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| By N2H | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP)
June 28, 2008
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This is the process through which one enterprise conceptualize or formulates ideas for the development of strategic information systems i.e systems that affect the very fabric of the enterprise – the goals, the strategic processes and external relationships.
Importance of SISP
Planning also ensures that whenever new systems are build they can communicate or interface properly with pre-existing systems, thus avoiding the problem of “
SISP ensures that the IS/IT infrastructure is consistent with the strategic vision (business goals) of the enterprise. This is the modern view of SISP.
Who should be Responsible for SISP:
There are a number of ways in which the SISP role could be handled.
By an IT Director
The IT director knows a lot about current technology and technological trends and is very well placed to put that technology into business use. However the IT Director may not be very good in the area of business, and strategic planning. At worst, he might recommend systems with no strategic relevance from a business standpoint.
However these days we have people called Hybrid IT Managers who have formal training both in IT and business. Such managers might produce better planning results than the traditional IT Managers.
Except in firms that are small and use the full time services of hybrid IT Directors the SISP role is likely to be vested elsewhere.
Top management is especially aware of the strategic vision of the enterprise. Such management would also not find it difficult to identify the information needs to support the business goals.
On formulation of a strategic information system plan, the top management can leave the implementation work to the IT Director and his team. The IT Director can subsequently formulate an IT plan to set up the appropriate IT infrastructure.
However top management who are not technology aware i.e. do not understand the available technology and its potential applications may still be conservative in their planning.
Top management who are not technology aware also tends to be reluctant to participate in strategic information planning. There may be a temptation to delegate such planning to the IT Director who is more knowledgeable on matters of IT.
Use of IS Steering Committee
This is ideally a multi-disciplinary team bring together people with a variety of skills and experiences. The team would usually have representatives of top management, IT management and key departments. Use of committees is often an attractive option but there are several challenges involved:
The several challenges involved are:
- Setting up such a committee and keeping it running calls for a higher level of discipline and commitment.
- Planning through committees may be time consuming.
- The biggest mark to the use of information systems steering committee is that they reach decisions through consensus – basic democratic principle.
Use of outside planning consultants (outsourcing)
Outside consultancy may bring in a wealth of planning experience. Outsiders may also be more objective in that they have no pre-conceptions about the organization. However use of consultancy may be expensive and hence unaffordable.
The consultants may not have a proper awareness of the organization’s goals, culture and aspirations and may therefore recommend systems that are not sustainable in the enterprise. There is a temptation to recommend systems that have been observed to work well elsewhere, which does not mean they will work well in this particular organization. The organization’s own personnel e.g. IT manager, might detest the idea of using outsiders to plan the organization’s IS/IT affairs.
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