IT Success!: Towards a New Model for Information Technology

Table of contents

1. Copyright
2. Introduction
   1. Why this book
   2. What this book is
   3. What this book is not
   4. Who this book is for
   5. Qualifiers
   6. Reader feedback
3. Acknowledgements
4. Abbreviations
5. Blinded by Specs
   1. In Search of Excellence the Fundamentals
      1. The more things change, the more they stay the same
      2. A worldwide phenomenon
      3. How the traditional IT model started
      4. The construction industry trap
      5. The free lunch trap
      6. Houses of ill repute
      7. A business problem rather than an IT problem
      8. IT and original sin
      9. No sacred cows
   2. IT 101 – The Basics for Non-Specialists
      1. The process breakdown for traditional IT activities
      2. The process breakdown for business (i.e. non-IT) activities
      3. The fundamental difference between IT and non-IT activities
      4. 'That's not my problem!' – process ownership and behaviour
   3. The Flaws of the Traditional Model
      1. The unintended consequences of the waterfall method
      2. In search of a pizza parlour manager
      3. Who provides process expertise – client or vendor?
      4. When standard client–vendor relationships are possible
      5. When standard client–vendor relationships pose problems
      6. Is a standard client–vendor relationship possible for IT?
      7. The 'Statement of Requirements' (SoR) trap
      8. A poor to non-existent pricing model
      9. Should IT be run like a business (i.e. an ESP)?
      10. The limits of outsourcing
      11. Current IT organizational trends
      12. The ultimate litmus test to determine one's business model
      13. What model would be appropriate for IT?
6. Building a New Business Model for IT
   1. Managing Demand
      1. Managing demand – traditional model
      2. Managing demand – new model
      3. Capturing demand and identifying opportunities
      4. Prioritizing and approving demand
      5. Planning approved demand
      6. Linking demand to resource capability
      7. Approving demand based on portfolios
      8. The missing component in Project Portfolio Management
      9. Business cases are in the eye of the beholder
      10. Building the IT plan and budget
      11. Demand from a customer perspective
      12. Shaking off the chains of the construction industry
      13. Funding approved demand
      14. Roles and responsibilities
   2. Managing Supply
      1. Managing supply – traditional model
      2. Managing supply – new model
      3. Iterative development in practice
      4. Why prototyping has never become mainstream
      5. Is prototyping the answer to everything?
      6. Project critical success factors
      7. Maintenance – letting go of the M-word
      8. Delivery and implementation
      9. Service and support
   3. Monitoring Costs and Benefits
      1. Monitoring costs and benefits for traditional IT activities
      2. Monitoring costs and benefits for business (non-IT) activities
      3. Monitoring costs and benefits – new model
      4. Ownership and accountability for costs and benefits
      5. Cost–benefit analysis during the life of a project
      6. It is normal for costs and benefits to change!
      7. Portfolio performance monitoring
      8. Cost–benefit analysis after project delivery
   4. Financials
      1. The main categories of IT costs
      2. Ownership of IT costs for the regulation of supply and demand
      3. Who has the final say for IT investments?
      4. Allocations vs cross-charging
      5. Capturing costs for allocations and cross-charging
      6. Benefits as part of the P&L and annual planning
      7. Ongoing cost–benefit analysis for applications
      8. Reducing application lifetime costs
      9. The limits of financial ROI when applied to IT
7. The New Model in Practice
   1. Players, Roles and Responsibilities
      1. Players, roles and responsibilities – the business
      2. Players, roles and responsibilities – IT
      3. The new business–IT relationship
      4. The changing role of the business analyst
      5. The changing role of the developer
      6. Towards the merging of the developer and analyst roles?
      7. The changing role of the project manager
      8. The changing role of the operations department
      9. What role for PMOs?
      10. The role of External Service Providers (ESPs)
   2. Getting Started
      1. The business challenge
      2. The IT challenge
      3. Where to start
      4. How to start – from checklist to action plan
      5. From the status quo to first results
      6. From first results to asset management
      7. The role of best-practice methodologies
      8. How consulting companies can help
      9. How tools can help
      10. The costs of moving to the new model
      11. In closing – addressing the three fundamental questions
      12. Further reading
   3. Case Study
      1. The company
      2. The business problem
      3. The project context
      4. Building an IT–business partnership
      5. Kicking off the project
      6. Feasibility study and defining a solution
      7. Building the business case
      8. Project approach
      9. Product evaluation – buy or build decision
      10. Building a prototype
      11. Results
      12. Timescales
      13. Three months later
      14. One year later
      15. Two years later
      16. Main lessons learnt (on the plus side)
      17. Main lessons learnt (on the minus side)
      18. Comments with respect to the new model
      19. Reader feedback