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IT Management

The art of managing IT based on a solid framework leveraging the company´s political ecosystem

verfasst von: Dr. Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book focuses on the art of managing IT. A simple and robust framework is proposed to describe and to structure the essential elements of IT management. The authors pay particular attention to didactic aspects in order to facilitate the retention of models presented as well as to promote reflection on the subjects introduced. Thanks to a concentrate of good practices, each company will rapidly be in a position to build their proper IT ecosystem.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

Abstract

How to resolve the ostensible antagonism of relying on modern IT technologies whilst ensuring a sustainable future of a company? IT Management is certainly one of the key elements to achieve this.

“Classical” business management approaches apply by the way just as well to the management of IT. Moreover selected best practices to provide outstanding IT Management are also presented in this book.

Striking the right balance between perpetuation of internal knowledge and the management of external IT providers requires appropriate organizational measures for IT. And controlling IT expenditures and limiting the dependency on critical suppliers remain main tasks of the Head of IT.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

2. IT Processes

Abstract

Process management enables cost effectiveness and provides the critical added value in the long run. Having proper processes in place is more than just documenting operations: it helps in gaining a deep understanding of the corresponding workflows. Process management also reflects the working spirit, especially the desire to deliver excellent services and the eagerness to continuously improve.

Process management is also a key element to manage IT. In order to implement process management for IT, it is recommended better to define first an overall IT process landscape. Then, it is recommended to re-use existing procedures and in a further step to complete with existing IT process standards. Finally it is necessary to work hard and jointly at the company level to have the IT process management successfully in place.

Several process modelling representations are given in this book and some examples of IT processes are presented.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

3. IT Strategy

Abstract

Strategy is a formidable discipline where the business areas of a company and the necessary resources and required investments are aligned to realize the aspired goals.

Against the background of an ever increasing number of innovating technologies available and rapid pace of organisational changes, an organisation needs to have a clear vision on how best to use information technologies. A proper IT strategy is the basis to achieve this.

Defining the IT strategy from a top-down perspective is easy: the IT organisation needs to become better and cheaper. Yet, by putting this into a beautiful PowerPoint slide deck or writing it down in a nice “IT strategy” paper, the job is not done yet.

This book presents an alternative approach based on a bottom-up analysis. The required key elements for a proper IT strategy are identified and the path laid out to successfully put them into place.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

4. IT Services

Abstract

Employing IT service management brings many benefits, like having clear communication channels with the business or improving repeatable processes thus gaining a rewarding experience.

In addition, important psychological factors for the IT organisation are included. In general management attention tends to be concentrated on “things going wrong” and rare are the moments when “doing things right and getting the job done” are recognized or rewarded. With IT service management in place, the complexity and the interdependencies of the tasks are transparent and the perception of the services provided within the SLAs is source of pride and the basis for a trustful relationship.

This chapter presents a simple approach to have IT service management in place which enables the CSI (Continuous Service Improvement) process.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

5. IT Portfolio and Project Management

Abstract

It is easy to reduce IT expenditures, just by decreasing IT investments. On the long term, this is not a viable approach as a firm has to continuously invest in IT, firstly to maintain the IT assets in terms of life cycle and secondly to introduce new technologies to keep pace with complex and moving markets.

So the two questions to be answered are: in which IT areas should a company invest and how should the corresponding investments be managed?

The IT project portfolio management process and the IT project management guidelines give an answer to these two questions and are presented in the following chapter.

Especially a project methodology is introduced based on a phased model. This approach is compatible with different project delivery strategies like waterfall, scrump or iterative development processes. The proposed structure allows a robust and down-to-earth practice to conduct projects in a safe way, including all aspects of project management like risk management, planning or communication.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

6. IT Reporting

Abstract

There are many projects and services running in parallel within the IT organization. In addition, activities such as audits, benchmarks or risk assessments are also conducted.

In such a complex environment, it is challenging to keep track of the big picture. However, transparency is of the essence. Key is the organization’s ability to capitalize on past experience as opposed to operating in an ad-hoc modus. IT reporting provides an excellent opportunity to keep an overview over activities and thus enables control and guidance.

An abundance of performance reporting models is available and can be successfully combined with the definition of IT processes to design a reporting structure.

Two approaches are presented and tested: bottom-up versus top-down. This chapter helps you to find out, which approach is best suited to have an effective IT reporting in place.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

7. IT Governance

Abstract

Leading an IT organisation and organizing the IT activities needed by the business require a healthy ecosystem within a company.

A governance framework is proposed based on Mintzberg’s organisational model, which is combined with the design of IT processes where roles are identified. This framework includes three different layers: strategic, tactical and operational.

One of the key findings is the fact that both business functions as well as IT roles are needed to have effective IT processes in place. In this respect the governance components embrace the whole organisation. The quality of the cooperation between IT and the business areas and the degree of integration and mutual understanding determine the potential maturity of the IT processes.

The Human factor also plays an important role in the process of transforming structures and organisations.

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

8. Conclusion

Abstract

Is there a secret recipe for a high performing and successful IT?

There is no magic formula that fits every organization. Yet there are “best practices” available and presented in this book, which should be selected and matched to the individual context in which each company operates as well as its sometimes rapidly changing environment.

Major forces related to customers, competitors, compliance and innovation outline the essential contours of the IT organisation and its behaviour.

Nevertheless, key levers need to be put in place and managed to enable a positive evolution.

These are:

ensure the quality of the IT workforce
set the right business priorities
rely on sustainable partners
explore and adapt

Lionel Pilorget, Thomas Schell

Backmatter

Titel: IT Management
verfasst von: Dr. Lionel Pilorget
Thomas Schell
Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-658-19309-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-19308-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-19309-6

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Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

2. IT Processes

3. IT Strategy

4. IT Services

5. IT Portfolio and Project Management

6. IT Reporting

7. IT Governance

8. Conclusion

Backmatter

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