PART 4 Planning, Acquiring,and Building Systems

Chapter 11: Strategic Planning and Project Management

Chapter 12 System Acquisition and Development

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CHAPTER

11 Strategic Planning and Project Management

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Know?Did Yo u

• Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle identified the essence of good project management when he said: “First, have a defi- nite, clear practical ideal: a goal or an objective. Sec- ond, have the necessary means to achieve your ends: wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”

• A 2015 study of 50,000 projects from around the world, ranging from small system enhancements to massive systems reengineering implementations, found that roughly 71 percent of all information system projects fail or face major challenges such as lateness, budget overruns, and lack of required features.

Principles Learning Objectives

• Organizations that are more advanced in their planning processes develop multiple-year strate- gic plans.

• State the benefits of creating a strategic plan.

• Identify and briefly describe the phases of a goals-based strategic planning process.

• Explain what SWOT analysis is and how it is used.

• Identify and briefly describe the components of a strategic plan.

• The strategic planning process for the IS organi- zation and the factors that influence it depend on how the organization is perceived by the rest of the organization.

• State the purpose of the IS strategic plan.

• Identify four drivers that set information system organizational strategy and determine information system investments.

• Identify three ways the IS organization can be perceived by the rest of the organization and discuss how that influences the IS strategy.

• Organizations must always make a clear connec- tion among business objectives, goals, and pro- jects. In addition, projects must be consistent with business strategies.

• Discuss why project management is considered to be a core competency for many organizations.

• Identify and briefly discuss the five highly interre- lated parameters that define a project.

• Identify and briefly discuss the nine knowledge areas associated with the science of project management.

Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203

Why Learn about Strategic Planning and Project Management? Ever since the dawn of the computer age, business and IS executives have been working to improve the alignment between business and IS as a top business priority. In this context, alignment means that the IS organization and its resources are focused on efforts that support the key objectives defined in the strategic plan of the business. This implies that IS and business managers have a shared vision of where the organization is headed and agree on its key strategies. This shared vision will guide the IS organization in hiring the right people with the correct skills and competencies, choosing the right technologies and vendors to explore and develop, installing the right systems, and focusing on projects that will best help the organization meet its mission. Projects are the way that much of an organization’s work gets done. No matter what the industry and no matter whether the organization is a for-profit company or a nonprofit organization—large or small, multinational or local—good strategic planning coupled with good project management are positive forces that enable an organization to get results from its efforts. Knowing the basics of strategic planning and project management will make you an extremely valuable resource within any organization.

As you read this chapter, con