eyetoit

Crazy But It Just Might Work

Computerworld has an article on the revolutionary idea of CIOs working with their fellow executives to educate them on certain aspects of IT. There are some goofy bits in the article, including an IBM sales VP referring to people as "cats," which I thought was quite retro. There is also an interesting sidebar on a the basic syllabus for the educated business executive according to Mark Jeffery at Kellogg (Northwestern). His main items are:

• What can happen if you don't manage technology well.
• The language of technology
• Corporatewide systems like ERP and CRM
• Why CXOs need risk management skills
• What can happen if you botch security
• Technology trends

I think this is a good list, although I think it misses one of the most critical aspects which is the actual role of the business in strategy development and execution of IT.

If you have comments about this topic, suggestions for future topics, or questions related to the governance of the IT function or the business-centric use of technology, feel free to e-mail me at eyetoIT@gmail.com.

Ten Principles of IT Governance

The new book from HBS press, IT Governance, by Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross is a good resource for understand the purpose and function of good IT governance principles. You can read an excerpt from it at the HBS Working Knowledge site. The 10 Principles they enumerate are:

1. Actively design governance
2. Know when to redesign
3. Involve senior managers
4. Make choices
5. Clarify the exception-handling process
6. Provide the right incentives
7. Assign ownership and accountability for IT governance
8. Design governance at multiple organizational levels
9. Provide transparency and education
10. Implement common mechanisms across the six key assets

Just the excerpt will probably get many of you thinking about the IT governance model in your organization. I recommend the book to expand your thinking in this area.

If you have comments about this topic, suggestions for future topics, or questions related to the governance of the IT function or the business-centric use of technology, feel free to e-mail me at eyetoIT@gmail.com.