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Project BR: Focusing IT Professionals on Business Results
Techniques for teamwork, account management, and enduring education
:: completed list main ::
Key Findings:
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An IT Ghetto? For over 40 years business executives have complained that IT professionals are
more interested in technology than they are in the business. In a sense, they're
right. In most corporations, many (if not most) IT professionals are simply not
focused on the details of the business or its outcomes. Their education,
interests, and experiences are all focused on how to make the technology itself
productive. There are few opportunities for IT professionals to learn business
skills in typical professional development programs.
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Surprising truth. Deep business knowledge is not essential for everyone in IT. Within the
ranks of IT professionals, there are four distinct groups whose education,
experiences, career goals, and interest in the business issues are vastly
different: pure technologists in infrastructure roles, project managers and
systems analysts, IT general managers, and business/IT "hybrids" or relationship managers.
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End of the old. Given the explosion of both new business demand for technology and new
technology sourcing options, the demand for traditional activities, such as
systems development and infrastructure management within corporate IT
organizations, may be declining fast. At the same time, the business need for
guidance and coordination in the business consumption of systems and technology is growing rapidly.
Key Recommendations:
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Focus and outsource. Begin with clarity about the value-adding role of IT in your business, and
adjust your professional development programs accordingly. IT activities that
are not unique, differentiated, or linked closely to business results can often
be better accomplished by outside service providers for whom these activities are a business focus.
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Tight linkage. For the core value-adding IT roles, link work activities and performance
measures directly to important business outcomes. Leverage those linkages
through compensation and reward programs.
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Communication and culture. Develop a portfolio of procedures for communicating business requirements and
goals to your IT staff, including both IT account manager roles and project
planning and management systems. Take these practices seriously, and develop a
culture of shared understanding and accountability between the business and IT.
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Cross-training. Include basic business skills in IT professional development programs, and
implement job rotation programs that enable IT professionals to experience business roles directly.
This Re.sults® report describes the management practices
that enable IT professionals to focus their work on achieving meaningful business outcomes.
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