01.05.10
Is IT Drunk with Power?
[Cartoon]
We know the danger of having someone drive that is drunk. Many of us have had personal losses, so we know there can be serious consequences. So, how serious would it be if IT were drunk with power? Let’s put it another way. How serious would it be if those driving the production and deployment of Information Technology in an organization could not see clearly where they were going and could not react quickly to changes?
The consequences for an organization with an IT driver drunk with power could result in collisions. Collisions could be as simple as the gap between the business goals and IT goals where the business misses out on opportunities. Or, it could be catastrophic where a business cannot compete and is forced to shut down.
To find out if IT is drunk with power, you need to have them take a sobriety test.
First, can they walk a straight line? Can they deliver a project without wavering on the scope, the budget, or the schedule? Do they waver because they simply cannot keep balance as they step through the project schedule?
Second, can they recite the alphabet? Well, they know the letters because they use them to create acronyms. Acronyms name the components that are vaguely understood by the Business Management. Can they describe to the Business Management the “abc’s” of the IT environment? Can the Business Management make decisions about the use of their IT without consulting their Corporate IT organization?
Failure to pass this sobriety test should immediately initiate action. Start by letting someone else drive. I recommend that each line-of-business should drive their own use of IT. For this to work there must be some level of central governance to define the rules of the road. This can be accomplished by having an Enterprise Architecture maintained by Enterprise Architects in consensus with the lines-of-business. Like City Planners, the Enterprise Architects exist for the overall good of the organization.
The Enterprise Architects also have the responsibility to provide the Corporate Management with the true “abc’s” of the deployed Information Technology. This means a complete visualization of IT that can be understood and acted upon by the Corporate Management.
Don’t wait until you have a collision. Give IT a sobriety test and see if action is needed.
Happy New Year!
Closing the Business / IT gap.
