The document discusses transforming an IT organization to better meet business needs. It advocates knowing the business and IT function well, prioritizing outcomes like responsiveness and value, establishing design principles, and setting up organizational change as a project. Key steps are designing a new structure with customer-focused teams, clarifying processes, developing capabilities and behaviors, and engaging the team in implementation through leadership. The goal is continuous improvement through an iterative process of initiation, design/build, implementation, and business as usual.

1. CUSTOMER FIRST
POINTING OUR
TEAM IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION
How can we transform our IT organisation and structure – and more crucially – our team’s energies and
mind sets – to deliver services and solutions which meet the needs of our business?
David Bottomley speaks of his experiences in attempting to do this through organisational redesign and
cultural change in a number of major businesses.

2. Stop before you start . .
“I want to transform IT
do I really need to do this?
it will take loads of time and energy
it might not make any difference
let’s just work harder . . . .
. . . but that would be Insanity
so let’s do it . . .
and let’s do it properly”
"Insanity: doing the
same thing over
and over again and
expecting different
results”

3. 1. Know your business . . .
• Strategic – Tactical
• Inflexible – Flexible
• Innovative – Conservative
• Investing – Cost-conscious
• Expanding – Stable
• Mature – Adolescent
• International – National
• Fast-moving – Slow-moving
• Controlling – Empowering
• Risk taking – Risk averse

4. 2. Know your IT function . . .
• What does IT do well?
• What does IT not do well?
• What does your team think?
• What do your customers think?
Interviews
Benchmarks
Flashpoints

5. 3. Prioritise your outcomes
Know
your
business
Know
your IT
function
• Responsive to business needs
• Quality solutions
• Predictable delivery of projects
and service
• IT is easy to work with
• Trusted partners with the
business
• Drive value from IT Investment
What will these look and feel like?

6. 4. Establish Organisational Design
Principles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clear accountabilities
Delegated authority
Collaboration
Flat structure
Leverage global capability
Timely / effective decision-making
Empowering leadership

7. 5. Set-it up as a Project
• Establish a team
•
•
•
•
IT Led
Project manager
Plan / reporting
Time and resources
• Disseminate ownership
• Involve as many people as you can
• Change from within - not from above
• Communicate/consult relentlessly
Business
IT
IT
Leader
-ship
OD
Expertise
HR
IT team + partners

8. How to run an OD project
Initiation
Design & Build
Implement
BAU
 Know your
business
 Know your IT
Function
 Define your
outcomes
 Establish Design
Principles
 Set it up as a
Project
Design and build
the new world
Engagement with
your team and
your customers
Continuous
Improvement

9. 6. Design and Build .
Leadership
Structure
Process
The
Pentagon
of
Improvement

10. Structure
a. Organisation Models
Lines of
Business
Programmes
Systems
Processes
Group
IT
Director
Retail
Supply Chain
Corporate
Strategic
Programme
Commercial
Management
Legacy Support
ERP Support
Service

11. Structure
a. Organisation Models
Customer focussed and responsive mini-IT teams
Lines of
Business
Lines of
Business
Delivery Focussed
Lines of
Business
Programmes
Delivery Processes
Demand, Requirements, Design, Build, Test, Support
Reliable / Responsive / Quality / Professional
Reliable / Responsive
Support
Processes
Strategy, Quality,
Commercial, Service,
Security etc.

12. b. Process / RACI Models – L0 - L2
Process
Customer
Demand
and
Planning
Change
Delivery
Service
Delivery
Support Processes
Leadership & Strategy
•
•
•
•
Clarify
Fix Gaps / broken bits
Fit to new organisation
Simplify customer touchpoints
• Make them business focussed
• Work to design principles
• Avoid boiling the ocean !

13. Retail IT
Director
Org Design
Head of Change
Delivery
Apps
Architect
Lead Project
Manager
Process
Flow
Product Dev.
Manager
Test Lead
Portfolio Planning
Role Description
Head of Change Delivery
Behaviour
s
Skills &
Knowledge
Accounta
ble
Responsi
ble
OUT
IN
Consult
Inform
Role 1
A
-
PP-1
-
PP-3
-
PP-4-
A
R
C
Role 3
C
A
C
Test lead
-
Head of
Change
Delivery
R
I
R
RACI
Behaviours
Capability
Governance &
Policies

14. Transformation
only happens when
people change.

15. c. Capability
Behaviours
d.
• Skills
• Experience
• Knowledge
• Partners
• Policies
• Systems
Develop
Recruit
Source
• Customer-focussed
• Accountable
• Collaborates
• Professional
• Quality
• Responsive
Agree
Reward
Lead

16. e. Leadership is Critical
“Ask not what your team can do you.. ask
what you can do for your team”
• Create the conditions for success
• More Leadership
• Less Management
Leadership
• People will follow our leadership . . . .
communicate, delegate, support, trust

17. 6. Engagement and Implementation
• We already have engagement and ownership . . .
•
•
•
•
•
IT led
Disseminated ownership
Involved as many people as you could
Changed from within - not from above
Communicates/consulted relentlessly
• Implementation
•
•
•
•
Staged
Team-based / imaginative
One-to-one conversations
Business road-show

18. Leadership
Questions?
How was it for
you?
Structure
Process
David Bottomley - bottomley@ntlworld.com