ITECH3210 6210 Tut 10 Solutions
Tutorial Sheet 10
School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering
ITECH3210-ITECH6210 IT MANAGEMENT
Topic:
IT Strategic Planning
Topic Objectives:
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
Explain the value of aligning the IT and business strategies, and how this alignment can be achieved.
Recognize the importance, functions, and challenges of IT governance.
Describe the reasons and benefits of aligning IT strategy and business strategy.
Describe the IT strategic planning process.
Understand major types of outsourcing, reasons for outsourcing, and the risks and benefits.
References:
Turban, 2011, Chapter 12, pp. 359-389
Short Answer Questions
1. What are the four main points of IT strategic plans?
The four main points of IT strategic plans are to: improve management’s understanding of IT opportunities and limitations assess current performance identify capacity and human resource requirements, and clarify the level of investment required.
2. Define business strategy and IT strategy.
Business strategy sets the overall direction for the business. The IT strategy defines what information, information systems, and IT architecture are required to support the business and how the infrastructure and services are to be delivered.
3. Identify four issues driving the need for IT governance.
Issues Driving the Need for IT Governance
The IT Governance Institute (itgi.org/) publishes on its site the finding of the IMPACT Programme’s IT Governance Specialist Development Group (SDG). SDG found that the following issues drive the need for IT governance (IMPACT, 2005):
1. There is a general lack of accountability and not enough shared ownership and clarity of responsibilities for IT services and projects. The communication between customers (namely, the IT users) and providers has to improve and be based on joint accountability for IT initiatives.
2. There is a potentially widening gap between what IT departments think the business requires and what the
School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering
ITECH3210-ITECH6210 IT MANAGEMENT
Topic:
IT Strategic Planning
Topic Objectives:
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
Explain the value of aligning the IT and business strategies, and how this alignment can be achieved.
Recognize the importance, functions, and challenges of IT governance.
Describe the reasons and benefits of aligning IT strategy and business strategy.
Describe the IT strategic planning process.
Understand major types of outsourcing, reasons for outsourcing, and the risks and benefits.
References:
Turban, 2011, Chapter 12, pp. 359-389
Short Answer Questions
1. What are the four main points of IT strategic plans?
The four main points of IT strategic plans are to: improve management’s understanding of IT opportunities and limitations assess current performance identify capacity and human resource requirements, and clarify the level of investment required.
2. Define business strategy and IT strategy.
Business strategy sets the overall direction for the business. The IT strategy defines what information, information systems, and IT architecture are required to support the business and how the infrastructure and services are to be delivered.
3. Identify four issues driving the need for IT governance.
Issues Driving the Need for IT Governance
The IT Governance Institute (itgi.org/) publishes on its site the finding of the IMPACT Programme’s IT Governance Specialist Development Group (SDG). SDG found that the following issues drive the need for IT governance (IMPACT, 2005):
1. There is a general lack of accountability and not enough shared ownership and clarity of responsibilities for IT services and projects. The communication between customers (namely, the IT users) and providers has to improve and be based on joint accountability for IT initiatives.
2. There is a potentially widening gap between what IT departments think the business requires and what the
References: Turban, 2011, Chapter 12, pp. 359-389 Short Answer Questions