assets such as data definition, source system, possible values, data sensitivity, data steward, and usage of the data.

      • Business Data Catalog

      6. Data Governance Program Charter Template – A program charter template to sell the importance of data governance to senior executives.

      This template will help get the backing required to get a data governance project rolling. The program charter will help communicate the project purpose, define the scope, and identify the project team, roles, and responsibilities.

      • Data Governance Program Charter Template

      7. Data Governance Policy

      This policy establishes uniform data governance standards and identifies the shared responsibilities for assuring the integrity of the data and that it efficiently and effectively serves the needs of your organization.

      • Data Governance Policy

      8. Data Governance Exemplar – An exemplar showing how you can plan and document your data governance outputs.

      Use this exemplar to understand how to establish data governance in your organization. Follow along with the sections of the blueprint Establish Data Governance and complete the document as you progress.

      • Data Governance Exemplar
      [infographic]

      Workshop: Establish Data Governance

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Establish Business Context and Value

      The Purpose

      Identify key business data assets that need to be governed.

      Create a unifying vision for the data governance program.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understand the value of data governance and how it can help the organization better leverage its data.

      Gain knowledge of how data governance can benefit both IT and the business.

      Activities

      1.1 Establish business context, value, and scope of data governance at the organization

      1.2 Introduction to Info-Tech’s data governance framework

      1.3 Discuss vision and mission for data governance

      1.4 Understand your business architecture, including your business capability map and value streams

      1.5 Build use cases aligned to core business capabilities

      Outputs

      Sample use cases (tied to the business capability map) and a repeatable use case framework

      Vision and mission for data governance

      2 Understand Current Data Governance Capabilities and Plot Target-State Levels

      The Purpose

      Assess which data contains value and/or risk and determine metrics that will determine how valuable the data is to the organization.

      Assess where the organization currently stands in data governance initiatives.

      Determine gaps between the current and future states of the data governance program.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Gain a holistic understanding of organizational data and how it flows through business units and systems.

      Identify which data should fall under the governance umbrella.

      Determine a practical starting point for the program.

      Activities

      2.1 Understand your current data governance capabilities and maturity

      2.2 Set target-state data governance capabilities

      Outputs

      Current state of data governance maturity

      Definition of target state

      3 Build Data Domain to Data Governance Role Mapping

      The Purpose

      Determine strategic initiatives and create a roadmap outlining key steps required to get the organization to start enabling data-driven insights.

      Determine timing of the initiatives.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Establish clear direction for the data governance program.

      Step-by-step outline of how to create effective data governance, with true business-IT collaboration.

      Activities

      3.1 Evaluate and prioritize performance gaps

      3.2 Develop and consolidate data governance target-state initiatives

      3.3 Define the role of data governance: data domain to data governance role mapping

      Outputs

      Target-state data governance initiatives

      Data domain to data governance role mapping

      4 Formulate a Plan to Get to Your Target State

      The Purpose

      Consolidate the roadmap and other strategies to determine the plan of action from Day One.

      Create the required policies, procedures, and positions for data governance to be sustainable and effective.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Prioritized initiatives with dependencies mapped out.

      A clearly communicated plan for data governance that will have full business backing.

      Activities

      4.1 Identify and prioritize next steps

      4.2 Define roles and responsibilities and complete a high-level RACI

      4.3 Wrap-up and discuss next steps and post-workshop support

      Outputs

      Initialized roadmap

      Initialized RACI

      Further reading

      Establish Data Governance

      Deliver measurable business value.

      Executive Brief

      Analyst Perspective

      Establish a data governance program that brings value to your organization.

      Picture of analyst

      Data governance does not sit as an island on its own in the organization – it must align with and be driven by your enterprise governance. As you build out data governance in your organization, it’s important to keep in mind that this program is meant to be an enabling framework of oversight and accountabilities for managing, handling, and protecting your company’s data assets. It should never be perceived as bureaucratic or inhibiting to your data users. It should deliver agreed-upon models that are conducive to your organization’s operating culture, offering clarity on who can do what with the data and via what means. Data governance is the key enabler for bringing high-quality, trusted, secure, and discoverable data to the right users across your organization. Promote and drive the responsible and ethical use of data while helping to build and foster an organizational culture of data excellence.

      Crystal Singh

      Director, Research & Advisory, Data & Analytics Practice

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      The amount of data within organizations is growing at an exponential rate, creating a need to adopt a formal approach to governing data. However, many organizations remain uninformed on how to effectively govern their data. Comprehensive data governance should define leadership, accountability, and responsibility related to data use and handling and be supported by a well-oiled operating model and relevant policies and procedures. This will help ensure the right data gets to the right people at the right time, using the right mechanisms.

      Common Obstacles

      Organizations are faced with challenges associated with changing data landscapes, evolving business models, industry disruptions, regulatory and compliance obligations, and changing and maturing user landscape and demand for data. Although the need for a data governance program is often evident, organizations miss the mark when their data governance efforts are not directly aligned to delivering measurable business value. Initiatives should support key strategic initiatives, as well as value streams and their underlying business capabilities.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Info-Tech’s approach to establishing and sustaining effective data governance is anchored in the strong alignment of organizational value streams and their business capabilities with key data governance dimensions and initiatives. Organizations should:

      • Align their data governance with enterprise governance, business strategy and value streams to ensure the program delivers measurable business value.
      • Understand their current data governance capabilities so as to build out a future state that is right-sized and relevant.
      • Define data leadership, accountability, and responsibility. Support these with an operating model that effectively manages change and communication and fosters a culture of data excellence.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organization’s value streams and the associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you face elevated operating costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, and increased business risk.

      Your challenge

      This research is designed to help organizations build and sustain an effective data governance program.

      • Your organization has recognized the need to treat data as a corporate asset for generating business value and/or managing and mitigating risk.
      • This has brought data governance to the forefront and highlighted the need to build a performance-driven enterprise program for delivering quality, trusted, and readily consumable data to users.
      • An effective data governance program is one that defines leadership, accountability, and responsibility related to data use and handling. It’s supported by a well-oiled operating model and relevant policies and procedures, all of which help build and foster a culture of data excellence where the right users get access to the right data at the right time via the right mechanisms.

      As you embark on establishing data governance in your organization, it’s vital to ensure from the get-go that you define the drivers and business context for the program. Data governance should never be attempted without direction on how the program will yield measurable business value.

      “Data processing and cleanup can consume more than half of an analytics team’s time, including that of highly paid data scientists, which limits scalability and frustrates employees.” – Petzold, et al., 2020

      Image is a circle graph and 30% of it is coloured with the number 30% in the middle of the graph

      “The productivity of employees across the organization can suffer.” – Petzold, et al., 2020

      Respondents to McKinsey’s 2019 Global Data Transformation Survey reported that an average of 30% of their total enterprise time was spent on non-value-added tasks because of poor data quality and availability. – Petzold, et al., 2020

      Common obstacles

      Some of the barriers that make data governance difficult to address for many organizations include:

      • Gaps in communicating the strategic value of data and data governance to the organization. This is vital for securing senior leadership buy-in and support, which, in turn, is crucial for sustained success of the data governance program.
      • Misinterpretation or a lack of understanding about data governance, including what it means for the organization and the individual data user.
      • A perception that data governance is inhibiting or an added layer of bureaucracy or complication rather than an enabling and empowering framework for stakeholders in their use and handling of data.
      • Embarking on data governance without firmly substantiating and understanding the organizational drivers for doing so. How is data governance going to support the organization’s value streams and their various business capabilities?
      • Neglecting to define and measure success and performance. Just as in any other enterprise initiative, you have to be able to demonstrate an ROI for time, resources and funding. These metrics must demonstrate the measurable business value that data governance brings to the organization.
      • Failure to align data governance with enterprise governance.
      Image is a circle graph and 78% of it is coloured with the number 78% in the middle of the graph

      78% of companies (and 92% of top-tier companies) have a corporate initiative to become more data-driven. – Alation, 2020

      Image is a circle graph and 58% of it is coloured with the number 58% in the middle of the graph

      But despite these ambitions, there appears to be a “data culture disconnect” – 58% of leaders overestimate the current data culture of their enterprises, giving a grade higher than the one produced by the study. – Fregoni, 2020

      The strategic value of data

      Power intelligent and transformative organizational performance through leveraging data.

      Respond to industry disruptors

      Optimize the way you serve your stakeholders and customers

      Develop products and services to meet ever-evolving needs

      Manage operations and mitigate risk

      Harness the value of your data

      The journey to being data-driven

      The journey to declaring that you are a data-driven organization requires a pit stop at data enablement.

      The Data Economy

      Data Disengaged

      You have a low appetite for data and rarely use data for decision making.

      Data Enabled

      Technology, data architecture, and people and processes are optimized and supported by data governance.

      Data Driven

      You are differentiating and competing on data and analytics; described as a “data first” organization. You’re collaborating through data. Data is an asset.

      Data governance is essential for any organization that makes decisions about how it uses its data.

      Data governance is an enabling framework of decision rights, responsibilities, and accountabilities for data assets across the enterprise.

      Data governance is:

      • Executed according to agreed-upon models that describe who can take what actions with what information, when, and using what methods (Olavsrud, 2021).
      • True business-IT collaboration that will lead to increased consistency and confidence in data to support decision making. This, in turn, helps fuel innovation and growth.

      If done correctly, data governance is not:

      • An annoying, finger-waving roadblock in the way of getting things done.
      • Meant to solve all data-related business or IT problems in an organization.
      • An inhibitor or impediment to using and sharing data.

      Info-Tech’s Data Governance Framework

      An image of Info-Tech's Data Governance Framework

      Create impactful data governance by embedding it within enterprise governance

      A model is depicted to show the relationship between enterprise governance and data governance.

      Organizational drivers for data governance

      Data governance personas:

      Conformance: Establishing data governance to meet regulations and compliance requirements.

      Performance: Establishing data governance to fuel data-driven decision making for driving business value and managing and mitigating business risk.

      Two images are depicted that show the difference between conformance and performance.

      Data Governance is not a one-person show

      • Data governance needs a leader and a home. Define who is going to be leading, driving, and steering data governance in your organization.
      • Senior executive leaders play a crucial role in championing and bringing visibility to the value of data and data governance. This is vital for building and fostering a culture of data excellence.
      • Effective data governance comes with business and IT alignment, collaboration, and formally defined roles around data leadership, ownership, and stewardship.
      Four circles are depicted. There is one person in the circle on the left and is labelled: Data Governance Leadership. The circle beside it has two people in it and labelled: Organizational Champions. The circle beside it has three people in it and labelled: Data Owners, Stewards & Custodians. The last circle has four people in it and labelled: The Organization & Data Storytellers.

      Traditional data governance organizational structure

      A traditional structure includes committees and roles that span across strategic, tactical, and operational duties. There is no one-size-fits-all data governance structure. However, most organizations follow a similar pattern when establishing committees, councils, and cross-functional groups. Most organizations strive to identify roles and responsibilities at a strategic and operational level. Several factors will influence the structure of the program, such as the focus of the data governance project and the maturity and size of the organization.

      A triangular model is depicted and is split into three tiers to show the traditional data governance organizational structure.

      A healthy data culture is key to amplifying the power of your data.

      “Albert Einstein is said to have remarked, ‘The world cannot be changed without changing our thinking.’ What is clear is that the greatest barrier to data success today is business culture, not lagging technology. “– Randy Bean, 2020

      What does it look like?

      • Everybody knows the data.
      • Everybody trusts the data.
      • Everybody talks about the data.

      “It is not enough for companies to embrace modern data architectures, agile methodologies, and integrated business-data teams, or to establish centers of excellence to accelerate data initiatives, when only about 1 in 4 executives reported that their organization has successfully forged a data culture.”– Randy Bean, 2020

      Data literacy is an essential part of a data-driven culture

      • In a data-driven culture, decisions are made based on data evidence, not on gut instinct.
      • Data often has untapped potential. A data-driven culture builds tools and skills, builds users’ trust in the condition and sources of data, and raises the data skills and understanding among their people on the front lines.
      • Building a data culture takes an ongoing investment of time, effort, and money. This investment will not achieve the transformation you want without data literacy at the grassroots level.

      Data-driven culture = “data matters to our company”

      Despite investments in data initiative, organizations are carrying high levels of data debt

      Data debt is “the accumulated cost that is associated with the sub-optimal governance of data assets in an enterprise, like technical debt.”

      Data debt is a problem for 78% of organizations.

      40% of organizations say individuals within the business do not trust data insights.

      66% of organizations say a backlog of data debt is impacting new data management initiatives.

      33% of organizations are not able to get value from a new system or technology investment.

      30% of organizations are unable to become data-driven.

      Source: Experian, 2020

      Absent or sub-optimal data governance leads to data debt

      Only 3% of companies’ data meets basic quality standards. (Source: Nagle, et al., 2017)

      Organizations suspect 28% of their customer and prospect data is inaccurate in some way. (Source: Experian, 2020)

      Only 51% of organizations consider the current state of their CRM or ERP data to be clean, allowing them to fully leverage it. (Source: Experian, 2020)

      35% of organizations say they’re not able to see a ROI for data management initiatives. (Source: Experian, 2020)

      Embrace the technology

      Make the available data governance tools and technology work for you:

      • Data catalog
      • Business data glossary
      • Data lineage
      • Metadata management

      While data governance tools and technologies are no panacea, leverage their automated and AI-enabled capabilities to augment your data governance program.

      Logos of data governance tools and technology.

      Measure success to demonstrate tangible business value

      Put data governance into the context of the business:

      • Tie the value of data governance and its initiatives back to the business capabilities that are enabled.
      • Leverage the KPIs of those business capabilities to demonstrate tangible and measurable value. Use terms and language that will resonate with senior leadership.

      Don’t let measurement be an afterthought:

      Start substantiating early on how you are going to measure success as your data governance program evolves.

      Build a right-sized roadmap

      Formulate an actionable roadmap that is right-sized to deliver value in your organization.

      Key considerations:

      • When building your data governance roadmap, ensure you do so through an enterprise lens. Be cognizant of other initiatives that might be coming down the pipeline that may require you to align your data governance milestones accordingly.
      • Apart from doing your planning with consideration for other big projects or launches that might be in-flight and require the time and attention of your data governance partners, also be mindful of the more routine yet still demanding initiatives.
      • When doing your roadmapping, consider factors like the organization’s fiscal cycle, typical or potential year-end demands, and monthly/quarterly reporting periods and audits. Initiatives such as these are likely to monopolize the time and focus of personnel key to delivering on your data governance milestones.

      Sample milestones:

      Data Governance Leadership & Org Structure Definition

      Define the home for data governance and other key roles around ownership and stewardship, as approved by senior leadership.

      Data Governance Charter and Policies

      Create a charter for your program and build/refresh associated policies.

      Data Culture Diagnostic

      Understand the organization’s current data culture, perception of data, value of data, and knowledge gaps.

      Use Case Build and Prioritization

      Build a use case that is tied to business capabilities. Prioritize accordingly.

      Business Data Glossary

      Build and/or refresh the business’ glossary for addressing data definitions and standardization issues.

      Tools & Technology

      Explore the tools and technology offering in the data governance space that would serve as an enabler to the program. (e.g. RFI, RFP).

      Key takeaways for effective business-driven data governance

      Data governance leadership and sponsorship is key.

      Ensure strategic business alignment.

      Build and foster a culture of data excellence.

      Evolve along the data journey.

      Make data governance an enabler, not a hindrance.

      Insight summary

      Overarching insight

      Your organization’s value streams and the associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you face the impact of elevated operational costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, and exposure to increased business risk.

      Insight 1

      Data governance should not sit as an island in your organization. It must continuously align with the organization’s enterprise governance function. It shouldn’t be perceived as a pet project of IT, but rather as an enterprise-wide, business-driven initiative.

      Insight 2

      Ensure your data governance program delivers measurable business value by aligning the associated data governance initiatives with the business architecture. Leverage the measures of success or KPIs of the underlying business capabilities to demonstrate the value data governance has yielded for the organization.

      Insight 3

      Data governance remains the foundation of all forms of reporting and analytics. Advanced capabilities such as AI and machine learning require effectively governed data to fuel their success.

      Tactical insight

      Tailor your data literacy program to meet your organization’s needs, filling your range of knowledge gaps and catering to your different levels of stakeholders. When it comes to rolling out a data literacy program, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Your data literacy program is intended to fill the knowledge gaps about data, as they exist in your organization. It should be targeted across the board – from your executive leadership and management through to the subject matter experts across different lines of the business in your organization.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for establishing data governance

      1. Build Business and User Context 2. Understand Your Current Data Governance Capabilities 3. Build a Target State Roadmap and Plan
      Phase Steps
      1. Substantiate Business Drivers
      2. Build High-Value Use Cases for Data Governance
      1. Understand the Key Components of Data Governance
      2. Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture
      1. Formulate an Actionable Roadmap and Right-Sized Plan
      Phase Outcomes
      • Your organization’s business capabilities and value streams
      • A business capability map for your organization
      • Categorization of your organization’s key capabilities
      • A strategy map tied to data governance
      • High-value use cases for data governance
      • An understanding of the core components of an effective data governance program
      • An understanding your organization’s current data culture
      • A data governance roadmap and target-state plan comprising of prioritized initiatives

      Blueprint deliverables

      Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

      Screenshot of Info-Tech's Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook data-verified=

      Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook

      Use the Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook as you plan, build, roll-out, and scale data governance in your organization.

      Screenshot of Info-Tech's Data Use Case Framework Template

      Data Use Case Framework Template

      This template takes you through a business needs gathering activity to highlight and create relevant use cases around the organization’s data-related problems and opportunities.

      Screenshot of Info-Tech's Business Data Glossary data-verified=

      Business Data Glossary

      Use this template to document the key data assets that are to be governed and create a data flow diagram for your organization.

      Screenshot of Info-Tech's Data Culture Diagnostic and Scorecard data-verified=

      Data Culture Diagnostic and Scorecard

      Leverage Info-Tech’s Data Culture Diagnostic to understand how your organization scores across 10 areas relating to data culture.

      Key deliverable:

      Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook

      Measure the value of this blueprint

      Leverage this blueprint’s approach to ensure your data governance initiatives align and support your key value streams and their business capabilities.

      • Aligning your data governance program and its initiatives to your organization’s business capabilities is vital for tracing and demonstrating measurable business value for the program.
      • This alignment of data governance with value streams and business capabilities enables you to use business-defined KPIs and demonstrate tangible value.
      Screenshot from this blueprint on the Measurable Business Value

      In phases 1 and 2 of this blueprint, we will help you establish the business context, define your business drivers and KPIs, and understand your current data governance capabilities and strengths.

      In phase 3, we will help you develop a plan and a roadmap for addressing any gaps and improving the relevant data governance capabilities so that data is well positioned to deliver on those defined business metrics.

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team, has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keeps us on track."

      Workshop

      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting

      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Establish Data Governance project overview

      Contact your account representative for more information. workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      1. Build Business and User context2. Understand Your Current Data Governance Capabilities3. Build a Target State Roadmap and Plan
      Best-Practice Toolkit
      1. Substantiate Business Drivers
      2. Build High-Value Use Cases for Data Governance
      1. Understand the Key Components of Data Governance
      2. Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture
      1. Formulate an Actionable Roadmap and Right-Sized Plan
      Guided Implementation
      • Call 1
      • Call 2
      • Call 3
      • Call 4
      • Call 5
      • Call 6
      • Call 7
      • Call 8
      • Call 9
      Phase Outcomes
      • Your organization’s business capabilities and value streams
      • A business capability map for your organization
      • Categorization of your organization’s key capabilities
      • A strategy map tied to data governance
      • High-value use cases for data governance
      • An understanding of the core components of an effective data governance program
      • An understanding your organization’s current data culture
      • A data governance roadmap and target-state plan comprising of prioritized initiatives

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      An outline of what guided implementation looks like.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization. A typical GI is between 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

      Workshop overview

      Contact your account representative for more information. workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
      Establish Business Context and Value Understand Current Data Governance Capabilities and Plot Target-State Levels Build Data Domain to Data Governance Role Mapping Formulate a Plan to Get to Your Target State
      Activities
      • Establish business context, value, and scope of data governance at the organization
      • Introduction to Info-Tech’s data governance framework
      • Discuss vision and mission for data governance
      • Understand your business architecture, including your business capability map and value streams
      • Build use cases aligned to core business capabilities
      • Understand your current data governance capabilities and maturity
      • Set target state data governance capabilities
      • Evaluate and prioritize performance gaps
      • Develop and consolidate data governance target-state initiatives
      • Define the role of data governance: data domain to data governance role mapping
      • Identify and prioritize next steps
      • Define roles and responsibilities and complete a high-level RACI
      • Wrap-up and discuss next steps and post-workshop support
      Deliverables
      1. Sample use cases (tied to the business capability map) and a repeatable use case framework
      2. Vision and mission for data governance
      1. Current state of data governance maturity
      2. Definition of target state
      1. Target-state data governance initiatives
      2. Data domain to data governance role mapping
      1. Initialized roadmap
      2. Initialized RACI

      Phase 1

      Build Business and User Context

      Three circles are in the image that list the three phases and the main steps. Phase 1 is highlighted.

      “When business users are invited to participate in the conversation around data with data users and IT, it adds a fundamental dimension — business context. Without a real understanding of how data ties back to the business, the value of analysis and insights can get lost.” – Jason Lim, Alation

      This phase will guide you through the following activities:

      • Identify Your Business Capabilities
      • Define your Organization’s Key Business Capabilities
      • Develop a Strategy Map that Aligns Business Capabilities to Your Strategic Focus

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data Governance Leader/Data Leader (CDO)
      • Senior Business Leaders
      • Business SMEs
      • Data Leadership, Data Owners, Data Stewards and Custodians

      Step 1.1

      Substantiate Business Drivers

      Activities

      1.1.1 Identify Your Business Capabilities

      1.1.2 Categorize Your Organization’s Key Business Capabilities

      1.1.3 Develop a Strategy Map Tied to Data Governance

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Leverage your organization’s existing business capability map or initiate the formulation of a business capability map, guided by info-Tech’s approach
      • Determine which business capabilities are considered high priority by your organization
      • Map your organization’s strategic objectives to value streams and capabilities to communicate how objectives are realized with the support of data

      Outcomes of this step

      • A foundation for data governance initiative planning that’s aligned with the organization’s business architecture: value streams, business capability map, and strategy map

      Info-Tech Insight

      Gaining a sound understanding of your business architecture (value streams and business capabilities) is a critical foundation for establishing and sustaining a data governance program that delivers measurable business value.

