Making IT Work for Your Business - 4 Key Concepts to Get the Most Out of Your Technology Software & Services
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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.
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Making IT Work for Your Business - 4 Key Concepts to Get the Most Out of Your Technology Software & Services
- 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
- 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/
Editor's Notes
- Caveat could talk all day but have 30 minutes so this will be high-levelGive enough to raise awareness, allow to research further
- Get more customers, increase customer engagement, reduce operating costs,
- Roadmap – does not have to be filled in – identify need before fleshing out projectNeeds to take into account your resources – people, $Too much change can be overwhelming – some projects make sense to be tightly coupled others to spread outCore processes for NTCA: Recruiting and retaining Members• Administering Benefit Plans• Enrolling and supporting Members in Benefit Plans• Hosting Meetings and Educational Events (in-person and electronic)
- 3 types of ROIRevenue enhancement – project generates more $ (maybe increase revenue, maybe simply increased profit)Cost Reduction – project saves $ (usually through efficiency and waste reduction)Cost Avoidance – project prevents or reduces chance of fines
- Part of defining potential projects, need to justify themFor an investment, how much return do I get?
- Car example – does it get bad gas mileage and require premium gas – do I need to hire a specialized position?SaaS – very powerful
- For an investment
- Last 2 can be measured but require more sophisticated look at processes – Increased productivity: what am I doing now, how can I streamline it, how many labour hours did I save?
- Outline fine for linear processes – map easier for concurrent
- We know that projects fail because of the people and the expectations, usually not the technology
- What resources (time/cost/quality) are MOST available? Is your timeline more negotiable than your budget? Do you have a resource constraint or are there available resources who can help out?