IT projects are in the IT domain, just like Marketing projects are in the Marketing domain. Makes sense right? No, it doesn’t.
When we take a look at IT projects, we need to understand the fact that the only right of existence is the fact that we support business processes. This means that we need to support and suffice the processes that make the business run, makes them tick. Any IT project is only a way to support a goal, we don’t make the goal, we don’t reach it, we just pass the right shot ahead.
The days that we thought that we understand the actual processes, problems and challenges the business is in, need to lay behind us. Think of it as: ‘we just don’t get it’. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s a good thing. We are good at IT, not at running the entire business. Yet we tend to pretend we are.
IT projects that mainly lay within the IT domain usually go bad, this is because the wrong people try to model and fix business problems and support business challenges. If we take out the responsibility out of the IT domain into the actual business problem owners domain, the right decisions can be made and progress is more eminent.
This strategic choice means we need to get focussed on what we do best: IT. And the business can focus on what they do best: business. This results in a way of working that is much more efficient and pragmatic. We can actually help the business to achieve their goals.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree fully with you that most IT projects facilitate business. I don’t think that this is always the case. The best impact is created in projects where IT changes business models. When the abilities of IT enable new and improved ways to run an organization or even change the business model. Of course, these events are scarce and it would be foolish to focus only on them.
But I do believe that in essence IT should be more than just cost and more than just a facilitator for business. That’s why I think it’s important that business is not the only driver in this (as you seem to state above). There aren’t many industries changing faster that ours and there aren’t many that have a bigger impact on everyday life. If we leave it to the business executives, the only thing we do is follow. Always with the same solution (the one they know) and never as innovator.
Therefore IT should get a much more important place within organizations. The CIO needs to educate the board and help them spot the business opportunities that IT can bring. Peter Hinssen explains this in his book Business IT Fusion (http://www.it-fusion.com/). It’s excellent.
Bring IT and business together so they can mutually benefit. Both listening, both on equal grounds.
Well… that’s my tuppence
Hi Frank,
I agree with you, but this is not a surprice. We actually both meen the same thing. IT and Business should and must work together on innovation and fascilitating should be on a pro-active basis.
What we, in the IT department, just need to know, is the fact that business problems are business problems and that only business can say anything meaningfull about their business processes. We need to fascilitate them in an active way in order to make them see how they can solve thing. IT is our Business, Business the Business’. (this is getting confusing now…
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This also means (if I get it correctly this is the same thing you say) that IT and Business need to work more together, not seperate organized and managed department, but one organization with one common goal.