      1.1.1 Identify Your Business Capabilities

      Confirm your organization's existing business capability map or initiate the formulation of a business capability map:

      • If you have an existing business capability map, meet with the relevant business owners/stakeholders to confirm that the content is accurate and up to date. Confirm the value streams (how your organization creates and captures value) and their business capabilities are reflective of the organization’s current business environment.
      • If you do not have an existing business capability map, follow this activity to initiate the formulation of a map (value streams and related business capabilities):
        1. Define the organization’s value streams. Meet with senior leadership and other key business stakeholders to define how your organization creates and captures value.
        2. Define the relevant business capabilities. Meet with senior leadership and other key business stakeholders to define the business capabilities.

      Note: A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation. Business capabilities are business terms defined using descriptive nouns such as “Marketing” or “Research and Development.” They represent stable business functions, are unique and independent of each other, and typically will have a defined business outcome.

      Input

      • List of confirmed value streams and their related business capabilities

      Output

      • Business capability map with value streams for your organization

      Materials

      • Your existing business capability map or the template provided in the Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook accompanying this blueprint

      Participants

      • Key business stakeholders
      • Data stewards
      • Data custodians
      • Data Governance Working Group

      For more information, refer to Info-Tech’s Document Your Business Architecture.

      Define or validate the organization’s value streams

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities. These value realization activities, in turn, depend on data.

      If the organization does not have a business architecture function to conduct and guide Activity 1.1.1, you can leverage the following approach:

      • Meet with key stakeholders regarding this topic, then discuss and document your findings.
      • When trying to identify the right stakeholders, consider: Who are the decision makers and key influencers? Who will impact this piece of business architecture related work? Who has the relevant skills, competencies, experience, and knowledge about the organization?
      • Engage with these stakeholders to define and validate how the organization creates value.
      • Consider:
        • Who are your main stakeholders? This will depend on the industry in which you operate. For example, customers, residents, citizens, constituents, students, patients.
        • What are your stakeholders looking to accomplish?
        • How does your organization’s products and/or services help them accomplish that?
        • What are the benefits your organization delivers to them and how does your organization deliver those benefits?
        • How do your stakeholders receive those benefits?

      Align data governance to the organization's value realization activities.

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organization’s value streams and the associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you face the possibilities of elevated operational costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, negative impact to reputation and brand, and/or increased exposure to business risk.

      Example of value streams – Retail Banking

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities.

      Example value stream descriptions for: Retail Banking

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      Model example of value streams for retail banking.

      For this value stream, download Info-Tech’s Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail Banking.

      Example of value streams – Higher Education

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities.

      Example value stream descriptions for: Higher Education

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      Model example of value streams for higher education

      For this value stream, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Higher Education.

      Example of value streams – Local Government

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities.

      Example value stream descriptions for: Local Government

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      Model example of value streams for local government

      For this value stream, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Local Government.

      Example of value streams – Manufacturing

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities.

      Example value stream descriptions for: Manufacturing

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      Model example of value streams for manufacturing

      For this value stream, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Manufacturing.

      Example of value streams – Retail

      Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities.

      Example value stream descriptions for: Retail

      Model example of value streams for retail

      Value streams enable the organization to create or capture value in the market in which it operates by engaging in a set of interconnected activities.

      For this value stream, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail.

      Define the organization’s business capabilities in a business capability map

      A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation. Business capabilities represent stable business functions and typically will have a defined business outcome.

      Business capabilities can be thought of as business terms defined using descriptive nouns such as “Marketing” or “Research and Development.”

      If your organization doesn’t already have a business capability map, you can leverage the following approach to build one. This initiative requires a good understanding of the business. By working with the right stakeholders, you can develop a business capability map that speaks a common language and accurately depicts your business.

      Working with the stakeholders as described above:

      • Analyze the value streams to identify and describe the organization’s capabilities that support them.
      • Consider: What is the objective of your value stream? (This can highlight which capabilities support which value stream.)
      • As you initiate your engagement with your stakeholders, don’t start a blank page. Leverage the examples on the next slides as a starting point for your business capability map.
      • When using these examples, consider: What are the activities that make up your particular business? Keep the ones that apply to your organization, remove the ones that don’t, and add any needed.

      Align data governance to the organization's value realization activities.

      Info-Tech Insight

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      For more information, refer to Info-Tech’s Document Your Business Architecture.

      Example business capability map – Retail Banking

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      Validate your business capability map with the right stakeholders, including your executive team, business unit leaders, and/or other key stakeholders.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Leverage your business capability map verification session with these key stakeholders as a prime opportunity to share and explain the role of data and data governance in supporting the very value realization capabilities under discussion. This will help to build awareness and visibility of the data governance program.

      Example business capability map for: Retail Banking

      Model example business capability map for retail banking

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail Banking.

      Example business capability map – Higher Education

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      Validate your business capability map with the right stakeholders, including your executive team, business unit leaders, and/or other key stakeholders.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Leverage your business capability map verification session with these key stakeholders as a prime opportunity to share and explain the role of data and data governance in supporting the very value realization capabilities under discussion. This will help to build awareness and visibility of the data governance program.

      Example business capability map for: Higher Education

      Model example business capability map for higher education

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Higher Education.

      Example business capability map – Local Government

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      Validate your business capability map with the right stakeholders, including your executive team, business unit leaders, and/or other key stakeholders.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Leverage your business capability map verification session with these key stakeholders as a prime opportunity to share and explain the role of data and data governance in supporting the very value realization capabilities under discussion. This will help to build awareness and visibility of the data governance program.

      Example business capability map for: Local Government

      Model example business capability map for local government

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Local Government.

      Example business capability map – Manufacturing

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      Validate your business capability map with the right stakeholders, including your executive team, business unit leaders, and/or other key stakeholders.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Leverage your business capability map verification session with these key stakeholders as a prime opportunity to share and explain the role of data and data governance in supporting the very value realization capabilities under discussion. This will help to build awareness and visibility of the data governance program.

      Example business capability map for: Manufacturing

      Model example business capability map for manufacturing

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Manufacturing.

      Example business capability map - Retail

      A business capability map can be thought of as a visual representation of your organization’s business capabilities and hence represents a view of what your data governance program must support.

      Validate your business capability map with the right stakeholders, including your executive team, business unit leaders, and/or other key stakeholders.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Leverage your business capability map verification session with these key stakeholders as a prime opportunity to share and explain the role of data and data governance in supporting the very value realization capabilities under discussion. This will help to build awareness and visibility of the data governance program.

      Example business capability map for: Retail

      Model example business capability map for retail

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail.

      1.1.2 Categorize Your Organization’s Key Capabilities

      Determine which capabilities are considered high priority in your organization.

      1. Categorize or heatmap the organization’s key capabilities. Consult with senior and other key business stakeholders to categorize and prioritize the business’ capabilities. This will aid in ensuring your data governance future state planning is aligned with the mandate of the business. One approach to prioritizing capabilities with business stakeholders is to examine them through the lens of cost advantage creators, competitive advantage differentiators, and/or by high value/high risk.
      2. Identify cost advantage creators. Focus on capabilities that drive a cost advantage for your organization. Highlight these capabilities and prioritize programs that support them.
      3. Identify competitive advantage differentiators. Focus on capabilities that give your organization an edge over rivals or other players in your industry.

      This categorization/prioritization exercise helps highlight prime areas of opportunity for building use cases, determining prioritization, and the overall optimization of data and data governance.

      Input

      • Strategic insight from senior business stakeholders on the business capabilities that drive value for the organization

      Output

      • Business capabilities categorized and prioritized (e.g. cost advantage creators, competitive advantage differentiators, high value/high risk)

      Materials

      • Your existing business capability map or the business capability map derived in the previous activity

      Participants

      • Key business stakeholders
      • Data stewards
      • Data custodians
      • Data Governance Working Group

      For more information, refer to Info-Tech’s Document Your Business Architecture.

      Example of business capabilities categorization or heatmapping – Retail

      This exercise is useful in ensuring the data governance program is focused and aligned to support the priorities and direction of the business.

      • Depending on the mandate from the business, priority may be on developing cost advantage. Hence the capabilities that deliver efficiency gains are the ones considered to be cost advantage creators.
      • The business’ priority may be on maintaining or gaining a competitive advantage over its industry counterparts. Differentiation might be achieved in delivering unique or enhanced products, services, and/or experiences, and the focus will tend to be on the capabilities that are more end-stakeholder-facing (e.g. customer-, student-, patient,- and/or constituent-facing). These are the organization’s competitive advantage creators.

      Example: Retail

      Example of business capabilities categorization or heatmapping – Retail

      For this business capability map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail.

      1.1.3 Develop a Strategy Map Tied to Data Governance

      Identify the strategic objectives for the business. Knowing the key strategic objectives will drive business-data governance alignment. It’s important to make sure the right strategic objectives of the organization have been identified and are well understood.

      1. Meet with senior business leaders and other relevant stakeholders to help identify and document the key strategic objectives for the business.
      2. Leverage their knowledge of the organization’s business strategy and strategic priorities to visually represent how these map to value streams, business capabilities, and, ultimately, to data and data governance needs and initiatives. Tip: Your map is one way to visually communicate and link the business strategy to other levels of the organization.
      3. Confirm the strategy mapping with other relevant stakeholders.

      Guide to creating your map: Starting with strategic objectives, map the value streams that will ultimately drive them. Next, link the key capabilities that enable each value stream. Then map the data and data governance to initiatives that support those capabilities. This is one approach to help you prioritize the data initiatives that deliver the most value to the organization.

      Input

      • Strategic objectives as outlined by the organization’s business strategy and confirmed by senior leaders

      Output

      • A strategy map that maps your organizational strategic objectives to value streams, business capabilities, and, ultimately, to data program

      Materials

      Participants

      • Key business stakeholders
      • Data stewards
      • Data custodians
      • Data Governance Working Group

      Download Info-Tech’s Data Governance Planning and Roadmapping Workbook

      Example of a strategy map tied to data governance

      • Strategic objectives are the outcomes that the organization is looking to achieve.
      • Value streams enable an organization to create and capture value in the market through interconnected activities that support strategic objectives.
      • Business capabilities define what a business does to enable value creation in value streams.
      • Data capabilities and initiatives are descriptions of action items on the data and data governance roadmap and which will enable one or multiple business capabilities in its desired target state.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Start with the strategic objectives, then map the value streams that will ultimately drive them. Next, link the key capabilities that enable each value stream. Then map the data and data governance initiatives that support those capabilities. This process will help you prioritize the data initiatives that deliver the most value to the organization.

      Example: Retail

      Example of a strategy map tied to data governance for retail

      For this strategy map, download Info-Tech’s Industry Reference Architecture for Retail.

      Step 1.2

      Build High-Value Use Cases for Data Governance

      Activities

      1.2.1 Build High-Value Use Cases

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Leveraging your categorized business capability map to conduct deep-dive sessions with key business stakeholders for creating high-value uses cases
      • Discussing current challenges, risks, and opportunities associated with the use of data across the lines of business
      • Exploring which other business capabilities, stakeholder groups, and business units will be impacted

      Outcomes of this step

      • Relevant use cases that articulate the data-related challenges, needs, or opportunities that are clear and contained and, if addressed ,will deliver value to the organization

      Info-Tech Tip

      One of the most important aspects when building use cases is to ensure you include KPIs or measures of success. You have to be able to demonstrate how the use case ties back to the organizational priorities or delivers measurable business value. Leverage the KPIs and success factors of the business capabilities tied to each particular use case.

      1.2.1 Build High-Value Use Cases

      This business needs-gathering activity will highlight and create relevant use cases around data-related problems or opportunities that are clear and contained and, if addressed, will deliver value to the organization.

      1. Bring together key business stakeholders (data owner, stewards, SMEs) from a particular line of business as well as the relevant data custodian(s) to build cases for their units. Leverage the business capability map you created for facilitating this act.
      2. Leverage Info-Tech’s framework for data requirements and methodology for creating use cases, as outlined in the Data Use Case Framework Template and seen on the next slide.
      3. Have the stakeholders move through each breakout session outlined in the Use Case Worksheet. Use flip charts or a whiteboard to brainstorm and document their thoughts.
      4. Debrief and document results in the Data Use Case Framework Template
      5. Repeat this exercise with as many lines of the business as possible, leveraging your business capability map to guide your progress and align with business value.

      Tip: Don’t conclude these use case discussions without substantiating what measures of success will be used to demonstrate the business value of the effort to produce the desired future state, as relevant to each particular use case.

      Input

      • Value streams and business capabilities as defined by business leaders
      • Business stakeholders’ subject area expertise
      • Data custodian systems, integration, and data knowledge

      Output

      • Use cases that articulate data-related challenges, needs or opportunities that are tied to defined business capabilities and hence if addressed will deliver measurable value to the organization.

      Materials

      • Your business capability map from activity 1.1.1
      • Info-Tech’s Data Use Case Framework Template
      • Whiteboard or flip charts (or shared screen if working remotely)
      • Markers/pens

      Participants

      • Key business stakeholders
      • Data stewards and business SMEs
      • Data custodians
      • Data Governance Working Group

      Download Info-Tech’s Data Use Case Framework Template

      Info-Tech’s Framework for Building Use Cases

      Objective: This business needs-gathering activity will highlight and create relevant use cases around data-related problems or opportunities that are clear and contained and, if addressed, will deliver value to the organization.

      Leveraging your business capability map, build use cases that align with the organization’s key business capabilities.

      Consider:

      • Is the business capability a cost advantage creator or an industry differentiator?
      • Is the business capability currently underserved by data?
      • Does this need to be addressed? If so, is this risk- or value-driven?

      Info-Tech’s Data Requirements and Mapping Methodology for Creating Use Cases

      1. What business capability (or capabilities) is this use case tied to for your business area(s)?
      2. What are your data-related challenges in performing this today?
      3. What are the steps in this process/activity today?
      4. What are the applications/systems used at each step today?
      5. What data domains are involved, created, used, and/or transformed at each step today?
      6. What does an ideal or improved state look like?
      7. What other business units, business capabilities, activities, and/or processes will be impacted or improved if this issue was solved?
      8. Who are the stakeholders impacted by these changes? Who needs to be consulted?
      9. What are the risks to the organization (business capability, revenue, reputation, customer loyalty, etc.) if this is not addressed?
      10. What compliance, regulatory, and/or policy concerns do we need to consider in any solution?
      11. What measures of success or change should we use to prove the value of the effort (such as KPIs, ROI)? What is the measurable business value of doing this?

      The resulting use cases are to be prioritized and leveraged for informing the business case and the data governance capabilities optimization plan.

      Taken from Info-Tech’s Data Use Case Framework Template

      Phase 2

      Understand Your Current Data Governance Capabilities

      Three circles are in the image that list the three phases and the main steps. Phase 2 is highlighted.

      This phase will guide you through the following activities:

      • Understand the Key Components of Data Governance
      • Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data Leadership
      • Data Ownership & Stewardship
      • Policies & Procedures
      • Data Literacy & Culture
      • Operating Model
      • Data Management
      • Data Privacy & Security
      • Enterprise Projects & Services

      Step 2.1

      Understand the Key Components of Data Governance

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Understanding the core components of an effective data governance program and determining your organization’s current capabilities in these areas:
        • Data Leadership
        • Data Ownership & Stewardship
        • Policies & Procedures
        • Data Literacy & Culture
        • Operating Model
        • Data Management
        • Data Privacy & Security
        • Enterprise Projects & Services

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding the core components of an effective data governance program
      • An understanding your organization’s current data governance capabilities

      Review: Info-Tech’s Data Governance Framework

      An image of Info-Tech's Data Governance Framework

      Key components of data governance

      A well-defined data governance program will deliver:

      • Defined accountability and responsibility for data.
      • Improved knowledge and common understanding of the organization’s data assets.
      • Elevated trust and confidence in traceable data.
      • Improved data ROI and reduced data debt.
      • An enabling framework for supporting the ethical use and handling of data.
      • A foundation for building and fostering a data-driven and data-literate organizational culture.

      The key components of establishing sustainable enterprise data governance, taken from Info-Tech’s Data Governance Framework:

      • Data Leadership
      • Data Ownership & Stewardship
      • Operating Model
      • Policies & Procedures
      • Data Literacy & Culture
      • Data Management
      • Data Privacy & Security
      • Enterprise Projects & Services

      Data Leadership

      • Data governance needs a dedicated head or leader to steer the organization’s data governance program.
      • For organizations that do have a chief data officer (CDO), their office is the ideal and effective home for data governance.
      • Heads of data governance also have titles such as director of data governance, director of data quality, and director of analytics.
      • The head of your data governance program works with all stakeholders and partners to ensure there is continuous enterprise governance alignment and oversight and to drive the program’s direction.
      • While key stakeholders from the business and IT will play vital data governance roles, the head of data governance steers the various components, stakeholders, and initiatives, and provides oversight of the overall program.
      • Vital data governance roles include: data owners, data stewards, data custodians, data governance steering committee (or your organization’s equivalent), and any data governance working group(s).

      The role of the CDO: the voice of data

      The office of the chief data officer (CDO):

      • Has a cross-organizational vision and strategy for data.
      • Owns and drives the data strategy; ensures it supports the overall organizational strategic direction and business goals.
      • Leads the organizational data initiatives, including data governance
      • Is accountable for the policy, strategy, data standards, and data literacy necessary for the organization to operate effectively.
      • Educates users and leaders about what it means to be “data-driven.”
      • Builds and fosters a culture of data excellence.

      “Compared to most of their C-suite colleagues, the CDO is faced with a unique set of problems. The role is still being defined. The chief data officer is bringing a new dimension and focus to the organization: ‘data.’ ”

      – Carruthers and Jackson, 2020

      Who does the CDO report to?

      Example reporting structure.
      • The CDO should be a true C- level executive.
      • Where the organization places the CDO role in the structure sends an important signal to the business about how much it values data.

      “The title matters. In my opinion, you can’t have a CDO without executive authority. Otherwise no one will listen.”

      – Anonymous European CDO

      “The reporting structure depends on who’s the ‘glue’ that ties together all these uniquely skilled individuals.”

      – John Kemp, Senior Director, Executive Services, Info-Tech Research Group

      Data Ownership & Stewardship

      Who are best suited to be data owners?

      • Wherever they may sit in your organization, data owners will typically have the highest stake in that data.
      • Data owners need to be suitably senior and have the necessary decision-making power.
      • They have the highest interest in the related business data domain, whether they are the head of a business unit or the head of a line of business that produces data or consumes data (or both).
      • If they are neither of these, it’s unlikely they will have the interest in the data (in terms of its quality, protection, ethical use, and handling, for instance) necessary to undertake and adopt the role effectively.

      Data owners are typically senior business leaders with the following characteristics:

      • Positioned to accept accountability for their data domain.
      • Hold authority and influence to affect change, including across business processes and systems, needed to improve data quality, use, handling, integration, etc.
      • Have access to a budget and resources for data initiatives such as resolving data quality issues, data cleansing initiatives, business data catalog build, related tools and technology, policy management, etc.
      • Hold the influence needed to drive change in behavior and culture.
      • Act as ambassadors of data and its value as an organizational strategic asset.

      Right-size your data governance organizational structure

      • Most organizations strive to identify roles and responsibilities at a strategic and operational level. Several factors will influence the structure of the program such as the focus of the data governance project as well as the maturity and size of the organization.
      • Your data governance structure has to work for your organization, and it has to evolve as the organization evolves.
      • Formulate your blend of data governance roles, committees, councils, and cross-functional groups, that make sense for your organization.
      • Your data governance organizational structure should not add complexity or bureaucracy to your organization’s data landscape; it should support and enable your principle of treating data as an asset.

      There is no one-size-fits-all data governance organizational structure.

      Example of a Data Governance Organizational Structure

      Critical roles and responsibilities for data governance

      Data Governance Working Groups

      Data governance working groups:

      • Are cross-functional teams
      • Deliver on data governance projects, initiatives, and ad hoc review committees.

      Data Stewards

      Traditionally, data stewards:

      • Serve on an operational level addressing issues related to adherence to standards/procedures, monitoring data quality, raising issues identified, etc.
      • Are responsible for managing access, quality, escalating issues, etc.

      Data Custodians

      • Traditionally, data custodians:
      • Serve on an operational level addressing issues related to data and database administration.
      • Support the management of access, data quality, escalating issues, etc.
      • Are SMEs from IT and database administration.

      Example: Business capabilities to data owner and data stewards mapping for a selected data domain

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organization’s value streams and the associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you face elevated operational costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, and exposure to increased business risk.

      Enabling business capabilities with data governance role definitions

      Example: Business capabilities to data owner and data stewards mapping for a selected data domain

      Operating Model

      Your operating model is the key to designing and operationalizing a form of data governance that delivers measurable business value to your organization.

      “Generate excitement for data: When people are excited and committed to the vision of data enablement, they’re more likely to help ensure that data is high quality and safe.” – Petzold, et al., 2020

      Operating Model

      Defining your data governance operating model will help create a well-oiled program that sustainably delivers value to the organization and manages risks while building and fostering a culture of data excellence along the way. Some organizations are able to establish a formal data governance office, whether independent or attached to the office of the chief data officer. Regardless of how you are organized, data governance requires a home, a leader, and an operating model to ensure its sustainability and evolution.

      Examples of focus areas for your operating model:

      • Delivery: While there are core tenets to every data governance program, there is a level of variability in the implementation of data governance programs across organizations, sectors, and industries. Every organization has its own particular drivers and mandates, so the level and rigor applied will also vary.

        • The key is to determine what style will work best in your organization, taking into consideration your organizational culture, executive leadership support (present and ongoing), catalysts such as other enterprise-wide transformative and modernization initiatives, and/or regulatory and compliances drivers.

      • Communication: Communication is vital across all levels and stakeholder groups. For instance, there needs to be communication from the data governance office up to senior leadership, as well as communication within the data governance organization, which is typically made up of the data governance steering committee, data governance council, executive sponsor/champion, data stewards, and data custodians and working groups.

        • Furthermore, communication with the wider organization of data producers, users, and consumers is one of the core elements of the overall data governance communications plan.

      Communication is vital for ensuring acceptance of new processes, rules, guidelines, and technologies by all data producers and users as well as for sharing success stories of the program.

      Operating Model

      Tie the value of data governance and its initiatives back to the business capabilities that are enabled.

      “Leading organizations invest in change management to build data supporters and convert the skeptics. This can be the most difficult part of the program, as it requires motivating employees to use data and encouraging producers to share it (and ideally improve its quality at the source)[.]” – Petzold, et al., 2020

      Operating Model

      Examples of focus areas for your operating model (continued):

      • Change management and issue resolution: Data governance initiatives will very likely bring about a level of organizational disruption, with governance recommendations and future state requiring potentially significant business change. This may include a redesign of a substantial number of data processes affecting various business units, which will require tweaking the organization’s culture, thought processes, and procedures surrounding its data.

        • Preparing people for change well in advance will allow them to take the steps necessary to adapt and reduce potential confrontation. By planning for and efficiently communicating any changes that a data governance initiative may bring, many initial issues can be resolved from the outset.

