What's Wrong with IT Strategy?

      There is no doubt by definition, every organization has an IT Strategy – some have it clearly articulated and the others are working to one without knowing it. The question is: Is the IT Strategy producing results? One can also ask the same question a different way: What must one do to make IT Strategy produce results? Or, perhaps, what is wrong with this IT Strategy?

The strength of an IT Strategy does not come from it being articulated. It lies along its entire lifecycle – from the vision to the underlying policies, framework, process design, including management and control mechanisms, and execution. Each of them must be carefully thought through and designed.

Vision, principles and policies set the direction for an IT Strategy. They are the first step to designing and defining an IT Strategy but, more importantly, they reflect the stakeholders’ beliefs. It is critical that the strategy evolve from these beliefs, otherwise execution will be “half hearted”. It is also absolutely essential to realize that “stakeholders” include both the designers and the executers of this strategy.

A framework provides structure to IT Strategy. It enables rapid, repeatable results by ensuring that we have a complete “picture” and made the key connections. Frameworks might not guarantee success, but they sure help sustain and repeat it. Sometime, they can also salvage a floundering effort by identifying root cause of failure. Without a framework success or failure are a black box. More often than not, success comes from tinkering with an initial failure. Frameworks are invaluable in this tinkering.

Sometimes we forget that IT Strategy is a process not a point in time event. Like any other process, IT Strategy process must also be designed and have an “owner”. It must also be integrated with other processes such as Budget, Portfolio Rationalization, Enterprise Architecture Planning and Systems Implementation. It must also be managed – monitored and controlled using clearly defined metrics and mechanisms.

Execution makes all the difference between success and failure of an IT Strategy. An IT Strategy might look good on paper. However, implementation is where the rubber meets the road and for the first time we know, for sure, if things are working as planned. As much as strategy drives execution, the reverse is also equally true. A good IT Strategy is one that is built factoring in “practical” considerations or execution “constraints”. Also, on an ongoing basis, real data from execution must be used to “fine tune” strategy.

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