Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology: Improving Business Project Execution

Book description

A valuable guide to making better IT decisions within business

Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology is designed to be both easy-to-use and immediately useful. Engaging and accessible, this book has been created to help you focus on improving business project execution through effective IT optimization and assessment. While it skillfully outlines a framework for optimizing and assessing IT, it does not get into specific technologies per se, given the rapid and increasing pace of technical change across the world today.

Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology involves a step-by-step process whereby various aspects of IT are evaluated. In addition to the book itself, a companion website offers templates, checklists, and related materials for your reference and use. With this book as your guide, you'll be able to generate an accurate and reliable assessment of a company's IT operations and identify areas on which to focus to optimize IT. Topics such as "against what to assess operations" and "optimized as compared to what" will be addressed throughout the course of this reliable resource.

  • Introduces the concept of the IT Pillars Model (IPM) for optimizing and assessing IT and examines where and how the IPM fits into the overall operations of a business

  • Filled with the author's experience of working across the field of IT in both small and large companies

  • Offers the most detailed, hands-on user's guide to the principles and practice of the IPM by examining each aspect of the IPM in the context of case studies

  • Covers the topic of tools and reporting, including analytical tools such as ROI, benchmarking, and metrics

Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology provides valuable insights into this discipline, but the coverage of IT in this book extends beyond technology itself. It also covers various aspects of the people, processes, and technology components associated with IT as a whole.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Series
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Disclaimer
  6. Dedication
  7. Preface
    1. NEED FOR THIS BOOK
    2. TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THIS BOOK
    3. SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
  8. Part One: Introduction to the IT Pillars Model
    1. Chapter 1: IT Fundamentals
      1. OPTIMIZING AND ASSESSING IT
      2. INTRODUCING THE IT PILLARS MODEL
      3. SUMMARY
    2. Chapter 2: The Role of IT in Business Operations
      1. MODELS AND DEFINITIONS
      2. STRATEGY
      3. BUSINESS MODEL
      4. OPERATING MODEL
      5. ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE
    3. Chapter 3: The Strategy Pillar
      1. FROM STRATEGY TO DELIVERY
      2. PEOPLE
      3. PROCESS
      4. TECHNOLOGY
      5. NEXT STEPS
    4. Chapter 4: The Project Management Pillar
      1. FROM STRATEGY TO DELIVERY
      2. PEOPLE
      3. PROCESS
      4. TECHNOLOGY
      5. NEXT STEPS
    5. Chapter 5: The Operational Excellence Pillar
      1. FROM STRATEGY TO DELIVERY
      2. PEOPLE
      3. PROCESS
      4. TECHNOLOGY
      5. ENDING WITH THE CUSTOMERS
    6. Chapter 6: The IPM Scorecard
      1. OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS
      2. EXAMPLE SCORECARD
      3. TEMPLATE DETAILS
      4. SUMMARY
  9. Part Two: Case Study 1: A Mature Organization
    1. Chapter 7: Introduction to Case Study 1
      1. COMPANY BACKGROUND
      2. FINANCIALS
      3. OPERATIONS
      4. IT ORGANIZATION
      5. CORPORATE AND IT GOALS
    2. Chapter 8: The Strategy Pillar of a Mature Organization
      1. BACKGROUND
      2. PEOPLE
      3. PROCESS
      4. TECHNOLOGY
    3. Chapter 9: The Project Management Pillar of a Mature Organization
      1. PEOPLE
      2. PROCESS
      3. TECHNOLOGY
    4. Chapter 10: The Operational Excellence Pillar of a Mature Organization
      1. PEOPLE
      2. PROCESS
      3. TECHNOLOGY
    5. Chapter 11: The IPM Scorecard of a Mature Organization
      1. ASSESSED
      2. OPTIMIZED
      3. SUMMARY
  10. Part Three: Case Study 2: A Growing Organization 133
    1. Chapter 12: Introduction to Case Study 2
      1. COMPANY BACKGROUND
      2. FINANCIALS
      3. OPERATIONS
      4. IT ORGANIZATION
      5. CORPORATE AND IT GOALS
    2. Chapter 13: The Strategy Pillar of a Growing Organization
      1. PEOPLE
      2. PROCESS
      3. TECHNOLOGY
    3. Chapter 14: The Project Management Pillar of a Growing Organization
      1. PEOPLE
      2. PROCESS
      3. TECHNOLOGY
    4. Chapter 15: The Operational Excellence Pillar of a Growing Organization
      1. PEOPLE
      2. PROCESS
      3. TECHNOLOGY
    5. Chapter 16: The IPM Scorecard of a Growing Organization
      1. ASSESSED
      2. OPTIMIZED
      3. SUMMARY
  11. Part Four: Tools and Reporting
    1. Chapter 17: IT Measures, Metrics, and Indicators
      1. DATA, INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, AND WISDOM
      2. MEASURES, METRICS, AND INDICATORS
      3. BENCHMARKING
      4. ROI
    2. Chapter 18: Reporting
      1. SIMPLE IT ASSESSMENT
      2. PPT ASSESSMENT
      3. COST ASSESSMENT
      4. ACQUISITION INTEGRATION ASSESSMENT
      5. RED FLAG REPORT
      6. SUMMARY
    3. Chapter 19: Conclusion
  12. About the Web Site
  13. Notes
    1. Preface
    2. CHAPTER 1 IT Fundamentals
    3. CHAPTER 2 The Role of IT in Business Operations
    4. CHAPTER 3 The Strategy Pillar
    5. CHAPTER 4 The Project Management Pillar
    6. CHAPTER 5 The Operational Excellence Pillar
    7. CHAPTER 17 IT Measures, Metrics, and Indicators
    8. CHAPTER 19 Conclusion
  14. About the Author
  15. Index

Product information

  • Title: Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology: Improving Business Project Execution
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: September 2011
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118000014