CIO Wisdom II: More Best Practices

The IT Plan

The Mission: “Destination”

I've seen a variety of ways to construct a good plan, but all the best have a very solid connection with the business mission. This is not a paragraph that repeats the corporate mantra. Balanced scorecards or other mechanisms that outline the corporate initiatives and measures of success are key. They are “the destination” on the map you'll be following.

Many organizations that lack the “compass” provided by stating the organizational targets simply repeat an annual blitz of needs-list comparisons. These firms usually end up with two deliverables: a budget and a project list. By the end of the first quarter, both the plan and the budget are usually well off target. Most companies will not reflect back on ...