Optimize the IT Operating Model
- Organizations have to adapt to a growing number of trends, putting increased pressure on IT to move at the same speed as the business.
- The business, seeing that IT is slower to react, looks to external solutions to address its challenges and capitalize on opportunities.
- IT and business leaders don’t have a clear and unified understanding or definition of an operating model.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- The IT operating model is not a static entity and should evolve according to changing business needs.
- However, business needs are diverse, and the IT organization must recognize that the business includes groups that consume technology in different patterns. The IT operating model needs to support and enable multiple groups, while continuously adapting to changing business conditions.
Impact and Result
- Determine how each technology consumer group interacts with IT. Use consumer experience maps to determine what kind of services consumer groups use and if there are opportunities to improve the delivery of those services.
- Identify how changing business conditions will affect the consumption of technology services. Classify your consumers based on business uncertainty and reliance on IT to plan for the future delivery of services.
- Optimize the IT operating model. Create a target IT operating model based on the gathered information about technology service consumers. Select different implementations of common operating model elements: governance, sourcing, process, and structure.
Optimize the IT Operating Model Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out how implementing an IT operating model based on the needs of technology service consumers will improve the delivery of IT services and alignment with IT and business strategy.Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
- Optimize the IT Operating Model – Phases 1-4
1. Construct the IT services consumer experience maps
Assess the current situation by identifying technology service consumers in the organization, their interfaces with IT, the level of service they require, and their sentiment toward IT.
- Optimize the IT Operating Model – Phase 1: Construct the IT Services Consumer Experience Maps
- Consumer Experience Map and Profiles
2. Classify IT service consumers based on business needs
Categorize the technology consumer groups into four business profiles based on their characteristics to identify implications based on technology consumption patterns for the target IT operating model.
- Optimize the IT Operating Model – Phase 2: Classify IT Service Consumers Based on Business Needs
3. Determine the target IT operating model
Select implementation models for the four core elements of the IT operating model and optimize governance, sourcing, process, and organizational structure to create the target IT operating model.
- Optimize the IT Operating Model – Phase 3: Determine the Target IT Operating Model
- Target IT Operating Model
4. Create a roadmap to develop the target IT operating model
Create, assess, and prioritize initiatives to reach the target IT operating model. Construct a roadmap to show initiative execution.
- Optimize the IT Operating Model – Phase 4: Create a Roadmap to Develop the Target IT Operating Model
- IT Operating Model Roadmap
Workshop: Optimize the IT Operating Model
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 Organizational Strategy and Technology Consumer Groups
The Purpose
Identify the IT and business strategies, so that the target IT operating model can be constructed to support them.
Key Benefits Achieved
Identify the implications for the IT operating model and understand how to optimally construct it.
Create consumer groups for consumer experience mapping and consumer profile classification.
Activities
1.1 Review business and IT strategies.
1.2 Identify implications for the IT operating model.
1.3 Identify internal technology consumer groups.
1.4 Identify external technology consumer groups.
Outputs
Implications for the IT operating model
List of internal and external technology service consumer groups
2 Map the Consumer Experience and Identify Consumption Patterns (Consumer Group 1)
The Purpose
Identify the interfaces with IT for the consumer group, its level of technology service requirement, its sentiment toward IT, and its needs from IT.
Key Benefits Achieved
Consumer group needs from IT and feelings toward IT are identified.
Activities
2.1 Identify interview candidates for the consumer groups.
2.2 Complete consumer group questionnaire.
2.3 Complete consumer experience map.
2.4 Classify the consumer group into a business profile.
Outputs
Consumer experience map for first group
Business profile classification
3 Map the Consumer Experience and Identify Consumption Patterns (Consumer Group 2)
The Purpose
Continue mapping the experience of consumer groups and classify them into profiles based on their needs to draw implications for the target IT operating model.
Key Benefits Achieved
Consumption patterns from the consumer groups are defined and implications for the target IT operating model are drawn.
Activities
3.1 Continue interviews for consumer groups.
3.2 Complete consumer experience map.
3.3 Classify the consumer group into a business profile.
3.4 Aggregate the consumption patterns for the business profile and document implications.
Outputs
Consumer experience map for second group
Business profile classification
Aggregated consumption patterns
Implications for consumption patterns
4 Create the Target IT Operating Model
The Purpose
Map the target operating model to show how each element of the IT operating model supports the delivery of IT services to the consumer groups.
Key Benefits Achieved
Identify whether the current IT operating model is optimally supporting the delivery of IT services to consumer groups from the four core IT operating model elements.
Activities
4.1 Determine the approach to IT governance.
4.2 Select the optimal mix of sourcing models.
4.3 Customize the approach to process implementation.
4.4 Identify the target organizational structure.
Outputs
Target IT operating model
5 Build a Roadmap and Create Initiatives to Reach the Target
The Purpose
Create initiatives and communicate them with a roadmap to show how the organization will arrive at the target IT operating model.
Key Benefits Achieved
The steps to reach the IT operating model are created, assessed, and prioritized.
Steps are ordered for presentation.
Activities
5.1 Identify initiatives to reach the target IT operating model.
5.2 Create initiative profiles to assess initiative quality.
5.3 Prioritize initiatives based on business conditions.
5.4 Create a roadmap to communicate initiative execution.
Outputs
Initiative profiles
Sunshine diagram