TOPIC:
Determining the HighLevel Direction of
Information Systems
Name: Bernard Nderitu
Mwangi
Table of Contents
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OBJECTIVES
INTRODUCTION
MISSION
VISION
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
STRATEGIES
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS GOALS
COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
OBJECTIVES
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To understand the planning of Information
Systems projects based on the business
direction.
To understand the prioritization of Information
Systems projects is critical to the running of a
business.
To understand how Information Systems can
assist a company to meet its objectives.
INTRODUCTION
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“The greatest thing in this world is not so much
where we stand, as in what direction we are
moving.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894)
American physician, professor
Need to plan for Information Systems projects
based on their relevance to the business
direction .
MISSION
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It is a statement of why the information systems group
exists, what purpose and function it provides for the
company.
VISION
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Concise statement of where you want to go, what you
aspire to be.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
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how you are going to achieve the vision and mission.
STRATEGIES
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It is important to clearly state the strategies in
the strategic plan; it can save the information
systems group from many emotional arguments
and political battles throughout the year.
An example of a strategy that if not stated, can
cause emotional arguments is the use of
packaged versus custom software.
PACKAGED VS CUSTOM
SOFTWARE
INFORMATION SYSTEMS &
BUSINESS GOALS
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There are many ways information systems can assist the
business such as:
Provide unique product
Reduce product development time
Allow the delivery of customized services
Open new channels and market niches
Produce higher-quality results
Fill product positioning gaps
Block channel access
Increase buyer switching costs
An example of Information systems
and the business strategies
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They fall under the following:
Provide superior product availability worldwide.
Deliver outstanding customer service and support.
Rapidly pursue targeted growth opportunities.
Create high value differentiated products for growth.
Be the best cost producer.
Manage the business globally.
Maintain an environment where people want to work.
COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE
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For a complex environment with many different
components to work together, it is necessary to
have agreed upon a common computing
architecture.
Update this architecture on an ongoing basis
with technology advances and changes and start
with the business operating vision in building
the computing architecture rather than just
focusing on the technology itself.
INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE
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Agree upon the information architecture in
advance.
unless there is a business need to migrate the
information to the centre of the circle, it is best
that it remain close to the site level.
It is helpful to develop a grid and identify what
information systems group is responsible for
what information and who uses certain
information
CONCLUSION
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Planning of technical projects should be based
on the business requirement they serve.
It is beneficial to have guidelines to give the
criteria for prioritization of projects to eliminate
the frustration that can be caused when certain
projects are rejected.
The article justifies the need for the continued
alignment between information systems and
Business.
References
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Chapter 5, p.95-142 in Cassidy, A. (1998) A
practical guide to information systems strategic
planning