Published: May 21 2008, 06:55 AM | no comments
by Steve Romero

This blog entry was inspired by a comment posted by "Mike" to my recent post entitled "Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?" Mike asked about how you convince the IT department to "accept" its role as a business partner when IT Governance isn't adopted within the organization. He asked if there is a general rule or set of steps that companies can begin to use as a foundation for change that both sides can agree on.

More questions with far from simple answers. Let me start by saying IT is not in a position to "accept" its role as a business partner until it is "invited." According to CIO Magazine, barely half of the CIOs in North America sit at the Enterprise Leadership Team table. Instead, they are relegated to be the CFO's or the COO's problem. In fact, I spend much of my time advising IT leadership on how to get a seat at the table and convincing business leaders to give IT a seat.

The best and quickest way to do establish IT as a business partner is to set up governance for project and portfolio management (PPM). Yes, I recognize this runs the risk of reinforcing the pervasive misconception that IT Governance is synonymous with IT investment decision-making. Too often, organizations mistakenly equate ITG to PPM so they don't address all of the governance-related processes required to succeed. I'll take that risk because PPM is such a great place to start the IT Governance journey.

Here are a few of the advantages associated with starting with PPM:

• 80% of the average IT budget is allocated to keeping the lights on, or "standing still" as I put it. PPM makes the most of that meager 20% left for moving forward. Done correctly, it addresses every penny IT spends and is the only way to move toward the more desirable 60/40 split. Some companies are shooting for 50/50.
• PPM establishes the mechanisms required for the business to hold IT accountable for the money it spends. PPM and, as I have said countless times, all of IT Governance, are business functions that benefit the business! When business leaders recognize this, it won't be a matter of IT "accepting" their role, because frankly, they won't have a choice.
• PPM is a fantastic means for IT to foster collaboration and trust with the business and ultimately improve their relationship. Providing financial transparency, stellar program and project delivery and proven value for every IT investment will turn that relationship into a love affair.

So I suggest starting with PPM--IT investments at the least, all Enterprise investments being the ideal. Yes, I would rather the business realize at the outset the potential of ITG to enable it to leverage technology for strategic advantage and save IT a spot at the leadership table.

I'm working on it.

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Published: May 20 2008, 06:47 AM | 2 Comment(s)
by Steve Romero

This blog entry was inspired by a comment posted by Rodney Sculthorpe to my recent post entitled "Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?" Rodney wanted to know how to convince Executive Management of the merits of IT Governance. I am constantly asked how to go about convincing decision-makers. Whether it is IT Governance, Enterprise Architecture Governance or any other aspect of ITG, my advice is generally the same: you need to evangelize the merits of ITG.

Rodney mentions two specific challenges.

1) The first is the difficulty in convincing organizations they need to work differently as they grow.

Why should they change when what they have been doing to date has resulted in the growth in the first place? In this case, you must "sell" the notion that there is an increased need for "formal" control as an enterprise grows. I say formal because you have controls in place today, albeit they are very likely informal. When we're small, we can get things done by taking individual initiative, talking to one another, or leaving it to him or her. Decisions made at the highest levels of the organization influence work at the lowest levels because, well, there aren't many levels.

I congratulate companies that outgrow this and I empathize with the realization that things will never be the same. That being said, they can be even better. But they can only be better if a cultural transformation occurs, in addition to the systemic transition. Some enterprises can't make this transformation because the controls required as they grow are contrary to the culture and systems that were successful when they were small. To overcome this aversion to change, you will first need to identify and document the "new" problems inevitably associated with organizational growth. Then you must be able to compile and clearly articulate the evidence connecting those problems with growth before you ultimately recommend any tenant of IT Governance as a potential solution.

2) The second challenge Rodney mentions is overcoming the quite common human need to "see" or "touch and smell" something before believing in it.

There are a number of approaches to getting people to "see" IT Governance. Gartner, Forrester and MIT CISR Sloan School of Management each have research and case studies showing the advantages and successes of IT Governance that you can cite.

Another source of proof would be to showcase IT Governance success in enterprises similar to, or admired by, yours. This is not easy given IT Governance is still relatively young and the list of successes is still rather short, though growing. Finding a company willing to share their recipes for success may also be difficult. I won't make the potential for that any easier by equivocally stating that mastering IT Governance creates competitive advantage. If a company realizes this, they are likely reluctant to share. Thank goodness we usually want to brag about our accomplishments and have others share if not admire our success. Take advantage of this.

There is no easy answer to Rodney's challenge. Though IT Governance offers near-limitless potential for enterprises to leverage technology for strategic advantage, it is frequently a struggle to obtain the required Executive sponsorship.

Good luck in your evangelism, and please let me know how it goes.

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Published: May 09 2008, 07:18 AM | 6 Comment(s)
by Steve Romero

Is IT Governance primarily a function of the business, or a function of IT?

Many organizations are misled by the label. Sure, IT enables IT Governance, but the ITG discipline is a means for the business to govern IT, to ensure IT is aligned, delivering value and appropriately managing risk, resources and performance. The business must govern IT just as it must govern every other important business function, such as Finance or Human Resources.

Recently I received affirmation that some organizations are coming around to this way of thinking.

During a trip to Australia, I spent five days in three cities as the featured speaker in a seminar series entitled "Critical Components of Effective Project Management Offices (PMOs)". While there, I visited with several organizations to discuss their IT Governance challenges.

My very first meeting was with an IT leader from one of the government agencies located in Sydney. He wanted to meet with me to obtain a greater understanding of IT Governance. As he introduced me to his four colleagues, I was amazed to find that not one of them was from IT! They were all from the "business side" of the organization!

This IT leader recognized the role of the business as a partner--if not leader--of IT Governance in their organization. He was hosting this discussion to provide his peers with critical insight into their IT Governance roles and responsibilities. We had a great meeting and they are now eager to work together to achieve the enterprise-wide goals of IT Governance.

As I continue my travels evangelizing IT Governance, I expect the overwhelming majority of my audience will be members of IT. I look forward to the day when they are outnumbered by the real owners of IT Governance--the business partners IT serves.

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