Published: January 29 2008, 08:59 AM | 1 Comment(s)
by Steve Romero

Should IT managers become acquainted with formal project management methodologies? I was recently asked this question in an interview for an Insurance Networking News article entitled "IT Project Management Keeps the Business on Track." I answered yes, of course. But that is just tip the of the IT manager's education iceberg.

For years I have provided incentives to my managers to obtain Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. In addition to the applicability of the discipline in the day-to-day management of work, this knowledge creates a common understanding between IT Managers and Projects Managers. This understanding is a prerequisite to effective collaboration, which is critical to project success. This philosophy extends to other IT disciplines as well. I absolutely believe every process and function in IT is critical to IT Governance success so the more IT leaders know about them the better.

I am a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) because I recognize the ubiquitous nature of security in an IT environment. The three tenants of Information Security are confidentiality, integrity and availability. What in IT doesn't contribute to those principles? Though I have never held a position in a security organization I have greatly benefited from being on the same page as my security counterparts - who greatly contribute to the goals of IT Governance.

I obtained my ITIL® Foundation certification realizing ITIL is the premier framework for a service management approach to IT. The framework also contributes significantly to meeting many of the objectives of IT Governance.

I am a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Information System Security Association (ISSA), the current President of the itSMF (Information Technology Service Management Forum) San Francisco Local Interest Group, and a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), where the IT Governance Institute was born.

My certifications in these disciplines and my participation in their professional associations provides a wealth of knowledge and insight. This helps immeasurably in my ability to collaborate with groups in IT who often feel misunderstood, like Security, Operations, IT Audit and Project Managers.

I believe all IT Leaders would greatly benefit from being acquainted with these critical disciplines. The knowledge and insight would provide a fantastic foundation for mutual understanding, common values and goals, and stellar collaboration.

Readers, what certifications have you found to be valuable?

ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

 

Published: January 11 2008, 11:46 AM | 1 Comment(s)
by Steve Romero

 

Michael Krigsman interviewed CA Marketing VP David Hurwitz and I for his "Rearranging the Deck Chairs: IT Project Failure" blog on ZDNet. You may be interested in the posting entitled "Project portfolio management and IT governance." We talked about the cause and affect of the lack of robust IT Governance and the propensity for IT projects to fail. While it contains no direct quotes, you're sure to recognize the source of the reference to the five IT Governance Institute principles.   

 

Published: January 04 2008, 09:39 AM | no comments
by Steve Romero

 

In the December 20, 2007 issue of CIO Insight, Allan E. Alter published a research article entitled "CIOs Rank Their Top Priorities for 2008." 250 CIOs were surveyed about their top priorities for 2008, resulting in three lists of top ten priorities for business, management and technology. Each area was interesting but the management priorities most caught my attention.

 

I was actually very glad to see that "IT Governance" was not mentioned by name in the management list. I dare to hope this is due to the understanding that each of the listed priorities is already an aspect of IT Governance. In any case, it was great to see the ITG principle of "Improving alignment with business objectives" as the #1 management priority. What I found perplexing was seeing "Instituting ITIL" as the #9 priority.

 

ITIL®, the premier Service Management Framework, is all about the integration of IT and Business processes. This integration is critical to business alignment and moving IT from a system-centric perspective to the more customer-focused service-centric perspective. It appears the survey respondents did not make the connection between business alignment and ITIL.

 

I am a major proponent of the ITIL Framework. I became ITIL Foundation certified in 2003 and have been an active member of itSMF ever since. I so believe in this discipline that I accepted the position of President of the San Francisco itSMF Local Interest Group (LIG) for 2008. The advent of ITIL Version 3.0 (released last year) and the selection of San Francisco (my home) as the host of the 2008 National itSMF Conference, Fusion 08, promises to make 2008 an exciting year for our LIG.

 

I see a direct correlation between IT Service Management (the goal of ITIL) and business alignment, and to an even greater degree, to IT Governance. Effective IT Service Management contributes to each of the 5 principles of ITG articulated by the IT Governance Institute (and by now familiar to readers of this blog):  

• Ensuring IT is aligned with the business
• Ensuring IT provides value to the business
• Ensuring IT manages risk
• Ensuring IT manages resources
• Ensuring IT manages performance

After reviewing the CIO Insight research article I can only assume that many IT organizations still need to be educated about the strategic significance of ITIL. More specifically, IT Leaders must learn that ITIL is all about alignment with the business.

 

My association with itSMF has provided the opportunity to be involved in numerous activities promoting IT best practices through the utilization of ITIL. In my new role as President of our Local Interest Group, I look forward to continuing the advancement of our organization's mission. The CIO Insight research shows that we have our work cut out for us.

 

 

ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.