Xiaomin Dong

Well said Qiyu. Business – IT Alignment should be revisited periodically, at least annually, or when there is a significant course correction in corporate direction.

Nice point Lyana. I like you said that “IT is not an “afterthought” .” I agree with you that an organization’s strategy is constantly changing, Therefore, we need to frequently review and adjust the IT strategy to avoid the operational inefficiency.

Well said Xinteng. Glad to see you mentioned IT governance. IT governance provides a structure for aligning IT strategy with business strategy. By following a formal framework, organizations can produce measurable results toward achieving their strategies and goals. A formal program also takes stakeholders’ interests into account, as well as the…[Read more]

Well said Hanqing, it is really clear and concise to understand. It is essential that we keep track of the changing business world – both internal and external – and make sure our solutions are in line. If they are not, then senior leadership has the responsibility to ensure that we do not continue those initiatives that are not. Putting good mon…[Read more]

Great point Sarush. I agree with you that it is important to understand the business objectives and strategy. At the business level, writing objectives is a process that requires an owner and employees to set organizational priorities. At the level of employees, writing objectives forces the business to outline more concretely how priorities will be met.

Source from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-IT_alignment#Alignment_models

IT and business professionals unable to bridge the gap between themselves because of differences in objectives, culture, and incentives and a mutual ignorance for the other group’s body of knowledge. This rift generally results in expensive IT systems that do not provide adequate return on investment. Therefore, if I were a member of the IT…[Read more]

Great example. Your example explained the importance of communication with stakeholders. Therefore, the use of effective communication skills, project managers will be more likely to reconcile stakeholder conflicts earlier in the process so as to minimize the chance of project failure.

Nice example. The analysis of your example provides us with a golden opportunity to identify valuable project management lessons. The lessons learned from your example can be used to help project managers enhance their likelihood of successfully managing a project. Effective communication skills are indispensable skills for a project manager to possess.

Great example. Your example is a perfect explanation of the saying of “rob peter to pay paul.” I agree with you that the only thing that stakeholders care about from a project is profit.

Great example. An effective project sponsor who believes that the project is both viable and necessary is essential to the success of any organizational project. This sponsor must also be willing to use the authority vested in him or her to build a coalition of support among the various project stakeholders. Adequate project sponsorship is…[Read more]

Well said Xiaozhou, thank you for sharing your experience. The support from the stakeholders is critical to a successful project management; nevertheless, stakeholders only care about what value they can get from this project. Therefore, like you said, a comprehensive project plan to make them understand what you can bring to them would be vital.

Great point about the leadership risk. I agree with you that Jim might not be aware of many things or people that would engage in this project. Although it has some benefits that a systems analyst new to a company would not have the preconceived attitude to company’s information system, it might have dissatisfaction with leader.

Well said Jing. Since the purpose of this project is to increase the retention of customer, it must waste no time because every minute they spend there has possibility that customer defecting to other competitors. If their team has problem with schedule a meeting, the time for this project to be finished would be extended.

Well said about the risk of coordination. There is one point that I figure out is related to this risk, When there are different departments involved in this project, who should this team reported to?

Well said about the risk of lack of experience in project manager. Jim is new to this company, and other team members didn’t know what kind of capabilities that Jim possess; likewise, Jim didn’t know much about his teammates. It is hard to allocate the tasks to someone you didn’t know about.

Nice point about the budget. Even thought the IS steer committees approved this project, how about the financial department? If this project came out too costly, then who will pay for it?

There are 3 potential risks that I see so far:
1. Leadership Risk: Jim is new to this company, and other team members didn’t know what kind of capabilities that Jim possess; likewise, Jim didn’t know much about his teammates. Although it has some benefits that a systems analyst new to a company would not have the preconceived attitude to com…[Read more]

Great point. The loss of competence is related to business continuity, What are your IT service providers’ business continuity plans? Can they continue their operations in the event that their core infrastructure or business is impacted by a natural disaster, threat to the electrical grid, geo-political upheaval, or other crisis? You can’t dep…[Read more]

I agree with you. CIOs should first identify the service providers that either store or transmit confidential information. Next, CIOs should consider the volume and type of data those third parties handle, along with the frequency with which they handle it. The higher the volume of sensitive data a third party manages and the more frequently they…[Read more]