Learn key tools, processes and best practices from the Business Analyst toolbox that you can use to make better technology decisions and manage your IT projects effectively.

1. Making IT Work for Your Business
4 Key Concepts to Get the Most Out of
Your Technology Software & Services
Audrey L Reynolds, Business Operations Analyst
June 4, 2013

2. Learning Objective
Gain awareness of key tools, processes and
best practices you can use to make better
technology decisions and manage your IT
projects effectively.

3. 4 Concepts (all in an IT context)
1. IT Strategic Plan
2. Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO)
3. Process Review and Process Improvement
4. Project Management Best Practices

4. Business Analyst
 Translator and Liaison between IT and Business Users
 Senior Problem Solver
 Many hats
 Strategic Planning
 Business Process Review and Improvement
 Project Management
 Technology Evaluation & RFPs/RFIs
 Requirements Elicitation
 Reporting & Data Analysis
 Testing, Training, Documentation, and more…

5. Concept #1: IT Strategic Plan
 Role of IT
 IT supports your business
 IT strategy should align to overall business strategy and
objectives
 IT often viewed as a cost center - it can be more
 IT can strategically drive growth (dentist office)
 For effective IT Strategic Plan
 Start with the end in mind
 Organizational strategic planning must come first
 Plan for no more than 3 years AND revisit every 3-6 months

6. Step for Creating an
IT Strategic Plan
1. Articulate Vision
1. What is the vision for IT? What are the technology business
objectives? What core processes does IT need to support?
2. Identify As-Is
1. Where are we now? What are the pain points? What can we
do better?
3. Identify To-Be
1. Where do we want to be? What does a success look like?
4. Create Transition Model (aka Roadmap)
1. How are we going to get from our As-Is to our To-Be?
2. How will we measure progress?
3. Who is responsible for what?

7. Roadmap Snippet
 Initiative 1: Better Online Communications
 Project 1.1: Develop a Mobile Strategy
 Project 1.2: Implement a Secure Customer Portal
 Project 1.3: Revamp the Public Website to Match
 Project 1.4: Facilitate Social Interactions by Building a Facebook
Community
 Project 1.5: Deploy Live Chat for Customer Service
 For each Project define
 Project Description with Business Justification (what & why)
 Project Details (more what and who)
 Timeline and Dependencies (when)
 Basic Project Steps (how)

8. Concept #2: Return on
Investment (ROI)
 What is ROI?
 A number/ratio/metric
 A method of analysis
 “bang for the buck”
 When is it used?
 To evaluate existing systems
 To make informed choices about which projects to pursue
 What does it look like?
 (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) / Cost of
Investment = ROI
 ($500 - $100)/$100 = 4x ROI or 400%
 1-2x ROI – not so good – we tend to over-estimate
 Additional factors = Probability of Success, Payback Period

9. 3 types of Return On Investment
 Revenue Enhancement
 Project generates more revenue
 e.g. website – how much do I think it will increase sales?
 Cost Reduction
 Project saves $
 e.g. new system reduces manual data entry – how many staff
hours will it save?
 note: understand technology initially takes more time
 Cost Avoidance
 Project prevents or reduces chance of fines or loss
 e.g. new processes and tool for PHI – avoid HIPAA violation
 e.g. BYOD – invest in back-up & remote wipe, avoid cost when
lost

10. Next question … what is my true
Investment?

11. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
 TCO measures the “I” in ROI
 Concept & Tool
 The initial price tag is not the true cost (or benefit)
 Example: car
 Once upon a conference
 Use to evaluate existing or future purchases
 Include cost of acquisition and on-going operating costs
 Project costs over reasonable lifespan (e.g. 2 year cost, 5
year cost, 10 year cost)

12. Major Components of a
Technology TCO
Operation Costs (New & Current)
 Software Licenses & Support
(one-time & annual)
 Ancillary Licenses (e.g. Oracle)
 Hardware – desktops, mobile
devices, servers, scanners, etc
 Customizations and Add-ons
(use past 5 years as a guide)
 Training – Power & End Users
 Staffing – Permanent Staff
(wages + benefits), Consultants
 Operational – back-up and
recovery, security, audits, electri
city, insurance, etc
Acquisition Costs (New)
 Implementation costs – project
management, vendor travel
 Cost of down-time
 Additional training
 Additional staffing
 Other one-time fees
SaaS
 Subscription Fee = renting vs
buying
 Implementation “Baked In”

13. Caveat
Total Cost of Ownership is a framework that allows you to
more accurately understand the investment cost and
compare 2 or more possible solutions.
But…
ROI based on hard dollars alone may not be high enough to
justify the cost
(especially with technology)

14. Intangibles –
Measuring Full Business Value
 Intangible costs and benefits – risks and opportunities
 More difficult to assign $$ to
 Examples:
 Better customer satisfaction
 Enhanced employee goodwill & job satisfaction
 Improved corporate image
 Organizational flexibility and transparency
 Increased productivity and time savings

15. Concept #3: Process Review
Business Process Review (BPR) and Business Process
Improvement (BPI)
 Why do a Process Review?
 Find inefficiencies and sticking points
 Identify opportunities to streamline operations
 Best Practice as part of transition to new solution
**This tool is not just for IT processes**

16. Steps to a Process Review
1. Outline or map your current processes
Validate by observation, if possible
2. Identify potential changes
Are processes being followed? Are there redundancies? Is
more training needed? Are different tools needed?
Work with staff, customers, etc to gather feedback and ideas
Can Map or Outline – Map better for concurrent processes
Chop
onion
Mix onion
& meat
Shape
into
patties
Add
seasoning
Place on
grill

17. Business Process Review and
Process Improvement
Chop
onion
Mix onion
& meat
Add
seasoning
Shape
into
patties
Place on
grill
3. Design a new process
Review with team for fine-tuning and buy-in
4. Implement
Depending on size, may require project plan that includes
change management
5. Evaluate effectiveness
Measure improvements

18. Example: Concurrent Processes

19. Process Tips
When creating or evaluating any process
 Align the processes to business goals
 Establish process owners
 Keep a customer focus - always review from the customer’s
perspective
 Create benchmarks to measure results of improvements
When implementing a new technology solution
 Implementing new technology is 70% process and 30% tool
– always look at your process
 You should avoid customizations whenever possible - be
willing to change processes instead of changing the tool

20. Concept #4: Project Management
Best Practices
 Understand the “3 legged stool” (time, $, scope)
 Understand the steps of IT system development
 Tips

21. 3 Constraints of a Project
Scope
Time Cost
 You cannot change one
without affecting the
others
 Balancing act between
Budget, Timeline and
Desired Features.
 Identify immovable
constraints (e.g.
regulatory
deadline, value of a
grant)
 Are the features more
negotiable than your
budget?

22. System Development Lifecycle
Assess
Feasibility
Plan &
Analyze
Design
Build (or
Configure)
Test &
Debug
Train
Implement
Support &
Maintain
You have a
role in almost
every step!
Some steps
require more
time and input
than others

23. Project Tips
 A project plan is essential
 What, why, when, how, (where) and who
 Designate someone as project manager or coordinator
 Consolidate communications
 Organized and detail oriented – facilitation role
 Change Management is an important part of the plan
 Socialize it – how will it help
 Get buy-in
 Communicate openly and regularly about it
 Schedule and issues
 Set expectations

24. Questions?
 Audrey L Reynolds
 audrey.reynolds@gmail.com
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/audreyLreynolds
 SlideShare URL

25. Resources
 TCO
 Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_cost_of_ownership
 Online process mapper
 http://www.gliffy.com/