A valuable guide to making better IT decisions within business Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology is designed to be both easy-to-use and immediately useful. Engaging and accessible, this book has been created to help you focus on improving business project execution through effective IT optimization and assessment. While it skillfully outlines a framework for optimizing and assessing IT, it does not get into specific technologies per se, given the rapid and increasing pace of technical change across the world today. Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology involves a step-by-step process whereby various aspects of IT are evaluated. In addition to the book itself, a companion website offers templates, checklists, and related materials for your reference and use. With this book as your guide, you'll be able to generate an accurate and reliable assessment of a company's IT operations and identify areas on which to focus to optimize IT. Topics such as "against what to assess operations" and "optimized as compared to what" will be addressed throughout the course of this reliable resource. Introduces the concept of the IT Pillars Model (IPM) for optimizing and assessing IT and examines where and how the IPM fits into the overall operations of a business Filled with the author's experience of working across the field of IT in both small and large companies Offers the most detailed, hands-on user's guide to the principles and practice of the IPM by examining each aspect of the IPM in the context of case studies Covers the topic of tools and reporting, including analytical tools such as ROI, benchmarking, and metrics Optimizing and Assessing Information Technology provides valuable insights into this discipline, but the coverage of IT in this book extends beyond technology itself. It also covers various aspects of the people, processes, and technology components associated with IT as a whole.

Table of Contents:
Preface xiii PART ONE Introduction to the IT Pillars Model CHAPTER 1 IT Fundamentals 3 Optimizing and Assessing IT 4 Introducing the IT Pillars Model 5 Summary 12 CHAPTER 2 The Role of IT in Business Operations 13 Models and Definitions 13 Strategy 16 Business Model 17 Operating Model 17 Enterprise Architecture 17 CHAPTER 3 The Strategy Pillar 21 From Strategy to Delivery 21 People 23 Process 23 Technology 28 Next Steps 31 CHAPTER 4 The Project Management Pillar 33 From Strategy to Delivery 33 People 37 Process 39 Technology 39 Next Steps 42 CHAPTER 5 The Operational Excellence Pillar 43 From Strategy to Delivery 43 People 47 Process 48 Technology 49 Ending with the Customers 51 CHAPTER 6 The IPM Scorecard 55 Overview of the Process 55 Example Scorecard 57 Template Details 64 Summary 64 PART TWO Case Study 1: A Mature Organization CHAPTER 7 Introduction to Case Study 1 67 Company Background 67 Financials 69 Operations 69 IT Organization 69 Corporate and IT Goals 70 CHAPTER 8 The Strategy Pillar of a Mature Organization 73 Background 73 People 73 Process 79 Technology 83 CHAPTER 9 The Project Management Pillar of a Mature Organization 91 People 91 Process 98 Technology 99 CHAPTER 10 The Operational Excellence Pillar of a Mature Organization 107 People 107 Process 111 Technology 115 CHAPTER 11 The IPM Scorecard of a Mature Organization 123 Assessed 123 Optimized 126 Summary 131 PART THREE Case Study 2: A Growing Organization CHAPTER 12 Introduction to Case Study 2 135 Company Background 135 Financials 137 Operations 137 IT Organization 137 Corporate and IT Goals 139 CHAPTER 13 The Strategy Pillar of a Growing Organization 141 People 143 Process 147 Technology 151 CHAPTER 14 The Project Management Pillar of a Growing Organization 159 People 159 Process 165 Technology 165 CHAPTER 15 The Operational Excellence Pillar of a Growing Organization 175 People 175 Process 182 Technology 186 CHAPTER 16 The IPM Scorecard of a Growing Organization 191 Assessed 191 Optimized 194 Summary 199 PART FOUR Tools and Reporting CHAPTER 17 IT Measures, Metrics, and Indicators 203 Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom 204 Measures, Metrics, and Indicators 204 Benchmarking 205 ROI 205 CHAPTER 18 Reporting 207 Simple IT Assessment 208 PPT Assessment 208 Cost Assessment 208 Acquisition Integration Assessment 210 Red Flag Report 211 Summary 212 CHAPTER 19 Conclusion 213 About the Web Site 221 Notes 223 About the Author 227 Index 229