        Attempting to implement change without an effective communications plan can result in disagreements over data control and stalemates between stakeholder units. The recommendations of the governance group must reflect the needs of all stakeholders or there will be pushback.

      • Performance measuring, monitoring and reporting: Measuring and reporting on performance, successes, and realization of tangible business value are a must for sustaining, growing, and scaling your data governance program.

        • Aligning your data governance to the organization's value realization activities enables you to leverage the KPIs of those business capabilities to demonstrate tangible and measurable value. Use terms and language that will resonate with your senior business leadership.

      Info-Tech Tip:

      Launching a data governance program will bring with it a level of disruption to the culture of the organization. That disruption doesn’t have to be detrimental if you are prepared to manage the change proactively and effectively.

      Policies, Procedures & Standards

      “Data standards are the rules by which data are described and recorded. In order to share, exchange, and understand data, we must standardize the format as well as the meaning.” – U.S. Geological Survey

      Policies, Procedures & Standards

      • When defining, updating, or refreshing your data policies, procedures, and standards, ensure they are relevant, serve a purpose, and/or support the use of data in the organization.
      • Avoid the common pitfall of building out a host of policies, procedures, and standards that are never used or followed by users and therefore don’t bring value or serve to mitigate risk for the organization.
      • Data policies can be thought of as formal statements and are typically created, approved, and updated by the organization’s data decision-making body (such as a data governance steering committee).
      • Data standards and procedures function as actions, or rules, that support the policies and their statements.
      • Standards and procedures are designed to standardize the processes during the overall data lifecycle. Procedures are instructions to achieve the objectives of the policies. The procedures are iterative and will be updated with approval from your data governance committee as needed.
      • Your organization’s data policies, standards, and procedures should not bog down or inhibit users; rather, they should enable confident data use and handling across the overall data lifecycle. They should support more effective and seamless data capture, integration, aggregation, sharing, and retention of data in the organization.

      Examples of data policies:

      • Data Classification Policy
      • Data Retention Policy
      • Data Entry Policy
      • Data Backup Policy
      • Data Provenance Policy
      • Data Management Policy

      Data Domain Documentation

      Select the correct granularity for your business need

      Diagram of data domain documentation
      Sources: Dataversity; Atlan; Analytics8

      Data Domain Documentation Examples

      Data Domain Documentation Examples

      Data Culture

      “Organizational culture can accelerate the application of analytics, amplify its power, and steer companies away from risky outcomes.” – Petzold, et al., 2020

      A healthy data culture is key to amplifying the power of your data and to building and sustaining an effective data governance program.

      What does a healthy data culture look like?

      • Everybody knows the data.
      • Everybody trusts the data.
      • Everybody talks about the data.

      Building a culture of data excellence.

      Leverage Info-Tech’s Data Culture Diagnostic to understand your organization’s culture around data.

      Screenshot of Data Culture Scorecard

      Contact your Info-Tech Account Representative for more information on the Data Culture Diagnostic

      Cultivating a data-driven culture is not easy

      “People are at the heart of every culture, and one of the biggest challenges to creating a data culture is bringing everyone into the fold.” – Lim, Alation

      It cannot be purchased or manufactured,

      It must be nurtured and developed,

      And it must evolve as the business, user, and data landscapes evolve.

      “Companies that have succeeded in their data-driven efforts understand that forging a data culture is a relentless pursuit, and magic bullets and bromides do not deliver results.” – Randy Bean, 2020

      Hallmarks of a data-driven culture

      There is a trusted, single source of data the whole company can draw from.

      There’s a business glossary and data catalog and users know what the data fields mean.

      Users have access to data and analytics tools. Employees can leverage data immediately to resolve a situation, perform an activity, or make a decision – including frontline workers.

      Data literacy, the ability to collect, manage, evaluate, and apply data in a critical manner, is high.

      Data is used for decision making. The company encourages decisions based on objective data and the intelligent application of it.

      A data-driven culture requires a number of elements:

      • High-quality data
      • Broad access and data literacy
      • Data-driven decision-making processes
      • Effective communication

      Data Literacy

      Data literacy is an essential part of a data-driven culture.

      • Building a data-driven culture takes an ongoing investment of time, effort, and money.
      • This investment will not realize its full return without building up the organization’s data literacy.
      • Data literacy is about filling data knowledge gaps across all levels of the organization.
      • It’s about ensuring all users – senior leadership right through to core users – are equipped with appropriate levels of training, skills, understanding, and awareness around the organization’s data and the use of associated tools and technologies. Data literacy ensures users have the data they need and they know how to interpret and leverage it.
      • Data literacy drives the appetite, demand, and consumption for data.
      • A data-literate culture is one where the users feel confident and skilled in their use of data, leveraging it for making informed or evidence-based decisions and generating insights for the organization.

      Data Management

      • Data governance serves as an enabler to all of the core components that make up data management:
        • Data quality management
        • Data architecture management
        • Data platform
        • Data integration
        • Data operations management
        • Data risk management
        • Reference and master data management (MDM)
        • Document and content management
        • Metadata management
        • Business intelligence (BI), reporting, analytics and advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML)
      • Key tools such as the business data glossary and data catalog are vital for operationalizing data governance and in supporting data management disciplines such as data quality management, metadata management, and MDM as well as BI, reporting, and analytics.

      Enterprise Projects & Services

      • Data governance serves as an enabler to enterprise projects and services that require, use, share, sell, and/or rely on data for their viability and, ultimately, their success.
      • Folding or embedding data governance into the organization’s project management function or project management office (PMO) serves to ensure that, for any initiative, suitable consideration is given to how data is treated.
      • This may include defining parameters, following standards and procedures around bringing in new sources of data, integrating that data into the organization’s data ecosystem, using and sharing that data, and retaining that data post-project completion.
      • The data governance function helps to identify and manage any ethical issues, whether at the start of the project and/or throughout.
      • It provides a foundation for asking relevant questions as it relates to the use or incorporation of data in delivering the specific project or service. Do we know where the data obtained from? Do we have rights to use that data? Are there legislations, policies, or regulations that guide or dictate how that data can be used? What are the positive effects, negative impacts, and/or risks associated with our intended use of that data? Are we positioned to mitigate those risks?
      • Mature data governance creates organizations where the above considerations around data management and the ethical use and handling of data is routinely implemented across the business and in the rollout and delivery of projects and services.

      Data Privacy & Security

      • Data governance supports the organization’s data privacy and security functions.
      • Key tools include the data classification policy and standards and defined roles around data ownership and data stewardship. These are vital for operationalizing data governance and supporting data privacy, security, and the ethical use and handling of data.
      • While some organizations may have a dedicated data security and privacy group, data governance provides an added level of oversight in this regard.
      • Some of the typical checks and balances include ensuring:
        • There are policies and procedures in place to restrict and monitor staff’s access to data (one common way this is done is according to job descriptions and responsibilities) and that these comply with relevant laws and regulations.
        • There’s a data classification scheme in place where data has been classified on a hierarchy of sensitivity (e.g. top secret, confidential, internal, limited, public).
        • The organization has a comprehensive data security framework, including administrative, physical, and technical procedures for addressing data security issues (e.g. password management and regular training).
        • Risk assessments are conducted, including an evaluation of risks and vulnerabilities related to intentional and unintentional misuse of data.
        • Policies and procedures are in place to mitigate the risks associated with incidents such as data breaches.
        • The organization regularly audits and monitors its data security.

      Ethical Use & Handling of Data

      Data governance will support your organization’s ethical use and handling of data by facilitating definition around important factors, such as:

      • What are the various data assets in the organization and what purpose(s) can they be used for? Are there any limitations?
      • Who is the related data owner? Who holds accountability for that data? Who will be answerable?
      • Where was the data obtained from? What is the intended use of that data? Do you have rights to use that data? Are there legislations, policies, or regulations that guide or dictate how that data can be used?
      • What are the positive effects, negative impacts, and/or risks associated with the use of that data?

      Ethical Use & Handling of Data

      • Data governance serves as an enabler to the ethical use and handling of an organization’s data.
      • The Open Data Institute (ODI) defines data ethics as: “A branch of ethics that evaluates data practices with the potential to adversely impact on people and society – in data collection, sharing and use.”
      • Data ethics relates to good practice around how data is collected, used and shared. It’s especially relevant when data activities have the potential to impact people and society, whether directly or indirectly (Open Data Institute, 2019).
      • A failure to handle and use data ethically can negatively impact an organization’s direct stakeholders and/or the public at large, lead to a loss of trust and confidence in the organization's products and services, lead to financial loss, and impact the organization’s brand, reputation, and legal standing.
      • Data governance plays a vital role in building and managing your data assets, knowing what data you have, and knowing the limitations of that data. Data ownership, data stewardship, and your data governance decision-making body are key tenets and foundational components of your data governance. They enable an organization to define, categorize, and confidently make decisions about its data.

      Step 2.2

      Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture

      Activities

      2.2.1 Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Conduct a data culture survey or leverage Info-Tech’s Data Culture Diagnostic to increase your understanding of your organization’s data culture

      Outcomes of this step

      • An understanding of your organizational data culture

      2.2.1 Gauge Your Organization’s Current Data Culture

      Conduct a Data Culture Survey or Diagnostic

      The objectives of conducting a data culture survey are to increase the understanding of the organization's data culture, your users’ appetite for data, and their appreciation for data in terms of governance, quality, accessibility, ownership, and stewardship. To perform a data culture survey:

      1. Identify members of the data user base, data consumers, and other key stakeholders for surveying.
      2. Conduct an information session to introduce Info-Tech’s Data Culture Diagnostic survey. Explain the objective and importance of the survey and its role in helping to understand the organization’s current data culture and inform the improvement of that culture.
      3. Roll out the Info-Tech Data Culture Diagnostic survey to the identified users and stakeholders.
      4. Debrief and document the results and scorecard in the Data Strategy Stakeholder Interview Guide and Findings document.

      Input

      • Email addresses of participants in your organization who should receive the survey

      Output

      • Your organization’s Data Culture Scorecard for understanding current data culture as it relates to the use and consumption of data
      • An understanding of whether data is currently perceived to be an asset to the organization

      Materials

      Screenshot of Data Culture Scorecard

      Participants

      • Participants include those at the senior leadership level through to middle management, as well as other business stakeholders at varying levels across the organization
      • Data owners, stewards, and custodians
      • Core data users and consumers

      Contact your Info-Tech Account Representative for details on launching a Data Culture Diagnostic.

      Phase 3

      Build a Target State Roadmap and Plan

      Three circles are in the image that list the three phases and the main steps. Phase 3 is highlighted.

      “Achieving data success is a journey, not a sprint.” Companies that set a clear course, with reasonable expectations and phased results over a period of time, get to the destination faster.” – Randy Bean, 2020

      This phase will guide you through the following activities:

      • Build your Data Governance Roadmap
      • Develop a target state plan comprising of prioritized initiatives

      This phase involves the following participants:

      • Data Governance Leadership
      • Data Owners/Data Stewards
      • Data Custodians
      • Data Governance Working Group(s)

      Step 3.1

      Formulate an Actionable Roadmap and Right-Sized Plan

      This step will guide you through the following activities:

      • Build your data governance roadmap
      • Develop a target state plan comprising of prioritized initiatives

      Outcomes of this step

      • A foundation for data governance initiative planning that’s aligned with the organization’s business architecture: value streams, business capability map, and strategy map

      Build a right-sized roadmap

      Formulate an actionable roadmap that is right sized to deliver value in your organization.

      Key considerations:

      • When building your data governance roadmap, ensure you do so through an enterprise lens. Be cognizant of other initiatives that might be coming down the pipeline that may require you to align your data governance milestones accordingly.
      • Apart from doing your planning with consideration for other big projects or launches that might be in-flight and require the time and attention of your data governance partners, also be mindful of the more routine yet still demanding initiatives.
      • When doing your roadmapping, consider factors like the organization’s fiscal cycle, typical or potential year-end demands, and monthly/quarterly reporting periods and audits. Initiatives such as these are likely to monopolize the time and focus of personnel key to delivering on your data governance milestones.

      Sample milestones:

      Data Governance Leadership & Org Structure Definition

      Define the home for data governance and other key roles around ownership and stewardship, as approved by senior leadership.

      Data Governance Charter and Policies

      Create a charter for your program and build/refresh associated policies.

      Data Culture Diagnostic

      Understand the organization’s current data culture, perception of data, value of data, and knowledge gaps.

      Use Case Build and Prioritization

      Build a use case that is tied to business capabilities. Prioritize accordingly.

      Business Data Glossary/Catalog

      Build and/or refresh the business’ glossary for addressing data definitions and standardization issues.

      Tools & Technology

      Explore the tools and technology offering in the data governance space that would serve as an enabler to the program. (e.g. RFI, RFP).

      Recall: Info-Tech’s Data Governance Framework

      An image of Info-Tech's Data Governance Framework

      Build an actionable roadmap

      Data Governance Leadership & Org Structure Division

      Define key roles for getting started.

      Use Case Build & Prioritization

      Start small and then scale – deliver early wins.

      Literacy Program

      Start understanding data knowledge gaps, building the program, and delivering.

      Tools & Technology

      Make the available data governance tools and technology work for you.

      Key components of your data governance roadmap

      By now, you have assessed current data governance environment and capabilities. Use this assessment, coupled with the driving needs of your business, to plot your data Governance roadmap accordingly.

      Sample data governance roadmap milestones:

      • Define data governance leadership.
      • Define and formalize data ownership and stewardship (as well as the role IT/data management will play as data custodians).
      • Build/confirm your business capability map and data domains.
      • Build business data use cases specific to business capabilities.
      • Define business measures/KPIs for the data governance program (i.e. metrics by use case that are relevant to business capabilities).
      • Data management:
        • Build your data glossary or catalog starting with identified and prioritized terms.
        • Define data domains.
      • Design and define the data governance operating model (oversight model definition, communication plan, internal marketing such as townhalls, formulate change management plan, RFP of data governance tool and technology options for supporting data governance and its administration).
      • Data policies and procedures:
        • Formulate, update, refresh, consolidate, rationalize, and/or retire data policies and procedures.
        • Define policy management and administration framework (i.e. roll-out, maintenance, updates, adherence, system to be used).
      • Conduct Info-Tech’s Data Culture Diagnostic or survey (across all levels of the organization).
      • Define and formalize the data literacy program (build modules, incorporate into LMS, plan lunch and learn sessions).
      • Data privacy and security: build data classification policy, define classification standards.
      • Enterprise projects and services: embed data governance in the organization’s PMO, conduct “Data Governance 101” for the PMO.

      Defining data governance roles and organizational structure at Organization

      The approach employed for defining the data governance roles and supporting organizational structure for .

      Key Considerations:

      • The data owner and data steward roles are formally defined and documented within the organization. Their involvement is clear, well-defined, and repeatable.
      • There are data owners and data stewards for each data domain within the organization. The data steward role is given to someone with a high degree of subject matter expertise.
      • Data owners and data stewards are effective in their roles by ensuring that their data domain is clean and free of errors and that they protect the organization against data loss.
      • Data owners and data stewards have the authority to make final decisions on data definitions, formats, and standard processes that apply to their respective data sets. Data owners and data stewards have authority regarding who has access to certain data.
      • Data owners and data stewards are not from the IT side of the organization. They understand the lifecycle of the data (how it is created, curated, retrieved, used, archived, and destroyed) and they are well-versed in any compliance requirements as it relates to their data.
      • The data custodian role is formally defined and is given to the relevant IT expert. This is an individual with technical administrative and/or operational responsibility over data (e.g. a DBA).
      • A data governance steering committee exists and is comprised of well-defined roles, responsibilities, executive sponsors, business representatives, and IT experts.
      • The data governance steering committee works to provide oversight and enforce policies, procedures, and standards for governing data.
      • The data governance working group has cross-functional representation. This comprises business and IT representation, as well as project management and change management where applicable: data stewards, data custodians, business subject matter experts, PM, etc.).
      • Data governance meetings are coordinated and communicated about. The meeting agenda is always clear and concise, and meetings review pressing data-related issues. Meeting minutes are consistently documented and communicated.

      Sample: Business capabilities to data owner and data stewards mapping for a selected data domain

      Info-Tech Insight

      Your organization’s value streams and the associated business capabilities require effectively governed data. Without this, you face elevated operational costs, missed opportunities, eroded stakeholder satisfaction, and exposure to increased business risk.

      Enable business capabilities with data governance role definitions.

      Sample: Business capabilities to data owner and data stewards mapping for a selected data domain

      Consider your technology options:

      Make the available data governance tools and technology work for you:

      • Data catalog
      • Business data glossary
      • Data lineage
      • Metadata management

      Logos of data governance tools and technology.

      These are some of the data governance tools and technology players. Check out SoftwareReviews for help making better software decisions.

      Make the data steward the catalyst for organizational change and driving data culture

      The data steward must be empowered and backed politically with decision-making authority, or the role becomes stale and powerless.

      Ensuring compliance can be difficult. Data stewards may experience pushback from stakeholders who must deliver on the policies, procedures, and processes that the data steward enforces.

      Because the data steward must enforce data processes and liaise with so many different people and departments within the organization, the data steward role should be their primary full-time job function – where possible.

      However, in circumstances where budget doesn’t allow a full-time data steward role, develop these skills within the organization by adding data steward responsibilities to individuals who are already managing data sets for their department or line of business.

      Info-Tech Tip

      A stewardship role is generally more about managing the cultural change that data governance brings. This requires the steward to have exceptional interpersonal skills that will assist in building relationships across departmental boundaries and ensuring that all stakeholders within the organization believe in the initiative, understand the anticipated outcomes, and take some level of responsibility for its success.

      Changes to organizational data processes are inevitable; have a communication plan in place to manage change

      Create awareness of your data governance program. Use knowledge transfer to get as many people on board as possible.

      Data governance initiatives must contain a strong organizational disruption component. A clear and concise communication strategy that conveys milestones and success stories will address the various concerns that business unit stakeholders may have.

      By planning for and efficiently communicating any changes that a data governance initiative may bring, many initial issues can be resolved from the outset.

      Governance recommendations will require significant business change. The redesign of a substantial number of data processes affecting various business units will require an overhaul of the organization’s culture, thought processes, and procedures surrounding its data. Preparing people for change well in advance will allow them to take the necessary steps to adapt and reduce potential confrontation.

      Because a data governance initiative will involve data-driven business units across the organization, the governance team must present a compelling case for data governance to ensure acceptance of new processes, rules, guidelines, and technologies by all data producers and users.

      Attempting to implement change without an effective communication plan can result in disagreements over data control and stalemates between stakeholder units. The recommendations of the governance group must reflect the needs of all stakeholders or there will be pushback.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Launching a data governance initiative is guaranteed to disrupt the culture of the organization. That disruption doesn’t have to be detrimental if you are prepared to manage the change proactively and effectively.

      Create a common data governance vision that is consistently communicated to the organization

      A data governance program should be an enterprise-wide initiative.

      To create a strong vision for data governance, there must be participation from the business and IT. A common vision will articulate the state the organization wishes to achieve and how it will reach that state. Visioning helps to develop long-term goals and direction.

      Once the vision is established, it must be effectively communicated to everyone, especially those who are involved in creating, managing, disposing, or archiving data.

      The data governance program should be periodically refined. This will ensure the organization continues to incorporate best methods and practices as the organization grows and data needs evolve.

      Info-Tech Tips

      • Use information from the stakeholder interviews to derive business goals and objectives.
      • Work to integrate different opinions and perspectives into the overall vision for data governance.
      • Brainstorm guiding principles for data and understand the overall value to the organization.

      Develop a compelling data governance communications plan to get all departmental lines of business on board

      A data governance program will impact all data-driven business units within the organization.

      A successful data governance communications plan involves making the initiative visible and promoting staff awareness. Educate the team on how data is collected, distributed, and used, what internal processes use data, and how that data is used across departmental boundaries.

      By demonstrating how data governance will affect staff directly, you create a deeper level of understanding across lines of business, and ultimately, a higher level of acceptance for new processes, rules, and guidelines.

      A clear and concise communications strategy will raise the profile of data governance within the organization, and staff will understand how the program will benefit them and how they can share in the success of the initiative. This will end up providing support for the initiative across the board.

      A proactive communications plan will:

      • Assist in overcoming issues with data control, stalemates between stakeholder units, and staff resistance.
      • Provide a formalized process for implementing new policies, rules, guidelines, and technologies, and managing organizational data.
      • Detail data ownership and accountability for decision making, and identify and resolve data issues throughout the organization.
      • Encourage acceptance and support of the initiative.

      Info-Tech Tip

      Focus on literacy and communication: include training in the communication plan. Providing training for data users on the correct procedures for updating and verifying the accuracy of data, data quality, and standardized data policies will help validate how data governance will benefit them and the organization.

      Leverage the data governance program to communicate and promote the value of data within the organization

      The data governance program is responsible for continuously promoting the value of data to the organization. The data governance program should seek a variety of ways to educate the organization and data stakeholders on the benefit of data management.

      Even if data policies and procedures are created, they will be highly ineffective if they are not properly communicated to the data producers and users alike.

      There needs to be a communication plan that highlights how the data producer and user will be affected, what their new responsibilities are, and the value of that change.

      To learn how to manage organizational change, refer to Info-Tech’s Master Organizational Change Management Practices.

      Understand what makes for an effective policy for data governance

      It can be difficult to understand what a policy is, and what it is not. Start by identifying the differences between a policy and standards, guidelines, and procedures.

      Diagram of an effective policy for data governance

      The following are key elements of a good policy:

      Heading Descriptions
      Purpose Describes the factors or circumstances that mandate the existence of the policy. Also states the policy’s basic objectives and what the policy is meant to achieve.
      Scope Defines to whom and to what systems this policy applies. Lists the employees required to comply or simply indicates “all” if all must comply. Also indicates any exclusions or exceptions, i.e. those people, elements, or situations that are not covered by this policy or where special consideration may be made.
      Definitions Define any key terms, acronyms, or concepts that will be used in the policy. A standard glossary approach is sufficient.
      Policy Statements Describe the rules that comprise the policy. This typically takes the form of a series of short prescriptive and proscriptive statements. Sub-dividing this section into sub-sections may be required depending on the length or complexity of the policy.
      Non-Compliance Clearly describe consequences (legal and/or disciplinary) for employee non-compliance with the policy. It may be pertinent to describe the escalation process for repeated non-compliance.
      Agreement Confirms understanding of the policy and provides a designated space to attest to the document.

      Leverage myPolicies, Info-Tech’s web-based application for managing your policies and procedures

      Most organizations have problems with policy management. These include:

      1. Policies are absent or out of date
      2. Employees largely unaware of policies in effect
      3. Policies are unmonitored and unenforced
      4. Policies are in multiple locations
      5. Multiple versions of the same policy exist
      6. Policies managed inconsistently across different silos
      7. Policies are written poorly by untrained authors
      8. Inadequate policy training program
      9. Draft policies stall and lose momentum
      10. Weak policy support from senior management

      Technology should be used as a means to solve these problems and effectively monitor, enforce, and communicate policies.

