Developing an ICT Strategy: A Managers Toolkit

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Developing an ICT StrategyA Managers Toolkit

• Dr Simon N Davey
• Managing Associate
• Preponderate.network
• www.preponderate.net
• Making it easier for you to do what you do.

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What does ICT mean?

• Information
• Communications
• Technology
• NOT Technology itself

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The meaning of strategic ICT

• Benefits (tangible)
• People and organisations
• Leadership, attitude and belief
• Managing change
• Working together

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There are only two reasons to use ICT

• Doing things better
• Doing better things
•  
• "Wisdom is to recognise what can be made better
  and make it better, and to recognise what can
  only be made worse and walk away." - Glen Duncan

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Fundamentals

• An ICT Vision to do what?
• High level ownership
• Budget and predicted ROI across organisation
• Team people
• Training
• Technology
• What does success look like
• ICT costs resources

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An ICT strategy is

• Short (max. five pages)
• Simple to understand
• Able to clearly articulate benefits (people,
  clients, finance, effectiveness)
• What you want to do and why!
• Not the how (thats the plan)
• Best built in phases
• Able to support and accommodate change

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Phase One Who are we and why are we here

• Why are we doing what we do?
• Who are we and what do we do?
• Size of organisation and number of sites
• Growth and sustainability (including plans and
  change)
• The ICT Vision Statement (what do we want ICT to
  do for us what difference can it make)

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Checkpoint

• Do we understand who we are, where were going,
  whos coming with us, at what speed and for what
  reason and what is going to happen next?

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Phase Two - People

• Skills, confidence and the training conundrum
• How does function or development X impact on
  person Y or team Z
• Roles and responsibilities around ICT
• Leadership of ICT including senior management
• Who has input user groups, naysayers
• Project management identity, courage, tenacity
• Building a convincing case

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Checkpoint

• Are the passengers on board?
• Are they travelling in the same direction as the
  driver?
• Training according to need not qualification
• Calculate and monitor impacts, benefits and
  drawbacks
• Leadership is all important

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Phase Three Information and Knowledge
Management

• IT is not information management
• How do we manage information?
• Who has access to it?
• What format is it stored in?
• Data isnt information.
• ICT doesnt solve information management problems

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Checkpoint

• Do we know what information were managing, how,
  why and who should have access to it?

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Phase Four Applications and Software

• Standard office software MS Office, Open Office
• Information management and management reporting
  database dilemmas
• Financial reporting and effective administration
• Platforms Windows, Open Source, Macs
• Devise a solution map by task and role what do
  you need to do?
• One size doesnt fit all but youre not that
  special

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Phase Five Communications and Connectivity

• Who with, how, why, when, where, what for
• Email always accessible, for everyone?
• Website how managed, for what purpose?
• Internet connectivity (broadband and narrowband
  impacts)
• Out of office remote access
• Manchester madness

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Phase Six Big Grey Boxes (Technology)

• Hardware, equipment and networks
• What do we need to do the job, for the people to
  achieve their aims
• Three year replacement strategy
• Dont overspecify equipment
• Will include peripherals and small white boxes
  (iPods?)

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Phase Seven ICT Support

• How vital is your ICT?
• The cost of downtime
• The cost of inefficiency (staff time or slow
  computers/applications)
• The 501 rule of internal staff
• Measure against lost resources

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Phase Eight The service mix

• Who does what and why around ICT?
• Strategy, management (and budgeting), operations,
  technical support, development, training, project
  management,
• Internal/DIY, volunteers, consultants horses
  for courses
• Keeping things running smoothly
• Dangers of dependency

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Phase Nine Governance Security, Policies,
Procedures and Risk

• Hard but fair?
• Fitting into culture, opening up opportunities?
• Technical security and people security
• Risk management operation, reputation
• Ultimately whose responsibility?

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Phase Ten Money and return (value?) on
investment

• How much did you spend last year (on ICT)
• How much did your ICT cost you last year
• What could good ICT do for you, your people,
  organisation, clients?
• Budget one year, three years, ROI and against
  change
• Buy in at senior management and board level
• Justify to the business the business case

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Phase Eleven Coping with Change

• Cutting edge, bleeding edge
• Do you need the new whizzygig?
• Organisational change
• What happens next?
• Review dates organic developments

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In summary

• Listen to the people (inside and outside the
  organisation)
• Learn from others (especially around systems)
  including competitors
• Dont reinvent the wheel or overcomplicate
• NEVER overpromise benefits
• Define the goal the rationale and the direction
  and means to get there
• Follow up with the detailed plan structure to
  support it
• Its about attitude, leadership and helping to
  make a difference

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Thank you

• Simon Davey
• Preponderate.net
• E simon_at_preponderate.net
• T 44 (0) 20 8892 7085