- As a strategic driver, IT needs to work with the business. Yet, traditionally IT has not worked hand-in-hand with the business. IT does not know what information it needs from the business to execute on its initiatives.
- A faster time to new investment decisions mean that IT needs a repeatable and efficient process to understand what the business needs.
- CIOs must execute strategic initiatives to create an IT function that can support the business. Most CIOs fail because of low business support.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Understanding the business context is a must for all strategic IT initiatives. At its core, each strategic IT project requires answers to a specific set of questions regarding the business.
- An effective CIO understands which part of the business context applies to which strategic IT project and, in turn, what questions to ask to uncover those insights.
Impact and Result
- Uncover what IT knows and needs to know about the business context. This is a necessary first step to begin each of Info-Tech’s strategic IT initiatives, which any CIO should complete.
- Conduct efficient and repeatable business context discovery activities to uncover business context gaps.
- Document the business context you have uncovered and streamline the process for executing on Info-Tech’s strategic CIO blueprints.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Wright County
Workshop
10/10
$60,319
10
No worst parts from my perspective. The best parts were the bringing together of the different parties to have a focused discussion and decision ... Read More
Royal Canadian Mint
Workshop
7/10
N/A
10
I did really appreciate the methodology and tools, however we had a very compressed timeframe for this so the team was not able to prepare or devel... Read More
Workshop: Document Business Goals and Capabilities for Your IT Strategy
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Identify the Missing Business Context (pre-work)
The Purpose
- Conduct analysis and facilitate discussions to uncover business needs for IT.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A baseline understanding of what business needs mean for IT
Activities
Outputs
Define the strategic CIO initiatives our organization will pursue.
- Business context scope
Complete the Business Context Discovery Tool.
- Completed Business Context Discovery Tool
Schedule relevant interviews.
Select relevant Info-Tech diagnostics to conduct.
- Completed Info-Tech diagnostics
Module 2: Uncover and Document the Missing Context
The Purpose
- Analyze the outputs from step 1 and uncover the business context gaps.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A thorough understanding of business needs and why IT should pursue certain initiatives
Activities
Outputs
Conduct group or one-on-one interviews to identify the missing pieces of the business context.
- Documentation of answers to business context gaps
Module 3: Uncover and Document the Missing Context
The Purpose
- Analyze the outputs from step 1 and uncover the business context gaps.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A thorough understanding of business needs and why IT should pursue certain initiatives
Activities
Outputs
Conduct group or one-on-one interviews to identify the missing pieces of the business context.
- Documentation of answers to business context gaps
Module 4: Review Business Context and Next Steps
The Purpose
- Review findings and implications for IT’s strategic initiative.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A thorough understanding of business needs and how IT’s strategic initiatives addresses those needs
Activities
Outputs
Review documented business context with IT team.
- Finalized version of the business context
Discuss next steps for strategic CIO initiative execution.