      Product Overview

      myPolicies is a web-based solution to create, distribute, and manage corporate policies, procedures, and forms. Our solution provides policy managers with the tools they need to mitigate the risk of sanctions and reduce the administrative burden of policy management. It also enables employees to find the documents relevant to them and build a culture of compliance.

      Some key success factors for policy management include:

      • Store policies in a central location that is well known and easy to find and access. A key way that technology can help communicate policies is by having them published on a centralized website.
      • Link this repository to other policies’ taxonomies of your organization. E.g. HR policies to provide a single interface for employees to access guidance across the organization.
      • Reassess policies annually at a minimum. myPolicies can remind you to update the organization’s policies at the appropriate time.
      • Make the repository searchable and easily navigable.
      • myPolicies helps you do all this and more.
      myPolicies logo myPolicies

      Enforce data policies to promote consistency of business processes

      Data policies are short statements that seek to manage the creation, acquisition, integrity, security, compliance, and quality of data. These policies vary amongst organizations, depending on your specific data needs.

      • Policies describe what to do, while standards and procedures describe how to do something.
      • There should be few data policies, and they should be brief and direct. Policies are living documents and should be continuously updated to respond to the organization’s data needs.
      • The data policies should highlight who is responsible for the data under various scenarios and rules around how to manage it effectively.

      Examples of Data Policies

      Trust

      • Data Cleansing and Quality Policy
      • Data Entry Policy

      Availability

      • Acceptable Use Policy
      • Data Backup Policy

      Security

      • Data Security Policy
      • Password Policy Template
      • User Authorization, Identification, and Authentication Policy Template
      • Data Protection Policy

      Compliance

      • Archiving Policy
      • Data Classification Policy
      • Data Retention Policy

      Leverage data management-related policies to standardize your data management practices

      Info-Tech’s Data Management Policy:

      This policy establishes uniform data management standards and identifies the shared responsibilities for assuring the integrity of the data and that it efficiently and effectively serves the needs of the organization. This policy applies to all critical data and to all staff who may be creators and/or users of such data.

      Info-Tech’s Data Entry Policy:

      The integrity and quality of data and evidence used to inform decision making is central to both the short-term and long-term health of an organization. It is essential that required data be sourced appropriately and entered into databases and applications in an accurate and complete manner to ensure the reliability and validity of the data and decisions made based on the data.

      Info-Tech’s Data Provenance Policy:

      Create policies to keep your data's value, such as:

      • Only allow entry of data from reliable sources.
      • Employees entering and accessing data must observe requirements for capturing/maintaining provenance metadata.
      • Provenance metadata will be used to track the lifecycle of data from creation through to disposal.

      Info-Tech’s Data Integration and Virtualization Policy:

      This policy aims to assure the organization, staff, and other interested parties that data integration, replication, and virtualization risks are taken seriously. Staff must use the policy (and supporting guidelines) when deciding whether to integrate, replicate, or virtualize data sets.

      Select the right mix of metrics to successfully supervise data policies and processes

      Policies are only as good as your level of compliance. Ensure supervision controls exist to oversee adherence to policies and procedures.

      Although they can be highly subjective, metrics are extremely important to data governance success.

      • Establishing metrics that measure the performance of a specific process or data set will:
        • Create a greater degree of ownership from data stewards and data owners.
        • Help identify underperforming individuals.
        • Allow the steering committee to easily communicate tailored objectives to individual data stewards and owners.
      • Be cautious when establishing metrics. The wrong metrics can have negative repercussions.
        • They will likely draw attention to an aspect of the process that doesn’t align with the initial strategy.
        • Employees will work hard and grow frustrated as their successes aren’t accurately captured.

      Policies are great to have from a legal perspective, but unless they are followed, they will not benefit the organization.

      • One of the most useful metrics for policies is currency. This tracks how up to date the policy is and how often employees are informed about the policy. Often, a policy will be introduced and then ignored. Policies must be continuously reviewed by management and employees.
      • Some other metrics include adherence (including performance in tests for adherence) and impacts from non-adherence.

      Review metrics on an ongoing basis with those data owners/stewards who are accountable, the data governance steering committee, and the executive sponsors.

      Establish data standards and procedures for use across all organizational lines of business

      A data governance program will impact all data-driven business units within the organization.

      • Data management procedures are the methods, techniques, and steps to accomplish a specific data objective. Creating standard data definitions should be one of the first tasks for a data governance steering committee.
      • Data moves across all departmental boundaries and lines of business within the organization. These definitions must be developed as a common set of standards that can be accepted and used enterprise wide.
      • Consistent data standards and definitions will improve data flow across departmental boundaries and between lines of business.
      • Ensure these standards and definitions are used uniformly throughout the organization to maintain reliable and useful data.

      Data standards and procedural guidelines will vary from company to company.

      Examples include:

      • Data modeling and architecture standards.
      • Metadata integration and usage procedures.
      • Data security standards and procedures.
      • Business intelligence standards and procedures.

      Info-Tech Tip

      Have a fundamental data definition model for the entire business to adhere to. Those in the positions that generate and produce data must follow the common set of standards developed by the steering committee and be accountable for the creation of valid, clean data.

      Changes to organizational data processes are inevitable; have a communications plan in place to manage change

      Create awareness of your data governance program, using knowledge transfer to get as many people on board as possible.

      By planning for and efficiently communicating any changes that a data governance initiative may bring, many initial issues can be resolved from the outset.

      Governance recommendations will require significant business change. The redesign of a substantial number of data processes affecting various business units will require an overhaul of the organization’s culture, thought processes, and procedures surrounding its data. Preparing people for change well in advance will allow them to take the necessary steps to adapt and reduce potential confrontation.

      Because a data governance initiative will involve data-driven business units across the organization, the governance team must present a compelling case for data governance to ensure acceptance of new processes, rules, guidelines, and technologies by all data producers and users.

      Attempting to implement change without an effective communications plan can result in disagreements over data control and stalemates between stakeholder units. The recommendations of the governance group must reflect the needs of all stakeholders or there will be pushback.

      Data governance initiatives will very likely bring about a level of organizational disruption. A clear and concise communications strategy that conveys milestones and success stories will address the various concerns that business unit stakeholders may have.

      Info-Tech Tip

      Launching a data governance program will bring with it a level of disruption to the culture of the organization. That disruption doesn’t have to be detrimental if you are prepared to manage the change proactively and effectively.

      Additional Support

      If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech Workshop.

      Picture of analyst

      Contact your account representative for more information.

      workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team. Info-Tech analysts will join you and your team at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech’s historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop.

      The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

      Screenshot of example data governance strategy map.

      Build Your Business and User Context

      Work with your core team of stakeholders to build out your data governance strategy map, aligning data governance initiatives with business capabilities, value streams, and, ultimately, your strategic priorities.

      Screenshot of Data governance roadmap

      Formulate a Plan to Get to Your Target State

      Develop a data governance future state roadmap and plan based on an understanding of your current data governance capabilities, your operating environment, and the driving needs of your business.

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy

      Key to building and fostering a data-driven culture.

      Create a Data Management Roadmap

      Streamline your data management program with our simplified framework.

      The First 100 Days as CDO

      Be the voice of data in a time of transformation.

      Research Contributors

      Name Position Company
      David N. Weber Executive Director - Planning, Research and Effectiveness Palm Beach State College
      Izabela Edmunds Information Architect Mott MacDonald
      Andy Neill Practice Lead, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group
      Dirk Coetsee Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group
      Graham Price Executive Advisor, Advisory Executive Services Info-Tech Research Group
      Igor Ikonnikov Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group
      Jean Bujold Senior Workshop Delivery Director Info-Tech Research Group
      Rajesh Parab Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group
      Reddy Doddipalli Senior Workshop Director Info-Tech Research Group
      Valence Howden Principal Research Director, CIO Info-Tech Research Group

      Bibliography

      Alation. “The Alation State of Data Culture Report – Q3 2020.” Alation, 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Allott, Joseph, et al. “Data: The next wave in forestry productivity.” McKinsey & Company, 27 Oct. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Bean, Randy. “Why Culture Is the Greatest Barrier to Data Success.” MIT Sloan Management Review, 30 Sept. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Brence, Thomas. “Overcoming the Operationalization Challenge with Data Governance at New York Life.” Informatica, 18 March 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Bullmore, Simon, and Stuart Coleman. “ODI Inside Business – a checklist for leaders.” Open Data Institute, 19 Oct. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Canadian Institute for Health Information. “Developing and implementing accurate national standards for Canadian health care information.” Canadian Institute for Health Information. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Carruthers, Caroline, and Peter Jackson. “The Secret Ingredients of the Successful CDO.” IRM UK Connects, 23 Feb. 2017.

      Dashboards. “Useful KPIs for Healthy Hospital Quality Management.” Dashboards. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Dashboards. “Why (and How) You Should Improve Data Literacy in Your Organization Today.” Dashboards. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Datapine. “Healthcare Key Performance Indicators and Metrics.” Datapine. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Datapine. “KPI Examples & Templates: Measure what matters the most and really impacts your success.” Datapine. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Diaz, Alejandro, et al. “Why data culture matters.” McKinsey Quarterly, Sept. 2018. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Everett, Dan. “Chief Data Officer (CDO): One Job, Four Roles.” Informatica, 9 Sept. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Experian. “10 signs you are sitting on a pile of data debt.” Experian. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Fregoni, Silvia. “New Research Reveals Why Some Business Leaders Still Ignore the Data.” Silicon Angle, 1 Oct. 2020.

      Informatica. Holistic Data Governance: A Framework for Competitive Advantage. Informatica, 2017. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Knight, Michelle. “What Is a Data Catalog?” Dataversity, 28 Dec. 2017. Web.

      Lim, Jason. “Alation 2020.3: Getting Business Users in the Game.” Alation, 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      McDonagh, Mariann. “Automating Data Governance.” Erwin, 29 Oct. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      NewVantage Partners. Data-Driven Business Transformation: Connecting Data/AI Investment to Business Outcomes. NewVantage Partners, 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Olavsrud, Thor. “What is data governance? A best practices framework for managing data assets.” CIO.com, 18 March 2021. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Open Data Institute. “Introduction to data ethics and the data ethics canvas.” Open Data Institute, 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Open Data Institute. “The UK National Data Strategy 2020: doing data ethically.” Open Data Institute, 17 Nov. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Open Data Institute. “What is the Data Ethics Canvas?” Open Data Institute, 3 July 2019. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Pathak, Rahul. “Becoming a Data-Driven Enterprise: Meeting the Challenges, Changing the Culture.” MIT Sloan Management Review, 28 Sept. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Redman, Thomas, et al. “Only 3% of Companies’ Data Meets Basic Quality Standards.” Harvard Business Review. 11 Sept 2017.

      Petzold, Bryan, et al. “Designing data governance that delivers value.” McKinsey & Company, 26 June 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Smaje, Kate. “How six companies are using technology and data to transform themselves.” McKinsey & Company, 12 Aug. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Talend. “The Definitive Guide to Data Governance.” Talend. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      “The Powerfully Simple Modern Data Catalog.” Atlan, 2021. Web.

      U.S. Geological Survey. “Data Management: Data Standards.” U.S. Geological Survey. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Waller, David. “10 Steps to Creating a Data-Driven Culture.” Harvard Business Review, 6 Feb. 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      “What is the Difference Between A Business Glossary, A Data Dictionary, and A Data Catalog, and How Do They Play A Role In Modern Data Management?” Analytics8, 23 June 2021. Web.

      Wikipedia. “RFM (market research).” Wikipedia. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Windheuser, Christoph, and Nina Wainwright. “Data in a Modern Digital Business.” Thoughtworks, 12 May 2020. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Wright, Tom. “Digital Marketing KPIs - The 12 Key Metrics You Should Be Tracking.” Cascade, 3 March 2021. Accessed 25 June 2021.

      Create a Work-From-Anywhere Strategy

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      • Parent Category Name: IT Strategy
      • Parent Category Link: /it-strategy

      Work-from-anywhere isn’t going anywhere. During the initial rush to remote work, tech debt was highlighted and the business lost faith in IT. IT now needs to:

      • Rebuild trust with the CXO.
      • Identify gaps created from the COVID-19 rush to remote work.
      • Identify how IT can better support remote workers.

      IT went through an initial crunch to enable remote work. It’s time to be proactive and learn from our mistakes.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • It’s not about embracing the new normal; it’s about resiliency and long-term success. Your strategy needs to not only provide short-term operational value but also make the organization more resilient for the unknown risks of tomorrow.
      • The nature of work has fundamentally changed. IT departments must ensure service continuity, not for how the company worked in 2019, but for how the company is working now and will be working tomorrow.
      • Ensure short-term survival. Don’t focus on becoming an innovator until you are no longer stuck in firefighting.
      • Aim for near-term innovation. Once you’re a trusted operator, become a business partner by helping the business better adapt business processes and operations to work-from-anywhere.

      Impact and Result

      Follow these steps to build a work-from-anywhere strategy that resonates with the business:

      • Identify a vision that aligns with business goals.
      • Design the work-from-anywhere value proposition for critical business roles.
      • Benchmark your current maturity.
      • Build a roadmap for bridging the gap.

      Benefit employees’ remote working experience while ensuring that IT heads in a strategic direction.

      Create a Work-From-Anywhere Strategy Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should create a work-from-anywhere strategy, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Define a target state

      Identify a vision that aligns with business goals, not for how the company worked in 2019, but for how the company is working now and will be working tomorrow.

      • Work-From-Anywhere Strategy Template
      • Work-From-Anywhere Value Proposition Template

      2. Analyze current fitness

      Don’t focus on becoming an innovator until you are no longer stuck in firefighting mode.

      3. Build a roadmap for improving enterprise apps

      Use these blueprints to improve your enterprise app capabilities for work-from-anywhere.

      • Microsoft Teams Cookbook – Sections 1-2
      • Rationalize Your Collaboration Tools – Phases 1-3
      • Adapt Your Customer Experience Strategy to Successfully Weather COVID-19 Storyboard
      • The Rapid Application Selection Framework Deck

      4. Build a roadmap for improving strategy, people & leadership

      Use these blueprints to improve IT’s strategy, people & leadership capabilities for work-from-anywhere.

      • Define Your Digital Business Strategy – Phases 1-4
      • Training Deck: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams
      • Sustain Work-From-Home in the New Normal Storyboard
      • Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT – Phases 1-3
      • Maintain Employee Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic Storyboard
      • Adapt Your Onboarding Process to a Virtual Environment Storyboard
      • Manage Poor Performance While Working From Home Storyboard
      • The Essential COVID-19 Childcare Policy for Every Organization, Yesterday Storyboard

      5. Build a roadmap for improving infrastructure & operations

      Use these blueprints to improve infrastructure & operations capabilities for work-from-anywhere.

      • Stabilize Infrastructure & Operations During Work-From-Anywhere – Phases 1-3
      • Responsibly Resume IT Operations in the Office – Phases 1-5
      • Execute an Emergency Remote Work Plan Storyboard
      • Build a Digital Workspace Strategy – Phases 1-3

      6. Build a roadmap for improving IT security & compliance capabilities

      Use these blueprints to improve IT security & compliance capabilities for work-from-anywhere.

      • Cybersecurity Priorities in Times of Pandemic Storyboard
      • Reinforce End-User Security Awareness During Your COVID-19 Response Storyboard

      Infographic

      Workshop: Create a Work-From-Anywhere Strategy

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Define a Target State

      The Purpose

      Define the direction of your work-from-anywhere strategy and roadmap.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Base your decisions on senior leadership and user needs.

      Activities

      1.1 Identify drivers, benefits, and challenges.

      1.2 Perform a goals cascade to align benefits to business needs.

      1.3 Define a vision and success metrics.

      1.4 Define the value IT brings to work-from-anywhere.

      Outputs

      Desired benefits for work-from-anywhere

      Vision statement

      Mission statement

      Success metrics

      Value propositions for in-scope user groups

      2 Review In-Scope Capabilities

      The Purpose

      Focus on value. Ensure that major applications and IT capabilities will relieve employees’ pains and provide them with gains.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Learn from past mistakes and successes.

      Increase adoption of resulting initiatives.

      Activities

      2.1 Review work-from-anywhere framework and identify capability gaps.

      2.2 Review diagnostic results to identify satisfaction gaps.

      2.3 Record improvement opportunities for each capability.

      2.4 Identify deliverables and opportunities to provide value for each.

      2.5 Identify constraints faced by each capability.

      Outputs

      SWOT assessment of work-from-anywhere capabilities

      Projects and initiatives to improve capabilities

      Deliverables and opportunities to provide value for each capability

      Constraints with each capability

      3 Build the Roadmap

      The Purpose

      Build a short-term plan that allows you to iterate on your existing strengths and provide early value to your users.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Provide early value to address operational pain points.

      Build a plan to provide near-term innovation and business value.

      Activities

      3.1 Organize initiatives into phases.

      3.2 Identify tasks for short-term initiatives.

      3.3 Estimate effort with Scrum Poker.

      3.4 Build a timeline and tie phases to desired business benefits.

      Outputs

      Prioritized list of initiatives and phases

      Profiles for short-term initiatives

      Adapt Your Customer Experience Strategy to Successfully Weather COVID-19

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      • Parent Category Name: Customer Relationship Management
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      • COVID-19 is an unprecedented global pandemic. It’s creating significant challenges across every sector.
      • Collapse of financial markets and a steep decline in consumer confidence has most firms nervous about revenue shortfalls and cash burn rates.
      • The economic impact of COVID-19 is freezing IT budgets and sharply changing IT priorities.
      • The human impact of COVID-19 is likely to lead to staffing shortfalls and knowledge gaps.
      • COVID-19 may be in play for up to two years.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      The challenges posed by the virus are compounded by the fact that consumer expectations for strong service delivery remain high:

      • Customers still expect timely, on-demand service from the businesses they engage with.
      • There is uncertainty about how to maintain strong, revenue-driving experiences when faced with the operational challenges posed by the virus.
      • COVID-19 is changing how organizations prioritize spending priorities within their CXM strategies.

      Impact and Result

      • Info-Tech recommends rapidly updating your strategy for customer experience management to ensure it can rise to the occasion.
      • Start by assessing the risk COVID-19 poses to your CXM approach and how it’ll impact marketing, sales, and customer service functions.
      • Implement actionable measures to blunt the threat of COVID-19 while protecting revenue, maintaining consistent product and service delivery, and improving the integrity of your brand. We’ll dive into five proven techniques in this brief!

      Adapt Your Customer Experience Strategy to Successfully Weather COVID-19 Research & Tools

      Start here

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should examine the impact of COVID-19 on customer experience strategy, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      • Adapt Your Customer Experience Strategy to Successfully Weather COVID-19 Storyboard

      1. Assess the impact of COVID-19 on your CXM strategy

      Create a consolidated, updated view of your current customer experience management strategy and identify which elements can be capitalized on to dampen the impact of COVID-19 and which elements are vulnerabilities that the pandemic may threaten to exacerbate.

      2. Blunt the damage of COVID-19 with new CXM tactics

      Create a roadmap of business and technology initiatives through the lens of customer experience management that can be used to help your organization protect its revenue, maintain customer engagement, and enhance its brand integrity.

      [infographic]

      Assess the Viability of M365-O365 Security Add-Ons

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      • Parent Category Name: Security Strategy & Budgeting
      • Parent Category Link: /security-strategy-and-budgeting

      The technical side of IT security demands the best security possible, but the business side of running IT demands that you determine what is cost-effective and can still do the job. You likely shrugged off the early iterations of Microsoft’s security efforts, but you may have heard that things have changed. Where do you start in evaluating Microsoft’s security products in terms of effectiveness? The value proposition sounds tremendous to the CFO, “free” security as part of your corporate license, but how does it truly measure up and how do you articulate your findings to the business?

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      Microsoft’s security products have improved to the point where they are often ranked competitively with mainstream security products. Depending on your organization’s licensing of Office 365/Microsoft 365, some of these products are included in what you’re already paying for. That value proposition is hard to deny.

      Impact and Result

      Determine what is important to the business, and in what order of priority.

      Take a close look at your current solution and determine what are table stakes, what features you would like to have in its replacement, and what your current solution is missing.

      Consider Microsoft’s security solutions using an objective methodology. Sentiment will still be a factor, but it shouldn’t dictate the decision you make for the good of the business.

      Assess the Viability of M365/O365 Security Add-Ons Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to assess the viability of M365/O365 security add-ons. Review Info-Tech’s methodology and understand the four key steps to completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Review your current state

      Examine what you are licensed for, what you are paying, what you need, and what your constraints are.

      • Microsoft 365/Office 365 Security Add-Ons Assessment Tool

      2. Assess your needs

      Determine what is “good enough” security and assess the needs of your organization.

      3. Select your path

      Decide what you will go with and start planning your next steps.

      [infographic]

      External audit company

      External IT audit of your company

      Based on experience
      Implementable advice
      human-based and people-oriented

      Do you seek an external expert to help you prepare for a thorough IT audit of your company? Tymans Group serves as a consulting company with extensive expertise in helping small and medium enterprises. Read on and learn more about how our consulting firm can help your company with an external IT audit.

      Why should you organize an external IT audit of your company?

      Regularly preparing for an IT audit of your company with the help of of an experienced consultancy company like Tymans Group is a great way to discover any weaknesses within your IT and data security management systems, as well as your applications and data architecture, before the real audits by your regulator happen After all, you can only tackle any possible issues when you know their exact nature and origin. Additionally, the sooner you are aware of any security threats in your company thanks to an external audit, the smaller the chances outside forces will be able to take advantage of these threats to harm your business.

      Security and risk management

      Our security and risk services

      Security strategy

      Security Strategy

      Embed security thinking through aligning your security strategy to business goals and values

      Read more

      Disaster Recovery Planning

      Disaster Recovery Planning

      Create a disaster recovey plan that is right for your company

      Read more

      Risk Management

      Risk Management

      Build your right-sized IT Risk Management Program

      Read more

      Check out all our services

      Receive practical solutions when using our guides to prepare you for an external audit.

      If you hire our consultancy firm to prepare for an external IT audit in your firm, our guides will allow you to thoroughly analyze your systems and protocols to discover flaws and threats. Based on this analysis, your firm will receive concrete advice and practical solutions on dealing with the findings of in advance of an external audit. Besides identifying threats, the findings of will also offer your business insights in possible optimizations and processes which could benefit from automation. As such, you benefit from our consultancy company’s extensive experience in corporate security management and IT.

      Book an appointment with our consultancy company to get ahead of an external audit.

      If you hire our consulting company to help you prepare for an IT audit of your firm, you will receive guides that enable you to make a critical analysis of your IT security, as well as practical solutions based on our holistic approach. We are happy to tell you more about our services for small and medium business and to offer insights into any issues you may be facing. Our help is available offline and online, through one-hour talks with our expert Gert Taeymans. Contact us to set up an appointment online or on-site now.

      Register to read more …

      Build Your Data Quality Program

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      • Parent Category Name: Data Management
      • Parent Category Link: /data-management
      • Experiencing the pitfalls of poor data quality and failing to benefit from good data quality, including:
        • Unreliable data and unfavorable output.
        • Inefficiencies and costly remedies.
        • Dissatisfied stakeholders.
      • The chances of successful decision-making capabilities are hindered with poor data quality.

      Our Advice

      Critical Insight

      • Address the root causes of your data quality issues and form a viable data quality program.
        • Be familiar with your organization’s data environment and business landscape.
        • Prioritize business use cases for data quality fixes.
        • Fix data quality issues at the root cause to ensure proper foundation for your data to flow.
      • It is important to sustain best practices and grow your data quality program.

      Impact and Result

      • Implement a set of data quality initiatives that are aligned with overall business objectives and aimed at addressing data practices and the data itself.
      • Develop a prioritized data quality improvement project roadmap and long-term improvement strategy.
      • Build related practices such as artificial intelligence and analytics with more confidence and less risk after achieving an appropriate level of data quality.

      Build Your Data Quality Program Research & Tools

      Start here – read the Executive Brief

      Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should establish a data quality program, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

      Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

      1. Define your organization’s data environment and business landscape

      Learn about what causes data quality issues, how to measure data quality, what makes a good data quality practice in relation to your data and business environments.

      • Business Capability Map Template

      2. Analyze your priorities for data quality fixes

      Determine your business unit priorities to create data quality improvement projects.

      • Data Quality Problem Statement Template
      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      3. Establish your organization’s data quality program

      Revisit the root causes of data quality issues and identify the relevant root causes to the highest priority business unit, then determine a strategy for fixing those issues.

      • Data Lineage Diagram Template
      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      4. Grow and sustain your data quality practices

      Identify strategies for continuously monitoring and improving data quality at the organization.

      Infographic

      Workshop: Build Your Data Quality Program

      Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

      1 Define Your Organization’s Data Environment and Business Landscape

      The Purpose

      Evaluate the maturity of the existing data quality practice and activities.

      Assess how data quality is embedded into related data management practices.

      Envision a target state for the data quality practice.

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Understanding of the current data quality landscape

      Gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities in the data quality practice are identified

      Target state for the data quality practice is defined

      Activities

      1.1 Explain approach and value proposition

      1.2 Detail business vision, objectives, and drivers

      1.3 Discuss data quality barriers, needs, and principles

      1.4 Assess current enterprise-wide data quality capabilities

      1.5 Identify data quality practice future state

      1.6 Analyze gaps in data quality practice

      Outputs

      Data Quality Management Primer

      Business Capability Map Template

      Data Culture Diagnostic

      Data Quality Diagnostic

      Data Quality Problem Statement Template

      2 Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 1

      The Purpose

      Define improvement initiatives

      Define a data quality improvement strategy and roadmap

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Improvement initiatives are defined

      Improvement initiatives are evaluated and prioritized to develop an improvement strategy

      A roadmap is defined to depict when and how to tackle the improvement initiatives

      Activities

      2.1 Create business unit prioritization roadmap

      2.2 Develop subject areas project scope

      2.3 By subject area 1 data lineage analysis, root cause analysis, impact assessment, and business analysis

      Outputs

      Business Unit Prioritization Roadmap

      Subject area scope

      Data Lineage Diagram

      3 Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 2

      The Purpose

      Define improvement initiatives

      Define a data quality improvement strategy and roadmap

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Improvement initiatives are defined

      Improvement initiatives are evaluated and prioritized to develop an improvement strategy

      A roadmap is defined to depict when and how to tackle the improvement initiatives

      Activities

      3.1 Understand how data quality management fits in with the organization’s data governance and data management programs

      3.2 By subject area 2 data lineage analysis, root cause analysis, impact assessment, and business analysis

      Outputs

      Data Lineage Diagram

      Root Cause Analysis

      Impact Analysis

      4 Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 3

      The Purpose

      Determine a strategy for fixing data quality issues for the highest priority business unit

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Strategy defined for fixing data quality issues for highest priority business unit

      Activities

      4.1 Formulate strategies and actions to achieve data quality practice future state

      4.2 Formulate a data quality resolution plan for the defined subject area

      4.3 By subject area 3 data lineage analysis, root cause analysis, impact assessment, and business analysis

      Outputs

      Data Quality Improvement Plan

      Data Lineage Diagram

      5 Create a Plan for Sustaining Data Quality

      The Purpose

      Plan for continuous improvement in data quality

      Incorporate data quality management into the organization’s existing data management and governance programs

      Key Benefits Achieved

      Sustained and communicated data quality program

      Activities

      5.1 Formulate metrics for continuous tracking of data quality and monitoring the success of the data quality improvement initiative

      5.2 Workshop Debrief with Project Sponsor

      5.3 Meet with project sponsor/manager to discuss results and action items

      5.4 Wrap up outstanding items from the workshop, deliverables expectations, GIs

      Outputs

      Data Quality Practice Improvement Roadmap

      Data Quality Improvement Plan (for defined subject areas)

      Further reading

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      Quality Data Drives Quality Business Decisions

      Executive Brief

      Analyst Perspective

      Get ahead of the data curve by conquering data quality challenges.

      Regardless of the driving business strategy or focus, organizations are turning to data to leverage key insights and help improve the organization’s ability to realize its vision, key goals, and objectives.

      Poor quality data, however, can negatively affect time-to-insight and can undermine an organization’s customer experience efforts, product or service innovation, operational efficiency, or risk and compliance management. If you are looking to draw insights from your data for decision making, the quality of those insights is only as good as the quality of the data feeding or fueling them.

      Improving data quality means having a data quality management practice that is sustainably successful and appropriate to the use of the data, while evolving to keep pace with or get ahead of changing business and data landscapes. It is not a matter of fixing one data set at a time, which is resource and time intensive, but instead identifying where data quality consistently goes off the rails, and creating a program to improve the data processes at the source.

      Crystal Singh

      Research Director, Data and Analytics

      Info-Tech Research Group

      Executive Summary

      Your Challenge

      Your organization is experiencing the pitfalls of poor data quality, including:

      • Unreliable data and unfavorable output.
      • Inefficiencies and costly remedies.
      • Dissatisfied stakeholders.

      Poor data quality hinders successful decision making.

      Common Obstacles

      Not understanding the purpose and execution of data quality causes some disorientation with your data.

      • Failure to realize the importance/value of data quality.
      • Unsure of where to start with data quality.
      • Lack of investment in data quality.

      Organizations tend to adopt a project mentality when it comes to data quality instead of taking the strategic approach that would be all-around more beneficial in the long term.

      Info-Tech’s Approach

      Address the root causes of your data quality issues by forming a viable data quality program.

      • Be familiar with your organization’s data environment and business landscape.
      • Prioritize business use cases for data quality fixes.
      • Fixing data quality issues at the root cause to ensure a proper foundation for your data to flow.

      It is important to sustain best practices and grow your data quality program.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Fix data quality issues as close as possible to the source of data while understanding that business use cases will each have different requirements and expectations from data quality.

      Data is the foundation of your organization’s knowledge

      Data enables your organization to make decisions.

      Reliable data is needed to facilitate data consumers at all levels of the enterprise.

      Insights, knowledge, and information are needed to inform operational, tactical, and strategic decision-making processes. Data and information are needed to manage the business and empower business processes such as billing, customer touchpoints, and fulfillment.

      Raw Data

      Business Information

      Actionable Insights

      Data should be at the foundation of your organization’s evolution. The transformational insights that executives are constantly seeking can be uncovered with a data quality practice that makes high-quality, trustworthy information readily available to the business users who need it.

      98% of companies use data to improve customer experience. (Experian Data Quality, 2019)

      High-Level Data Architecture

      The image is a graphic, which at the top shows different stages of data, and in the lower part of the graphic shows the data processes.

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      1. Data Quality & Data Culture Diagnostics Business Landscape Exercise
      2. Business Strategy & Use Cases
      3. Prioritize Use Cases With Poor Quality

      Info-Tech Insight

      As data is ingested, integrated, and maintained in the various streams of the organization's system and application architecture, there are multiple points where the quality of the data can degrade.

      1. Understand the organization's data culture and data quality environment across the business landscape.
      2. Prioritize business use cases with poor data quality.
      3. For each use case, identify data quality issues and requirements throughout the data pipeline.
      4. Fix data quality issues at the root cause.
      5. As data flow through quality assurance monitoring checkpoints, monitor data to ensure good quality output.

      Insight:

      Proper application of data quality dimensions throughout the data pipeline will result in superior business decisions.

      Data quality issues can occur at any stage of the data flow.

      The image shows the flow of data through various stages: Data Creation; Data Ingestion; Data Accumulation and Engineering; Data Delivery; and Reporting & Analytics. At the bottom, there are two bars: the left one labelled Fix data quality root causes here...; and the right reads: ...to prevent expensive cures here.

      The image is a legend that accompanies the data flow graphic. It indicates that a white and green square icon indicates Data quality dimensions; a red cube indicates a potential point of data quality degradation; the pink square indicates Root cause of poor data quality; and a green flag indicates Quality Assurance Monitoring.

      Prevent the domino effect of poor data quality

      Data is the foundation of decisions made at data-driven organizations.

      Therefore, if there are problems with the organization’s underlying data, this can have a domino effect on many downstream business functions.

      Let’s use an example to illustrate the domino effect of poor data quality.

      Organization X is looking to migrate their data to a single platform, System Y. After the migration, it has become apparent that reports generated from this platform are inconsistent and often seem wrong. What is the effect of this?

      1. Time must be spent on identifying the data quality issues, and often manual data quality fixes are employed. This will extend the time to deliver the project that depends on system Y by X months.
      2. To repair these issues, the business needs to contract two additional resources to complete the unforeseen work. The new resources cost $X each, as well as additional infrastructure and hardware costs.
      3. Now, the strategic objectives of the business are at risk and there is a feeling of mistrust in the new system Y.

      Three key challenges impacting the ability to deliver excellent customer experience

      30% Poor data quality

      30% Method of interaction changing

      30% Legacy systems or lack of new technology

      95% Of organizations indicated that poor data quality undermines business performance.

      (Source: Experian Data Quality, 2019)

      Maintaining quality data will support more informed decisions and strategic insight

      Improving your organization’s data quality will help the business realize the following benefits:

      Data-Driven Decision Making

      Business decisions should be made with a strong rationale. Data can provide insight into key business questions, such as, “How can I provide better customer satisfaction?”

      89% Of CIOs surveyed say lack of quality data is an obstacle to good decision making. (Larry Dignan, CIOs juggling digital transformation pace, bad data, cloud lock0in and business alignment, 2020)

      Customer Intimacy

      Improve marketing and the customer experience by using the right data from the system of record to analyze complete customer views of transactions, sentiments, and interactions.

      94% Percentage of senior IT leaders who say that poor data quality impinges business outcomes. (Clint Boulton, Disconnect between CIOs and LOB managers weakens data quality, 2016)

      Innovation Leadership

      Gain insights on your products, services, usage trends, industry directions, and competitor results to support decisions on innovations, new products, services, and pricing.

      20% Businesses lose as much as 20% of revenue due to poor data quality. (RingLead Data Management Solutions, 10 Stats About Data Quality I Bet You Didn’t Know)

      Operational Excellence

      Make sure the right solution is delivered rapidly and consistently to the right parties for the right price and cost structure. Automate processes by using the right data to drive process improvements.

      10-20% The implementation of data quality initiatives can lead to reductions in corporate budget of up to 20%. (HaloBI, 2015)

      However, maintaining data quality is difficult

      Avoid these pitfalls to get the true value out of your data.

      1. Data debt drags down ROI – a high degree of data debt will hinder you from attaining the ROI you’re expecting.
      2. Lack of trust means lack of usage – a lack of confidence in data results in a lack of data usage in your organization, which negatively effects strategic planning, KPIs, and business outcomes.
      3. Strategic assets become a liability – bad data puts your business at risk of failing compliance standards, which could result in you paying millions in fines.
      4. Increased costs and inefficiency – time spent fixing bad data means less workload capacity for your important initiatives and the inability to make data-based decisions.
      5. Barrier to adopting data-driven tech – emerging technologies, such as predictive analytics and artificial intelligence, rely on quality data. Inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant data will result in delays or a lack of ROI.
      6. Bad customer experience – Running your business on bad data can hinder your ability to deliver to your customers, growing their frustration, which negatively impacts your ability to maintain your customer base.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Data quality suffers most at the point of entry. This is one of the causes of the domino effect of data quality – and can be one of the most costly forms of data quality errors due to the error propagation. In other words, fix data ingestion, whether through improving your application and database design or improving your data ingestion policy, and you will fix a large majority of data quality issues.

      Follow Our Data & Analytics Journey

      Data Quality is laced into Data Strategy, Data Management, and Data Governance.

      • Data Strategy
        • Data Management
          • Data Quality
          • Data Governance
            • Data Architecture
              • MDM
              • Data Integration
              • Enterprise Content Management
              • Information Lifecycle Management
                • Data Warehouse/Lake/Lakehouse
                  • Reporting and Analytics
                  • AI

      Data quality is rooted in data management

      Extract Maximum Benefit Out of Your Data Quality Management.

      • Data management is the planning, execution, and oversight of policies, practices, and projects that acquire, control, protect, deliver, and enhance the value of data and information assets (DAMA, 2009).
      • In other words, getting the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
      • Data quality management exists within each of the data practices, information dimensions, business resources, and subject areas that comprise the data management framework.
      • Within this framework, an effective data quality practice will replace ad hoc processes with standardized practices.
      • An effective data quality practice cannot succeed without proper alignment and collaboration across this framework.
      • Alignment ensures that the data quality practice is fit for purpose to the business.

      The DAMA DMBOK2 Data Management Framework

      • Data Governance
        • Data Quality
        • Data Architecture
        • Data Modeling & Design
        • Data Storage & Operations
        • Data Security
        • Data Integration & Interoperability
        • Documents & Content
        • Reference & Master Data
        • Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence
        • Meta-data

      (Source: DAMA International)

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy

      • People often think that the main problems they need to fix first are related to data quality when the issues transpire at a much larger level. This blueprint is the key to building and fostering a data-driven culture.

      Create a Data Management Roadmap

      • Refer to this blueprint to understand data quality in the context of data disciplines and methods for improving your data management capabilities.

      Establish Data Governance

      • Define an effective data governance strategy and ensure the strategy integrates well with data quality with this blueprint.

      Info-Tech’s methodology for Data Quality

      Phase Steps 1. Define Your Organization’s Data Environment and Business Landscape 2. Analyze Your Priorities for Data Quality Fixes 3. Establish Your Organization’s Data Quality Program 4. Grow and Sustain Your Data Quality Practice
      Phase Outcomes This step identifies the foundational understanding of your data and business landscape, the essential concepts around data quality, as well as the core capabilities and competencies that IT needs to effectively improve data quality. To begin addressing specific, business-driven data quality projects, you must identify and prioritize the data-driven business units. This will ensure that data improvement initiatives are aligned to business goals and priorities. After determining whose data is going to be fixed based on priority, determine the specific problems that they are facing with data quality, and implement an improvement plan to fix it. Now that you have put an improvement plan into action, make sure that the data quality issues don’t keep cropping up. Integrate data quality management with data governance practices into your organization and look to grow your organization’s overall data maturity.

      Info-Tech Insight

      “Data Quality is in the eyes of the beholder.”– Igor Ikonnikov, Research Director

      Data quality means tolerance, not perfection

      Data from Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Diagnostic, which represents over 400 business stakeholders, shows that data quality is very important when satisfaction with data quality is low.

      However, when data quality satisfaction hit a threshold, it became less important.

      The image is a line graph, with the X-axis labelled Satisfaction with Data Quality, and the Y axis labelled Rated Importance for Data Quality. The line begins high, and then descends. There is text inside the graph, which is transcribed below.

      Respondents were asked “How satisfied are you with the quality, reliability, and effectiveness of the data you use to manage your group?” as well as to rank how important data quality was to their organization.

      When the business satisfaction of data quality reached a threshold value of 71-80%, the rated importance reached its lowest value.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Data needs to be good, but truly spectacular data may go unnoticed.

      Provide the right level of data quality, with the appropriate effort, for the correct usage. This blueprint will help you to determine what “the right level of data quality” means, as well as create a plan to achieve that goal for the business.

      Data Roles and Responsibilities

      Data quality occurs through three main layers across the data lifecycle

      Data Strategy

      Data Strategy should contain Data Quality as a standard component.

      ← Data Quality issues can occur throughout at any stage of the data flow →

      DQ Dimensions

      Timeliness – Representation – Usability – Consistency – Completeness – Uniqueness – Entry Quality – Validity – Confidence – Importance

      Source System Layer

      • Data Resource Manager/Collector: Enters data into a database and ensures that data collection sources are accurate

      Data Transformation Layer

      • ETL Developer: Designs data storage systems
      • Data Engineer: Oversees data integrations, data warehouses and data lakes, data pipelines
      • Database Administrator: Manages database systems, ensures they meet SLAs, performances, backups
      • Data Quality Engineer: Finds and cleanses bad data in data sources, creates processes to prevent data quality problems

      Consumption Layer

      • Data Scientist: Gathers and analyses data from databases and other sources, runs models, and creates data visualizations for users
      • BI Analyst: Evaluates and mines complex data and transforms it into insights that drive business value. Uses BI software and tools to analyze industry trends and create visualizations for business users
      • Data Analyst: Extracts data from business systems, analyzes it, and creates reports and dashboards for users
      • BI Engineer: Documents business needs on data analysis and reporting and develops BI systems, reports, and dashboards to support them
      Data Creation → [SLA] Data Ingestion [ QA] →Data Accumulation & Engineering → [SLA] Data Delivery [QA] →Reporting & Analytics
      Fix Data Quality root causes here… → to prevent expensive cures here.

      Executive Brief Case Study

      Industry: Healthcare

      Source: Primary Info-Tech Research

      Align source systems to maximize business output.

      A healthcare insurance agency faced data quality issues in which a key business use case was impacted negatively. Business rules were not well defined, and default values instead of real value caused a concern. When dealing with multiple addresses, data was coming from different source systems.

      The challenge was to identify the most accurate address, as some were incomplete, and some lacked currency and were not up to date. This especially challenged a key business unit, marketing, to derive business value in performing key activities by being unable to reach out to existing customers to advertise any additional products.

      For this initiative, this insurance agency took an economic approach by addressing those data quality issues using internal resources.

      Results

      Without having any MDM tools or having a master record or any specific technology relating to data quality, this insurance agency used in-house development to tackle those particular issues at the source system. Data quality capabilities such as data profiling were used to uncover those issues and address them.

      “Data quality is subjective; you have to be selective in terms of targeting the data that matters the most. When getting business tools right, most issues will be fixed and lead to achieving the most value.” – Asif Mumtaz, Data & Solution Architect

      Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

      DIY Toolkit

      "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful."

      Guided Implementation

      "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track."

      Workshop

      "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place."

      Consulting

      "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project."

      Diagnostic and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

      Guided Implementation

      What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

      Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
      • Call #1: Learn about the concepts of data quality and the common root causes of poor data quality.
      • Call #2: Identify the core capabilities of IT for improving data quality on an enterprise scale.
      • Call #3: Determine which business units use data and require data quality remediation.
      • Call #4: Create a plan for addressing business unit data quality issues according to priority of the business units based on value and impact of data.
      • Call #5: Revisit the root causes of data quality issues and identify the relevant root causes to the highest priority business unit.
      • Call #6: Determine a strategy for fixing data quality issues for the highest priority business unit.
      • Call #7: Identify strategies for continuously monitoring and improving data quality at the organization.
      • Call #8: Learn how to incorporate data quality practices in the organization’s larger data management and data governance frameworks.
      • Call #9: Summarize results and plan next steps on how to evolve your data landscape.

      A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

      A typical GI is between eight to twelve calls over the course of four to six months.

      Workshop Overview

      Contact your account representative for more information. workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

      Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
      Define Your Organization’s Data Environment and Business Landscape Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 1 Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 2 Create a Strategy for Data Quality Project 3 Create a Plan for Sustaining Data Quality
      Activities
      1. Explain approach and value proposition.
      2. Detail business vision, objectives, and drivers.
      3. Discuss data quality barriers, needs, and principles.
      4. Assess current enterprise-wide data quality capabilities.
      5. Identify data quality practice future state.
      6. Analyze gaps in data quality practice.
      1. Create business unit prioritization roadmap.
      2. Develop subject areas project scope.
      3. By subject area 1:
      • Data lineage analysis
      • Root cause analysis
      • Impact assessment
      • Business analysis
      1. Understand how data quality management fits in with the organization’s data governance and data management programs.
      2. By subject area 2:
      • Data lineage analysis
      • Root cause analysis
      • Impact assessment
      • Business analysis
      1. Formulate strategies and actions to achieve data quality practice future state.
      2. Formulate data quality resolution plan for defined subject area.
      3. By subject area 3:
      • Data lineage analysis
      • Root cause analysis
      • Impact assessment
      • Business analysis
      1. Formulate metrics for continuous tracking of data quality and monitoring the success of the data quality improvement initiative.
      2. Workshop Debrief with Project Sponsor.
      • Meet with project sponsor/manager to discuss results and action items.
      • Wrap up outstanding items from the workshop, deliverables expectations, GIs.
      Deliverables
      1. Data Quality Management Primer
      2. Business Capability Map Template
      3. Data Culture Diagnostic
      4. Data Quality Diagnostic
      5. Data Quality Problem Statement Template
      1. Business Unit Prioritization Roadmap
      2. Subject area scope
      3. Data Lineage Diagram
      1. Data Lineage Diagram
      2. Root Cause Analysis
      3. Impact Analysis
      1. Data Lineage Diagram
      2. Data Quality Improvement Plan
      1. Data Quality Practice Improvement Roadmap
      2. Data Quality Improvement Plan (for defined subject areas)

      Phase 1

      Define Your Organization’s Data Environment and Business Landscape

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      Data quality is a methodology and must be treated as such

      A comprehensive data quality practice includes appropriate business requirements gathering, planning, governance, and oversight capabilities, as well as empowering technologies for properly trained staff, and ongoing development processes.

      Some common examples of appropriate data management methodologies for data quality are:

      • The data quality team has the necessary competencies and resources to perform the outlined workload.
      • There are processes that exist for continuously evaluating data quality performance capabilities.
      • Improvement strategies are designed to increase data quality performance capabilities.
      • Policies and procedures that govern data quality are well-documented, communicated, followed, and updated.
      • Change controls exist for revising policies and procedures, including communication of updates and changes.
      • Self-auditing techniques are used to ensure business-IT alignment when designing or recalibrating strategies.

      Effective data quality practices coordinate with other overarching data disciplines, related data practices, and strategic business objectives.

      “You don’t solve data quality with a Band-Aid; you solve it with a methodology.” – Diraj Goel, Growth Advisor, BC Tech

      Data quality can be defined by four key quality indicators

      Similar to measuring the acidity of a substance with a litmus test, the quality of your data can be measured using a simple indicator test. As you learn about common root causes of data quality problems in the following slides, think about these four quality indicators to assess the quality of your data:

      • Completeness – Closeness to the correct value. Encompasses accuracy, consistency, and comparability to other databases.
      • Usability – The degree to which data meets current user needs. To measure this, you must determine if the user is satisfied with the data they are using to complete their business functions.
      • Timeliness – Length of time between creation and availability of data.
      • Accessibility – How easily a user can access and understand the data (including data definitions and context). Interpretability can also be used to describe this indicator.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Quality is a relative term. Data quality is measured in terms of tolerance. Perfect data quality is both impossible and a waste of time and effort.

      How to get investment for your data quality program

      Follow these steps to convince leadership of the value of data quality:

      “You have to level with people, you cannot just start talking with the language of data and expect them to understand when the other language is money and numbers.” – Izabela Edmunds, Information Architect at Mott MacDonald

      1. Perform Phases 0 & 1 of this blueprint as this will offer value in carrying out the following steps.
      2. Build credibility. Show them your understanding of data and how it aligns to the business.
      3. Provide tangible evidence of how significant business use cases are impacted by poor quality data.
      4. Present the ROI of fixing the data quality issues you have prioritized.
      5. Explain how the data quality program will be established, implemented, and sustained.
      6. Prove the importance of fixing data quality issues at the source and how it is the most efficient, effective, and cost-friendly solution.

      Phase 1 deliverables

      Each of these deliverables serve as inputs to detect key outcomes about your organization and to help complete this blueprint:

      1. Data Culture Diagnostic

      Use this report to understand where your organization lies across areas relating to data culture.

      While the Quality & Trust area of the report might be most prevalent to this blueprint, this diagnostic may point out other areas demanding more attention.

      Please speak to your account manager for access

      2. Business Capability Map Template

      Perform this process to understand the capabilities that enable specific value streams. The output of this deliverable is a high-level view of your organization’s defined business capabilities.

      Download this tool

      Info-Tech Insight

      Understanding your data culture and business capabilities are foundational to starting the journey of data quality improvement.

      Key deliverable:

      3. Data Quality Diagnostic

      The Data Quality Report is designed to help you understand, assess, and improve key organizational data quality issues. This is where respondents across various areas in the organization can assess Data Quality across various dimensions.

      Download this tool

      Data Quality Diagnostic Value

      Prioritize business use cases with our data quality dimensions.

      • Complete this diagnostic for each major business use case. The output from the Data Culture Diagnostic and the Business Capability Map should help you understand which use cases to address.
      • Involve all key stakeholders involved in the business use case. There may be multiple business units involved in a single use case.
      • Prioritize the business use cases that need the most attention pertaining to data quality by comparing the scores of the Importance and Confidence data quality dimensions.

      If there are data elements that are considered of high importance and low confidence, then they must be prioritized.

      Sample Scorecard

      The image shows a screen capture of a scorecard, with sample information filled in.

      The image shows a screen capture of a scorecard, with sample information filled in.

      Poor data quality develops due to multiple root causes

      After you get to know the properties of good quality data, understand the underlying causes of why those indicators can point to poor data quality.

      If you notice that the usability, completeness, timeliness, or accessibility of the organization’s data is suffering, one or more of the following root causes are likely plaguing your data:

      Common root causes of poor data quality, through the lens of Info-Tech’s Five-Tier Data Architecture:

      The image shows a graphic of Info-Tech's Five-Tier Data Architecture, with root causes of poor data quality identified. In the data creation and ingestion stages, the root causes are identified as Poor system/application design, Poor database design, Inadequate enterprise integration. The root causes identified in the latter stages are: Absence of data quality policies, procedures, and standards, and Incomplete/suboptimal business processes

      These root causes of poor data quality are difficult to avoid, not only because they are often generated at an organization’s beginning stages, but also because change can be difficult. This means that the root causes are often propagated through stale or outdated business processes.

      Data quality problems root cause #1:

      Poor system or application design

      Application design plays one of the largest roles in the quality of the organization’s data. The proper design of applications can prevent data quality issues that can snowball into larger issues downstream.

      Proper ingestion is 90% of the battle. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is true in many different topics, and data quality is one of them. Designing an application so that data gets entered properly, whether by internal staff or external customers, is the single most effective way to prevent data quality issues.

      Some common causes of data quality problems at the application/system level include:

      • Too many open fields (free-form text fields that accept a variety of inputs).
      • There are no lookup capabilities present. Reference data should be looked up instead of entered.
      • Mandatory fields are not defined, resulting in blank fields.
      • No validation of data entries before writing to the underlying database.
      • Manual data entry encourages human error. This can be compounded by poor application design that facilitates the incorrect data entry.

      Data quality problems root cause #2:

      Poor database design

      Database design also affects data quality. How a database is designed to handle incoming data, including the schema and key identification, can impact the integrity of the data used for reporting and analytics.

      The most common type of database is the relational database. Therefore, we will focus on this type of database.

      When working with and designing relational databases, there are some important concepts that must be considered.

      Referential integrity is a term that is important for the design of relational database schema, and indicates that table relationships must always be consistent.

      For table relationships to be consistent, primary keys (unique value for each row) must uniquely identify entities in columns of the table. Foreign keys (field that is defined in a second table but refers to the primary key in the first table) must agree with the primary key that is referenced by the foreign key. To maintain referential integrity, any updates must be propagated to the primary parent key.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Other types of databases, including databases with unstructured data, need data quality consideration. However, unstructured data may have different levels of quality tolerance.

      At the database level, some common root causes include:

      1. Lack of referential integrity.
      2. Lack of unique keys.
      3. Don’t have restricted data range.
      4. Incorrect datatype, string fields that can hold too many characters.
      5. Orphaned records.

      Databases and People:

      Even though database design is a technology issue, don’t forget about the people.

      A lack of training employees on database permissions for updating/entering data into the physical databases is a common problem for data quality.

      Data quality problems root cause #3:

      Improper integration and synchronization of enterprise data

      Data ingestion is another category of data-quality-issue root causes. When moving data in Tier 2, whether it is through ETL, ESB, point-to-point integration, etc., the integrity of the data during movement and/or transformation needs to be maintained.

      Tier 2 (the data ingestion layer) serves to move data for one of two main purposes:

      • To move data from originating systems to downstream systems to support integrated business processes.
      • To move data to Tier 3 where data rests for other purposes. This movement of data in its purest form means we move raw data to storage locations in an overall data warehouse environment reflecting any security, compliance and other standards in our choices for how to store. Also, it is where data is transformed for unique business purpose that will also be moved to a place of rest or a place of specific use. Data cleansing and matching and other data-related blending tasks occur at this layer.

      This ensures the data is pristine throughout the process and improves trustworthiness of outcomes and speed to task completion.

      At the integration layer, some common root causes of data quality problems include:

      1. No data mask. For example, zip code should have a mask of five numeric characters.
      2. Questionable aggregation, transformation process, or incorrect logic.
      3. Unsynchronized data refresh process in an integrated environment.
      4. Lack of a data matching tool.
      5. Lack of a data quality tool.
      6. Don’t have data profiling capability.
      7. Errors with data conversion or migration processes – when migrating, decommissioning, or converting systems – movement of data sets.
      8. Incorrect data mapping between data sources and targets.

      Data quality problems root cause #4:

      Insufficient and ineffective data quality policies and procedures

      Data policies and procedures are necessary for establishing standards around data and represent another category of data-quality-issue root causes. This issue spans across all five of the 5 Tier Architecture.

      Data policies are short statements that seek to manage the creation, acquisition, integrity, security, compliance, and quality of data. These policies vary amongst organizations, depending on your specific data needs.

      • Policies describe what to do, while standards and procedures describe how to do something.
      • There should be few data policies, and they should be brief and direct. Policies are living documents and should be continuously updated to respond to the organization’s data needs.
      • The data policies should highlight who is responsible for the data under various scenarios and rules around how to manage it effectively.

      Some common root causes of data quality issues related to policies and procedures include:

      1. Policies are absent or out of date.
      2. Employees are largely unaware of policies in effect.
      3. Policies are unmonitored and unenforced.
      4. Policies are in multiple locations.
      5. Multiple versions of the same policy exist.
      6. Policies are managed inconsistently across different silos.
      7. Policies are written poorly by untrained authors.
      8. Inadequate policy training program.
      9. Draft policies stall and lose momentum.
      10. Weak policy support from senior management.

      Data quality problems root cause #5:

      Inefficient or ineffective business processes

      Some common root causes of data quality issues related to business processes include:

      1. Multiple entries of the same record leads to duplicate records proliferating in the database.
      2. Many business definitions of data.
      3. Failure to document data manipulations when presenting data.
      4. Failure to train people on how to understand data.
      5. Manually intensive processes can result in duplication of effort (creates room for errors).
      6. No clear delineation of dependencies of business processes within or between departments, which leads to a siloed approach to business processes, rather than a coordinated and aligned approach.

      Business processes can impact data quality. How data is entered into systems, as well as employee training and knowledge about the correct data definitions, can impact the quality of your organization’s data.

      These problematic business process root causes can lead to:

      Duplicate records

      Incomplete data

      Improper use of data

      Wrong data entered into fields

      These data quality issues will result in costly and inefficient manual fixes, wasting valuable time and resources.

      Phase 1 Summary

      1. Data Quality Understanding

      • Understanding that data quality is a methodology and should be treated as such.
      • Data quality can be defined by four key indicators which are completeness, usability, timeliness, and accessibility.
      • Explained how to get investment for your data quality program and showcasing its value to leadership.

      2. Phase 0 Deliverables

      Introduced foundational tools to help you throughout this blueprint:

      • Complete the Data Culture Diagnostic and Business Capability Map Template as they are foundational in understanding your data culture and business capabilities to start the journey of data quality improvement.
      • Involve key relevant stakeholders when completing the Data Quality Diagnostic for each major business use case. Use the Importance and Confidence dimensions to help you prioritize which use case to address.

      3. Common Root Causes

      Addressed where multiple root causes can occur throughout the flow of your data.

      Analyzed the following common root causes of data quality:

      1. Poor system or application design
      2. Poor database design
      3. Improper integration and synchronization of enterprise data
      4. Insufficient and ineffective data quality policies and procedures
      5. Inefficient or ineffective business processes

      Phase 2

      Analyze Your Priorities for Data Quality Fixes

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      Business Context & Data Quality

      Establish the business context of data quality improvement projects at the business unit level to find common goals.

      • To ensure the data improvement strategy is business driven, start your data quality project evaluation by understanding the business context. You will then determine which business units use data and create a roadmap for prioritizing business units for data quality repairs.
      • Your business context is represented by your corporate business vision, mission, goals and objectives, differentiators, and drivers. Collectively, they provide essential information on what is important to your organization, and some hints on how to achieve that. In this step, you will gather important information about your business view and interpret the business view to establish a data view.

      Business Vision

      Business Goals

      Business Drivers

      Business Differentiators

      Not every business unit uses data to the same extent

      A data flow diagram can provide value by allowing an organization to adopt a proactive approach to data quality. Save time by knowing where the entry points are and where to look for data flaws.

      Understanding where data lives can be challenging as it is often in motion and rarely resides in one place. There are multiple benefits that come from taking the time to create a data flow diagram.

      • Mapping out the flow of data can help provide clarity on where the data lives and how it moves through the enterprise systems.
      • Having a visual of where and when data moves helps to understand who is using data and how it is being manipulated at different points.
      • A data flow diagram will allow you to elicit how data is used in a different use case.

      Info-Tech’s Four-Column Model of Data will help you to identify the essential aspects of your data:

      Business Use Case →Used by→Business Unit →Housed in→Systems→Used for→Usage of the Data

      Not every business unit requires the same standard of data quality

      To prioritize your business units for data quality improvement projects, you must analyze the relative importance of the data they use to the business. The more important the data is to the business, the higher the priority is of fixing that data. There are two measures for determining the importance of data: business value and business impact.

      Business Value of Data

      Business value of data can be evaluated by thinking about its ties to revenue generation for the organization, as well as how it is used for productivity and operations at the organization.

      The business value of data is assessed by asking what would happen to the following parameters if the data is not usable (due to poor quality, for example):

      • Loss of Revenue
      • Loss of Productivity
      • Increased Operating Costs

      Business Impact of Data

      Business impact of data should take into account the effects of poor data on both internal and external parties.

      The business impact of data is assessed by asking what the impact would be of bad data on the following parameters:

      • Impact on Customers
      • Impact on Internal Staff
      • Impact on Business Partners

      Value + Impact = Data Priority Score

      Ensure that the project starts on the right foot by completing Info-Tech’s Data Quality Problem Statement Template

      Before you can identify a solution, you must identify the problem with the business unit’s data.

      Download this tool

      Use Info-Tech’s Data Quality Problem Statement Template to identify the symptoms of poor data quality and articulate the problem.

      Info-Tech’s Data Quality Problem Statement Template will walk you through a step-by-step approach to identifying and describing the problems that the business unit feels regarding its data quality.

      Before articulating the problem, it helps to identify the symptoms of the problem. The following W’s will help you to describe the symptoms of the data quality issues:

      What

      Define the symptoms and feelings produced by poor data quality in the business unit.

      Where

      Define the location of the data that are causing data quality issues.

      When

      Define how severe the data quality issues are in frequency and duration.

      Who

      Define who is affected by the data quality problems and who works with the data.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      Symptoms vs. Problems. Often, people will identify a list of symptoms of a problem and mistake those for the problem. Identifying the symptoms helps to define the problem, but symptoms do not help to identify the solution. The problem statement helps you to create solutions.

      Define the project problem to articulate the purpose

      1 hour

      Input

      • Symptoms of data quality issues in the business unit

      Output

      • Refined problem description

      Materials

      • Data Quality Problem Statement Template

      Participants

      • Data Quality Improvement Project team
      • Business line representatives

      A defined problem helps you to create clear goals, as well as lead your thinking to determine solutions to the problem.

      A problem statement consists of one or two sentences that summarize a condition or issue that a quality improvement team is meant to address. For the improvement team to fix the problem, the problem statement therefore has to be specific and concise.

      Instructions

      1. Gather the Data Quality Improvement Project Team in a room and start with an issue that is believed to be related to data quality.
      2. Ask what are the attributes and symptoms of that reality today; do this with the people impacted by the issue. This should be an IT and business collaboration.
      3. Draw your conclusions of what it all means: what have you collectively learned?
      4. Consider the implications of your conclusions and other considerations that must be taken into account such as regulatory needs, compliance, policy, and targets.
      5. Develop solutions – Contain the problem to something that can be solved in a realistic timeframe, such as three months.

      Download the Data Quality Problem Statement Template

      Case Study

      A strategic roadmap rooted in business requirements primes a data quality improvement plan for success.

      MathWorks

      Industry

      Software Development

      Source

      Primary Info-Tech Research

      As part of moving to a formalized data quality practice, MathWorks leveraged an incremental approach that took its time investigating business cases to support improvement actions. Establishing realistic goals for improvement in the form of a roadmap was a central component for gaining executive approval to push the project forward.

      Roadmap Creation

      In constructing a comprehensive roadmap that incorporated findings from business process and data analyses, MathWorks opted to document five-year and three-year overall goals, with one-year objectives that supported each goal. This approach ensured that the tactical actions taken were directed by long-term strategic objectives.

      Results – Business Alignment

      In presenting their roadmap for executive approval, MathWorks placed emphasis on communicating the progression and impact of their initiatives in terms that would engage business users. They focused on maintaining continual lines of communication with business stakeholders to demonstrate the value of the initiatives and also to gradually shift the corporate culture to one that is invested in an effective data quality practice.

      “Don’t jump at the first opportunity, because you may be putting out a fire with a cup of water where a fire truck is needed.” – Executive Advisor, IT Research and Advisory Firm

      Use Info-Tech’s Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool to create your strategy for improving data quality

      Assess IT’s capabilities and competencies around data quality and plan to build these as the organization’s data quality practice develops. Before you can fix data quality, make sure you have the necessary skills and abilities to fix data quality correctly.

      The following IT capabilities are developed on an ongoing basis and are necessary for standardizing and structuring a data quality practice:

      • Meeting Business Needs
      • Services and Projects
      • Policies, Procedures, and Standards
      • Roles and Organizational Structure
      • Oversight and Communication
      • Data Quality of Different Data Types

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      Data Handling and Remediation Competencies:

      • Data Standardization: Formatting values into consistent standards based on industry standards and business rules.
      • Data Cleansing: Modification of values to meet domain restrictions, integrity constraints, or other business rules for sufficient data quality for the organization.
      • Data Matching: Identification, linking, and merging related entries in or across sets of data.
      • Data Validation: Checking for correctness of the data.

      After these capabilities and competencies are assessed for a current and desired target state, the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool will suggest improvement actions that should be followed in order to build your data quality practice. In addition, a roadmap will be generated after target dates are set to create your data quality practice development strategy.

      Benchmark current and identify target capabilities for your data quality practice

      1 hour

      Input

      • Current and desired data quality practices in the organization

      Output

      • Assessment of where the gaps lie in your data quality practice

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Data Quality Project Lead
      • Business Line Representatives
      • Business Architects

      Use the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool to evaluate the baseline and target capabilities of your practice in terms of how data quality is approached and executed.

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      Instructions

      1. Invite the appropriate stakeholders to participate in this exercise. Examples:
        1. Business executives will have input in Tab 2
        2. Unique stakeholders: communications expert or executive advisors may have input
      2. On Tab 2: Practice Components, assess the current and target states of each capability on a scale of 1–5. Note: “Ad hoc” implies a capability is completed, but randomly, informally, and without a standardized method.

      These results will set the baseline against which you will monitor performance progress and keep track of improvements over time.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Focus on early alignment. Assessing capabilities within specific people’s job functions can naturally result in disagreement or debate, especially between business and IT people. Remind everyone that data quality should ultimately serve business needs wherever possible.

      Visualization improves the holistic understanding of where gaps exist in your data quality practice

      To enable deeper analysis on the results of your practice assessment, Tab 3: Data Quality Practice Scorecard in the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool creates visualizations of the gaps identified in each of your practice capabilities and related data management practices. These diagrams serve as analysis summaries.

      Gap assessment of “Meeting Business Needs” capabilities

      The image shows a screen capture of the Gap assessment of “Meeting Business Needs” capabilities, with sample information filled in.

      Visualization of gap assessment of data quality practice capabilities

      The image shows a bar graph titled Data Quality Capabilities.

      1. Enhance your gap analyses by forming a relative comparison of total gaps in key practice capability areas, which will help in determining priorities.
      • Example: In Tab 2 compare your capabilities within “Policies, Procedures, and Standards.” Then in Tab 3, compare your overall capabilities in “Policies, Procedures, and Standards” versus “Empowering Technologies.”
    • Put these up on display to improve discussion in the gap analyses and prioritization sessions.
    • Improve the clarity and flow of your strategy template, final presentations, and summary documents by copying and pasting the gap assessment diagrams.

      • Before engaging in the data quality improvement project plan, receive signoff from IT regarding feasibility

      The final piece of the puzzle is to gain sign-off from IT.

      Hofstadter's law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.

      This means that before engaging IT in data quality projects to fix the business units’ data in Phase 2, IT must assess feasibility of the data quality improvement plan. A feasibility analysis is typically used to review the strengths and weaknesses of the projects, as well as the availability of required skills and technologies needed to complete them. Use the following workflow to guide you in performing a feasibility analysis:

      Project evaluation process:

      Present capabilities

      • Operational Capabilities
      • System Capabilities
      • Schedule Capabilities
        • Summary of Evaluation Results
          • Recommendations/ modifications to the project plan

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      While the PMO identifies and coordinates projects, IT must determine how long and for how much.

      Conduct gap analysis sessions to review and prioritize the capability gaps

      1 hour

      Input

      • Current and Target State Assessment

      Output

      • Documented initiatives to help you get to the target state

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Data Quality team
      • IT representatives

      Instructions

      • Analyze Gap Analysis Results – As a group, discuss the high-level results on Tab 3: Data Quality Practice Score. Discuss the implications of the gaps identified.
      • Do a line-item review of the gaps between current and target levels for each assessed capability by using Tab 2: Practice Components.
      • Brainstorm Alignment Strategies – Brainstorm the effort and activities that will be necessary to support the practice in building its capabilities to the desired target level. Ask the following questions:
        • What activities must occur to enable this capability?
        • What changes/additions to resources, process, technology, business involvement, and communication must occur?
      • Document Data Quality Initiatives – Turn activities into initiatives by documenting them in Tab 4. Data Quality Practice Roadmap. Review the initiatives and estimate the start and end dates of each one.
      • Continue to evaluate the assessment results in order to create a comprehensive set of data quality initiatives that support your practice in building capabilities.

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      Create the organization’s data quality improvement strategy roadmap

      1 hour

      Input

      • Data quality practice gaps and improvement actions

      Output

      • Data quality practice improvement roadmap

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Data Quality Project Lead
      • Business Executives
      • IT Executives
      • Business Architects

      Generating Your Roadmap

      1. Plan the sequence, starting time, and length of each initiative in the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool.
      2. The tool will generate a Gantt chart based on the start and length of your initiatives.
      3. The Gantt chart is generated in Tab 4: Data Quality Practice Roadmap, and can be used to organize and ensure that all of the essential aspects of data quality are addressed.

      Use the Practice Roadmap to plan and improve data quality capabilities

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      Info-Tech Best Practice

      To help get you started, Info-Tech has provided an extensive list of data quality improvement initiatives that are commonly undertaken by organizations looking to improve their data quality.

      Establish Baseline Metrics

      Baseline metrics will be improved through:

      2 hours

      Create practice-level metrics to monitor your data quality practice.

      Instructions:

      1. Establish metrics for both the business and IT that will be used to determine if the data quality practice development is effective.
      2. Set targets for each metric.
      3. Collect current data to calculate the metrics and establish a baseline.
      4. Assign an owner for tracking each metric to be accountable for performance.
      Metric Current Goal
      Usage (% of trained users using the data warehouse)
      Performance (response time)
      Performance (response time)
      Resource utilization (memory usage, number of machine cycles)
      User satisfaction (quarterly user surveys)
      Data quality (% values outside valid values, % fields missing, wrong data type, data outside acceptable range, data that violates business rules. Some aspects of data quality can be automatically tracked and reported)
      Costs (initial installation and ongoing, Total Cost of Ownership including servers, software licenses, support staff)
      Security (security violations detected, where violations are coming from, breaches)
      Patterns that are used
      Reduction in time to market for the data
      Completeness of data that is available
      How many "standard" data models are being used
      What is the extra business value from the data governance program?
      How much time is spent for data prep by BI & analytics team?

      Phase 2 summary

      As you improve your data quality practice and move from reactive to stable, don’t rest and assume that you can let data quality keep going by itself. Rapidly changing consumer requirements or other pains will catch up to your organization and you will fall behind again. By moving to the proactive and predictive end of the maturity scale, you can stay ahead of the curve. By following the methodology laid out in Phase 1, the data quality practices at your organization will improve over time, leading to the following results:

      Chaotic

      Before Data Quality Practice Improvements

      • No standards to data quality

      Reactive

      Year 1

      • Processes defined
      • Data cleansing approach to data quality

      Stable

      Year 2

      • Business rules/ stewardship in place
      • Education and training

      Proactive

      Year 3

      • Data quality practices fully in place and embedded in the culture
      • Trusted and intelligent enterprise

      (Global Data Excellence, Data Excellence Maturity Model)

      Phase 3

      Establish Your Organization’s Data Quality Program

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      Create a data lineage diagram to map the data journey and identify the data subject areas to be targeted for fixes

      It is important to understand the various data that exist in the business unit, as well as which data are essential to business function and require the highest degree of quality efforts.

      Visualize your databases and the flow of data. A data lineage diagram can help you and the Data Quality Improvement Team visualize where data issues lie. Keeping the five-tier architecture in mind, build your data lineage diagram.

      Reminder: Five-Tier Architecture

      The image shows the Five-Tier Architecture graphic.

      Use the following icons to represent your various data systems and databases.

      The image shows four icons. They are: the image of a square and a computer monitor, labelled Application; the image of two sheets of paper, labelled Desktop documents; the image of a green circle next to a computer monitor, labelled Web Application; and a blue cylinder labelled Database.

      Use Info-Tech’s Data Lineage Diagram to document the data sources and applications used by the business unit

      2 hours

      Input

      • Data sources and applications used by the business unit

      Output

      • Data lineage diagram

      Materials

      • Data Lineage Diagram Template

      Participants

      • Business Unit Head/Data Owner
      • Business Unit SMEs
      • Data Analysts/Architects

      Map the flow and location of data within a business unit by creating a system context diagram.

      Gain an accurate view of data locations and uses: Engage business users and representatives with a wide breadth of knowledge-related business processes and the use of data by related business operations.

      1. Sit down with key business representatives of the business unit.
      2. Document the sources of data and processes in which they’re involved, and get IT confirmation that the sources of the data are correct.
      3. Map out the sources and processes in a system context diagram.

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      Sample Data Lineage Diagram

      The image shows a sample data lineage diagram, split into External Applications and Internal Applications, and showing the processes involved in each.

      Leverage Info-Tech’s Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool to document business context

      1 hour

      Input

      • Business vision, goals, and drivers

      Output

      • Business context for the data quality improvement project

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Data Quality project lead
      • Business line representatives
      • IT executives

      Develop goals and align them with specific objectives to set the framework for your data quality initiatives.

      In the context of achieving business vision, mission, goals, and objectives and sustaining differentiators and key drivers, think about where and how data quality is a barrier. Then brainstorm data quality improvement objectives that map to these barriers. Document your list of objectives in Tab 5. Prioritize business units of the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool.

      Establishing Business Context Example

      Healthcare Industry
      Vision To improve member services and make service provider experience more effective through improving data quality and data collection, aggregation, and accessibility for all the members.
      Goals

      Establish meaningful metrics that guide to the improvement of healthcare for member effectiveness of health care providers:

      • Data collection
      • Data harmonization
      • Data accessibility and trust by all constituents.
      Differentiator Connect service consumers with service providers, that comply with established regulations by delivering data that is accurate, trusted, timely, and easy to understand to connect service providers and eliminate bureaucracy and save money and time.
      Key Driver Seamlessly provide a healthcare for members.

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      Document the identified business units and their associated data

      30 minutes

      Input

      • Business units

      Output

      • Documented business units to begin prioritization

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Project Manager

      Instructions

      1. Using Tab 5: Prioritize Business Units of the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool, document the business units that use data in the organization. This will likely be all business units in the organization.
      2. Next, document the primary data used by those business units.
      3. These inputs will then be used to assess business unit priority to generate a data quality improvement project roadmap.

      The image shows a screen capture of Tab 5: Prioritize Business Units, with sample information inputted.

      Reminder – Not every business unit requires the same standard of data quality

      To prioritize your business units for data quality improvement projects, you must analyze the relative importance of the data they use to the business. The more important the data is to the business, the higher the priority is of fixing that data. There are two measures for determining the importance of data: business value and business impact.

      Business Value of Data

      Business value of data can be evaluated by thinking about its ties to revenue generation for the organization, as well as how it is used for productivity and operations at the organization.

      The business value of data is assessed by asking what would happen to the following parameters if the data is not usable (due to poor quality, for example):

      • Loss of Revenue
      • Loss of Productivity
      • Increased Operating Costs

      Business Impact of Data

      Business impact of data should take into account the effects of poor data on both internal and external parties.

      The business impact of data is assessed by asking what the impact would be of bad data on the following parameters:

      • Impact on Customers
      • Impact on Internal Staff
      • Impact on Business Partners

      Value + Impact = Data Priority Score

      Assess the business unit priority order for data quality improvements

      2 hours

      Input

      • Assessment of value and impact of business unit data

      Output

      • Prioritization list for data quality improvement projects

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Project Manager
      • Data owners

      Instructions

      Instructions In Tab 5: Prioritize Business Units of the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool, assess business value and business impact of the data within each documented business unit.

      Use the ratings High, Medium, and Low to measure the financial, productivity, and efficiency value and impact of each business unit’s data.

      In addition to these ratings, assess the number of help desk tickets that are submitted to IT regarding data quality issues. This parameter is an indicator that the business unit’s data is high priority for data quality fixes.

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      Create a business unit order roadmap for your data quality improvement projects

      1 hour

      Input

      • Rating of importance of data for each business unit

      Output

      • Roadmap for data quality improvement projects

      Materials

      • Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool

      Participants

      • Project Manager
      • Product Manager
      • Business line representatives

      Instructions

      After assessing the business units for the business value and business impact of their data, the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool automatically assesses the prioritization of the business units based on your ratings. These prioritizations are then summarized in a roadmap on Tab 6: Data Quality Project Roadmap. The following is an example of a project roadmap:

      The image shows an example of a project roadmap, with three business units listed vertically along the left hand side, and a Gantt chart showing the time periods in which each Business Unit would work. At the bottom, a table shows the Length of the Project in days (100), and the start date for the first project.

      On Tab 6, insert the timeline for your data quality improvement projects, as well as the starting date of your first data quality project. The roadmap will automatically update with the chosen timing and dates.

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      Identify metrics at the business unit level to track data quality improvements

      As you improve the data quality for specific business units, measuring the benefits of data quality improvements will help you demonstrate the value of the projects to the business.

      Use the following table to guide you in creating business-aligned metrics:

      Business Unit Driver Metrics Goal
      Sales Customer Intimacy Accuracy of customer data. Percent of missing or incomplete records. 10% decrease in customer record errors.

      Marketing

      		 Customer Intimacy Accuracy of customer data. Percent of missing or incomplete records. 10% decrease in customer record errors.
      Finance Operational Excellence Relevance of financial reports. Decrease in report inaccuracy complaints.
      HR Risk Management Accuracy of employee data. 10% decrease in employee record errors.
      Shipping Operational Excellence Timeliness of invoice data. 10% decrease in time to report.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Relating data governance success metrics to overall business benefits keeps executive management and executive sponsors engaged because they are seeing actionable results. Review metrics on an ongoing basis with those data owners/stewards who are accountable, the data governance steering committee, and the executive sponsors.

      Case Study

      Address data quality with the right approach to maximize the ROI

      EDC

      Industry: Government

      Source: Environment Development of Canada (EDC)

      Challenge

      Environment Development Canada (EDC) would initially identify data elements that are important to the business purely based on their business instinct.

      Leadership attempted to tackle the enterprise’s data issues by bringing a set of different tools into the organization.

      It didn’t work out because the fundamental foundational layer, which is the data and infrastructure, was not right – they didn't have the foundational capabilities to enable those tools.

      Solution

      Leadership listened to the need for one single team to be responsible for the data persistence.

      Therefore, the data platform team was granted that mandate to extensively execute the data quality program across the enterprise.

      A data quality team was formed under the Data & Analytics COE. They had the mandate to profile the data and to understand what quality of data needed to be achieved. They worked constantly with the business to build the data quality rules.

      Results

      EDC tackled the source of their data quality issues through initially performing a data quality management assessment with business stakeholders.

      From then on, EDC was able to establish their data quality program and carry out other key initiatives that prove the ROI on data quality.

      Begin your data quality improvement project starting with the highest priority business unit

      Now that you have a prioritized list for your data quality improvement projects, identify the highest priority business unit. This is the business unit you will work through Phase 3 with to fix their data quality issues.

      Once you have initiated and identified solutions for the first business unit, tackle data quality for the next business unit in the prioritized list.

      The image is a graphic labelled as Phase 2. On the left, there is a vertical arrow pointing upward labelled Priority of Business Units. Next to it, there are three boxes, with downward pointing arrows between them, each box labelled as each Business Unit's Data Quality Improvement Project. From there an arrow points right to a circle. Inside the circle are the steps necessary to complete the data quality improvement project.

      Create and document your data quality improvement team

      1 hour

      Input

      • Individuals who fit the data quality improvement plan team roles

      Output

      • Project team

      Materials

      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      Participants

      • Data owner
      • Project Manager
      • Product Manager

      The Data Quality Improvement Plan is a concise document that should be created for each data quality project (i.e. for each business unit) to keep track of the project.

      Instructions

      1. Meet with the data owner of the business unit identified for the data quality improvement project.
      2. Identify individuals who fit the data quality improvement plan team roles.
      3. Using the Data Quality Improvement Plan Template to document the roles and individuals who will fit those roles.
      4. Have an introductory meeting with the Improvement team to clarify roles and responsibilities for the project.

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      Team role Assigned to
      Data Owner [Name]
      Project Manager [Name]
      Business Analyst/BRM [Name]
      Data Steward [Name]
      Data Analyst [Name]

      Document the business context of the Data Quality Improvement Plan

      1 hour

      Input

      • Project team
      • Identified data attributes

      Output

      • Business context for the data quality improvement plan

      Materials

      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      Participants

      • Data owner
      • Project Sponsor
      • Product owner

      Data quality initiatives have to be relevant to the business, and the business context will be used to provide inputs to the data improvement strategy. The context can then be used to determine exactly where the root causes of data quality issues are, which will inform your solutions.

      Instructions

      The business context of the data quality improvement plan includes documenting from previous activities:

      1. The Data Quality Improvement Team.
      2. Your Data Lineage Diagram.
      3. Your Data Quality Problem Statement.

      Info-Tech Best Practice

      While many organizations adopt data quality principles, not all organizations express them along the same terms. Have multiple perspectives within your organization outline principles that fit your unique data quality agenda. Anyone interested in resolving the day-to-day data quality issues that they face can be helpful for creating the context around the project.

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      Now that you have a defined problem, revisit the root causes of poor data quality

      You previously fleshed out the problem with data quality present in the business unit chosen as highest priority. Now it is time to figure out what is causing those problems.

      In the table below, you will find some of the common categories of causes of data quality issues, as well as some specific root causes.

      Category Description
      1. System/Application Design Ineffective, insufficient, or even incorrect system/application design accepts incorrect and missing data elements to the source applications and databases. The data records in those source systems may propagate into systems in tiers 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the 5-tier architecture, creating domino and ripple effects.
      2. Database design Database is created and modeled in an incorrect manner so that the management of the data records is incorrect, resulting in duplicated and orphaned records, and records that are missing data elements or records that contain incorrect data elements. Poor operational data in databases often leads to issues in tiers 2, 3, 4, and 5.
      3. Enterprise Integration Data or information is improperly integrated, transformed, masked, and aggregated in tier 2. In addition, some data integration tasks might not be timely, resulting in out-of-date data or even data that contradicts with other data. Enterprise integration is a precursor of loading a data warehouse and data marts. Issues in this layer affect tier 3, 4 and 5 on the 5-tier architecture.
      4. Policies and Procedures Policies and procedures are not effectively used to reinforce data quality. In some situations, policy gaps are found. In others, policies are overlapped and duplicated. Policies may also be out-of-date or too complex, affecting the users’ ability to interpret the policy objectives. Policies affect all tiers in the 5-tier architecture.
      5. Business Processes Improper business process design introduces poor data into the data systems. Failure to create processes around approving data changes, failure to document key data elements, and failure to train employees on the proper uses of data make data quality a burning problem.

      Leverage a root cause analysis approach to pinpoint the origins of your data issues

      A root cause analysis is a systematic approach to decompose a problem into its components. Use fishbone diagrams to help reveal the root causes of data issues.

      The image shows a fishbone diagram on the left, which starts with Process on the left, and then leads to Application and Integration, and then Database and Policies. This section is titled Root causes. The right hand section is titled Lead to problems with data... and includes 4 circles with the word or in between each. The circles are labelled: Completeness; Usability; Timeliness; Accessibility.

      Info-Tech recommends five root cause categories for assessing data quality issues:

      Application Design. Is the issue caused by human error at the application level? Consider internal employees, external partners/suppliers, and customers.

      Database Design. Is the issue caused by a particular database and stems from inadequacies in its design?

      Integration. Data integration tools may not be fully leveraged, or data matching rules may be poorly designed.

      Policies and Procedures. Do the issues take place because of lack of governance?

      Business Processes. Do the issues take place due to insufficient processes?

      For Example:

      When performing a deeper analysis of your data issues related to the accuracy of the business unit’s data, you would perform a root cause analysis by assessing the contribution of each of the five categories of data quality problem root causes:

      The image shows another fishbone diagram, with example information filled in. The first section on the left is titled Application Design, and includes the text: Data entry problems lead to incorrect accounting entries. The second is Integration, and includes the text: Data integration tools are not fully leveraged. The third section is Policies, and includes the text: No policy on standardizing name and address. The last section is Database design, with text that reads: Databases do not contain unique keys. The diagram ends with an arrow pointing right to a blue circle with Accuracy in it.

      Leverage a combination of data analysis techniques to identify and quantify root causes

      Info-Tech Insight

      Including all attributes of the key subject area in your data profiling activities may produce too much information to make sense of. Conduct data profiling primarily at the table level and undergo attribute profiling only if you are able to narrow down your scope sufficiently.

      Data Profiling Tool

      Data profiling extracts a sample of the target data set and runs it through multiple levels of analysis. The end result is a detailed report of statistics about a variety of data quality criteria (duplicate data, incomplete data, stale data, etc.).

      Many data profiling tools have built-in templates and reports to help you uncover data issues. In addition, they quantify the occurrences of the data issues.

      E-Discovery Tool

      This supplements a profiling tool. For Example, use a BI tool to create a custom grouping of all the invalid states (e.g. “CAL,” “AZN,” etc.) and visualize the percentage of invalid states compared to all states.

      SQL Queries

      This supplements a profiling tool. For example, use a SQL statement to group the customer data by customer segment and then by state to identify which segment–state combinations contain poor data.

      Identify the data issues for the particular business unit under consideration

      2 hours

      Input

      • Issues with data quality felt by the business unit
      • Data lineage diagram

      Output

      • Categorized data quality issues

      Materials

      • Whiteboard, markers, sticky notes
      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      Participants

      • Data quality improvement project team
      • Business line representatives

      Instructions

      1. Gather the data quality improvement project team in a room, along with sticky notes and a whiteboard.
      2. Display your previously created data lineage diagram on the whiteboard.
      3. Using color-coded sticky notes, attach issues to each component of the data lineage diagram that team members can identify. Use different colors for the four quality attributes: Completeness, Usability, Timeliness, and Accessibility.

      Example:

      The image shows the data lineage diagram that has been shown in previous sections. In addition, the image shows 4 post-its arranges around the diagram, labelled: Usability; Completeness; Timeliness; and Accessibility.

      Map the data issues on fishbone diagrams to identify root causes

      1 hour

      Input

      • Categorized data quality issues

      Output

      • Completed fishbone diagrams

      Materials

      • Whiteboard, markers, sticky notes
      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      Participants

      • Data quality improvement project team

      Now that you have data quality issues classified according to the data quality attributes, map these issues onto four fishbone diagrams.

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, which is titled Example: Root cause analysis diagram for data accuracy.

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      Get to know the root causes behind system/application design mistakes

      Suboptimal system/application design provides entry points for bad data.

      Business Process
      Usually found in → Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
      Issue Root Causes Usability Completeness Timeliness Accessibility
      Insufficient data mask No data mask is defined for a free-form text field in a user interface. E.g. North American phone number should have 4 masks – country code (1-digit), area code (3-digit), and local number (7-digit). X X
      Too many free-form text fields Incorrect use of free-form text fields (fields that accept a variety of inputs). E.g. Use a free-form text field for zip code instead of a backend look up. X X
      Lack of value lookup Reference data is not looked up from a reference list. E.g. State abbreviation is entered instead of being looked up from a standard list of states. X X
      Lack of mandatory field definitions Mandatory fields are not identified and reinforced. Resulting data records with many missing data elements. E.g. Some users may fill up 2 or 3 fields in a UI that has 20 non-mandatory fields. X

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, with the following sections, from left to right: Application Design; Integration; Processes; Policies; Database Design; Data Quality Measure. The Application Design section is highlighted.

      Get to know the root causes behind common database design mistakes

      Improper database design allows incorrect data to be stored and propagated.

      Business Process
      Usually found in → Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
      Issue Root Causes Usability Completeness Timeliness Accessibility
      Incorrect referential integrity Referential integrity constraints are absent or incorrectly implemented, resulting in child records without parent records, or related records are updated or deleted in a cascading manner. E.g. An invoice line item is created before an invoice is created. X X
      Lack of unique keys Lack of unique keys creating scenarios where record uniqueness cannot be guaranteed. E.g. Customer records with the same customer_ID. X X
      Data range Fail to define a data range for incoming data, resulting in data values that are out of range. E.g. The age field is able to store an age of 999. X X
      Incorrect data type Incorrect data types are used to store data fields. E.g. A string field is used to store zip codes. Some users use that to store phone numbers, birthdays, etc. X X

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, with the following sections, from left to right: Application Design; Integration; Processes; Policies; Database Design; Data Quality Measure. The Database Design section is highlighted

      Get to know the root causes behind enterprise integration mistakes

      Improper data integration or synchronization may create poor analytical data.

      Business Process
      Usually found in → Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
      Issue Root Causes Usability Completeness Timeliness Accessibility
      Incorrect transformation Transformation is done incorrectly. A wrong formula may have been used, transformation is done at the wrong data granularity, or aggregation logic is incorrect. E.g. Aggregation is done for all customers instead of just active customers. X X
      Data refresh is out of sync Data is synchronized at different intervals, resulting in a data warehouse where data domains are out of sync. E.g. Customer transactions are refreshed to reflect the latest activities but the account balance is not yet refreshed. X X
      Data is matched incorrectly Fail to match records from disparate systems, resulting in duplications and unmatched records. E.g. Unable to match customers from different systems because they have different cust_ID. X X
      Incorrect data mapping Fields from source systems are not properly matched with data warehouse fields. E.g. Status fields from different systems are mixed into one field. X X

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, with the following sections, from left to right: Application Design; Integration; Processes; Policies; Database Design; Data Quality Measure. The Integration section is highlighted

      Get to know the root causes behind policy and procedure mistakes

      Suboptimal policies and procedures undermine the effect of best practices.

      Business Process
      Usually found in → Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
      Issue Root Causes Usability Completeness Timeliness Accessibility
      Policy Gaps There are gaps in the policy landscape in terms of some missing key policies or policies that are not refreshed to reflect the latest changes. E.g. A data entry policy is absent, leading to inconsistent data entry practices. X X
      Policy Communications Policies are in place but the policies are not communicated effectively to the organization, resulting in misinterpretation of policies and under-enforcement of policies. E.g. The data standard is created but very few developers are aware of its existence. X X
      Policy Enforcement Policies are in place but not proactively re-enforced and that leads to inconsistent application of policies and policy adoption. E.g. Policy adoption is dropping over time due to lack of reinforcement. X X
      Policy Quality Policies are written by untrained authors and they do not communicate the messages. E.g. A non-technical data user may find a policy that is loaded with technical terms confusing. X X

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, with the following sections, from left to right: Application Design; Integration; Processes; Policies; Database Design; Data Quality Measure. The Policies section is highlighted

      Get to know the root causes behind common business process mistakes

      Ineffective and inefficient business processes create entry points for poor data.

      Business Process
      Usually found in → Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
      Issue Root Causes Usability Completeness Timeliness Accessibility
      Lack of training Key data personnel and business analysts are not trained in data quality and data governance, leading to lack of accountability. E.g. A data steward is not aware of downstream impact of a duplicated financial statement. X X
      Ineffective business process The same piece of information is entered into data systems two or more times. Or a piece of data is stalled in a data system for too long. E.g. A paper form is scanned multiple times to extract data into different data systems. X X
      Lack of documentation Fail to document the work flows of the key business processes. A lack of work flow results in sub-optimal use of data. E.g. Data is modeled incorrectly due to undocumented business logic. X X
      Lack of integration between business silos Business silos hold on to their own datasets resulting in data silos in which data is not shared and/or data is transferred with errors. E.g. Data from a unit is extracted as a data file and stored in a shared drive with little access. X X

      The image shows a fishbone diagram, with the following sections, from left to right: Application Design; Integration; Processes; Policies; Database Design; Data Quality Measure. The Processes section is highlighted

      Phase 3 Summary

      1. Data Lineage Diagram
      • Creating the data lineage diagram is recommended to help visualize the flow of your data and to map the data journey and identify the data subject areas to be targeted for fixes.
      • The data lineage diagram was leveraged multiple times throughout this Phase. For example, the data lineage diagram was used to document the data sources and applications used by the business unit
    • Business Context
      • Business context was documented through the Data Quality Practice Assessment and Project Planning Tool.
      • The same tool was used to document identified business units and their associated data.
      • Metrics were also identified at the business unit level to track data quality improvements.
    • Common Root Causes
      • Leverage a root cause analysis approach to pinpoint the origins of your data quality issues.
      • Analyzed and got to know the root causes behind the following:
        1. System/application design mistakes
        2. Common database design mistakes
        3. Enterprise integration mistakes
        4. Policies and procedures mistakes
        5. Common business processes mistakes

      • Phase 4

      Grow and Sustain Your Data Quality Program

      Build Your Data Quality Program

      For the identified root causes, determine the solutions for the problem

      As you worked through the previous step, you identified the root causes of your data quality problems within the business unit. Now, it is time to identify solutions.

      The following slides provide an overview of the solutions to common data quality issues. As you identify solutions that apply to the business unit being addressed, insert the solution tables in Section 4: Proposed Solutions of the Data Quality Improvement Plan Template.

      All data quality solutions have two components to them:

      • Technology
      • People

      For the next five data quality solution slides, look for the slider for the contributions of each category to the solution. Use this scale to guide you in creating solutions.

      When designing solutions, keep in mind that solutions to data quality problems are not mutually exclusive. In other words, an identified root cause may have multiple solutions that apply to it.

      For example, if an application is plagued with inaccurate data, the application design may be suboptimal, but also the process that leads to data being entered may need fixing.

      Data quality improvement strategy #1:

      Fix data quality issues by improving system/application design.

      Technology

      Application Interface Design

      Restrict field length – Capture only the characters you need for your application.

      Leverage data masks – Use data masks in standardized fields like zip code and phone number.

      Restrict the use of open text fields and use reference tables – Only present open text fields when there is a need. Use reference tables to limit data values.

      Provide options – Use radio buttons, drop-down lists, and multi-select instead of using open text fields.

      Data Validation at the Application Level

      Validate data before committing – Use simple validation to ensure the data entered is not random numbers and letters.

      Track history – Keep track of who entered what fields.

      Cannot submit twice – Only design for one-time submission.

      People

      Training

      Data-entry training – Training that is related to data entry, creating, or updating data records.

      Data resolution training – Training data stewards or other dedicated data personnel on how to resolve data records that are not entered properly.

      Continuous Improvement

      Standards – Develop application design principles and standards.

      Field testing – Field data entry with a few people to look for abnormalities and discrepancies.

      Detection and resolution – Abnormal data records should be isolated and resolved ASAP.

      Application Testing

      Thorough testing – Application design is your first line of defence against poor data. Test to ensure bad data is kept out of the systems.

      Case Study

      HMS

      Industry: Healthcare

      Source: Informatica

      Improve your data quality ingestion procedures to provide better customer intimacy for your users

      Healthcare Management Systems (HMS) provides cost containment services for healthcare sponsors and payers, and coordinates benefits services. This is to ensure that healthcare claims are paid correctly to both government agencies and individuals. To do so, HMS relies on data, and this data needs to be of high quality to ensure the correct decisions are made, the right people get the correct claims, and the appropriate parties pay out.

      To improve the integrity of HMS’s customer data, HMS put in place a framework that helped to standardize the collection of high volume and highly variable data.

      Results

      Working with a data quality platform vendor to establish a framework for data standardization, HMS was able to streamline data analysis and reduce new customer implementations from months to weeks.

      HMS data was plagued with a lack of standardization of data ingestion procedures.

      Before improving data quality processes After improving data quality processes
      Data Ingestion Data Ingestion
      Many standards of ingestion. Standardized data ingestion
      Data Storage Data Storage
      Lack of ability to match data, creating data quality errors.
      Data Analysis Data Analysis
      = =
      Slow Customer Implementation Time 50% Reduction in Customer Implementation Time

      Data quality improvement strategy #2:

      Fix data quality issues using proper database design.

      Technology

      Database Design Best Practices

      Referential integrity – Ensure parent/child relationships are maintained in terms of cascade creation, update, and deletion.

      Primary key definition – Ensure there is at least one key to guarantee the uniqueness of the data records, and primary key should not allow null.

      Validate data domain – Create triggers to check the data values entered in the database fields.

      Field type and length – Define the most suitable data type and length to hold field values.

      One-Time Data Fix (more on the next slide)

      Explore solutions – Where to fix the data issues? Is there a case to fix the issues?

      Running profiling tools to catch errors – Run scans on the database with defined criteria to identify occurrences of questionable data.

      Fix a sample before fixing all records – Use a proof-of-concept approach to explore fix options and evaluate impacts before fixing the full set.

      People

      The DBA Team

      Perform key tasks in pairs – Take a pair approach to perform key tasks so that validation and cross-check can happen.

      Skilled DBAs – DBAs should be certified and accredited.

      Competence – Assess DBA competency on an ongoing basis.

      Preparedness – Develop drills to stimulate data issues and train DBAs.

      Cross train – Cross train team members so that one DBA can cover another DBA.

      Data quality improvement strategy #3:

      Improve integration and synchronization of enterprise data.

      Technology

      Integration Architecture

      Info-Tech’s 5-Tier Architecture – When doing transformations, it is good practice to persist the integration results in tier 3 before the data is further refined and presented in tier 4.

      Timing, timing, and timing – Think of the sequence of events. You may need to perform some ETL tasks before other tasks to achieve synchronization and consistence.

      Historical changes – Ensure your tier 3 is robust enough to include historical data. You need to enable type 2 slowly, changing dimension to recreate the data at a point in time.

      Data Cleansing

      Standardize – Leverage data standardization to standardize name and address fields to improve matching and integration.

      Fuzzy matching – When there are no common keys between datasets. The datasets can only be matched by fuzzy matching. Fuzzy matching is not hard science; define a confidence level and think about a mechanism to deal with the unmatched.

      People

      Reporting and Documentations

      Business data glossary and data lineage – Define a business data glossary to enhance findability of key data elements. Document data mappings and ETL logics.

      Create data quality reports – Many ETL platforms provide canned data quality reports. Leverage those quality reports to monitor the data health.

      Code Review

      Create data quality reports – Many ETL platforms provide canned data quality reports. Leverage those quality reports to monitor the data health.

      ARB (architectural review board) – All ETL codes should be approved by the architectural review board to ensure alignment with the overall integration strategy.

      Data quality improvement strategy #4:

      Improve data quality policies and procedures.

      Technology

      Policy Reporting

      Data quality reports – Leverage canned data quality reports from the ETL platforms to monitor data quality on an on-going basis. When abnormalities are found, provoke the right policies to deal with the issues.

      Store policies in a central location that is well known and easy to find and access. A key way that technology can help communicate policies is by having them published on a centralized website.

      Make the repository searchable and easily navigable. myPolicies helps you do all this and more.

      myPolicies helps you do all this and more.

      Go to this link

      People

      Policy Review and Training

      Policy review – Create a schedule for reviewing policies on a regular basis – invite professional writers to ensure polices are understandable.

      Policy training – Policies are often unread and misread. Training users and stakeholders on policies is an effective way to make sure those users and stakeholders understand the rationale of the policies. It is also a good practice to include a few scenarios that are handled by the policies.

      Policy hotline/mailbox – To avoid misinterpretation of the policies, a policy hotline/mailbox should be set up to answer any data policy questions from the end users/stakeholders.

      Policy Communications

      Simplified communications – Create handy one-pagers and infographic posters to communicate the key messages of the polices.

      Policy briefing – Whenever a new data project is initiated, a briefing of data policies should be given to ensure the project team follows the policies from the very beginning.

      Data quality improvement strategy #5:

      Streamline and optimize business processes.

      Technology

      Requirements Gathering

      Data Lineage – Leverage a metadata management tool to construct and document data lineage for future reference.

      Documentations Repository – It is a best practice to document key project information and share that knowledge across the project team and with the stakeholder. An improvement understanding of the project helps to identify data quality issues early on in the project.

      “Automating creation of data would help data quality most. You have to look at existing processes and create data signatures. You can then derive data off those data codes.” – Patrick Bossey, Manager of Business Intelligence, Crawford and Company

      People

      Requirements Gathering

      Info-Tech’s 4-Column Model – The datasets may exist but the business units do not have an effective way of communicating the quality needs. Use our four-column model and the eleven supporting questions to better understand the quality needs. See subsequent slides.

      I don’t know what the data means so I think the quality is poor – It is not uncommon to see that the right data presented to the business but the business does not trust the data. They also do not understand the business logic done on the data. See our Business Data Glossary in subsequent slides.

      Understand the business workflow – Know the business workflow to understand the manual steps associated with the workflow. You may find steps in which data is entered, manipulated, or consumed inappropriately.

      “Do a shadow data exercise where you identify the human workflows of how data gets entered, and then you can identify where data entry can be automated.” – Diraj Goel, Growth Advisor, BC Tech

      Brainstorm solutions to your data quality issues

      4 hours

      Input

      • Data profiling results
      • Preliminary root cause analyses

      Output

      • Proposals for data fix
      • Fixed issues

      Materials

      • Data Quality Improvement Plan Template

      Participants

      • Business and Data Analysts
      • Data experts and stewards

      After walking through the best-practice solutions to data quality issues, propose solutions to fix your identified issues.

      Instructions

      1. Review Root Cause Analyses: Revisit the root cause analysis and data lineage diagram you have generated in Step 3.2. to understand the issues in greater details.
      2. Characterize Each Issue: You may need to generate a data profiling report to characterize the issue. The report can be generated by using data quality suites, BI platforms, or even SQL statements.
      3. Brainstorm the Solutions: As a group, discuss potential ways to fix the issue. You can tackle the issues by approaching from these areas:
      Solution Approaches
      Technology Approach
      People Approach

      X crossover with

      Problematic Areas
      Application/System Design
      Database Design
      Data Integration and Synchronization
      Policies and Procedures
      Business Processes
      1. Document and Communicate: Document the solutions to your data issues. You may need to reuse or refer to the solutions. Also brainstorm some ideas on how to communicate the results back to the business.

      Download this Tool

      Sustaining your data quality requires continuous oversight through a data governance practice

      Quality data is the ultimate outcome of data governance and data quality management. Data governance enables data quality by providing the necessary oversight and controls for business processes in order to maintain data quality. There are three primary groups (at right) that are involved in a mature governance practice. Data quality should be tightly integrated with all of them.

      Define an effective data governance strategy and ensure the strategy integrates well with data quality with Info-Tech’s Establish Data Governance blueprint.

      Visit this link

      Data Governance Council

      This council establishes data management practices that span across the organization. This should be comprised of senior management or C-suite executives that can represent the various departments and lines of business within the organization. The data governance council can help to promote the value of data governance, facilitate a culture that nurtures data quality, and ensure that the goals of the data governance program are well aligned with business objectives.

      Data Owners

      Identifying the data owner role within an organization helps to create a greater degree of accountability for data issues. They often oversee how the data is being generated as well as how it is being consumed. Data owners come from the business side and have legal rights and defined control over a data set. They ensure data is available to the right people within the organization.

      Data Stewards

      Conflict can occur within an organization’s data governance program when a data steward’s role is confused with that of the steering committee’s role. Data stewards exist to enforce decisions made about data governance and data management. Data stewards are often business analysts or power users of a particular system/dataset. Where a data owner is primarily responsible for access, a data steward is responsible for the quality of a dataset.

      Integrate the data quality management strategy with existing data governance committees

      Ongoing and regular data quality management is the responsibility of the data governance bodies of the organization.

      The oversight of ongoing data quality activities rests on the shoulders of the data governance committees that exist in the organization.

      There is no one-size-fits-all data governance structure. However, most organizations follow a similar pattern when establishing committees, councils, and cross-functional groups. They strive to identify roles and responsibilities at a strategic, tactical, and operational level:

      The image shows a pyramid, with Executive Sponsors at the top, with the following roles in descending order: DG Council; Steering Committee; Working Groups; Data Owners and Data Stewards; and Data Users. Along the left side of the pyramid, there are three labels, in ascending order: Operational, Tactical, and Strategic.

      The image is a flow chart showing project roles, in two sections: the top section is labelled Governing Bodies, and the lower section is labelled Data Quality Improvement Team. There is a note indicating that the Data Owner reports to and provides updates regarding the state of data quality and data quality initiatives.

      Create and update the organization’s Business Data Glossary to keep up with current data definitions

      2 hours

      Input

      • Metrics and goals for data quality

      Output

      • Regularly scheduled data quality checkups

      Materials

      • Business Data Glossary Template
      • Data Quality Dashboard

      Participants

      • Data steward

      A crucial aspect of data quality and governance is the Business Data Glossary. The Business Data Glossary helps to align the terminology of the business with the organization’s data assets. It allows the people who interact with the data to quickly identify the applications, processes, and stewardship associated with it, which will enhance the accuracy and efficiency of searches for organization data definitions and attributes, enabling better access to the data. This will, in turn, enhance the quality of the organization’s data because it will be more accurate, relevant, and accessible.

      Use the Business Data Glossary Template to document key aspects of the data, such as:

      • Definition
      • Source System
      • Possible Values
      • Data Steward
      • Data Sensitivity
      • Data Availability
      • Batch or Live
      • Retention

      Data Element

      • Mkt-Product
      • Fin-Product

      Info-Tech Insight

      The Business Data Glossary ensures that the crucial data that has key business use by key business systems and users is appropriately owned and defined. It also establishes rules that lead to proper data management and quality to be enforced by the data owners.

      Download this Tool

      Data Steward(s): Use the Data Quality Improvement Plan of the business unit for ongoing quality monitoring

      Integrating your data quality strategy into the organization’s data governance program requires passing the strategy over to members of the data governance program. The data steward role is responsible for data quality at the business unit level, and should have been involved with the creation and implementation of the data quality improvement project. After the data quality repairs have been made, it is the responsibility of the data steward to regularly monitor the quality of the business unit’s data.

      Create Improvement Plan ↓
      • Data Quality Improvement Team identifies root cause issues.
      • Brainstorm solutions.
      Implement Improvement Plan ↓
      • Data Quality Improvement Team works with IT.
      Sustain Improvement Plan
      • Data Steward should regularly monitor data quality.

      Download this tool

      See Info-Tech’s Data Steward Job Description Template for a detailed understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the data steward.

      Responsible for sustaining

      The image shows a screen capture of a document entitled Business Context & Subject Area Selection.

      Develop a business-facing data quality dashboard to show improvements or a sudden dip in data quality

      One tool that the data steward can take advantage of is the data quality dashboard. Initiatives that are implemented to address data quality must have metrics defined by business objectives in order to demonstrate the value of the data quality improvement projects. In addition, the data steward should have tools for tracking data quality in the business unit to report issues to the data owner and data governance steering committee.

      • Example 1: Marketing uses data for direct mail and e-marketing campaigns. They care about customer data in particular. Specifically, they require high data quality in attributes such as customer name, address, and product profile.
      • Example 2: Alternatively, Finance places emphasis on financial data, focusing on attributes like account balance, latency in payment, credit score, and billing date.

      The image is Business dashboard on Data Quality for Marketing. It features Data Quality metrics, listed in the left column, and numbers for each quarter over the course of one year, on the right.

      Notes on chart:

      General improvement in billing address quality

      Sudden drop in touchpoint accuracy may prompt business to ask for explanations

      Approach to creating a business-facing data quality dashboard:

      1. Schedule a meeting with the functional unit to discuss what key data quality metrics are essential to their business operations. You should consider the business context, functional area, and subject area analyses you completed in Phase 1 as a starting point.
      2. Discuss how to gather data for the key metrics and their associated calculations.
      3. Discuss and decide the reporting intervals.
      4. Discuss and decide the unit of measurement.
      5. Generate a dashboard similar to the example. Consider using a BI or analytics tool to develop the dashboard.

      Data quality management must be sustained for ongoing improvements to the organization’s data

      • Data quality is never truly complete; it is a set of ongoing processes and disciplines that requires a permanent plan for monitoring practices, reviewing processes, and maintaining consistent data standards.
      • Setting the expectation to stakeholders that a long-term commitment is required to maintain quality data within the organization is critical to the success of the program.
      • A data quality maintenance program will continually revise and fine-tune ongoing practices, processes, and procedures employed for organizational data management.

      Data quality is a program that requires continual care:

      →Maintain→Good Data →

      Data quality management is a long-term commitment that shifts how an organization views, manages, and utilizes its corporate data assets. Long-term buy-in from all involved is critical.

      “Data quality is a process. We are trying to constantly improve the quality over time. It is not a one-time fix.” – Akin Akinwumi, Manager of Data Governance, Startech.com

      Define a data quality review agenda for data quality sustainment

      2 hours

      Input

      • Metrics and goals for data quality

      Output

      • Regularly scheduled data quality checkups

      Materials

      • Data Quality Diagnostic
      • Data Quality Dashboard

      Participants

      • Data Steward

      As a data steward, you are responsible for ongoing data quality checks of the business unit’s data. Define an improvement agenda to organize the improvement activities. Organize the activities yearly and quarterly to ensure improvement is done year-round.

      Quarterly

      • Measure data quality metrics against milestones. Perform a regular data quality health check with Info-Tech’s Data Quality Diagnostic.
      • Review the business unit’s Business Data Glossary to ensure that it is up to date and comprehensive.
      • Assess progress of practice area initiatives (time, milestones, budget, benefits delivered).
      • Analyze overall data quality and report progress on key improvement projects and corrective actions in the executive dashboard.
      • Communicate overall status of data quality to oversight body.

      Annually

      • Calculate your current baseline and measure progress by comparing it to previous years.
      • Set/revise quality objectives for each practice area and inter-practice hand-off processes.
      • Re-evaluate/re-establish data quality objectives.
      • Set/review data quality metrics and tracking mechanisms.
      • Set data quality review milestones and timelines.
      • Revisit data quality training from an end-user perspective and from a practitioner perspective.

      Info-Tech Insight

      Do data quality diagnostic at the beginning of any improvement plan, then recheck health with the diagnostic at regular intervals to see if symptoms are coming back. This should be a monitoring activity, not a data quality fixing activity. If symptoms are bad enough, repeat the improvement plan process.

      Take the next step in your Data & Analytics Journey

      After establishing your data quality program, look to increase your data & analytics maturity.

      • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a concept that many organizations strive to implement. AI can really help in areas such as data preparation. However, implementing AI solutions requires a level of maturity that many organizations are not at.
      • While a solid data quality foundation is essential for AI initiatives being successful, AI can also ensure high data quality.
      • An AI analytics solution can address data integrity issues at the earliest point of data processing, rapidly transforming these vast volumes of data into trusted business information. This can be done through Anomaly detection, which flags “bad” data, identifying suspicious anomalies that can impact data quality. By tracking and evaluating data, anomaly detection gives critical insights into data quality as data is processed. (Ira Cohen, The End to a Never-Ending Story? Improve Data Quality with AI Analytics, anodot, 2020)

      Consider… “Garbage in, garbage out.”

      Lay a solid foundation by addressing your data quality issues prior to investing heavily in an AI solution.

      Related Info-Tech Research

      Are You Ready for AI?

      • Use AI as a compelling event to expedite funding, resources, and project plans for your data-related initiatives. Check out this note to understand what it takes to be ready to implement AI solutions.

      Get Started With Artificial Intelligence

      • Current AI technology is data-enabled, automated, adaptive decision support. Once you believe you are ready for AI, check out this blueprint on how to get started.

      Build a Data Architecture Roadmap

      • The data lineage diagram was a key tool used in establishing your data quality program. Check out this blueprint and learn how to optimize your data architecture to provide greatest value from data.

      Create an Architecture for AI

      • Build your target state architecture from predefined best practice building blocks. This blueprint assists members first to assess if they have the maturity to embrace AI in their organization, and if so, which AI acquisition model fits them best.

      Phase 4 Summary

      1. Data Quality Improvement Strategy
      • Brainstorm solutions to your data quality issues using the following data quality improvement strategies as a guide:
        1. Fix data quality issues by improving system/application design
        2. Fix data quality issues using proper database design
        3. Improve integration and synchronization of enterprise data
        4. Improve data quality policies and procedures
        5. Streamline and optimize business processes
    • Sustain Your Data Quality Program
      • Quality data is the ultimate outcome of data governance and data quality management.
      • Sustaining your data quality requires continuous oversight through a data governance practice.
      • There are three primary groups (Data Governance Council, Data Owners, and Data Stewards) that are involved in a mature governance practice.
    • Grow Your Data & Analytics Maturity
      • After establishing your data quality program, take the next step in increasing your data & analytics maturity.
      • Good data quality is the foundation of pursuing different ways of maximizing the value of your data such as implementing AI solutions.
      • Continue your data & analytics journey by referring to Info-Tech’s quality research.

      • Research Contributors and Experts

      Izabela Edmunds

      Information Architect Mott MacDonald

      Akin Akinwumi

      Manager of Data Governance Startech.com

      Diraj Goel

      Growth Advisor BC Tech

      Sujay Deb

      Director of Data Analytics Technology and Platforms Export Development Canada

      Asif Mumtaz

      Data & Solution Architect Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

      Patrick Bossey

      Manager of Business Intelligence Crawford and Company

      Anonymous Contributors

      Ibrahim Abdel-Kader

      Research Specialist Info-Tech Research Group

      Ibrahim is a Research Specialist at Info-Tech Research Group. In his career to date he has assisted many clients using his knowledge in process design, knowledge management, SharePoint for ECM, and more. He is expanding his familiarity in many areas such as data and analytics, enterprise architecture, and CIO-related topics.

      Reddy Doddipalli

      Senior Workshop Director Info-Tech Research Group

      Reddy is a Senior Workshop Director at Info-Tech Research Group, focused on data management and specialized analytics applications. He has over 25 years of strong industry experience in IT leading and managing analytics suite of solutions, enterprise data management, enterprise architecture, and artificial intelligence–based complex expert systems.

      Andy Neill

      Practice Lead, Data & Analytics and Enterprise Architecture Info-Tech Research Group

      Andy leads the data and analytics and enterprise architecture practices at ITRG. He has over 15 years of experience in managing technical teams, information architecture, data modeling, and enterprise data strategy. He is an expert in enterprise data architecture, data integration, data standards, data strategy, big data, and development of industry standard data models.

      Crystal Singh

      Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group

      Crystal is a Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group. She brings a diverse and global perspective to her role, drawing from her professional experiences in various industries and locations. Prior to joining Info-Tech, Crystal led the Enterprise Data Services function at Rogers Communications, one of Canada’s leading telecommunications companies.

      Igor Ikonnikov

      Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group

      Igor is a Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group. He has extensive experience in strategy formation and execution in the information management domain, including master data management, data governance, knowledge management, enterprise content management, big data, and analytics.

      Andrea Malick

      Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group

      Andrea Malick is a Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group, focused on building best practices knowledge in the enterprise information management domain, with corporate and consulting leadership in enterprise architecture and content management (ECM).

      Natalia Modjeska

      Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group

      Natalia Modjeska is a Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group. She advises members on topics related to AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, and data science, including ethics and governance. Natalia has over 15 years of experience in developing, selling, and implementing analytical solutions.

      Rajesh Parab

      Research Director, Data & Analytics Info-Tech Research Group

      Rajesh Parab is a Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group. He has over 20 years of global experience and brings a unique mix of technology and business acumen. He has worked on many data-driven business applications. In his previous architecture roles, Rajesh created a number of product roadmaps, technology strategies, and models.

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